Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you have been enjoying the school term so far.

Catholic Schools Inspection

Our first few weeks back to St. Peter’s have been full of celebration and joy. I would like to begin by saying a huge thank you to our whole school community, for your continued support throughout our Catholic Schools Inspection (CSI) at the end of the Summer Term. We were absolutely delighted to have received not only an ‘Outstanding Judgement’ overall, but to have achieved this for each of the 9 sub-categories across Religious Education, Collective Worship and Catholic Life and Mission. This would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our school staff, governors, parents and pupils. A special thank you also goes to Father Jeremy, Father James and Mrs Semple (Oaklands chaplain) for their ongoing, active role in supporting the prayer life of our school and the spiritual development of our whole school community, throughout the Liturgical Year. Please see below for a full copy of our recent inspection report…

Worship and Prayer

To begin our new school year, we have thoroughly enjoyed opportunities to gather together in prayer, to worship Jesus and praise His Holy name. It has been wonderful to welcome so many parents and carers, to join us for year group liturgies and school Mass. Thank you to all of our school staff and Mrs Semple for the hard work that has gone into organising and preparing these services, and a very well done to our pupils for supporting these moments of prayer through carefully selected Gospel readings, bidding prayers, and taking on roles including the offertory procession and altar serving. Please see below for a list of our school prayer gatherings across the first half of the Autumn Term.

• Tuesday 17th September: Year 1 to Year 6 Mass
• Tuesday 24th September: Year 2 Liturgy
• Tuesday 8th October: Year 3 and 4 Mass
• Tuesday 15th Octber: Year 1 Liturgy
• Tuesday 15th October: Year 6 Reconciliation Service
• Sunday 20th October: School Uniform Mass, 60th Jubilee dedication

Catholic Social Teaching and Charism

This Term, we are currently learning about Catholic Social Teaching as part of our RE Curriculum from God Matters. This has given our pupils an opportunity to learn from the examples of Jesus and His followers, for how to serve the people of God throughout the world. In particular, we have taken opportunities to reflect upon our Mission and how we can live this out in our daily lives: Walking Hand in Hand with God, to make our world a better place’.

One example of this was through the recent investiture of our new school chaplains, who have made a promise and personal commitment to serve the prayer life and spiritual growth of our school, as they embark upon their journey as part of the Year 5 and 6 GIFT Team (Growing in Faith Together). Through Father Jeremy’s homily on the teachings of Pope Francis, and our recent assembly on Cafod’s World Gifts – please see images below – our children understand and appreciate our school charism, to serve others with a generous heart and therefore ‘make our world a better place’. Our pupils are very excited to work alongside the CAFOD Young Leaders at Oaklands Catholic school, in order to ‘use the gifts God gave us’ to generate ideas for fundraising, thus taking an active role in supporting local, national and global communities who need our support most.

And so, to close today’s blog post, I’d like to leave our families and friends of St. Peter’s with the a moment of reflection. It is sometimes hard to do what Jesus asks of us, and so we pray together for God’s help:

We pray for world leaders: that they may look for ways to make sure all of their people, especially those who are poor, can have their fair share.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for people living in poverty: that they may have the chance to share in the gifts that God gave for us all.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, our families and our friends: that we may have the strength to answer Jesus’s call, to share what we have, and to help make the world a fairer place for everyone.

Lord, in your mercy…

Generous God, we thank You for all the gifts that You have given us. Teach us to share these gifts with others, so all people may have enough.

Amen.

With very best wishes to you all,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and enjoying the bank holiday weekend.

