Personal Message from Dave Carter (CEO)
âThe Word was made flesh, and lived among usâ John 1:14
We are in the last week of Advent and patiently await the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Advent is meant to be a time of preparation and reflection, although in reality for most families it is a particularly busy time of year. It is possible to find âquiet amongst the stormâ if we get our priorities right and remember why we are busy. Our lives are about ârelationshipâ – relationship with our friends, relationship with our family, relationship with God. Getting caught up in the âmaterialâ tends to end in disappointment! The best present you can give someone this Christmas is your undivided attention – so perhaps we ought to put the mobile phone down and be a bit more ‘in the moment’. That is certainly one way for God to live âamong usâ as John tells us in Christmas Dayâs Gospel reading. So whatever your plans this Christmas, I do hope you have a happy, holy and peaceful time.
Alice has been working hard on this second edition of the SMĀĻ°ķ Newsletter, so thank you to her and for everyone who has submitted an article or good news story. Please do have a read over the holidays!
Weâve welcomed the wonderful St Peterâs, Our Ladyâs and St Wilfridâs to the Trust this term. All 8 schools in the Trust work together to champion the children and enable them to become the people God called them to be. We are so blessed to work with such great school leaders, governors, teachers and associate staff. Through collaboration and the collective desire to do the right thing, we are achieving great things together. No doubt 2023 will bring plenty of opportunity to learn, share ideas and challenge one another to be even better! Thank you so much for everything youâve done this term, for the personal sacrifices you have made to improve the life-chances of the children entrusted in our care and for never giving up, even when it has been really tough.
See you in 2023!
Dave Carter
SMĀĻ°ķ CET CEO
St Mary's Catholic Primary
Happy 101st Birthday!
On December 9th St Mary’s Catholic Primary School celebrated a dress-up for Christmas charity day raising much-needed funds to buy Christmas presents for children who will be in Worthing Hospital over the festive period. On the same day, their school choir visited a local nursing home to wish Happy Birthday to a resident celebrating their 101st birthday!
This came about after responding to a Facebook appeal requesting that birthday cards be sent as the resident had no family to visit them. The choir sang Happy Birthday, much to the delight of all the residents including the birthday girl! Gemma Irvine, Executive Headteacher said “we feel very privileged to be able to share some of the St Mary’s family love”.
Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Primary
Better Never Stops!
As Christmas approaches, the children of Our Lady Queen of Heaven have been working hard to support their local community. In addition to a plethora of Nativity Plays and the annual Key Stage 2 Carol Service, which raised funds for various good causes, the School Choir visited St Catherineâs Hospice in Crawley to sing Carols to patients and families on Friday 2nd December, at the turning on of their festive lights.
On Thursday 8th December, Year 6 pupils hosted the Parishâs annual Senior Citizenâs Afternoon Tea, in collaboration with Crawley SVP, whilst on Christmas Dinner Day, the School Council were delighted to welcome Father Christmas to their setting. Santa visited all of the Classes, delivering presents to all.
Deputy Head Teacher, Jan Miles, commented, âmore than ever in these challenging times, I have been struck by the kindness, generosity and spirit of our community; it seems to grow year on year, which ties in with our school motto, âBetter Never Stopsâ.â
Annecy Catholic Primary School
Busy (Wriggly) Annecy!
Advent is always a joyful and uplifting time at Annecy as we prepare to mark the special arrival of Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. The children brought in donations for the âlucky dipâ stall at our Parishâs Christmas Fayre which is raising funds for St Josephâs School in Madagascar. Our choir sang beautifully at the event with a special rendition of Adeste Fideles performed in Latin.
The following week our Reception class and Key Stage 1 children performed their Nativity – âWriggly Nativityâ. We didnât realise what exceptional actors we have in our younger years groups! Both performances had capacity audiences and performed a well deserved encore.
The Key stage Two Carol Concert was held at St Thomas More Church and was well attended by parents and members of the community.
All of the children contributed by reading, singing or acting and we are grateful to Mrs Pratt and Ms Hart for producing a fantastic joint event with the Parish. We want to wish all the children, parents, staff and governors a wonderful Christmas and a healthy 2023.
