With Christ at our side to guide us,
we shine in all that we do.

Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 – This is My Place

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This week, our school has been celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, with this year’s theme: “This is My Place.”
The theme encouraged children to think about belonging—what it means, why it matters, and where in their lives they feel truly valued and accepted.

Understanding Belonging

Throughout the week, pupils explored the idea that belonging is more than just being present in a group or a place. It is the feeling of being:

  • A valued part of something,
  • Cared for,
  • Included, and Comfortable to be themselves.

Teachers led discussions about the different ways we know we belong—whether through friendships, family, classrooms, clubs, or the places that make us feel safe and happy. Children shared wonderful ideas about the people and environments that help them feel supported and confident.

Creating Personal ‘Belonging Maps’

To help children explore their own sense of belonging, each child created a personal map. These maps were unique to every pupil and included:

  • Special places they feel connected to,
  • Groups or communities they are part of,
  • Activities that make them feel accepted,
  • And even non‑physical spaces—such as a feeling, memory, or moment where they feel they truly ‘fit’.

This activity encouraged children to reflect on what makes them feel secure and valued, as well as celebrating the diverse and personal ways we all find our place in the world.

Year 2- Shrove Tuesday

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Year 2 had an exciting and delicious Shrove Tuesday celebration this week as they welcomed a very special visitor—Mavis from Asda—who joined the children to make and decorate their very own pancakes!

The classroom was filled with smiles (and a lovely sweet smell!) as the children mixed, flipped, and prepared warm pancakes with Mavis’ help. Once ready, everyone chose their favourite toppings—ranging from chocolate sauce and sprinkles to fresh fruit and classic lemon and sugar. The children took great pride in decorating their creations before tucking into their tasty treats.

Afterwards, the fun continued in the school hall with a lively pancake race, keeping alive a much‑loved English Shrove Tuesday tradition. With frying pans in hand and pancakes at the ready, Year 2 ran, laughed, and cheered each other on in a friendly and energetic race.

It was a fantastic day filled with teamwork, tradition, and lots of joy. A huge thank‑you to Mavis and Asda for helping make the experience so memorable!

        

Year 2 Sandwich Making with Mavis and Tracey from Asda

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Yesterday, the children in Year 2 enjoyed a fantastic visit from Mavis and Tracey from Asda as an exciting hook for their DT Kitchen unit. This term, they’ll be learning all about making healthy sandwiches, and what better way to start than with expert guidance?
Mavis and Tracey kindly donated a variety of healthy ingredients and showed the children how to create a delicious, nutritious sandwich. We were so proud of the children for trying something new! They discovered that you don’t need butter to make a tasty sandwich and enjoyed experimenting with both white and brown bread.
It was a wonderful hands-on experience that has inspired the children to think about healthy choices in their own meals.

Year 2 World Poetry Day

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To celebrate National Poetry Day, Year 2 took part in a special poetry session exploring the classic poem The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. The session began with a discussion about what poetry is, helping the children understand how poems use rhythm, rhyme, and imagination to tell stories and express ideas.

Working in small groups, the children orally rehearsed the poem, practising their expression and fluency. They then confidently performed it for their peers, sharing their interpretations and enjoying the playful language of the poem.

Following the performances, the class engaged in a variety of creative activities inspired by the poem, including:

  • Illustrating scenes from the poem
  • Writing their own rhyming couplets
  • Exploring the characters and setting through drama and discussion

It was a joyful and imaginative session, full of language, laughter, and learning!

Water Scarcity (Fabiano in Uganda)

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This week, we learnt about the negative impact that climate change is having on poor communities around the world.

Uganda faces a significant water shortage, with many people lacking access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Fabiano used to spend hours every day collecting water from a well. He would walk there and back, 5km overall, and it would take him an hour. Sometimes he would make this journey three times a day. It made going to school hard as he was too tired. But Fabiano loved school and he was determined to go after collecting water, even when he was tired. In fact, he never missed a day of school.

Thanks to help from CAFOD’s global network, Fabiano’s community now has a pump in the village. It means it’s much easier to collect water for cooking and cleaning. It also means that the community can grow vegetables.

Fabiano has much more free time now. He is enjoying his school and helping other people to understand how the water pump can help everyone stay clean and healthy.

As we see from Fabiano’s story, taking care of creation is linked to the rights of others, such as the right of children to go to school, and not spend all day fetching water.

We reflected on Pope Francis’ message that often the poorest in our communities are the worst-affected by climate change, even though they do little to contribute to it. We made signs to be displayed around all the taps in our school to encourage everyone to be ‘waterwise‘ and remember to turn off the tap after they have used it.

Year 6 SATs

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I would like to congratulate all of Year 6 for their hard work, effort and resilience this week during SATs week.

SATs week can be a worrying, stressful time but I am so proud in how they have approached and dealt with this week.

This afternoon, the children received their Leaver’s Hoodies….the excitement and carnage in the classroom this afternoon was well deserved!!

Well done Year 6, we are all incredibly proud of you!

 

Mrs Davis & Mrs Wilson

 

Year 2 Cricket Festival

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Today, our Year 2 pupils s had the incredible opportunity to participate in the All Stars Cricket Festival, where they joined other local schools for a day filled with fun and friendly competition! The event was a fantastic way for the children to experience the joy of cricket and develop their teamwork, coordination, and sportsmanship skills.

Throughout the day, our budding cricketers took part in a variety of exciting cricket-based games. They learned new techniques, practiced their batting and bowling, and enjoyed playing alongside their peers from other schools in the area. It was a brilliant chance for them to work together as a team, and discover their passion for cricket.

Our pupils showed outstanding enthusiasm and determination, and we couldn’t be more proud of their participation. The event was a great success, and it was wonderful to see our children engaging with a sport that promotes not only physical fitness but also positive social interaction and teamwork.

A big thank you to the organisers and volunteers who made today’s festival possible. We look forward to more opportunities for our children to get involved in local events like this in the future!

Well done, Year 2! 🌟 🏏

             

Y3 Egyptologists @ Oriental Museum Durham!

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Our Y3 Egyptologists enjoyed an inspiring visit to the Oriental Museum in Durham. Firstly, the children used their archaeological skills to interpret the use of a variety of interesting artefacts recovered from Ancient Egypt. We enjoyed an adventurous and informative gallery trail, where pupils even used the Rosetta Stone to interpret hieroglyphics.  Another highlight, was seeing a contemporary mummified Egyptian body, which had been perfectly prepared for the afterlife. Meanwhile, the children creatively performed a dramatic weighing of the heart ceremony, where they demonstrated their brilliant role play skills! We had a wonderful day and this was a brilliant launch to our new History unit!

 

 

© 2026 Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.