Our blogs
Headteacher awards 29.3.19, by Mrs Mills
Date: 29th Mar 2019 @ 2:28pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 who were class of the week for attendance with 100%!
**Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Have a lovely spring break, and we will see you all back in school on the 15th April 2019
Headteacher Awards - 22.3.19, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 22nd Mar 2019 @ 2:45pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 5 who were class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 15.3.19, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 15th Mar 2019 @ 2:44pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 2 who were class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 15.2.19, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 15th Feb 2019 @ 2:12pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 6 who were class of the week for attendance with 98.89%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 25.1.19, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 25th Jan 2019 @ 2:39pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 who were class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 18.1.19, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 18th Jan 2019 @ 2:54pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 4 who were class of the week for attendance with 98.21%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 7.12.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 7th Dec 2018 @ 1:41pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 who were class of the week for attendance with 99.26%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards -23.11.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 23rd Nov 2018 @ 3:04pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 3 who were class of the week for attendance with 98.81%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 16.11.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 16th Nov 2018 @ 2:49pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 & Year 2 who were both class of the week for attendance with 99.26%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 9.11.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 9th Nov 2018 @ 3:10pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 class of the week for attendance with 98.52%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 19.10.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 19th Oct 2018 @ 2:52pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 class of the week for attendance with 94.81%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 12.10.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 12th Oct 2018 @ 2:18pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 1 class of the week for attendance with 98.89%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 21.9.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 21st Sep 2018 @ 2:26pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 2 class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 14.9.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 14th Sep 2018 @ 2:48pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 2 class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher awards 7.9.18, by Mrs Mills
Date: 7th Sep 2018 @ 3:08pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Years 1,4 5 and 6 - all class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Letter to Year 6 from Mrs Thorpe, by Mrs Thorpe
Date: 5th Sep 2018 @ 8:26pm
Dear children,
I was so pleased to meet you today and I’m delighted that I’ll be your teacher for the coming year. I thought that a good way to start the year would be for us to get to know each other. So I’ve decided to write you to, to tell you a few things about myself, and I’d like you to write back to me, telling me things you’d like me to know and understand about you. The better I can understand you, the better I can teach you – so let’s begin…
You’ll know me as Mrs Thorpe, but my husband is called Jon and he’s a Forest School Teacher. I have two young children called Esme and James. I live quite far away from Ellesmere Port now, but I actually grew up in this town and some of my family still live here too. I’ve worked in several different places including schools in South Africa and Poland and I’m so delighted to come back home and be part of the family here at St Mary’s.
I have lots of interests and hobbies, especially cooking, reading and art. I love working with children (that’s good!) and I feel strongly about issues related to fairness and justice in our world. When I’m not working in school, I spend time helping at my local foodbank and I lead the children’s programme in the Church I belong to, which is called St Joseph’s.
I like things to be well organised and tidy and I feel happy when we all take pride in what we are doing. I think we learn best when we are secure and confident, and that’s one reason why I think a creative and organised classroom is really important. What would you like to have in our classroom?
Some things that I find come easily to me are: drawing, creating, painting and writing. Some things that I have to work harder to learn are: sports and playing musical instruments. What do you find easy and hard?
I like to travel to new places and see new things and one of my dreams is to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. Where would you like to travel to?
I recently felt proud of myself when I studied for my Fellowship at Oxford University and I feel proud of others when I see them working towards new challenges. What are you proud of?
Here’s a few of my favourite things:
- Food: BBQ food, yummy!
- Book: To Kill a Mockingbird – by Harper Lee
- Song: anything by a band (an old band…) called U2
- Sweet: anything with chocolate in or on, especially Toblerone
- Words from the Bible: Jeremiah “For I know the plans I have you says the Lord”
- Time of Year: Advent – I love the waiting and preparations for the joy of Christmas
I promise you that this year, I will work my hardest to help you grow and progress and above all, help you to understand that you are loved and cherished by God our Father. I hope that you will write back to me and share a little about yourself so that I can get to know you as soon as possible,
Thanks,
Mrs Thorpe
Headteacher Awards - 22.6.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 22nd Jun 2018 @ 2:48pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 5 - class of the week for attendance with 96.30%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 25.5.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 25th May 2018 @ 2:17pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 2 - class of the week for attendance with 99.60%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 11.5.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 11th May 2018 @ 2:22pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 4 - class of the week for attendance with 100%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 4.5.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 4th May 2018 @ 3:28pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year R - class of the week for attendance with 98.15%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards - 23.4.18, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 23rd Apr 2018 @ 11:59am
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 3 - class of the week for attendance with 99.66%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Headteacher Awards, by Mrs Wilson
Date: 23rd Mar 2018 @ 3:35pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 5 - class of the week for attendance with 98.89%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Head Teacher Awards, by Mrs Mills
Date: 2nd Mar 2018 @ 2:43pm
Congratulations to all our Award winners this week! We are very proud of you.
Well done to Year 4 - class of the week for attendance with 99.26%!
Please note these photographs are for your personal use only. Please do not circulate or share on social media.
