Latest School Blog - 2023/24
Whole school attendance was 97.4% this week, and out attendance trophy winners were our youngest children in the school - St George's class (YR) with a fabulous 99.1% attendance. Well done to them.
Chapliancy Club and Mini Vinnies In The Community
On the 26th April, some of the Chaplaincy team and the Mini Vinnies walked to a care home in Stoke Gifford called Osbourne Court. We went there to give the elderly residents some company. For example, we played games with them. We also got some delicious snacks and drinks. They were really nice and everyone enjoyed it. This is the first time that any school children could visit Osbourne Court since Covid-19. This was also the first time that this school has visited. We are planning to meet up again soon.
Dear Lord,
We thank you for all the opportunities you have given us.
Please help elderly people to feel loved and safe.
Amen
Thank you to the children and adults who joined us that day and thank you Mrs Hodges for organising the trip.
Writers: Sandra and Matthew (Chaplaincy Team)
Whole school attendance this week was 95%. Two classes won the attendance trophy - St Elizabeth and St Augustine classes - with an attendance percenbtage of 97.3% each! Way to go to both of these classes!
Whole school attendance this week was 92.8% and is reflective of the large number of absences at the start of term. This week we have two trophy winners for having the highest class attendance during the week. Both St Elizabeth (Y2) and St Augustine (Y3) classes both achieved 94.7% attendance. Well done to these two classes on achieving this!
The Chaplaincy Team have been really busy this term! Last week, they helped to organise the final event of the CAFOD Big Lent Walk. The whole school walked around the block led by the Chaplains carrying the CAFOD banner. They gave out stickers to every child who took part. Today they have used readings and drama to lead a reflection on the final seven Stations of the Cross, following on from the first seven Stations led by the Mini-Vinnies last week. A big thank you to the Chaplains from me and all of us in school for all the work they have done to strengthen our faith community this term. Mrs Romero
Four Terms completed! Wow! This year is whizzing by! Lots and lots of different attendance celebrations today! Whole school attendance for the whole year so far is: 95 % The class with the highest average attendance for Terms 3 and 4 was St Bernadette Class (Year 4) with 97% - they were the healthiest class in school since January - Well done to them! This week's attendance: Whole school attendance - 91.8% The attendance trophy for the class with the highest attendance this week was won by St Bernadette Class too! - with 98%. Well done again to them for this week. You've smashed the attendance awards this week Year 4! There are 24 children in school who have achieved 100% attendance since September. This means they have not missed a single day of school during that period! That's fabulous! Well done to: Reception: Kiara Year 1: Liam, Udobi, Yuna Year 2: Chiugo, Amelia, Kenny, Chevonne, Ayomide, Nethan, Vidu, Klea, Jack, Joshua Year 3: Eddie, Susana, Sammy Year 4: Klaudia, Ethan, Melisa, Divine Year 5: Otus Year 6: Glory Well done to all these children and classes - Jo Creese
Thank you to all the parents who came to listen to the choir last week as we sang all the songs that we have been learning this term!
Our school grounds are looking beautiful and full of life and colour! Hello Spring!
Whole school attendance for this week was 93.8%. We have had quite a lot of minor seasonal illness in school this week which is reflective in our slightly lower overall attendance. St Bernadette Class (Year 4) were awarded with the attendance trophy this week for being the class with the highest attendance. Their overall attendance for the week was 97.3%. That's amazing Year 4! Well done to you! Maybe all that walking and swimming this week has helped to keep you fit and healthy!
Maya, from year 4, competed in the Inter Area X-Country Challenge at Ashton Park school representing St Mary’s. Maya qualified for this race in October against Year 5 girls to represent South Glos. She did amazing today finishing 27th out of 60 girls and 3rd out of South Glos (9 in total). In October she was in the last qualifying spot but with some training and her amazing effort today she has made a huge improvement. Well done Maya!
Our Year 5 and 6 girls' football team showcased their incredible talent this week. They played with great skill and determination at their Football event, making us all proud. Furthermore, girls from Years 3-6 had a fantastic time participating in a Girls Football Festival too, where they could learn new skills and engage in friendly matches—well done to all the girls who participated! They were very inspirational for International Women's Day!
Whole school attendance for this week was 95.9% This week there were two winners of the attendance trophy - St Nicholas (Y1) and St Elizabeth (Y2) classes. Both classes achieved an amazing 99.3% attendance this week! A Huge congratulations to both classes!
Who is your favourite book character?
Who is your favourite author?
Can you recognise who we have come dressed up as?
What is your favourite book?
THE WAY OF THE CROSS Based on teachings of Pope Francis. We worked through CAFOD’s Stations of the Cross reflections to think about station and how we can relate it to struggles in the world today. We reflected on Pope Francis’ words as well as scripture. After each station we said the following prayer: Lord, help us to protect our shared home and live as one single human family, full of goodness and beauty. Amen . We thought about how we can do small acts of kindness to others.
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.6% This week St Augustine (Y3) your class have achieved 98.7% attendance and are our attendance trophy winners for the second week of this term. You achieved 100% attendance for three out of five days! A Huge congratulations to them!
A thank you to all our families who are donating to our school foodbank. We would like to make a special mention to those families who have decided to donate the provisions they have given up for Lent during this period! This is such a kind and thoughtful thing to have done. Please do continue to donate to our foodbank throughout the year. More info in our newsletter about this this week. Jo Creese
On Friday 23rd Feb FOSM held an amazing sponsored bounce, thanks to Managed Mayhem for providing the bouncy castle and a massive thanks to all the parents who helped with counting bounces. The children completed an incredible 27,261 bounces!! We have had a total of £1661.02 pledged which is just incredible and we thank everyone for their generosity.
FFT collects daily attendance data from over 10,000 schools. This data helps schools to track, monitor and compare their attendance every week through our Attendance Tracker system. The awards have been given to schools with attendance in the Top 10% and Top 25% of all FFT schools nationally for the 2023/24 Autumn term. The awards are an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of staff, pupils, parents and carers in achieving excellent attendance during the autumn term. Whilst all schools do an incredible job to improve pupil attendance, the certificate is to say a special ‘thank-you’ to our school by presenting us with an FFT National School Attendance Award for the 2023/24 Autumn term. Well done to St Mary's community on our excellent health! Way to go!
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.5 % This week St Elizabeth class (Y2) achieved 97.2% attendance and were our attendance trophy winners for the first week of term. A Huge congratulations to you!
On Wednesday Year 2 children and their parents hosted a cake sale outside the school in the hope of fundraising for the Animal Rescue Centre in Bristol. There was a fantastic and huge selection of delicious baked goods available, all kindly donated from the class. After selling the cakes across two days we can very proudly announce that we raised a grand total of a whooping £105! Thank you very much to our amazing Year 2s and their parents! I cant wait to pass the funds to this incredible charity which does such an incredible job in looking after tame and wild animals in Bristol. Mrs Turnbull and Miss Eatherington
On Monday 5th of February some children travelled to Bradley Stoke Community School to compete in a dodgeball tournament. After a few minutes, all of our team arrived at the court and we began to warm up. We were split into two teams (team 1 and team 2). We were excited about our first match. Our first game was against Almondsbury which we won and then we went to support our other team, who were playing at the same time as us. We were feeling more confident that we were going to win and would get the trophy. Team 1 proceeded into the finals and put up a fair challenge against Coniston school. Although sometimes we found it tricky, we played very well and fairly. Amazingly we finished in second place! Players – Helena, Jack, Carlos, Noel, Elizabeth, Freya, Lorenzo, Lena, Glory, Lance, Samuel, Jacob, Izabela, Adeline, Adam, Himus and Stefan. Written By Glory, Lena, Lance and Jacob
We are very lucky to have a group of newly trained Year 6 Receptionists supporting our school admin team during lunchtimes each day. Their duties include welcoming our visitors into school, answering phone calls, delivering messages and general admin type responsibilities. They all have really risen to their roles and are already a valuable support for the school admin team. Sophie and Glory were on duty today... other member of the Receptionist Team are: Jacob, Bala, Kathryn, Lena, Freya, Sandy, Ceyenna and Adeline.