This term has been an extremely busy one, filled with lots of exciting opportunities for our pupils, staff and visitors to develop their own spirituality and enjoy moments of calm, still and purposeful reflection. Many thanks to Father Jeremy, Mrs Semple (Oaklands chaplain), our St. Peter’s staff, children, parents and carers, for their ongoing participation and support across our school Liturgies, Masses and Celebrations of the Word this term:

• Tuesday 23rd April 2024: Year 1 Liturgy.
• Tuesday 30th April 2024: Year 3, 4 and 5 Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Waterlooville.
• Tuesday 7th May 2024: EYFS Liturgy.
• Thursday 9th May 2024: KS2 Feast of the Ascension Liturgy
• Tuesday 11th June 2024: Year 2 Liturgy.
• Tuesday 25th June 2024: Whole School Feast Day Mass.
• Tuesday 15th July 2024: Year 6 Leavers’ Mass.

We have been very fortunate to have so many opportunities to gather together in prayer and worship as part of a whole school community this term. Following on from my previous blog post at the beginning of the Spring Term, we took part in a journey though Holy Week and Easter which included a Lenten Day of Reflection, Stations of the Cross and Easter Liturgy. Please see the images below…

Pupil Spirituality and Reflection

Towards the end of the Spring Term, our children enjoyed learning about Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism and Islam as part of their exploration of other faiths and cultures. Please refer to our school Art blog for a fantastic selection of images from the wonderful Diversity Art projects that have been produced by each year group. You will also find examples of the ‘other faiths’ learning each class has enjoyed throughout our whole school annual event, on our individual year group blog pages. Furthermore, throughout our use of Catholic Social Teaching challenges that have been embedded across our RE curriculum, we have worked very hard as a school to provide our students with regular opportunities to reflect upon their learning and consider how this may impact upon our future actions, behaviours and choices as followers of God. Please see below for a KS2 example of a child’s key learning points from their experiences across Diversity Week…

Pupil spirituality – progression of Liturgical Roles and pupil ministry

As well as through Religious Education, our pupils have shown how they have used their gifts and talents to demonstrate how they ‘live out’ our school charism of ‘Walking hand in hand with God’, whilst promoting our school Vision of ‘Making our world a better place’. We are very fortunate to have so many pupils with gifts to share, e.g. our talented Y4 violinist who played our opening hymns, KS2 pupils who shared the Gospel, those who sang the ‘alleluia’ and responses to welcome and celebrate the Gospel message, our Altar Servers who demonstrate their Mission to support the prayer life of our school along with our Parish priest during the delivery of Mass. Please see the images below for lots of examples of these from our recent Y3, 4 and 5 Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Waterlooville. We would like to thank everyone who was able to attend and join our celebration.

I’d like to close today’s blog post with a prayer, as an opportunity to reflect upon our school Mission to support our global neighbours throughout the world, as we ‘Walk hand in hand with God, to make our world a better place’…

We pray for the Church all over the world: that it may continue God’s work, reaching out to those who are afraid.

Lord in your mercy…

We pray for people who are in wars all over the world: that they may feel strong inside and one day find peace and happiness.

Lord in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may have courage and show our faith in Jesus in all that we do.

Lord in your mercy…

Loving Jesus, you came to your friends when they had lost hope. Help us always to believe in you and to spread your hope and peace wherever we go. We pray for your guidance through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

I wish you all a wonderful week, as we look towards May as a celebration of the Month of Mary.

With very best wishes,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you have been having a good weekend and a pleasant start to a fresh week…

At St. Peter’s, we have been busy recognising the Light of the World, through our learning in RE as well as through our school Liturgies and communal Celebrations of the Word (Collective Worship).

Religious Education and Catholic Social Teaching

Throughout our learning on Revelations, we have discovered that Jesus was recognised as the Light of the World through His miracles and the stories of the Luminous Mysteries. Similarly to other subject areas across the primary curriculum, our children have enjoyed linking their RE learning to our St. Peter’s Catholic Social Teaching values (CST), which are summarised within the poster below…

Our CST challenges that we have introduced to all pupils to have enabled our students to make further connections between their faith and action. The children across KS1 and KS2 have also enjoyed moments of calm and reflection during selected RE sessions, in order to consider ‘What Went Well, Even Better if’ and ‘What I wonder about next’. This has enabled our students to consider their learning within a deeper context and make connections to the other RE units as well as key moments across the Liturgical Year. Please see the example below of a ‘paired write’ Hot Task on the role of God’s messengers, followed by a Pupil Reflection Bubble opportunity and a CST challenge follow up…

