In our class worship this week we have been reflecting on God’s love for us. His love is unconditional and the greatest love of all. Well someone who showed God’s love through his actions was Saint Maximilian Kolbe. We looked at the life and actions of Maximilian Kolbe in our RE lesson this week, and how he helped to spread the Kingdom of God. We were all so humbled by his courageous actions and his dedication to Mary and God from a young age. He was such an inspirational man, who put others before himself, something that lead to his own death. He sacrificed his own life for that of a stranger!

We also had our first class mass on Thursday. We went over to church and shared in worship with Fr. Frank and parishoners from Our Lady’s parish. I was so pleased with how respectful the class was.

Here’s what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have covered prime numbers, square and cube numbers and order of operations!! It’s been a busy week. The class have done so well, and there have been some challenging questions we have looked at together as a class. We used the cubes to make bigger cubes, and help deepen our understanding of cube numbers….

In English we are planning and starting to write our class Biography. We are planning each paragraph together and then drafting each paragraph as a class, before the children then innovate our class write into their books. Our focus person for our Biography is Usain Bolt. Next week, the children will then plan and write a biography independently. They will be able to use our class write to help them to structure and organise their own piece of writing.

In Science we finished describing the different functions of the parts of the circulatory system and we have planned an investigation, which we will undertake in our next lesson. We are investigating the questions How does different physical activity affect our heart rate?

In History we watched some news reels from the Battle of Britain and made notes on what daily life was like for an RAF pilot. We then used these notes to pen a letter to a loved one, as though we were an RAF pilot. We also had the chance to read a genuine letter from a real pilot during the Battle of Britain-its was quite emotional to read!

In HRSE we discussed how children can respect their bodies as gifts from God by looking after them appropriately. We are learning that good choices regarding rest, sleep, exercise, personal hygiene and diet will have a positive impact on our health.

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guides give helpful advice about…

Live streaming - This free online safety guide profiles live streaming – a hugely popular activity among young people that’s certainly not without hazards.
Setting boundaries around gaming - This looks at the benefits of setting boundaries around video gaming to help young people learn healthy online habits.
WhatsApp - This is an updated examination of WhatsApp – the globally popular messaging platform which contains both old and new hazards for young users.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Bobby for being a kind member of the class.

The Writing Award went to Amelia for the huge improvement in her hand writing.

The Maths award went to Ayson for his superb work using BODMAS to solve calculations.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Reading books - the class have now (finally!) complete their STAR Reading tests and been given their new ZPDs. I have said that they can finish reading the book they were in the middle of, even if it is not within their range. However, once they have finished that book they must then pick books within their range. Please can someone from home sign their records any time they complete home reading. In Year 6, I would expect them to be reading at least between 3 and 4 times a week.
All of Year 6 now have their appointed roles within school. Many of them had their first official duties this week and I have been so impressed with how they have undertaken these roles with such maturity.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 29, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Our RE topic and our Worship and Gospel theme this week have aligned perfectly. It has been all about forgiveness. We know from Sunday’s Gospel reading that Jesus told his disciples to forgive ‘not seven times, but seventy-seven times’ . He was teaching his followers that we should not limit the amount of times we forgive others, we should always try to forgive when someone has wronged us and seeks our mercy. Well this linked in perfectly with our RE topic about The Kingdom of God. This week, we were showing an in depth understanding that God’s Kingdom is for everyone! We looked at some parables that emphasised how God’s forgiveness is limitless. Even the repentant sinner is welcome in God’s Kingdom-in fact, God will go out of his way to seek those who have sinned and strayed from Him and welcome them, with open arms, into his Kingdom! This week we also celebrated our first whole school mass together. This was a special time to gather together for collective worship and a lovely welcome to the new school year.

Here is what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths our focus has been on written methods for long multiplication and long division. We also started to look at common factors.

In English we have completed another piece of writing- a formal letter of application. We have been pretending to be Walt Disney applying for a job as chief animator, working for Pixar. We used his biography to gather evidence for each statement from the person specification and used this to form our letter. We recapped the formalities of letter writing and the do’s and don’t’s of formal pieces of writing. The class did write a formal letter to me on Day 1 of Year 6 so this most recent piece of writing will be very useful for me to compare and see progress/targets in writing for each child in the class.

In Science we completed the labeling of different parts of the heart and described the functions of the heart, blood vessels (veins, arteries and capillaries) and blood.

In History we placed and described some of the key events of the Battle of Britain on a time line.