This year's theme is 'Your Voice Matters'. Your Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. During Children’s Mental Health Week we will be looking at famous young people who have spoken up and made a difference in the world. We will be discussing ways in which the children can speak up for what is right, for what they would like to change, expressing their own thoughts and feelings and feeling heard. We started the week with a whole school assembly this morning to launch the week and to make the connections between Speaking Up and your Wellbeing and Mental Health. Jo Creese
Prayer read by Sandy Y6 during our CMHW assembly today
Today the children took part in the NSPCC number day. They all looked amazing in their number and rock star outfits! During the day the classes were all given a bag of jelly beans and did some amazing maths based on this – we counted the colours, found out the most popular colour and we gave each colour a numerical value and found the total! KS2 also took part in NSPCC rocks which is linked to Times Table Rock stars – every correct answer pupils in our school give between 7.30am and 7.30 pm today gives a point to our school. There is still time to play after school! It has been a fun day! Thank you for your kind donations! Mrs Sullivan
Attendance Whole school attendance for this week was 96.8%. This week St Elizabeth Class (Year 2) won the trophy for the second week in succession, for having the highest attendance in school. They achieved an amazing 99.3% this week. Way to go again Year 2! Your class enquiry is linked to keeping healthy and we can see you certainly are the healthiest class in school at the moment!
n Year 2, the children have been engaged in a hands-on Enquiry challenge. This week, they focused on designing, making, and enjoying healthy wraps. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to explore different ingredients, discuss nutrition, and develop their culinary skills. The excitement in the classroom was palpable, and the children thoroughly enjoyed this tasty project. Thank you to the parents who supported this activity - Mrs Turnbull
Year 6 had the privilege of a special visit from Michael Gorely, a representative from Historic England. He shared fascinating insights about our local area during World War 2, aligning perfectly with their Enquiry work on historical maps. The children were captivated by the stories and the significance of Bristol and the surrounding areas during the 1940s. This visit also tied in with their English lessons, where they have been exploring stories set in that period. It was a valuable and enriching experience for the class.
St George's class - Reception - have been exploring the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, and to bring the story to life, they acted it out. The children embraced the experience, and their enthusiasm was contagious. As a follow-up activity, they made their very own bread. Mixing all the ingredients and kneading the dough proved to be hard work, but the end result was absolutely delicious! - Mrs Sullivan
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.7%. The attendance trophy was won by our Year Two class - St Elizabeth, who had the highest attendance in school. They achieved 98.6% this week. Way to go Year 2!
Our kitchen received an unannounced visit by South Gloucs Council this morning in partnership with the Food Standards Agency. The kitchen received a thorough inspection and continue to achieve the highest rating possible - 5 Stars!! A huge well done to Becky our Kitchen Manager and her team.
A selection of KS2 pupils represented St Mary’s in the annual South Gloucestershire Schools swimming gala this weekend (20.01.24) at Kingswood Leisure Centre. 24 schools, across South Gloucestershire, attended the event and St Mary’s pupils performed very well in all their swimming races, displaying excellent talent and tremendous effort. Well done to all children who participated. Miss Eatherington
Whole school attendance this week was 96%. St Martin's (Year 5) had the highest attendance this week in school and were our attendance trophy winners. Well done to Year 5! You were the healthiest children in school this week! You achieved an attendance of 97.3%
Whole school attendance for the second week of 2024 was 94.5%. Our attendance trophy was won by St Bernadette (Year 4 class) this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98%. Well done to Year 4! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
This week we were fortunate enough to have the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation visit our school. Each class had the opportunity to take part in a cricket workshop, where they learned new skills and had an enjoyable time. It was wonderful to see our students engaged and enthusiastic about this sport. Thank you to the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation for their valuable contribution.
Whole school attendance for the first week of 2024 was 93.5%. The attendance trophy winners for this week were St George’s (Reception) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with 97.1%. Well done Reception! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
Thank you for embracing the spirit of giving and for your donations for Reverse Advent Calendar in support of the North Bristol Food Bank. Our Chaplains will be responsible for coordinating weekly visits to the North Bristol Foodbank in the New Year.
Lots and lots of attendance news and celebrations this week! Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 94.5%. St Elizabeth (Year 2) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 100%. Well done Year 2. Every child was in school every day this week! We also celebrated those children in school who ended the term with 100% attendance. Meaning that they had not missed a single day of school since 1st September! There were 64 children who achieved this! This is fabulous! A huge well done to these children. The golden slide details the children with 100% attendance. Have a look for yourselves! This week we are also celebrating the class who had the highest average attendance for the whole of the Autumn Term (01.09.23 to 15.12.23). This was St Elizabeth (Year 2). Their average weekly attendance was 97.8%. A huge well done to them for being the healthiest class of the term! Whole school average attendance for the same period was 96%. Well done to St Mary’s!
On December 14th our budding musicians in Year 4 were able to showcase some of the music they had been learning to play on their clarinets throughout the term. Parents came to watch their wonderful woodwind mini performance! Well done to Year 4 it sounded amazing, and such a difficult instrument to learn and play too!!
Another day ... another wonderful singling opportunity for our school choir. They attendned the Bradley Stoke Community Carol Concert, at the Willowbrook Centre, on the evening of 13th Dec. There was lots of community spirit around, brass bands, four local schools singing carols, community carols and religious readings. Our choir sang beautifully and raised the roof! Another well done to Mrs George and her choir!
December 13th - Today we had our whole school Christmas lunch! Over 200 delicious lunches prepared and cooked by Becky our super school cook, and Candice, her assistant. Christmas lunch, christmas hats and crackers! What more could we ask for! Thank you Becky :-)
Children of the World - On December 13th our Year 1 and Year 2 classes performed their Christmas play - Children of the world. It was fascinating to learn about how Christmas is celebrated in so many countries around the world. The children acted and sung beautifully! They performed amazingly! Amazing job children and a big thank you to Mrs Turnbull, Miss Eatherlington and Miss Westhead for pulling this show together!
On Tuesday 12th December, Years 3,4,5 and 6 performed at our Carol Service at Holy Family Church. It was a perfect way to begin to feel truly Christmassy. Angelic voices echoing throughout the chruch. Fr Eugene's Christmas tree and advent lighting made for a spectacuar back drop for a wonderful evening of song. Thank you to Mrs George who led the service and played the piano throughout. What would we do without your magical musical talents!
On Thursday 7th December St George's class (Reception) performed their Nativity play. They were absolutely amazing! What stars! Not a dry eye in the house! Amaxing job St Georges class - and a huge thanks to Mrs Sullivan, Mrs Butler-Grogan and the Reception class team for their hardwork in bringing this fabulous performance together!
The Mini Vinnie society went to the Holy Family Church on Tuesday and prepared hampers for the community and Parish with the items they purchased from their Movie night. They raised over £500 to support the SVP. We are really proud of all their hard work.
On Thursday 7th December we got to come back to school in the evening in our Pyjamas, even our teddies accompanied us too! We came back to school to listen to our teachers reading stories around the Christmas trees. We felt really Christmassy listening to the festive stories, singing some Christmas songs and even enjoying hot chocolate and cookies whilst we enjoyed the stories!
Whole school attendance for Week 6 was 94.8%. St Bernadette’s class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98.3%. Well done Year 4.
Budding Rock Stars Perform At St Mary's
Rock Stars from Years 1 to 6 performed in their bands at our Rocksteady concert this morning. From drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, keyboards and vocals our wonderful musicians played many very well known rock and pop songs to the whole school. It was music to our ears!
Some children from years 5 and 6 were selected to take part in a School Games sports hall athletics competition at Yate Academy. The pupils had to compete against others schools and show important team work skills. St Mary’s achieved a brilliant result of 3rd place. Well done to all the children who took part. Thank you to Mr Williams for supporting the event.
Whole school attendance was 94.2% - reflective of the seasonal illnesses in school. Despite there being many children absent from school due to coughs and colds, St Augustine’s class managed to achieve 97.3% and won the trophy for the highest attendance this week! A huge well done to them!
