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Friday November 29, 2024
This week has been jam-packed with exciting trips and wonderful events. Starting the week with a cold and rainy Monday is never fun but our Liturgy Group lifted our spirits where the word of the week was GIFT. The children reminded to Year 2 class braved the wintery conditions to begin their week of cycling. Their persistence was rewarded later in the week with gloriously sunny but chilly days, perfect for cycling around the playground. Year 3 and Year 4 will now have to wait until after Christmas for their turn on the bikes.
It was also a particularly cool day for Year 1’s visit to Forest School. After the rain over the weekend, there were plenty of muddy puddles for the children to dirty up their wellies in. Nursery and Reception sessions have been moved to after Christmas and we will send information soon. Year 1 ended the week with their annual DT lesson at Pizza Express. On their return, the school was engulfed in the aroma of freshly prepared and baked pizzas. Thank you to our parent helpers, we could not have done this trip without you. If you are free to support with school trips, please let your class teacher know as we are always looking for an extra helping hand.
This has been a particularly busy week for Year 4 who enjoyed a creative National Portrait Gallery Workshop on Wednesday where children painted and drew a series of impressive portraits of their classmates. Today they were off exploring the Natural History Museum where the children engaged in a workshop and exhibitions that link directly to their topics in Science and Humanities! The highlight of my week and everyone's, I am sure you might agree, was the fantastic Advent Liturgy Year 4 delivered to the whole school. Parents, carers, staff and children alike, were blown away by the excellent singing and many words remembered. I was particularly impressed with the steady hand of those children who had the responsibility of lighting the respective Advent candles. Well done Year 4 and I know that 'Emmanuel' will be joining our singing repertoire moving forward.
Advent is a time of preparation and the children are all engaged in getting ready for their respective nativities and carol concerts. Please support your child with learning their lines and ask them to sing to you the many songs they are learning. You may be asked to help out with costumes too and I am grateful to you. Thank you for supporting your child to make these the most memorable of experiences for you and, most importantly, the children. Don’t forget that parents, carers and family are invited to attend the respective Christmas performances and all families are invited to join us at Our Lady for the KS2 Carol Concert. Our Choir will be attending a number of carol events in the coming weeks so please ensure your child is attending the after-school rehearsals with Mr Grant.
Thank you to all parents and carers who attended our coffee morning today to help plan our Christmas Fayre. I know with your support, this Christmas Fayre will be the best one so far. We are keen to reform our PTA and I hope that we have this up and running in readiness for the Summer Fayre. If you are keen to lend your support, please let me know via the school office.
I regularly visit the dinner hall and eat with the children. It gives me an opportunity to ensure that all children are eating a healthy and balanced meal. I was disappointed to see that some children this week had chocolate or chocolate nut spread or dips in their lunches. This is a clear reminder that nuts and nut products, and this includes hazelnut spreads such as Nutella, are not allowed in school either for packed lunches or after school club snacks. We have several children with severe nut allergies and as such endeavor to be a nut free school. I would also like to remind parents that lateness will not be tolerated. Starting the day late can be very dysregulating for children and for those in the Early Years and KS1 means that they will miss part of their phonics lessons. These sessions are the building blocks of reading and writing and by missing them the children risk falling behind.
Next week is equally busy with several festive events and celebrations—TBMH Christmas Concert and EYFS Nativity are just two. Please refer to our Christmas at St Edward’s flyer for all the upcoming events.
