Latest Newsletter (website translatable version)
10th December 2024
Dear Parents/Carers,
As we count down to the end of term and journey through the season of Advent, we have some important dates and events to share with you:
Advent Calendar
To help us prepare during this season of Advent, we have a school kindness Advent calendar. Please support your child on this journey by encouraging them to access the calendar each day.
Advent Prayer Bags
Each class has an Advent prayer bag which will go home with a child each evening. When your child brings the prayer bag home, please take some time to support your child with their Advent prayer.
Stella Maris Seafarers Christmas Chocolate Appeal
If you would like to help support the Stella Maris Seafarers appeal, please bring in your chocolate donations this week.
Wednesday 11th December
Christmas dinner and Christmas jumper day
Children are invited to wear their Christmas jumpers instead of their school sweatshirts on this day and bring in a donation of £1 for Mary’s Meals.
School dinner will be a Christmas lunch for anyone who has ordered one.
Thursday 12th December
The Nursery Nativity is in the hall for Nursery parents/carers at 10am.
Christmas Cards
If children would like to bring in cards for their classmates, they can start bringing them in on Monday 16th December. However, they don’t need to send in lots of cards so could send (or make) one card for the whole class instead or simply wish everyone a ‘Merry Christmas!’
I also want to take the opportunity to remind parents/carers that staff really don’t expect gifts or cards at Christmas time. Please don’t feel that you need to send anything in, we are more than happy with a ‘thank-you’ and a ‘Merry Christmas’ too.
Nativity
Our whole school Nativity is on Friday 20th December at 1.15pm at the cathedral.
Children in Years 3,4,5 and 6 should come to school that day wearing Christmas jumpers instead of their school sweatshirt. Children in Reception, Years 1 and 2 should come in school uniform as they will have a costume to change in to.
We will have donation buckets at the end of the performance to raise money for Mary’s Meals.All children should be collected from the cathedral at the end of the performance - approximately 2pm.
Christmas Parties
Reception and KS 1 parties are on Tuesday 17th December. KS 2 parties are on Wednesday 18th December. Children are invited to come to school in their party clothes. These should be warm and suitable for a day at school and playing outside. Each class will have a Christmas party in the afternoon with a small snack and a drink. If your child has allergies, please liaise with the class teacher to check that the snack is suitable.
Year 5 and 6 only can also bring in £1 to buy a ‘goodie bag’ and hot chocolate in support of Mary’s Meals.
End of term for Nursery
The Nursery will close for Christmas at 11.40 am on Friday 20th December.
Christmas Masses
As busy as it is preparing for Christmas celebrations, please remember how important it is to make the time to go to Mass at Christmas. The cathedral Mass times are as follows:
Christmas Eve: 6pm
Night Mass: 10pm
Dawn Mass (in Latin): 8am
Christmas day Mass: 10am
Christmas day Mass: 12 noon
School and Nursery
Spring Term 2025 starts on 6th January 25
Staff Changes
As we break up, we wish Miss Turner a peaceful maternity leave and send our prayers and best wishes for the safe arrival of her baby. We welcome Mrs Scannell who will be joining us to teach Year 5 for the rest of the year.
Wishing you all a very happy, holy and safe Christmas.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher
8th November 2024
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope that you had an enjoyable half term. With the clocks going back and the definite change in weather, there is no doubt that we have arrived in autumn. We begin this half term and the month of November by praying for those who have died. In school we pray especially for our past pupils, staff, volunteers, families and governors who have died. May they rest in peace. If you would like us to pray for a relative or friend, please add their name to our poppy tree in the main entrance.
Uniform
Now that we are in the second half of the autumn term, we ask that all children return to winter uniform as below:
Grey uniform skirt or pinafore dress or
Grey uniform trousers
White polo shirt with or without the school logo
Teal school sweatshirt or cardigan with the school logo
White or grey socks or grey tights.
Sensible low heel, plain black school shoes or trainers. No markings or white soles.
School baseball cap with or without school logo (optional)
Rucksack
PE Kit
Navy blue shorts or navy blue jogging bottoms in winter
Light blue T-shirt with or without the school logo
Trainers for outdoor activities
P.E. Bag
Tape to cover earrings if worn
School dinners
Please remember to order your child’s school dinners in advance. The kitchen only cook the number of meals ordered and so it becomes very difficult when children arrive in the hall expecting a dinner that hasn’t been booked.
Punctuality
Thank you to all those who consistently get their children to school on time and collect them on time.
For those who are regularly late, please try to help us and your child by being on time. It is very disruptive to a child and their class when children are coming in late. It is also not fair to children or staff when children are not collected on time. If your child is in KS 1, they must be collected at 3.20pm and if they are in KS 2, they must be collected by 3.30pm. If you are unexpectedly delayed, please contact us through Study Bugs or via telephone.
Arbor Parent App and Parent Portal
We are pleased to announce the system is now live for parents and carers to view and update their child’s record and view attendance information. On Monday 11th November, we will be sending parents/carers log in information by email. Please check your spam folder for the email if you cannot find it in your inbox.