Swimming Gala 25th November
I was so proud of all our 16 talented swimmers on Saturday. We achieved 2nd place overall in the competition. There were lots of great swims amongt all. The children participated excellently and represented the school in a fantastic manner. - Miss Eatherington
The class who won the trophy this week for the highest attendance was St Nicholas (Year One). They had 100% attendance this week! Every child was in school every day! This is their second week on the trot for winning the trophy for the highest attendance! A huge well done to them! Whole school attendance was 98.2% - which was exceptionally high too! Congratulations on your good health St Mary's!!
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 3 17th Nov
Whole school attendance was 95.6% this week. There were TWO classes who received the attendance trophy this week. These were St Nicholas (Y1) and St Augustine (Y3). Both of these classes achieved 98% attendance. Well done Y1 and Y3 !! That’s two weeks in a row for Y3 too!! I wonder if they can make it three?
Take a look at the Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leaflet
Our school council have met and updated our Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leafet. We launched this leaflet during Antibullying Week.
Odd Socks Day 2023
This week is AntiBullying Week and our whole school came together to launch this week this morning with an Odd Socks parade and assembly. Members of our school council led parts of the assembly and were able to share their new Pupil Friendly AntiBullying Leaflet they have created.
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 2 10th Nov
Whole school attendance for Week 2 was 96.9%. This week the attendance trophy has been awarded for IMPROVED ATTENDANCE. This has gone to St Augustine (Year3) class whose attendance this week has improved by almost 2% and was 98.7%. Way to go St Augustine’s class!
And the attendance trophy winners for this week (3rd Nov) are....
Whole school attendance for Week 1 was 97.4%. Today (Fri 3rd November) there were NO children absent from school due to illness! What a healthy bunch we all are! Attendance Trophy Winners This Week: The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to a class with 100% Attendance this week – and that is St Nicholas – Year 1 class! EVERY child was in school EVERY day for the whole week! That’s Awesome Year 1!
Our Mini Vinnie's have been busy creating our entry for the Bradley Stoke Charity Scarecrow Trail 2023
The theme this year was 'International' - to celebrate all the people of the world. Our country was 'Poland' and we created our very own 'Chopin' - come and take a look! We even fitted him with an umbrella to keep him dry in the rain!
Attendance Celebrations Week 7
Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 96%. The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to Year 2 (St Elizabeth) class this week for the highest attendance. They achieved 100% attendance for the second week in a row – meaning that EVERY child was in school EVERY day for two weeks now! Well done to them! Punctuality: 200 children arrived on time and ready to learn this week! – thank you for ensuring your children arrive on time, by 8:55am, and are ready to learn! Enjoy your holiday next week everyone! Jo Creese
Year 5 Sports Leaders - Oct 23
Please welcome the new year 5 sports leaders for 2023 - 2024 ! The enthusiastic year 5 children have received sports leaders training for a whole term and are ready to deliver sessions on the playground in term 2. Please look out for the them on the playground. They are excited to be delivering some fun sports activities to small groups of children at lunchtime and will try to help make the playground a happy place to be. Miss Eatherington
Y5 and Y6 Girls Football Event 12th October
On Thursday 12th October Y5 and Y6 girls went to GFA Almondsbury to play a football tournament against other schools. We won 1 match, drew 1 and lost 1. We think that our whole team did a spectacular job especially the striker which was Lena. Although, there was a strong and tough team we still tried our best and never gave up. Frustrated, we lost the 1st match but this powered us to carry on and play our best. Unfortunately, most players in the second match had studded boots which terrified us but we kept playing and even our goalie, Natalia, saved a penalty. After our second match we had a little snack and Mr Williams wanted one as well. To our great excitement, we won our last match but sadly we didn’t qualify for the quarter finals. Over all, we had a great time and had fun but we didn’t want to leave. By Lena, Natalia, Adeline and Cathy
Y5/6 Boys and Girls Tag Rugby Event - 3rd October
Tag Rugby World Cup Festival On Tuesday the 3rd October, year 5/6 girls and boys went to Little Stoke Park to play rugby against other schools. We played five games, we won three, drew one and lost once. Our best player of the team was Jack from year 5 because he scored the most tries for us. Sometimes we found it hard because our first game we lost and it was tough for us to carry on. On the second match we drew 5 v 5 and it was challenging but we never gave up. On the third match, we won and we became more and more confident that we would win the next game. To our great excitement, we won the fourth match 6 v 2! We felt stronger every time we scored a try and were inspired to give our best. We won three full matches and we were delighted that we won. By Jacob and Glory
Can you design a poster with an Antibullying message?
SCHOOL COUNCIL - What have we been up to?
In November it is Anti-Bullying Week. School council have met and we have looked at creating a new Pupil Friendly Antibullying Policy. We looked at all the different elements of the adult version of the policy and translated these into child friendly words. We will then put all of these words together in one document and create a pupil friendly Anti Bullying Polcy leaflet ready to launch in Antibullying Week ... Watch this space ........
This Week's Attendance Trophy Winners W/E 13.10.23
World Mental Health Day 2023 is on Tuesday 10th October. It’s a day to talk to everyone about their mental health, raising awareness and driving positive change.
It’s also a chance to talk about mental health, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to get help if you are struggling.
See this week's newsletter for more information, ideas and tips
Attendance Winner W/E 6th Oct 23
Attendance Winners W/E 29 Sept
CONTACT DETAILS
Latest School Blog - 2023/24
Whole school attendance was 97.4% this week, and out attendance trophy winners were our youngest children in the school - St George's class (YR) with a fabulous 99.1% attendance. Well done to them.
Chapliancy Club and Mini Vinnies In The Community
On the 26th April, some of the Chaplaincy team and the Mini Vinnies walked to a care home in Stoke Gifford called Osbourne Court. We went there to give the elderly residents some company. For example, we played games with them. We also got some delicious snacks and drinks. They were really nice and everyone enjoyed it. This is the first time that any school children could visit Osbourne Court since Covid-19. This was also the first time that this school has visited. We are planning to meet up again soon.
Dear Lord,
We thank you for all the opportunities you have given us.
Please help elderly people to feel loved and safe.
Amen
Thank you to the children and adults who joined us that day and thank you Mrs Hodges for organising the trip.
Writers: Sandra and Matthew (Chaplaincy Team)
Whole school attendance this week was 95%. Two classes won the attendance trophy - St Elizabeth and St Augustine classes - with an attendance percenbtage of 97.3% each! Way to go to both of these classes!
Whole school attendance this week was 92.8% and is reflective of the large number of absences at the start of term. This week we have two trophy winners for having the highest class attendance during the week. Both St Elizabeth (Y2) and St Augustine (Y3) classes both achieved 94.7% attendance. Well done to these two classes on achieving this!
The Chaplaincy Team have been really busy this term! Last week, they helped to organise the final event of the CAFOD Big Lent Walk. The whole school walked around the block led by the Chaplains carrying the CAFOD banner. They gave out stickers to every child who took part. Today they have used readings and drama to lead a reflection on the final seven Stations of the Cross, following on from the first seven Stations led by the Mini-Vinnies last week. A big thank you to the Chaplains from me and all of us in school for all the work they have done to strengthen our faith community this term. Mrs Romero
Four Terms completed! Wow! This year is whizzing by! Lots and lots of different attendance celebrations today! Whole school attendance for the whole year so far is: 95 % The class with the highest average attendance for Terms 3 and 4 was St Bernadette Class (Year 4) with 97% - they were the healthiest class in school since January - Well done to them! This week's attendance: Whole school attendance - 91.8% The attendance trophy for the class with the highest attendance this week was won by St Bernadette Class too! - with 98%. Well done again to them for this week. You've smashed the attendance awards this week Year 4! There are 24 children in school who have achieved 100% attendance since September. This means they have not missed a single day of school during that period! That's fabulous! Well done to: Reception: Kiara Year 1: Liam, Udobi, Yuna Year 2: Chiugo, Amelia, Kenny, Chevonne, Ayomide, Nethan, Vidu, Klea, Jack, Joshua Year 3: Eddie, Susana, Sammy Year 4: Klaudia, Ethan, Melisa, Divine Year 5: Otus Year 6: Glory Well done to all these children and classes - Jo Creese
Thank you to all the parents who came to listen to the choir last week as we sang all the songs that we have been learning this term!
