Welcome to our Whole School Catholic Life page – Mrs David’s opportunity to share aspects of faith formation and our OLOL experiences that have an impact on a child’s perception of what Catholic Life is all about. At OLOL we ensure that Catholic Life infuses every aspect of our school day so that our work, our prayer, our curriculum and policies, our play is all rooted in personal faith development, and our school, parish and the wider life of the Church is greatly enhanced as a result.

It would be impossible to share every single thing we do at OLOL but these pages should be a sample of the Catholic Life we live daily. Please take a look at our Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/ourladyoflourd1), individual Class Catholic Life pages and other pages on this section of the website too as they are filled with more active faith at OLOL. 

And now, the end is near…

So we end this year’s pages as we began…with our Year 6 Leaver’s Mass. Today we said our goodbyes to Year 6 who leave us for new adventures at Secondary School. We thank them for their work and service in our school community and wish them much joy and happiness in the next steps of their life and faith journey.

Goodbye Mr McEvoy!

Last night we said our goodbyes to Kevin McEvoy, Head Teacher of Bishop Challoner School, at a lovely Mass at OLOL. The celebration really highlighted his service to Catholic Education and he was awarded the Ubi Caritas award by Father Veasey. Mr McEvoy has been a great supporter of OLOL School through the work of the Tolkien Cluster and his child centred approach has ensured that our children have benefited immensely from the collaborative opportunities available. Mr McEvoy has been a wonderful Head Teacher and his legacy will be long-lasting. We look forward to working with Dr Coughlan who takes over as Head Teacher from September.

Thank you… J

At this time of year, there are a huge number of thank you messages being delivered and received – our school community must keep on being grateful for the blessings we receive every day. I received some beautiful thank you cards from Year 3 this week – how lovely that the children knew that the whole school community were part of their preparation for First Holy Communion. The Mass intentions from one of our parents goes to the heart of what we are about at OLOL – this gesture will help sustain us and we are grateful for it.

Thanksgiving

We had our Thanksgiving assembly this morning – our opportunity to give thanks to God for our year together as a school family, but also for the many other blessings we receive each day because of Him. The children were in fine voice and raised the OLOL hall roof as they sang their praises to God. In this assembly we also took the opportunity to say goodbye to staff who are leaving us this week – Miss Madden, Miss Ballantyne, Mrs Kearns, Miss Kobic and Mr Holt. Their commitment is very much appreciated and we wish them well on the next steps of their faith and vocation journey…

Live Simply Award

Miss Grant attended the CAFOD/British Council Laudato Si workshop in London and has returned full of ideas for our school community. We will be applying for this award in September. It is awarded to communities who can show how they have been living:

• Simply
• In solidarity with people in poverty
• Sustainably with creation

We will let you know how we get on!

Schools of Sanctuary Newsletter

OLOL had its first mention in the Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary Newsletter last week. A report about refugee and asylum seeker work, as well as wider issues around discrimination, was published. A great opportunity for us to share what we do and read about what other schools are also doing.

Summer Fayre Fundraising at OLOL

This afternoon (12^th July) we held our Summer Fayre. The rain we were so worried about stayed away and the playground was a flurry of activity. Staff set up a range of stalls with traditional games, Mrs McGrath (our resident cream tea expert) set up a lovely stall for tea and prosecco and Mrs Carbery got the BBQ going! Bea and Cecilia treated us to some Irish dancing. The bottle stall cleared in minutes! Parents, thank you so much for attending and creating such a wonderful atmosphere. IT is a special time when the extended OLOL family can get together and share fun and fundraising for the greater good of our school community. Thank you J

Sacrament of Confirmation – The Journey starts here!

Many thanks to the parents and children who attended our first Confirmation Preparation meeting this week. Father Sean and Mrs Anthony talked through the liturgical aspects of preparing for the Sacrament as well as discussing how the children will need to choose active ministries to participate in – a way to live out their faith in a very real way as they make their journey towards the Sacrament.

Growing in love and understanding...

Year 6 came to share the outcome of their fantastic refugee and asylum seeking work – the children have been working with Mrs Best on a wonderful canvas, inspired by a wall hanging at St Chad’s Sanctuary. What a beautiful and welcoming piece of art that really sets out what OLOL believes about welcoming for all in Jesus’ name.

Reception Induction 2019

We welcomed our new Reception children for September into school today. They spent the afternoon with Mrs Patrick while I met parents in the hall. We were delighted to be joined by Deacon Tim who came to talk about the Catholic ethos and life of our school – the reason why people choose OLOL for their child!