Stewardship projects

As part of our learning on Catholic Social Teaching at St. Peter’s, we are incredibly proud of all of the hard work that has taken place across each year group for our ongoing school stewardship projects. In KS2, for instance, we have designed Fiddle/Fidget Blankets to support elderly patients with Dementia in local care homes as well as young children with ADHD and ASD who receive support with our Wellbeing team at the Pumpkin Room. We would like to thank all parents who attended our St. Peter’s sewing day and say a big well done to the children for demonstrating our school Vision by ‘walking hand in hand with God to make our world a better place’.

Liturgy, Worship and Prayer

Our pupils have been very busy planning, preparing and evaluating their own Collective Worships, and have particularly enjoyed delivering their own worships to a paired KS1 class as part of the Prayer Buddy Initiative at St. Peter’s. Through fulfilling their Mission and supporting one another to evangelise and spread the Word of God, our children have understood the importance of their role and ministries. We have also celebrated our school Mission Statement through enabling pupils to ‘do the best with the gifts God gave us’ by playing musical instruments in Collective Worship (Y4 violinist) as part of reflection time, Friday assembly (Y6 guitarists) and celebration assemblies (school choir leading hymns).

We would like to thank our Prayer and Liturgy Co-ordinator (Mrs J. Semple, Oaklands Chaplain) for her continued hard work in organising the following (and upcoming) Liturgies and Celebrations of the Word this term A big thank you also to our parents and carers who attended our prayer gatherings:

• Tuesday 16th January 2024: Year R Liturgy.
• Tuesday 23rd January: Year 3 and 4 Mass at St. Peter’s school.
• Tuesday 30th January: Year 1 Liturgy.
• Tuesday 6th February: Year 5 and 6 Mass at St. Peter’s school.
• Tuesday 27th February: Year 2 Liturgy.
• Thursday 28th March 2024: Whole School Easter Liturgy.

Our Lenten Journey…

Across the Spring and Summer Terms, we shall look forward to engaging with an inclusive Sacrament of Reconciliation across years 4-6 across March to July 2024, with Father James. As part of our learning and spiritual development across Lent, we shall also be taking part in a Lenten Day of Reflection at St. Peter’s on Tuesday 26th March 2024.

As we continue on our Lenten Journey this term and enter into the second week of Lent, let us now take a moment to reflect upon the ways we can Pray, Fast and Act to make a difference to the lives of others…

I would like to leave you all with a closing prayer. As we try to change our lives, we pray together:

For world leaders: may they make wise decisions for the good of all people in the world.

Lord, in your mercy…

For those who suffer from poverty: may they receive love and support, to change their lives for the better.

Lord, in your mercy…

For our parish, family and friends: may we take the time to listen to what God asks of us and change ourselves to be brighter and kinder people who always help others.

Lord, in your mercy…

God of life, help us to listen to your Son Jesus and to live our lives as He asks us, making a real change to ourselves and the lives of all we meet.

Amen.

Wishing you a fantastic week,

With very best wishes to you all,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you are beginning to feel in the festive spirit as we prepare for the countdown to Christmas!

This term, the children have taken part in many opportunities to develop their spirituality and relationship with God – this has taken place through Liturgies, the celebration of Mass, as well as through the delivery of pupil worships and year group visits to Oaklands chapel.

