Today our boys’ league team played their 4th game of the season vs St. Francis De Sales. Top spot in the league was riding on this match so the boys were desperate to get stuck in! A capacity crowd watched on as the game began…

It took all of 2 minutes for the deadlock to be broken! A low cross from Zac Abbou was met with a close range finish from Dylan O’Brien for 1-0! A frequent goalscorer; Dylan was undoubtedly an excellent summer signing! He proved this again by making it 2-0 minutes later with another effort inside the penalty area.

Though 2-0 down, St. Francis De Sales showed how dangerous they were as defender Jake Jones “fell into” a striker in the box to concede a penalty! When 2-1 looked imminent, Kamil Skop made an excellent diving save onto the bar to stop the penalty taker! Mr. Garth was attempting to referee and reviewed the goal-line technology before ruling no goal! OLI used the momentum of Kamil’s save to attack and set up a chance for Joe McFarlane-Wells that he took beautifully with a driven finish. His 3rd goal of the season meant 3-0! Soon after, Dylan netted a first-half hat-trick to end the half at 4-0!

As Jonny Gee came on for the second half into a new central midfield role, the boys continued to press with Bobby Mitchell coming very close to a goal several times. The relentlessness was rewarded through Zac Abbou scoring another OLI goal to add to his 2 goals from the previous game! Dylan scored a remarkable 4th goal soon after for an OLI 6th, putting him in leading contention for the golden boot.

Before full time, St. Francis De Sales scored a very deserved goal from close range after a corner. This made it 6-1, which left Kamil a bit unhappy to lose his clean sheet, though he’d like me to make it known that the goal was “definitely not his fault”. The game finished 6-1 with another excellent result for the team. Many parents commented at how nice it was to see the boys not only enjoying themselves, but for playing with such positivity. Let’s hope for the same in tomorrow’s final league match!

MOTM: Daniel Smith. Faultless defending and professionalism, Daniel is only in year 5 but plays with the game of a much more experienced player, he was excellent today.

A lucky group of Year 5 and 6 pupils took part in an exciting art project to celebrate Liverpool FC’s 125 year anniversary. After a few arty warm-up games, artist David shared some images from a 5 year period of Liverpool’s history, with pupils using a mixture of pencil and pen to recreate them. After the New Year, David will scan and copy them, along with artwork from other schools involved in the project, to create a comic style mural to be printed out and installed at Anfield! 

Thank you to Red Neighbours for allowing us to be involved in the project and to David for coming to bring it to life! These pupils will be a part of Liverpool FC history and we will hopefully get to see the final masterpiece by the end of the current season! Watch this space!

 

We gratefully received our Gold Games Mark Award for the academic year 2016-17, once again showing our dedication to providing outstanding PE and sporting opportunities for all of our pupils. Mr McGinn from the Liverpool School Sports Partnership spoke to the pupils in KS2 about how the award reflects all of their hard work and that they must keep making the most of every opportunity which comes their way. 

This is one of many awards which the school has received, which OFSTED were extremely positive about when inspecting the school last week. Thank you to all of the pupils for their dedication to PE and sport, as well as their parents and families for supporting them in every way, from having the correct PE kits, to supporting at competitions.

Below is a link to our recent Ofsted report. We are very proud of the outcome of the inspection and the comments within the report show how well the school takes care of all members of the community as well as the progress pupils make in class. Pupils will be bringing a paper copy home tonight.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs C Sergeant.

Ofsted Report 2017

Many thanks to the girls in years 5 and 6 who played in today’s league match vs Emmaus. It was the girls’ first match the season and we were all very excited to get playing! Captain Livvy Roberts led the team out which consisted of a variety of girls from year 6 returning to the team, as well as Ruby Richardson and Shelby “The Steel Mobile” Steele making their debuts from year 5.

The match began with some tough luck for OLI. A corner from Emmaus was headed in at close range for 1-0. Our girls responded extremely positively, supporting each other without an ounce of blame. This resilience was rewarded shortly after when a through ball to striker Macey Jacobs went through the keeper’s legs for an equalising goal. 1-1!

Mia McCarthy and Lavelle Lamb were helping to run the midfield with precise passes and fearless tackles in an attempt to find Macey upfront. Unfortunately momentum shifted when a stunning Garth-esque effort from 30 yards out flew into the top corner for a 2nd Emmaus goal. The unstoppable shot was unlucky as the girls were playing excellently as a team. The half ended 1-2.

Some teams may have sulked, but the girls had a half-time group hug (something that we’re yet to see from the boys’ teams) and returned to battle in the second half. Defending was excellent as a barrage of shots came from Emmaus. Ruby Richardson was letting nothing through, as well as stunning work-rates from Penny Donnelly, Holly Lewis and Gabriella Bennett. Keeper Livvy was making excellent saves from several long-range efforts, using both the hands and feet to great effect. Unfortunately, a late goal for Emmaus came when a save from Livvy rebounded to a lurking attacker who finished from close range. The match ended 1-3 soon after.

Congratulations to both teams for a close match with excellent sportsmanship highlighting how to lose and win with grace.

POTM: Gabriella Bennett. Excellent tackling and passing, as well as smiling throughout the whole game. A real team player!

Year 5 pupils had a fantastic day out at the University of Liverpool with Professor Fluffy, finding out about university life from courses to social clubs! They also took part in an Egyptology lecture from a degree student, which nicely linked to our Ancient Egypt topic being studied over the next two weeks.

After a visit to the Garstang Museum to see a mummy and coffins, a campus tour of the library and sports facilities and making cartouches with hieroglyphs, the pupils all ‘graduated’ complete with cap and gown!

Thank you to the university’s outreach programme which delivers an excellent service each year and ‘caps off’ to the pupils whose outstanding behaviour saw them represent the school with ‘first class honours’!

Many thanks to the boys from year 6 who played for the boys’ football team in today’s friendly match vs Rice Lane. After a league match vs Rice Lane a few weeks ago, the schools agreed to a friendly rematch with totally new teams to give some players a chance to show what they could do; the match didn’t disappoint!

In spite of the game being a friendly, the boys came out determined to get a result and their early efforts were rewarded with a breakthrough chance for striker Harrison Hunter. His effort slid past the keeper and in off the post for 1-0! The boys were delighted but knew that there was a long way to go against this very capable team, with keeper Daniel Adeboye making an excellent save from a free kick shortly after.

After possession quickly changing hands a few times, the ball fell to winger Dominik Balcerzak who struck the post… before Harrison claimed the rebound for his second goal! Celebrations were short-lived though as Rice Line pounced on a mix-up in the box to make it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time.

Conditions were tough as the second half began. Rain was thundering down and the pitch was extremely slippy. Referee Mr. Garth was, as usual, struggling to see the ball clearly enough to make correct decisions (the game was also momentarily interrupted when a pitch invader decided that the quickest way to retrieve his rain-sodden portable telephone from the opposite touchline was to run in an ungainly manner directly across the pitch). However, the boys fought through the fatigue and difficulty of the game to get their heads up to play their best football in the second half. Defenders Ben, Aeen and Antony changed their gameplan after half-time and communicated excellently. This led to a defensive clearance leaving Harrison clean through to slide in a 3rd goal for OLI and a hat-trick for Harrison! Again Rice Lane bounced back immediately with a brilliant goal from a counter attack, leading to a tense last 5 minutes!

Skipper Scott Tynan was leading his midfielders, with Joel, Merci and Georgie refusing to give in to how tired they were feeling. As the game drew to a close, more space was available and chances were coming thick and fast. Eventually, space was given in the OLI penalty box and a striker tucked in an equaliser for Rice Lane on the cusp of full-time. The match ended 3-3, with both teams playing an excellent game with excellent sportsmanship. A big thank-you to Rice Lane for helping arrange a game that gave more players a chance to play!

MOTM: Harrison Hunter, brilliant work rate all match and 3 fantastic goals. Another Everton fan scoring a hat-trick. Surprising!

Year 6 researched the life of viking children and compared and contrasted it with the lifestyle of a modern day child. They collected a range of materials and in small groups planned and created their viking/modern day child. After a lot of creativity and hard work, the two year 6 classes gathered to present their creation, giving reasons for key elements of their design.

Year 5 have continued their mission to help and support others by visiting Year 3 and reading with them. They have also helped them to learn their times tables!

Year 6 have been busy producing lots of work for Remembrance Day, based around the poem ‘In Flanders Field’. Some of the work will be displayed in OLI church this Sunday during mass.

Today the year 5/6 boys’ team played a league match against St. Teresa’s. The boys were feeling full of confidence after a 4-1 win yesterday, and a capacity crowd was out in full force to watch the boys as they attempted to make it 3 wins out of 3.

