It was so wonderful to be able to share sports day with our children and families again this year! Years 2 -6 enjoyed a fantastic morning at the Mountbatten Sports Arena in their teams competing in a range of fun and competitive events.

Later that same day our Early Years and Year 1 pupils enjoyed their very own sports day on the school grounds - the sack race was definitely a firm favourite!

Wednesday 8th June Corus Christi celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in style!

During the week we have learnt interesting facts about life in the last 70 years and even met the Queen!

The rain just about held off for our picnic lunch and everyone enjoyed the Lunchtime Teachers 70s medley.

School will be closed to all pupils and staff on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd May.

This is because Monday is a Bank Holiday and Tuesday has been given to Portsmouth Schools to compensate for the loss of the Queen's Jubilee Bank Holiday which falls in the Summer half term.

Let's hope the sun continues to shine and families can make the most of this extended weekend.

Year 6 parents may wish to watch our short presentation about the KS2 SATS tests so that they can help their child/ren get ready for them in May.

https://www.corpuschristi.portsmouth.sch.uk/uks2-yrs-56/

We are currently asking parents for their views on the Catholic Life of the School. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete by clicking on the link below:

https://forms.gle/XJx37jNfTprcGjkR7

As we have seen from the news the situation in Ukraine is deteriorating and we are all concerned about the impact of this war on families, children and their parents. I know at times like this we can feel powerless in our ability to respond and it is difficult to know how to support our own children as they

witness things no child should have to experience or witness.

Tomorrow, begins our Lenten journey – Pope Francis has asked that we make Ash Wednesday,  a day of solidarity for the people affected by war and conflict. He has called for a Day of Fasting and Peace and asked us to pray for the intercession of Our Lady, the “Queen of Peace to preserve the world from the madness of war.”

We would also like to organise a collection of goods to send to the Ukraine via the Polish centre in Southampton and are looking to collect:

• Nappies
• Sanitary products
• Socks – for children, men or women
• Underwear
• Soap and shower gel
• Toothpaste and tooth brushes

Donations can be sent to the school office by Monday 14^th March when we will deliver them.

Please do find time to pray for peace tomorrow – perhaps as a family saying the CAFOD prayer, as you eat together.

Pupil Premium Grant

Did you know that children whose parents/carers are entitled to certain benefits maybe entitled to the Pupil Premium Grant. If you are entitled to any of these benefits it is worth checking for the pupil premium grant:

· Income Support

· Income-based Jobseekers Allowance

· Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

· Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

· The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit

· Child Tax Credit only, provided your annual household income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) does not exceed £16,190. Anyone entitled to Working Tax Credit is not entitled to free meals regardless of income

· Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

· Universal Credit, if your earned income was £616.67 or less in your last monthly assessment period, or less than an average of £616.67 a month over the last 2 or 3 monthly assessment periods.

Applications may be made through the following link

https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/schools-learning-and-childcare/schools/school-meals

The school receives the Pupil Premium Grant for any eligible child and uses this additional money in a variety of ways to benefit the children. Children in receipt of the grant are prioritised for access to the holiday project which they can attend for free. We will also look to subsidise school trips and KS2 children continue to receive a hot meal at no cost to the parents. Most of the money is put towards providing additional tuition and learning support.

COVID UPDATES

I’m sure by now we had hoped to see the back of COVID, but we are aware that case numbers are rising rapidly and especially in Portsmouth.  Very few regulations have changed for primary schools and we do appreciate your co-operation and support in working with us. We will continue to do our best to ensure children can learn with their friends in the classroom with their teacher but we can only do this if our staff stay fit and well. We are desperate to avoid having to move to remote learning but we can only avoid this if we all work together.

How can you help us?

1. Test your child/ren with a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) during the week especially if they have been with someone who has tested positive.

2. If your child does test positive with a LFT your child will need to isolate from school. On day 6 and 7 they can take another  LFT and if both these tests are negative they can come back to school on day 8. Day 1 is the day the LFT was positive.  If the day 6 and 7 tests are positive the child must continue to self-isolate for 10 days.

3. Parents/Carers MUST come to the school office before the child returns to school so we can carry out a health check.

4. Anyone who is a close contact of someone who has tested positive should take a LFT for 7 days, but they do not need to isolate unless they test positive themselves or show symptoms or have not been vaccinated and are over the age of 18 years old and 6 months.

5. Wear a mask whilst on the school site and especially in bottle neck areas.

6. If your child is feeling unwell, we ask that they stay home for a day or so, so their symptoms can be monitored.

At this moment in time we will not be returning to whole school assemblies; this mainly affects the Good Shepherd Assembly.  We are continuing with phonics and maths groups so children will mix across their phase but are reducing contact between phases of the school.

We were visited today by Alice from Waitrose in Southsea. She brought with her a huge cheque to award to the school to help improve our grounds. Thank you to Waitrose and also to Mrs Palfreyman (PTA) for putting us in contact!

Keep your eyes peeled to see what we will use the money to improve!