Wulstan was born in 1009 in Long Itchington, Warwickshire. St Wulstan was a Benedictine monk who became Bishop of Worcester. He was educated by the Benedictines at Evesham and then Peterborough. He later put himself under the direction of Brihtheah, Bishop of Worcester, and was ordained a priest. Wulstan was very self-disciplined and refused to eat meat again after he was distracted while he was celebrating Mass by the smell of a dinner roasting in the kitchen. His preaching was said to have often moved people to tears. Even though he was against it, he was made prior of Worcester and in 1062, Bishop of that diocese. Although he wasn’t very learned, he delivered the Word of God so impressively and with such emotion as to move some of his audience to tears. He was closely involved in the suppression of a trade by which men were kidnapped into slavery and shipped from Bristol to Ireland. He always recited the psalter while he travelled and never passed a church or chapel without going in to pray before the altar.

St. Wulstan,

We gather here today as one community under your love and protection.

Thank you for your example of faith and kindness,

Help us to be kind and helpful to everyone in our school.

Guide us in our work. play and everything we do.

St Wulstan pray for us,

Amen.

On Tuesday 12th September, the whole school gathered together for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The children came into the school hall with reverence and awe. Father Richard joined us for this special occasion. All our children joined in the prayers and reflected peacefully.

Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Birmingham must ensure that as part of their Catholic teachings, values and virtues are now a key focus. The values and virtues show how pupils are growing in their faith as well as how schools help their pupils to grow. Schools can really emphasise a particular pair of words throughout a half term. Each half term the focus will change. It is the intention that across the whole of the Archdiocese, schools will focus upon the same pair of virtues at the same time. This will enable us to share ideas and resources and strengthen our common bond. The Virtues and Values for this academic year are below:

Autumn 1 – Compassionate & Loving

Spring 1 – Eloquent and Truthful

Spring 2 – Learned and Wise

Summer 1 - Curious and Active

Summer 2 - Intentional and Prophetic

Our weekly Monday morning assemblies provides staff and pupils with a focus for their daily lives during the coming week. The assembly is based on a specific theme and is always related to Scripture. We come together as a school to reflect on the message within the Gospel.

Mass is central to the Catholic Faith, and it is central to the life of our school and parish family. Every Friday we have a class mass, where Children take responsibility for leading the readings, Bidding Prayers, singing, altar serving, and the Offertory procession. Our wonderful school choir, led by Mrs Mallinson, is a strong presence during all of our school Masses. Parents are always welcome to attend and a coffee morning is always held each week after the Mass.

We are very proud of our altar servers here at St. Wulstan’s. To be a altar server a child has to demonstrate a commitment to their faith – a willingness to serve God and serve God’s people.

At St. Wulstan’s, staff and pupils engage in weekly class prayer services. These are prepared and led by class staff and by groups of children using the following structure:

‘We Gather’, ‘We Listen’, ‘We Respond’, ‘We Go Forth’

Our prayer boxes encourage families to pray together at home. Each class has a prayer box. In these boxes children will find information and prayers linked to their Class Saint, a prayer table cloth, a Crucifix, holy water, a book to write down their prayers, and other prayer-based resources.

In Year 3 children receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In preparation for this Sacrament, the children reflect on the fact that they are children of God and that this impacts on the way they treat others.

Through studying Bible stories such as Zacchaeus the tax collector and parables like the Prodigal Son, the children learn about Jesus’ teachings on repentance and forgiveness.

They learn to appreciate that God created humans with free will thus allowing them to make a decision to make good and bad choices. The children learn to think about the consequences of their actions and how this affects their relationship with God. 

The children learn the structure and sequence of the Rite of Reconciliation and are fully prepared to make their Reconciliation in June.

O my God, because you are so good,

I am very sorry that I have sinned against you,

And by the help of your grace I will not sin again.

Amen

Here at St. Wulstan’s we have weekly sessions with Father Richard (during Advent and Lent) so that children can attend confession.

Once the children in Year 3 have made the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. This usually takes place during June. The children work very hard at home, in school and in the parish to ensure that they are fully prepared to receive Jesus into their hearts.

During Religious Education lessons in school, the children study the Last Supper when Jesus shared his last meal with the disciples. They look in particular at the breaking of the bread and how this is similar to the celebration of the Mass. By examining the words of Jesus at the Last Supper and the priest at Mass, they learn to appreciate that we are present with Jesus every time we go to Mass.

