Hello,
I hope that you are all well and that you have had a wonderful start to December, as we begin the countdown to Christmas.
To begin, I would like to congratulate one of our Y3 students, Caitlin, for winning Hampshire County Council’s 2020 Interfaith Calendar competition, this November. Her work on the parable of the Lost Sheep shall be published for the month of July. We look forward to seeing your creative illustration, well done Caitlin! Other school events that have taken place include the Y1 Liturgy on Tuesday 12th November 2019, as well as whole school collections for the Apostleship of the Sea charity.
December is always a busy yet exciting time of year. During Advent, however, we also take time to reflect, pray and consider how we may prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas time. At St. Peter’s, the children have enjoyed taking part in calm meditation sessions, to reflect upon the choices they have made towards others and how, in some cases, these choices may be improved to enable us to prepare our hearts for the second coming of Christ. Please see a copy of the Advent Calendar provided by Mr. Cunningham during our Whole School worship, which has now been sent home with all children, that shall encourage our students to take part in prayers and activities that shall enable them to put others first, this Advent. Another way in which we have prepared for Christmas has been during our Whole School Advent service at Sacred Heart Church on Tuesday 3rd December 2019. The service was a truly delightful opportunity for our whole school community to join together and reflect upon the birth of Jesus and the events which took place on the journey to Bethlehem. Well done to all of the readers and choir singers and a huge thank you to S. Keogh (Oaklands School Chaplain) and the teaching staff for organising such a beautiful service. I would like to also say thank you to our parent volunteers, who all took time from their busy schedules to accompany the children on a safe walk to and from the church. Please see the photo below from our Advent Service…
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Year R team and Reception children for all of their hard work when rehearsing for their class Nativity play, which took place this week. All of the staff, parents and friends of St. Peter’s feel extremely proud of the children for their courage and teamwork during their dress rehearsal and final performance. Well done everybody! I would also like to wish Y1 and Y2 the best of luck for their upcoming Nativity play – our school shall look forward to supporting you and watching your performance at tomorrow’s dress rehearsal.
Please note that our Whole School Carol Service shall take place at Sacred Heart Church (Waterlooville) on Tuesday 10th December 2019, from 6.30 – 7.30 pm. We very much look forward to seeing you all there!
I would like to complete this month’s blog post with a short prayer, as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Lord at Christmas…
In this season of expectation, we prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, the Messiah, into the bustle of our lives and the hard to find moments of solitude. We prepare to welcome Christ Jesus, the Messiah, into our homes and situations along with families and friends. May we not forget the true meaning of Christmas, but instead welcome the joy of Christ in our hearts as we continue His work on earth.
Amen.
With very best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year,
Kind regards,
Miss Honeywell