Autumn Term 2023

• 19.09.23 – Y1-6 School Mass
• 26.09.23 – Y1 Liturgy
• 10.10.23 – Y3-4 Mass at Sacred Heart Church
• 17.10.23 – Y2 Liturgy
• 01.11.23 – KS2 All Saints Feast Day Liturgy
• 07.11.23 – Y5-6 Mass at Sacred Heart Church
• 28.11.23 – Y1-6 Advent Service

Year 4 enjoyed spending time with Mrs Semple, the Oaklands chaplain, as we gathered together to praise Jesus, Christ the King, who is present within the lives and spirits of all around us. We listened carefully to the Gospel message, that by helping those in the most need, we are also supporting Jesus too. The children enjoyed creating an Art piece with their painted thumb prints, which we collected together – we now enjoy this visual reminder that Christ is with us in all we do, think and say, each time we pass through the doors of the Y4/5 shared area (green phase). Please see the images below…

We have also had lots of opportunities in school, to reflect and give praise to those who help us follow in God’s footsteps. For instance, we enjoyed our KS2 All Saints Feast Day Liturgy, which enabled the St. Peter’s community to pray for those who are in Heaven and watch over us. Please see the image below…

This morning, we prepared our hearts for the presence of the Lord, beginning our preparations through our Y1-6 Advent Service at Sacred Heart Church. We would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Semple for all of her support in the preparation of our service, and to all of the pupils who took part in acting, reading and singing. We are extremely grateful to all of our parents and carers who were able to walk with us to and from the church. During the service, our Y5 and Y6 pupil chaplains (GIFT team) received a blessing from Father Jeremy, as well as a ‘TSP’ (Thanks, Sorry and Please) prayer teaspoon, from Father James. This was given to our GIFT team, to support them in serving our community and supporting the prayer life of our school. Please see the photos below…

We also look forward to celebrating the following together…

Upcoming events and Worship

• 05.12.23 – Y2 Advent and Christmas Liturgies
• 06.12.23 – Y1 Nativity Play
• 07.12.23 – EYFS Nativity Play
• 12.12.23 – St. Peter’s Carol Service at Sacred Heart Church
• 15.12.23 – Christmas Liturgy at St. Peter’s school

In the spirit of Advent, St. Peter’s have worked very hard as a school community to create gift boxes for the Samaritan’s Purse campaign, Operation Christmas child. We were delighted to see so many children and families take part and we would like to say a huge well done to everyone for their kindness and generosity – it is very special to know that we can make Christmas a brighter and more joyful time for those in need or those who are experiencing difficulties. This has linked very well to our Catholic Social Teaching unit for Religious Education, enabling the children to demonstrate their faith in action as they work together to ‘make out world a better place’. Please see the photos below…

I hope that you have a wonderful few weeks in the lead up to Christmas and that you enjoy moments of peace and reflection during this very busy time of year as we count down the Sundays to Christmas on our Advent Wreaths! I shall leave you all with a final prayer…

Dear Lord,

We pray for world leaders: that they may serve their people honestly, making decisions for the good of all.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world: that together with them, we may build a better world, free from poverty and filled with love.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may love God with all our hearts and be inspired to reach out in love to others.

Lord, in your mercy…

With very best wishes to you all,

Enjoy the festive season!

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you had an enjoyable first few weeks back to school.

There are lots of exciting updates to tell you about in Religious Education at St. Peter’s Catholic Primary school! This half term, we have already enjoyed the following celebrations together and look forward to sharing Liturgical Prayer together throughout the Autumn period:

• Tuesday 19th September 2023: Y1-6 Whole School Mass (please see the photos below).
• Tuesday 26th September 2023: Year 1 Liturgy.
• Tuesday 10th October 2023: Y3/4 Mass at Sacred Heart church, Waterlooville.
• Tuesday 17th October 2023: Year 2 Liturgy.

Pupil spirituality

During our Whole School Mass on Tuesday 19th September, we celebrated the Liturgy of the Word and Eucharist together. We also had a special celebration for our new pupil chaplains (GIFT team – ‘Growing In Faith Together’), who made promises to serve our school community and to support children and staff through compassion and prayer as we continue to follow our school vision of ‘Walking hand in hand with God, to make our world a better place’. Each pupil chaplain received a Golden Cross as part of this special moment, to remind them that they are guided by the Gospel as they follow in God’s footsteps to evangelise others and support those in need, through the power of prayer.

