ST.MARYS PRIMARY SCHOOL
Volume 1, Issue 2
‘MYSTARS’ Newsletter
December 2013
Welcome to our Newsletter ‘take over’ edition!
Special points of
interest:
 Welcome note
 Featured articles
written by Y6
 Reception—
Aquarium visit
 Trust—Christmas
Concert
 Honesty—Multi
Faith Week
 Year 2 Puppets
 Purity—Singing
 Innocence—?
Tesco visit
 Acceptance—
Purses
 Courage—
Christmas crafts
 Year 5—River
trip
 Year 6—Cross
stitch and Journalistic writing
 Campion Run
 Tag Rugby
Welcome to the 2nd
edition of ‘MYSTARS’,
St Mary’s celebrations
of this half term’s
events, excursions
and festivities.
In this edition, our
talented Year 6 pupils
have donned their
reporters hats and
interviewed each class
to help them highlight
their half termly foci
for this news-sheet.
In the lead up to the
Christmas season
we’ve had so much to
prepare for, to
celebrate and to
enjoy!
Some of the key
highlights being: the
spine-tingling Latin
Mass at St Andrew’s
Church, our beautiful
(KS1) Infant Nativity
production, the choir
appearance at CLIC
Sargent Concert at
the Royal Albert Hall,
and KS2 carol singing
at the Liberty, Tesco’s
and our final festivities
at St Mary’s Church.
A further unexpected
highlight, was to find
we were nominated
to appear on national
television and
shortlisted to 5
schools nationwide.
Each class nominated
one pupil to represent
our school on ITV’s
‘This Morning’,
portraying the mid
week nativity scene,
when the Angel Gabriel appeared to the
shepherds.
to showcase
the true
message of
CHRIST in
Christmas and for
us as a school to
show our faith in
a national forum.
KS2 choir outside
The children were a
huge credit to their
The Royal Albert Hall
families and the school
and I was so proud to be
there with them.
I do hope that many
of you managed to
join us for some of
these events and
that you have all had
a peaceful and joyous Christmas and
the year ahead in
2014 is one of blessings of good health
Children from Reception years to
and happiness.
A perfect opportunity Over to year 6…!
year 6 representing St Mary’s on
ITV’s ‘This Morning’ Nativity
The Adventures Of The ReSEAptions!
On Wednesday 20th
November, the
Reception classes
went to Southend
Aquarium on an
amusing school trip.
They got there by
train and when they
arrived and started to
walk towards the
aquarium, Mrs
Madley’s hair went
crazy in the wind!
This made the entire
children laugh
hysterically on their
way to making some
fishy friends.
When they got there,
they met the sea-life
expert (Emma) who
showed them through
the centre.
They met Eddie the
edible crab (luckily no
one was hungry) and
Sally the starfish. They
learnt that crabs
breathe out of their
bottoms! They also
learnt that when
starfish eat something
they don’t like they
turn their stomach
inside-out and launch
their stomach into the
surrounding water
and wait for a new
one to grow! EEWW!
They were able to touch
crabs and starfish. ”The
starfish was very smooth
and slow and that the
crabs were fast and
move sideways.” quoted
one of the children in
Miss Allsop’s class.
The children enjoyed
their time at
Southend Aquarium and were
satisfied on their journey
back to school having
made some fishy friends!
By Daniel Gilbert, Owen
Keen, Shane Holmes and
Jemma Barrett.
Inside this issue:
Welcome note
1
Reception
1
Reception
Year 1
2
Year 2
Year 3
3
Contact and updates
4
Year 3 DT /Science
Year 2 English/Science
5
Contact us...
6
Page 2
‘MYSTARS’ Newsletter
Reception’s trip to Southend Aquarium
On 20th November Miss McGahey took Reception on a trip to Southend
Aquarium when it was pouring down with rain. “Despite the weather it was an
amazing day” said Miss McGahey.
They also went to see a show about sea life and saw a frog called Eddie and
they had to use their pinkie to touch him so that the children didn’t hurt him.
They saw a spider crab which frightened everyone (even the teacher was a
little scared!)
Luckily all of the animals
were fed so that they didn’t
get grumpy and bad
tempered at the children.
Overall, they had a terrific
day and a safe journey
home.
By: Tosin Gbadamosi,
Clancy McCarthy,
Ella Wallace &
Katy Conlan
“It sooo much - was sooo fun!” Reception exclaimed.
Although it was raining it didn’t stop them from having fun.
Many of the children said they would love to go there again and thought it was
a phenomenal and exhilarating day. They saw lots of different coloured animals
and saw creatures that they had never seen before such as pink sharks, crabs,
starfish, crocodiles and water snakes.