Tolkien Service Award 2019

This year for the first time, our Year 5 pupils are engaging with the Tolkien Cluster Service Award. The children have to gather information about 6 acts of service to our Parish and School communities to be eligible for the award. The children have a week to go before I collect and assess their ministry and service evidence – I am really looking forward to reading how much this class have given back to our faith this year…

Altar Servers Meeting – Summer 2019

Just had an excellent meeting with the OLOL Altar Servers – they are an inspirational group of young people who have selected this ministry as their way of serving God, school and Parish. We discussed attendance and the importance of committed service, clothing and how to wear them correctly and some logistical issues about the role. Lots of great questions from the children as ever.

Saving our Common Home –

one step at a time!

Our Eco Team, Miss Grant and myself spent a lovely Sunday afternoon at Billesley Road Allotments at the Open Gardens Day run by Moseley in Bloom. We were there to thank Moseley in Bloom for their donation of £500 but also to help educate people about our Common Home and why our school is working hard to live out the values of Laudato Si every day. The children were a credit to the school and their passionate belief in the eco agenda at school. Excellent role models!

Laudato Si at OLOL

Our Eco Team are doing fantastic work (just take a look at their page on the website!) and in the true spirit of Laudato Si, ensuring that we all care for our Common Home, our children and staff are making great changes to the way we reuse, reduce, recycle. Miss Grant will be heading to London in 2 weeks to take part in CAFOD training about Laudato Si and how we can do even more in our curriculum to embed the ideas…more news to follow.

School of Sanctuary

OLOL has been invited to apply to become a School of Sanctuary. This is very exciting and a recognition of the work we have done and will continue to do to at OLOL to support those vulnerable members of our community in whatever way we can. Schools of Sanctuary are awarded the title if they…

• Learn about what it means to be seeking sanctuary.
• Take positive action to embed concepts of welcome, safety and inclusion within your school and the wider community.
• Share your vision and achievements – be proud!

We will keep you informed as we start the assessment process next term!

Work Experience at OLOL

Over the next two weeks, we will be hosting 15 work experience students at OLOL. Our great prayer and hope is that some of these young people will be drawn to the vocation of teaching because of their time with us and will be part of the next generation of Catholic educators in our Archdiocese. The young people are demonstrating excellent behaviour and are getting involved in all tasks to broaden their experiences…

Feast of Ss Peter & Paul

The children are busy learning about Ss Peter and Paul, examining the symbolism of the keys and the sword, thinking about missionary work then and now. At this time we make cards for our wonderful partner school in the North East, Ss Peter & Paul in Newcastle. Here are some photos of the lovely cards we hope will make the children there as happy as our Feast cards made us when they came!

Sacred Heart

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus takes place this week and all classes are enjoying additional RE work to learn more about this imagery and the life of St Margaret Mary Alacoque…Year 6 invited me to their prayer service about this feast day.

We serve God in many ways at Our Lady of Lourdes!

At OLOL we each have a ministry – here are some of the ways we serve the Lord and our Catholic community at OLOL…

Inter-faith Cohesion

As part of our Vocational Overview at OLOL, we ensure that while your children are at this school they will learn about other faiths and will have the opportunity to visit other religious places of worship. You might wonder what this has to do with Catholic Life…we do this so that our children can contribute to wider community cohesion, can discuss and make their faith life active on ta large number of global issues that affect us all no matter what our faith. Our children are always anxious to compare and contrast, learn about the diversity of religion in the world and have tolerance for others who think differently.

Corpus Christi

This week staff have started their work to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (or Corpus Christi). The sessions will continue into next week when we also look at Ss Peter & Paul and Sacred Heart. I have seen some great work this week so I will share a little with you here but our OLOL children know that the work alone is not how we live our faith - what inspiration for our lives can we take from these feasts?

Thanksgiving Mass FHC 2019

This week we brought our First Holy celebrations to a culmination with a Thanksgiving Mass where all 35 children who made their Communion attended. It was another beautiful Mass – well done parents for keeping the outfits clean one last time! The real celebration starts now however, the joy of receiving the Eucharist each week is a lifelong gift for the children who have been blessed with this Sacrament. Our school photographer has taken a wonderful photo and will be issuing this to families free of charge as a memory of the Sacrament (although the taking of the photo was a military operation!).

Mass for Vocations 2019

Today, the staff and children are having a very prayerful day as we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Day of Prayer for Vocations. In Mass this morning are thinking about the service of our priests, deacons, religious and Lay. During the day we will all go to Adoration as we continue to pray for young men and women who are called to a life of joy and service in the consecrated life.