This year, we have already seen many examples of pupil spirituality at St. Peter’s, with our KS2 pupils delivering Collective Worship in class and our Prayer Buddy scheme (KS2 pupils delivering worship in their paired KS1 class) being well underway. In particular, we have enjoyed opportunities for pupils to have a moment of calm and quiet reflection, taking time to reflect upon the messages of Sunday’s Gospel. A lovely example of this was when our Y4 Koalas went to visit Portsmouth Cathedral and saw the ‘threads of Creation’ Art exhibition, admired the Biblical tapestries from Genesis, then lit a candle of remembrance together and received a blessing from Reverend Jonathan Frost – please see the photos below…

Religious Education and home learning

This year, your child will have received a home learning diary. Each week, the diary shows our Gospel message and the teachings we have learnt from the Scripture – please see the photo below, for an example. There are lots of additional activities that are included on each page, which support our children to explore the Liturgical theme for the week and discuss/share at a deeper level, with their loved ones at home. Please do take time to look at the page each week and join together with the suggested prayers, for a calm moment of peaceful reflection that you can enjoy with your child. The first few pages of the diary – which pupils have looked through with their class teachers at the start of the school year – include additional opportunities for prayer, as well as further information on our school Vision, our St. Peter’s learning circle, the Liturgical Year (church calendar) and the key Sacraments. Each half term, your child will also bring home a home learning activity for Religious Education. This shall support the children to consolidate previous learning (e.g. Creation) and prepare for their next unit of work (e.g. Catholic Social Teaching)…

In our learning on Creation this term, we have been exploring the story of Creation and how we are made in God’s image and likeness. We have engaged with Scripture to understand that we are all part of God’s family, made with many gifts and talents that we can share and utilise as God’s stewards on Earth. The children have enjoyed many creative activities in their learning, through our study on our school Mission Statement and how we can apply it through our actions in our everyday lives. Across the school, many pupils were very excited to share their learning in Religious Education and bring it to the altar as part of our offertory procession during Whole School Mass on Tuesday 19th September 2023. In the next few weeks, we look forward to learning about Catholic Social Teaching and how we can ‘live out’ the values of Oscar Romero to make a positive difference in the world. These include:

1. Life and dignity of the human person.
2. Solidarity.
3. The Common Good.
4. Preferential option for the poor.
5. Living in peace.
6. Care for Creation.
7. Dignity of Work.

I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your week, and shall leave you all with a closing prayer:

We believe that we are a worldwide family loved by God and so we pray together…

We pray for the Church throughout the world: that she may be a living example of God’s love for all people, especially those who are in need.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world: that by God’s grace we may do all that we can to build a better world, free from poverty and filled with love.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may love God with all our hearts and be inspired to love others in all that we do.

Lord, in your mercy…

Closing prayer: Christ Jesus, may we follow you in all that we do. Let our love for you be shown in how we care for all people, especially those who are poor.

Amen

With very best wishes to you all,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you have enjoyed the final few weeks of the school term. There have been lots of Liturgical events taking place at St. Peter’s this term! We would like to thank all of the children, staff, parents, volunteers and members of the parish who have supported our school community by helping to organise and deliver the following celebrations:

• Tuesday 25th April 2023: Year 1 Liturgy
• Tuesday 2nd May 2023: Year 3, 4 and 5 Mass
• Tuesday 16th May 2023: EYFS Liturgy
• Thursday 18th May 2023: KS2 Feast of the Ascension Liturgy
• Tuesday 13th June 2023: Year 2 Liturgy
• Tuesday 27th June 2023: Whole School Feast Day Mass
• Tuesday 11th July 2023: Year 6 Leaver’s Mass

We would also also like to say a big congratulations to the pupils from St Peter’s who made their First Holy Communion at Sacred Heart and St Peter the Apostle during the month of July (please see images below).

