Good afternoon,

Today we celebrate the Feast of Sacred Heart so please say the following prayer together as a family.

Dear Holy Spirit,

I welcome you into my heart.

Help me learn from you and become more like Jesus.

Amen

Life Skills at St Ambrose

Thank you to everyone for completing the online survey. From the results Miss Brewer has achieved our aim to incorporate key life skills, essential for living in the wider world into our curriculum from September. The children will develop skills and knowledge and become resilient when faced with a challenge! Practical life skills are an essential part of learning to be independent, feeling confident in the community and help to develop self-esteem. Skills taught within the safe school environment, and most importantly on trips out of the school, teach our children how to achieve tasks that others normally consider as easy.

Our aim is to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of our pupils, preparing them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Our Life Skills Curriculum:

• Has the needs of the children at the heart of everything we do
• Meets the needs of our local community
• Is full of exciting, enriching and enjoyable learning experiences
• Provides opportunities for our children, staff and parents to all learn together.
• Positively improves academic outcomes
• Prepares our children to become positive role models in and effective contributors to Society
• Gives our pupils the chance to become the very best versions of themselves. 
• Will challenge stereotypes and enrich the children's lives.

This curriculum has been designed by taking into account the views from our pupils where a survey was carried out.

Life Skill Results

• Y3 and below children are unable to tie own shoelaces
• Only 21% have taken part in first aid training before
• 85% would like to learn sign language
• 48% have done some form of sewing before but not necessary a project.
• 64% have grown their own fruit and vegetables before.
• 82% would like to learn more about money.
• 76% have made their own pizza
• 73% have toasted marshmallows on a firepit.

Please click on the link to read the consultation letter from the Chairs of the Board of St Nicholas Owen and St Catherine of Siena MACs regarding the intention to join the two companies to create one larger Multi Academy Company."

This week we met with Hagley Sports who will be one of our uniform providers from June 26th. From 26th June, you will be able to order all school uniform including the new style sweatshirt jumper via their website or complete an order form and return it directly to Hagley Sports.You will also be able to order via our website from MG Sports who are based in Kidderminster.

I would like to create a garden of hope by our main entrance which will have seven planters arranged in a rainbow. Each class will have the responsibility of growing flowers, plants or vegetables and I feel this will enable our young people to work together with each other and members of our local community. If you have some spare time and would like to support us to develop this area, please speak to a member of school staff or email office@st-ambrose.worcs.sch.uk. 

It has been another busy week in our Year 6 bubbles. We have looked at different poems this week and been inspired to write our own:

‘Never’ I say,
‘Never Ever dissect a grape,
From the bottom,
Treat it with respect.

Remove the grape,
From the delicate string,
It clings onto,
State at the crimson colour.

Extract the feeble coat,
The tender inside,
Defenceless and innocent,
The clear blood it weeps.

The sour then sweet flavour,
Sends you on a ride,
A rollercoaster,
A story.’

Chloe

“A blueberry is like an eye,
Cut it in half because you have two eyes,
Put one half in at a time,
Savour the taste.”

My father says this,
When I eat my favourite fruit
Blueberries

This magic fruit excites my taste buds,
My brain goes wild,
It tells me to have more.

They stand in a queue,
They march into my mouth,
There it was!
The excitement was here.

This fruit brings back memories,
Of fun and games.

Luke C

Slice open the apple like you would a coconut.
Cut the core out of the apple.
Bin it like you would with the seed inside a coconut.
Once cut, eat the juicy goodness of the world.

It may not look delicious from the outside.
But all know that the beautifulness is on the inside.
It may cry. It may die.
But it died and cried for you.

It is as healthy as can be.
Use the seeds to plant a tree.
Watch grow and you will see.
The wonder that the apple tree would be…

It may be green.
It may be read.
It will be wonderful.
Like I said.

Max

If you asked what fire was
People would tell you in their loving voices.
Fire is a warming dancer
Dancing in the darkness.
Waiting to warm you with its heat.
Fire is a warming dancer
Swaying in the moonlight
Making you smile.
Fire is a light
Leading you out of the unknown.
Fire is a warming dancer.

Ashley

The robber was sat in his cell with his cap on his lap, when he started to rap. 
Robber can you rap, can you rap, can you robber? 
The robber lifted his cap and said to the cop can I have a can of pop? 
He had a plan going on in his brain; you could tell that it’s going to be very strange. 
He was going to escape this dreadful place. 
He threw the can of pop right at the cop. 
He hurt his knee but he finally had the key. 
He ran and he ran as fast as he can. 
It was dark as a cave but he couldn’t behave. 
By now the night sky was really a dark cave
And he really, really couldn’t behave. 
He was bored and alone, bored and alone. 
Oh how he missed cop and his can of pop.

Gracie

Somebody once asked me
What would the world be like
Without trees, without plants
What would it be like 
At my most nervous I answered
No trees, no sounds, no tweeting
There would be
There would be none, none at all
No whistling of the trees
No vibrant colours of the flowers
No lovely fumes from them
There would be none. 
None at all.

Luke V

A golden coin shrank beneath the horizon
It reveals a jewelled necklace enclosing the Earth
Showing you light and guiding astrays back home.

