Great Crosby Catholic Primary School

This is the first presentation of the Jack Riding Trophy. It is to be presented each year to our young sporting star. This does not necessarily mean the best, fastest most skilful sports person but someone who has shown excellent sportsmanship. 

Jack was and will always be a member of our Great Crosby family. Yes, he was an amazing footballer but he was much more than that. He was a son, a brother, a nephew, a friend and a classmate. Although he wasn’t top of the class, he always tried really hard in everything he undertook. He followed rules and respected the talents of everyone in his team and that of those in the teams he played against. So it is right and fitting that we should honour his memory with an award to an amazing sports person. Jack is the boy who makes us all smile when someone says his name. 

The recipient of the very first Jack Riding Trophy has been a most excellent ambassador for our school. This person has skill, talent and an ability to read the game of football extremely well. He is a leader, a support, an encourager and someone others look up to.

Humble in his talent, he epitomises that there is no I in team. His hard work and effort on the football field have been matched by his determination to do his best with his work in school. Unbeknownst to him, he has sat in Jack’s place all year. He is a good blue and we are sure one day he will run out onto Bramley Moor and the crowd will be singing ‘he’s one of our own - Seb Spelman” We are delighted and proud to award the Jack Riding Trophy to Seb Spelman. 

Find out what Y6 did on their 'Away Day' of memories and reflection at Waterside Lodge, Southport. 

Our Y4 and Y5 children had a fun day out at Sacred Heart, culminating in the annual Heart of Crosby photo.

Thank you Fr John for opening our new prayer garden & celebrating Mass for our patron saints' feast day. On Sunday there's a Children’s Mass at 10.30am in SS Peter & Paul's to celebrate the church's 125th anniversary. It would be lovely for our children to attend. 

This morning we welcomed teacher, composer and singer,  John Burland from Sydney, Australia, to teach us some new songs, hear how well we know his songs, and to join in our prayers and praise. Our children and staff really enjoyed it. 

Well done to our Y6 netball team  who  have been competing in the fantastic Vitality Netball World Cup Legacy’s North West School Tournament at Liverpool Tennis Centre in Wavertree with schools from all over Merseyside. They even appeared on the local BBC news.  

 We were pleased to welcome our friends from Ursuline Primary, Valewood Primary, Waterloo Primary, St Nicholas Primary and Forefield Juniors for the inaugural Jack Riding Shield. The tournament was played in a very sporting spirit and all the players were a credit to their schools. We were helped by our ex-pupils from Sacred Heart and St Mary's College who helped set up & referee. Our PTA sold refreshments and donations were collected for the Jack Riding Foundation. 

Click on the photo to see some photos,mostly from our matches, taken by Y6 photographer Tom.   

 The children have been given a Smarties tube by St Joseph's Hospice. They have been asked to do chores or good deeds in return for donations. A full tube will hold £12 of 20p or £27 of £1 coins. Money raised will enable St Joseph's Hospice to provide care & support to patients & loved ones from our local area. Please return the Smarties tubes by Friday 7th June.

On 23rd May, our GoGivers and Recycling clubs spent some time down at Crosby Beach, taking steps to ensure it is free from pollution that endangers our wildlife and harms our natural landscape. Click on the photo to see their report and pictures.

Our 'Wear A Sports Kit for Jack Day' has been a great success, raising £1305 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and the Jack Riding Foundation.  The children have had an active day, taking part in a variety of sporting activities and having fun.

We are really pleased that we have been able to show our support to the Riding family and celebrate Jack’s life in a way that he would have absolutely loved. 

Jack Riding was one of our pupils; he collapsed and died playing the sport he adored on 15th August 2018. He was just 18 years old. Jack was a phenomenal footballer with a ‘crackin’ left foot’. He has represented our school, Sacred Heart, Sefton and was also an academy player for Everton. He most recently played for Prescot Cables.

 After discussion with Jack’s family, we decided to have a 'Wear Your Sports Kit for Jack Day' to raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and the Jack Riding Foundation. 

