"For I remember Easter morn, and life and love and peace are all new born." — Alice Freeman Palmer

Our Easter celebrations in school have now come to a close and have served as wonderful reminders of the hope that Jesus’ resurrection gives to us.  Our students have taken part in celebration assemblies and shared Lenten Mass at St Oswalds’ Church, baked cakes for the Easter cookery competition and sold raffle tickets for an Easter hamper to raise money for the School Council. 

We have held Lenten prayers outside of the Chapel every day for students and a weekly prayer for staff, which remind us all that this time of fasting and prayer symbolises the suffering of Jesus before he was crucified followed by the joy of his resurrection.  The ‘Thought for the Week’ was replaced with a Lenten calendar, which provided students with reflections from Cafod for the importance of giving to charity and helping others at all times, but especially during this period of the Christian calendar. 

“May the seeds of hope we sow this Lent fall on good soil!”

The darkness of winter seems to have lasted for such a long time and so when I see the Spring daffodils popping up along the roadside on my drive to school, they are a sign of promise and new life. 

For our school, the Year 11 students are a sign of promise and potential; they have been given their latest mock ‘trial’ exam results, during a very inspirational assembly on Friday.  They were reminded that with revision and commitment, they can fulfil their own potential and we are here to support them over the course of the next few weeks.

When we return after Easter, we start the last term of the year which is always the busiest and the most exciting!  As our Year 11 students sit their exams and start the countdown to leaving us, we will welcome children starting in September at our Year 6 transitional events and so the cycle starts again.  Also, with the warmer weather, we will all start to feel brighter and lighter and enjoy being outside again as we see the signs of promise and new life all around us,

I hope that you have a happy, peaceful and blessed Easter.

Mark Dumican