It has been another busy couple of weeks in school with Year 1 pupils showcasing their phonics knowledge and Year 4 demonstrating their multiplication skills in assessments. Well done to the pupils involved. This week I have jumped aboard a pirate ship in Chestnut Class and Acorn pupils have been keen to show me their painting skills when visiting their classroom.

Thank you to all the children, parents and staff for such a warm welcome back. It has been a wonderful return to school. It is such a pleasure to visit children in classes to see learning in action, spend time on the playground and speak to many of you at the gate in the morning and afternoons.

The children have spent this week preparing for the season of Lent. Last Friday Fr. Benedict celebrated the Sacrament of Penance with Years 4, 5 and 6. The smell of pancakes throughout the school on Shrove Tuesday was delightful with our Breakfast Club beginning the cooking and then every class following on.

Here we are at the end of another busy half term in school! The learning across the school has been energetic and interesting. I drop into classrooms a couple of times a week to get involved in lessons and during the last fortnight, I have joined in with some excellent learning involving anything from fractions and trains to cooking and dinosaurs!

We have enjoyed a busy fortnight in school. On Friday we celebrated the launch of Jubilee 2025, the theme of which is ‘Hope’. The children watched a welcome message from Cardinal Vincent Nichols and he explained that “hope that comes from knowing we are loved by God, the hope we can bring to those in most need, and the hope we can bring to our common home, the earth.”

Welcome back to the Spring Term. It has been wonderful seeing all of our children return full of energy and enthusiasm! Last Friday we celebrated the feast of The Epiphany with a service in the school hall. Three children were dressed as the wise men and they brought gifts to the crib. Fr. Benedict asked the children what they could bring to the crib and as always, the answers were very thoughtful.