Flu Immunisations - Tuesday 2nd November 2021

 

Please find attached a letter from the immunisation team regarding flu immunisations taking place in school on Tuesday 2nd November 2021.

 

Please use the online consent form and give permission for your child to receive the nasal vaccination in school.  

 

The form can be accessed here:

 

https://www.leicsandrutlandimms.co.uk/forms/flu

 

you will need your email address and our school code which is:

 

LE146133

 

If consent is not received 24 hours prior to the visit, the immunisation team will be unable to administer the vaccination to your child.

 

Please contact the office if you have any problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Dominic’s Community

   Team Ministry for S. W. Leicestershire                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Incorporating: St.Peter’s Parish, Hinckley,   St. Peter & Paul’s Parish, Earl Shilton 

and Our Lady and St. Gregory’s Parish, Market Bosworth

  c/o  St. Peter’s Priory, Leicester Rd., Hinckley LE10 1LW

         Tel.01455 634443 Hinckleypriory@gmail.com

 

                       October 2021

 

                       Dear parents,

 

                       This is a very difficult and painful letter that I have to write to you, but I want to assure you that I have only done so after prolonged thought and prayer and also after consultation with our catechists and a number of parents. You will be aware that we were not able to celebrate the First Communion of our children this year due to the restrictions placed on us by the pandemic, which meant we could not have the necessary preparation sessions for children and parents as well as the events that traditionally take place during the course of the year leading up to the First Communion Mass.  Accordingly, we took the decision that it would be postponed for 2021 and offered to children of Year 4 and above of practising Catholic families for 2022. However, this involves very few children, as only a small number of them and yourselves actually come to Mass together at weekends. A situation has gradually evolved in Catholic parishes over many years now whereby a large number of children take part in the preparation sessions and come to receive First Communion, but have never been in a church before or afterwards. For example, of the 36 children who made their First Communion in 2020 in very difficult circumstances, 23 have completely disappeared. This has nothing to do with Covid 19 but to do with parents and children choosing other things to do on Sunday mornings – the rugby club in Hinckley is teeming with people, the dance schools are full and martial arts are becoming a popular alternative as well – hence a regular life with Our Lord and his family at Holy Mass is clearly no longer a priority and this is something we all have to face up to and accept, no matter how sad it might be.  I have referred to this matter in my letters to parents over the past few years and it seems to have made little difference and I alluded to it in a personal message I sent to you all on Pentecost Sunday this year, saying that the same applied to young people considering Confirmation next year. Holy Communion is an essential part of the life with Our Lord and is not a one-off event. We come to Mass each week not because it is ‘another thing’ to fit into the weekend, but a response to Our Lord’s invitation to ‘do this in memory of me’, to nourish our lives of faith and prayer with him and to share this with the rest of our parish families. Pope Francis has said many times that “Christianity is not a part-time occupation”, but for many people this has become the case. We come to Mass quite simply because we love Our Lord, we want to honour and thank him, to be drawn into his life and love and to seek his help to live in his way every day.

                        Many of our children are very devout and love Our Lord; they come along to Mass with their families and take part enthusiastically in the liturgy – it is a beautiful thing to see. Sometimes those families have to make big sacrifices and change the plans in order for this to happen, but it is of such importance to them that they gladly do so. Many other families are not willing to take these steps and yet expect that their children will be able to make First Communion, even if they have been rarely if ever at Mass with the rest of us. The message this gives to those families who do make sacrifices is that it really doesn’t matter as long as you ‘get what you are entitled to’. Holy Communion is not an entitlement but a gift, freely given by Our Lord to those who want to receive him and be part of his family. I am well aware of the difficulties in some families which make it difficult for you to bring your children to Mass as regularly as you might want – work commitments, the sad split-up and separation this involves, which means that the children spend weekends elsewhere for example, and the sheer mental and physical effort to get yourselves to your church – but this does not concern the majority of families who simply choose to do other things than be with Our Lord at Holy Mass. For this reason, it will not be possible for the children of these families to make their First Communion next year, but given a change of heart and thinking, this may be able to happen in 2023.