KS1 CRACKING CHRISTMAS CONCERT
On the 9th 10th and 12th December the fabulous 1KT performed
their Christmas Nativity in front
of the school and parents. “My
favourite part of the
performance was when we did
the ‘You and Me’
dance”
(Jaime, Year 1)
In this play the children showed
the meaning of Christmas and
what it meant to them.
The audience were treated to
delights: including dancing, singing
and an interesting visit from the
Power Rangers!
Let’s not forget the fantastic
teachers who helped make this
all happen. They all worked very
hard making sure all the children
knew what they were doing.
enjoyed the knock at the door
song” - Poppy Rose, 2013.
“I am very proud of my class as
they put so much effort into this
wonderful production”
Miss Keating.
by Bethan Unsworth -Tomlinson,
Aimee Usher, Joshua Howard,
Alexander Phillips
The children really enjoyed being
part of the performance, “I
Making memories in multi-faith week
Today we visited Mrs Green’s
Year 1 class. We were trying to
find out information about what
they have been learning over the
last school term. It certainly
sounds like they have been up to
some interesting things…”I loved
dressing up as a kiwi.”- Izzie age
6.
The class enthusiastically
explained that they had enjoyed
a week of cooking and learning
about different faiths during
multi-faith week.
Year 1 have certainly enjoyed
multi faith week! The class
participated in many exciting
activities. Their favourite by far
was cooking date cakes, which
are cakes with a big raisin in the
middle (they are meant to give
good luck.) “I was covered in
flour from head to toe so I had
to be hoovered!” –Tilly, 2013.
During class, the children also
loved making their friendship
bracelets, which they placed on
their prayer table. They are very
happy to remember such a
special event.
By, Alfie Clarke,
William McAulay, Nancy Bourke
& Charley Offord
Page 3
Volume 1, Issue 2
2 O’RG in Puppet Pandemonium!
2O’RG have been going puppet
crazy since Monday 9th
December. They have been sewing two fabulous fabrics (of their
choice) together, to decorate
and take home for Christmas. It’s
an amusement-filled activity filled
with excitement for the Year
two’s.
ing their design on paper. Once
they finished, they started
collecting their materials. After
they had gathered their materials
they stitched the two pieces of
material together to start
decorating. 2 O’RG have not
started decorating, but are eager
to have a go!
To accomplish this task, teachers
and teaching assistants have been
through blood, sweat and tears
to help the children finish the
task.
“I have enjoyed sewing and am
looking forward to decorating.”
explained Codie. There has been
lots of enthusiasm within the
class. Teachers have asked the
children to bring in their
decorative items to position on
Firstly, they started off by sketch-
their puppets. They are aiming to finish their puppets by
Friday 20th December to take home to play with on
Christmas day.
We hope they make great Christmas presents for their
families this year!
By Daniel Horner, Johnny Bonnici, Lucy Childs and
Megan
Williams.
THE PERFECT PUPPET PRODUCERS
Written by Rebecca Tattan,
Andrew Buckley,
Joseph Matthews, Millie Bayley
and Kai ButlerPeter.
2HGS have created puppets as
part of their DT project. The
pesky project began on Friday
13th December. They needed to
design exactly what they wanted
their new friends to look like.
Although they have been
extremely busy for the past few
weeks, they have still managed to
design some fabulous puppets.
Everyone in the class has
thoroughly enjoyed going out in
groups and making their own
buddies. Instead of making a little
normal puppet, they have made
their own unique characters! ”It
is so fun to make our puppets!”
Sophie, (A child from the class)
exclaimed. They were excited to
make their companion. However,
when they had the
chance to make them
they never realised how
hard it would be to sew
through the felt! Once
finished, the children
were able to marvel at
their masterpieces as
they were displayed
around the classroom. Maybe
they will be able to remember
these skills to make their
cushions in year six.
3SP’S Super Singers
On 16th November the Year 3
classes went to Tesco to do
some tremendous singing for
charity. One of their favourite
songs was “12 Days of Christmas.” ‘I was very joyful when l was
singing!’ exclaimed one of the pupils. I thought it was going to be
boring at first but it was actually
quite fun!”
Their second trip to Tesco was
on 18th November, where they
did some terrific singing. They
performed to Tesco customers
and some of their parents. There
was a mixture of emotions when
the children arrived at the supermarket. Some were nervous and
some were bursting with
excitement. They started singing
with enthusiasm. 3SP had a great
time; they were jolly and very
confident. ‘I thought it was really
exciting!’ commented one of the
singers.
They were like a professional
choir. They were proud to
represent St. Marys Catholic
Primary School in their local
community. When they came
back they had a very exciting
celebration for all their hard
work. ‘WE ARE PROUD TO BE
PART OF ST.MARY’S
CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL!’