In Computing we have been codebreaking! We looked at some different types of codes and what they might be used for. We then had a go at cracking and creating our own codes!

🧑Head Boy & Girl 👩

I must begin by saying how incredibly proud I am of all of those who applied for the role of Head Girl & Boy. Every single applicant delivered their speech so well, which made it a very difficult decision for the rest of the pupils and teachers when it came to placing their votes. I can, however, announce that after counting up all the votes, our new Head Girl is Charlotte and our Head Boy is Joseph. Receiving the second most votes, our Deputy Head Girl is Lexi-Rose and our Deputy Head Boy is Bobby. Well done to you all!

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Avie for being just a thoughtful and respectful member of the class. Avie is a wonderful friend to all.

The Writing Award went to Emma for a great choice of vocabulary in her formal letter of application

The Maths award went to Frankie for his brilliant mental maths. He always does so well in our Fluent in 5!

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. There is a problem getting the new classes set up but they will take this test as soon as possible. I have allowed the class to bring books home this week, just based on books they like the sound of. Hopefully the books they take home will match their ZPD, from next week.
All of Year 6 now have their appointed roles within school.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 22, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

This week in RE we have been continuing our work on ‘The Kingdom of God’. After looking at some of the values of the Kingdom of God, we then responded to the question Is the Kingdom of God in heaven? If not, where can I find it? We quickly realised that the Kingdom of God is not just in heaven, it is here on earth and it starts within us and grows the more we do good deeds. We focused on some of Jesus’ parables that he used to explain God’s Kingdom and referenced these to support our responses. We also looked at what Pope Francis had to say, highlighting the importance that the Kingdom of God is hidden within us like a seed in the ground, which grows and becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit. I was really inspired by what the class had to share when we talked about how we could help the Kingdom of God to grow through the things we do every day.

Here is what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have focused on negatives numbers and written and mental methods for addition/subtraction and multiplication. I have loved hearing the different methods the class have used to work out calculations! This is why I love maths so much - there are so many different ways to get to the same answer!

In English we have continued with our ‘Biography’ unit focusing on new vocabulary, scanning texts for key information, identifying cohesive devices and using evidence from a text to support ideas. We have covered all of this using a range of different biographies! In these first few weeks of a new unit it is so important to immerse the class in the genre of biographies and what better way to do that then to read a range of them?!

In Science we started a new unit on ‘The Circulatory System’. To begin with everyone in the class had a go at drawing what they thought the human heart looked like. We then looked at a diagram of the heart to see how similar or dissimilar our depiction was. We then drew a more accurate diagram of the heart and started to identify and label some of the main parts of the heart.

In History we did some research on The Battle of Britain on our laptops and them presented this information in a leaflet. I am very impressed with the standard of these information leaflets!

In PE we had our first lesson with the BFC coaches and this term our focus is on hockey. We will be learning some of the skills involved with hockey and transferring these to play matches, in teams, against each other.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Chase for his focus in class-I am very impressed.

The Writing Award went to Elsie for her well-written information text all about the Battle of Britain.

The Maths award went to Jacob for his ability to explain the mental methods he uses.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. There is a problem getting the new classes set up but they will take this test as soon as possible. I have allowed the class to bring books home this week, just based on books they like the sound of. Hopefully the books they take home will match their ZPD, from next week.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Head Boy/Girl speeches will be delivered in assemble to the whole of the school on Wednesday (20th) morning.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk. I do apologise as I have not got access to this email address yet, but this is being sorted. I will hopefully have full access by early next week.

Thank you, Year 6, for your continued efforts this week. I have had a delightful first couple of weeks back!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 15, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

This week, I have spoken to the class about preparing their speeches for Head Boy/Girl, should they wish to apply for the role.

As soon as they have written/drafted their speech, I have said they can bring it into school for myself or Mrs Owen to proof read, if they wish. Some have done this already. The date that they will be delivering their speeches is yet to be confirmed but I will let the class know, as soon at this is arranged.

I am so pleased at the number of children in Year 6 that are applying for the Head Boy/Girl role….reading publicly, in front of an audience, is a huge skill and confidence boost in itself. In Year 6 ALL pupils will be given a role of responsibility, so even those who are not selected for the role of head girl/boy or deputy head girl/boy, and those who did not apply, will have a duty within the school. We find that it is really important, and valuable, for the Year 6’s to be given roles of responsibility as part of the preparation for High School.

Here are some top tips for when you are writing your speech….

Introduce yourself-not all children in school will know you by name!

