st. aloysius' federation news
ST. ALOYSIUS’ FEDERATION NEWS ____________________________________________________________________ MR. N. CONWAY FEDERATION HEAD TEACHER
Tel. 0191 4832274 e mail [email protected]website
www.st-aloysius.co.uk
5 May 2015 Dear Parents Please find enclosed your termly dates for the diary. First Holy Communion 2015 The parish, catechists and school are really looking forward to our upcoming First Holy Communion celebrations on Saturday 9 May and Saturday 16 May. To confirm arrangements, the children will meet with catechists in the parish hall at 10.45 am. I would like to remind parents that whilst no photographs can be taken during the service, following the service and after the congregation have left the church, parents can return into the church with their children, family and friends to take photographs of the children so that the altar can be used as a beautiful backdrop. The school has arranged with Fr. Martin an end of year Mass on Thursday 2 July. At this Mass, as well as saying farewell to the pupils and staff who are leaving us at the end of the year and thanking everyone for their contribution to a highly successful year, our Year 4 First Holy Communion children will sing to the congregation. The children, like all other children in the school will wear their school uniform. School Sports Day Following the Mass we have arranged our Sports Day which will start at 11.00 am and run through until the end of the school day. Those parents wanting to join us straight after Mass are welcome to do so, and all children will return to the Junior site. We will break for lunch at 12 o’clock until 1.00 pm and restart straight afterwards. We will be having a competitive Sports Day for all classes from Nursery to Y6. Parents are welcome to either picnic on our school field and return for 1.00 pm or simply join us from 1.00 pm. Mr Rogers is organising the Sports Day and further information will follow closer to the time. Lots to tell you… On Friday 24 April, our Year 5 children along with children from other schools around the North East visited the Sage, Gateshead to participate in a private concert with Sting and his band. The children performed songs from Sting’s latest album ‘The Last Ship’. Inspired by and set in Sting’s hometown of Wallsend, ‘The Last Ship’ is a story of hard working men and women, battling against the odds to maintain their way of life and their livelihood. It uses the story of those working in shipyards along the Tyne to tell a tale that has roots in the North East but resonates the world over. When talking to the children, Sting said “I am so honoured that you have learned my song and then sung it so well. That’s an incredible thing for me.” After the concert Sting spoke about how moved he felt when hearing the children sing his songs, “It’s surprising how those innocent young voices just add something to it,” he said.
“It’s actually quite difficult to sing when you’ve got something in your throat. I was telling myself, just calm down and focus on the words.” Well done to the Year 5 children who sang beautifully. Our Choir Our choir continues to go from strength to strength. As a result, we will have a concert where we will invite parents to celebrate how well they are progressing. The concert will be held on Friday 5 June at 5.00 pm. Initially we will allocate 4 tickets per choir member family but then allocate further tickets when we know numbers. It will be fabulous. As well as this … Our boys have recently got through to the Bishop’s Cup Final. Our girl’s team recently won their first match of their competition. Well done to them. Breakfast for our Y6 children. Our Year 6 pupils have worked so hard recently to ensure that they achieve as well as they can in their end of year assessments. As a reward we will offer them a cooked breakfast every morning of their SATs week. So if you can smell bacon/sausage butties or beans on toast you know what it is. SATS week begins on Monday 11 May. Our PTFA Well done to our PPFA because they organised a fabulous family evening last week. It was great to see families, parents, grandparents and children enjoying a wonderful evening. They raised approximately £500. Since they started they have raised over £5,000, which is a tremendous effort from everyone. Their upcoming events include a film night on Thursday 21 May and the Family Festival on Saturday 4 July. All money raised directly benefits our children and school community. This year the PTFA made a £3,000 contribution towards the new path joining our school together. Parking Please see below a quote from Trevor Mackie, parking officer from South Tyneside. “There should be no vehicles at all parked in Makendon St at any time. Can this be placed in the school newsletter as a definite no parking area as parents are basically breaking the law every day by parking there and showing a bad example to children. The school is receiving very bad press and I am receiving weekly complaints from residents regarding access concerns and poor behaviour by parents.” I would urge all parents to act on Trevor Mackie’s comments and refrain from parking in Makendon Street. Kind Regards Nick Conway Head Teacher
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Friday 8 May
First Holy Communion - Rehearsal in Church 6.00 pm
Saturday 9 May
First Holy Communion Mass 11.00 am
Monday 11 May
PTFA Meeting - Junior School 6.30-7.30 pm
Monday 11 May
Y6 SATS Week
Friday 15 May
First Holy Communion - Rehearsal in Church 6.00 pm
Saturday 16 May
First Holy Communion Mass 11.00 am
Thursday 21 May
PTFA Film Night - To be held in the Junior School
Friday 22 May
Y4 Liturgy - Junior School Hall 9.15 am (Y4B parents) and 2.40pm (Y4R)
Friday 22 May
Break up for Half Term
Monday 1 June
Return to School
Thursday 4 June
Y2 Mass, Corpus Christi - Junior School Hall 9.15 am
Friday 5 June
Choir Concert - Junior School Hall 5.00 pm
Thursday 11 June
Y1 Mass - Junior School Hall 9.15 am
Friday 12 June
Y3 Liturgy - Junior School Hall 9.15 am (Y3D parents) and 2.40pm (Y3S)
Thursday 18 June
Y5 Mass - Junior School Hall 9.15 am
Friday 26 June
Reception Liturgy - Junior School Hall 9.15 am (YRD parents) and 2.40pm (YRFenwick)
Sunday 28 June
Church Summer Fair
Thursday 2 July
Whole School End of Year Thanksgiving Mass in Church 9.30 am
Thursday 2 July
School Sports Day starting at 11.00 am and restarting at 1.00 pm
Saturday 4 July
PTFA Family Festival - Junior School Field
Tuesday 7 July
Nursery Liturgies - (Mon-Wed) - 9.30 am Butterflies, 11.00 am Bumble Bees, 2.30 pm Ladybirds
Thursday 9 July
Nursery Liturgies - (Wed-Fri) - 9.30 am Butterflies, 11.00 am Ladybirds, 2.30 pm Bumble Bees
Friday 10 July
Y2 Liturgy - Junior School Hall 9.15 am (Y2D parents) and 2.40pm (Y2G)
Wednesday 15 July
Y6 Leavers Liturgy - Junior School Hall 5.00 pm (tea and cakes to follow)
Thursday 16 July
Y6 Leavers Mass in Church 9.15 am
Friday 17 July
Break up for Summer Holiday