Our school grounds are looking beautiful and full of life and colour! Hello Spring!
Whole school attendance for this week was 93.8%. We have had quite a lot of minor seasonal illness in school this week which is reflective in our slightly lower overall attendance. St Bernadette Class (Year 4) were awarded with the attendance trophy this week for being the class with the highest attendance. Their overall attendance for the week was 97.3%. That's amazing Year 4! Well done to you! Maybe all that walking and swimming this week has helped to keep you fit and healthy!
Maya, from year 4, competed in the Inter Area X-Country Challenge at Ashton Park school representing St Mary’s. Maya qualified for this race in October against Year 5 girls to represent South Glos. She did amazing today finishing 27th out of 60 girls and 3rd out of South Glos (9 in total). In October she was in the last qualifying spot but with some training and her amazing effort today she has made a huge improvement. Well done Maya!
Our Year 5 and 6 girls' football team showcased their incredible talent this week. They played with great skill and determination at their Football event, making us all proud. Furthermore, girls from Years 3-6 had a fantastic time participating in a Girls Football Festival too, where they could learn new skills and engage in friendly matches—well done to all the girls who participated! They were very inspirational for International Women's Day!
Whole school attendance for this week was 95.9% This week there were two winners of the attendance trophy - St Nicholas (Y1) and St Elizabeth (Y2) classes. Both classes achieved an amazing 99.3% attendance this week! A Huge congratulations to both classes!
Who is your favourite book character?
Who is your favourite author?
Can you recognise who we have come dressed up as?
What is your favourite book?
THE WAY OF THE CROSS Based on teachings of Pope Francis. We worked through CAFOD’s Stations of the Cross reflections to think about station and how we can relate it to struggles in the world today. We reflected on Pope Francis’ words as well as scripture. After each station we said the following prayer: Lord, help us to protect our shared home and live as one single human family, full of goodness and beauty. Amen . We thought about how we can do small acts of kindness to others.
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.6% This week St Augustine (Y3) your class have achieved 98.7% attendance and are our attendance trophy winners for the second week of this term. You achieved 100% attendance for three out of five days! A Huge congratulations to them!
A thank you to all our families who are donating to our school foodbank. We would like to make a special mention to those families who have decided to donate the provisions they have given up for Lent during this period! This is such a kind and thoughtful thing to have done. Please do continue to donate to our foodbank throughout the year. More info in our newsletter about this this week. Jo Creese
On Friday 23rd Feb FOSM held an amazing sponsored bounce, thanks to Managed Mayhem for providing the bouncy castle and a massive thanks to all the parents who helped with counting bounces. The children completed an incredible 27,261 bounces!! We have had a total of £1661.02 pledged which is just incredible and we thank everyone for their generosity.
FFT collects daily attendance data from over 10,000 schools. This data helps schools to track, monitor and compare their attendance every week through our Attendance Tracker system. The awards have been given to schools with attendance in the Top 10% and Top 25% of all FFT schools nationally for the 2023/24 Autumn term. The awards are an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of staff, pupils, parents and carers in achieving excellent attendance during the autumn term. Whilst all schools do an incredible job to improve pupil attendance, the certificate is to say a special ‘thank-you’ to our school by presenting us with an FFT National School Attendance Award for the 2023/24 Autumn term. Well done to St Mary's community on our excellent health! Way to go!
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.5 % This week St Elizabeth class (Y2) achieved 97.2% attendance and were our attendance trophy winners for the first week of term. A Huge congratulations to you!
On Wednesday Year 2 children and their parents hosted a cake sale outside the school in the hope of fundraising for the Animal Rescue Centre in Bristol. There was a fantastic and huge selection of delicious baked goods available, all kindly donated from the class. After selling the cakes across two days we can very proudly announce that we raised a grand total of a whooping £105! Thank you very much to our amazing Year 2s and their parents! I cant wait to pass the funds to this incredible charity which does such an incredible job in looking after tame and wild animals in Bristol. Mrs Turnbull and Miss Eatherington
On Monday 5th of February some children travelled to Bradley Stoke Community School to compete in a dodgeball tournament. After a few minutes, all of our team arrived at the court and we began to warm up. We were split into two teams (team 1 and team 2). We were excited about our first match. Our first game was against Almondsbury which we won and then we went to support our other team, who were playing at the same time as us. We were feeling more confident that we were going to win and would get the trophy. Team 1 proceeded into the finals and put up a fair challenge against Coniston school. Although sometimes we found it tricky, we played very well and fairly. Amazingly we finished in second place! Players – Helena, Jack, Carlos, Noel, Elizabeth, Freya, Lorenzo, Lena, Glory, Lance, Samuel, Jacob, Izabela, Adeline, Adam, Himus and Stefan. Written By Glory, Lena, Lance and Jacob
We are very lucky to have a group of newly trained Year 6 Receptionists supporting our school admin team during lunchtimes each day. Their duties include welcoming our visitors into school, answering phone calls, delivering messages and general admin type responsibilities. They all have really risen to their roles and are already a valuable support for the school admin team. Sophie and Glory were on duty today... other member of the Receptionist Team are: Jacob, Bala, Kathryn, Lena, Freya, Sandy, Ceyenna and Adeline.
This year's theme is 'Your Voice Matters'. Your Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. During Children’s Mental Health Week we will be looking at famous young people who have spoken up and made a difference in the world. We will be discussing ways in which the children can speak up for what is right, for what they would like to change, expressing their own thoughts and feelings and feeling heard. We started the week with a whole school assembly this morning to launch the week and to make the connections between Speaking Up and your Wellbeing and Mental Health. Jo Creese
Prayer read by Sandy Y6 during our CMHW assembly today
Today the children took part in the NSPCC number day. They all looked amazing in their number and rock star outfits! During the day the classes were all given a bag of jelly beans and did some amazing maths based on this – we counted the colours, found out the most popular colour and we gave each colour a numerical value and found the total! KS2 also took part in NSPCC rocks which is linked to Times Table Rock stars – every correct answer pupils in our school give between 7.30am and 7.30 pm today gives a point to our school. There is still time to play after school! It has been a fun day! Thank you for your kind donations! Mrs Sullivan
Attendance Whole school attendance for this week was 96.8%. This week St Elizabeth Class (Year 2) won the trophy for the second week in succession, for having the highest attendance in school. They achieved an amazing 99.3% this week. Way to go again Year 2! Your class enquiry is linked to keeping healthy and we can see you certainly are the healthiest class in school at the moment!
n Year 2, the children have been engaged in a hands-on Enquiry challenge. This week, they focused on designing, making, and enjoying healthy wraps. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to explore different ingredients, discuss nutrition, and develop their culinary skills. The excitement in the classroom was palpable, and the children thoroughly enjoyed this tasty project. Thank you to the parents who supported this activity - Mrs Turnbull
Year 6 had the privilege of a special visit from Michael Gorely, a representative from Historic England. He shared fascinating insights about our local area during World War 2, aligning perfectly with their Enquiry work on historical maps. The children were captivated by the stories and the significance of Bristol and the surrounding areas during the 1940s. This visit also tied in with their English lessons, where they have been exploring stories set in that period. It was a valuable and enriching experience for the class.
St George's class - Reception - have been exploring the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, and to bring the story to life, they acted it out. The children embraced the experience, and their enthusiasm was contagious. As a follow-up activity, they made their very own bread. Mixing all the ingredients and kneading the dough proved to be hard work, but the end result was absolutely delicious! - Mrs Sullivan
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.7%. The attendance trophy was won by our Year Two class - St Elizabeth, who had the highest attendance in school. They achieved 98.6% this week. Way to go Year 2!
Our kitchen received an unannounced visit by South Gloucs Council this morning in partnership with the Food Standards Agency. The kitchen received a thorough inspection and continue to achieve the highest rating possible - 5 Stars!! A huge well done to Becky our Kitchen Manager and her team.