                        We are now in a critical situation in regard to the future of church and society and we have to face up to who we are and what we have become. Because a person does not ‘go to church’ does not mean that they are a bad person, certainly not, but it does mean that they are not fully a Christian, a follower of Our Lord, if they do not do the very thing he asks us to do. Some people think that being a ‘Christian’ is just being ‘nice’ to others but it isn’t; countless people with no religious faith are the kindest people you could ever meet. There are some very honest features of our lives that we now have to confront in many different ways and one may be the realisation that a church life, a life of faith, is not for us, even if our children are in Catholic schools and take part in the various faith-based activities there. This is what our behaviour is telling us and we have to accept how things are, maybe even with a view to the possibility that they might change in the future – I sincerely hope so. Some of you will be very sad reading this, even angry, but we must face up to the truth.

                          This year, the preparation sessions for First Communion 2022 will begin around the time of the first Sunday of Advent, and I anticipate that there will be a much smaller number of families taking part because of what I have just written to you. The teaching sessions will be changed so that parents will actually be the ones teaching their children under the supervision of a catechist, as many of you feel unsure about your ability to do this and will need support and encouragement to fulfil the promises you made at your children’s baptism as ‘the first teachers in the ways of faith’. If, therefore, your children are in Year 4 or above and you are regular practising members of our communities, your children will be eligible to take this next step in faith under your direction and with our help. Please write to me indicating your willingness to take part in the programme, which will be run on Monday evenings from 6.30-7.30pm at a venue yet to be confirmed. If you have not been a practising member of our community, then I am sorry that this cannot take place this year. We simply cannot continue in the way we have been doing – it is hurtful to Our Lord and also to those families for whom a life with him remains essential. After years of trying to come to terms with this situation, the time has now come to do something definite about it. I wrote to you about this at Pentecost and now I am being as specific as I can be. I truly hope this situation will change in the future, and if you wish to discuss the matter with me personally, I am only too willing to see you and talk it through. It may be that you have been experiencing many difficulties in your faith and that this situation is bringing them to light. Your priest and catechists are here to support and encourage you as well as helping to you face up to the truth. We all rely on the guidance and grace of our good Lord to help us through these painful times and in the hope that hearts and minds will finally come to see the full richness of what a life of faith in him within our communities really means. He is calling us to a life with him each day; he is giving each of us a ‘mission’ even if we are not worthy of it, which none of us are. The question we all have to ask now is: am I willing to accept that calling with all that it entails for me and my family, or for me personally as your priest. It may be the most challenging question we have ever had to ask of ourselves, but it may turn out to be the most significant and fruitful one. 

 

God bless you all. 

 

Kindest regards,

 

Father Frank

 

We are in the process of arranging our pantomime trip in December to see Beauty and the Beast at the theatre.
With transport, the cost of this trip is looking to be around £22 per child. As we have to pay for the tickets in advance, we only want to order tickets for the children that will be attending. If your child will not be attending, can you please let me know by lunchtime tomorrow (30.09.21).

 

As the kitchen will be closing for the summer next Friday, We have a few alterations to next week's menu (w/c 05.07.21):

 

Monday - Pizza, peas and sweetcorn
Tuesday - Jacket potato, cheese, beans and salad
Wednesday - Sausage and mash, carrots and broccoli
Thursday - Meatball mac 'n' cheese, cauliflower and green beans
Friday - Fish and chips

 

Please ensure all bookings for school lunch and breakfast/after school clubs are made online using ParentPay, by Sunday evening. This includes any child that is entitled to a free school meal.
 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Compassion and Truth – a personal message from Fr.Frank for Pentecost 2021

Dear brothers and sisters,

The feast of Pentecost which we celebrate today is, above all, one of transformation. The first apostles of Our Lord were frightened, anxious and unsure people, locked away for safety and not knowing what to do next. We are not in a dissimilar position ourselves at the moment. Some people are still locked away in their homes, some elderly ones are virtually ‘imprisoned’ there by their children, others are locked in their own minds and hearts, disillusioned and angry. What happened to those disciples when the Spirit came was life-changing: their fear disappeared, they were full of the Lord, enabled to speak of him and proclaim his name in many languages and eventually to go all over the world as it was to do so, suffering gladly ‘for the sake of the name’. Could we say this of ourselves at the moment? Have we received the Spirit? Do we want to? Has the ‘Spirit of truth’ come for us? Do we feel the need to be transformed like Jesus’ first friends? Are we ready for the life-changing experience that is involved in this process? Certainly, our lives have been transformed in the last 18 months in an unprecedented and often deeply painful way, but has that made any difference to us? Has it enabled us to face up to the truth of who we are, what we have been and who we might yet be as we emerge slowly from this time of darkness?

The Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted a situation that has been slowly developing almost imperceptibly for years. As a society we have become incredibly inward-looking and, as Pope Francis calls it, ‘self-referential’. This has meant that we will do what we want and think what we like and refuse to be questioned or challenged about it. There has developed what we might call a ‘culture of entitlement’ and along with it a ‘culture of complaint’. How many professionals, like our teachers and medical personnel in particular (to say nothing of our bishop and priests!) have been constantly berated by angry people, demanding what they think is their right without any consideration for others, and always seeking an exception to be made from the agreed rules of an agency just for them? Coupled with this, there is also a ‘culture of addiction’, in particular to social media, technological gadgetry and all that goes with it. Our young people seem to be continually attached to their phones to the point that they no longer know how or want to relate to others face to face. There is also a ‘culture of indifference’ to our world and each other. We have blinded ourselves to the suffering of others, shut people out of our country who have escaped from death and suffering, greedily filled our larders with food we do not need ‘just in case’, and started to look ahead to what we can be doing this summer with little thought for those people still on the front-line of suffering, the long-term effects of whose selfless service to us have yet to show themselves, and have taken away the lives of millions of children before they get to be born simply because their birth would be ‘inconvenient’, casually closing our eyes to the true horror of what we have done.  How often do we think of the planet we are slowly destroying without being willing to make the changes to our lives that might slow this down or even cure it altogether? What are the implications of this behaviour for ourselves, and our future? Where is there to be true delight and joy for us (except perhaps for a few people last weekend!) rejoicing in meeting each other once again  and working together selflessly to make a better world for all of us to live in?

In  many ways, we have become cynical and insincere, and this relates particularly to our faith and the practice of it. Very many people now sit lightly to their lives with Our Lord and the practice of their faith in coming to Mass each week as Jesus asked us to. This reflects itself particularly in our attitude to the sacraments – seeking baptism for four year olds without ever having been in a church, simply because it is a passport to what is perceived as the best education in our schools, bringing children for their first and last Communion, young people wanting Confirmation without ever facing up to what that life-changing process should be, choosing other things to be doing on Sundays and other days because they seem more attractive. Have we ever thought about the implications of such behaviour? What message does this give to those who do faithfully form their children in the Lord’s way? Have we ever considered how much we hurt the Lord who loves us and wants to live in us? This week, I came to a personal crossroads in my life, when my dear brother and I became 70 and can now be officially classed as ‘elderly’. It was not a happy birthday for me and could not be. I have had to face up to certain things myself, namely that I cannot go along with this behaviour anymore, I cannot keep going, asking for help in doing Our Lord’s work in these parishes and continually running up against a brick wall of indifference. In my heart, I cannot simply baptise children of people I have never seen before, or prepare children for First Communion I have never met. In so doing, I would be letting the Lord down as well, as I know I have done frequently in the past and humbly ask his forgiveness. I have to face up to the truth about myself, where I have failed and often hurt others while never intending to do so. I have to find the strength to live with not only this indifference but also the overwhelming sadness of losing so many dear parishioners and friends during the pandemic in particular. Both I and all of us need more than ever this year, the transforming power of the Spirit.

