OLOG in the Community

Easter Sunday March 2024

In preparation for Easter Sunday the students from both the Mini Vinnies and the school council have united their efforts to craft Easter cards for the parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Church. They have created messages of faith, joy, and blessings. Through their combined creativity and dedication, they are aiming to spread warmth and happiness within the parish community. 

  

 

 

 

Irish Dancers at Our Lady of Grace Parish - 16th December 

Our Irish dance troupe performed at the Our Lady of Grace Church Parish party on Saturday 16th December! The 28 dancers worked hard to perfect their routine in readiness for the event.  Judging by the reaction of the parishioners, their hard work paid off and everyone had a great time.

 

Carol Service at St George's Cathedral 13th December 

At the request of Archbishop John Wilson, our pupils were invited to take part in the
annual Carol Service at St George’s Cathedral.

Guitar Performance to residents in Westcombe Park Nursing Home - 11th December

Steve Mac and some children from year 6 were privileged to play at Westcombe Park Nursing Home.  The guitar troupe and singers were wonderful.  Catholic social teaching being played out.

From Marion at Westcombe Park Nursing Home

Thank you so much for bringing children over yesterday for the Christmas concert,
our residents and staff absolutely loved it, even shed a few tears!. We would love to
have you all back anytime in the future.

Thanks again
 

 

   

  

 

 

Nativity Play - 8th December 2023

St Francis and St Bernadette have been practising for their first Nativity at Our Lady of Grace School.  We have been learning songs and actions, some children have learnt dialogue and have been actors in the Nativity story.  Every child has been involved, and together we showed our parents our hard work with 2 performances on Friday, which were well received. 

 

 

 

Invitation to Christmas Fayre - 2nd December 2023

The Mini Vinnies have invited members of our parish to our Christmas Fayre which takes place on 2nd of December. We would love to welcome as many parishioners as possible. Our Mini Vinnies along with their friends have worked hard on making invitations for this special community event.

 

 

BMX Bike Riding

On Tuesday, 30 of our Year 6 children were invited by the Greenwich School Travel Plan Team to a BMX bike riding session at Hornfair Park. It was a fun-filled morning with plenty of excitement and new experiences. Children were taught new skills, which they were able to practice under supervision. Before heading back to school for some much-needed rest!

A big thank you to everyone at Greenwich who made it all possible.

 

 

 

Mini Vinnies

To end the half term, the Mini Vinnies have brought friends along to thank God for all the wonderful things we have achieved this half term.  We had to think about our Core Virtues and how God has supported us and how He has helped us to overcome challenges.  Why not join your class Mini Vinnie next half term and come along to a session?

 

 

 

Following our last session about poverty and social injustice, the Mini Vinnies met up to talk about Faith in Action

"This means we think about what God wants us to do and we use our hands and words to make it happen" Titus Year 6

Today we looked closely at Harvest for CAFOD 2023. In particular, WHO needs our help:

- "People who don't have the resources to get medical help" Sam Year 6

- "People who don't have shelter" Teniola Year 5

- "Those who haven't got enough food to be healthy and well." Maria Year 3

Watch this space for our upcoming planned fundraising projects for Harvest this half term!

 

 

 

Short Story Competition

In line with World Book Day, the Royal Borough of Greenwich launched a 500 Word Short Story competition, inspired by the theme of imagination.  It was wonderful to see the two winners at Key Stage 2 were: Peggy O'Leary and Dave DeSousa, Yr 5 St Patrick.

https://bit.ly/3qWeAyN

 

Young Voices School Choir Competition 2023

Dear Mrs Mary-Ann Okereke / Mrs Julie Wood,

RE: Young Voices Schools Choir Competition 2023

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to you and the children in your choir for your school’s successful participation in the Young Voices Schools Choir Competition held on Saturday, 17^th June. We also salute the sterling performance of your choir earning you 2nd Place in the competition. Well done to all the children and staff who were part of your winning team.

We hope you and your school children and members of the school community (parents, family, governors etc) who attended the event had an enjoyable experience. Please see a highlight clip at the link below:

https://fb.watch/lhbipNOaua/

Thank you once again for being a part of this event aimed at promoting community harmony and giving the children a wonderful opportunity to express their latent potential and enjoy a fabulous experience of music making.

We look forward to you joining us for the event next year.

Elizabeth Osibo

Head of Children's Ministry

King's Coronation

Members of the choir met with Sky TV to participate in the filming of the King's Coronation promotional advertisement. They sang 'God save the King' beautifully and represented both our school and our nation exceptionally well! The advertisement will be broadcast on television in the run up to the Coronation.

  

  

 

Mission Statement Art Workshop

The School Council recently worked together to create a new Mission Statement that encompassed our school's vision and values. After creating the Mission Statement, the School Council members worked with local artist, Julian Davenne to create tiles and canvases that represented the new Mission Statement and can be displayed around the school. The experience was thoroughly enjoyed by all pupils involved!

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Young Voices at the O2

On Monday 16th January, 60 children across Year 4,5 and 6 had the amazing opportunity to be part of the Young Voices Choir at the O2 Arena. We were joined with hundreds of other schools across London to become a mass choir. The children of OLOG worked extremely hard to practice their songs and dance moves and really showed their talents on the night of the concert. 

