Autumn 16

St Clare’s Magazine The review of the Autumn Term 2016 at St Clare’s RC Primary School, Blackley

School Choir perform in the ‘Hidden Gem’

Bishop Arnold blesses the School Chapel

Bishop Arnold visits St. Clare’s to bless the School Chapel and Prayer Garden.

In September we welcomed Bishop John Arnold back to St Clare’s to officially bless the School Chapel and Prayer Garden. Both areas were suggested and developed by our school Chaplains as special places within our school for personal or group worship. Our Chapel has been furnished with a beautiful altar, handmade by Fr Jeremiah’s brother and featuring the Franciscan Tau Cross as a centrepiece. The Stations of the Cross have been created by each class within the school and a large mural was painted by a group of children under the guidance of Mr Lockwood. Our prayer garden contains a large statue of St Francis (St Clare being a dedicated follower of St. Francis) as well as images of inspirational people of peace within our world. We were delighted to welcome Governors, Parents and past members of staff to the official blessing. We are fortunate to have such sacred places in the heart of our school so that all pupils can develop their spirituality.

Bertha Gormley R.I.P. The entire community of St Clare’s was hugely saddened to hear of the passing of Bertha Gormley, who died shortly before the Christmas break. Bertha had been a great friend of the school and parish for over 30 years. She gave so generously of her time to help children, support teaching staff and fundraise — particularly by selling poppies in November. She cared deeply for the children of the school, who in turn, had a great love and appreciation for her. Her beaming smile, engaging banter and knowing wink brought great warmth and character to our community that will be greatly missed. We, the school community of St Clare’s, are very grateful for the inspirational example and wonderful memories she gave to us over the years. She will live long in our hearts and we will mark her tremendous generosity and service to the school in a fitting way in the near future.

Rest in peace now Bertha, we will always remember you.

‘May you reflect the glory of the Lord’ - St Clare of Assisi

Chaplains bring festive cheer to the community The school Chaplains have been busy this term spreading Christmas cheer around our community. After assisting the church volunteers with making hampers they made deliveries to Harry Piggot Care Home, The Lally (homeless) Centre and the Cornerstone (homeless) charity. Chaplains were also present at the Mass for all school in the Diocese to end the special ’Year of Mercy’ as declared by Pope Francis. Thank you to our Chaplains for their tremendous example of ‘Christianity in action’ within our community.

Pinocchio show is great fun for pupils During the end of term we had another visit from the M and M Production Company who delivered an excellent performance of Pinocchio.

The children were left with big smiles and had great fun on the day.

Choir and musicians showcase their talents in end of term show Our talented musicians put on a super Autumn showcase where members of the choir performed as well as our strings, brass and African drumming groups. The children greatly enjoyed performing for the junior children and the many parents who attended. The choir, led by Mrs Prince, had performed a number of times over the Christmas period including a beautiful carol concert at the Hidden Gem Church in central Manchester. It was a truly ‘spine tingling’ experience!

We are fortunate to have such talented children and the expertise of our instrumental tutors to call upon. There will of course be more opportunities to learn an instrument and perform to an audience next term.

Parent View Survey—please complete on the parents page on the school website

Year 6 get to the ’heart’ of the matter

Year 6 had a unique experience this term as part of their studies of the human body. Miss Nicholas had arranged for 30 pig hearts from a local butcher to be brought into school so that the pupils could dissect them, helping them understand how the heart works.

The Y6 staff we very impressed with the respectful nature of the children in the activity and high quality questioning that was evident. Well done to all involved.

Year 3 visit Marist Centre Pupils in Y3 visited the Marist Centre, Chorlton as part of their Sacramental preparations during the Autumn Term.

Pupils have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation in recent weeks and look forward to their First Holy Communion later in the year.

Nativity performance allows young stars to shine Children in EYFS performed 2 wonderful shows of the ‘star that would not shine’ in the lead up to Christmas. All children from Nursery and reception classes were involved in re-telling the traditional nativity story with a modern twist through songs and readings. Year 1 and 2 classes also performed a special Christmas Carol Concert which was very well received by the many parents who attended. Through these performances nearly £700 was collected for 2 children’s orphanages in Uganda. Mr Ged Collins, a governor of St Clare’s, will be bringing this money out to the communities in Uganda personally in the new year.

Thank you for your generosity

St. Clare’s R.C. Primary School — Learning through high quality experiences