This charity funds tests for all footballers between the age of 14 and 35 to check for any cardiac abnormalities. Each test costs £50. If Jack had been screened, his condition would have been detected and treated. 

Well done to all of Y6 - this week's Stars of the Week for their scholarly, sensational and splendidly, successful supremacy over SATs. They are all sparkly, shining stars.  

We now have a link in our Parents section to SIMS Pay for making online payments. Parents and carers should have received an invitation to register with SIMS Pay.  If not, please contact the school office. Payments will appear on your bank statement as 'Pay360'. 

Thank you so much for all the contributions brought in on our non-uniform day to support South Sefton Foodbank. It really was a tremendous response.

Click on the button to see how you can help further.

 The Department for Education has published a booklet for parents about the National Curriculum Tests (SATs).  It can be downloaded from our Assessments and SATs page. There are also videos for each key stage and the dates of the Y6 SATs.

By clicking on the image above , you can view the slides used at the recent meetings regarding increasing our standard admissions number to 120.

On Friday 5th April we will be holding our annual Market Day to raise money for C.A.F.O.D.

Children are invited to wear non-uniform clothes for a donation of 50p.  Please could you send their spending money (no more than £2) in a named purse or container.

Nursery, Reception, Y1 and Y2 will have their market in the morning.

Each year the children bring a few toys, books in good condition and cakes to sell to other children in their year group.

KS2 (Y3-Y6) - will have their market in the afternoon.

Year 3 to bring cakes

Year 4 to bring toys, games and books

Years 5 & 6 to organise their own activities and stalls.

Our Y6 football team played very well in their game against Forefield Juniors, winning 7-1.  The referee made a comment at the end to thank our boys for their sportsmanship.  We are very proud of them.

Our Recycling Club would like you to clean and collect 2 litre milk bottles, crisp packets, plastic wrapping, tetra pak drink cartons and yogurt pots.  They are stuffing the milk bottles with the other plastic to make ecobricks that will be used for constructions in our garden. 

Congratulations to all our Y5 and Y6 cross country runners who won the Southport Waterloo Challenge Trophy at Sefton Junior Schools' Cross Country Championships at the North Promenade, Blundellsands. Our Y5 and Y6 boys were placed 2nd in their age groups; Y5 girls were placed 3rd, making us the overall winners. Well done in particular to Felicity in Y5 who came 2nd in her race and Eve who came 2nd in the Y6 race.

Today, children and staff have been wearing odd socks for World Down's Syndrome Day and Awareness Week.   The message is 'Leave No One Behind'.   Click the title image above to see some photos.

This year, the Go Givers have chosen to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation which grants wishes to seriously ill children. www.make-a-wish.org.uk 

 Great Crosby children have put their aprons on and busily baking and decorating cakes to be sold to raise money for Make-a- Wish. Click on the image to see some of 

Thank you to all the families who took part. Here are some of the fabulous entries on the theme of 'Wishes'. 

Our choir, once again, took part in the annual Sing Up project to join up with school choirs all around the world to sin 'One Moment, One People'. You can see and hear them by clicking on the photo.  Find out more about the Sing Up project by clicking on the green button.

Personal statements and ballot papers for the Parent Governor vacancy have been issued today.  Please return your vote to the school office by 9.30am on Thursday 4th April.

We will have a morning of activities  including:

Guess My Quote: children should come to school with their favourite quote pinned to front of their jumper. On their backs, children should pin a picture of the author with some information about their chosen book. 

D.E.A.R (Drop Everything and Read): the children will have some personal reading time to enjoy their current reading book.

Book Blitz: the children will tell their partner about their book then share a short extract to encourage them to read the book.

Paired reading: your child’s class will join a class from another year group. Older children will read to younger children.

Well done Y5 for leading our Ash Wednesday services. They reminded us about fasting & distributed the ashes made when Fr John burnt last year's palms. We sang songs by John Burland & watched C.A.F.O.D. 's Lent 2019 video about Rabiul and his family who live in Bangladesh. 

Following the safeguarding letter issued today, we wish to make parents aware of the  advice available on the National Online Safety website. 