We will be changing our school communications system from Teacher 2 Parents to Arbor in the next few weeks and will let you know in advance, the date we will be switching over to the Arbor system.
Book Fair
The book fair will be visiting school next week. Please come in and have a browse and perhaps get a few Christmas presents after school on Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th, Friday 15th or Monday18th 3.30pm-4pm. The school receives a small percentage of everything sold that we can spend on books for our library.
Stella Maris Seafarers Christmas Chocolate Appeal
Can you help us give Christmas chocolates to Seafarers this December? What do you want for Christmas? Whatever it is it’s highly likely it will have come to this country by sea. Did you know there will be about 400,000 Seafarers working over Christmas, separated from their families and friends? Theirs is a tough, relentless life, long hours, boring, noisy, temperature extremes, dangerous and exhausting. Stella Maris meets and supports seafarers around the world. We want to show them that they are not forgotten this Christmas, so we’re planning to support Stella Maris in collecting tins/boxes of chocolate as Christmas presents for seafarers visiting our Southern Region ports in the days before Christmas.
If you would like to help, please bring in your chocolate donations during the week of 9th December.
School Applications
If you have a child who is due to start Reception in September 2025, applications for schools opened on Monday 4th November and closes on Wednesday 15th January 2025. Places are offered on Wednesday 16th April 2024.
We always advise all applicants to get their application in on time and to name more than one school. If you are applying to a faith school, please also check that you have submitted any additional or supplementary information e.g. baptismal certificate and supplementary information form as your application will be processed according to what information you have submitted.
Tours – St John’s
We will be offering the following dates for prospective parents to tour the school:
Thursday 14th November at 9.30am
Wednesday 4th December at 2.30pm
Friday 10th January at 9.30am
Parent Communication
Please remember that staff are always available to speak to you about any concerns or successes that you wish to share. I know that many parents communicate on WhatsApp groups and I am sure that these are very helpful in reminding each other of PE days, homework etc. but if you have any concerns or questions around school policies or practices, please always come and ask. I am always keen to avoid any unnecessary stress or upset caused by misinformation or miscommunication.
Mary’s Meals
As you will be aware, we are supporting the work of Mary’s Meals this year. Thank you to all those who attended our Porridge Day breakfast. We raised £163 which will feed 10 children for a year and we had a fantastic time sitting and eating together. Thank you also to the children who planned and held the Mary’s Meals sale. We are so proud of how thoughtful your intentions were and how well you organised the sale. Thank you to those who attended the sale. We raised £167 which is enough to feed 11 children for a whole year.
Following the Porridge Day breakfast and the sale, we were fortunate enough to have a visit from a representative from Mary’s Meals. She held a whole school assembly and class workshops during the day where she taught us more about the work of Mary’s Meals and thanked us for our ongoing financial support and continued prayers for their work.
Congratulations
Well done to the Music for Youth Cross Keys Choir who, after events in Surrey and Birmingham, have now got through to the big event and will be performing at the Royal Albert Hall. It is a huge achievement and reflects the hard work and commitment of the children. We are so proud of them and share the excitement that they feel as they head to London on 27th November. I’m sure that the children and families join me in thanking Mrs Warren whose teaching, expertise and enthusiasm has been key to the success of the choir.
RE
Our children will begin this half term learning about Other Faiths. Each class will have a world faith as a focus so that they can learn about the beliefs and practices of that faith. They will gain a better understanding of other religions and develop the skills to engage in respectful dialogue with and about other faiths.
Every class will then move on to the Advent unit of work in which they learn about Advent as a time of preparation and how Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of God’s promise.
As a family, you might want to create an Advent wreath or crib scene together and support your child in learning Christmas carols or by praying the Angelus together. Once Advent starts, we will be sending home class Advent prayer bags and kindness calendars to support your family’s Advent preparations.
Christmas
Christmas dinner and Christmas jumper day is on Wednesday 11th December. The whole school nativity is on Friday 20th December at 1pm at the cathedral.
INSET Days
Monday 2nd December 2024
Friday 27th June 2025
Thank you once again for all your support.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher
DIARY DATES
Nov
Monday 4th Back to School
Flu Vaccinations
Tuesday 5th Yr R Family Learning
Yr 5 school trip
Friday 8th School Photos – individuals
Monday 25th School Nurses Screening Yr R and Yr 6
Tuesday 26th 3.30pm KS 1 and EYFS Book Sharing
Wednesday 27th 3.30pm KS 2 Book Sharing
Music For Youth Choir to The Royal Albert Hall
Dec
Monday 2nd INSET Day
Friday 6th Advent Breakfast for families
Monday 9th KS 2 Reconciliation Service
Wednesday 11th Christmas Dinner
Thursday 12th 10am Nursery Nativity
Friday 20th 1pm Nativity at the Cathedral
2pm Break Up for Christmas
Christmas Holidays: Monday 23rd December – Friday 3rd January
Jan
Monday 6th Back to School
Tuesday 14th Yr R and Yr 1 Family Learning
Wednesday 15th Yr 4 drama workshop
Feb
Tues-Thurs 11th-13th Parents Evening
Friday 14th Break Up for Half Term
Half Term: Monday 17th February – Friday 21st February
Monday 24th Back to School
March
Wednesday 5th Ash Wednesday
Thursday 6th World Book Day
April
Tuesday 1st 3.30pm KS 1 and EYFS Book Sharing
Wednesday 2nd 3.30pm KS 2 Book Sharing
Friday 4th 1.30pm Break Up for Easter
Easter Holidays: Monday 7th April – Monday 21st April
Tuesday 22nd Back to School
May
Monday 12th Yr 6 SATS Week
Tuesday 20th KS 1 and EYFS Sports Day
Wednesday 21st KS 2 Sports Day
Half Term: Monday 26th May – Friday 30th May
June
Monday 2nd Back to School
Yr 4 Multiplication Check starts
Monday 9th Yr 1 Phonics Screening starts
Friday 27th INSET Day
Monday 30th Transition Day
July
Tuesday 1st Transition Day
Thursday 17th Yr 6 Show
Tuesday 22nd 1.30pm Break Up for Summer
4th June 2024
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope that you had a lovely week with your children at home and are now looking forward to the final half term of this academic year.
Congratulations
Congratulations to all the children who have made their First Holy Communion over the last few weeks. It was lovely to see many of them at the cathedral and to hear how excited they were at receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time. We continue to pray for them and for their families.
Uniform
With the hope of warm days to come, please be reminded that children may wish to wear summer uniform this term.
- Yellow and white gingham check dress (or yellow gingham matching top and shorts/skirt)
or grey shorts with a white polo shirt
- Sensible low heel, plain black school shoes or trainers or black or white sandals
- White or grey socks
- School baseball cap with or without school logo (optional)
Medicines
Please be reminded that only medicines prescribed by a doctor can be administered in school. If your child is prescribed medicine, it must be handed in to the office by an adult and collected at the end of the day. The medicine must be in the original box and a medicine form completed by the adult. No medicines, whether prescribed or bought over the counter should be in a child’s bag or be brought in by a child.
Class Masses and Liturgies (Celebrations of The Word)
One of the ways that you can be involved in the prayer life of the school is by attending your class Mass or Celebration of the Word.
This term the dates are as follows:
Friday 7th June 9.30am Year 3 and Year 4 Mass at the cathedral
Friday 5th July 9.15am Year 1 and Year 2 Celebration of the Word at school
Friday 12th July 9.15am Reception and Year 6 Celebration of the Word at school
Trim Trail
The new trim trail is now open and proving very popular. Children will be using it at playtimes and lunchtimes on class rotations. To keep everyone safe, please do not allow your child on the equipment before or after school.
RE
Pentecost and Mission is the RE unit that children are currently exploring. They will deepen their understanding of the Pentecost story, explore the gift of the Holy Spirit and reflect on the effect that it has in their lives. To support your child in RE, you could read the accounts in Acts 2:1-4 and Jn 20:19-23 and say together the prayer, Come, Holy Spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,
did instruct the hearts of your faithful,
grant that by that same Holy Spirit,
we may be truly wise, and ever rejoice in your consolation,
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Carpark
Over the last few months, I have been alerted to a number of incidents in our carpark involving cars dropping or collecting children registered at school clubs. It has become quite unsafe as drivers are not using the spaces provided and children are being encouraged to run across the carpark to their waiting cars. Therefore, from September, the carpark gates will remain closed throughout the day. Parents and carers dropping and collecting children before or after school will need to walk in through the pedestrian gate.
End of term Assembly
Please be aware that we have had to change the date of the end of term assemblies in July. They will now be held on Friday 19th July - KS 1 at 9am and KS 2 at 2.30pm.
INSET Days
Don’t forget that the school and nursery are closed on Friday 28th June and Wednesday 24th July for INSET days.
Thank you once again for all of your support.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher
DIARY DATES
June
Monday 3rd Back to school
Friday 7th 9.30am yr 3 and 4 Mass Cathedral
Wednesday 12th School photos
Friday 28th INSET Day – school and nursery closed
July
Monday 1st Nethercott Trip
Friday 5th 9.15am Yr 1 and 2 Celebration of the Word
Friday 12th 9.15am Yr R and 6 Celebration of the Word
Thursday 18th Year 6 Show
Friday 19th End of term Assemblies
Monday 22nd Yr 6 trip
Tuesday 23rd Children break up for summer 1.30pm
Wednesday 24th INSET Day – school and nursery closed
Term Dates for 2024/2025
Autumn term:
Monday 2nd Sept – Friday 25th October
Half term Monday 28th – Friday 1st October
Monday 4th Nov – Friday 20th Dec
Christmas Monday 23rd – Friday 3rd Jan
INSET DAYS – School and Nursery closed
Monday 2nd September 24
Tuesday 3rd September 24
Monday 7th October 24
Monday 2nd December 24
Friday 27th June 25
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