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