Headteacher

Newsletter no. 37

3rd July 2026

Dear Parents / Carers,

As we enter the final two weeks of the school year, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and commitment to our school.

Working in partnership with home, school and Parish is at the heart of everything we do at St Mary's. This strong partnership enables our children to thrive, helping them to grow into happy, resilient and aspirational learners who are confident in their abilities and proud of their achievements.

Your encouragement, generosity and willingness to support the many events and activities throughout the year have made a real difference to our school community. Whether volunteering your time, attending celebrations, supporting fundraising events or simply encouraging your children each day, your contribution is invaluable. Together, we create the caring, nurturing and faith-filled environment that makes St Mary's such a special place.

Thank you for placing your trust in us and for everything you do to support your children and our school. We are incredibly proud of all that our pupils have achieved this year, and we look forward to celebrating their successes together over the coming weeks.

Staffing

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that we will be saying goodbye to Miss Garner and Miss Malone at the end of July.

Both have made the difficult decision to relocate to the North of England to be closer to their families. While we are naturally saddened to see them leave, we completely understand their decision and wish them every happiness as they begin this new chapter.

Miss Garner and Miss Malone have been valued members of our St Mary's community, and their dedication, kindness and enthusiasm have made a lasting impact on so many of our children. Their warm smiles and friendly greetings each morning will be greatly missed by pupils, families and colleagues alike.

I know you will join me in thanking them for everything they have contributed to St Mary's and in wishing them every success and happiness as they continue their careers closer to home.

As we look ahead to September, I am pleased to let you know that the Year 1 teaching team will be:

St Therese Class: Mr Eastmond
St Bernadette Class: Miss Hooker

We are delighted to welcome both Mr Eastmond and Miss Hooker to the St Mary's team. They are very much looking forward to becoming part of our school community, and I hope you will join me in making them feel warmly welcome.

Mr Eastmond and Miss Hooker will be visiting the school on Thursday 9th July to meet the children and staff, helping to ensure a smooth and positive transition into the new academic year.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

End of Year Disco

Year 1 & 2 – Wednesday 8^th July 2026

The children can come dressed in their disco clothes that day and it will run from 3.30pm-4.30pm

It will be £5 a ticket and the children will receive a drink and a light snack.

You can purchase the tickets from the school office paying cash or card.

We would like some parent volunteers to help at the discos. If you are able to help please speak to your child’s class teacher.

The Reception children had a wonderful time dancing the afternoon away on Wednesday. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who helped – Sonny B and Khari’s grandmothers, Lyra, Darron and Kwansa’s mother for all giving up their time to make the disco such a success.

Thank you.

Catholic Infant Sports

I want to say a huge WELL DONE to the 18 children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 who represented St Mary’s Catholic Infant school at the Infant Catholic Sports Day at St Thomas Becket yesterday. Although we did not get placed as a team. Neveah in Year 2 got a silver medal and El Nora in Year 1 got a gold medal for their running events - huge congratulations to both of you. Jesse also made it to the Year 2 boys running final, which was a great achievement.

The whole team worked really well together, supported by Mrs Marro, Mr Farmer and Mrs Fuly Castanheira.

So, a huge thank you to:

El Nora, Allysa, Annie, Aiden, Vincenzo, Kenille, Solyana, Pranav, Hannah, Adebare, Hazel, Nana Taku, Kamari, Skylar, Jesse, Alexander, Neveah and Ife.

We are very proud of you all.

Ice Poles and Ice Cream For Sale

To continue to raise some funds for our school the student council have had the idea of selling ice poles and ice cream.

So, with the sunny weather upon us we will be selling ice poles/ice creams every Friday after school, in the KS1 playground. £1 an ice pole and £2 an ice-cream. Thank you for your contributions.

If there are any parents who are willing to come and help sell the ice creams it would be greatly appreciated as I am unable to supervise the gate and sell ice creams at the same time. If you are able to help please let me know, thank you.

Art Day

We are pleased to let you know that on Monday 6th July the children will be taking part in a special Art Day at school.

Throughout the day, each class will enjoy an art lesson led by an experienced art specialist who has many years of teaching experience and is also a talented local artist. The sessions have been carefully planned to inspire the children and provide them with the opportunity to explore a range of artistic techniques and ideas.

These workshops are sure to enhance and consolidate the children's creativity, imagination and artistic skills, whilst encouraging them to express themselves with confidence. We hope the children will enjoy learning from a practising artist and gain a deeper appreciation of the creative process.

We are very much looking forward to this exciting day and to seeing the wonderful artwork that the children produce.

Thank you for your continued support.

Wednesday Word

Companion

A word from the Saints

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”

St Augustine of Hippo

Dear Lord Jesus,

You are kind and full of compassion. Thank you for offering to be our companion and sharing our concerns as we journey through life.

Amen

Golden Table

The Golden Table was back this week. I had the pleasure of having these six wonderful children joining me.

Chimeremeze in St Andrew Class,

Diana in St George Class,

Arsemawit in St Martin Class,

Heavenly in St Martin Class,

Faith in St Martin Class,

Chukwuka in St Francis Class,

Evert in St Francis Class.

Winette St Francis Class.

It is always so lovely to spend time with the children and have conversations about themselves and their family.