LORD of the Harvest,

BLESS young people with the gift of courage to respond to your call.
Open their hearts to great ideals, to great things. INSPIRE all of your disciples to mutual love and giving— for vocations blossom in the good soil of faithful people.

INSTIL those in religious life, parish  ministries, and families with the confidence  and grace to invite others to embrace the bold and noble path of a life  consecrated to you.

UNITE us to Jesus through prayer and sacrament, so that we may cooperate  with you in building your reign of mercy  and truth, of justice and peace. Amen.

Pope Francis

Monitoring in School

This has been a particularly nice week for me as Head Teacher. I have been privileged to watch our teachers in action and see the clear development of the children’s faith, through monitoring activities. I wouldn’t normally write up this aspect of RE and Catholic Life in school – this happens all the time and often in the background but the quality of RE and Collective Worship seen has been so good I felt the need to share. Year 3 invited me to observe their Collective Worship, one they had planned and prepared under guidance – it was lovely. Here are some photos…

St Clare of Assisi House Team Benediction

St Clare’s House invited me to join them today for Benediction. It was a very reverent occasion and the children were interested to hear Deacon Tim share scripture and tell us lots of information about St Clare…who knew she was the Patron Saint of television!

Our Lady of Walsingham

The Dowry Tour is coming to Birmingham (as mentioned on Twitter last week). The Triduum of Prayer starts this Thursday, lasting for 3 days, and would be a lovely opportunity for the children to see the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham before its rededication. Try to visit St Chad’s to join in with the many prayer opportunities on offer!

Refugee Week

At OLOL, we have always tried to ensure that our children know and understand the issues surrounding refugees and asylum seekers. The notion of Sanctuary is part of who we are as a Catholic faith and our school is committed to education that supports this inclusive and moral response to the vulnerable and needy. Over time, staff and pupils have visited St Chad’s Sanctuary to be involved and educated but we also seek knowledge from wider sources and this week have visiting speakers from the Red Cross and Anne Frank Trust UK. In addition, we are taking children to watch a performance at Carr’s Lane Church, by a group of refugees – entitled “Home”.

St Chad’s Flower Festival Update!

OLOL are proud to have received a Gold Award in the first round of judging this weekend and then 1^st place for the Primary School category. We went to the St Chad’s Concert and Reception to listen to music and to accept the prize from Sr. Maura and the judging team at the Cathedral. A great evening!

St Chad’s Flower Festival 2019

Children in all classes have been involved in designing and making the wonderful display for St Chad’s annual Flower Festival. OLOL’s entry, along with those from other schools and Diocesan organisations, tells the story of how we “Follow in the footsteps of the Lord”. As always, it is such a pleasure to see the enthusiasm demonstrated by our children and staff that allows creativity and Catholic life to grow in our school. Mrs Kemp and Mrs Patrick spent the morning at the Cathedral putting up the children’s work…we hope you all will get an opportunity to see it, either at the Cathedral or when it comes back to school.

First Holy Communion 2019
The children of Year 3 and 5 members of our Parish celebrated their First Holy Communion during two very special Masses this month. Following their preparation at school and home, the class were very excited to receive the body and blood of Christ for the first time. We would like to thank the families of Year 3 for their hard work and commitment in preparing their children and ensuring that their faith life is well lived at home. Thank you to Mrs Creegan, Mrs Anthony and Mr Woollard for preparing the children in school and to all staff that attended preparation masses to show their support. Thank you to Father Sean for his continued support.

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day."

John 6:54

Westminster Cathedral 2019

On Tuesday this week, we took a group of Mini Vinnies and staff to celebrate Mass at Westminster Cathedral. The first Mass of its kind saw 800 Mini Vinnies with their teachers coming together to share the joy of prayer and service following the Vincentian model (given to us by St Vincent de Paul). As Head, it was such a privilege to watch our young faithful engage with this Mass in the most active way. Four of our pupils served with Deacon Tim, one child was a reader, two took part in the Banner Procession and the rest sang their hearts out! During the Mass Bishop Paul McAleenan talked about the importance of young people in this role – socially conscious and committed to serving the greater good. Following the Mass we had treats in Cathedral Hall, a lovely drive around the centre of London and a nice McDonald’s tea on our way home. A really special day for our OLOL faith leaders!

Lourdes Pilgrimage Meeting

It is that time again – we have started preparations for our next pupil and staff pilgrimage to Lourdes. Lots of parents and children came to our preparation meeting to find out more information. This might be a very popular visit indeed! Please have a look at the PowerPoint from the 2018 visit on the Pilgrimage Pages...

We are the Good Shepherd too!

