Bambinelli Sunday

The beautiful Advent Tradition, Bambinelli Sunday, was started by Saint Pope John Paul II when he was Pope.  On the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), children and adults bring their Baby Jesus figures from their home nativity scenes to St Peters Square where they are blessed by the Pope.

Again, this year, we are asking all of the children at OLSK to make and bring in their own Bambinelli stone. 

Find a small stone that will fit in your hand, clean it up and decorate it as Baby Jesus (see the photos for ideas). On the back clearly write your name and class so that you can take it home.

At our school Christmas Mass, Father Stefan will bless the Bambinelli that you have brought in from home.

Following the blessing, take your 'Bambinelli' home, wrap it in tissue paper and put it somewhere safe.  Open it as a family on Christmas morning where the youngest member of the family would place it in the crib.

If you haven’t got a Nativity scene at home then choose a special place where it can be put for the day such as part of your Christmas table    decoration or in the window of your house with a candle.

This year we will celebrate 'Bambinelli Sunday' on December the 13th.

Please bring your Bambinelli stones in on Monday 14h December (not before) so Father Stefan can bless them at Mass on Thursday 17th December.

The government has announced new plans for when we come out of lockdown next week! Unfortunately for all those who live in Birmingham, Dudley & Sandwell- they are in Tier 3!
 

We all have a duty of care to ensure we follow the rules and keep everyone safe! Please play your part! 🙏💕🌈🙏

To find out more, follow the link... 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know

We need your help!

Each year, at the end of the KS2 Carol Concert and KS1 Nativities, we collect money and split the total between our 3 chosen charities - NSPCC, The Georgina Ward at Russell's Hall and our own School Fund.

Due to COVID restrictions and the fact that these are not taking place in school, we are holding FUNDRAISING FRIDAY in each of the Fridays during Advent starting on Friday 4th December.

Children can come to school in non-uniform (Christmas jumpers would be fun) and bring in £1 for the charity collection each week. 

(Some parents have asked if they can send in more and of course we would be grateful for all contributions but £1 per week would be brilliant!)

We hope that this will be a fun way to raise money for these worthy causes!

Virtual Online Learning/Keeping children Safe!

This year we have all faced significant challenges brought about by the global outbreak of coronavirus

(COVID-19). Now, more than ever before, we are relying on technology to stay connected. With this increased use of technology in our daily lives, there are undoubtedly greater risks presented.

It has never been more important to equip our children and young people with the knowledge, skills and resilience to navigate the online world. Protecting children and young people from harmful activity online is critical.  It is therefore vital that we provide an education system that enables our learners to embrace technology and contribute positively online.

For many years we have recognised the importance of online safety. However in this third decade of the twenty-first century, learning how to be safe from harm online has become more complex, and the term ‘safe’ is no longer sufficient. We must support our children in becoming safe and responsible online and ultimately, digitally resilient.

We live in a world where misinformation, disinformation and bots pose a significant risk, not just to our safety, but also to our fundamental decision-making. The influence of misinformation and disinformation is vast, and research has demonstrated that disinformation spreads significantly faster, deeper and more broadly than true information. It’s essential we teach our children and young people to become critical thinkers and to always evaluate and check information before they trust it, act on it or share it further. 

It’s also undoubtedly true that the twenty-first century’s most valuable commodity is data and we must accept that cyber security is no longer just the business of major corporate firms. It’s essential for us to all protect our devices and our data to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of cybercrime. These habits start young and are grounded in the very basic habits of cyber hygiene such as strong passwords and understanding the kinds of risks to avoid. 

We are very fortunate here in OLSK to have a monitoring system that keeps us safe, through our ICT provider, DGFL (Dudley Grid for Learning) This allows all who are in our building to keep safe whilst accessing online materials. DGFL has been designed to support the digital resilience of children and young people, their families, practitioners and professionals and the wider school community.  

We have received the following for Dudley Safeguarding Lead.  

We have become aware of a film clip currently circulating on the TikTok social media app. The film is apparently exceedingly violent, and depicts extreme sexual violence as well as torture, captivity and extreme physical abuse of children (girls). The clip may also be available on other social media sites. 

This is the latest ‘trending’ video and we still need to focus on the behaviours of social media users to ensure users know what is acceptable to share and view on line. 

Please ensure that you check what your child is watching and review their privacy setting on all devices regularly

COVID-19 cases are continuing to soar in Dudley, and now the borough has the highest figures in the West Midlands.

Unless the number of cases starts to fall, local restrictions could remain in place post lockdown, and in the run up to Christmas.

Residents are being urged to follow the national lockdown rules.

See the latest figures on our data dashboard www.dudleyhealthandwellbeing.org.uk/localoutbreakcontrolplan

For advice and information on coronavirus visit including testing locally www.dudley.gov.uk/coronavirus

If you are worried about your child’s mental health, please see our page on the school website.

You’ll find lots of information & helpful telephone numbers under the PARENTS tab in MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.

We are here to help, if you have any concerns. 🤗🌈💕🙏

love from Mrs F 💕

Mass will be broadcast throughout the week on the parish live stream created by Father Stefan on YouTube. Here is a link

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWKQ3_Ft_zoDHsTqSXz4uiA/videos?view=2&live_view=503