Spring Term 2022
Lent is the period of forty days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar, traditionally a time of fasting and reflection. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and begins with Ash Wednesday. During this time, we focus on reflection and penance. Some of the children at Maryvale have made Lenten promises and chosen to fast in a variety of ways, the sacrifice they have made is a reflection of Jesus' deprivation in the wilderness and a test of self-discipline.
At Maryvale we have focused on, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each class has chosen a charity to raise money for by completing a range of activities, for example, Disney Dress Up Day, CAFOD'S Walk Against Hunger, Father Hudson's Good Shepherd Appeal, Family Fast Day, Walk A Mile, the list goes on...
We have worked extremely hard to raise money for a range of charities to show our support and Faith.
During Spring Term and leading up to Lent, we reflected and thought about all the people who need help and ways in which we can help. As a school, Maryvale raised money for the British Red Cross to help aid some of the ongoing issues in our World at the moment. The children chose to wear their own clothes and donate money to help a worthy cause.
Children's Mental Health Week 7-11th February
We chose to celebrate Children's Mental Health Awareness Week at Maryvale as we know how important it is to ensure our Children feel safe, secure and happy. We held a 'Dress to Express Yourself Day' at Maryvale where the children could come into school and dress in something they felt expressed themselves. We focused on our mind, bodies and souls during this week and took part in activities which enriched us holistically.
NSPCC NUMBER DAY - What a fabulous day that was.
Each class created and took part in a range of different games and activities all based around Maths. The children had so much fun engaging with Maths in a variety of ways, e.g. outdoor learning, interactive work and games etc.
Although the children had a fun-filled day they were aware of the reasoning behind the NSPCC NUMBER DAY. The children all dressed up in different ways of expressing numbers in order to raise money for a fantastic charity which help children who need it most.
Autumn Term 2021
We have enjoyed being able to come back together as a school community.
We have celebrated the following:
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - We had a whole day dedicated to Our Lady
Multi- Faith Week - Check out some of the activities on the Class Pages!
The season of Creation - including class liturgies
St Vincent de Pauls' Feast Day
St Francis of Assisi's Feast Day
Harvest Mass
Mini Vinnies donating food to St Chad's
The House Captains leading Lunchtime Rosary Club
Parent Sacramental Meeting with Fr The
Weekly Class Masses
Using our God-Given talents to learn how to play the recorder!
Looking after God's Creations and our local environment
Remembrance Day
Advent services
Advent - During Advent this term we have learnt and understood the importance of giving and helping others. We have collected a variety of items over the 4 weeks of Advent such as; food, baby clothes and toiletries.
We have collected these items and donated them to St Chad's in order to help others who are less fortunate.
Remembrance Day
We have learnt all about the meaning of Armistice Day and the importance of remembering and reflecting. Each class held a Liturgy to remember the soldiers who sacrificed their tomorrow for our today. We raised money for the British Poppy Legion by buying a poppy to remember.
We have been looking after our local environment and God's Creations. Year 1 have been on a litter pick to keep our environment tidy and keep God's animals safe.
Year 3 have been reaching out to the less fortunate, they have been collecting crisp packets in order to turn them into an insulated blanket for homeless people. They have had a special visitor in school to help them and explain how the blanket will be made and what to do. Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed learning how to help others and understanding the importance of what they are doing.
We have been focusing on the wonderful Creations that God has made for us. We have celebrated these fantastic Creations by exploration, prayer and thanks.
In addition to exploring God's Creations, we have looked into our amazing Gifts and Talents that God has graced us with and put these to good use as he would wish.
Harvest Mass - The children took part in a whole school Mass of thanks. We thought about what Harvest means to us and to our community. The incredible generosity of the families at Maryvale meant that we could donate lots of food. This will make such a difference to the community at this particularly challenging time - truly living out the virtues of being generous and grateful!
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - We had a whole day dedicated to Our Lady.
We have expressed our Love for Our Mother Mary by creating art work, making poems and offered our love and respect through prayer services.
In Year 6 they used their democracy skills and freedom of speech to make decisions and cast votes on who should become the House Captains and Vice Captains for our school. All children that decided to run, worked so hard to write their speeches and excelled in confidence when delivering them - they were eloquent and truthful with their words. The children who voted were attentive and discerning and made excellent choices!
2020-2021
Children's Mental Health Week - 1st -7th February 2021
As Catholics, it is really important to use prayer as a tool to look after our mental health.
Use the link below to access a guided prayer:
https://www.tentenresources.co.uk/children-mental-health-week
Our Faith in Action
During Advent, the children took part in several activities in order to raise money for St Chad's Sanctuary and local food banks. Take a look at some of the fundraising we got up to...
Advent fundraising
The spiritual council have decided to support St. Chad's Sanctuary during Advent this Year.
Lenten Charities 2019
During Lent one of the charities we will be supporting is HCPT. HCPT is a charity who take children (including past and present pupils from our school) on life changing pilgrimage holidays. This is also a charity close to Miss Hopper's heart as she volunteers as a group leader. You can find more information - https://www.hcpt.org.uk/
On Friday 8th March Andy Clare came to talk to KS2 about the work of HCPT
The children all enjoyed acting out the Nativity story. They sang their hearts out and were all superstars!
On Sunday 9th December we had our first family Mass of the year, this was also the Mass of Commitment for years 3 and 6. Well done to the pupils for leading the Mass in such a respectful and reverent manner.
Harvest Festival
The whole school community came together for our Harvest Mass on 11th October, thank you to everyone for their very generous donations. All food and toiletry items will be donated to our local Foodbank https://www.trusselltrust.org/ and
https://www.sifafireside.co.uk
Our generous donations demonstrate our faith in action, living out the Gospel virtues of 'Generous and Grateful'.