All are welcome here to walk with Jesus as we love, learn and flourish.

With Jesus beside us we love, learn and grow together.

Pupil Chaplains

We have pupil chaplains who work alongside our Parish Priest, pupils and Staff to assist in the growth of the church within our school. We are always enormously proud of all they do and it is wonderful to see them grow on their Christian journey. Our current Chaplains attended a training course finishing with a Commissioning Service at Salford Cathedral. It was a beautiful day and Mr Mulrooney and Mrs Robinson were most impressed by our Pupil Chaplains, they were a credit to the school and we are certain they will do great things in their role.

Their role involves leading worship for classes, sharing their thoughts for the week at our Friday morning Celebration Assembly, acting as role models throughout school, preparing our Prayer Bags to go home and spread the word of God and they also keep up to date with what is happening in our school community perhaps sorting a congratulations card for a family with a new baby or offering prayers for someone who is sick.

Mass

At St Mary’s we attend Mass regularly. Some services are for the whole school whilst others are for KS1 or KS2. Each Mass fits with our RE learning or the liturgical year. Our pupils help to prepare by writing their own Bidding Prayers which they then read in church. Please click on the form for a full overview of Mass for the coming year. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Parish Schools’

At St Mary’s we are pleased to work closely with our sister schools, St Michael and St John’s (Clitheroe) and Thorneyholme. As part of our work together we make sure we celebrate the first Mass of the school year together, holding a Parish Mass at one of our three churches.

Prayer Bags

At Advent and Easter we send home prayer bags. There is one for each class and it visits a different house each night. In the photo you can see Poppy under her bed tent retelling Mum the full nativity story.

Sacramental Programme

Each year our Year 3 children embark on this programme as part of their journey within the Catholic Faith (older children who have not already taken the Sacramental Programme and are baptised Catholic, can also join – please ask). The dates for this year’s programme are available from the School Office.

This year has been a little different due to the impact of Covid-19 and we haven’t been able to visit church as often as we would like. In lieu of this the church have put together a short film, please do watch the videos, they transport us to the heart of St Mary’s Church whilst filling us with hope and peace as we listen to the music.

 

Following Boris Johnson’s 8pm announcement we now know that as of midnight tonight the country has entered a new period of Lockdown, a Lockdown that includes the closure of school. 

School will be open for the children of Key Workers and for pupils who are deemed vulnerable. All pupils will be provided with work in order for them to keep learning. 

Tonight’s announcement was very short notice for you as parents and also for us as a Staff. Tomorrow, by 11am there will be three tasks on the school website for each Class to complete as their Tuesday learning. However, School will be closed to ALL pupils tomorrow. 

 

Staff, however, will be in school preparing for the rest of the Lockdown. Through tomorrow we will prepare school to make it safe for Key worker pupils and vulnerable children to return. 

We will send out a form for you to apply for a place in the Keyworker Bubbles and we will let you know more about how children will be learning remotely. We will do our very best to re-open to Key Worker children and vulnerable pupils by Wednesday. 

I am aware of how difficult this is for you all, School closing creates a multitude of problems for everyone but data surrounding this awful disease dictates that this is a necessary step. As ever, the safety and health of everyone must be a priority. 

Thank you for your continued support and we will be in frequent contact over the next few days. 

Many thanks

Claire Halstead