Lads & Lasses School Wear Message

2nd June 2020Mrs D Curtis
We are getting prepared for a Back to School with a difference this year and hope that you will all support us by being prepared and shopping a little earlier than normal.
From the 15th June we plan to reopen our store. To be sure that we can operate a safe, controlled environment we have felt the need to implement a few changes this summer.
Please can you order online https://www.ladsandlassesschoolwear.co.uk/ wherever possible.
If you have a child at school already you have a guide from the uniform that they wore last year. There are helpful sizing charts and videos on our website and Facebook page and if you have any queries, we are happy to discuss your requirements. We have reduced the free delivery to a £35.00 spend and added a click and collect option at checkout if you would prefer to pop down and collect. The Click and Collect point is to the side of the store so that you do not have to enter.
If your child is back at school 1st June and you desperately need uniform, we will be happy to serve you from the click and collect point until the store officially opens.
We are offering an appointment only system this year to avoid long queues. From 15th June appointments can be booked online https://www.ladsandlassesschoolwear.co.uk/book-your-appointment/ or via our Facebook page. We would ask that you arrive on time and do your very best to keep your appointment. We will only admit one adult with each student for the safety of customers and staff. We are extending opening hours and will be practising social distancing in store. Hand sanitiser and gloves will be available and we are encouraging customers to wear masks.
There will only be one fitting room available at any one time in order for a used fitting room to be cleaned and sanitised between users. We would ask that fitting rooms are only used where it is an essential need. We will have disposable tape measures in store to ensure accurate sizing.
Exchanges can be made via the click and collect gazebo so that you do not have to enter the store.  A member of staff will be happy to assist with returns and exchanges.
Garments that have been exchanged will be quarantined and steamed so that they are sterile before they are returned to stock.
Although we are well stocked due to our forward planning we may encounter stock issues from our manufacturers this summer due to the pandemic. We will work tirelessly to ensure minimum impact to you all, but please take notice of this when booking appointments or ordering on line, ensure that you too forward plan and I cannot stress how important it is to shop early this year.
We would ask that you are patient with us. These are unprecedented times and all that we can promise to do is our very best for you. We have the most amazing customers and we know that we can rely on you all.
Take care and stay safe. We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you all back very soon. We are here to support you all the way Back to School.

Leah’s Helping Hands

1st June 2020Mrs D Curtis

Leah James, Year 12, has been volunteering at New Coss Hospital. This is her story.

I started volunteering at my local hospital during these difficult times. This opportunity came through as a way to have more people work in hospital wards to help and support healthcare staff.

My day starts off with a small ward round observing the doctors and nurses as they treat the patients in the morning. I would then help with breakfast and make sure that everyone is full and happy to start their daily routines. Jobs include changing the beds of each patient on the ward, which can be a struggle but nonetheless fun, and giving a tea round. By taking the correct precautions and wearing a full suit of PPE, I am able to converse with the patients and lighten up their days, as they are unable to see family members hence why I love to sit and listen to their fantastic stories such as touring with the English cricket team in South Africa or romantic stories about their partner! People tend to forget that they are as bored as you sitting at home even if they are surrounded by more people, they aren’t even allowed outside for a walk! Nevertheless, my experience has just started and so far it has been amazing to work alongside the people who we clap and cheer for on Thursdays at 8 pm.

The NHS has been doing a wonderful job and I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to give an extra pair of hands to my community.

Leah James Year 12

Daily Gospel Reflection

1st June 2020Mrs D Ferris

MOTHERS
“The man replied, ‘The woman whom You put here with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.'” –Genesis 3:12
Most of us are very familiar with the story of the fall. Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation and thwarted God’s plan. Because our first parents were disobedient, we suffer the wounds of original sin. Shortsightedly, we could label Adam and Eve the ultimate scapegoats. But we and they are family! “The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living” (Gn 3:20). Have you pondered your lineage? Eve gave birth to us in the natural order — she is truly our ancestor. The trickery of the serpent, although frustrating, merely exposes human frailty. Are we any better than Eve? Jesus reminds us, “Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her” (Jn 8:7).

