The children and staff are delighted to invite parents and carers to join us in prayer, worship and celecration at our forthcoming class assemblies. 

The dates of which are as follows:

Thank you to Robins class for their lovely prayer service this afternoon during which they reminded us that the Holy Spirit is the helper that Jesus promised His disciples and that the Holy Spirit helps us too. It was lovely to hear their own personal good news, which they happily shared, and their passionate rendition of ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ was a joy to witness. Thank you Robins!

Ducklings parents and carers joined us on Friday 3 rd May for a beautiful prayer service dedicated to Our Lady. The nursery children led us in prayer and song as they reminded all gathered that May is the month of Mary when we especially ask for Mary's prayers and intercession. Thank you Ducklings for leading us in worship and for reminding us to give thanks for our own mothers and/or special female figures in our lives. There was a special treat for the whole school later the same day when Ducklings sang the Hail Mary at our certificate assembly. Well done Ducklings!

On Tuesday 23rd April, we were delighted that children and staff from Reception to 6 were able to attend Mass to celebrate the memorial of St. George, Martyr, Patron of England. Please see the message below from Fr. Keith.

Message from Fr. Keith

This week we had the great joy of celebrating the Feast of St. George with our school community. St. George is, of course, the patron saint of England, and also of several other countries, even though he himself probably lived in what is now Israel / Palestine. Everyone knows the story of him fighting the dragon, even if they only know it from the many pub signs on which it figures! Actually, we know very little about his life, except that he was a soldier and was martyred about 300 years after Christ. Catholics often ask the saints to pray for us, and what we ask them to pray for depends on what they were famous for, so we can ask St. George to help us fight bravely in the struggle between good and evil and not to be afraid to give everything for Jesus. We can also ask him to pray for our country always to defend the weak from those who oppress them.

We are now looking forward to the most important week in the Church’s calendar, Holy Week, which this year begins on Sunday 24 March. We are reviving the pre-COVID tradition of starting our Palm Sunday morning Mass at the school, followed by a procession to the Church. And you may be interested to know that this year the clocks go forward one hour on Easter Sunday itself, that is 31 March. We have to begin the Easter Vigil the day before when it is already dark, so that means we can begin earlier this year at 7.30pm. The other main services are Holy Thursday, 28 March at 8pm, when following the example of Jesus at the Last Supper, Fr. Keith will wash the feet of twelve parishioners, and Good Friday, 29 March, when we do not have Mass but instead a solemn service at 3pm. We also have Stations of the Cross for children and families at 11am on Good Friday. We look forward to seeing you at some or all of our Holy Week services!

In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, 2024 has been designated a Year of Prayer. The Holy Father has asked that 2024 be year of prayer, as a preparatory year for the Jubilee with a special focus on - The Our Father.

The Pope has asked everyone to pray for Christian unity and for peace throughout the world. During this year, as well as praying for unity and peace, each class will learn more about the Our Father that Jesus taught his disciples and pray it often as a class or as a whole school.

It would be a lovely opportunity for families to come together and pray it at home. The Lord’s Prayer offers us a great opportunity to go back to the basics of prayer.

Thank you to the pupils and staff in Kestrels who invited their parents and carers to gather and join them in prayer and thanks at their class assembly on Friday 19th January. The theme of their assembly was reflecting on the year just past and looking forward to the year ahead. They reminded all gathered of the importance of setting goals and aspirations and kindly shared some of their New Years’ resolutions. The very wise Year 3 and 4 pupils in Kestrels class concluded their assembly by giving thanks God our Father for creating the world and for giving us His son Jesus to be the light of the world. Thank you Kestrels!

Preparing our hearts and minds to celebrate the Good News of Jesus’ birth is such an important part of our school and liturgical year. We very much look forward to bringing our school together during the season of Advent as follows:

We were treated to the divine singing of our KS2 children this week, as we celebrated this special time of Advent with our Carol Service, held in St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church. This year, we had the pleasure of hearing our newly formed choir perform several songs, lead by our singing teacher Ms. Murphy. Each class sang their carols beautifully, bringing joy and hope to the congregation. Well done also to the readers and actors, who told the Nativity story in a spectacular way. Thank you to parents and family who joined us for this special event.

Our Chamber Choir were delighted to accept the invitation to sing at the Carols of Comfort and Joy at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 25th November. The concert brought together all the primary schools involved in the Westminster Schools Singing Programme this year and it was lovely that so many family members were able to come along to the Cathedral to enjoy the performance. Our chour will be singing three of their carols at our fothcoming Key Stage 2 Carol Service on Wednesday 6th December. Thank you to Miss Murphy, our choir leader, and all the choir members who sang on the day. 

Thank you to the pupils and staff in the Hummingbirds Class who invited their parent/carers to gather and join them in prayer and thanks at their class assembly on Thursday. The assembly was based on World Kindness Day linked to Anti-Bullying Week. The children in class have been reading ‘Have you Filled a Bucket Today?’ and have been exploring ways in which they can be bucket fillers! The children reminded us of scripture from Matthew 7:13: Do for others as you would want them to do for you. Thank you, Ms McNab and Hummingbirds, for a beautiful assembly.

Wedbesday 1st November was the Feast of All Saints and we were delighted that children and staff in Years 1 to 6 were able to attend a Mass celebrated by Mgr. Keith Barltrop in our parish church. Mgr. Keith Barltrop reminded all gathered that All Saints' Day is a Christian solemnity, or dignified remembrance, that celebrates the honour of all church saints, whether known or unknown. He reminded all gathered that we are all called to be saints, that is, by being receptive to God’s holiness and grace. 

We now look forward joining parishioners to celebrate Mass for The Solemnity Immaculate Conception on Friday 8th December at St. Mary of the Angels Church @11am. Parents and carers are most welcome to join us.

Thank you to the pupils and staff in Robins Class who invited their parent/carers to gather and join them in prayer and thanks at their class assembly on Friday 13th October. The assembly was based on the Robins current RE topic which is exploring and celebrating ourselves. In the assembly the children celebrated their similarities and differences and shared with us their gifts and talents. The children reminded us of scripture from Isaiah 43 1:2 God says: You are precious to me. I know you.I love you.I know your name.

Thank you Ms Cox and Robins for a beautiful assembly. 

On Thursday 28th September, our school community came together to host our first ever Macmillan Coffee Morning. Staff, parents/carers and our Chaplaincy Team joined together to raise an amazing £220 for Macmillan Cancer Support. As always, thank you for your generosity and support; your donation of cakes made sure that the time spent together over a cup of tea/coffee was enjoyed by all.

We look forward to holding the event again next year.

The Stations of the Cross is a form of prayer used traditionally in Lent. Each of the 14 Stations retells part of Jesus’ Passion (his suffering and death) through images and words. These Stations of the Cross introduce children to Jesus’ Passion, breaking it down into stages that they can reflect upon and remember. The Stations are more than the retelling of a story: they are a prayerful participation in the event that lies at the heart of Christianity – Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

As part of our Lenten experience, the children were asked to create their own interactive Stations of the Cross journey. Each class took a station and were encouraged to be as creative as possible in exploring its significance in the Easter Story.

The atmosphere in the hall was one of reflection and respect, awe and wonder. 

The hall was in darkness, lit by candle light with Taize music quietly playing in the background. It was beautiful to watch the children spending time reflecting and praying with their friends. This was a lovely way for us to mark the significance and sacrifice Jesus made and for the children to understand its importance.