St Anne's Catholic Primary School

first aid training 

On Tuesday 11th October, Year 6 learnt about the importance of First Aid courtesy of the British Red Cross. The pupils were taught some vital skills which could save a life.

Learning how to use a defibrillator.

World mental health day

On Monday 10th October, Year One reflected upon their feelings during World Mental Health Day today. They also completed mindfulness colouring whilst listening to music and then ended their day by taking part in a Yoga session.

Mindfulness colouring to music.

Saint Bernadette Relics Tour

As a school family we came together and watched a very special live stream on Monday 10th October. We had the opportunity to join together in prayer and song, together with other schools in the Birmingham Diocese, as we witnessed the Relics of Saint Bernadette.

Saint Bernadette, Pray for Us.

Our school family are watching a very special live stream.

Family Fast Day

In Year 1, today we have been thinking about ‘Family Fast Day’.

We decided to make vegetable soup for our teachers and parents.

We used our chopping skills to prepare all the vegetables for our soup. All the teachers and parents really enjoyed our soup. We raised money for Cafod.

Making vegetable soup

Code Club

Code club has started again after the half term break.

We now have our code club graduates supporting the newest members and all are enjoying working together to learn new things and improve their existing coding skills.

Enjoying the computers in Code Club.

Christmaths Day

Some of the Year 5 children had a very enjoyable day at Bishop Challoner for Christmaths!

Bishop Challoner had set many different challenges for the children to complete and they had to use a wide range of mathematical skills and their deeper knowledge to problem solve and complete the challenges that had been set.

The Year 5 children that went to the event were excellent ambassadors for St. Anne's and worked co-operatively throughout the day.

There was a competition and we came 5th out of all the schools that took part. We are looking forward to doing this again next year.

Some of our Year 5 pupils enjoying the maths challenges..

BCFC Ladies v Yeovil Ladies

On Sunday 2nd December, some children from Key Stage 2 went with their families to watch a match between Birmingham City Ladies Football Club and Yeovil Ladies Football Club.

The match was held at Solihull Moors FC as part of the Sister Schools Partnership hosted by Birmingham City Football Club. The girls also got to be mascots at the beginning of the game and took part in a relay race at half time.

The girls had a fantastic day, which was made even better with a 2-1 win by the Birmingham Ladies team.

Getting ready to start the relay.

Boy’s 7-a-side Football Tournament

Tuesday 27th November saw our Year 5 and 6 boys take part in the Birmingham Catholic Schools Sports Association 7-a-side football tournament.

The weather at the Castle Value Stadium didn’t stop the team from giving their all. In all of their five matches, the team drew three matches and won one and lost one.

The team played with fantastic team work and pride in their ability.

The team played on despite the freezing conditions.

Year 6 Mental Health Workshop

On 22nd November, Year 6 took part in a mental health workshop.

The workshop helped the children consider any worries they had and how they could share them with the people around them.

The children listened to and developed strategies for how they can stay calm when exams start.

A poster from Sonia the presenter, reminds us that we have many talents and not to get stressed when exams arrive.

Shakespeare Schools Festival

On Friday 9th November, Year 6 took to the stage at the MAC theatre Birmingham as part of the world’s largest schools drama festival, The Shakespeare Schools Festival, which is celebrating its 18th year.

Since the summer term, the children had been preparing, rehearsing and working very hard to get the play ready to perform.

On the night, they performed a fantastic abridged version of Romeo and Juliet to a packed audience of around 200 people. Wesley and Jerusalem took the lead roles of Romeo and Juliet, supported by the whole class in various roles. Kyomi took on the important role of assistant director and used her expertise to help with choreography and staging as well as supporting cast members with learning their lines. Kurun and Dario also did a fantastic job in the technician’s box by working the lights and the sound during the show.

The end of their performance was met with a loud, well deserved, round of applause from the audience. Congratulations to all of the children who took part, it will be an experience they definitely will not forget. I would also like to extend a heart-felt thank you to all of the staff and parents for their support.

The whole cast ready to perform at the MAC.