It was a memorable evening and we are very proud of all of the children that participated. A big thank you to all of the staff and parents that came along with us and those who came to support us in the audience.

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OLOG Choir at the Jubilee Celebrations

16 children from St Elizabeth and St Patrick had the amazing opportunity to sing at the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Sunday 5^th June. They performed with a number of children from other schools across London on stage at Buckingham Palace. Their performance was absolutely outstanding, and they had the crowd mesmerised by the end of their first song. The children worked incredibly hard with Mrs Okereke to learn all of the songs in preparation for the day and made us so very proud.   

            

 

 Matthew Pennycook Visit

We were very grateful for the opportunity to meet with our local MP Matthew Pennycook. He spoke to the School Council about how to work successfully as a team and the qualities we needed to be good leaders. We were able to ask him questions about how he worked efficiently and what his role included. We discussed issues within our local area, such as the closing of the Woolwich barracks and how he planned on combatting the different issues.

          

No Idling Campaign

Mini Vinnies

Our Mini Vinnies have also been thinking of ways of going beyond our school family to bring joy to people. They worked with Miss Maddison to make special Easter cards and wrote some thoughtful messages inside. We have delivered them to the kind parishioners at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.

On Tuesday 15th of October, Alec from the St Vincent de Paul Society came to Our Lady of Grace to share with us the wonderful work of Minnie Vinnies.

Year 6 participated in an eye opening workshop where they explored first-hand the perils and difficulties of being homeless. This was followed by a whole school assembly where we learnt about what Minnie Vinnies stand for and their mission in the local community. 

Minnie Vinnies is the youth based sub-division of St Vincent de Paul who..."Meeting once a week or fortnightly either during lunchtimes or after school, Mini Vinnies members gather and pray together in their schools, to talk about those around them who need our help, and think of ways they can help those people"

Here's what Alec had to say about his visit:

Wonderful! The class were very well behaved and made two excellent shelters. It was also very clear when talking to the children that you have maintained a good Catholic ethos. I know you will do exceptionally well with the Mini Vinnies. I can't wait to hear about your future projects.

  

  

  

 

Car Free Day

What a fantastic day everyone had taking part in one of Londons biggest events - Car Free Day.

With the assistant from the local police, the road outside school was closed to vehicles and staff, parents and pupils came to school on their bikes, scooters, parking and striding or walking. 

There was a great atmosphere and a real thumbs up from parents and carers. 

Children from various years also went out on to the street and draw some amazing pictures and slogans to support the message of climate change and sustainable travel.

Here is what some of our parents had to say:

• I just wanted to pass on my thanks to the school and particularly the local police who helped the car free day happen. I was talking to many people who said the community atmosphere on the street was so special and most importantly the kids really enjoyed the walk there & playing outside the school. Things like this really help to bring there school and the local community together. In the words of my 7 year old daughter ‘it was such an amazing exciting day!’. Please can we do it regularly!

• I wanted to congratulate OLOG for participating in the free car day last Friday The drop off for Louie felt safer and calmer with cars not being allowed in front of the school. I hope we have more of these days.

  

  

  

 

Greenwich Young Voices Choir Competition

On Saturday 15th June, I was priviledged to see twenty children from Our Lady of Grace compete in the Greenwich Young Voices Choir Competition. 

Five schools in total took part and I cannot express how proud and impressed I was at the performance our children put on. Their parents were cheering them on and the judges were really impressed too. They gave each school feedback after they performed and this is what they said about our Choir:

• amazing and very passionate
• their hard work really paid off
• they had great confidence
• the transition of key changes was brilliant
• special thanks to the director of the choir

It was so wonderful to see our children perform to their very best and it really did pay off - they came home with the 2nd place trophy - absolutely fantastic! We also had a real surprise when we received our prize - an amazing selection of musical instruments - guitar, violin, electric keyboard, music stands and lots of other bits too. Thank you to the New Wine Church for such brilliant equipment.

Thank you children for making your school and parents very proud and a big thank you to Julie Robins the music teacher for making this happen. A really memorable event. Anna Sully, Governor

Angel (Year 4) - On Saturday 15th June we had our first choir competition. We sang two songs, Siyahumba and Bring You Praise. We were judged by three popular singers and musicians. We finished the competition in 2nd place and won a trophy and certificate. After, we were treated to some tasty and delicious refreshments.

The best way to explain the day was exciting and proud because we sang very well and we all say thank you to the judges.

Elo (Year 4) - The performance was great! All of the choirs were great too. There were three judges there who had worked with people like Kirk Franklin and one was a running up on The Voice! Our choir sang two songs and I think we were AMAZING!

 

TfL Visit - Safety and Citizenship

Year 6 were visited by Transport for London. They had a very informative session and learnt a lot of valuable tips on travelling around London. Melissa, who works for Transport for London, taught the children how to stay safe and highlighted potential dangers. The children were thoroughly engaged and now feel a lot more confident in preparation for travelling to secondary school.