A selection of KS2 pupils represented St Mary’s in the annual South Gloucestershire Schools swimming gala this weekend (20.01.24) at Kingswood Leisure Centre. 24 schools, across South Gloucestershire, attended the event and St Mary’s pupils performed very well in all their swimming races, displaying excellent talent and tremendous effort. Well done to all children who participated. Miss Eatherington
Whole school attendance this week was 96%. St Martin's (Year 5) had the highest attendance this week in school and were our attendance trophy winners. Well done to Year 5! You were the healthiest children in school this week! You achieved an attendance of 97.3%
Whole school attendance for the second week of 2024 was 94.5%. Our attendance trophy was won by St Bernadette (Year 4 class) this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98%. Well done to Year 4! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
This week we were fortunate enough to have the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation visit our school. Each class had the opportunity to take part in a cricket workshop, where they learned new skills and had an enjoyable time. It was wonderful to see our students engaged and enthusiastic about this sport. Thank you to the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation for their valuable contribution.
Whole school attendance for the first week of 2024 was 93.5%. The attendance trophy winners for this week were St George’s (Reception) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with 97.1%. Well done Reception! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
Thank you for embracing the spirit of giving and for your donations for Reverse Advent Calendar in support of the North Bristol Food Bank. Our Chaplains will be responsible for coordinating weekly visits to the North Bristol Foodbank in the New Year.
Lots and lots of attendance news and celebrations this week! Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 94.5%. St Elizabeth (Year 2) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 100%. Well done Year 2. Every child was in school every day this week! We also celebrated those children in school who ended the term with 100% attendance. Meaning that they had not missed a single day of school since 1st September! There were 64 children who achieved this! This is fabulous! A huge well done to these children. The golden slide details the children with 100% attendance. Have a look for yourselves! This week we are also celebrating the class who had the highest average attendance for the whole of the Autumn Term (01.09.23 to 15.12.23). This was St Elizabeth (Year 2). Their average weekly attendance was 97.8%. A huge well done to them for being the healthiest class of the term! Whole school average attendance for the same period was 96%. Well done to St Mary’s!
On December 14th our budding musicians in Year 4 were able to showcase some of the music they had been learning to play on their clarinets throughout the term. Parents came to watch their wonderful woodwind mini performance! Well done to Year 4 it sounded amazing, and such a difficult instrument to learn and play too!!
Another day ... another wonderful singling opportunity for our school choir. They attendned the Bradley Stoke Community Carol Concert, at the Willowbrook Centre, on the evening of 13th Dec. There was lots of community spirit around, brass bands, four local schools singing carols, community carols and religious readings. Our choir sang beautifully and raised the roof! Another well done to Mrs George and her choir!
December 13th - Today we had our whole school Christmas lunch! Over 200 delicious lunches prepared and cooked by Becky our super school cook, and Candice, her assistant. Christmas lunch, christmas hats and crackers! What more could we ask for! Thank you Becky :-)
Children of the World - On December 13th our Year 1 and Year 2 classes performed their Christmas play - Children of the world. It was fascinating to learn about how Christmas is celebrated in so many countries around the world. The children acted and sung beautifully! They performed amazingly! Amazing job children and a big thank you to Mrs Turnbull, Miss Eatherlington and Miss Westhead for pulling this show together!
On Tuesday 12th December, Years 3,4,5 and 6 performed at our Carol Service at Holy Family Church. It was a perfect way to begin to feel truly Christmassy. Angelic voices echoing throughout the chruch. Fr Eugene's Christmas tree and advent lighting made for a spectacuar back drop for a wonderful evening of song. Thank you to Mrs George who led the service and played the piano throughout. What would we do without your magical musical talents!
On Thursday 7th December St George's class (Reception) performed their Nativity play. They were absolutely amazing! What stars! Not a dry eye in the house! Amaxing job St Georges class - and a huge thanks to Mrs Sullivan, Mrs Butler-Grogan and the Reception class team for their hardwork in bringing this fabulous performance together!
The Mini Vinnie society went to the Holy Family Church on Tuesday and prepared hampers for the community and Parish with the items they purchased from their Movie night. They raised over £500 to support the SVP. We are really proud of all their hard work.
On Thursday 7th December we got to come back to school in the evening in our Pyjamas, even our teddies accompanied us too! We came back to school to listen to our teachers reading stories around the Christmas trees. We felt really Christmassy listening to the festive stories, singing some Christmas songs and even enjoying hot chocolate and cookies whilst we enjoyed the stories!
Whole school attendance for Week 6 was 94.8%. St Bernadette’s class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98.3%. Well done Year 4.
Budding Rock Stars Perform At St Mary's
Rock Stars from Years 1 to 6 performed in their bands at our Rocksteady concert this morning. From drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, keyboards and vocals our wonderful musicians played many very well known rock and pop songs to the whole school. It was music to our ears!
Some children from years 5 and 6 were selected to take part in a School Games sports hall athletics competition at Yate Academy. The pupils had to compete against others schools and show important team work skills. St Mary’s achieved a brilliant result of 3rd place. Well done to all the children who took part. Thank you to Mr Williams for supporting the event.
Whole school attendance was 94.2% - reflective of the seasonal illnesses in school. Despite there being many children absent from school due to coughs and colds, St Augustine’s class managed to achieve 97.3% and won the trophy for the highest attendance this week! A huge well done to them!
Swimming Gala 25th November
I was so proud of all our 16 talented swimmers on Saturday. We achieved 2nd place overall in the competition. There were lots of great swims amongt all. The children participated excellently and represented the school in a fantastic manner. - Miss Eatherington
The class who won the trophy this week for the highest attendance was St Nicholas (Year One). They had 100% attendance this week! Every child was in school every day! This is their second week on the trot for winning the trophy for the highest attendance! A huge well done to them! Whole school attendance was 98.2% - which was exceptionally high too! Congratulations on your good health St Mary's!!
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 3 17th Nov
Whole school attendance was 95.6% this week. There were TWO classes who received the attendance trophy this week. These were St Nicholas (Y1) and St Augustine (Y3). Both of these classes achieved 98% attendance. Well done Y1 and Y3 !! That’s two weeks in a row for Y3 too!! I wonder if they can make it three?
Take a look at the Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leaflet
Our school council have met and updated our Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leafet. We launched this leaflet during Antibullying Week.
Odd Socks Day 2023
This week is AntiBullying Week and our whole school came together to launch this week this morning with an Odd Socks parade and assembly. Members of our school council led parts of the assembly and were able to share their new Pupil Friendly AntiBullying Leaflet they have created.
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 2 10th Nov
Whole school attendance for Week 2 was 96.9%. This week the attendance trophy has been awarded for IMPROVED ATTENDANCE. This has gone to St Augustine (Year3) class whose attendance this week has improved by almost 2% and was 98.7%. Way to go St Augustine’s class!
And the attendance trophy winners for this week (3rd Nov) are....
Whole school attendance for Week 1 was 97.4%. Today (Fri 3rd November) there were NO children absent from school due to illness! What a healthy bunch we all are! Attendance Trophy Winners This Week: The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to a class with 100% Attendance this week – and that is St Nicholas – Year 1 class! EVERY child was in school EVERY day for the whole week! That’s Awesome Year 1!
Our Mini Vinnie's have been busy creating our entry for the Bradley Stoke Charity Scarecrow Trail 2023
The theme this year was 'International' - to celebrate all the people of the world. Our country was 'Poland' and we created our very own 'Chopin' - come and take a look! We even fitted him with an umbrella to keep him dry in the rain!
