Leaving a Legacy for Year 11

Sports News

First up in the Handball Championships were our year 10 boys who were defending champions having won it in 2020. They looked good in training and this translated to an all out success winning all their games and becoming Manchester Champions again even though there were a couple of different players that helped.

Next were the year 8 girls who were entering the competition for the first time but had some very effective athletes and Basketball players on the team who we were hoping could influence the rest of the players in a very positive way. Their training went very well and their influence was clear to see and after drawing one game and winning the rest they became Manchester Handball champions as well.

Finally, it was the turn of the year 8 boys who like the girls were new to the competition. Their training had also gone well but it might have been too much to ask for another victory. But the team battled hard and got the luck when they needed it and eventually ran out winners and became Manchester Champions.

In athletics, our year 9 girls were glad to get back into competitions and finished an excellent 2nd in the Manchester Athletics league. There were winners of their individual events in the Hurdles, 100 metres, Discus and the Javelin, a 2nd in the relay and a 3rd in the long jump.

Our year 8/9 boys were going for a clean sweep in the Athletics competitions having won the Manchester and Greater Manchester indoor championships and they duly obliged winning gold medals in 7 out of the 13 events to be crowned Manchester outdoor athletics Champions. Congratulations to our year 7 boys athletics team who won the Manchester Athletics Championships.

All athletes finished in the top 3 in their event meaning everyone got a medal. This is the first time this has happened in the history of Our Lady’s and it’s a fantastic achievement for them.

At the end of the spring term the PE department held a sports event for our year 11s to help take their minds off their exams and for a chance to display their talents for one last time. The girls had an indoor Volleyball competition that was well attended and went very well and the boys had an outdoor 6-a-side football competition on our 3G with a surprise entry from the staff. Both tournaments were brilliant spectacles. Deo Gratias

Staff Versus Students 6-A-SideFootball

This term, Mr Burke arranged his annual staff versus students football match. They played 6-a-side and a great crowd gathered to enjoy watching a brilliant game! The year 11 team relished the challenge of taking on the staff team with Father Joel getting a fantastic reaction from the crowd! Well done to everyone who took part!

Religious Life of the School

Welcome to Father Joel and Father Nicholas.

We are in the very fortunate position whereby we have welcomed Fr. Joel and Fr. Nicholas to our school community. Both priests have made a profound impact on our school community and are positively welcomed by our students and staff. It has been wonderful to have the presence of two priests in our school allowing us to develop and strengthen our spirituality as a Catholic community. Fr Joel has been working alongside our lovely Year 7’s to plan weekly masses to celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and Fr Nicholas has spent time with many pupils leading ‘Rosary Walks’ during the month of May. Both Fr. Joel and Fr. Nicholas delivering ‘Meet your Priest’ lessons in RE where they are talking to the pupils about their lives and vocation, as well as getting to know us better!

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

In early April all staff and students were invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, This is where we can talk to a Priest about the things we have done wrong and ask for God’s forgiveness. It is a very important ‘healing’ sacrament in the Catholic Church, that allows us to fix and strengthen our relationship with God. An overwhelming number of pupils participated and it was a very reflective and spiritual opportunity. All those who took part were presented with Rosary Beads that had been blessed by our Priests.

Guardians of Creation

A group of children from years 7, 8 and 9 dedicated some time to becoming ‘guardians of creation’. School was approached by Ruth Walbank from St Mary’s University to take part in her research project centered around the Laudato Si, an encyclical written by Pope Francis encouraging us to “care for our common home”. Our students spent some time in after school sessions learning about the Laudato Si before working in small groups to research, plan and present a mini-sustainability project on a topic of their choice. The groups were asked to focus on how they could improve an area of our school community, such as paper source, food waste and recycling. The students presented to Miss White and Ruth, who will use their projects to inform her research paper. These pupils have since been invited to the Laudato Si Summit in July where they will have the opportunity to meet with children from other schools and discuss some of the actions they have taken since starting the project. The RE Department are very proud of these pupils for giving up their time to focus on developing their faith and applying it to a passion of theirs, with the hopes of creating change in our community. Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth. Help us to act now for the good of the future and all your creatures. Help us to become instruments of a new creation, Founded on the covenant of your love.

Youth SVP

The ethos of the Youth SVP is turning concern into action. SVP is a society which encourages children to learn and grow in their faith, to develop their vocation and transform their faith into active forms of charity. This half term the SVP has had an overwhelming number of new members from all year groups, all wanting to put Jesus’ teachings of ‘love thy neighbour’ into action. Last half term we took a small group litter-picking in and around our local area. Students were encouraged to think about their faith and the impact humanity has on God’s creation. The children were thanked by a local resident who was grateful for their hard work and dedication to cleaning up the local area. Members of the SVP group are working hard towards planning the Our Lady’s grandparents picnic during the summer term, and coming up with fresh ideas to this student-led group to make our community a better place. We look forward to working with some of our wonderfully dedicated pupils in September as we continue to put our faith into action.

Year 11 Leavers Mass

In June we said our final goodbye to our wonderful Year 11 students. Fr Joel and Fr Nicholas celebrated a beautiful Mass which was attended by staff, pupils and parents, uniting us as one Catholic community. As we prayed, we looked back at their time here and looked forward in hope to their future. We joined together to thank God for our times together, for the friends made, for all the things learned and for their happiness.

What have the Our Lady’s chaplaincy team been up to?

The chaplaincy team is made up of students from all year groups who aim to spread the message of God around our school community. During the run up to Easter, the Chaplains created an Easter liturgy which was led by the Chaplains themselves and delivered to all year groups and members of staff. Our Lady’s Chaplains worked alongside gifted students who through the use of a drama production were able to visibly display the Passion, Suffering and Resurrection of Christ. Through their hard work, the Chaplaincy team delivered the real message and meaning of Easter. Most recently the Chaplains have worked closely with the Priest Chaplains of our school, Mrs Burke and the RE team, joining in with Rosary Walks during the month of May. Chaplains were able to engage with the monthly celebration of our Mother Mary. This enabled Chaplains to encourage students within our school community to participate with the Chaplaincy team, learning how to say the Rosary and the meaning behind why the Rosary is practiced.