Year 3 2018/2019

September 2018

Mission Accepted!

In our Religious Education lesson we reflected on our school mission,

'Christ is the centre of our school community

where we live, love and learn together.'

We thought of so many ways our class family can live, love and learn together and displayed them on our 'Mission Tree' display.

Are you cooperative, kind, responsible, forgiving, supportive, respectful, compassionate, faithful and patient? These were only a few of our choices.

We have accepted our mission to follow in the 

footsteps of Jesus. 

How can you do this today?

Let us pray...

At the start of our new school year we wrote some asking prayers.  We want God's help with the challenges that lie ahead. All our prayers are in our prayer area and we share them when we pray together in the morning. 

What would you like God's help with? 

Dear God,

Help me this year to persevere

to improve my handwriting and get my letter heights right.

Help me to pray more often to your son Jesus.

Lord in your mercy...

hear my prayer

Beginning our work on 

' Belonging - We gather as God's family'

Team work was definitely dream work when we worked in groups to decide on what responsibilities and qualities were necessary in our school family. 

Some of our ideas...

We have to be mature and share with others...

We must be supportive when our friends get something wrong.

We must persevere and not let our school group down.

October

Would you be a fisher of men?

In our Religious Education lessons we read the story of the 'Call of the Disciples' and sorted reasons for and against answering Jesus's call. After careful consideration and much debating, the majority of Beech class decided that the answer was YES but it would be difficult to leave your family, friends and home!

A Blessing for the New School Year

Beech class were delighted to welcome Deacon Tim to their class to celebrate the start of our new school year. It was a really reverent and special occasion when we  gathered to ask God’s blessing on

• us, as we live together as his family
• on our classroom, where we learn together
• on our prayer area, where we show our love together for Jesus

and all the time remembering that Jesus is at the heart of all that we do.

November 

Month of the Holy Souls

During the month of November, Beech class are remembering those people who we love and who have died. We also remember those who have no one to pray for them. We have also reflected on Remembrance Sunday and the many who lost their lives in war. 

Share this prayer together as a family at home. 

We are praying and learning it together in class. 

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them. 

May they rest in peace.

Amen

After our first Mass of the new half term, we prayed together for our deceased family and friends.

We lit a candle and remembered them. 

Prayer bag launch!

A super start to Beech Class prayer bag being shared at home. Wonderful work and beautifully presented. It was a pleasure to see the commitment and effort made.

We can't wait to see who has the prayer bag each week!

Another great week with Beech classes prayer bag going home. St John Vianney was the chosen subject with a very reflective discussion about his life of humble service as a priest - very well done!

The Great Outdoors!

Enjoying and appreciating God's beautiful world during our Forest School afternoons! 

Read the story of Creation in the Old Testament and remind yourself of how God made our world. 

Compassionate and Loving in action!

After Forest School we heard about a very compassionate and loving young man who helped his friend and encouraged her when she was trying to wade through water. This is exactly how Jesus wants us to live and love like him.

Well done! Definitely following in the footsteps of Jesus!

Red Wednesday 

Christians around the world are being persecuted because of their faith. Today we showed our support by wearing red. Beech class were shocked to hear that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. 

Class prayer bag...thoroughly enjoying taking it home!

Another really great presentation this week! Lots of detail and information about the Rosary and all of the mysteries.

Living the Jesuit Virtues in Beech class!

Our excellent role models who won certificates

for being 'Compassionate and Loving.' 

Pupils in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School

are growing to be..

Compassionate towards others, near and far,

especially the less fortunate;

and loving by their just actions and forgiving words. 

December 

and the start of Advent!

The First Sunday of Advent and Year 6 received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Thank you to Beech choir members who gave their time and beautiful voices to help Year 6 celebrate their Confirmation. It was lovely to hear a member of the congregation congratulate the children on their singing. 

Well done one and all!

Advent - a time of preparation!

Our class altar reflects the Holy Season of Advent. Purple is the Liturgical colour for Advent. Look around school and in church. Where is the colour purple being used?

I pray for all the priests in the church because they work hard for us and they show us the value of

following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Father Sean would definitely approve of this prayer!

Our Advent calendar has an act of kindness task inside it. We are trying to be 'Advent Angels' and are working hard at being even kinder than we need to be.

When we have completed our act of kindness, we write it on our angel on the tree. 

How can you put others before yourself this Advent?

The Annunciation

In our Religious Education lesson this week we have been reading the Annunciation and reflected on how Mary felt before, during and after this wonderful event. 

We made some really amazing connections using this Gospel story. 