Talk about your time at Our lady’s so far-What responsibilities have you had? What have you achieved? What good qualities will you bring to the role?
Talk about why you want the position.
What suggestions do you have to make Our Lady’s an even better place?
How has the ethos at Our Lady’s help to shape you into the person you are? How will you inspire others in the school?
Engage with the audience. Do not look down or put your speech in front of your face.
Project your voice (without shouting). The people at the back of the hall need to hear your speech as clearly as those at the front.
Smile!

Good luck to all applicants…remember to speak eloquently and confidently!

PostedSeptember 13, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

A huge welcome to my new Year 6 class! This week I have spent time getting to know my lovely new class and hopefully the class now know me a lot better too! Although we have spent time getting to know the Year 6 routine and expectations, we have also hit the ground running, and made a good start to our learning.

I know Year 6 is a big year, not just for the children, but also for you parents too! Your (not so little) baby is getting ready to make that transition to high school next year and this is their last year of Primary school! With this is mind, I want to make sure that this is a successful and positive year for all. As a Year 6 team, we will work collaboratively with parents and children to ensure all of the class achieve their full potential and we will support you in any way we can. Yes, Year 6 is a challenging year, but it is also such an exciting year full of opportunity and responsibility. I look forward to starting this journey together.

Here is what we have been up to this week…

In Maths we started back with our ‘Fluent in 5’ from day one and I must say, I have been really impressed with the arithmetic skills in this class so far! In our Power Maths, our focus has been on place value up to 10,000,000. The class have done incredibly well with place value so far and we have looked at some challenging problems as a class too.

In English we made a start on our new unit on ‘Biographies’. We explored some key vocabulary and created a timeline of Walt Disney’s life. We also started with our ‘Grammar Warm-ups’ and reading comprehension.

In RE we have introduced our first topic, ‘The Kingdom of God’. We have explored and discussed some of the key values of the Kingdom of God and have written explanations as to why we think certain values are so important. We also used bible references to support our reasons. This week we also took part in daily class worships, and on Wednesday we had the chance to plan our own shared worships, ready to deliver to the class in future weeks.

In History we had an introductory lesson to our new topic, ‘The Battle of Britain.’ We looked at some key vocabulary and made links where we could and we have started to look at some key events of WW2, ordering them chronologically on a timeline…

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Joshua for being a caring and compassionate member of the class. He has impeccable manners.

The Writing Award went to Isabella for a well-structured and cohesive letter. Well done!

The Maths award went to Mickey for an impressive start to his maths. He engages really well in lessons rises to any challenge.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Spellings- I gave the class a spelling test this week and they will come home with their spelling lists to practice next week. New spellings will be given on a Friday and they will be tested on them the following Friday.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. As soon as they are complete, the class will come home with their reading book and record. This will need to be signed by an adult each time they read at home.
Homework- I have not set any homework this week. From next week, homework will be set on a Friday and due for the following Wednesday (I check work has been complete on a Thursday morning). In terms of expectations, I will set Maths & English units on IXL , ask for at least one Bedrock lesson to be completed and spellings and times tables will be set too. Spellings and times tables tests will always be on a Friday.
Head Boy & Girl - All those who have shown interest in being Head Boy or Girl this year will need to prepare a speech to deliver to teachers & KS2. I have asked that those interested write their speech at home and bring them in next week. I am happy to proof read any speeches and/or give tips/prompts!
Other roles & responsibilities- In Year 6 every child in the class will have a responsibility. All of the class will be prefects and we also have roles such as librarians, dining hall monitors, assembly/prayer leaders, assembly set-up team…. I think it is really important for all the children to take on more responsibility as they enter Year 6; this is also good preparation for high school!
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk. I do apologise as I have not got access to this email address yet, but this is being sorted. I will hopefully have full access by early next week.

Thank you, Year 6, for a lovely first week back! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 8, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Dear parents and carers,

Thank you for coming to our assembly today and for all your support this year.

Enjoy your summer!

PostedJuly 20, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Zoo trip

PostedJuly 20, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

14/07/23

Golden Award -

All of year 6 for your superb effort during our production. You worked so well as a team and really showed off your individual talents. You were all amazing!

07/07/23

Golden Award -

Ollie for showing what a caring team player he is. He has worked so hard to ensure the performance runs smoothly for everyone. Well done, Ollie!

PostedJuly 14, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

THE MUSICAL THEATRE MOVEMENT

JOIN US for a Musical Theatre Movement!

Attend a FREE WORKSHOP exploring all things musical theatre! Help shape the Blackpool Grand Theatre creative activities for 11–17-year-olds.