Providentially, God the Father instituted a new master plan. He desired to restore us to His grace and love, for He wants all “to be saved and come to know the truth” (1 Tm 2:4). He chose a young virgin from Nazareth to help complete the plan. “The virgin’s name was Mary” (Lk 1:27). This new “woman” (see Gn 3:15) was destined to become the “new Eve.” In the spiritual order, Mary has given birth to “those who keep God’s commandments and give witness to Jesus”; we, as members of the Church, represent “the rest of her offspring” (see Rv 12:17).

Focus on Mary’s obedience, not Eve’s disobedience. Echo Mary and tell the Lord, “May it be done to me according to Your word” (see Lk 1:38, RNAB).

PRAYER: Father, give me the grace to accept Mary as my mother (Jn 19:27) and always act so as to honor her (Ex 20:12).
PROMISE: “When Jesus took the wine, He said, ‘Now it is finished.’ Then He bowed His head, and delivered over His spirit.” (Jn 19:30)
PRAISE: Mother Mary, you “gather your children, as a mother bird gathers her young under her wings” (see Mt 23:37).

Preparing for the wider opening of schools and early years settings

27th May 2020Mrs D Curtis
Guidance on the actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June, at the earliest, can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020

Guidance on implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings

Guidance for early years providers to help them prepare to open their settings for children of all ages from 1 June can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june

Guidance for primary schools to help them prepare to open to Reception, year 1 and year 6 from 1 June can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools

Guidance for secondary schools to help them prepare to offer face-to-face support to year 10 and year 12 pupils from 15 June can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-secondary-schools

Guidance for parents and carers as schools and other education settings in England open to more children and young people can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

The information below has not changed since yesterday.

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687

Opening hours:

8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday

Daily Gospel Reflection

22nd May 2020Mrs D Ferris

IN THE SPIRIT OF BOLDNESS
“Do not be afraid.” —Acts 18:9
It’s likely God wouldn’t have told St. Paul to not be afraid unless Paul was actually afraid of something. The city of Corinth must have been a rough place, for by this time in Paul’s life, he had already been stoned, apparently to death, at Lystra (Acts 14:19ff), and then stood back up and returned to town. He’d been jailed and beaten at Philippi, but miraculously freed by an earthquake. You’d think Paul would not fear anything at this point. But fear is a strong temptation, even to veteran disciples.

The Pentecost Novena begins today. We beg the Lord for nine days to send us the Holy Spirit in a new way at Pentecost. One of the primary effects of the Holy Spirit biblically is bold speech and bold actions. The fear of the apostles locked in the upper room was driven out by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The perfect love of the Spirit casts out all fear (see 1 Jn 4:18). The Spirit-filled apostles burst out of the locked room and into the public squares. They boldly proclaimed Jesus and brought three thousand people to the Lord in one day.

Jesus tells St. Paul and us: “Do not be afraid” (Acts 18:9). The Outreach Leader for Presentation Ministries is fond of saying: “Fear is merely False Evidence Appearing Real.” Receive the Holy Spirit. Be delivered of fear.

PRAYER: Father, send the Holy Spirit to turn any cowardice we may have into boldness (2 Tm 1:7-8).
PROMISE: “Your grief will be turned to joy.” –16:20
PRAISE: St. Rita was a wife and mother. After she became a widow and her two sons died, Rita joined the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Together with Saint Jude, she is a patron saint of impossible cases.

St Rita

Daily Gospel Reflection

21st May 2020Mrs D Ferris

“PERFECT STORM”

“They opposed him and insulted him.” —Acts 18:6

As I write this, a storm has just blown in. There’s a strong, driving wind outside (cf Acts 2:2). Lightning is darting throughout the sky and powerful blasts of thunder shake the windows. I hear sirens from fire trucks, police cars, and a tornado warning. It seems like this storm is turning the town upside down.