Staff Retreat at OLOL

In preparation for Pentecost, we had another of our regular staff retreats with Dan Callow. This opportunity to be together and to reflect, pray, sing, share and find joy in our vocation is invaluable. We thought about our Good Shepherd Jesus, but also how we are a Good Shepherd to those we guide and support, teach and nurture in our vocation as teachers. Thank you Dan for another wonderful session.

Marian Shrines

As part of our celebration of Our Lady during the month of May, some classes made lovely Marian Shrines with their new statues of Our Lady. All classes in school have a statue and some chose to honour Mary in this way…have a look at their great work!

The Good Shepherd Mass

The Mini Vinnies represented the school, with Mrs Anthony, at this year’s Good Shepherd Mass at St Chad’s Cathedral. The Mini Vinnies had raised £150 to donate to Father Hudson’s Care. Again, the children were a shining example of living faith (we can be sure that OLOL children will be a force for good as grown ups!).

Mary, Queen of May

Our Marian Procession 2019

We held our annual Marian Procession today as a mark of devotion to Our Lady. We processed around the Church grounds to our special grotto to Our Lady that commemorates the appearances to St Bernadette in Lourdes. The children sang hymns to Our Lady and recited the Rosary while contemplating the Glorious mysteries. On the beautiful summers day parents and parishioners as well as school governors joined us and the children gave their gifts of flowers to Our Lady. Year 6 led the Glorious Mysteries at the Grotto.

"Devotion to Mary is not spiritual etiquette; it is a requirement of Christian life. The gift of the mother, of every mother and every woman, is the most precious for the Church, for she too is mother and woman.”

Pope Francis

Staff Pilgrimage 2019

Over May Bank Holiday, a group of staff and Governors went on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland in Knock, County Mayo. There will be more information and photos on the Staff Pilgrimage page of the website but here is one of us all…

Year 6 Visit to Westminster Cathedral

Year 6 had a wonderful day in London yesterday visiting the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Cathedral. For most of the attendees, this was their first visit to our Mother Church in the UK and they really enjoyed the guided tour we received from the staff at Westminster. We ended our time there with prayer and reflection…

Easter Hat Parade 2019

We held our traditional Easter Hat Parade in school today- the children needed to create hats with an Easter theme and it is clear that mums and dads worked hard over the Easter holidays! The hats were superb – lots of excellent resurrection imagery and the children were able to tell me so much about their hats and the messages for us to use in our lives. Great gathering!

Some new RE Artefacts for School…

Strolling through some back streets in Greece I came across an amazing shop selling religious and liturgical materials. Mr David and I decided to do a little window-shopping that quickly turned into “Wouldn’t this be fantastic for school” shopping! We brought home a wonderful Greek crucifix that is now displayed outside my office and an icon of Christos Pantokrator that is on display in the school hall. Over time we will add more statuary and imagery from all over the world to share the diversity of interpretation within our faith and broaden the children’s view…

He is Risen!

We have placed a new focal point in our raised beds to celebrate the resurrection of Christ – it was the missing piece in our beautiful new playground feature!

Easter Gardens

The Mini Vinnie team worked hard with Mrs Anthony to produce our traditional Easter Gardens. The gardens are a very visible sign of the children’s preparation for the impending arrival of Easter with the glorious resurrection of Jesus but also knowing that we have a responsibility in our own daily lives because of this – have a look at them in Church…

Lenten Fundraising for CAFOD

Lenten Family Prayer 2019

During the Season of Lent, we enjoyed sharing family prayer with OLOL children and their families. Each week we journeyed through the Stations of the Cross with the children leading the way. We are very grateful to parents for joining us for these sessions, allowing the children to have additional opportunities to be faith leaders in our Catholic Community.

Guild of St Stephen’s Altar Service Retreat 2019

Our 19 strong altar serving team spent a wonderful morning in retreat with Deacon Owen from the Vocations Office. Our servers from Year 4 to Year 6 make a commitment to serve in our Parish and School Masses and we wanted an opportunity for them to have special formation time of their own. Deacon Owen planned fun activities that explored the role of an altar server. The children had great fun.

Blessing of the Sick

Our Confirmandi and Mini Vinnies came to a special Mass and Blessing of the sick in February. It was an opportunity for them to give service within our parish community and live out the virtues in a very active way. Children supported during the Mass and then entertained the parishioners afterwards at a small gathering for refreshments…

Lenten Prayer Service

Year 5 led us in a wonderfully reflective and prayerful Lenten Service today…

Guild of St Stephen Mass for Altar Servers at St Chad’s Cathedral

Staff accompanied our Altar Serving team to a very special celebratory Mass at St Chad’s Cathedral – a great time to reflect on service to God and parish with servers from many other parishes across the Archdiocese. The children behaved beautifully and were a credit to our school and parish.