At the end of the school year, we have also united together as a school community to celebrate the Feast days of St. Peter and St. Paul. As part of our offertory, the pupils presented an icon of St Peter, the mosaic tiles of which were painted by different children of all ages across the school.  This gift will take pride of place within our school building (please see images below).

As well as our celebrations of Mass, we have also enjoyed taking part in creative worships and class liturgies. For example, Year Two pupils created a dance of scarves in order to demonstrate the power and joy of the Holy Spirit and how we can feel the presence of God’s love all around us. Key Stage 2 pupils have also enjoyed being part of a Prayer Buddy initiative this term, whereby our junior pupils have taken it in turns to plan and prepare a worship and then deliver their Liturgical prayer to a paired KS1 class. This has been a wonderful opportunity for pupils to evangelize and to share their faith, as they continue to follow God’s Mission. Please see the images below…

I would like to end today’s blog post with the following prayer, as we look forward to a relaxing and peaceful summer break with our families, friends and loved ones. We give thanks for all that we have learned today as we pray together:

We pray for all teachers around the world: that they may help the children that they teach to grow and learn.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for all children throughout the world: that they may all have the chance to go to school to learn.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may learn from one another how to be kind and how to make the world a fairer place.

Lord, in your mercy…

 Loving God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to show us the way. Thank you for all the people who teach us. Help us to listen and to learn.

Amen.

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer holidays, and look forward to welcoming you all back to school in the Autumn Term.

With very best wishes,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you have been having a wonderful week so far.

Last month, the children enjoyed exploring their new unit of learning on Catholic Social Teaching. We have been following our Gospel Values in order to demonstrate our ‘faith in action’ by ‘Walking hand in hand with God, to make our world a better place’. As stewards of God’s love, we have enjoyed exploring various charities and taking part in community projects this term. We have been inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical, ‘Fratelli Tutti’, and we continue to work hard as a school community, to inspire and promote change across the wider world. For example, Year Three have taken part in a stewardship community project with Over the Wall, a UK charity that works to support children with health challenges and disabilities. In addition, please see the example below of our school foyer display that has been produced by Year Five – the children have been considering how we spread hope, love, joy and peace through becoming beacons of light to others as we donate to the World of Books charity collection. This initiative supports many organisations, from large national charities to smaller local hospices, recycling the waste and surplus books sold directly to World Of Books by those charities. On an annual basis, the charities will then benefit from a significant sum as well as making considerable savings in their waste disposal costs.

As part of the children’s spiritual development, pupils across the school community have enjoyed taking part in significant roles in order to spread the Word and inspire others through their faith. Our pupil chaplains, for example, have been enjoying their Christian duties and responsibilities to serve the school community – in particular, they have focused upon creating their very own designs for the school Prayer Garden, a project we shall work towards over the next 3 years. The school governors were delighted to see the children’s views and ideas, and could see how the children had used their research in order to produce suggestions and plans of what they would like to see at St. Peter’s, in order to facilitate calm moments of prayer, reflection and introspection. Please see a few examples of the Prayer Garden designs, below:

As the school term has progressed, we have continued to encourage and nurture the development of pupil roles across the school, supporting them to ‘be the change’ and demonstrate values of discipleship during their own everyday experiences at school. For instance,  many pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6 have been taking part in planning, preparing and developing ‘Liturgical Prayer’ – the children have also found it a very valuable experience to reflect and evaluate upon their class worships, in order to adapt elements of their class prayer time for future sessions. Inspired by pupil chaplains, who have already been involved in the organisation and delivery of whole school prayer, worship and events, the children across KS2 have enjoyed this opportunity and they look forward to the possibility of sharing God’s Word and Gospel Values, through hosting Liturgical Prayer to classes across KS1. We have also continued to focus on the values of Catholic Social Teaching, demonstrated by Oscar Romero and our House Saints. Please see the images below…

