Toddler group

Our toddler group takes place on Monday mornings in the school hall. Please spread the word!

Harvest Mass

Children in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) will be going to St Mary's Church for the Harvest Mass on Monday 12 October at 9.00am.

Please drop children off at the church door from 8.45am. They will be registered by their class teacher in church. After Mass, they will walk back down to school. Please ensure children have suitable clothing in case of rain showers for the walk back. Thank you.

Cuddly Toys and Children's Book Collection Donation Day

We are holding our pre-owned cuddly toy and children's book donation day on Wednesday 14 October. If you are able to donate anything, please bring items to the school's front porch, from where they will be collected.

The donations will be split between children's wards and A&E wards in Chorley and Preston, with some also going to children in Ukraine.

Open Day

We showed a group of prospective parents around school yesterday morning, and all our children were engaged and well-behaved as usual. They were a credit to the school and to their families, and really showed our school off.

If you know of anyone looking for a place at St Mary's for September 2027, please let them know that they can come in and take a look at the school in action next Thursday 15 October, or arrange to look around by appointment.

Harvest Food Collection and CAFOD Fundraising 2026

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our children and their parents and carers for your overwhelming generosity in supporting our Harvest collections. Thanks to your kindness, we received more than twenty shopping bags full of food donations, which were taken to the Living Waters Storehouse Food Bank this morning. The volunteers there were extremely grateful for the donations and asked that their sincere thanks be passed on to our school community. We know that these contributions will help to support local families who may be finding things difficult at the moment.

We would also like to thank everyone who supported CAFOD's Brighten Up the Harvest fundraising day. It was wonderful to see so many children taking part, brightening our school up and showing their support for those in need around the world. Through your generosity, we have been able to support both local and global communities, living out our school values of compassion, kindness and service to others. Thank you once again for your fantastic support and generosity.

Sacramental Class Cheese & Wine Evening

Thank you to Fr Marsden and Kinga Grzeczynska for coming along this week to speak to Year 4 parents and carers about this year's Sacramental programme. A big thank you to all the parents and carers for coming along too.

Author Visit – Sean Perkins

Our Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children thoroughly enjoyed the visit of Sean Perkins this week. He read one of his Oscar and Ben books. He brought his guitar and sang songs with the children too.

Sean Perkins sharing his book with the children.

Tickle Pink Adventure Bear Making with Reception Class

Our Reception children enjoyed a very special afternoon yesterday with Tickle Pink, creating their very own Adventure Bears to take home and treasure. The children loved bringing their new furry friends to life through songs, dancing, storytelling and lots of fun activities.

Each child carefully dressed their bear and was delighted to receive a special T-shirt for their bear featuring their name on the back. The excitement on the children's faces throughout the afternoon was wonderful to see, and their new bears have quickly become treasured companions.

A huge thank you to the PTFA for funding this fantastic experience and to the Tickle Pink team for delivering such a memorable event. We are sure these special bears will be treasured for many years to come and one day shared with future Reception children.

Online Safety Newsletter

This month's Online Safety Newsletter highlights several current online trends and apps that parents should be aware of:

• CapCut (13+) is a popular video editing app, but user-generated templates and music may contain content that is not suitable for children.
• AI Companions and Chatbots are becoming increasingly popular with young people. Parents are encouraged to discuss online relationships, privacy, and the importance of seeking advice from trusted adults rather than AI services.
• Some games and online content, such as Doki Doki Literature Club and Happy Tree Friends, may appear child-friendly but contain disturbing themes including violence, horror, self-harm, and death.
• Discord is widely used by young people for messaging, voice and video chat. While it can be a positive space, parents should be aware that children may encounter adult content, inappropriate language, or contact from strangers.

I would encourage all parents and carers to read the full Online Safety Newsletter for more detailed guidance, age ratings, safety tips, and parental control advice.

Parents' Evenings

Our Parents' Evenings will take place next week. Please note the appointments for Mr Hodge's class will have to take place after the half-term break.

Appointments will be held online and will last five minutes. Information on how to book has been sent out.

In order to make the best use of both parents'/carers' and teachers' time, please do not feel obliged to book a slot. At this stage of the autumn term, children have only been in their new classes for around five to six weeks and parents, carers and teachers often tell us that there is little to discuss beyond the positive news that children have settled in well and are enjoying their learning.

If your child's teacher has wanted to discuss a particular concern or celebrate something significant, they will usually have contacted you already, and likewise many parents will have already been in touch if they have something specific they wish to raise.

That said, these meetings are available for any parent or carer who would like an opportunity to speak with their child's teacher. We are always happy to answer questions, discuss how your child has settled into their new class, and work together to support their continued success.

Please also remember that there will be a further opportunity in the spring term for a longer, 10-minute face-to-face meeting with your child's teacher when there will be much more to share.

CSSP Half Term Holiday Club

Please see the holiday club leaflets in the community notices section below.

A fantastic achievement for Year 3

Congratulations to Year 3 on their attendance this week – they are the first recipients of Mrs Hargreaves' newly designed 100% attendance certificates. After five weeks their attendance is an incredible 99.34% – amazing!

At primary school, children who have high attendance (95–100% attendance) in Year 6 are 30% more likely to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths compared to similar pupils who miss just 2–4 weeks of school (90–95% attendance).

Weekly class attendance league table

Academic year: 2026/2027   Week: 6   Date: 5–9 October 2026   Target: 97.0%

Find out if you are eligible for free school meals and how to apply: Lancashire County Council – Free school meals.

Well done to all our children who have been recognised this week for their learning, kindness and care for others. Our value of the week was love.

Week ending: Friday 9 October 2026

Mr P. Smyth · 09.10.26

Tippy Toes Baby Bank – Winter Warmer Appeal

Tippy Toes Baby Bank is collecting clean, good-condition children's items for ages 0–5 years. The appeal includes coats, hats, scarves, gloves, wellies, pyjamas, cosy socks, blankets, sleepbags, puddle suits and pram cosy toes. The last day for donations is Friday 23 October.

Please see the flyer for the full list of items and drop-off details.

CSSP October Half Term Activities

Chorley School Sports Partnership has shared details of its October half-term activities. Please see the flyers below for booking information.

Yarrow Schools Alliance – for teacher trainees

St Mary's is proud to have been a member of the Yarrow Schools Teaching School Alliance (YSA) for over a decade now. Over those years, we have welcomed a number of trainee teachers on placement here at school. Many of these teachers have gone on to work in schools in Chorley and the local area and have forged successful teaching careers. It is an excellent way into primary teaching. There are a number of routes into teaching but those who have taken this particular path speak very highly of it.

The teacher-training programme provided by the YSA is for those who want a career in teaching and already have a degree-level qualification. The programme lasts for one year and involves two long-term placements in Chorley area primary schools alongside high-quality training and support provided by the YSA. At the end of the programme, participants emerge as qualified teachers.

If you are interested, or you know anyone else who might be, please contact Rob Horne at r.horne@st-georges.lancs.sch.uk. Alternatively, you can call the school for a brief chat.