Written by Calum Pike,
Ashanna Ambursley and Charlie Wilson.
Page 4
Volume 1, Issue 2
YEAR 3SI get into a lot of dough!
Before Christmas Year 3 went
on a visit to Tesco’s to see how
they made their bread.
On arrival half the class were
ushered to the staff room where
they were given a super duper
word search to complete, giving
rise to some puzzled faces.
The other half were given
designer protective hats making
them look very professional and
taken to visit the kitchens.
They were shown how the bread
was processed, sliced and packaged they were also shown how
the ovens were heated and what
temperature it had to be at to
make the bread crispy. They all
got to taste a slice of tiger bread
Christy quoted “I loved the
stripes and it was tasty”.
It was then time to swap over.
The whole class were then given
a tour of the store and a refreshing carton of Tesco finest juice
before heading back to school.
Finlay quoted “What a great visit
By Christian Dowdall and Lily
Bath
4TA’s artistic skills start to shine!
On Thursday 5th December,
4.T.A started a project to make
an artistic purse. We
interviewed Amy Keen who said,
“I’m very enthusiastic about sewing my purse.” Tilly Allen also
told us that she is very excited
about decorating her purse.
Concentration is a key skill in
sewing as well as effort and care.
Mrs. Twine and Mrs. Linehan
have both taken a lot of their
time and effort to help create
these magnificent masterpieces.
We wonder how they will use
these skills in the future…
By: Joey Jackson, Emma Dilliway,
Luke Bishop and Ella Richards
from Year 6.
Courage Take On Crafts
Year 4 have been doing various
creations this term. But what
for? They have been busy bees
making lots of Christmas crafts
and gifts! So far, they have been
producing fashionable purses,
crafting intriguing mobiles,
forming realistic card trees, all
for the preparation for Jesus’s
birth! Furthermore, they are
organising a party for the coming
of Christ.
It seems 4SC have really enjoyed
their activities. Beatrice has told
us “It was really enjoyable and
fun to do, it’s much better than
maths!”
To make their Christmas gifts,
children had to collect many
different materials.
To make the purses, children had
to do some sewing. We are sure
that the skills they learnt will
help them when they are in Year
6 and making their cushions!
By Patrick.R Neve.T Eva.R Harry.B
Page 5
Volume 1, Issue 2
5HA River Wade
It was a cold, windy day on the
25th November 2013 and 5HA
were about to embark on an
interesting and active school trip.
This fun adventure took place at
Creekside – Deptford, South
London. They had a challenging
journey ahead of them - trying to
get 30 children on three trains!
While on the fascinating visit,
Year 5 received a lecture on the
river cycle, before taking a dip.
They kitted up in thigh-high
‘wellies’ and wading suits and in
they went. During their time in
the river, the young explorers
t
found some odd objects
such as chicken bones,
muddy
toilets,
and
empty champagne bottles. Everyone had a
good chuckle when
George, Tobias and
Charlie fell over. Oops!
Overall 5HA highly
recommend this outing
and would like to do it
again.
i
s
5’OCK ROAM BY THE RIVER
Written by Eloise, Finlay, Hannah
and Kester
On the 26th November, 5O’CK
took a trip to the beautiful
Creekside, where people across
the country come to visit.
Creekside Discovery Centre
offers “Good, Clean, Muddy,
Fun!” to school children and the
public alike! The location was on
Deptford Creek, and it provides
an exciting range of indoor and
outdoor activities for all ages.
Visitors are able to walk through
a wild river, fish for animals in
their natural environment. Even
though it was time for fun, they
were still taught a lot about
literacy and other subjects. For
example, the children sketched a
picture of the river, which helped
to develop their art skills. This
was a practical day using drama
exercises, descriptive language,
story planning and a creek walk to
inspire creative story writing. From
discussing the day with the children,
it seems that it was a complete
success.
“I enjoyed doing the sketch work of
the river. It was really fun when we
crossed the river - ONLY THREE
PEOPLE FELL IN!” –Isabella, 5O’CK.
I’m sure the children will be able to
use what they learnt on this
memorable day when they are back
in the classroom.
It feels good to be the BOSS!
Year 6 have been studying journalistic writing and have written
this newsletter. Every class had
four fabulous reporters who
each have an amazing story. We
think that writing this newsletter
is a great opportunity for us to
tell everyone what we think
about what we are doing.
“I think it’s excellent that Year
6’s get to say what they think
about the activities we do.”Ashanna Ambursley 6DE - “We
have enjoyed writing what we
think and what the
children think. We
have been inside the
class rooms gathering
information on the
chosen stories.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea to give us
the chance to write
what we think.”Calum Pike 6DE that is what we have been doing
in Year 6. We hope you enjoy
reading this newsletter!
