Dear Parents

It was lovely to see so many of you at our first School Mass of the year. It was wonderful to start the day with a brisk walk in the autumnal sunshine and we were very grateful to all the mums who accompanied us. The children as ever were a credit to their families and their school. They all sang beautifully and were very reverent. Year 6 read with confidence and maturity as they take on their new responsibilities at the top of the school. We must say though our real little stars were our new Reception children. The excitement of a coach journey and attending Mass together could easily have unsettled them but they were wonderful. They watched and listened carefully to their teachers and were absolutely beautifully behaved. Well done everyone!

Fr Richard will be away for a couple of weeks now but on his return we will restart our pre pandemic weekly class Masses. We will notify you of the dates and please join your children for Mass in their classroom and refreshments afterwards. We look forward to welcoming everyone into school.

Last weekend, Year 5 and Year 6 had an exciting time away at Manor Adventure. They experienced an action packed weekend of kayaking, canoeing, climbing, underground maze exploration, obstacle courses. zip wire, abseiling and hill walking. All of the children impressed staff with their politeness, teamwork and willingness to challenge themselves .Well done children! Year 5 and 6 wish to thank Mrs Warnett, Mrs Freitas , Miss Mc Gowan and Mrs Morgan, for organizing and  accompanying them on the trip. We have included a few photographs that hint at the fun they had! Look out for more photographs on the class web pages. 

We’ve chosen Arbor to help us manage our school and the information that we collect and use. Arbor is a simple, smart and cloud-based MIS (Management Information System), which helps us work faster, smarter and more collaboratively as a school. The Arbor App and Parent Portal mean we can keep
you informed about your child’s life at school in a much more accessible way. Once you have signed up, you will be able to log into Arbor to see and update your child’s information and get live updates on attendance. The Parent Portal works on Google Chrome (computer or laptop) and you can download the Arbor App
from the App Store or Google Play Store on your phone (Android 5.0; iOS 10.0 and upwards).

How to get started
1. Wait for your welcome email from us telling you Arbor is ready - you won’t be able to log in before you receive this. Please do check your junk mail box as it may go there first.
2. Click the link in your welcome email to set up your password.
3. Go to the App or Google Play Store on your phone and search ‘Arbor’.
4. Click ‘Install’ on Android or ‘Get’ on iPhone then open the App.
5. Enter your email, select the school, then enter your password.
6. Accept the Terms & Conditions and enter your child’s birthday.

7. Once logged in, please check that all information for your child is up to date including contact telephone numbers, addresses, allergies/medical conditions etc. 

Contact the school office if you have questions about Arbor, the App or Parent Portal. It is essential that we have an up to date email address for you as without this you will not receive a log in/password. Telephone: 01299 877808, email: enquiry_wul@emmausmac.com

We will be holding our ‘Open Morning’ on Friday 14 October from 9.15-11.30am and prospective parents are invited to visit, have  guided tour of the school in action , chat to staff and look around the school. Please feel free to come along and take advantage of this opportunity and encourage any friends or neighbours with school age children to come along too. As I have said before there can be a misconception that only Catholic children can apply to our school. We welcome applications from all families of all or no faith. If you know of any families who are presently preparing to apply for a school place please encourage them to attend the Open morning or contact me to arrange a visit and tour of the school. Applications for Reception Class 2023 must be completed online by 15 January 2023.

It was a pleasure to welcome Mr J Hodgson , Principal of Hagley Catholic High School, into school this week. Mr Hodgson came to speak to our Year 6 children as they look forward now to preparing for secondary school. The children were extremely impressive in their attentiveness and in the questions they asked.

Hagley Catholic High School will be holding their annual Open Morning on Saturday 8 October from 9.00am to 12.00pm. If you have a child in Key Stage 2, it is never too early to start thinking about High Schools. The vast majority of our children transfer to Hagley at the end of Year 6, so do take this opportunity to take a look at the school. Our Year 6 children have now received their High School transfer forms.  If you have any queries regarding transfer please do not hesitate to speak to us. Please see the Hagley Open Day flyer below

On Monday 26 September at 3.45pm we will be holding a Year 6 information evening at school. At this meeting Mrs Freitas will explain the aims and expectations for our Year 6 children, SATs assessment, preparation for High school, attendance etc and how through school and family we can support our children as they move onto the next stage of their lives. It is an important meeting and encourage every Year 6 parent to attend. Thank you

On Friday, 30 September we will be holding a ‘Tea and cake’ afternoon in the school hall at 2.45pm. Staff will be providing all the cakes and all monies donated will go to Macmillan’s. Please come and join us in the school hall and enjoy being waited on by our Mini Vinnies pupils! We especially welcome our new Reception Class parents as it is a lovely opportunity to sit and chat in a relaxed atmosphere. We also hope to see many of our parishioners. Please support us in this worthy cause.

Wyre Forest Parenting & Community Team have requested we share a copy of their parent support activities this term. As we all know being a parent is wonderful experience but never without its challenges and some support is often useful. Please see the flyer below with courses and contact details. It is an extremely valuable service.

A reminder that as we have returned to normal drop off and collection the side carpark gate is now locked and inaccessible during the school day. Please use the pedestrian gate and follow the path around to the main entrance. Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated pre loved school clothing. We have a selection of immaculate, clean, barely used school uniform available so please speak to me or email  the school office if you would like some additional clothing . 

No doubt your children have mentioned their new classroom chairs and tables, they are very excited! The chairs are ergonomically designed which promotes good posture and exceptional comfort which is much better for the children (they do seem to be more pleased with the colours though at the moment!) Some of the old tables and chairs are in good condition and are seeking a new home. If anyone would like to have any of the old furniture or knows of a setting, charity or family that might like them please speak to a member of staff or contact the school office.

As many of you will be aware we received some lovely baby news this week. Many congratulations to Mrs Portman on the birth of her beautiful little boy, Archie. We wish Mr and Mrs Portman , Isla, Olivia and Archie great health and happiness for the future. Hopefully a photograph to follow next week.

it was wonderful to welcome everyone in to Open Classrooms this week to meet their child's new teacher, and see their classroom. Please remember that if you have any concerns, emotional, social or academic about your child please do not hesitate to speak to your child's teacher or myself so that together we can address any concerns swiftly.

Wishing everyone a good weekend and we look forward to welcoming the children back on Tuesday.

K E Savage

Principal