Newsletter – 13.09.19

Class Five We have been learning about the structure of the Bible this week.

We have learnt that it is organised the way it is for a reason. The order helps us to make sense of it and understanding this order can help us to better understand the Scripture.

ST . MA RY ’ S H EN L EY

Class One

We are really enjoying the weekly timetable. PE has been one of our highlights this week where we have been playing lots of team games.

Class Two

We have been learning all about routes and directions. We created a route from the church in Henley back to school. We went on a walk to improve the directions we wrote by using key vocabulary.

Class Three

In topic lessons, we have been looking at the types of houses lived in during the Stone Age. We labelled the materials used to construct the houses and looked closely at their structure. Here is Eli’s Stone House drawing.

Class Four

We have been using our knowledge of place value and number sense to place numbers accurately on a number

line. Using digit cards to create our own number, we had to place it correctly on

blank lines with a different scale.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 2 – Dates and messages

Upcoming Dates 18th Sept St Benedict’s open evening 6pm 19th Sept Henley High open evening 6.30pm 23rd Sept School photographer – individual

and sibling portraits 27th Sept Macmillan cake sale 30th Sept Bring harvest festival donations in

to school 3rd Oct Deadline for short story writing

competition entries 3rd Oct Harvest mass 10.45am all welcome 3rd Oct FOSM welcome meeting 7.30 –

9.30pm 4th Oct Reception parents stay and play

session 2.30pm – 3pm 15th Oct Parents evening 3-5pm 18th Oct Class 4 visit to Medical Museum 21st Oct Parents evening 3-6pm 22nd Oct Flu immunisation – all years 24th Oct Non uniform day – bring a bottle

for the Christmas bingo 24th Oct End of half term – clubs and

wrap around on as normal 25th Oct Inset day – school closed 31st Oct Secondary school application

deadline (year 6 only) 4th Nov Back to school 16th Nov Open day 2-4pm 22nd Nov Non-uniform day – bring

chocolates for Christmas bingo 2nd Dec KS2 confessions with Fr Damian 2nd Dec Advent mass 10.45am all welcome 2nd Dec FOSM Bingo 7.30pm 12th Dec Sports after school clubs finish for

the term 13th Dec FOSM Christmas Fair 3-4.30pm 13th Dec No sports club - WAC is available 17th Dec Whole school visit to the panto

Messages School Fund A letter has been emailed to parents this week appealing for voluntary contributions to our School Fund. Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed so far. If anyone else would like to contribute, donations can be made via ParentPay under School Fund contribution. Local Story Competition The Hub at Henley has launched a short story (500 words) writing competition for the children of Henley. Leaflets with more information have gone home in book bags this week. The theme is ‘Henley in Arden in 2069.’ Entries can be handed in to the school office by Thursday 3rd October 2019. Reminders:

Put your name down in the office if you wish your child to be included in the 2020 First Holy Communion program

Put your name down in the office if you wish your child to be included in the 2020 Confirmation program

Music lessons have started this week. Please pay for these in ParentPay under music 2019-2020.

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 3 – School news Summer Homework Project

At the end of last term, pupils were set a homework task over the summer to research or explore a religion of their choice. On Friday 6th September we held a ‘Religions Around The World' exhibition so parents and children could see some of the outstanding, informative and creative pieces that came in. There were models, paintings, PowerPoints, posters and books embracing Christianity, Budhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Paganism, Shinto and even Jedi!

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 4 – School news Leavers Update - Boys

Here are photos of last term’s year 6 leavers looking very smart in their new uniforms and a comment about their chosen secondary school.

George – St Benedict’s Catholic High School “St Benedict’s is friendly and the lunches are great. Also, as you can see, my brother is really pleased I’m there too!” Jefferson – Alcester Academy “I am loving the curriculum - so many new things to learn!”

Kit – King Edward VI Boys Grammar School (KES) “It is great fun with lots of different changes from St Mary’s. There are lots of opportunities to get involved with, which I find amazing. I played in my first rugby match last weekend. Sadly we lost, but I got man of the match.”

Luke – King Edward VI Boys Grammar School (KES) “Hi it’s been very different and it’s a hard switch from primary to high school but I like the teachers - they are very supportive, the lessons are fun and the sport is outstanding.”

Piers – Alcester Grammar School (AGS) “I am absolutely loving it at AGS, it is everything I hoped it would be.” Sam – Alcester Grammar School (AGS) “When I walked into Alcester Grammar I just felt it was the place for me. My first week has been amazing, great teachers, good friends, fun learning.”

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 5 – School news Leavers Update - Girls

Alice B – Kings High School For Girls “I didn’t realise high school would be such hard work with all the “kit”, bus pass, key fob etc, but it’s better than I would ever have imagined.”