St Patrick’s Day Mass 2019

One of our favourite things to do is to open our school to our parents and parishioners. No better opportunity than our annual St Patrick’s Day Mass and Coffee Morning. Our children entertain in the hall with a lively ceilidh, music, refreshments and a chance for the generations to be together…This year I only caught the tail end of the festivities and was not wearing my shamrock tights which are becoming renowned in the parish! Next year perhaps!

Year 3 Sacrament of Reconciliation

Our Year 3 children completed their preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and received this Sacrament for the first time this weekend. The class were exemplary in behaviour, prayerfulness and showed joy at receiving the gifts that come with making this Sacrament. It was wonderful to see so many family members in church to celebrate with us. Thank you.

Goodbye to Bishop Robert Byrne

In our newsletter this week, we mentioned the impending departure of Bishop Robert Byrne from our Diocese. Bishop Robert has confirmed our OLOL children for a number of years. He has been appointed as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. We wish him well in his new role.

St David’s Day Mass 2019

Our parents and parishioners joined us for Mass to celebrate the Feast of St David today (a feast close to Mrs D’s heart!) – the staff and children love these opportunities to welcome the parish into school to talk and share experiences.

Altar Server’s Meetings

Each term the Altar Servers meet with myself and Mrs Anthony to talk about their ministry and support them in doing God’s service in this way. We talk about aspects of their role as Altar Servers and it is an opportunity for the children to ask questions and discuss their work.

Carol Service

Following the delightful KS1 and EYFS Nativity, we were ushered into the closing week of Advent by Year 2-6’s Carol Service and Readings. Thank you to the staff and especially Mrs Anthony for all of the hard work that went into this service. Great parental support as always and a lovely way to bring ourselves into the correct state of mind to welcome the Coming of the Lord at Christmas…We also said goodbye to Mrs McLoughlin at this Service, and wishes Mrs Larkin good luck as she gets ready for the birth of her first child!

Advent Family Prayer Service - Love

Our final Family Prayer Service was held this week on the theme of Love. It was great to be together in prayer and song as we draw towards the close of this Advent Season. Children made a family decoration for our Advent Tree and got to take them home. Special thank you to Mrs Anthony for her enthusiasm during these Prayer Services and to all families that have supported them. See you for more Family Prayer in Lent!

Mini Vinnies Carol Singing at St Joseph’s Care Home

Our Mini Vinnies and Choir continued their great works this Advent by singing at St Joseph’s Care Home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. As always OLOL children made us proud of their care, enthusiasm and joy at this opportunity to sing to and with older adults in our Catholic community. The school received a phone call from a Bishop at the Care Home complimenting the pupils on their wonderful singing and to thank them for teaching them some new songs. Well done!

Nativity

You know Christmas is just around the corner when the Nativity performances start! We were well entertained this year by Year R and Year 1 who put on a hugely enjoyable version of the Christmas Story. Thank you to staff and children who worked so hard to make this such a wonderful experience for all who were able to watch it.

“For unto us a child is born…his name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”

Isaiah 9:6

Advent Family Prayer Service – Joy

Thank you again to parents and children that joined our third session of Family Prayer on Friday. We thought ahead to Gaudete Sunday and what ways we can generate and share joy in our homes, school and parish. We shared the text of the Magnificat and each of us received a Joy Sticker to remind us all day to be joyful about our lives, our faith and the coming of our Lord!

CAFOD World Gifts Fundraising 2018

OLOL has a great affection for the work of CAFOD and twice yearly we take part in fundraising – at those important periods of penitence and almsgiving, prayer and service in Advent and Lent, we think about our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world and what they need. The children of OLOL had great fun this year choosing the events and gifts that they would raise money for with the World Gifts project and each class in school set themselves a total to aim for. With the last classes finishing their sponsored events this week we will have totals for you in January! We hope you have been able to follow the activities on our Twitter feed…

"To live charitably means not looking out for our own interests, but carrying the burdens of the weakest and poorest among us."

Pope Francis

After School Club

Our After School Club do many activities but among them is continued opportunities to explore the faith of the children and live out good acts, especially during Advent. So great to see the range of support Mrs Kemp and Mrs Loughran offer our children…

Carol Singing…

Our Choir and Mini Vinnies visited Trittiford Road Care home for elderly adults to sing Christmas Carols this week. What a wonderful gift to hear children sharing the good news through song and in doing so giving their time and talents in the service of God. Thank you to Mrs Anthony for organising this and playing her guitar.

