Year 4
Sycamore Class are so happy to be back with their school family. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead of us with Christ by our side guiding us on the right path.
Meet the Year 4 Chaplaincy Team...
We enjoyed our first assembly together about 'New Beginnings'.
We have created a fair class charter to show that we understand how we should treat each other and how we can live out our lives through the example of Jesus Christ.
Today we had an assembly on the ‘Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross’. This is a special day when we remember the sacrifice Jesus made dying on the cross to save us.
Today we had the opportunity to design a cross to show how thankful we are for the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross
We have finished our beautiful display in our classroom and we are so impressed with how all our work looks. The prayers the children wrote were very thoughtful, thanking God for creating us in his image and likeness.
We have found out lots today about our house teams Saints. We really enjoyed finding interesting facts about them.
During the month October we say the Rosary to Our Lady. Our Lady gave the Rosary to St Dominic as a special prayer, to help people remember and reflect on the life of Jesus. It is said that each prayer offered is like a beautiful rose, that is why it is called the Rosary.
Month of the Holy Souls- During the month of November we remember those who have died. Today we wrote names of those who have passed in our lives for whom we wish to pray for. The envelope of the names will be placed on the altar and remembered in daily Mass.
Remembrance Day: Today is Armistice Day– Armistice was when the generals all signed an agreement to stop fighting after 4 long years at the end of World War 1. The agreement was signed at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month and this is why each year on 11th November we REMEMBER and at 11.00 am each year we are SILENT.
Red Wednesday:Today we are wearing red in support of Christians around the world who are persecuted for what they believe. Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world, many of them cannot go to Mass or even pray in a Church for fear of being arrested, tortured or even killed.
Advent: The first candle is lit on Sunday 29th November and then a new one is lit every Sunday leading up to Christmas.
Advent Poems: Today we wrote poems about Advent and in how we are preparing for the birth of Jesus Christ. We read them out to the rest of the class.
Today we made Advent wreaths and I was extremely impressed with care and effort put into making them. The wreath is usually a circular garland made up of evergreen branches. The garland is a symbol of the eternal nature of God’s love without beginning or end.
Epiphany 6th January:Today we think about the Epiphany which is sometimes called Three Kings Day or Little Christmas.
The light of Christ has come into the world...
This half term we are focusing on how we can be 'Generous and Grateful'. We have thought about how we can react to the people and things around us. We have thought about the many blessings we have today and to think of ways we can bless other people by making their lives better through the things that we can do for them. In our house teams we thought about how we could be grateful and generous.
This week is a week of Prayer for Christian Unity. There are lots of different Christian Churches, all have the same belief in Jesus Christ.
The FEAST of The Conversion of St Paul 25th January 2021. Today we think about the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus and why he is such an important Saint for Christians.
St. Thomas Aquinas Feast Day: St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican priest and Scriptural theologian.
Feast of the presentation of the Lord: Assembly and Mass. We remember Jesus being the 'Light of the World' and we thought about the words from Simeon '“Many Jews will fall and many will rise because of this boy. He will be a sign from God that some will not accept. So the secret thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that happen will be painful for you —like a sword cutting through your heart.”
This week we celebrate the Feast of our Patron, Our Lady of Lourdes.
Lent has begun and so we think about: What does Jesus teach us about praying, fasting, and giving to those in need?
St. David's Feast Day:Today we celebrate the Feast St David who reminded us to “Do the small things”.
This half terms virtues: Attentive and Discerning: Today we are reminding ourselves about the Jesuit Virtues that help us to become the people God that wants us to be. By focussing on the qualities needed for these virtues, we learn about ways to be the best version of ourselves – at OLOL this means, children and staff who live, love and learn with Christ at the centre of our lives...
Today after being in lockdown we decided to think about why it is important to believe in ourselves and others. We know that it is important to have self-belief and know that we have strengths to draw on in times of challenge can help situations feel less stressful and more manageable. We know that God will always be by our side even when we feel alone, he will be there to comfort us...
For the Greater Glory of God
We watched the story of the hare and the tortoise and discussed that there were some things that that the tortoise could control and some things that he couldn't. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control but there are many things that we can control like the strengths that God has given to us. We wrote our strengths down and made a 'We can ' paper chain to remind us that when we feel like we are not succeeding that we have many strengths and skills that will make a difference.
Reconciliation Assembly: Our sins are like stones that weigh us down. During our assembly we took time to do an Examination of Conscience we held our stone and thought about the wrong choices we have made that weigh us down.
St. Joseph Assembly: Today our focus is on St Joseph and the role model he provides to us all of what family life can look like. Pope Francis declared this the Year of St Joseph as he reflected on the pandemic and what sacrifices people have made because of it. This reminded him of the great sacrifices made by St Joseph.
Holy Week: We have been thinking about the the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, observed with special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ.
This morning we had a Cafod Assembly 'Eyes of the World'. We found out about the climate crisis and why world leaders are coming together this year to discuss how we can make changes. We need to work together to look after the world God gave to us.We have to make changes to help our common home.
Compassionate and Loving: Today we are reminding ourselves about the Jesuit Virtues that help us to become the people God that wants us to be. By focussing on the qualities needed for these virtues, we learn about ways to be the best version of ourselves – at OLOL this means, children and staff who live, love and learn with Christ at the centre of our lives
Our Chaplaincy team have been leading us so well in our class worship. During the season of Easter we have been praying the Regina Caeli and this week, being the first week of May and the month dedicated to Our Blessed Lady, they have lead us in a decade of the Rosary.
Year 4 were delighted to receive amazing First Holy Communion cakes to celebrate receiving this special Sacrament. It was a lovely surprise and we are so thankful to have received such a thoughtful gift.
Today we had an assembly about Pentecost which is on Sunday 23rd May. Pentecost is the birthday of our faith – the day the gift of the Holy Spirit was sent from heaven to the followers of Jesus, as he promised
This week we thought about our new Gospel Virtues for this half term, which are 'Faith-filled and Hopeful'. Our thoughts turned to the lives of our House Saints, as we considered how they showed these virtues in their own lives and how they can inspire us to demonstrate them in our daily lives too.
June 11th is the special feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and we started our day with a lovely Mass, which we celebrated online with Father Sean. Our Chaplaincy team also led us in the Angelus and a special prayer to the Sacred Heart.
Year 4 Mini Vinnies talked to the class about the work of St. Chad's Sanctuary and appealed for our help in collecting tinned goods and toiletries to help them continue their good work.
The 17th June was our Parish day of prayer for Vocations. We joined Father Sean for Mass online and prayed that we may succeed in all that we do. Father encouraged us to think about how we each can be a good follower of Christ. Year 6 were called by name as part of their Inscription Mass to continue on their faith journey as they prepare for their forthcoming Confirmation.
Our focus in Religious Education this week has been on the Feasts of Corpus Christi, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of SS. Peter and Paul and understanding why these are such important feast days in the Church's year.
What a lovely start to the week with a class hymn practice! We enjoyed sharing some of our favourite hymns, especially the ones with actions.
As we draw near to the end of this academic year, it was lovely to share a 'Thanksgiving' assembly, where we reflected on all that we had achieved this year.
Year 4 Mini Vinnies have been delighted at the response the whole school have made in collecting toiletries and groceries for St. Chad's Sanctuary. We know our generosity will have a huge impact on the life of others.
Thank you Chaplaincy team for leading us in a well prepared prayer service on Thanksgiving.