On 27th February, Onatti Productions  will perform to KS2 children in French. Mme Edwards wants all the juniors to visit the website www.french-games.net and play these topics Colours, Family, Food (and drink) Go-Which Way, Numbers, World (Countries). Also, if you haven't already done so, please send £2 in an envelope with your child's name & class to cover the cost. Thank you.

We welcomed Janette and Carole from the NSPCC  with mascot Buddy. They presented 'Speak Out Stay Safe' assemblies and workshops. Click on the photo to find out more.

Having recently taken part in the Janos Molnar Memorial tournament in Budapest, Louis has been selected to represent England (and Great Crosby) in the Primary Schools' Home Internationals in Belfast in April.

This week children from Years 4, 5 and 6 have presented online safety assemblies to the whole school on the theme of making good choices about asking for permission and giving consent. More information on our 'Parents Online Safety' page, where you can download and view resources for families and the assembly PowerPoints. 

Thank you to everyone who bought a Christmas toy when we were fundraising for St Joseph's Hospice.  We can confirm that we raised £422.79.

Thank you to all the families who brought in a backpack for the Mary's Meals Backpack Project.  We donated a total of 63 backpacks, helping children in other countries to benefit at school.  Find out more by clicking on the button below.

This week our children have celebrated Christmas with liturgical assemblies and parties. Father Christmas visited too. Last week, our Reception and Nursery classes treated the school and families to their Christmas performances. 

Having finished the season as England's top-ranked Under-10 table tennis player.  Louis has maintained his form and is now number 1 in the Under-11 rankings.  He competes for Halton TTC and is part of the England Hopes Squad.  He is pictured with GB Head Coach, Alan Cooke and England Youth Squad Coach, Evie Collier at his recent England Training Camp in Nottingham. 

Congratulations to the Year 4 LAMDA drama examination group who took their examination with Limelight Speech and Drama Academy. All 8 students taking part gained the LAMDA top mark of ‘distinction’ . Well done! 

We are delighted to have received the report from our recent Religious Education inspection by the Archdiocese of Liverpool.  Our school was graded outstanding in all areas.  The report truly reflects the family community that is Great Crosby. It can be downloaded by clicking on the green button below.  Paper copies are available on request.

 Lots of our KS2 classes really enjoyed The Doctor Who Live Lesson today. They got very active whilst learning about space and light!  

We welcomed back former pupils from Sacred Heart, who took part in remembrance commemorations when they were in Y6 in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, to join with our current pupils to tell the story of the years of WWI. 

Fr John led our All Saints' Day Mass and celebrations. Today we think of our own patron saints - Ss Peter and Paul and St Helen. He told us about recent saints - St John Paul II, St Teresa of Kolkata and St Oscar Romero. In telling us about saints incuding St Rita, St Domenico Savio, St John Bosco and St Anthony,  Fr John inspired us all to be saints in our community. 

This year we are again supporting Mary's Meals Backpack Project, which sends schoolbags, polo shirts, skirts, shorts and stationery to Malawi to help children with their education.  We would like you to fill a bag with: notepads, pencils, pens,

crayons, eraser, sharpener, ruler, pencil case, towel, shorts or skirt, t-shirt or dress, flip-flops or sandals, small ball (e.g. tennis ball), soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, spoon.

Handy hints: 

• Don’t buy new, recycle where you can!
• Clothing for children between four and 12 years is suitable. 
• Please label filled bags for boy/girl and age e.g. girl, 8. 
• Don’t be tempted to put in toys or sweets. This can cause problems during delivery. 

Please send the backpack in during w/c 12th November.  Thank you.

Year 5 and Year 6  had workshops this week by Bully Busters. During the workshop online games were discussed with the children. Please check and ensure your child is only playing age appropriate games. Check the PEGI ratings.  There is more information on our Parents > Online Safety page.

Bully Busters will return again for other year groups in the Spring Term.

Our 2018-19 league starts on Saturday 20th October.  Sign up or login to set up your team.  Join our league. Details are in the letter emailed out on Friday 12th October. Click on the image to check your team. 