Staff Advent Retreat – December 2018

At the midpoint of Advent we were blessed to be joined again by Dan Callow (One Life Music) for the first of our 3 x annual staff evening retreats. Dan prepared a wonderful Advent Retreat based on the theme of Peace for us, at just the right time for weary teachers! It was such a joy to be able to sit with colleagues to have this shared faith experience where we were able to pray, sing, read scripture, reflect on the key themes of this liturgical season and then have silence…

Our continued spiritual development means we are refreshed and better able to support the formation of the children in our care, and each other in our vocation. Many thanks to Dan for his gift to our Church.

Advent Family Prayer Service – Hope

To prepare for the Second Week of Advent we met for Family Prayer to contemplate Hope. What are our hopes during the season of Advent for others and ourselves? In his Letter to the Romans, St Paul tells us to “Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly.” Jesus is coming, we prepare; we make peace, we pray; we hope. Hope is a great gift in this season and we were able to think about the hope of ages as we looked at the symbols of the Jesse Tree and thought about the characters that bring those scripture accounts to life. Thank you again to our families for supporting family prayer at OLOL. It is a special coming together in our busy lives.

Whole School Advent Gathering – Led by Year 2

Year 2 planned a fantastic liturgy for the whole school to share, marking the First Week of Advent. They carefully explained through word and song, the real meaning of this liturgical season. It was super to see how confident the children were sharing scripture and prayer and the whole school is now really ready to celebrate Advent in the spirit of love, peace, joy and hope.

Confirmation 2018

On 2^nd December this year we were joined by Bishop Byrne to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with 32 of our young people from Year 6 and the Parish of OLOL. It was a truly reverent yet joyful occasion, which showed us how much impact the gifts and fruits already have as the children read and sang with such confidence and understanding of what they were experiencing. The children were supported by Father Sean and Deacon Tim, as well as the staff body of Our Lady of Lourdes School. We welcomed the Choir to this special Mass and their singing made the celebration so much more! Thank you to our families for their support and guidance – the real journey of faith starts now as these young people take their faith and share it loudly and proudly for all to see and hear!

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire”

St Catherine of Siena

Liturgy Musicians

Finally got an opportunity to photograph our guitarists in action during Mass! This is a great act of service to the Church – Jesus sang Psalms and we know that when we sing or play in the liturgy we create another version of prayer. OLOL loves to sing!

“One cannot find anything more religious and more joyful in sacred celebrations than a whole congregation expressing its faith and devotion in song”

Feast of St Andrew – November 2018

We went to Mass on St Andrew’s Day (as we do for each of the UK Patron Saints) and classes got into the Scottish Spirit with lessons about St Andrew and a lovely themed lunch!

Mini Vinnies

Harvest Delivery to St Chad’s Sanctuary

The Mini Vinnies continue their social impact by visiting St Chad’s Sanctuary to deliver the vast amount of food and toiletries donated by the families of OLOL children. Such generosity is a constant source of pride to our school - we know that times can be difficult but when we ask for help, our families continue to share what they have with those in need. With the approach of Advent, the plight of the refugee is at the forefront of Christian thoughts – the Holy Family were after all refugees themselves!

Year 6 Reconciliation - November 2018

Year 6 children making their Confirmation this weekend came to a special Sacrament of Reconciliation Service at OLOL Church. Children, sponsors and their families took the opportunity to go to Confession. Confirmandi lit their hand painted candles before penance. It was a truly reverent occasion. The whole school community is praying for the children in Year 6 as they take this next step in their life long Catholic journey on Sunday!

Advent Family Prayer Service - Peace

We held our first Advent Family Prayer Service today and had a great turn out from parents and children wanting to start their Advent journey in the right spirit. The aim of the 4 Prayer Services will be to think about Peace, Hope, Joy and Love in the context of our active faith – what can we do this Advent to promote these fruits of the Holy Spirit in our school, our home and our community?

Red Wednesday – November 2018

On Red Wednesday the whole school dressed in red clothing to help raise awareness and show solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters all over the world, who are persecuted just for being Christian. Our Cathedral, St Chad’s, was lit in red all day to be a beacon in the city for Christians. IN each class prayers were shared and red candles lit, all peaceful and positive signs in a world of suffering – violence, oppression, torture and death.

We pray that love, compassion and courage replace fear, injustice and discrimination so that all who believe are free to practice, share and live their faith. Amen

Christ the King/Youth Sunday

OLOL invited children in Year 3 and Year 6 to attend Mass to celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King which is also the day set aside to celebrate Youth Sunday. It was wonderful to see so many OLOL children at Mass in their uniforms, proudly professing their faith and being a sign of hope for the future of our Church – more important this year in light of the Synod on Young People (Heart Speaks to Heart). OLOL looks forward to hearing Pope Francis’ formal response next year but we know that whatever comes from his message will be all about how our young people are important and must be listened to!