Tomorrow we begin praying the Pentecost Novena, nine days of fervent prayer to prepare for receiving a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. What storm will result if you receive the Holy Spirit during or after this Novena? It may mean that:

you must leave your job, as did St. Joseph (Mt 2:14),

you start a new job, which becomes the launching pad for a new ministry (Acts 18:3, 5),

you pack up and move where the Spirit leads (Acts 18:1),

you lose your spiritual mentor (Jn 16:17) and have to step out and take leadership, as did the apostles,

you will weep, mourn, and grieve (Jn 16:20),

you step out in bold obedience to the Holy Spirit, and because of that, your church is instantly divided (Acts 18:4ff),

talented leaders are converted and raised up (Acts 18:8),

many hear the Word of God and come to believe in Jesus (Acts 18:8), or

you “shake” off the spiritual and physical debris left by the storm (Acts 18:6), and, undaunted, continue bearing fruit in the power of the Spirit (see Mt 7:24-25).

“Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22), and let Him “stir” up your world (2 Tm 1:6).

 

PRAYER:               Father, may I be more concerned with being separated from the Holy Spirit than I am with having to endure upheaval.

PROMISE:            “Your grief will be turned into joy.” –Jn 16:20

PRAISE:                 St. Christopher continued to spread the Good News despite government persecution. In the end, it cost him his life.

Masses for the Feast of the Ascension and Mass for the sick

20th May 2020Mrs D Ferris

On Line Masses and Times.

Ascension Day Mass for Children: Fr. Anton from the Oratory is celebrating a Mass for children on Thursday 21 May 9:00 https://t.co/NToPC7gr41?amp=1

St Peter’s and St Paul’s Wolverhampton 12.pm
https://www.rcwlvwest.com/

St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.12.15pm

Discover St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham

You may also think about starting the Novena tomorrow as we lead up to the celebration of Pentecost the Novena to the Holy Spirit: the birthday of the Church. https://www.bdes.org.uk/resources-for-prayer-and-learning.html

This week’s Mass for the Sick and their families, NHS Front Line Workers and those working in Social Care will be celebrated by Bishop Mark Davies at Shrewsbury Cathedral at 7:00 on Thursday 21 May. https://t.co/7GVCZU1Pmf?amp=1

Daily Gospel Reflection

20th May 2020Mrs D Ferris

LOVE IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
“When He comes, however, being the Spirit of truth He will guide you to all truth.” —John 16:13
Life in Christ is a life of love, for Jesus is Love (see 1 Jn 4:8, 16). Love requires freedom. We cannot force people to love us. Freedom requires knowledge. Without some knowledge, we cannot freely decide to love. Therefore, knowledge of the truth is very important because truth is an absolute prerequisite for love. The Lord “wants all men to be saved and come to know the truth” (1 Tm 2:4).

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love (Gal 5:22) because the Spirit gives us freedom, which requires the Spirit to guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13). The Holy Spirit will open us to all the truth we need for the freedom to love the Lord with all our hearts, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love even our enemies, and to actually live in love (see Jn 15:9). The Holy Spirit, by being the Spirit of truth (Jn 16:13), produces the fruit of love in our lives.

The Lord says: “My people perish for want of knowledge!” (Hos 4:6) It is not that we are saved by knowledge but that knowledge of the truth makes it possible to have faith in and love for the Lord. This is what saves us. Consequently, we need the Holy Spirit of truth and love to be as active as possible in our lives. Come, Holy Spirit!

PRAYER: Father, show me the relationship between truth, freedom, and love.
PROMISE: “He has set the day on which He is going to ‘judge the world with justice’ through a Man He has appointed — One Whom He has endorsed in the sight of all by raising Him from the dead.” –Acts 17:31
PRAISE: An orphan, St. Bernardine was raised by a godly aunt. He became a Franciscan and was ordained a priest. He preached the loving mercy of God. Bernardine devised a symbol, IHS, the first three letters of Jesus name in Greek, in Gothic letters, on a blazing sun, to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.

Y6 into Y7 Parent Information Booklet

19th May 2020Mrs D Curtis

Here is a link to the Parent Information Booklet for children who are joining us in Year 7 in September 2020: https://bit.ly/36a4c8b

The booklet has all the key information you will need beforehand, such as our uniform policy and supplier details, timings of the school day, holiday dates, chaplaincy, the academy clubs grid (example) and more.

We are hoping to run smaller transition events in July, however, these will be subject to change as we continue to follow all government guidance for schools on COVID-19. Our priority is the safety of staff, students and parents/carers and we will inform parents/carers as soon as possible, should we change any of these events.