If you asked what comforts them
People would tell you 
In their most nervous voice.

Watching the necklace enclosing the Earth
Standing on a dim beach watching
Watching the ravenous, bloodthirsty monster
Calm and go to sleep as lustrous torches appear in the night sky.

As the night sky goes grey and
Deathly grey cotton stalks fall from above
A silk icy curtain slices through the sky
And hits my humid hair.

The wind began to blow
An icy fan blowing like a storm
Talking and listening to you.

Unfortunately, all good must come to an end
And as the yellow ball of light awakes
Your comfort begins to sleep
That sensation is gone, lost for another night.

Jacob

Our Mexican masks are finally finished- what do you think about the results?

And we ended the week listening to some religious music and drawing pictures of Our Lady with some incredible results. Miss Holtom

If you require provision for your child because you are a Key Worker, please complete the booking form on the school website for the days you require by the Wednesday at 12.30pm for the following week. We cannot promise that you will be successful in your request, but we will do our best to support you. Bookings for week beginning 29th June will need to be made by Wednesday 24^th June.

I thank you for your unfailing support during this difficult and challenging time.

What ideas do you have?

Please send me your ideas to office@st-ambrose.worcs.sch.uk and next week I will share them.

With children at home, Medicspot has launched a new home challenge for children to learn about washing their hands in a fun and creative way.

We're asking primary school children to share their creative ideas to help encourage frequent hand washing. A few ideas include making a poster, filming a video, recording a song, doing a science experiment or writing a poem about handwashing.

The top entry will win £500 for their primary school and 10 runner-ups will receive £100 for their primary school. This could go towards new software, books, stationery, or any other supplies for your school. Every child who completes the challenge will also receive a printable certificate.

Find out how you can enter and win £500 for St Ambrose Catholic Primary by clicking on the link below BEFORE 30TH JUNE.

Father Lamb will be continuing to say Mass every day next week at 9am via a live stream from the Prayer Room. You can celebrate Mass with Father by following the link below and selecting the 'Live Stream Masses' tab from the menu on the left hand side.

Family learning has designed some short Signalong workshops for ‘adults - parents and carers’. Each workshop is over one week and contains one 30 minute zoom session per day Monday – Friday. All workshops are free for all (no eligibility criteria) and have limited spaces. 

Adults – Parents, Carers and Grandparents

Signalong 1 Starter Workshop ONLINE

Course Description: Signalong is a key word sign-supported communication system based on British sign language and is used in spoken word order. It uses speech, sign, body language, facial expression and voice tone to reference the link between sign and word. This 5 day (one 30 min session a day) course is a "starter" course for parents, grandparents and adults wishing to learn a few signs to support communication for children and adults.

Start date 06/07/2020 End date 10/07/2020 Start Time 2pm End time 2.30pm Cost Free

https://capublic.worcestershire.gov.uk/coursebookingpublic/CourseBooking.aspx?Login=False&CourseId=5705&CustomerRequestGUID=

Signalong 2 Progression Workshop ONLINE

Course Description: This workshop is for you to progress with Signalong after you have completed Signalong 1 starter workshop. This includes bespoke signs for your personal needs and will cover topics such as money, colours and animals and we will base the teaching very much on your own needs as a group to be able to use signalong in everyday life. 

Start date 20/07/2020 End date 24/07/2020 Start Time 14pm End time 14.30pm Cost Free

https://capublic.worcestershire.gov.uk/coursebookingpublic/CourseBooking.aspx?Login=False&CourseId=5712&CustomerRequestGUID=

Please click on the link below that gives you access to downloadable and printable content to create your own summer camps at home with you children.

Please continue to share your views by joining Mrs Wallace for her virtual teapot time next week. If you are free to join on Tuesday please email office@st-ambrose.worcs.sch.uk and the meeting details will be emailed to you

Please click on the link below from worcestershire health and care NHS trust.

Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command.

Since 2006, Thinkuknow has been keeping children and young people safe by providing education about online abuse.

Thinkuknow aims to ensure that everyone has access to this practical information – children, young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them.

You can still find all of our previous home activity packs on our parents and carers website. These can be downloaded at any time you choose.

Worcestershire County Council have launched a new public campaign called Here2Help. Please follow the link below to access their website.

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/Here2Help 

The types of additional support available to people through Here2Help is as follows and the aim is to prevent families/households getting to crisis points:

This is a useful link for us all as also on their webpage they have a keeping kids entertained section and five ways we can look after ourselves and others.

Please see the link below that will take to their webpage with links to a number of activities and educational support links.

Please see the useful documents below detailing how to reduce stress and anxiety for you and your child during Covid-19.

These are worrying times for anyone but it can be particularly hard for children, some of whom will struggle to comprehend why they can no longer see their friends at school.

With schools across the UK closing and people being urged to step up social distancing, communities are rallying round to bring a little brightness to young ones amid the gloom.

Please brighten your community by displaying the beautiful rainbows in your windows at home.

Send us a photo of a rainbow in your window to office@st-ambrose.worcs.sch.uk

Kind regards,

Mrs Brocklesby.