Friday 9th December 2022

On Saint Ambrose Day, we welcomed his Grace, Rt Rev. David Evans who visited our school and parish for the first time. He spent time asking our Year 6 pupils all about their preparations for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. The children, with the guidance of their teachers and parents, have been preparing for their sacrament over the past few months, examining the significance of making their Confirmation and what it will mean to them both spiritually and personally. At 7pm, our pupils received the sacrament of Confirmation in a prayerful service and we are very proud of them. Thank you to Father Lamb, staff and parents for ensuring our pupils are fully prepared.

Please read the beautiful prayer written by Cian in Year 6.

Wednesday was a very important day for us in school because it was the feast day of St Ambrose - the patron saint of our school and parish. We all went to church to celebrate Mass and in the afternoon made Christmas tree decorations which we are invited to put on the Christmas tree in church during Christmas Eve Mass. It was also Christmas dinner day and we wore our festive jumpers for the occasion. Some classes also went to Milton Hall to see our 'bee' Christmas tree. What a wonderful day it was!

This week on Monday and Wednesday, we all went to visit our 'bee' Christmas tree, which we had been tasked with making decorations for. We also got to see the other Christmas trees, which have been decorated by other groups in our community. We chose to make a bee tree because bees are important to us at St Ambrose. This is because legend has it that when our Patron, St Ambrose, was an infant a swarm of bees settled in his mouth and left behind a drop of honey. His father thought this was a sign of his eloquence and they left him honeyed tongued. We all enjoyed our time there and would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Strong and Mrs Rutter who welcomed us there.

The children have enjoyed taking part in a lovely Advent retreat afternoon led by Dan and Emily from OneLife Music. It was important for us all to stop in this busy season and to put all our focus on preparing the way for the coming of Christ. We have been singing, learning all about charity work done in the Midlands linked to Advent, and we finished our session with meditation. What a perfect way to prepare for Christ into the world very soon at Christmas.

Alfie: I learnt about people doing marathons to show that people can do whatever they want to do if they put their mind to it. We sang some songs with actions about passing on gifts to other people to spread love to others'.

Thank you for the gifts we have already received, our Minnie Vinnies are doing a wonderful job of co-ordinating the Advent collection. It is wonderful seeing us all working together for the common good - part of our Catholic Social Teaching.

Please see below some photos of Year 6's residential at the Pioneer Centre - as you can see we they all had an amazing time trying new activities and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.

An additional bank holiday in honour of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Monday 8th May 2023. As this date had previously been announced as the first day of the 2023 key stage 2 (KS2) test week in England, a change to the KS2 test schedule next year will be necessary.

Ministers have considered the situation carefully and have decided that KS2 tests will take place in the same week with tests following the usual order but each taking place one day later than originally planned. As such, the new schedule will be:

• Tuesday 9 May: English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) papers 1 (questions) and 2 (spelling)
• Wednesday 10 May: English reading paper
• Thursday 11 May: mathematics papers 1 (arithmetic) and 2 (reasoning)
• Friday 12 May: mathematics paper 3 (reasoning)

There will be no changes to arrangements for our other assessments, including KS2 teacher assessments, key stage 1 tests and teacher assessments, the phonics screening check and the multiplication tables check.

On Thursday 15th December we have a very special day as all children will visit Santa in the morning and have a Christmas party in the afternoon. This year classes have planned their parties and I would like to thank TAPP for funding the parties to ensure all children enjoy the festive fun. Children's requests include decorations, party food, party games and being able to watch a Christmas film. ALL CHILDREN CAN WEAR PARTY CLOTHES TO SCHOOL ON THURSDAY.

Ten Ten Resources is producing a special prayer resource for schools and families to use throughout Advent in preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

We would like to encourage your family to join the whole school community on this journey. We will be following the prayer each day in school, and we would like to encourage you to also open a Bible story on the Jesse Tree calendar at home each morning/evening, at weekends and during the school holidays.

The Jesse Tree: From Creation to Christmas is a daily prayer resource, starting on Monday 28 November, the first week of Advent, and running all the way through to Christmas Day.  A Jesse Tree is a bit like an Advent calendar, but using a daily video Bible story about someone in Jesus’ family tree to help us prepare spiritually as we move towards Christmas.

We would like to encourage your family to join the whole school community on this journey. We will be following the prayer each day in school, and we would like to encourage you to also open a Bible story on the Jesse Tree calendar at home each morning/evening, at weekends and during the school holidays.

To access the resource, please visit the Ten Ten Resources’ Collective Worship Parent Portal:

Website: tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal

Username: st-ambrose-dy10

Password:  custard-111 

Regular attendance at school means that your child will make the most of their education and improve their chances later on in life. At St Ambrose, good attendance is of high importance and we strive to have at least 96% attendance. Please help us with this target. If you need any support, then school is here to help so that your child can get the very best out of the education we provide. 

Letters have gone out this week for Mr Turners sports club for the Spring Term. Please go to the sportstars website to sign up.

Below are the times and dates for the Christmas productions. The KS2 productions will be held in Church and KS1 productions will be held in school. Tickets for the KS1 performances have been sent home, please contact the school office if you have any questions regarding tickets.

If you are experiencing any problems with School Life then please come to the school office to speak with Mrs Fish or Miss Downs. They can also help you with setting up for Parent Pay and School Food United accounts.

Please follow the link below to access this week's Wednesday Word.

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their correct P.E. kit. The P.E. uniform is as follows:

• Black shorts, black leggings, black track suit bottoms (unbranded if possible)
• Maroon round neck T-shirt with embroidered badge
• P.E pumps or black trainer

PLEASE NOTE: P.E. HOODIES CAN ONLY BE WORN ON P.E. DAYS

Children are to come to school wearing their P.E. kit on the day(s) listed above. Thank you.

This half term it has been lovely to meet representatives form the Parish UCM group.

It is a National Organisation of Women, open to all women. The Union of Catholic Mothers organises some fantastic activities in the Parish Hall and would welcome any visitors or new members. They run a craft club on the 1st and 2nd Tuesday of every month from 2-4pm. Everyone is welcome and you can pop in before you collect or after collection.

The UCM group over the next few weeks will be dropping flyers into school about their activities and will be available in the playground (dates to be confirmed) to answer any questions and tell us about future events.

 Would you like to join the Parish flower  group?

Any help you can give will be much appreciated. Whether you already have flower arranging experience or are just a beginner. They are very short and helpers and any assistance would be very welcome.  Training and guidance will be given to any beginners. Please phone or text Elaine Yates on 07951 535843 if you are interested. Many thanks.

Please read the following tips to share with your son or daughter about staying safe online:

• Never give out personal information. This includes online people you know as well. Keep them private!
• Never send pictures of yourself because once it’s online, it’s there forever, and it could get into the wrong hands.
• Don’t make friends with people you don’t know. People are not always who they say they are.
• Tell your parents/carers what you’re doing online so they can act fast if there are any issues and can vet whether the website is safe for use
• Leave the website and tell a trusted adult immediately if you see something that concerns you or makes you feel unsafe
• Never show your real name, age or where you live in your username
• Use strong passwords which have a mix of numbers, letters and symbols
• Do not share passwords with others
• Don’t open an attachment unless you’re 100% sure it’s safe
• Don’t let strangers into your video calls. Blur your background so you don’t give away any information about where you are.
• Be careful who you webcam with
• Don’t meet up with someone you’ve only met online
• Be nice online
• Think before your post! This applies to when you send or forward content.

Please see the confirmed term dates below for 2022/23. 

Kind Regards,

Mrs Brocklesby