Our School Mosaics

19 October 2018

This week parents, children, governors and teachers have worked with Garry and Lizzy to make our school mosaics.

We all worked incredibly hard on these over the past three days. We have used many of your ideas and we think they look amazing.

We can’t wait to see them at the front of school over the next few weeks.

Some of our school mosaics.

Harvest Donations

10 October 2018

Thank you for all of your very generous Harvest donations.

We had a lovely Harvest Mass on Wednesday the 10th of October.

All of your donations will go to the Fireside and will help people in need. We are sure they will be very grateful.

Generous donations for Harvest.

Football Tournament - New Kit Launch

4 October 2018

On Thursday 4th October eight pupils across Years 4, 5 and 6 participated in a tournament hosted by Kings Heath Boys School and South Birmingham District.

Our pupils played with great sportsmanship and spirit throughout. It was also an opportunity to show off our new kit from Football Foundation and Premier League Primary Stars which our pupils were very excited about.

There are also many educational resources and competitions available to our pupils and families on the Premier League Primary Stars website which can be accessed through www.plprimarystars.com (external link).

Showing off our new football kit.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

28 September 2018

On the morning of the 28th of September we had a parent coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

We also had a cake sale at playtime and the children had lots of lovely cakes.

We raised £174.55 . Thank you all very much for your generous donations and support.

Raising money for Macmillan.

Women's Aid Coffee Morning

25 September 2018

On the 25th of September we had our first of many Women’s Aid Coffee mornings. This was well attended by many parents who wanted to find out more about many aspects of life.

Look out for future dates on the newsletter.

If you ever need to contact them their phone number is 0121 685 8687.

Nurturing our school garden.

Gardening with Let's Grow Together

15 June 2018

Year 1 have been finding out all about gardening with Rob from Let's Grow Together.

On Friday 15th June they had a very busy afternoon. Year 1 got involved with watering the plants, picking strawberries and caring for the vegetables including potatoes and erected pea-canes.

Our pupils also learnt how to tie a knot and were able to identify the different coloured ladybirds they saw.

Nurturing our school garden.

Pizza Workshop

6 and 7 June 2018

Across the two days parents and children from Year 3 and Year 4 were involved in a workshop with CityServe and were given the opportunity to make pizza with different toppings.

Some children thought the dough was slimy, but they all loved picking their own toppings, and the finished products were awesome.

The children had a fabulous time learning how to make a pizza from scratch and we are sure when they arrived home they enjoyed tasting them too.

Look at our pizzas!

Year 5 Art Workshop

5 June 2018

On Tuesday 5th June children in Year 5 got on an opportunity to attend Bishop Challoner to enjoy an Art Day.

The children painted sections of Vincent Van Gogh’s Road with Cypress and Star.

The finished paintings will be copied and produced onto ceramic tiles.

Some of Year 5's colourful tiles.

St Anne's Meet Blue Peter

25 May 2018

On Friday 25th May some of our pupils had the opportunity to attend BBC Birmingham and meet the current presenters of Blue Peter Lindsay Russell and Radzi Chinyanganya and former presenter Katy Hill who presented between 1995 and 2000.

The pupils were invited to have a look at the Blue Peter Time Capsule which was buried in 1998 under the Millennium Dome, now the O2 Arena.

The pupils got to see some of the precious items that were buried which include a France 1998 World Cup ball, a picture of a dove to symbolise peace in Northern Ireland, a Roald Dahl book, Tellytubby dolls, a picture of Princess Diana and a Spice Girls CD.

The pupils were also allowed to record a message which was broadcasted on Blue Peter during the half term of what they would include in the Time Capsule for people to see in 2050. Some of the pupil's suggestions included slime, building blocks, ipad with the latest games or music and a picture of Prince Harry and Princess Meghan's wedding to put with the picture of Princess Diana.

The pupils were also given their very own Blue Peter badge.

Do you know? Blue Peter is a significant part of British culture, it first aired in 1958 and is the longest-running children's TV show in the world. This makes the show 60 years old.

