Gregor-E-News Autumn Term 2017 Newsletter December 2017 TEL: 01782 235340 E-MAIL: OFFICE@STGCA.ORG.UK WEB: WWW. SAINTGREGORY S ORG.UK Dear Parents and carers, As we mark the end of the autumn term I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all in our school and parish community for their contribution and support. A special thanks must go to our site manager, Mrs Flaherty, supported by Mrs Bibb, for the exceptional effort to clear the school site during the recent snow and ice. During the weekend and each day Mrs Flaherty made every effort to ensure the safety of us all for which we are very grateful. I am aware of the comments and queries made by some parents regarding the decision about the closure on the second day, due to problems with the heating. Whilst I appreciate this can be frustrating, the engineer could not come to school until 7am and therefore, it was not possible to make a decision before this time given the problems with the boiler. On a much lighter note, the children have entertained us with their performances in the Christmas concerts, Christingle service and nativity. The singing has been exceptional as a result of the time and dedication of our staff. The feedback from parents and families has been much appreciated. Today we ended with the children singing Christmas carols which was a mixture of excitement and peacefulness. Earlier this week, I had the great pleasure of spending time with some of our year 1 pupils who shared their Advent prayers; these were very moving and will be included in our Catholic life book and also, our website. Our thanks for the contributions for the food parcels which will be distributed for the local community. The staff will also be donating to the Donna Louise Trust instead of sending Christmas cards. Finally, for those who didn t see The Sentinel, St Gregory s achieved the highest Key stage 2 SATs results in the city. This is testimony to the hard work of our staff and this nes comes exactly one year after our outstanding Ofsted report. Here s to another successful year! Wishing you all a happy and holy Christmas with your families.. Mrs M Yates Inside this issue Letter from the Executive Head teacher Letter from Chair of Governors Christmas Celebrations Christmas Mass times Sports News Diary Dates 2017/18 Terms dates Follow us on Facebook and twitter. Users of the parents car park MUST abide by the terms and conditions or their permits will be revoked without refund. All users MUST drive and park safely and courteously at all times. St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate.
ACADEMY COMMITTEE REPORT TO PARENTS AT ST GREGORY S DECEMBER 2017 ACADEMY COMMITTEE REPORT DECEMBER 2017 The Academy Committee met for their termly meeting on Wednesday 22 nd November when the main item on the agenda was to receive a report from the Executive Headteacher on the performance of the school. The report is an opportunity for the staff to demonstrate to the Committee that progress is being made against the priorities that were agreed in the School Development Plan. It was noted that the support being given to St Augustine s Catholic Academy is having no detrimental effect on teaching and learning at St Gregory s, which remains outstanding. The Curriculum Group has also met this term and heard from subject leader in Computing on progress in this subject. The Finance Group has met to consider the finances, which I am pleased to report were within Budget in 2016-17 and remain under control this year. Elsewhere, the H&S and Resources group considered the Health and Safety reports including one prepared by the Link Representative. Last week I carried out a monitoring visit to each of the schools where my emphasis was on progress against the School Development Plan. Despite the visit being on a Friday morning, close to Christmas and at the end of a week disrupted by the weather the learning in every classroom was impressive as was the enthusiasm of the children. The school has produced and submitted its Annual Safeguarding Audit to the Local Authority. This demonstrated compliance with national requirements. Finally, I must mention how much. I enjoyed the Nativity and Christingle service. Such events are spiritually uplifting and so important in teaching the children the Christmas story and the true meaning of the feast. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for the way in which they prepared the children for these performances. May I wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas and Peace in the New Year. Ray Chadwick Chair of Academy Committee 19 th December 2017 St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate
Christmas Celebrations 2017 After lots of practice our FS2 Nativity Assembly was finally here. The children were excited, but they were ready to show off their hard work and gave an amazing performance. The singing was beautiful and all children made a valuable contribution to the assembly. Take a look at our photographs Foundation Stage 2 retold the Nativity story through a poem. The children followed Mary and Joesph to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. Fantastic singing and speaking from our four and five year olds. Well done children at St Gregory's Catholic Academy.