Nina - “Transport for London came in and told us all the things we have to know when we are going somewhere on our own. This helped me know what to do in certain situations and the videos showed us the dangerous things that could happen."

 

Woolwich Carnival

What a fantastic day at Woolwich Carnival!

Children, both past and present, turned up and braved the weather to be part of Woolwich Carnival. The children (and adults!) thoroughly enjoyed themselves and a fantastic day was had by all. The theme of the carnival was ‘One tree, many roots’ which was certainly evident on the day; there was a fantastic atmosphere and it was lovely to see so many people from different backgrounds coming together as one community.

A big thank you to everyone that took part, especially the parents and teachers for giving up their time. Finally to TARU for doing an amazing job coming into school and preparing the children for the carnival.

   

 

Community Police

Year 6 were visited by the Police! They were here to give us support and advice.

They told us all about what we might expect at Secondary School and also told us lots of things about Social Media.

We were reminded again about our right to privacy and the different ways in which we can protect ourselves.

Lots of us asked questions abuot mobile phones. We were reminded that we shouldn't walk along holding a phone, looking down and crossing the road. That we should be aware of the need to keep our phones safe and of what to do should be lose it - or if it was stolen.

 

Road Safety

Year 4 were visited by John Butcher from the Road Safety team at Greenwich Council. He talked to the children about the important road safety messages and the Green Cross Code in a fun and engaging way.

The topics covered included behaviour on and around roads, distractions, wearing a seat belt and crossing between parked cars.

John also talked to the children about the Youth Travel Ambassadors scheme to help raise awareness of road safety and safety issues.

Thank you John for visiting us - the workshop was very informative and the children really enjoyed taking part.

 

 

 

Fire Safety

Laura Sullivan from the London Fire Brigade Education Team held a fire safety workshop for children in Years 2 and 5. They took part in a number of activities and discussed how to keep safe from fire.

 

Red, White and Black Day

On Saturday 11th March, Year 5 joined 24 other local schools in a parade to celebrate Charlton Athletic's annual Red, White and Black Day fixture which focuses on Equality and Diversity.

The children were proud to carried our banner and processed from Charlton Station to The Valley and around the ground before watching an exciting football game between Charlton and Walsall. What a great day they had!

 

 

 

'Tis the Season to be Jolly..'

Year 5 sang their hearts out in support of Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice on Wednesday 7th December in Eltham High Street. They sang so beautifully they attracted a large crowd of passer by. One even commented - 'looking at those smiling faces and listening to the lovely songs made me feel like Christmas was today - well done OLOG!'

 

Road Safety

Ann Grant from Greenwich Transport worked with children in EYFS and Reception on Road Safety. They covered topics on holding hands, be bright be seen, feet on the street and safe places to cross.

The children enjoyed the workshop and especially the role play and dressing up! Thank you Ann.

 

Helping the Homeless

Beth, from 'St Mungo's' Charity for the homeless, came to our school to thank us for our contributions to the charity and to tell us more about the work they do.

Our Christmas donations and the proceeds of 'Woolly Hat Day' will go towards providing much needed help for those who find themselves sleeping rough on the streets of our city.

Beth's account of the work they do - to 'help people to help themselves' left a real impression on us all.

Eliza - St Mungo's is a caring charity that helps the homeless, the charity started in 1969. St Mungo's helps around 1,400 people every night. Here are some values that we should use to help:

Compassion: we must feel for the homeless. Co-operation: we all brought in a pound and also donated the money raised before Christmas. Acceptance: we think of the homeless as different but we should accept them because they are the same as us. Justice: It isn't fair that there are so many cold, alone and frightened people living on the streets.

Ella - Acceptance: to accept these people and to accept we need to help them and do all in our power to. Commitment: To commit to helping these people. Compassion: To understand how it must feel for them to be alone, upset and cold and to help them.

 

Young Voices at the O2

Children from our Choir had a fantastic time performing with thousands of other school children at the O2.

Young Voices combines the power of singing together as one, with accompaniment from a wide range of musicians and artists, to create an amazing performance.

Parents were there to watch their children and this is what they thought:

Mrs Scanlan - I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Young Voices – certainly not a boy band; a former x-factor contestant; street dancers but most importantly nothing had prepared me for the sight and sound of 7,805 children singing in harmony to songs classical and pop; family favourites and chart toppers.

The children's excitement was tangible and infections. The sense of occasion at singing as part of the planets largest children's choir, in an arena where the world's biggest stars regularly perform captivated one and all.

The pride that the children had in their performance and the pride parents had in their children was a feeling that will not be forgotten; completing an evening to be long be remembered.

Mrs McArthur - The O2 Young Voices concert was such fun! It was uplifting, exhilarating, dynamic, joyful. The children wee really excited about it before and you could see and hear that all through the concert. It was a slick and very organised show. What an experience for the children to be able to say "I sang at the world famous O2 Arena!"

  

 

Guitar Carol Concert at St Joseph's Court

Children from the Guitar Club were invited to play and sing Carols for the residents at St Joseph's Court. They were really excited and were a real credit to the school. Well done to the all and a big thank you to Steve McHiggins for leading this event.