Pupils with some of the Blue Peter presenters

Year 6 Become Teachers

25 May 2018

On Friday 25th May children in Year 6 became the teachers.

They planned their own lessons, prepared their own resources and led their own RE lessons to Year 2. The lessons the children prepared was how to pray The Rosary. The Rosary is an important devotion that honors Mary while focusing on the events in the life of Jesus Christ.

The Year 6 children were fantastic teachers and Year 2 were fabulous students.

One of our Year 6 children teaching RE.

Tag Rugby Tournament

23 May 2018

On Wednesday 23rd May, we attended our first ever Tag Rugby tournament.

The event was part of our Clifton School Games partnership and was held at Birmingham Exiles RFC. This was a wonderful occasion for our pupils to showcase their talent and skills which they started developing in the Autumn term.

The children who attended were fantastic representatives of our school and gained some tournament experience.

A tag rugby game in play.

Royal Wedding Celebration

17 May 2018

With The Royal Family preparing to introduce Meghan Markle to their family who was marrying Prince Harry on Saturday 19th May, St Anne's School decided to hold their very own celebration lunch for Prince Harry and Princess Meghan.

The children got to enjoy different activities from colouring to learning about The Royal Family before sitting down to enjoy a deliciously prepared lunch with Royal music playing in the background.

The children had a wonderful time spending time with friends and staff to celebrate The Royal Wedding.

Preparing for the royal celebrations.

Mental Health Awareness Week

14 to 18 May 2018

The Week beginning Monday 14th May the Learning Mentors prepared a week of activities to support the children in understanding Mental Health Awareness Week and what it means to them such as being aware of what makes them happy, who they can talk to, what they can do if they find things difficult and how a kind gesture can change someone's day.

Pupils and staff also had the opportunity to take some time out to listen to music, for relaxation, reflection, meditation and mindfulness colouring.

Work on mental health awareness.

Breakfast Club Topic Discussion

2 May 2018

During Breakfast Club staff lead topic discussions and the focus this term is Birmingham.

On Wednesday 2nd May the children got the opportunity to find out about the journeys both West Bromwich Albion's Darren Moore through research and our very own Mr Whelan had developing their football skills during different times.

The children found out how they both grew up playing football in a tunnel, used jumpers for goalposts and the lights in an underpass as floodlights during the evenings.

The message to our pupils is 'You can achieve anything when you put your mind to it!'

Talking about Birmingham in Breakfast Club.

Reception's Living Eggs Programme

16 to 27 April 2018

Reception Class started the Summer Term by taking part in the ‘Living Eggs Programme’.

Ten eggs were delivered to our school and they had the opportunity to watch them hatch and then care for the chicks.

The children were able to observe the life cycle of a hen first hand and they kept ‘Chick Diaries’ to document their experiences.

Our hatched chicks.

BCSSA Netball Tournament

21 March 2018

On Wednesday 21st March representatives from Year 5 and 6 participated in the Birmingham Catholic School Sports Netball Tournament after several months of training with Miss Price and Mrs Virdee.

The pupils showed fantastic development throughout training and were very keen to succeed at this year’s event. The pupils played some fantastic netball, showed a good understanding of positioning and showed fantastic team work and communication throughout the tournament.

St Anne’s finished the group stage with three wins, one draw and one defeat before winning their semi-final fixture and reaching the final. The girls played with high spirit and were very motivated in the final against difficult opponents which ended with St Anne’s finishing runners up after a very competitive final.

All the girls were able to come away from the tournament proud of their efforts. Well done to all of them.

Our talented netball players.

BCSSA 7-a-side Football

24 November 2017

On Friday 24th November we entered a group of boys into the Birmingham Catholic School Sports 7-a-side tournament.

The boys were fantastic representatives of our school and played with confidence and belief. The team worked together well in attacking play and defensively, which saw them win four games from five, keep four clean sheets and score eight goals throughout the competition.

St Anne’s started the tournament with a 1-0 win thanks to a well worked team goal which was finished off by Jameil. After losing the second game narrowly 2-1 and hitting the crossbar on two occasions St Anne’s won the next three games 2-0 with Jameil, Shakyree and Tye all contributing to the goals.