Attendance Celebrations Week 7
Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 96%. The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to Year 2 (St Elizabeth) class this week for the highest attendance. They achieved 100% attendance for the second week in a row – meaning that EVERY child was in school EVERY day for two weeks now! Well done to them! Punctuality: 200 children arrived on time and ready to learn this week! – thank you for ensuring your children arrive on time, by 8:55am, and are ready to learn! Enjoy your holiday next week everyone! Jo Creese
Year 5 Sports Leaders - Oct 23
Please welcome the new year 5 sports leaders for 2023 - 2024 ! The enthusiastic year 5 children have received sports leaders training for a whole term and are ready to deliver sessions on the playground in term 2. Please look out for the them on the playground. They are excited to be delivering some fun sports activities to small groups of children at lunchtime and will try to help make the playground a happy place to be. Miss Eatherington
Y5 and Y6 Girls Football Event 12th October
On Thursday 12th October Y5 and Y6 girls went to GFA Almondsbury to play a football tournament against other schools. We won 1 match, drew 1 and lost 1. We think that our whole team did a spectacular job especially the striker which was Lena. Although, there was a strong and tough team we still tried our best and never gave up. Frustrated, we lost the 1st match but this powered us to carry on and play our best. Unfortunately, most players in the second match had studded boots which terrified us but we kept playing and even our goalie, Natalia, saved a penalty. After our second match we had a little snack and Mr Williams wanted one as well. To our great excitement, we won our last match but sadly we didn’t qualify for the quarter finals. Over all, we had a great time and had fun but we didn’t want to leave. By Lena, Natalia, Adeline and Cathy
Y5/6 Boys and Girls Tag Rugby Event - 3rd October
Tag Rugby World Cup Festival On Tuesday the 3rd October, year 5/6 girls and boys went to Little Stoke Park to play rugby against other schools. We played five games, we won three, drew one and lost once. Our best player of the team was Jack from year 5 because he scored the most tries for us. Sometimes we found it hard because our first game we lost and it was tough for us to carry on. On the second match we drew 5 v 5 and it was challenging but we never gave up. On the third match, we won and we became more and more confident that we would win the next game. To our great excitement, we won the fourth match 6 v 2! We felt stronger every time we scored a try and were inspired to give our best. We won three full matches and we were delighted that we won. By Jacob and Glory
Can you design a poster with an Antibullying message?
SCHOOL COUNCIL - What have we been up to?
In November it is Anti-Bullying Week. School council have met and we have looked at creating a new Pupil Friendly Antibullying Policy. We looked at all the different elements of the adult version of the policy and translated these into child friendly words. We will then put all of these words together in one document and create a pupil friendly Anti Bullying Polcy leaflet ready to launch in Antibullying Week ... Watch this space ........
This Week's Attendance Trophy Winners W/E 13.10.23
World Mental Health Day 2023 is on Tuesday 10th October. It’s a day to talk to everyone about their mental health, raising awareness and driving positive change.
It’s also a chance to talk about mental health, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to get help if you are struggling.
See this week's newsletter for more information, ideas and tips
Attendance Winner W/E 6th Oct 23
Attendance Winners W/E 29 Sept
CONTACT DETAILS
Latest School Blog - 2023/24
Whole school attendance was 97.4% this week, and out attendance trophy winners were our youngest children in the school - St George's class (YR) with a fabulous 99.1% attendance. Well done to them.
Chapliancy Club and Mini Vinnies In The Community
On the 26th April, some of the Chaplaincy team and the Mini Vinnies walked to a care home in Stoke Gifford called Osbourne Court. We went there to give the elderly residents some company. For example, we played games with them. We also got some delicious snacks and drinks. They were really nice and everyone enjoyed it. This is the first time that any school children could visit Osbourne Court since Covid-19. This was also the first time that this school has visited. We are planning to meet up again soon.
Dear Lord,
We thank you for all the opportunities you have given us.
Please help elderly people to feel loved and safe.
Amen
Thank you to the children and adults who joined us that day and thank you Mrs Hodges for organising the trip.
Writers: Sandra and Matthew (Chaplaincy Team)
Whole school attendance this week was 95%. Two classes won the attendance trophy - St Elizabeth and St Augustine classes - with an attendance percenbtage of 97.3% each! Way to go to both of these classes!
Whole school attendance this week was 92.8% and is reflective of the large number of absences at the start of term. This week we have two trophy winners for having the highest class attendance during the week. Both St Elizabeth (Y2) and St Augustine (Y3) classes both achieved 94.7% attendance. Well done to these two classes on achieving this!
The Chaplaincy Team have been really busy this term! Last week, they helped to organise the final event of the CAFOD Big Lent Walk. The whole school walked around the block led by the Chaplains carrying the CAFOD banner. They gave out stickers to every child who took part. Today they have used readings and drama to lead a reflection on the final seven Stations of the Cross, following on from the first seven Stations led by the Mini-Vinnies last week. A big thank you to the Chaplains from me and all of us in school for all the work they have done to strengthen our faith community this term. Mrs Romero
Four Terms completed! Wow! This year is whizzing by! Lots and lots of different attendance celebrations today! Whole school attendance for the whole year so far is: 95 % The class with the highest average attendance for Terms 3 and 4 was St Bernadette Class (Year 4) with 97% - they were the healthiest class in school since January - Well done to them! This week's attendance: Whole school attendance - 91.8% The attendance trophy for the class with the highest attendance this week was won by St Bernadette Class too! - with 98%. Well done again to them for this week. You've smashed the attendance awards this week Year 4! There are 24 children in school who have achieved 100% attendance since September. This means they have not missed a single day of school during that period! That's fabulous! Well done to: Reception: Kiara Year 1: Liam, Udobi, Yuna Year 2: Chiugo, Amelia, Kenny, Chevonne, Ayomide, Nethan, Vidu, Klea, Jack, Joshua Year 3: Eddie, Susana, Sammy Year 4: Klaudia, Ethan, Melisa, Divine Year 5: Otus Year 6: Glory Well done to all these children and classes - Jo Creese
Thank you to all the parents who came to listen to the choir last week as we sang all the songs that we have been learning this term!
Our school grounds are looking beautiful and full of life and colour! Hello Spring!
Whole school attendance for this week was 93.8%. We have had quite a lot of minor seasonal illness in school this week which is reflective in our slightly lower overall attendance. St Bernadette Class (Year 4) were awarded with the attendance trophy this week for being the class with the highest attendance. Their overall attendance for the week was 97.3%. That's amazing Year 4! Well done to you! Maybe all that walking and swimming this week has helped to keep you fit and healthy!
Maya, from year 4, competed in the Inter Area X-Country Challenge at Ashton Park school representing St Mary’s. Maya qualified for this race in October against Year 5 girls to represent South Glos. She did amazing today finishing 27th out of 60 girls and 3rd out of South Glos (9 in total). In October she was in the last qualifying spot but with some training and her amazing effort today she has made a huge improvement. Well done Maya!
Our Year 5 and 6 girls' football team showcased their incredible talent this week. They played with great skill and determination at their Football event, making us all proud. Furthermore, girls from Years 3-6 had a fantastic time participating in a Girls Football Festival too, where they could learn new skills and engage in friendly matches—well done to all the girls who participated! They were very inspirational for International Women's Day!
Whole school attendance for this week was 95.9% This week there were two winners of the attendance trophy - St Nicholas (Y1) and St Elizabeth (Y2) classes. Both classes achieved an amazing 99.3% attendance this week! A Huge congratulations to both classes!
Who is your favourite book character?
Who is your favourite author?
Can you recognise who we have come dressed up as?
What is your favourite book?
THE WAY OF THE CROSS Based on teachings of Pope Francis. We worked through CAFOD’s Stations of the Cross reflections to think about station and how we can relate it to struggles in the world today. We reflected on Pope Francis’ words as well as scripture. After each station we said the following prayer: Lord, help us to protect our shared home and live as one single human family, full of goodness and beauty. Amen . We thought about how we can do small acts of kindness to others.
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.6% This week St Augustine (Y3) your class have achieved 98.7% attendance and are our attendance trophy winners for the second week of this term. You achieved 100% attendance for three out of five days! A Huge congratulations to them!
A thank you to all our families who are donating to our school foodbank. We would like to make a special mention to those families who have decided to donate the provisions they have given up for Lent during this period! This is such a kind and thoughtful thing to have done. Please do continue to donate to our foodbank throughout the year. More info in our newsletter about this this week. Jo Creese
On Friday 23rd Feb FOSM held an amazing sponsored bounce, thanks to Managed Mayhem for providing the bouncy castle and a massive thanks to all the parents who helped with counting bounces. The children completed an incredible 27,261 bounces!! We have had a total of £1661.02 pledged which is just incredible and we thank everyone for their generosity.