“Every young person has something to say to others. He or she has something to say to adults, something to say to priests, something to say to bishops and even the Pope. All of us need to listen to you!” (Pope Francis, 2017)

St Chad’s Sanctuary

Our Mini Vinnies had a lovely visit to St Chad’s Sanctuary today with Mrs Anthony and Deacon Tim. They were delivering the huge amount of harvest food donations made by OLOL families, so that refugees and asylum seekers setting up home or passing through Birmingham might have more food to eat than their funding allows. The Mini Vinnie team were as curious and enthusiastic as ever and asked many great questions…we got a lovely tweet!

St Chad's Sanctuary‏ @StChadSanctuary Nov 20

A huge thank you to the Mini Vinnies @SVPEnglandWales from @ourladyoflourd1 school for visiting us today. Your interest and passion suggest the future is in good hands #refugeeswelcome

Diabetes Awareness Assembly

As part of our planned almsgiving we think about the groups and charities that most need our support and this year we were really happy to be able to raise money for Diabetes Research. One of our pupils has the condition and she led a wonderful assembly to tell us all about her illness and how it affects her daily life. We pray that the money donated by OLOL children will contribute towards finding a cure for the many people whose lives are affected by Diabetes.

Remembrance at OLOL #Thankyou100

At OLOL we take time to remember the dead from all conflicts. We held a special assembly this year as it has been 100 years since Armistice – the end of “the war to end all wars”. Unfortunately this was not the last time that people have engaged in war, violence and fear – it is something that continues in all parts of the world. Each class took time to think about conflict and peace in their own way using prayer and poetry.

Year 6 had a special Confirmation Preparation Mass on Remembrance Sunday and in Year 6 they have linked their liturgy to their History topic on WWII.

Tolkien Cluster Teacher INSET

OLOL is proud to be part of the Tolkien Cluster of schools – a collaboration that shares faith and pedagogy for the greater good of all of the children that attend our schools. For the first time this year we shared a Cluster Training Day so that teachers from all 10 Primary Schools and Bishop Challoner could share good practice. We started the day with a beautiful Mass at St Dunstan’s Church…

Priestly Vocations

Mrs Anthony has made a fantastic display with the help of the pupils linked to Priestly Vocations – we prayed for the priests of our parish and the world to give them strength to continue in their good work for our Catholic Church…

Pupil Planned & Led Prayer at OLOL

Children at OLOL have free access to a special prayer and reflection area. It is common to find all ages of children in here during their break and lunchtime praying, reading bible stories, discussing an issue or acting out scenarios linked to a bible dice as seen today…

Family Rosary Session 2

It was great to see an increased number of families joining us for our second Family Rosary session in the school hall today. The children led the prayers beautifully and over time we hope these prayer sessions will inspire a love of the Rosary and confidence to use it daily for OLOL children. During Advent we will be holding Prayer Services for families each week.

Updating the Pupil Prayer Area

As part of our ongoing work to enhance Catholic Life we decided to give the Conservatory Pupil Prayer Area a little makeover – a new thick, warm rug instead of kneelers and cushions to sit on for prayer and reflection. We will do more work on this area over the next few months so keep checking to see what we are changing…

Family Rosary for October

During October we have started Family Rosary Sessions for OLOL families to have an opportunity to pray together with staff. The Rosary is a powerful prayer and we can pray it in parts or all at once, we can pray it at home, school, Church, in the car – wherever you are the Rosary can be with you. The Rosary is a wonderful time to reflect and think deeply about our faith. Our Lady asked for the Rosary to be prayed when she appeared at Fatima – she is after all Our Lady of the Rosary, this is how important this recitation is. We would love to see more families with us next week!

Father Sean’s 70^th Birthday – October 2018

Sharing joy is an integral part of our Catholic Life together at OLOL and yesterday we were able to celebrate a very special birthday – Father Sean was 70 years old and we surprised him with two afternoon tea parties to give thanks for his vocation and the wonderful work he does within our Parish and School. Much food was eaten and children entertained Father Sean with celebratory songs both modern (Father Sean take on Baby Shark!) and slightly older from Father’s homeland of County Mayo (Green and Red of Mayo). It was a super day and we hope that Father Sean enjoyed the celebrations – he certainly looked surprised! We must never forget the gift we have in our Parish Priests who give their lives work and prayer to the greater good of the Church and our community.