So, what do the days look like?

• TAKE PART in an exciting musical theatre workshop

• EXPLORE SKILLS in singing, movement and musical theatre performance

• HAVE FUN in a safe space where everybody is equal

• Tell us all about the ACTIVITIES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE and take part in

• SHARE YOUR PERFORMANCE in the Studio

What are the dates and times?

• Wednesday 26th July from 10am-4pm: 11-13 year olds

• Thursday 27th July from 10am-4pm: 11-13 year olds

• Friday 28th from 10am-4pm: 14-17 year olds

• Saturday 29th July from 10am-4pm: 14-17 year olds

How do I sign up?

We have 30 places available each day. To secure your place, please register your interest here: https://forms.office.com/e/tCdqJH4Z4P

Once your place is confirmed, we will send out further information via email. If you have any questions, please contact hazelc@blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Join the MUSICAL THEATRE MOVEMENT!

We look forward to meeting you soon!

PostedJune 30, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Year 6’s End of Year Show Show!

Thursday 13th July @ 6pm

Tickets on sale now!

PostedJune 30, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Golden Award

This week’s Golden Award is for Respect

Maia for being a superb role model during our preparation for our End of Year Show!

PostedJune 30, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

PostedJune 30, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Golden Award - ‘Learn’

Maia for striving to improve your own work and reflecting on your progress.

Star Writer

Isobel for an excellent Adaptation Explanation.

Maths

Lily T for reflecting carefully on your progress and setting yourself goals.

PostedJune 23, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Year 6 were very sad to say goodbye to Water Park this afternoon, having made so many happy memories in such a short period of time.

This morning, the group took part in various activities such as canoeing, going on the high and low ropes, climbing the tree, orienteering, making the leap of faith and rock climbing.

Everyone has learnt so much this week and is feeling extremely proud of themselves for the resilience they have shown and the challenges they have overcome. Water Park will forever have a special place in Year 6’s hearts and has been a fantastic way to kick off their very last half term at Our Lady’s!

PostedJune 16, 2023

AuthorKatie Whitehead

Today all of the groups took part in various activities including; going on the low and high ropes, climbing the pole, taking the leap of faith, windsurfing, paddle boarding, sailing, canoeing, ghyll scrambling and jumping off of the jetty.

We all had lasagne, garlic bread and banoffee pie for tea. We also had our talent show and disco. A great way to spend our last full day!

Year 6 cannot believe that tomorrow is their final day at Water Park! Time really flies when you are having fun!

PostedJune 15, 2023

AuthorKatie Whitehead

Today Year 6 had their journey day around and across Coniston Water and all took part in rowing, sailing and walking as part of the adventure!

Year 6 enjoyed a roast dinner and ice cream and jelly for dinner and are looking forward to tomorrow for day 4!

PostedJune 14, 2023

AuthorKatie Whitehead

Year 6 have had a fantastic second day here at Water Park!

Mrs Owen’s group have spent today climbing, hiking and canoeing.

Miss Evans’ group spent their day ghyll walking and going on the low ropes.

Miss Heim-Sarac’s group took part in problem solving games, going on the high ropes, kayaking, water polo and jumping off the jetty.

Miss Whitehead’s group spent their day going on the low and high ropes, playing problem solving and orienteering games and ghyll walking.

For dinner we had pizza and wedges followed by lemon crunch.

Year 6 are looking forward to their whole class journey day tomorrow!

PostedJune 13, 2023

AuthorKatie Whitehead

Year 6 have arrived safely this morning and had an exciting first day!

Year 6 have enjoyed the gorgeous weather whilst kayaking and canoeing on the lake.

For their evening meal, year 6 enjoyed chicken burgers followed by sticky toffee pudding.

Everyone is looking forward to what the rest of the week brings and we will have lots of photos to show for it as our time here progresses!

PostedJune 12, 2023

AuthorKatie Whitehead

Awards!

Golden Award - ‘Respect’

Ollie for always using your manners and having a responsible attitude.

Star Writer

Millie for a super explanation of how kangaroos have adapted to their environment.

Maths

Jayden for your determination to develop your reasoning and problem solving skills.

PostedMay 26, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Golden Award - ‘Respect’

Sophie for your responsible attitude, excellent manners and thoughtful nature. Well done!

Star Writer

Sam for your enthusiasm when completing research in preparation for your Adaptation Explanation text.

Maths

Franchesca for a great effort with problem solving using decimals.

PostedMay 19, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy