Dear Families and Friends,

We finished this long spring term at the beginning of Holy Week, starting tomorrow on Palm Sunday. As we considered in school this week, this was when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a young donkey to a cheering crowd, waving palm branches and laying down their coats on the ground. They were welcoming him as God's promised king yet, later in the week, we see how Jesus used his kingship. He did not lord his authority over people, but served them. He continued to heal those in need and then washed his disciples' feet, as a servant would. He then chose to go to the cross, not for himself, but for our need for forgiveness. This model of leadership stands in contrast to many leaders across the centuries, who use their position to serve their own means. Jesus' example is a challenge to all who have influence: how are we serving those in our care? It challenges me to remember that each and every pupil's needs should be the focus of our attention. This isn't easy, with over 200 children with such a variety of personalities, backgrounds and needs but, as a staff team, we do our very best.

Our Easter Egg Challenge was amazing! With so many entries, clearly demonstrating creativity, ingenuity and a bit of teamwork, it made the judging tough. We eventually whittled the entries down to a winner from each class, and then an overall winner for each of the 3 categories. See below for the winners, and congratulations to everyone who entered. On to next year...

The PTA have been working hard, with our very successful Quiz Night, hosted at St Bartholomew's church. Combined with the quick cake sale and raffle this week, over £300 has been added to the funds. This means that we were able to put in our order for new books for the whole of Lower School (Nursery to Year 2), which will completely refresh our vital reading scheme. Thank you!

Thursday's Active Mile morning was also a great success. Over £300 of sponsorship money has already come in, and more has been promised. This will all go to sports and PE equipment for the children. Again, thank you. Want to learn more about our sporting successes? Visit our PE Updates page.

With such a busy term, there are too many highlights to share here. Please visit our Class Pages to see what the children have been up to recently.

We finished Thursday with a joyful Easter Celebration service at church, led by Fr Ben and some of our oldest pupils. It was an important reminder of the victory of Easter. Although Good Friday left many questions in the lives of those watching, it was Easter Sunday that showed what victory over death looks like. That's a day to look forward to during our short break.

Have a Happy Easter!

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Restall & The St Bart's Team