St Vincent de Paul House Benediction

St Vincent de Paul House gathered in Church yesterday for their Benediction with Deacon Tim. It was a beautiful time for reflection and prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Deacon Tim spoke to us about what it means to help God with his harvest – a very simple message to us about our role in the universal Church as part of God’s family and how we all share a part in the Mission of the Church.

The Canonisation of St Oscar Romero

In our liturgical assembly today we talked about the life and work of St Oscar Romero. We celebrated his canonisation into Sainthood yesterday with 6 other holy people including Pope Paul VI. One of our House Teams is named after St Oscar Romero so this is quite a special occasion for the children and staff in that house.

Pope Francis announced that Oscar Romero was a martyr and he was beatified in El Salvador on 23 May 2015. Pope Francis said that all those who hold Archbishop Romero...

"as a friend in faith, who invoke him in as protector and intercessor, who admire him, should find in him strength and energy to build the kingdom of God".

Blessing our School at the start of the year…

Deacon Tim came into school to do his annual blessing of the classrooms.

Heavenly Father, lover of all, we praise you for giving us Jesus as our Saviour. He blessed the children who came to Him and welcomes those who come to him now. Look with love upon these children and protect them with your love. May they grow in age, wisdom and strength in your presence and in the sight of all. We ask this blessing, Father, through Your beloved Son, Christ our Lord.

Amen

House Team Benediction - St Teresa of Calcutta

Each month, one of our House teams has the opportunity to take part in Benediction. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a Monstrance and there is a period of silence when we are keeping watch before we say the Divine Praises.

Month of the Rosary begins at OLOL…

Here at OLOL we have a great love for the Rosary and it is a central part of our weekly prayer life. During October, one of two special Marian months, we increase this act of prayer as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and children have access to opportunities to pray the Rosary everyday this month in our special Prayer Area in the Conservatory or in class at a quiet time to suit. During the Year of Priests we keep the clergy and their vocation at the front of our minds in assembly and class based liturgy.

Little Way Week 2018

At OLOL each class has taken some time to think about Little Way Week (Mission Together) and how ordinary people like you and me can do extraordinary things through little acts of kindness. The children have been thinking about the life and work of St Thérèse of Lisieux and her acts of great love, the way she lived her vocation that she called her “Little Way”. This links so well with the messages we have been sharing this term about doing small things with great love. At OLOL being children does not stop our pupils from serving God through their acts of goodness towards others – our own OLOL Little Way! St Therese was a member of Mission Together and we can use their prayer to help us…

May all children in the world

Share love, Share friendship

and live in the peace of God’s love.

Now and forever.

Amen

St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us.

Macmillan Coffee Morning 2018

We continue to support this very worthwhile event each September with parents and children baking cakes and other treats for sale at “the World’s Largest Coffee Morning”. We welcome parents and parishioners to share food, tea and chat in our school hall. It is important for our children to find their social voice in all acts of human kindness...

Adoremus with Archbishop Bernard

In September we took part in a Diocese wide adoration with all of the 209 other Catholic Primary Schools. This was a wonderful occasion! Father Sean brought the Blessed Sacrament from the Church and in a time of prayer and reflection as we waited for His Grace, Archbishop Bernard to begin his service, we thought about the Eucharistic Congress and what it means to be gifted with the Eucharist in our lives. This was a very spiritual experience for the staff and children. Deacon Tim and Mrs Anthony represented the school and parish at the Congress.

All the, small things…September 2018

We started the School Year with a Liturgical Assembly all about our goals and aspirations and took inspiration from Mrs David’s broken toes and the words of St David and St Teresa of Calcutta who both spoke of doing small things well and with love to get the greatest impact.

Teacher’s Vocation – September 2018

In our first school Mass this year we asked our school staff to share their commitment to the school and children – a living testament to our vocation as educators and spiritual leaders in our parish and school community. It’s always a special moment when we declare this aloud to the whole school and parishioners that join our Masses.

World Meeting of Families 2018

This summer, the Pope visited Ireland for the World Meeting of Families and we are really lucky that an OLOL family was selected to represent this Deanery at that celebration of family life. Mr Martin (Principal at St Thomas Aquinas), his wife Mrs Martin and 3 of our pupils – Beatrice, Teddy and Cecilia attended and shared their amazing adventure with us all on Twitter.

Year 6 Leaver's Mass 2018

We start the year by looking back at the end of last year and remembering the wonderful Leavers Mass for our departing Year 6 children – they have left the school but they are always part of the OLOL family! On this special Mass we shared memories and stories while praying for these children to use the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit well in the lives moving forward.