Oh Lord, you are great,

Oh Lord, you are mighty,
Nothing could penetrate your greatness,
Nothing could penetrate your mightiness.
I am never afraid when you are with me,
You are like a constant shadow
with the sun never going in.
You are always with me
no matter where I go.
Oh Lord, you are great,
Oh Lord, you are mighty.
 
 

Claudia 5B
 

Who put the sun in the sky?
'Twas You, Lord.
Who put the salt in the sea?
'Twas You, Lord.
Who put the sparkle in the stars?
'Twas You, 'twas You, 'twas You, Lord.
 
Lord we praise You night and day
for everything you've made.
Thank you Lord for making me,
Thank you Lord for guiding me and
saving me from evil.
 

On 5th June Annabelle, Grace, Josh and Matthew (Y5) went to Portsmouth Cathedral for the Good Shepherd Appeal Mass. We left at half past nine with Mrs Bird. When we got there we went into the Cathedral and sat down, then Josh and Matthew got up and joined the procession of banners. Near the end of the mass, Annabelle and Grace went up to give the Bishop the check for over £2000.
At the end of the mass, we looked around the Cathedral and we had our own little organ recital by Paul Inwood. There were so many buttons on the organ! We went to the park across the street. We had a picnic and then Mrs Bird treated us to an ice-cream. We all had a great time and we cope we can go next year!

On 8th June 2008 Lucy, Eleanor and I made our First Holy Communion. We all had a great time and the weather was sunny. All the First Holy Communion children, their families and close friends came to watch and celebrate us making our First Holy Communion. We have been having lessons since last September about the importance of receiving Holy Communion and the Lord’s life. Mrs Bothwell was there to lead the Choir and Mrs Bird and Mrs Matthews were Eucharistic Ministers. At the end there was a big cake and we all had a slice – it was delicious! As you can see from the picture the girls wore beautiful white dresses. The boys looked very smart in their red ties and sashes. The following Sunday we all get to dress up again to receive a certificate.

On Friday 2nd May, 3B gave an assembly about Mary. Some people read about Mary’s life and some held up pictures. Then we had a procession to crown our lady. Jemima and Jessica led the way to the Statue of Mary, carrying flowers. Jamie carried a cushion with a crown of fresh flowers. Everyone else sang ‘Bring flowers of the rarest’, while we walked up. Lucy picked up the crown of flowers and placed it on Mary’s head. We finished with a prayer to Our Lady.

Lucy said “It was lovely to take part, but I thought the statue would fall on me because from where I was standing it looked really tall, so I thought ‘Oh no, how am I going to this.” Jemima said, “It was very good and we had to walk very slowly and I felt a bit nervous. I took the flowers up and I felt O.K. It was a nice presentation.”

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

My sister and I decided to make cakes for people around our village to raise money for the Good Shepherd Appeal. I thought this was a good idea because I love licking the bowl! Serena and I went round the village saying the cakes on offer were victoria sponge (with lots of jam) and chocolate biscuit cake (my favourite). We collected our orders and squeezed our four hens (Fave, Faberge, Feathers Magraw and Poudge) because we needed loads of eggs! Then we got cake making! One of my jobs was to be the human dishwasher! I licked the plates clean!

For my Good Shepherd Appeal stall, I chose to make jewellery and place mats for people around my neighbourhood. I try my best for every single one and at the moment it is my hobby. Lots of people have bought things so I've been very busy. I've raises lots of money and the Good Shepherd Appeal does a lot of good work.

Gabzy, 3B

Our fundraising for this year’s Good Shepherd Appeal on behalf of the Catholic Chidlren’s Society reached its climax on the last Friday of term. At lunchtime, the prep school joined the senior school for a simple, frugal lunch of bread, cheese and fruit. Later on in the day, the Welsford Hall was transformed as the Upper Prep set out the stalls for their businesses, which had been in preparation throughout Lent. Staff, parents and younger pupils were hugely impressed by the variety of business ideas that the children had come up with, with sweetie kebabs, cakes baked to order and chocolate fountains attracting particular interest.

Early years and KS1 enjoyed some exciting Easter activities on Tuesday.

The day started with an egg rolling competition in Reception, where the children rolled their hard boiled eggs across the playground, trying to get their egg to land nearest to the Easter egg target. Hannah and Maddie were victorious, but all the children enjoyed the challenge and lots of interesting techniques arose!

The Easter Bunny had been hard at work in the woods, and all year groups enjoyed searching for the Easter eggs, which he had thoughtfully left behind. This was certainly the highlight of the day for many, and we had some very vigilant Easter egg hunters! The eggs came in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, and were found in some unusual places! Fortunately we were very thorough and every class ended up with a sizeable collection to share out.

Natalia, Lucy and Emily, assisted by Natalia's sister, Ursula, are regular church goers at St Lucy's, Medstead and came up with the idea of running a cake stall at the monthly coffee morning, which Mrs Bird was covering this month. So, after getting the OK from Sister Mary and having designed a poster to advertise the stall last week, they got down to the serious business of cooking, decorating, selling (and tasting!). Emily drew up a price list.

The girls raised the magnificent sum of £45 between them (which is fantastic as there were not that many people this month). Emily was very particular at collecting the correct cash and challenged one of the parishioners quite vociferously (but politely) regarding his adding up - fortunately, she was right! She has also spent a lot of time afterwards counting all the money; obviously she is going to follow her parents' footsteps and become an accountant!