By Michael McCreanor ,
Olivia Hannant and Olivia Stack
Page 6
Volume 1, Issue 2
Stitched up!
Although Year 6 have been busy
working hard, they’ve managed
to find the time to make
cushions using cross stitching for
over 3 weeks. Neither the pupils
nor teachers were prepared for
the dedication, which was
required to get them finished in
time for Christmas…
The Year 6 students had a choice
this year to make either a
London or Christmas cushion.
Despite frustration, we pulled
through (and we are not just
talking about the thread!) We
persevered and were
enthusiastic about making
the unique and comfortable
cushions.
kept making mistakes. Now I am much quicker and neater.” (Alexander, 6IP). We even think we could have a go at
making our own clothes!
Although we sometimes got
ourselves into knots (excuse
the pun!) we avoided the
stressful times by getting help
from our fantastic teachers:
Miss Isaac, Mrs. Deane,
Mrs. French, Mrs. Roberts and
Miss Chapman.
As a year group, we all believe
that we have improved our
cross-stitching skills.
“At first I found it hard and I
Mrs French (T.A.) claimed, “There is smoke coming out of my
machine!” as she glued the seams together in a fluster.
We hope our families will like their homemade Christmas
presents this year!
By Giorgia Marzani, Grace McDonell, Raymond Fajardo &
Poppie Keeble
Campion Run, Run, Run!
On Friday 29th November
St Mary’s runners journeyed to
Pages Wood, Harold Wood.
Nervously, our Year 5 and 6
pupils stood waiting for a signal
for the race to begin. The task
ahead of them… a mile run.
They competed with 150 other
pupils from schools around the
borough in both the girls and
boys race. The boy’s race started
first at 11.00 am and the girl’s
race started at 11.10am, finishing
at 11.30am. The race left all
competing feeling breathless.
The girls dominated with
Lily Bath coming 1st, meaning that
the St Mary’s girls have won the
race three years in a row! Other
successes in the girls’ race
included Olivia Hyde, who came
4th.
Mr O’Connor said,” It was a
great day, I am very proud of
how exceptionally well they did.”
Finishing 1st, 4th, 33rd, and 80th is
just the success of the girls.
The boys came, 16th, 40th, 41st,
65th, 100th and 124th …
Hopefully training will start soon
so we can continue our success
next year!
Members of staff were over the
moon about the victory.
Having Fun, Getting Muddy
At the tag rugby competition, the
brilliant, outstanding and amazing
St Mary’s teams ransacked the
competition into getting fifth and
fourth place out of several other
schools from Havering. The
tournament was held on the 20th
October 2013 at the Gidea Park
Rugby Club.
The school sent two teams along
and split them into small groups
so they could get onto different
types of transport. Some of them
were parent’s cars and a few
went by bus.
When we got there, we had to
get into our teams and put on
boots, then we had to get
warmed up with the
professionals.
Then we played our first game…
To be successful, our teams had
to work together and stay active.
It was very tiring for all involved
and we are proud to
be able to represent
St Mary’s in a sport
we enjoy.
Mr. O’ Connor and Miss Saggers also attended the
day “It was a very enjoyable day and the teams
played exceptionally well.” said Miss Saggers 2013.
We hope we can keep improving as we enter tournaments in the future…
By: Stephen Lloyd and Alex Petrie
St.Marys Primary School
Hornchurch Road,12 4TL
Phone: 01708 448430
Fax: 01708 4498501
E-mail: admin@st-marys.havering.sch.uk
‘St Mary’s - Educating the ‘whole’ child’
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a 'seed-bed of learning' for all ages and a 'Centre of Excellence'.
Working alongside the church of 'St Mary, Mother of God' at the heart of the Catholic community and close to
the centre of Hornchurch, Essex, established by the sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary in 1938; the school is a
two form entry, single storey building with a swimming pool and large field and allotment to the rear, catering
for 424 pupils, aged between 4 years and 11 years (Foundation Stage to Year 6).
We’re on the
Web!
stmarysva.net
Recently inspected by Ofsted (October 2013) and Inclusion Mark (July 2013), the school is a 'good' school, in
which the whole staff and community focus their attention on the children, their safety, welfare and
progress. Not just to make the school academically sound, but to ensure the children are well-rounded
responsible individuals, who love learning and care for one-another. As a result pupils have expressed an
intense loyalty to the school and governors and parents are very supportive.
Almost all pupils make good or better progress and learn well in their lessons, leaving school well-prepared for
the next step in their education. Pupils enjoy coming to school and say they feel safe.
For further information re: admissions please see our website or contact Mrs McLeavy in our friendly school
office
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Recent awards at the school
Further information
as it emerges will
be available soon