Welcome back to school! I hope that everyone enjoyed a lovely half-term break. It is very dark in the evenings now and it certainly feels more wintery. It was a rather cold and muddy cross country run at the Rec this morning.

We have got the half-term off to a great start this week. During the assembly on Monday we talked about the month of November, starting will All Hallows Eve or Halloween, as we now know it. The children were really interested to hear about some ancient customs and traditions, which have evolved into the celebrations they enjoy today. Carved mangle-wurzles and turnips were replaced by pumpkins. Knocking on doors for soul cakes, or guising and mumming have become trick or treating. Many of these customs are linked to the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Josefine, our wonderful cook, treated the children with ghost-shaped biscuits on Tuesday. They went down very well.

On Wednesday afternoon, Fr Jonathan celebrated Mass for All Saints' Day, with our whole school, including Year R children present for the first time. There were many parents, grandparents and parishioners with us too, which made the Mass very special. The children talked about the saints they already know about and thought about how they can guide and help us in our lives as we take inspiration from them. We wondered what our school would be like in 100 years and how many of the children could provide inspiration for future generations through their acts of kindness.

Have a lovely bonfire weekend,

Elizabeth