Alice E – Henley in Arden School

“High school was a bit scary at first but I’m getting used to it now and it helps that I have my sister here with me.”

Amber – Henley in Arden School “I like the teachers at school as they are nice and helpful. I like geography, Spanish, French, English, Tec/Art and dance. I have made a lot of new friends. If you’re not sure where a classroom is the older students will

help you.”

Charlotte - St Benedict’s Catholic High School “I found it very daunting to start with compared to the cosy family

of St. Mary's. James helped me and I have now embraced new

friends, the huge diversity of subjects, sports and music. Everyone is so friendly, I love it here.”

Darci – Stratford upon Avon School “I love the different subjects, like drama, dance, science and PE. I love my new friends – but of course my old ones too. I miss all of you!” Grace - Henley in Arden School “The best thing about school is it has a show jumping

team! I love all the new subjects and as the school isn’t huge I’ve found my way round really easily.” Hattie – Princethorpe College

“Hi, I’m loving my new school! I was a bit nervous at first but everyone

is very friendly and I’m making friends all the time. I have joined the hockey team and have my first match on Saturday. However, the best thing about school is the food - ham and cheese toasties, sausage and

mash and brownies.

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 6 – School news Meet the FOSM team

Georgina Forsythe – Joint Chair “Hi I'm Georgina. I have Finlay who is in year 2 and Ruby who is (hopefully) going into reception Sept 2020. Living in Henley and supporting our local school is really important to me. Come and say hello in the playground! I am looking forward to meeting all of our new parents at the welcome meeting.”

Nicola Rees - Joint-Chair “I am thrilled to be part of such a wonderful school community and to be able to contribute in a meaningful way. I have two daughters - Ruby, who is currently in year 2 at St Mary’s and Amber who is in pre-school. I am a qualified primary school teacher and I have organised fundraising events for charity. Here’s to a wonderful

school year!”

Renata Astle Lunt - Treasurer “My son, Zachary is in year 2 at St Mary’s and I also have a 6 month old, Oliver. I’ve been working for RSPB for over 12 years in a Senior Fundraising Officer role. Being on maternity leave, I am looking forward to new challenges and am pleased to volunteer for FOSM to do whatever I can to help our super school.”

Kate Burman - Secretary “I am mum to Daisy in year 2 and Harry who is in pre-school. I am an equine vet based at the Corner House Equine Clinic in Ullenhall. I am really looking forward to being part of the new FOSM team.”

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 7 – School news Water aid project

Earlier this week, we emailed the parish priest in Nanka, Nigeria to give him the news that thanks to joint fundraising efforts from the parish and St Mary’s we have reached our target of £8000!!! This money will be spent on the installation of a water pump for the primary school in his parish, which our very own Father Damian attended as a child. Below is Father Peter’s heartfelt response. Dear Rachel, I thank you for the wonderful good news of your present email. It is a surprise, - but a most pleasant one indeed. Congratulations to you all for this marvelous achievement in so short a time. I want to immediately respond by giving you my conviction that the project is “possible”. As I said in one of my earlier mails, a secondary school situated just two kilometers away from our school succeeded a few years ago, it is from there that I buy water every year during the dry season. The town of Nanka belongs to the especially difficult zone for water sourcing, - but I will leave it to the experts to arm me with surer data as soon as possible. I hope you know that we are more than grateful for your commitment and bold efforts so far. Kindly convey the sentiments of joy and gratitude from all our children and the entire parish to St. Mary’s Primary School (staff and pupils), the Parish of Our Lady & St Benedict (ministers and faithful), including of course home brother, Fr. Damian. We shall leave no stone unturned to ensure the speedy success of this project. May the Good Lord continue to bless and encourage you in Jesus’ most holy Name. Amen. Rev. Chudi Peter

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Henley in Arden Newsletter 13.09.19

Page 8 – Pupil Achievements Artwork of the week

This week’s art winner is Jasper in reception, who made his dad this birthday card yesterday during ‘get learning time.’ He also wrote his name on the inside and drew a picture of the two of them. Happy birthday, Andy.

Well Done! STARS OF THE WEEK

Class 1: Jasper for his fantastic contributions in class, especially in

French Class 2: Betsy for her outstanding Big Write. Class 3: Lily for her super hard work during English, writing amazing

descriptive sentences. Class 4: Brooke for her superb empathy during our drama lesson this

week. Class 5: Alexander for his outstanding attitude and not losing focus

this week. House points winner: St Nicholas Sports award Rohan for always demonstrating flawless team spirit of the week: HOMEWORK WINNERS Class 4: Theo