Dear Parent and Carers

I would like to begin by thanking our whole school community for their kind words of support for our Year 4 children and their families.  The Year 4 children celebrated the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Saturday morning.  The class was divided into two Masses and I can honestly say that I agreed wholeheartedly when Fr Grant told both congregations that they were some of the most enjoyable and memorable services that he had been a part of.   A special thank you to all of our teachers who attended and were an active part of the celebration through taking responsibility for the readings and prayers.  Our school choir looked amazing in their school uniforms and helped to add to this special memory with their beautiful singing.  Families were then invited to come back to school after their Mass where our professional photographer was able to take a photograph of their child to add a further positive memory.  We were certainly blessed with lovely weather and I hope that the parties and celebrations were thoroughly enjoyed by all.  A special afternoon on Thursday saw the children dressed in their outfits and enjoying a special class party. 

An industrious week has taken place in school with children now very much in school mode.  Behaviour continues to be excellent and the children should be complimented on this and their extremely positive attitude toward their learning.  School is a very happy place at the moment with all our staff working extremely hard to ensure that all our children achieve their full potential in a happy and supportive environment. 

Our Year 1 children continue to work towards their phonics check which requires them to be able to sound out a range of real and nonsense words that give an indication of their level of phonological development which in turn provides many of the building blocks that help our children become confident readers.  Any help at home with reading will be much appreciated.

The children in Year 2 are continuing to take their SATs tests which have been carefully administered by Mrs Stockwell and Mrs Meehan with excellent support from our Year 2 TA’s and a further bonus from our final year student teacher.  The children will continue to be assessed in small groups throughout the month of May and many that I have spoken to are enjoying this relaxed approach.  It is worth noting that the Department for Education intends for this year to be the last year of formal testing in Year 2 which many educationalists feel is a good thing.  We will of course as a school continue our own informal ongoing assessments of our children in order to identify areas where further support will help. 

Year 4 will be taking their multiplication tests in June and I know that Miss Rogers has reminded them to access TT Rockstars whenever they can as this regular approach sharpens quick accurate recall of multiplication facts.  It would certainly help if you used any free time to test times tables with your children in a fun manner. 

This week our Year 6 children completed their National Tests in spelling, punctuation and grammar, reading, arithmetic and mathematical reasoning.  I am once again pleased with their response to the support that we have been able to give and the small tailored groups have certainly helped to focus minds and calm nerves.  The children have worked hard and have seemed to almost enjoy these formal tests.  It will no doubt be a great relief that they are finally over and that the children will be able to enjoy a less intense curriculum with more focus on the creative side of school life.  I am delighted to be able to tell you that as part of our return to normal activities we will be able to enjoy a Year 6 summer performance, details of which I shall communicate later.  As yet a Leavers Mass date has not been arranged with Fr Grant but I shall inform you as soon as I know.

It has once again been most uplifting watching the children play and taking part in our after-school clubs and I am particularly pleased with the support and uptake that you have given to the St John Bosco Kidzone facility which would now seem to be financially viable.  I know that this facility alongside our excellent breakfast club is vital for many of our families and I am pleased that we are able to support you in this way. 

It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that Mr Mainwaring shall be leaving us at the end of this school year.  As you well know, Mr Mainwaring has been at our school for over ten years and has supported me in running the school and indeed took charge a few years ago when I was sick.  Mr Mainwaring will be looking after his own school in St Helens and I am sure that you will join me and all our staff and governors in congratulating him and wishing him every success.  I am sure that Mr Mainwaring will be a fantastic Headteacher and I know that we will all miss him and if his beloved Everton can stay in the premier league this will be a year that he will certainly remember for some time.

I am equally delighted to be able to welcome Miss Cook as a full-time member of our teaching staff.  It feels as though Miss Cook is already a member of our staff but she has in fact been covering maternity leave and helping us support your children throughout the pandemic.  Miss Cook has taught all of our infant classes and I am delighted to be able to offer her a permanent position.  I hope that you too will join me in congratulating her as I know that she is both delighted and excited to now be a part of the St John Bosco School Family.

We all hope that we will be able to enjoy a longer period of fine weather where the children will be able to take part in more outdoor activities.  If you feel the weather is particularly sunny please administer sunscreen at home at the beginning of the day as we are unable to do this. 

I have been informed by most of the teachers that their class lost property continues to grow.  Please ensure that jumpers and cardigans are clearly labelled as well as children’s tracksuits.  I am unable to return these expensive items to their rightful owners as they have no name attached to them.  If you think your child has lost such items please see me and we can look through the lost property. 

I wish you all a peaceful and happy weekend.

Kind regards

Mr D MacAreavy - Headteacher