Congratulations to all our Year 3 children who received the Sacrament of Holy Communion. May you grow in the light and love that comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The children study all of the parts of the Mass in detail over the year but focus particularly on the Liturgy of the Eucharist leading up to the celebration of First Holy Communion.  By exploring each of the parts of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in detail, the children learn that the Mass is a celebration of thanksgiving and that during the Eucharistic prayer, the priest asks the Holy Spirit to change the gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

During their final year in school, the children prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation; this is usually celebrated during December. This year, however, the children received their Sacrament in July due to social restrictions. The children prepare for the Sacrament at home, in class and in the parish. 

During Religious Education lessons in school, the children study the Holy Spirit in detail. They look at the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit and think about how these will work in their future lives. The children study the events of Pentecost and think about how they will be like the disciples when the Holy Spirit comes down upon them. As Confirmation is a Sacrament of initiation, the children explore how Baptism and Confirmation are linked, focussing in particular at the signs and symbols used in both.

As part of their work, children prepare a project on the saint of their choice. They are encouraged to select the name of a saint who has inspired them in some way. 

Come, Holy Spirit,

fill the hearts of your faithful,

and kindle in them the fir of your love.

Send forth your Spirit,

and they shall be created,

and you will renew the face of the earth.

O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful

by the light of the Holy Spirit,

grant that by the gift of the same Spirit

we may be always truly wise,

and ever rejoice in his consolation,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Congratulations to all our Year 6 children who received their Sacrament of Confirmation. May your faith shine brightly so that all your friends, family and everyone you meet can see Christ! 

On Wednesday we held our beginning of the school year retreat day and once again the amazing Dan Callow and Emily Clark led us in songs and prayers. The theme of the day was ‘His Goodness Never Fails‘ from the much loved and known Psalm 23 and the children had the opportunity to reflect on the message of comfort and reassurance. We talked about how God, our loving Shepherd, loves and watches over us and wants us to be with Him forever. The children also took part in various activities (singing, painting, drama, learning British Sign Language) to further their understanding of this message. We had three very cute visitors too: Harley, Number Two and Fred! They brought a lot of fun to St. Wulstan’s. See if you can spot them in the photos! We also had the wonderful opportunity to watch a video where our Archbishop Bernard Longley spoke about his role as a shepherd to us all as members of God’s flock.Once again, the children were a credit to both the school and their families. The photographs of the children speak for themselves as to the enjoyment the children gained from the day. Well done to all!

This week we have launced our mini Vinnies at St Wusltan's. Year 4 and 5 children have just been given their application forms and soon we will find out who successful applicants are!

Congratulations to the children that have been awarded their Mini Vinnie badge today. The Mini Vinnies that will be representing St. Wulstan's are: Amelie, Tearney , Luke , Harrie, Mia, Harriet, Olivia B, Ryan, Molly  and Thomasin. There was a lot of interest in the position and we received more applications than there were posts. We hope that as the Mini Vinnies Team continues to develop, we will be in the position to have more children.

This Autumn term, St. Wulstan's Catholic Primary School, with the help of the Mini Vinnie’s will be collecting shoe boxes for the ‘Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child’. Last Monday we had a visitor from Operation Christmas Child and she led an assembly in school to talk about how we can contribute to this cause. A small shoebox can have a big impact. What goes into the box is fun, but what comes out of it is eternal. We can be a part of changing children’s lives all over the world through the power of a simple gift with Operation Christmas Child and it is a wonderful way to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. Leaflets with more details will be distributed shortly. Please have a look below on how to pack a shoebox (and you will also find a link on gift suggestions).

The Mini Vinnies have already started thinking about ways that St. Wulstan's can help our communities. This Winter they decided that the homeless in Worcetershire and West Midalnds needed our attention the most. Therefore, chldren in KS2 have brought in tooth paste and tooth brushes with the aim to create toiletry packs for the homeless. We are working closely with Hagly Catholic High School who are supporting us with this initiative.

We will very soon be uploading photos of our toiletry packs.

Thank you to all the children that created their own bambinelli. It was wonderful to have all your beautiful creations in school.

The whole school came together to celebrate our Christmas Mass yesterday led by Fr Squires  It was a wonderful time of reflection and the Year 6 pupils read reverently and beautifully. Fr Squires also blessed all the beautiful bambinelli that the chidren made during Advent.

We wish our families a happy and holy Christmas.

2020 is officially 'The Year of the Word'. In partnership with Bible Society, this initiative focuses on celebrating, living and sharing God’s word throughout the Catholic Church in England and Wales from 30th September until the end of December 2020.
The year 2020 sees the 10th anniversary of Verbum Domini, the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI on The Word of the Lord. The year 2020 is also the 1,600th anniversary of St Jerome’s death. These are strong reasons for us to embark at this time on a creative and deeper engagement with the Holy Scriptures across thelife of each diocese.

We will update this section as we celebrate 'The Year of the Word' within school.