FFT collects daily attendance data from over 10,000 schools. This data helps schools to track, monitor and compare their attendance every week through our Attendance Tracker system. The awards have been given to schools with attendance in the Top 10% and Top 25% of all FFT schools nationally for the 2023/24 Autumn term. The awards are an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of staff, pupils, parents and carers in achieving excellent attendance during the autumn term. Whilst all schools do an incredible job to improve pupil attendance, the certificate is to say a special ‘thank-you’ to our school by presenting us with an FFT National School Attendance Award for the 2023/24 Autumn term. Well done to St Mary's community on our excellent health! Way to go!
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.5 % This week St Elizabeth class (Y2) achieved 97.2% attendance and were our attendance trophy winners for the first week of term. A Huge congratulations to you!
On Wednesday Year 2 children and their parents hosted a cake sale outside the school in the hope of fundraising for the Animal Rescue Centre in Bristol. There was a fantastic and huge selection of delicious baked goods available, all kindly donated from the class. After selling the cakes across two days we can very proudly announce that we raised a grand total of a whooping £105! Thank you very much to our amazing Year 2s and their parents! I cant wait to pass the funds to this incredible charity which does such an incredible job in looking after tame and wild animals in Bristol. Mrs Turnbull and Miss Eatherington
On Monday 5th of February some children travelled to Bradley Stoke Community School to compete in a dodgeball tournament. After a few minutes, all of our team arrived at the court and we began to warm up. We were split into two teams (team 1 and team 2). We were excited about our first match. Our first game was against Almondsbury which we won and then we went to support our other team, who were playing at the same time as us. We were feeling more confident that we were going to win and would get the trophy. Team 1 proceeded into the finals and put up a fair challenge against Coniston school. Although sometimes we found it tricky, we played very well and fairly. Amazingly we finished in second place! Players – Helena, Jack, Carlos, Noel, Elizabeth, Freya, Lorenzo, Lena, Glory, Lance, Samuel, Jacob, Izabela, Adeline, Adam, Himus and Stefan. Written By Glory, Lena, Lance and Jacob
We are very lucky to have a group of newly trained Year 6 Receptionists supporting our school admin team during lunchtimes each day. Their duties include welcoming our visitors into school, answering phone calls, delivering messages and general admin type responsibilities. They all have really risen to their roles and are already a valuable support for the school admin team. Sophie and Glory were on duty today... other member of the Receptionist Team are: Jacob, Bala, Kathryn, Lena, Freya, Sandy, Ceyenna and Adeline.
This year's theme is 'Your Voice Matters'. Your Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. During Children’s Mental Health Week we will be looking at famous young people who have spoken up and made a difference in the world. We will be discussing ways in which the children can speak up for what is right, for what they would like to change, expressing their own thoughts and feelings and feeling heard. We started the week with a whole school assembly this morning to launch the week and to make the connections between Speaking Up and your Wellbeing and Mental Health. Jo Creese
Prayer read by Sandy Y6 during our CMHW assembly today
Today the children took part in the NSPCC number day. They all looked amazing in their number and rock star outfits! During the day the classes were all given a bag of jelly beans and did some amazing maths based on this – we counted the colours, found out the most popular colour and we gave each colour a numerical value and found the total! KS2 also took part in NSPCC rocks which is linked to Times Table Rock stars – every correct answer pupils in our school give between 7.30am and 7.30 pm today gives a point to our school. There is still time to play after school! It has been a fun day! Thank you for your kind donations! Mrs Sullivan
Attendance Whole school attendance for this week was 96.8%. This week St Elizabeth Class (Year 2) won the trophy for the second week in succession, for having the highest attendance in school. They achieved an amazing 99.3% this week. Way to go again Year 2! Your class enquiry is linked to keeping healthy and we can see you certainly are the healthiest class in school at the moment!
n Year 2, the children have been engaged in a hands-on Enquiry challenge. This week, they focused on designing, making, and enjoying healthy wraps. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to explore different ingredients, discuss nutrition, and develop their culinary skills. The excitement in the classroom was palpable, and the children thoroughly enjoyed this tasty project. Thank you to the parents who supported this activity - Mrs Turnbull
Year 6 had the privilege of a special visit from Michael Gorely, a representative from Historic England. He shared fascinating insights about our local area during World War 2, aligning perfectly with their Enquiry work on historical maps. The children were captivated by the stories and the significance of Bristol and the surrounding areas during the 1940s. This visit also tied in with their English lessons, where they have been exploring stories set in that period. It was a valuable and enriching experience for the class.
St George's class - Reception - have been exploring the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, and to bring the story to life, they acted it out. The children embraced the experience, and their enthusiasm was contagious. As a follow-up activity, they made their very own bread. Mixing all the ingredients and kneading the dough proved to be hard work, but the end result was absolutely delicious! - Mrs Sullivan
Whole school attendance for this week was 94.7%. The attendance trophy was won by our Year Two class - St Elizabeth, who had the highest attendance in school. They achieved 98.6% this week. Way to go Year 2!
Our kitchen received an unannounced visit by South Gloucs Council this morning in partnership with the Food Standards Agency. The kitchen received a thorough inspection and continue to achieve the highest rating possible - 5 Stars!! A huge well done to Becky our Kitchen Manager and her team.
A selection of KS2 pupils represented St Mary’s in the annual South Gloucestershire Schools swimming gala this weekend (20.01.24) at Kingswood Leisure Centre. 24 schools, across South Gloucestershire, attended the event and St Mary’s pupils performed very well in all their swimming races, displaying excellent talent and tremendous effort. Well done to all children who participated. Miss Eatherington
Whole school attendance this week was 96%. St Martin's (Year 5) had the highest attendance this week in school and were our attendance trophy winners. Well done to Year 5! You were the healthiest children in school this week! You achieved an attendance of 97.3%
Whole school attendance for the second week of 2024 was 94.5%. Our attendance trophy was won by St Bernadette (Year 4 class) this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98%. Well done to Year 4! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
This week we were fortunate enough to have the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation visit our school. Each class had the opportunity to take part in a cricket workshop, where they learned new skills and had an enjoyable time. It was wonderful to see our students engaged and enthusiastic about this sport. Thank you to the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation for their valuable contribution.
Whole school attendance for the first week of 2024 was 93.5%. The attendance trophy winners for this week were St George’s (Reception) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with 97.1%. Well done Reception! You were the healthiest class in school this week!
Thank you for embracing the spirit of giving and for your donations for Reverse Advent Calendar in support of the North Bristol Food Bank. Our Chaplains will be responsible for coordinating weekly visits to the North Bristol Foodbank in the New Year.
Lots and lots of attendance news and celebrations this week! Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 94.5%. St Elizabeth (Year 2) class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 100%. Well done Year 2. Every child was in school every day this week! We also celebrated those children in school who ended the term with 100% attendance. Meaning that they had not missed a single day of school since 1st September! There were 64 children who achieved this! This is fabulous! A huge well done to these children. The golden slide details the children with 100% attendance. Have a look for yourselves! This week we are also celebrating the class who had the highest average attendance for the whole of the Autumn Term (01.09.23 to 15.12.23). This was St Elizabeth (Year 2). Their average weekly attendance was 97.8%. A huge well done to them for being the healthiest class of the term! Whole school average attendance for the same period was 96%. Well done to St Mary’s!
On December 14th our budding musicians in Year 4 were able to showcase some of the music they had been learning to play on their clarinets throughout the term. Parents came to watch their wonderful woodwind mini performance! Well done to Year 4 it sounded amazing, and such a difficult instrument to learn and play too!!
Another day ... another wonderful singling opportunity for our school choir. They attendned the Bradley Stoke Community Carol Concert, at the Willowbrook Centre, on the evening of 13th Dec. There was lots of community spirit around, brass bands, four local schools singing carols, community carols and religious readings. Our choir sang beautifully and raised the roof! Another well done to Mrs George and her choir!