Once all the football was played all the schools who participated gathered together to find out the results. St Anne’s were announced winners of the group to the delight of the team and the players were informed they will be moving on to Finals Day which will take place later in the year.

The squad.

BCSSA 9-a-side Football

23 November 2017

On Thursday 23rd November we entered a group of boys into the Birmingham Catholic School Sports 9-a-side tournament.

The boys were involved in a thrilling game of football with Guardian Angels Catholic School, which finished 3-3 and St Anne’s having to come back on three occasions from conceding.

Throughout the game the St Anne’s team demonstrated some fantastic football and understanding of positions and roles in the team. After forty minutes of football and scores level at 3-3 the game went to extra time where both schools had opportunities to win the game, but for good goalkeeping and defending neither school could take the advantage.

The game ended on penalties with Guardian Angels winning the shootout 2-1.

The football match in full flow.

Year 4 WW1 Poetry

21 November 2017

During Year 4's Literacy lessons we have been learning about poetry and World War 1.

In their lesson pupils created pieces of drama using the book One Boy’s War to inspire their piece.

Acting out some of the dramas of WW1.

What is Your Vocation?

15 November 2017

To help children to have a better understanding of vocations we have been joined in Breakfast club by our School Nurse and representatives from West Midlands Police.

During their time with us children were able to find out more about their vocation and how they support our community

Members of the police force speak to our children

Harvest Mass

19 October 2017

In school, we celebrated our special Harvest Mass. We thanked God for the flowers, fruit and vegetables and for making the earth so beautiful at this time of year. We remembered the children and adults who are less fortunate and haven’t got such gifts and thought of ways to help and share God’s good gifts.

Pupils were encouraged to think about the difference they are making to somebody else as they decided what they would like to donate. We would like to thank you for your generous donations of food to our Harvest collection, which was donated to the SIFA Fireside. This is a Birmingham based charity which works with homeless people and some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Our donations were very well received and appreciated. This small act of kindness can have such a tremendous impact.

Our Prayer

God our Father, We praise and thank you for your wonderful gifts. We thank you, especially at this time of year, for your gifts of fruit, vegetables and wheat. Help us to bring joy to others, and learn to share the good things of the harvest with each other. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Our special Harvest Mass.

Working with the HSBC School Bank

19 October 2017

Year 5 have been selected to run the HSBC school bank. We have been preparing for interviews and greatly impressed Sandra from HSBC with our hard work.

From the interviews, our team of bank employees have been selected. They are:

• Branch Manager: Idris
• Marketing Managers: Tanya Zvavareyi
• Cashiers: Hafsa Rehman and Kurun Singh
• Record Keeper: Rodrigo Ramos
• Reserve Team: Wesley Mpakati, Rita Lopes, Christina Mebrahtu and Dario Ramsay.

We’re really looking forward to using our skills in the school bank.

Some of our bank workers.

100% Attendees Trip to the Cinema

17 October 2017

The children and staff from St Anne’s had a very enjoyable day at the cinema, celebrating the achievement of those children who have had 100% attendance for the whole academic year 2016/17.

It was a fun-filled day, including a viewing of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, popcorn, drink and laughs.

100% attendees enjoying their cinema visit.

Birmingham City Ladies Sister Club Programme

9 October 2017

Over the last couple of years St Anne’s have seen an increase in the number of girls participating in after school clubs and inter school competitions in school and getting involved in sports outside of school.

We have also seen a growing success within football where many girls have and continue to be part of the St Anne’s football team which includes a group of girls reaching a tournament semi final last year and two individuals going on to represent the South Birmingham District team for the 2017/18 season.

This year we are continuing to encourage girls’ participation in football by working in partnership with Birmingham City Ladies Football Club by joining their Sister Club Programme. The programme, which is now in its third season, gives us access to BCLFC match tickets, player appearances, coaching sessions, camps, mascot spaces and much more. Watch this space!

FA WSL Sister Club Programme.