Year 1 Advent Prayers Dear Lord, I am getting ready for you Lord. I am preparing my house for you to come again. Advent is a special time of waiting. I will pray for you. Amen Amelia Bagnall (SS1) Dear Lord, Your love never ends. I am spreading joy and peace at Advent. I am preparing for you to come again. Amen Eiliyah Hussain (SS1) Dear Christ, I am sharing love and hope in Advent. Jesus you are in my heart. Jesus, I know you are coming again. I am waiting for you. I am counting down for your special birthday. Amen Alfie Vaughn (SS1) Dear Lord, I am waiting for you Jesus. I love Advent because it is a special time. I know that God s love never ends. I am preparing for you to come again. Amen Daniel Mills (SS1) St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate
St. Gregory s Christmas Mass times 2017 Masses fulfilling the Sunday obligation For the 4th Sunday of Advent St. Gregory s Longton Sat23rd Dec 5.45pm Our lady s Fenton Sun 24th Dec 10am St. Maria Goretti Bentilee Sun 24th Dec 10.30am Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Fenton Christmas Eve (24) 4pm Vigil Mass Christmas Day (25)9am St Maria Goretti, Bentilee Christmas Eve (24) 5pm Vigil Mass Christmas Day (25) 10.30am St. Gregory s Longton Christmas Eve (24) 5.45pm (Carols from 5.15) Christmas Day (25) 10am There will also be Masses in Polish on Christmas Eve at 11pm & Christmas Day at 11am & 7pm at Our Lady s Fenton St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate
Sports News As we come to the end of the Autumn Term, it is fair to say that it has been jam packed with Sport and fitness related activities. These last few weeks have seen the end of another successful programme from the Active Family providers. Our next FREE programme begins on the 19 th January 2018 for 10 weeks; if you would like to get involved with the New Year, New You programme, then look out for the letters that will be handed out during the first week back. Alongside our Active Families was the first of our Cook and Eat sessions, which we hope to run again in the Summer. I was lucky enough to taste some of the outstanding food that was prepared and cooked in our kitchen by many of our parents and grandparents so thank you to you all for attending. On Saturday, some of our children went to the BET365 Stadium to watch Stoke v West Ham after receiving free tickets as part of the Stoke City 7s programme. Some of our staff were also lucky enough to attend; although in the cold weather and after an hour delay to kick off due to a power cut I am not so sure whether they were lucky or not! We are however looking forward to continuing our close partnership with Stoke City next year and getting as many of our children involved as possible with the events that they run in the City. Next term, we begin our rehearsals for the annual Dance show at the Victoria Hall, something which I am sure we will be lucky enough to share with you in the forthcoming Celebration assemblies and Summer fayres. A big thank you to all staff, parents and volunteers for their help and support with PE and Sport at St Gregory s. We are looking forward to another busy term in Spring. Clubs Please check the school website for the wide range of clubs we are providing for the Spring term. Children will be given letters in the new term for each club, detailing start and finish dates. Parent Forum Thank you to all parents who attended the Parent Forum in Autumn term. The next meeting will be on 2.2.18 at 2.40 pm. Everyone is welcome. Please see Mr Baylay, Mrs Dunn, Mrs Lewis or Mrs Antrobus if you would like more information. St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate
Dates For your Diary Spring Term 2018 Event: School Reopens Day: Monday Date: 8th January 2018 Time Event: Family learning Time to Read Day: Wednesday Date: 17th January 2018 Time: 2.30pm Event: Family learning Fun with the Gruffalo Date: 18th January 2018 Time: 1pm Event: Family learning A Squash & a squeeze. Day: Tuesday Date: 23rd January 2018 Time: 1pm Event: Cultural Diversity Week Day; Monday Date: 29th January Time: All week Event: Family Learning The day the crayons quit Date; 1st February 2018 Time: 1.15pm Event: Parent s evening Day: Monday Date: 5th February Time: 4.30-7pm Event: Year 5 Chester Zoo trip Day: Tuesday Date: 6th February 2018 Event: Parents evening Day: Wednesday Date: 7th February 2018 Time: 3.30-6pm Event: Cultural Crafts Family Learning (Year 2) Date: 8th February Time: 1.15pm Event: Songbirds Concert Birmingham Symphony Hall Day: Monday Date: 12th February 2018 Time: Event: School Disco Date: 15th February Time: 4pm-7pm Event: Year 6 Confirmation Mass At St. Gregory s Church Day: Saturday Date: 3rd March 2018 Time: 10am Event: Year 5 trip to Manchester Museum Date: 8th March 2018 Time: All day Event: FS2 Trip to Stanley Head Day: Friday Date: 9th March 2018 Event: FS1 Mother s Day Assembly Day: Friday 9th March 2018 Time: 9.15am Event: FS1 Trip to Stanley Head Day: Monday Date: 12th March 2018 Event: Easter Egg Bingo Day: Tuesday Date: 13th March 2018 Time: 3.30pm Event: Watch Me Learn Day: Wednesday Date: 14th March Time: 9am Event: FS Celebration Assembly Day: Friday Date: 23rd March 2018 Time: 9.15am Event: KS1 Celebration Assembly Day: Friday Date: 23rd March 2018 Time: 2pm Event: Easter Bonnet Parade Day: Wednesday Date: 28th March 2018 Time: 2.30pm Event: Family Learning I can animate Date: 29th March 2018 Time: 1.15pm Event: KS2 Celebration Assembly Date: 29th March 2018 Time: 2pm St GreGory S CatholiC academy part of the all SaintS CatholiC ColleGiate.
Term Dates 2017 2018 CHRISTMAS 2017 School closes on Friday 22 nd December School opens on Monday 8 th January 2018 SPRING 2018 HALF-TERM School closes on Friday 16 th February School opens on Monday 26th February EASTER 2018 School closes on Thursday 29 th March School opens Monday 16 th April MAY 2018 School closed on Monday 7 th May (May Day) SUMMER 2018 HALF-TERM School closes on Friday 25 th May School opens on Monday 4 th Contact information June SUMMER 2018 Spring Garden Road School closes on Friday 20 th July Longton All inset days confirmed Stoke on Trent ST3 2QN T: 01782 235340 E: office@stgca.org.uk Head of School: Mrs VBrickley Executive Head: Mrs M Yates Chair of Governors: Mr R Chadwick St Gregory's Catholic Academy part of the All Saints Catholic Collegiate