December 13th - Today we had our whole school Christmas lunch! Over 200 delicious lunches prepared and cooked by Becky our super school cook, and Candice, her assistant. Christmas lunch, christmas hats and crackers! What more could we ask for! Thank you Becky :-)
Children of the World - On December 13th our Year 1 and Year 2 classes performed their Christmas play - Children of the world. It was fascinating to learn about how Christmas is celebrated in so many countries around the world. The children acted and sung beautifully! They performed amazingly! Amazing job children and a big thank you to Mrs Turnbull, Miss Eatherlington and Miss Westhead for pulling this show together!
On Tuesday 12th December, Years 3,4,5 and 6 performed at our Carol Service at Holy Family Church. It was a perfect way to begin to feel truly Christmassy. Angelic voices echoing throughout the chruch. Fr Eugene's Christmas tree and advent lighting made for a spectacuar back drop for a wonderful evening of song. Thank you to Mrs George who led the service and played the piano throughout. What would we do without your magical musical talents!
On Thursday 7th December St George's class (Reception) performed their Nativity play. They were absolutely amazing! What stars! Not a dry eye in the house! Amaxing job St Georges class - and a huge thanks to Mrs Sullivan, Mrs Butler-Grogan and the Reception class team for their hardwork in bringing this fabulous performance together!
The Mini Vinnie society went to the Holy Family Church on Tuesday and prepared hampers for the community and Parish with the items they purchased from their Movie night. They raised over £500 to support the SVP. We are really proud of all their hard work.
On Thursday 7th December we got to come back to school in the evening in our Pyjamas, even our teddies accompanied us too! We came back to school to listen to our teachers reading stories around the Christmas trees. We felt really Christmassy listening to the festive stories, singing some Christmas songs and even enjoying hot chocolate and cookies whilst we enjoyed the stories!
Whole school attendance for Week 6 was 94.8%. St Bernadette’s class were our trophy winners this week. They achieved the highest class attendance with an amazing 98.3%. Well done Year 4.
Budding Rock Stars Perform At St Mary's
Rock Stars from Years 1 to 6 performed in their bands at our Rocksteady concert this morning. From drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, keyboards and vocals our wonderful musicians played many very well known rock and pop songs to the whole school. It was music to our ears!
Some children from years 5 and 6 were selected to take part in a School Games sports hall athletics competition at Yate Academy. The pupils had to compete against others schools and show important team work skills. St Mary’s achieved a brilliant result of 3rd place. Well done to all the children who took part. Thank you to Mr Williams for supporting the event.
Whole school attendance was 94.2% - reflective of the seasonal illnesses in school. Despite there being many children absent from school due to coughs and colds, St Augustine’s class managed to achieve 97.3% and won the trophy for the highest attendance this week! A huge well done to them!
Swimming Gala 25th November
I was so proud of all our 16 talented swimmers on Saturday. We achieved 2nd place overall in the competition. There were lots of great swims amongt all. The children participated excellently and represented the school in a fantastic manner. - Miss Eatherington
The class who won the trophy this week for the highest attendance was St Nicholas (Year One). They had 100% attendance this week! Every child was in school every day! This is their second week on the trot for winning the trophy for the highest attendance! A huge well done to them! Whole school attendance was 98.2% - which was exceptionally high too! Congratulations on your good health St Mary's!!
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 3 17th Nov
Whole school attendance was 95.6% this week. There were TWO classes who received the attendance trophy this week. These were St Nicholas (Y1) and St Augustine (Y3). Both of these classes achieved 98% attendance. Well done Y1 and Y3 !! That’s two weeks in a row for Y3 too!! I wonder if they can make it three?
Take a look at the Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leaflet
Our school council have met and updated our Pupil Friendly Antibullying Leafet. We launched this leaflet during Antibullying Week.
Odd Socks Day 2023
This week is AntiBullying Week and our whole school came together to launch this week this morning with an Odd Socks parade and assembly. Members of our school council led parts of the assembly and were able to share their new Pupil Friendly AntiBullying Leaflet they have created.
Attendance Trophy Winners Week 2 10th Nov
Whole school attendance for Week 2 was 96.9%. This week the attendance trophy has been awarded for IMPROVED ATTENDANCE. This has gone to St Augustine (Year3) class whose attendance this week has improved by almost 2% and was 98.7%. Way to go St Augustine’s class!
And the attendance trophy winners for this week (3rd Nov) are....
Whole school attendance for Week 1 was 97.4%. Today (Fri 3rd November) there were NO children absent from school due to illness! What a healthy bunch we all are! Attendance Trophy Winners This Week: The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to a class with 100% Attendance this week – and that is St Nicholas – Year 1 class! EVERY child was in school EVERY day for the whole week! That’s Awesome Year 1!
Our Mini Vinnie's have been busy creating our entry for the Bradley Stoke Charity Scarecrow Trail 2023
The theme this year was 'International' - to celebrate all the people of the world. Our country was 'Poland' and we created our very own 'Chopin' - come and take a look! We even fitted him with an umbrella to keep him dry in the rain!
Attendance Celebrations Week 7
Whole school attendance for Week 7 was 96%. The attendance trophy has once again been awarded to Year 2 (St Elizabeth) class this week for the highest attendance. They achieved 100% attendance for the second week in a row – meaning that EVERY child was in school EVERY day for two weeks now! Well done to them! Punctuality: 200 children arrived on time and ready to learn this week! – thank you for ensuring your children arrive on time, by 8:55am, and are ready to learn! Enjoy your holiday next week everyone! Jo Creese
Year 5 Sports Leaders - Oct 23
Please welcome the new year 5 sports leaders for 2023 - 2024 ! The enthusiastic year 5 children have received sports leaders training for a whole term and are ready to deliver sessions on the playground in term 2. Please look out for the them on the playground. They are excited to be delivering some fun sports activities to small groups of children at lunchtime and will try to help make the playground a happy place to be. Miss Eatherington
Y5 and Y6 Girls Football Event 12th October
On Thursday 12th October Y5 and Y6 girls went to GFA Almondsbury to play a football tournament against other schools. We won 1 match, drew 1 and lost 1. We think that our whole team did a spectacular job especially the striker which was Lena. Although, there was a strong and tough team we still tried our best and never gave up. Frustrated, we lost the 1st match but this powered us to carry on and play our best. Unfortunately, most players in the second match had studded boots which terrified us but we kept playing and even our goalie, Natalia, saved a penalty. After our second match we had a little snack and Mr Williams wanted one as well. To our great excitement, we won our last match but sadly we didn’t qualify for the quarter finals. Over all, we had a great time and had fun but we didn’t want to leave. By Lena, Natalia, Adeline and Cathy
Y5/6 Boys and Girls Tag Rugby Event - 3rd October
Tag Rugby World Cup Festival On Tuesday the 3rd October, year 5/6 girls and boys went to Little Stoke Park to play rugby against other schools. We played five games, we won three, drew one and lost once. Our best player of the team was Jack from year 5 because he scored the most tries for us. Sometimes we found it hard because our first game we lost and it was tough for us to carry on. On the second match we drew 5 v 5 and it was challenging but we never gave up. On the third match, we won and we became more and more confident that we would win the next game. To our great excitement, we won the fourth match 6 v 2! We felt stronger every time we scored a try and were inspired to give our best. We won three full matches and we were delighted that we won. By Jacob and Glory
Can you design a poster with an Antibullying message?
SCHOOL COUNCIL - What have we been up to?
In November it is Anti-Bullying Week. School council have met and we have looked at creating a new Pupil Friendly Antibullying Policy. We looked at all the different elements of the adult version of the policy and translated these into child friendly words. We will then put all of these words together in one document and create a pupil friendly Anti Bullying Polcy leaflet ready to launch in Antibullying Week ... Watch this space ........
This Week's Attendance Trophy Winners W/E 13.10.23
World Mental Health Day 2023 is on Tuesday 10th October. It’s a day to talk to everyone about their mental health, raising awareness and driving positive change.
It’s also a chance to talk about mental health, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to get help if you are struggling.
See this week's newsletter for more information, ideas and tips