• "I know this story is in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Also we think about it on the third Sunday of Advent which is a joyful time. We light the rose coloured candle and remember how joyful Mary was."

• "I can make a connection! We say the words from the story when we say Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with you!"

• "Mary trusted God like Daniel trusted that God would not let the lion kill him."

• "Mary obeyed God like Abraham did when he took his Son Issac to be sacrificed."

Mrs Creegan loves a good connection and was so impressed!

Prayer bag 

A most amazing prayer bag presentation. This week was all about Jesus with the thieves on the cross. A great discussion on admitting our sins, belief in everlasting life and the way we need to live our lives here on earth. Super RE discussion work from Y3.

Christmas Cards and more connections!

In our Christmas carol service, Beech class are singing the Gloria and our reading reminds us of the angels appearing to the shepherds and bringing the good news that Jesus has been born. We decided to make a connection to this wonderful event when we made our Christmas cards. 

We used Beech class bidding prayer from our carol service for the inside of our card!

Told you, we love making connections! LOL

I pray that your guardian angel will watch over you

and take care of you.

Compassionate and loving during Advent

Y3 Beech class completed their sponsored 'Spellathon'. Lots of prize winning high  and best improver scores, so clearly some hard work and great support from home. Lots of money raised for bee hives in distant places.

Well done Y3!

Making angels for our Christmas Carol Service! 

Painting, sticking and a bit of glitz for good measure! 

I'm sure the angels would approve of a bit of sparkle!

Relationship Education in RE 

Beech class started this afternoon sharing how we valued each other as friends in Y3. There’s a lot of difference to being lonely compared to taking time out or choosing some time alone.

A great class discussion about our duty to God and each other.

Advent

and using our class prayer bag at home!

A super presentation today from our home prayer bag. It was a prayer about Advent and asking God to help us to become closer to him...very thought provoking.

Carol service rehearsals continue...

As always, we remember that Jesus is at the heart of our Christmas preparations in school. We have been practising hard for our carol service on Friday

Our Savior showed us how to live
With charity, faith and service.
It makes the holidays a joy,
More peaceful, and less nervous.

So let's remember Christmas is
About our Saviour's birth;
That's the way to happiness,
The way to peace on earth.

Beech class wish all their family and friends a very

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

January 2019...

...and we are in the season of Christmas until the Baptism of Our Lord. 

With my magic eye...

In our Religious Education lessons this week, we have been reflecting on the shepherds' story and how the good news of the birth of Jesus was shared with them. We wrote some poems with a repeating line in our groups, imaging what we could see if we had a magic eye and were able to look down on this wondrous event. 

Captivating, exquisite angels!!!! Love it!

Sharing our class prayer bag

Today we learnt even more about the Rosary. It’s really so inspiring to see our Y3 children learning and praying at home, as well as displaying great reverence in their faith.

Sacramental Preparation begins...

No where better to start than with the Seven Sacraments; all stationed around our beautiful church for children and parents to explore and discuss.

Deacon Tim finished our evening with Benediction. The Eucharistic host was displayed in a monstrance on the altar and candles radiated on either side. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a blessing on us all, was a powerful way to end our first meeting.

Our first Sacramental preparation Mass

Children and family gathered to celebrate Mass together on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. It was lovely to welcome children from other schools who will be preparing for the Sacraments with Year 3.

Living the Jesuit Virtues in Beech class!

Our excellent role models who won certificates

for being 'faith filled and hopeful.'

Pupils in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School

are growing to be..

Faith-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future.

Our prayer bag journey in Y3 continues and...

a thoughtful reflection about when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, signalling the start of his ministry with us on Earth. Further information was also shared about a cross made in the Holy Land.

Preparing for our Sacrament of Reconciliation

Beech class have begun their work on Reconciliation and have been learning about a little man with a big problem!

In our groups we thought about how Zacchaeus might have felt before, during and after his meeting with Jesus.

1. He felt lonely and fed up of his situation...he felt money did not bring happiness! Maybe it was time to repent and change!

2. He felt grateful to Jesus for helping him understand how his actions affected the people of Jericho and for giving him a second chance. He felt ashamed confessing his sins!

3. Zacchaeus was reconciled with God and the people of Jericho. He might have thought I must tell other people that they can receive forgiveness if they repent and really mean sorry.

Only some of our reflections...super work!

All you need is love!

It’s 14th February so we had a perfectly timed prayer bag presentation on loving each other and from Pope Francis, the love that God and his son Jesus has for us all. 

