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Litter Picking (Local Area)

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More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. The cost to the taxpayers for street cleaning is over £1 billion a year.

Litter is anything from a crisp packet or empty bottle to a bag of rubbish. All litter is unsightly and makes our local areas look untidy and uncared for. It can take years to degrade, causing harm to wildlife and habitats. This has a harmful effect on our environment.

In an effort to reduce the impact of littering in our local area, we took to the streets to pick up all the litter we could find. We aim to become stewards of creation and care for our common home for the good of everyone in our local community.

 

Faith Stones

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We are very excited to be having a new garden area built in our school. This area is designed for children to visit for some quiet prayer and reflection time.

We teamed up with the Mini Vinnies and children from Years 5 & 6 to prepare for our new Outdoor Prayer & Reflection Area.

Linking with our Jubilee Year of Hope, we painted beautiful faith stones with words, symbols, and colours to inspire others. These stones will be placed in the garden and around our outdoor spaces to bring comfort and peace to anyone who visits. We hope they will be used during prayer and help others feel close to God.

Seeds of Hope

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This week, we took an exciting step in creating our outdoor prayer and reflection area. We are excited to be building a new garden in our school grounds. This will be a quiet, outdoor space for children to pray, reflect and spend time with God in the natural environment.

We sowed seeds of hope for our new garden, choosing special plants and herbs with lovely scents to make it a calming, sensory space. These plants will remind everyone of the beauty of God’s natural world and create new habitats for insects. We will carefully nurture them as they grow, ready to plant in our garden in the summer.

Biodiversity Mapping

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We explored our school grounds and used a special map to record all the plants and habitats we could find. We talked about how important it is to care for God’s creation and how looking after nature shows love and respect for the world He made.

This map will help us to track the positive changes we make as we help more wildlife feel at home here and improve the natural environment in our school.

Introduction to Laudato Si’

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In 2015, Pope Francis wrote a letter addressed to every person on the planet, asking us all to listen to the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”.

Laudato Si’ discusses the damage being inflicted on the Earth by humans. Pope Francis called for all people to take action to tackle the global issues we face.

It deals with many environmental issues including:
• pollution
• climate change
• water
• loss of biodiversity
• decline in the quality of human life.

In his letter, Pope Francis asked us to work together to create a better world for future generations and to make the necessary changes in our lives in order to take care of, respect and value our ‘common home’.

At St Bede’s, we have decided to start our Eco Club in response to Laudato Si’. We hope to make many positive changes, rooted in our faith in Christ, in our school, and in our local and global communities.

In our first session, we watched CAFOD’s Laudato Si’ animation and reflected on what we could do to become stewards of God’s creation. We created posters with inspiring messages to encourage others in our school to get involved in our mission.

Durham Cathedral Choir

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Durham Cathedral Choir is looking for the next generation of Boy and Girl Choristers. We would like to invite children from your school, and their parents/guardians, to attend our free Chorister Experience event on Saturday 10 May at Durham Cathedral.

This is a unique opportunity for any child in school years 2-6 to sing with the Choristers in the Cathedral.

Please note: We are especially keen to hear from girls in Year 3 and 4 and boys in Year 3. There are currently no spaces for girls in Year 5 in the Cathedral Choir as that year is full – children in that year are welcome to attend this event but won’t be able to audition.

 

Here is an outline timetable:

12.30pm          Registration in the Cathedral’s Chapter House

12.50pm          Welcome

1.10pm            Choir Practice

2.00pm            Craft activity, tour of the Cathedral and organ playing activity

3.30pm            Break (with a snack provided)

4.15pm            Choir Practice in the Cathedral

5.30pm            Evensong

 

Parents and guardians are encouraged to take part, and follow their own schedule of events, culminating in seeing their children singing as part of the Choir at Evensong.

More information can be found here: Choristers and Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation – Durham Cathedral

Flyer (Click Here)

Registration Form (Click Here)

 

Bishop Stephen Visit

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We were thrilled to welcome Bishop Stephen to our school yesterday. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the parents and community members who supported us and joined in our beautiful Lenten walk – the weather was absolutely perfect! Bishop Stephen was especially impressed by our amazing choir, who entertained everyone during afternoon tea. Both Bishop Stephen and Father Bill were delighted with the thoughtful gifts from our Nursery, which captured their likenesses perfectly. Everyone at St Bede’s had a wonderful, prayerful day, making it the perfect conclusion to a very busy half term.

Easter Mystery

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On the last day of term, children in EYFS and KS1 will be given a copy of The Easter Story to share with their families at home.  KS2 children will be given a copy of the Stations of the Cross, with images drawn by the Mini Vinnies, to take home to share with their families also.

By sharing the Easter story and the Passion of Christ, we remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  As a family, please take time to stop and think about the true meaning of Easter.

We wish you all a happy, healthy and holy Easter!

Stations of the Cross

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During Lent, the children in Years 5 and 6 and in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed the experience of leading Stations of the Cross with parishioners at St Bede’s Church.

Here are some photos of Years 3 and 4 in church after Mass today.

Reception’s Easter Celebration of the Word

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This morning Reception performed a wonderful Easter Celebration of the Word for their families. They said their lines so confidently, sang beautifully and shared some lovely messages about the meaning of Easter and new life.

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