This is Pentecost – it is not about my failure or anyone else’s. It is about Jesus, who saved us through his own failure to change the hearts and minds of his hearers. It is about the power of the Spirit, of what God can do for all of us if we only let him and face up to the real truth of what has happened to us. He can, in the words of the beautiful Pentecost prayer ‘heal our wounds, our strength renew, on our dryness pour his dew, wash the stain of our sins away, bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen, warm the chill, guide the steps that go astray.’ And so I have come to a personal decision, to have one more try before infirmity and age finally takes its toll on me and before I can no longer face up to the continual disappointment of not being able to change people’s minds and hearts, and thus have to withdraw from the battle. I will continue to look after our elderly and infirm parishioners and especially the dying with all the love and care that is in me; I will continue to take delight in our beautiful children and cajole their parents to enable them to be fully part of our community at Mass and other occasions; I will rewrite the Confirmation programme with our catechists to reflect the concerns of modern times and engage our young people more deeply and enthusiastically in the life of discipleship; I will enlist the wisdom and help of young families to help plot our future together; I will arrange for our parishes to be looked after without a priest, should and when anything happens to me. I promise you I will try one more time before it is too late for you and me. That is my decision and commitment on this feast day, to the Lord and to you, in the hope that we can all be transformed and re-energised in his service. I realise that many of you reading this will have served our communities faithfully for many years, for which all of us are truly grateful, and I thank you sincerely for all you have been and done, but there are also many more who have not been willing to do so and this is what has caused me such difficulty. 

Pope Francis has set out a course for us in his lovely book, “Let us Dream”. I am a dreamer in many ways and in the past some of my dreams have come true beautifully, but others have been shattered by indifference or lack of vision from the people I was dreaming for. On this Pentecost day, now 70 years old, I pledge myself to dream again and entrust myself and all of us once more to the power and grace of the Spirit of our loving God: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle within us, the fire of your love”.

With my love and prayers to you all, your brother, Fr.Frank

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dear parents,

It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of the
death early yesterday morning of our beloved deacon, Rev.Robin Pollard.
For the past year or so he has been suffering with a form of leukaemia
which has necessitated repeated stays in hospital, sometimes for
prolonged periods, chemotherapy and blood transfusions. Because of his
lack of immunity this has meant that he could see no one either at home
or in hospital. He was vaccinated for Covid 19 three weeks ago, but his
immune system was so damaged that he actually contracted the condition,
probably from being in hospital, and this resulted in his death. I
managed to spend some time with him on Tuesday lunchtime despite the
necessary rigid precautions and we had a lovely hour and a half
together. Though struggling to breathe he was quite at peace at what was
going to happen to him. He lived and died as a man of deep faith and
true servant of Our Lord. We will all miss him dreadfully as he has done
so many good things among us personally and in his role as our deacon. I
know his presence in our school was much appreciated and he loved coming
to be with the children. I ask your prayers for him and for his children
Greg, Sinead and Chris and their families at this very difficult time. I
am also sorry to inform you of the death of Teresa Starbuck, also from
Covid 19 on Tuesday this week. It was only last Wednesday that she
became really ill and I managed to see her on Sunday evening. She was a
much loved member of our Earl Shilton community and one of our First
Communion catchechist's team. Please pray for her and her family as well.

It would appear that many of you are still unaware that our churches
have been open for Mass throughout the lockdown period. This has been
allowed by the government and has been much appreciated. You will be
welcome at Mass in Hinckley on Saturday at 12.00 noon and 6.30pm and
Sunday at 8.00am and 9.45am and Market Bosworth on Saturday at 5.00pm
and Earl Shilton on Sunday at 11.30am. You can follow the weekend Mass
on Sundays from 11.00am via YouTube and there remains a weekly
reflection available each Wednesday from 5.00pm. More information is
available from our parish newsletters and website.

This has been a dreadful time for all of us and some more than others. I
have seen first hand the work taking place in Covid wards and spoken to
several nurses who are feeling great strain - please keep them all in
your prayers.

Kindest regards,   Father Frank

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

St. Dominic’s Community

                                                          Team Ministry for S. W. Leicestershire                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Incorporating: St.Peter’s Parish, Hinckley,   St. Peter & Paul’s Parish, Earl Shilton

                                          and Our Lady and St. Gregory’s Parish, Market Bosworth

                                          c/o  St. Peter’s Priory, Leicester Rd., Hinckley LE10 1LW

                                                          Tel.01455 634443 Hinckleypriory@gmail.com

 

 

February 11 2021

 

Dear parents,

 

Re: First Holy Communion 2021

 