We have been very fortunate this term, being able to celebrate many events as a school community. We would like to thank all of the children, staff, parents, carers and Miss J. Heath (Oaklands School Chaplain) for their continued hard work in the preparation and delivery of the following, this month and over the coming few weeks:

• Tuesday 1st November 2022: Key Stage 2 All Saints Feast Day Liturgy
• Tuesday 8th November 2022: Year 5 and 6 Mass
• Tuesday 29th November 2022: Year 1 to 6 Advent Service at Sacred Heart Church, Waterlooville
• Tuesday 6th December 2022: Year 2 Advent and Christmas Liturgies
• Wednesday 7th December 2022: Year 1 Nativity Plays
• Thursday 8th December 2022: EYFS Nativity Plays
• Tuesday 13th December 2022: St. Peter’s School Carol Service (6.30pm) at Sacred Heart Church, Waterlooville

I would like to end this month’s RE blog post with a closing prayer:

God asks us to be ready so that we can welcome Jesus when he comes. Together we ask for God’s help…

We pray for all people around the world who are alone or frightened or have had to leave their homes because of conflict:

that they may be welcomed by others and may see their families again.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for people who are travelling to visit others or who have a long or difficult journey ahead:

that they may arrive safely and may receive a warm welcome.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, families and friends: that we may always be welcoming to others

and that we may share what we have with those who are in need.

Lord, in your mercy…

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to a fresh school year at St. Peter’s Catholic Primary! It has been wonderful to see the children excited to begin their learning and join their friends, with lots of busy learning and activities taking place across the Key Stages as we settle back into school life. At the start of the Autumn Term, we celebrated a Whole School Mass with Father James on Tuesday 20th September 2022. It was wonderful to welcome Father James to our school community and to have an opportunity with Miss Heath (Oaklands School Chaplain) to gather together and celebrate new applicants for our pupil GIFT team (Growing In Faith Together). These year five and six children made a promise to serve their school and agreed to the terms for becoming a pupil chaplain. Please see the photos below…

This term, we shall continue to support the children to develop their spirituality as well as their academic progress in Religious Education. Across September, the children have been learning about the Creation story from Genesis and exploring how the world was made by God. They have also considered what it means to be the People of God and how we can behave in His likeness, as expressed by St. Paul and in the Beatitudes. We have also started to consider what it means to be a disciple and how we may demonstrate stewardship and discipleship in our own daily lives. Next term, we look forward to exploring our new unit on Catholic Social Teaching, investigating various charities and the Oscar Romero values in further depth. Please see the images below for examples of the children’s learning.

As part of the Catholic life of our school, there have been lots of events that have taken place as part of our celebration of Christ. I would like to thank all of parents and friends of the school who have attended these events and volunteered on walks to the Church, as well as to Miss Heath (Oaklands School Chaplain), our staff and pupils for all of their hard work and preparation towards the following events across the Autumn Term:

• Tuesday 20th September 2022 – Year 1 to 6 Whole School Mass
• Tuesday 27th September 2022 – Year 1 Liturgy at St. Peter’s
• Sunday 2nd October – School uniform Mass at Sacred Heart Church
• Tuesday 11th October – Year 3 and 4 Mass at Sacred Heart Church
• Tuesday 18th October Year 2 Liturgy

I would like to end today’s blog post with the following prayer:

We know that everything is possible with faith and God’s help, and so we pray together:

We pray for world leaders: that they may see that real change is possible and act to make the world a fairer place for everyone to live.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for all people throughout the world who do not have enough food or water: that they may have hope, faith and the support that they need, as they work to change their lives for the better.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may have the faith and courage to try to make a real difference to our world so that it becomes a fairer place for all.

Lord, in your mercy…

God of life, give us the courage to try to make a change to our world, no matter how small, and the faith to know that with you all things are possible.

Amen.

I wish you all a peaceful and relaxing weekend,

With very best wishes,

Miss Honeywell

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and that you have been enjoying the beautiful summer sunshine, recently!