Kind regards
Parish links to our Catholic school..., by Mr Hughes
Date: 24th May 2017 @ 6:12pm
Sometimes people ask us, what's so different about a Catholic school? Well, for us, the school is part of a group of wider communities. First of all, we are part of St Mary of the Angels' and St Saviour's parish community. Thats why the parish priest Father Louis and the Deacon, Tony Hunt are an integral part of our school. We believe that each individual in our school is unique, and made in the likeness of God. We don't just care about their academic progress in life - we care about their spiritual progress in this life and the next. That's why we follow Jesus' first and most important commandment - Love God and Love your neighbour. The children came up with our Mission Statement - Love Jesus, love learning, love life'. It was affirmed by staff, parents and governors; and we really try to act out this ethos in what we do daily. We're also part of our wider Diocese; and then part of the Catholic Church as a whole, and the world wide Christian faith.
This week, Bishop Mark, Bishop of Shrewsbury, visited our parish to bless our new shrine to Our Lady of Fatima, one hundred years exactly since the miracle at Fatima in Portugal. It was a joy to see the church packed, many of our children there alongside other parishioners, many of whom have grown up in the area for 80 years or more. We were united in prayer, respect and love. This week, our grandparents have been invited into school for 'stay and play' sessions - and no doubt, the pupils will be spoiling them! We're that kind of school. We believe the Holy Spirit watches over us all.
Our governors have certain responsibilities that County Primary schools don't have, as we are a Catholic school. For example, our governors are the employers of all the staff. They are responsible for the upkeep of the buildings. They also take full responsibility for the admission of pupils to the school. Yet, it's much more than that. People choose to come to this school because they like our values, they feel that the Catholic ethos is somehow important to them, even if they don't go to church. The school is full every year. We have children of different faiths and they are so welcome. We are happy to learn about other faiths; we do this across the terms; and we're asked by God to share our faith with others, which we do.
Please know that your church (whether you live near St Mary of the Angels or St Saviours) is just that.....YOUR church. Father Louis doesn't want anyone to feel excluded. He wants each of you INcluded. Please join us, every Sunday. Make the parish-school lifelong bond a reality for your children, for your family. Even if you haven't been to church for a long time, please step back in; there's a warm welcome for you. We also have a programme for friends to join our church; some parents are doing this now, becuse they asked us recently.
You may well find that something which has been missing from your life will restore your faith in mankind - and in God. We thank the Lord for watching over us all at St Mary of the Angels.
Term time holidays....good or bad?, by Mr Hughes
Date: 15th Feb 2017 @ 3:23am
Holidays in term time are in the news. A father has taken the case to the High Court. Is it right for parents to be fined for taking their children out of school? Does it matter? Should schools have more discretion? There are many questions & arguments around this topic...many people feel strongly, one way or the other.
What we know at St. Mary's is this. Even a few days out of school can hinder your child's progress. A junior class this week was learning long division. Who has nightmares from their childhood about learning such content? I do! In short, there's a lot of content in our Maths curriculum; if you miss it on a holiday, you come back to school lacking that confidence; feeling that you aren't quite 'up with the pace'....that you are playing 'catch up'. And it's not easy, as a child; because the rest of the class have moved on, to the next concept.
And thats just by missing one subject, Maths. Maybe in English, you've missed grammar lessons on the use of apostrophes. After all, we teach this right from the age of 6 now. And then there are lessons on History, Geography, Science..and much more....imagine that feeling of having missed a chunk of it - and being behind. You can see how those who are never absent from school do achieve more highly - and crucially, have more confidence and higher self esteem.
I grew up in Anfield, Liverpool, in a council house, with my four brothers and sisters; and a mum and dad who had no qualifications. We went to a caravan in Prestatyn, North Wales every year for summer holidays, had little money; but we were very happy. But you see, lack of money doesn't mean lack of expectations. The point is that my mum and dad never allowed us to have term time holidays - because they valued education too much; and I bet it was the same for many of you. I was basically sent to school feeling ill at times! And it was fine, because I had no permanent damage (!) & I was hardly ever off so I did well in school, against the odds; and that helped me to to get a great job....as did all my other brothers and sisters. This is the way school works. If you're there more often, you do better. End of. I can say that after 30 years of working in education. We see it all the time here; everyone who works in the school agrees with this.
We have 13 weeks of school holidays per year. Please use them. Term time holidays do damage your child's achievement; and also their confidence. Look at the bigger picture and listen to the professionals. The teachers organisations are all saying the same thing. It's not about court cases, bolshy headteachers or parental rights - it's about individual pupils and helping them to be the very best that they can be. I am often looking at our children in classes, achieving highly; and thinking 'will one of them be a future headteacher of St Mary of the Angels?' If they keep coming into school every day, I dream that one of them will! (And they'll probably do a better job than me!!)
UPDATE; 28/4/17. Following the recent court case, where the Supreme Court ruled against parents' taking their children on term time holidays, fixed penalty notices and prosecutions will return in Cheshire West and Chester. More details about how this works, in the 'Parents' tab on this site, in the section 'Holidays and Attendance'.
Thanks everyone. R.H.