You will all be well aware of the restrictions placed upon us by the spread of Covid 19 and how difficult this has made our lives when we are trying to plan anything. Thankfully, our churches remain open and there is Mass every day as usual. Our stewards have been doing a great job ensuring that everyone is completely safe when they come, and I thank them most warmly on your behalf. Had things been different, we would have now been over half way in our preparation for the First Holy Communion of practising children from our parishes this year, but of course this has not been able to take place, nor have many children been able to come to Mass because of shielding issues for them or their parents. Accordingly, in consultation with our catechists and the head teachers of our two schools, we have decided to postpone the celebration of First Communion this year and move it to next year. Furthermore, because of the logistical difficulties of preparing then over 60 children in our parishes, we will be moving the whole celebration of First Communion to Year 4, rather than Year 3, at least for the foreseeable future. The issues at stake are as follows:

 

1. The children have not been able to come to Mass, to take part in the necessary preparation course on Monday evenings, or in the various activities and events associated with First Holy Communion, such as having a prayer partner, celebrating first confession, retreat day, children’s liturgy groups and so on.
2. Many parents are in fact ‘home schooling’ their children at the moment and this is very wearying and time-consuming. To put our course on-line and expect them to follow it would be placing an extra burden on you which you might not welcome. It might also ‘overload’ some of the children with ‘just another piece of work’, when in fact this course is very important for them and you.
3. They have already missed over half of the course, which would then have to be truncated and re-presented, which also takes time and effort
4. We still do not know how all the pandemic will ‘pan out’ and whether in fact we will be able to plan any activity in our schools, parishes and homes before the end of the summer, if then.

 

I know that many of you have been asking about what is happening this year, but did not want to promise anything until I had consulted with everyone involved, including one or two parents, and seen how the situation was developing. I write this to you with a heavy heart, as any involvement with our children here in the parishes is always a source of great joy to me and to all of us, so not to have that this year is yet another disappointment in what has now become over a year of challenge and sadness. I look forward to being able to plan not only the great event of first Holy Communion with you, but also the many others which frame our year of faith within our church communities and give us so much to challenge us and also look forward to in the future.

 

With kindest regards,

 

Father Frank

 

 

 

 

School Census Day

 

Thursday 1st October is Census day.  On this day, all schools collate data for the Government, which is also used by Leicestershire County Council and our Academy Trust.  This does not affect you, or your child, but we have been offered a special menu for the children on that day.  Please book online through parentpay before midnight on Sunday.

 

 

 

Flu Immunisations - Wednesday 4th November 2020

 

Please find attached a letter from the immunisation team regarding flu immunisations taking place in school on Wednesday 4th November 2020.

 

This year, the immunisations team have introduced an online consent form for you to give permission for your child to receive the nasal vaccination in school.  

 

The form can be accessed here:

 

https://www.leicsandrutlandimms.co.uk/forms/flu

 

you will need your email address and our school code which is:

 

LE146133

 

Please contact the office if you have any problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After School Sport Advent 

 

After School Sport Clubs

 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

 

As you may be aware, government guidelines regarding children and school sport are constantly changing. We are taking steady steps to reintroduce sport to St Peter’s, to enable the children to go back to the sport that they love doing.

 

With this in mind, myself and Mr Burgess, have planned after school sports clubs for the children. However, the format will need to be different. Children in all classes will have the opportunity to try a variety of different sports, ranging from football, tennis, hockey, basketball and many more with their year group bubbles! Due to guidelines different classes are unable to mix as they must stick to their bubbles.

 

After school sports clubs will start from your child’s finishing time until 4:15pm. Children will be collected from the gate where the staff car park is located. Please wait outside the gate until your child is ready for collection. The children will need their PE kit on the day of their session and all sessions will take place outdoors. 

 

The timetable below shows what days your child’s class has been allocated after school sport club sessions:

 

Monday – Year 3

Tuesday – Year 4

Wednesday – Year 2

Friday – Year 6

 

The cost of the club will be £1.50 per session which is payable through ParentPay. We will collate our registers and permissions from ParentPay.  If we have not received payment or the required permission prior to the first session, your child will be unable to attend.

Please be reassured that we will be taking every precaution to maintain social distancing and hygiene during these sessions.

 

We are starting on Tuesday 1st September and will last until October Half Term. 