This term, the children have been very busy at St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School. On Friday 20th May, Mr. Cunningham, Mrs. Moore and myself accompanied our pupil chaplains (GIFT team) to attend the Diocesan Annual School’s Mass at St. John’s Cathedral in Portsmouth. The children took along their St. Peter’s flagpole and represented our school wonderfully in the entrance procession towards the altar at the start of Mass. Please see below for a selection of images from this special event…

In addition, there have been plenty of other religious celebrations that have taken place at St. Peter’s this term. We would like to say a big thank you to Jess Heath (Oakland’s chaplain), class teachers and children for all of their hard work and preparations for each gathering. Another huge thank you to parents, guardians and friends of St. Peter’s who have attended these Masses, Liturgies and volunteered to support these church services:

• Year R Liturgy on Tuesday 7th June
• Year 1 Liturgy on Tuesday 3rd May
• Year 2 Liturgy on Tuesday 14th June
• Year 3, 4 and 5 walk to Sacred Heart Church to celebrate KS2 Mass on Tuesday 17th May

We also look forward to worshipping together and celebrating as a school community on the following dates this academic year:

• Whole School Feast Day Mass on Tuesday 28th June
• Year 6 Leaver’s Mass on Tuesday 12th July

This term, the children have been working hard on their RE Curriculum studies – in particular, we have focused upon the Easter and Pentecost units of study from our God Matters curriculum. During Easter, the children have learnt about the Empty Tomb and the miracle of when Jesus rose from the dead. We investigated the impact of the Resurrection on the lives of the ordinary people who witnessed it. We also studied the risen Jesus through the story of the Ascension, along with other Scriptural accounts of when Jesus appeared to His disciples. This month, the children have been learning about the events of Pentecost in detail. They explored how the gift of languages was given to the disciples by the Holy Spirit, so that they would have the courage to spread the Good News of Jesus returning to life, to the rest of the world. We also explored the Church’s belief of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

Across June and July, we look forward to exploring the life of  St. Peter in further depth, discovering how he came to be a disciple and learning more about his spiritual journey with Jesus. Towards the end of the year, the children shall learn about the Sacraments that form the stages taken by Christians to become closer to God as part of their own spiritual journey. We shall also discuss how the people of God’s church have been called to their vocation to serve Christ and the community. The children will also consider how God is present in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

Please see below for a couple of examples of our RE display boards and prayer tables, from our Easter unit of work this term. As you can see, we have enjoyed celebrating the pupil’s achievements in RE through displaying their work across each learning journey. We have also been supporting the children’s spiritual development through the use of prayer openers and worship evaluation books on our prayer tables, enabling the pupils to develop their indepenence through prayer and encourage the further growth of pupil voice re. classroom worship and reflection.

This term has been a very busy one, and there are plenty more events for the children to look forward to! For example, EYFS shall be taking part in Holi Festival workshops on Wednesday 22nd June, whereby they shall be taking part in a wide variety of activities in order to discover and learn more about Hinduism and the Festival of Colour. Furthermore, Year 1 look forward to partaking in a Diwali Dance workshop, which shall also provide an opportunity for the children to explore Sikhism in further detail and the history of this religious celebration of Light. As we work closer towards the end of term and look forward to a restful summer break and exciting new acacdemic year, let us not forget those who are less fortunate ourselves and who are suffering around the world.  I would like to close today’s blog post with a final prayer for our global neighbours…

God of bread and God of life, we pray together…

We pray for world leaders: that they may work to make sure that all people can have what they need to live life to the full.

Lord in your mercy…

We pray for all the people who do not have enough food today and for an end to world hunger: that all people throughout the world may have enough to eat.

Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our families, schools and parishes: that we may be willing to share with others. May we work to build a brighter world together for all our global family.

Lord in your mercy…

I wish you all a fantastic end to the school year and a well deserved summer break. We look forward to seeing you all again at St. Peter’s, in the Autumn Term!

With very best wishes to you all,

Miss Honeywell