Did you know St Valentine is the patron Saint of

love, young people and marriage? 

Reconciliation 2019

Beech class have been working hard preparing for their celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They can't wait to receive the love and forgiveness of God.

Reconciliation Meeting 

Children and adults joined together to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was lovely to welcome children from other schools, who will be joining us to receive the gift of forgiveness. 

Sisters pray together at home...

A beautiful presentation in class this morning about the life of St John Vianney, using our home prayer bag. It was very thought provoking, with some lovely quality pictures of prayer at home.

March 

Celebrating the Feast of St David

Sacramental Preparation Mass  

Beech class joined our parish family for Sunday Mass as part of their Sacramental preparation. Reconciliation next week and soon we will have received our second Sacrament. A little nervous now but excited too!

Today we remember and pray for those who cannot find paid employment.

Lent 2019

A time to change and put others before ourselves!

We put our Lenten promises on our 'Lenten Promise Tree.'  We are extremely motivated to keep these promises because we are supporting the CAFOD 'GIVE IT UP' fundraising campaign during Lent.
 

With the parish, we are working to raise enough money to purchase a £4,000.00 Health Clinic, CAFOD world gift. World Gifts are life changing virtual gifts which help transform the lives of poor communities and families in developing countries.

This charity gift can pay for the running costs of a

life-saving clinic in a remote community. It keeps the clinic stocked with medicines, medical equipment and even provides petrol for the clinic ambulance, giving vulnerable people vital access to much needed healthcare.

Lenten Retreat

Dan Callow and Emily Clark joined us for our annual whole school Lent Retreat. It was a beautiful day where the children and staff had the opportunity to explore the theme of how we can have “A heart that sees.”

A Lenten Prayer Bag focus this week!

The Sacrament of Reconciliation 2019

Our special day finally arrived! 

Congratulations to Beech Class. So proud of you all and your immense commitment to your preparation for today. 

Thank you God for giving us your love and forgiveness. Help us to make the right choices in the future.

CHANGE ACROSTIC

Can you make a change in your life during Lent? 

Some of our beliefs...

Comfort those who feel sad or lonely, listen to their troubles and give them a warm, comforting hug.

Happiness is a feeling everyone should have, make sure others are happy, not lonely and ask them to join in with games.

Always go to confession for your sins to be forgiven and then we can reconcile in love with God.

Nobody should be treated differently, treat everyone equally no matter their religion, skin colour or country.

Generously raise money for CAFOD by doing the ‘Give it Up’ challenge.

Even when people are irritating us, we must show tolerance and patience by not getting frustrated.

Another thoughtful prayer bag

shared in class this morning...

A humble prayer, thanking God for health and family and it was lovely to see the respect and tolerance of a Christian prayer focus next to a Hindu home altar. Once again our children lead the way for us to follow. 

Congratulations!

Beech class led a lovely school and parish Mass this morning. They read, sang, prayed and led processions with great reverence and sincerity. Very proud of all!

We all look forward to the prayer bag day!

A thoughtful Year 3 prayer bag presentation this morning. A lovely prayer for our class, their First Holy Communion and the health of all who are suffering in our world.

Lovely work and a confidently delivered prayer service, well done!

April

...and the start of our Holy Week work!

Beech class reflect on the events of Palm Sunday

Interpreting and understanding Leonardo de Vinci's

'The Last Supper'

The painting reflects the instant that Jesus said to the disciples, “In truth I tell you, one of you will betray me”

We became detectives to interpret the painting and discovered so many things. Accurate links made to later events in Holy Week too! Awesome progress today!

"Peter has a knife to remind us that he cut off the Roman soldier's ear in the garden."

"John looks like he is fainting because he cannot believe that someone was going to betray the man who chose him as an Apostle!"

"Andrew looks like his hand is saying stop because he does not want to hear Jesus's words. They are too upsetting."

The Crucifixion of Jesus

We read and watched the terrible events of the Crucifixion and wrote our own independent thoughts and reflections. Beech class had so many observations!

• How could Peter defend Jesus in the garden then later deny he even knew him? Doesn't make sense! Not impressed by that behaviour. Fear can make you make some difficult choices we decided. 
• I felt heartbroken when the guards took Jesus to his cross and when his special friends didn't help him in the garden, when he needed them.

• I felt so upset when Jesus saw his mother. How hard for them both. Mary must have been so upset to see her beloved Son so bruised and bloody. 
• I find it interesting that the robber asked for forgiveness even when he was on the cross. It is never too late to say sorry! Now he is forgiven he will be in Paradise!