We have a Book of Remembrance which records the names of family members who have passed away. We will be including everyone named in the book in our prayers during November. If you have anyone who you would like to be added, please send their names into school.

Our GoGivers led our Harvest Festival today with readings, songs, their own poems and a dance. We have had an additional collection for the South Sefton Foodbank too.

Today our Y6 and Y4 classes visited Ss Peter and Paul Church, as part of the Year of the Eucharist, for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, some quiet reflection and a short talk by Fr John about how the church supports people in need and how we can meet Christ in our everyday lives.

 Our Parents and Teachers Evenings this term are Wednesday 17th October from 3.30pm to 7.30pm and Thursday 18th October from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Click on the button to book your appointments.  You will be asked to register first. 

On Friday lunchtimes during October, Years 4, 5 and 6 are meeting to pray the Rosary.

Congratulations to Mrs DeMott and the Gardening Club who have transformed the memorial garden outside the Y6 classooms.  They have also won prizes in the Crosby and Waterloo Gardening Competition 2018 - 2nd prize in the Schools Eco Award and 3rd prize in the School Garden Award.  Special thanks to Mr Monaghan for all his help.

We are a collection point for South Sefton Foodbank. On Friday 12th October the children will be celebrating Harvest Festival with a harvest liturgy led by our GoGivers group.  As part of this celebration we ask that the children bring an item for the Foodbank. They are always in need of tinned and dried foods; longlife milk and juice; and treat foods such as biscuits, chocolate and jam. They also need toiletries; kitchen and bathroom cleaning products; nappies and formula milk for babies of all ages are also much appreciated.

Please send items in to school. They are currently short of tinned vegetables, noodles and coffee. Find out more at https://southsefton.foodbank.org.uk Many thanks for your continued support.

During French classes this week, the children have been learning about the French Giants, how to greet them and wave farewell to them in French.

Please try to visit the French Giants while they are here to mark 10 years since Liverpool was European Capital of Culture hence why it is called Liverpool’s Dream.

Check out the 'What's On - Routes' section at www.giantspectacular.com for more information and to follow the journey of The French Giants whilst they are here in Liverpool for their third and final visit!

The photo above is from the Liverpool Echo, showing one of our former pupils  looking at the Little Boy Giant asleep in a hammock in St George's Hall (Image: Andrew Teebay) 

The Christian Education Department invited the schools in the Archdiocese to design a poster for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress Adoremus with the theme "Jesus, The Bread of Life". Over 500 entries from 36 schools were entered and one of ours was highly commended and appeared in the Adoremus brochure.

Thank you to everyone who sent cakes in today for our Macmillan Coffee Morning, everyone who came to support it and to our PTA and staff who worked hard serving and clearing up.  A fantastic £1183.27 was raised. 

Tuesday -  5CH are at Jackfield Tile Museum having lunch. They will be designing and decorating tiles with Craven Dunnill Tile Education Workshops this afternoon. 5J are Blists Hill, playing Victorian games after lunch. 

Monday - 5CH are the first class to visit the Ironbridge Gorge Museums this year. First they visited the Blists Hill Victorian Town , then the Enginuity Science Museum.  After dinner they have been candle dipping. Take a look at what they have seen. 

Years 3 to 6 were entertained this morning by M and M Theatrical and their fabulous performance of Alice In Wonderland.

Having enjoyed a busy weekend at the National Pilgimage and Congress in Liverpool, Fr John led our assembly to share Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, to explain how the consecrated host is held in the monstrance and to tell us about the special vestments he wears. Click on the photo for more.

Today, Miss Bradley is representing our school at  the Adoremus National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress.  We look forward to hearing all about it. Eucharistic Congresses are gatherings of all the faithful – clergy, religious and laity – which promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church. The last International Eucharistic Congress in England was held in 1908. The Congress in Liverpool is the first National Congress ever to be held in England and Wales. On Saturday there is the National Youth Congress at The Echo Arena and Sunday is Pilgrimage Day at the Metropolitan Cathedral.

