
3 minute read
Open Evening
from Winter 2022
Ethos Coins Cashed In!

Throughout this term, all students have had the opportunity to earn ‘Ethos Coins’ during the school day. Ethos Coins are awarded to different students every day by members of staff who see both excellent behaviour and achievement in class, as well as being shining examples of the true Our Lady’s Catholic ethos all around school.
The 15 students with the most coins for each year group have enjoyed some fantastic reward trips to some very exciting destinations! Our year 7 group had lots of fun bouncing around at Flip Out! trampoline park, the year 8 went bowling and played on all the arcade games, year 9 had a snowboarding lesson at Chill Factore, year 10 got their minds working to get out of an escape room and year 11 enjoyed an afternoon swinging in the treetops! During the second half term, students were rewarded with a trip to see a Robin Hood pantomime, a Gamebox Immersive experience, a trip to see a very special immersive cinema version of the Grinch and students hit the Chill Factore slopes for lots more snowboarding!











Our Lady’s Chaplaincy steps into the new academic year!
To start off our new academic year, the school invited new year 7 pupils and their parents/guardians to a year group mass to begin their transition from primary school into their new community - Our Lady’s. We were overwhelmed with the number of parents who joined us to celebrate their child’s new journey to high school.
Through participating in this mass, our new group of year 7’s started on their Our Lady’s journey with a blessing from Fr. Nicholas and Fr. Joel for a successful and happy future at their new secondary school.
What have the GIFT Chaplains of Our Lady’s been up to so far? The new school year brought along a new cohort of GIFT Chaplains! The GIFT Chaplaincy team has grown in number across all year groups in school, enabling Our Lady’s to grow in faith together, by delivering the word of God in many ways. So far this year, the GIFT Chaplains have been super busy! Through their voluntary leadership, they have participated in class masses multiple times per week, along with guidance from Fr. Nicholas. As well as this, they have had multiple opportunities to start new spiritual journeys and have most certainly been working hard starting their ‘Faith in Action’ awards! This will allow them to gain recognition from the Diocese for their amazing contribution to the religious life of our school. Some of our GIFT Chaplaincy team have been able to embark on the opportunity to become a Caritas Ambassador - an opportunity which gives special recognition to pupils who have consistently shown key qualities and leading on team meetings and suggesting and putting into practice new ideas that spread the word of God amongst our school. Caritas permits pupils to develop religious spirituality as well as key skills such as communication, teamwork, organisation and management. Our GIFT Chaplains are also currently aiding Mrs Burke in her charity work with the ‘Young at Heart’, putting their creativity to good use through the production of Christmas cards and gift tags. The theme of the artistic work is centered around the religious aspect and true meaning of Christmas, enabling them to spread the word of God to the local community.
Marian Stations of the Cross
During October in Religious Studies, our KS3 classes were given the opportunity to pray the Marian Stations of the Cross. These are unique as they focus on how Mary felt during Jesus’ crucifixion. All students were able to spend time reflecting on the Mother of Jesus and her role in supporting Jesus throughout the most difficult time in his life.