The boys got off to a strong start with an early goal! Luke Buckley got into the right position in the box to score a rebound effort; it was Luke’s first goal for OLI! We’re sure it won’t be his last. The boys continued to pressure the defence which led to further chances. A second goal was undoubtedly a candidate for goal of the season. Skipper Joe McFarlane-Wells glided past several defenders before floating a long ball to winger Billy Smith. Billy rifled the ball into the top left corner for 2-0! Shortly after, striker Dylan O’Brien made it 2 goals in 2 games with an effort from the edge of the area. The half ended 3-0.

Some teams may have bolted forward in a selfish effort to get on the scoresheet, but the boys tactically kept their shape, with Jake Jones, Daniel Smith and Ruben McNeil determined to gain a first clean sheet of the season. A 4th goal was shrouded in controversy. Joe was clean-through on goal and slid an effort past the keeper, but the ball got a touch from Zac Abbou! A fierce argument broke out between Joe and his manager about whether the ball had already crossed the line, after which the goal was, out of sympathy, given to Joe for 4-0!

Zac Abbou would eventually get a goal of his own from close range for his 2nd of the season, in addition to Billy Smith adding another goal. It seemed the match would end there but in the dying moments Billy scored another goal that deflected from the edge of the area. A first hat-trick for OLI’s number 2! The crowd were delighted to see an Everton fan experience a rare moment of joy.

A special mention has to go to Bobby Mitchell who ran the game from midfield, winning balls and passing incisively, much like skipper Sonny last year. Watching the game you’d have thought there were 5 Bobbys on the pitch! Fortunately we only have the 1 of him, and he had an excellent game. St. Teresa’s were a well-mannered and respectful team who are still finding their best line-up, they were a credit to their school and good luck to them for future games.

MOTM: Billy Smith. A hat-trick, great passing, movement and a flawless attitude. Well done, Billy!

W – 4-1

A huge thank you to the boys who participated in today’s league match vs Rice Lane. The boys were coming off a 4-1 win vs Gwladys Street and were full of confidence, though knowing that Rice Lane are a big school with strong players, they knew they were in for a tough game.

The first 10 minutes of the game were played almost entirely in OLI’s half. On the backfoot, the boys had to defend constantly against Rice Lane’s direct passing and strength in the air. It was a baptism of fire for debutant Francis Westhead, who was having to use all of his height to cover Jake Jones and prevent an early goal. Keeper Kamil Skop was in stunning form, with diving saves helping him command the area and somehow keep the scoreline at 0-0.

However, that was to change. OLI began to string passes together and test the opposition keeper. It was a few minutes later when Bobby Mitchell pounded a header from outside of the area which flew into the top corner. The header was stunning, so much so that the Rice Lane parents all joined in applauding. The boys used this momentum to set Dylan O’Brien free for a 1-on-1 that he slid into the bottom corner for 2-0! Well done to Dylan for scoring his 1st OLI goal. Arguably against the run of play, the boys had weathered the storm and, with strong leadership for their captain, ended the half 2 up.

The boys began the second half by playing with creative freedom. A ball in was deflected and fell for Billy Smith to score a 3rd goal with an acrobatic close-range finish! Dad’s half-time pep talk had worked! However, Rice Lane continued to be a threat, scoring a goal of their own minutes later from inside the area.

With minutes left, the stunning defense of Jonny Gee, Ruben McNeil and Daniel Smith held strong to survive the second wind picked up by Rice Lane. After a defensive clearance, Joe McFarlane-Wells ducked past his man to slot a close-range finish in to make it 4-1! Shortly after, full time was called by the freezing and very tired referee.

These match reports are always full of praise and admiration for the team, as they always put 100% of their effort in. However, this match stands out more than any other I can remember. Incredible defending, passing and movement was nowhere near as important as the boys’ fantastic attitude. Playing as a team, they fought through the tough times of the match to end with a brilliant result. Condolences to Rice Lane who were extremely unlucky to end 4-1 down, their team played with heart and did their school very proud.

MOTM: Ruben McNeil. An unsung hero of the team. Preventing attacks and clearing his lines, Ruben is a hugely important piece of the team and played flawlessly tonight.

On Monday, 6 children from year 3 and 4 went to North Liverpool Academy for a regional hockey competition. The team began with a 1-1 draw thanks to a fantastic goal from Mayar! After that, the team rallied to win a close match 1-0 with a fantastic effort from Lucas Parkinson who was named man of the match! From there, the team went from strength to strength beating two teams from 4 oaks 2-0 then 3-0! You could see the children’s confidence building as they won their final match 4-0! After some calculations, the OLI team were announced as winners and received medals and certificates. But that’s not all…
The team will be returning to the field on Monday to compete in the city final! Best of luck to them!

A big thank-you and congratulations to the year 5 and 6 boys who played against Gwladys Street in today’s game. After a cancelled game yesterday, the boys were desperate to play in spite of the torrential rain through the afternoon… the match was confirmed as on thanks to a last minute phone call and we were good to go!

The 10-a-side game started out with teams playing defensively and little space being offered. Striker Dylan O’Brien had an early attempt go just over the bar before a stinging low effort from Gwladys Street was miraculously saved by keeper Kamil Skop (playing in cycling gloves as he’d forgotten his goalie gloves). Eventually after several attempts our attack broke through for “defensive midfielder” Jake Jones to score a close-range finish to make it 1-0! Jake must have been pleased with his positioning as his celebration consisted of him shouting “yay, goalhanging!” as he ran back towards his own half.

Very shortly after OLI made it 2-0 thanks to a top corner finish from just inside the box from Joe McFarlane-Wells (our newly appointed captain). A brilliant finish with his weaker foot! It wasn’t long before Jake Jones took a break from arguing with his dad on the touchline to grab a second and make it 3-0 to OLI just before half-time with another close-range effort from a Billy Smith corner.

The boys knew not to be complacent as shortly into the second half Gwladys Street pieced together an excellent attack to slide a goal in for 3-1. Some teams may have began to place blame but the boys kept their heads up and scored a goal of their own merely seconds later! Another close-range effort from attacker Zac Abbou providing his first ever OLI goal, we know it won’t be his last! Some excellent defending and clearances from Ruben McNeil, Jonny Gee and Daniel Smith kept our opponents from scoring again.

Shortly afterwards the game ended 4-1. A fantastic start to the season with the boys playing with the right tactics and right attitude. Special congratulations go to our debut players, with Ryan Lennon, Jonny Gee, Daniel Smith an Dylan O’Brien making their first appearances for the team, they did their school proud!

Man Of The Match: Jake Jones, for tireless work in defence and attack, scoring two goals and playing with excellent attitude and sportsmanship.

Good evening from PGL, where the disco is in full swing! We had an afternoon of heavy rain but it did little to dampen the spirits of the pupils as they tackled all of their activities head on! Most pupils have now done raft building, low ropes, challenge course and giant swing activities, with two left for tomorrow morning. 

We are due to leave the centre at 1:30pm tomorrow afternoon, so traffic dependent we should be back at school by 3pm. We will be in touch on the way home to give real-time updates! Stay up to date with tomorrow’s activities on our Twitter page and pictures will be uploaded here over the next hour. 

The children had a good night’s sleep and have just tucked into a full English breakfast! They are currently getting ready for some activities such as canoeing, raft building and low ropes!

All the children are now safe and sound, back in their rooms after problem solving, quad biking and an evening campfire. They had a lovely meal of lasagne/pasta and meatballs and garlic bread, along with chocolate mousse for dessert!

The children joined in with lots of campfire songs and listened to stories from the instructors. Everyone is having a great time so far! More updates tomorrow. Don’t forget to follow our Twitter account and download our school app (both available from the website home page in the top right hand corner).

The children in Year 6 used Roald Dahl’s novel ‘Boy’ to inspire and guide them  to write an interesting autobiographical account about one event in Colomendy. They tried to include adjectives and adverbs to make their writing as detailed as possible.

Emily

Olivia M

Annie

Penny

Aeen

Francis

Well done to our Year 5 and 6 pupils, some of whom new to the event, taking part in the cross country competition this evening. 

We had plenty of new faces in the team this time around and all pupils performed very well. Thank you to the parents who came to support too!

Results:

Boys: Bobby 29th, Billy 31st, Aeen 128th.

Girls: Shelby 60th, Poppy 66th, Macey 90th, Holly 117th, Tilly Mae 118th, Shannon 131st, Annie 132nd.

Thank you for all those involved for another successful afternoon tea. We raised at least £335 for such a worthy cause! We hope you all enjoyed the cakes!