We have received a reply to the letters sent to our MP, Peter Dowd, regarding school funding. Click on the button to visit the newsletter page where you can download it.

Congratulations  to all the children who received Star of the Term awards for their progress and behaviour. Enjoy your trips to the Plaza cinema.

Very well done all the children who received certificates for 100% attendance this term and this year.

Are you starting to plan the summer holidays with your children?  This free e-book has some brilliantly creative ideas. Most of them are free or use things you probably already have eg a camera. Click on the button to download a PDF version. Click on the picture for a link to the Apple iBook version.

Year 6 had an Away Day of reflection and positivity at Waterside Lodge, Southport. Click on the photo to see the stotry of the day. s know.

We're ever so proud of Ben, the winner of the Ykids Charity Believe Awards Spiderman Award for his outstanding community work by fundraising for Alder Hey Children's Hospital. His prize was presented at the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool by Claire Simmo and The Mersey Girls.

Thank you to Fr Simon for leading our Patronal Feast Day Mass for Ss Peter & Paul.  We enjoyed his homily about his shopping trip to find the best thing that God ever made.  It wasn't a blue or red football shirt!  He found it in our hall & used the inside of his box to show - Us 

Please could you ensure that the form is completed and returned to school ASAP if you have not already done so. The new legislation stipulates that consent requires a positive opt-in, and

cannot be by default. Click on the button to download the form or ask for one from the school office. Thank you

to the parents who have already done so.

Congratulations to our very own National U10 Boys Table Tennis Champion, Louis. He produced a fantastic performance to win the tournament without losing a game in any of his group or knockout matches. More details on our Sport page. NB We have parental permission to name him.  

Thank you for the old wellies that have been brought in so far.  They are being recycled to put plants in for Reception's outdoor area. If you have some wellies that have been outgrown, please bring them in. Any size will do. Thank you. 

In assembly today, our World Cup draw took place. Each class was assigned a competing country to support and research.  In addition, each year group was given one of the 'strong' countries to cheer on.  Look in the Children v Year group pages to see who your class is researching and supporting.  What information can you bring in to school?  There are also competitions on Purple Mash to enter by June 29th.

Today we were honoured to welcome ex-pupil Right Reverend John Rawsthorne, the Bishop Emeritus of Hallam to bless our school after the building works of recent years. We were fascinated to hear that his mother attended our school in 1910, he came in 1941 & there is a member of his family at Great Crosby now.  We also welcomed guests from the Archdiocese, Mgr John, Fr Simon, local schools, our builders, governors, PTA & former staff. Click on the image for videos and more photos. 

Today we welcomed Hayley Gough from the British Heart Foundation.  We presented her with a cheque for £1087.60, which was raised during our recent sponsored skip.  Some children who raised over £40 received a digital skipping rope.

All parents and carers should have received a letter about GDPR and our school. Please could you ensure that

the form is completed and returned to school by Friday 8th June 2018.Our updated privacy and data protection policies are available to download from our policies page.  

Can parents and carers please ensure all alternate contacts have given their consent to you, to use their details as an emergency contact if you are not available, or have asked them to collect your child on your behalf. We do not share alternate contact information with any external parties and will not include alternate contacts in any school mailing lists. It is the responsibility, of the parent or alternate contact to inform school if details change. We will permanently remove, edit or update alternate contact details upon request. 

 Thank you for all the donations to http://southsefton.foodbank.org.uk  today.  The children have been wearing red, white & blue and brought in lots of items for our local food bank.  Our GoGivers have been collecting from classrooms. 

To celebrate the royal wedding,  each year group has one of these cakes to share in the afternoon. We had a picnic lunch on the field and playground. Each year had a time for playing games outside.

Well done Year 6! You thoroughly deserved your celebration this afternoon after conducting yourselves so fantastically throughout the Sats tests this week. 

 This week both Nursery classes have had a lovely time at Knowsley Safari Park. 

 Our GoGivers visited our local foodbank to find out how it runs, what is needed and how we can help.  We will once again be collecting items for the foodbank up to Monday 21st May.