 

Kind Regards, 

Mrs Fincham & Mr Burgess 

 

Dear parent(s)/carer(s),

For this Lent, we have been asked to participate in a fundraising exercise for CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development).  All of the Catholic schools in our CMAT (22 schools) have been set a challenge of raising the equivalent of £1.00 per person. For our school that means a ‘goal’ of £247.00.  

In our Act Of worship on Monday this week, we looked at the focus for CAFOD’s current work, which is supporting people who live in the Amazon Rainforest. Here the equivalent of the size of a Premier League football pitch is being burned each minute!!  I have asked your child(ren) to tell you about this in order for us all to understand what the danger is to people and wildlife, plus the devastation of our planet! I look forward to your support with this.

Best wishes,

Jean Connor

Lay Chaplain

FLU immunisations - important

 

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We have had a number of inquiries from parents of children who have recently had chickenpox as they are unsure about their eligibility for the flu jab. We have consulted the immunisation service for advice and the position is as follows:

• Children who have had chickenpox or have been unwell recently can still have the jab as long as they haven't been prescribed anti-viral medication and they are well on the day.
• It is possible to pull your child out of the immunisation after you have given consent but you MUST let the school office know. 
• It is best to consent to the jab, even if you are unsure. If you consent and your child doesn't receive the jab for any reason, this will defer the request and trigger a follow up email telling you how to access the catch up system. If you don't consent, you will not be given this opportunity. 
• The advice from the immunisation team is to give consent as this will keep your options open. If you want to access advice directly from them, please call 0300 3000 007.

Kind regards,

Mrs. Jan Coghlan (Assistant head teacher)

 

 

Flu Immunisations - Tuesday 26th Nov 2019

 

Please find attached a letter from the immunisation team regarding flu immunisations taking place in school on 26th November 2019.

 

This year, the immunisations team have introduced an online consent form for you to give permission for your child to receive the nasal vaccination in school.  

 

The form can be accessed here:

 

https://www.leicsandrutlandimms.co.uk/forms/flu

 

you will need your email address and our school code which is:

 

LE146133

 

Please contact the office if you have any problems.

 

UNIFORM 22.10.19

 

Winter Uniform should now be worn until the Easter holiday.  Please note that coats, gloves, hats and scarfs should be plain navy or black.  Girls may wear boots under trousers only.

 

Girls

Navy blue skirt/pinafore or navy blue trousers

Blue shirt and school tie*

Navy blue jumper/cardigan with school logo*

White socks or navy tights

Black Shoes (boots allowed but under trousers only)

Plain navy/black coat

Plain navy/black/school* hat

Plain navy/black gloves and scarves

Blue hair accessories

 

Boys

Mid grey trousers

Blue shirt and school tie*

Navy blue jumper with school logo*

Grey socks

Black shoes

Plain navy/black coat

Plain navy/black/school hat*

Plain navy/black gloves and scarves

Young Voices Final Reminders:

 

1. Your child will need 2 x packed lunches tomorrow - 1 for lunchtime + 1 for teatime. (Free School Meal children will receive their lunch, so only 1 will be required). The children will be responsible for their own belongings during the trip, so please ensure they are in a named bag and the contents are disposable, so that the children do not have to worry about losing their lunch box/drinks bottle. Also, because of Health and Safety regulations at the venue, they cannot contain glass bottles or cans.

 

1. It gets quite warm on the stage and singing is thirsty work, so plenty to drink is essential!

 

1. Children will be given their YV T-shirts before we leave. If you have not ordered a t-shirt for your child, please ensure they have a plain white t-shirt to change into. All children should wear their usual school trousers or skirts (not girls pinafores).

 

1. We will arrive back at school at approximately 10.15pm, but we will contact you on our way back, by text, with an update.

Letters sent home to the whole school will be posted here. Letters relevant to one Year group will be posted on individual class pages. 

GROWTH MINDSET

Please see the 'Growth Mindset' link under the 'Information' tab. It outlines the work we're doing at the moment on the way children view their own learning. Each month we're focusing on a different value which will promote a healthy attitude towards the challenges they face - during January we've concentrated on perseverance. The document below explains how you can help as parents: