"I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart: I will tell of all your wonderful deeds" Psalm 9:1
A message from the Head
It has been wonderful seeing your children arrive at the school gates over the past 2 weeks in such great spirits in the morning. We welcome all our new families in the Early Years and across mainstream school. I hope you were able to attend our ‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings last week as these allowed the teachers to share the school expectations to help support each other and our children to grow and thrive. If presentations were uses, these should now all be on the class pages.
We look forward to seeing you at the many school and PSA events over the school year. Please keep an eye on the newsletters from school and PSA, and our website for upcoming events going forward.
Our vision, values & worship
We continue to explore the Christian value Thankfulness by asking ‘what are you thankful for?’
It is easy for us to get consumed with the “It’s all about me & what I want” attitude. In today’s culture, children are told to always want more. They are rarely content with what they have, always wanting the newest thing. Advancements in technology feeds this desire for more by constantly releasing new versions of video game systems, apps, smartphones, tablets, …and the list goes on and on. It’s not just with technology, but extends to every aspect of their lives. They are constantly bombarded with the message – ‘What you have right now is not enough…you will be happy when you get more!’ We continue to reflect on the different ways that we can appreciate and show gratitude for what we already have.
Walk to School Week
Our Junior Road Safety Officers, Sam and Ronnie, led two assemblies this week to encourage us all to travel actively to school every day. In a whole school assembly Sam and Ronnie talked about the benefits of walking to school. One benefit they emphasised was walking, cycling or scooting instead of travelling by car means there is less pollution. This creates a cleaner, healthier air for everyone to breathe. This reminds us of Article 24 in the UNCRC: Every child has the right to good quality health care and a clean environment.
Our Junior Road Safety Officers also reminded everybody how to cross the road and cycle safely. Well done, Ronnie and Sam!
Peace One Day
Thursday 21st September was International Peace day and we held a special Peace One Day assembly. We thought about the global goal of world peace and listened to the story ‘The Last Tree’ by Emily Haworth-Booth. This helped us think about what we can do to look after our environment and make our world a better place.
Our new School Council
On Monday a new school council was elected for this academic year. Two representatives from each class from Years 1 to 6 were elected by their peers We were so proud that so many of our children put themselves forward for this.
Our new School Council members are:
Year 6: Teddy, Willow
Year 5: Maya, Jake T
Year 4: Reggie, Lily
Year 3: Laura, Ivaan
Year 2: Felix, Marina
Year 1: Ege, Grace
Our school council meets regularly and provides a meaningful way in which our children can voice their opinions and have their views taken into account in decisions that impact upon them. This is in line with our work around British Values and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) -Respect for views of the child.
Class Weekly Attendance for W/C 4 September
Y1 100%
Y2 96.4%
Y3 96.6%
Y4 79.7%
Y5 92.9%
Y6 97.8%
Class Weekly Attendance for W/C 11 September
Y1 97.3%
Y2 95.7%
Y3 97.2%
Y4 99.0%
Y5 96.7%
Y6 92.8%
Punctuality
The school gates open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am. We expect all children to be ready to start their early morning learning promptly at 8:45am.
We want to teach our children that punctuality is an extremely important and respectful life skill.
When the gates close at 8:50am, your child's lateness will be recorded. This will be monitored by the Local Authority's Educational Welfare Officer ("EWO").
Early morning work, between 8:45 and 9:00am is vital for your chlid's progress.
Forgotten items reminder
If your child has forgotten any items they need for school on a day, eg: lunch, water bottle, PE kit, wellies for forest school, etc... please leave them clearly labelled with your child's name and class in the plastic box outside the office and a member of staff will pass them over to your child before lunchtime.
Keeping children safe (Safeguarding)
Please find here an excellent Safeguarding Handbook for primary schools by the Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Team. Safeguarding—In Safe hands
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline
Continues to operate 24 hours a day including bank holidays & weekends. 0808 2000 247
Please remember if you have any concerns or questions regarding Safeguarding out of school hours follow the link.
Do not forget
No pets allowed on the school premises
No smoking or vaping on the shcool school premises
Use of mobile os not permitted on the school premises
PSA dates for your diary & Newsletter
A huge welcome back everyone from the PSA and welcome to our new nursery and reception parents too!
Reminders:
PSA AGM on Thursday 28th September 2023 at 7.30pm to 9pm at Bluebridge House
We hope to see as many of you there as possible.
Classlist: 139 of you are already signed up - thank you! It is a great way to communicate with your school community. If you haven't signed up already please click the link below
3 ways to help St John's School
Please visit the Easy Fund Raising App to easily raise money for the School. Simply visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk, and select St John's School as your chosen charity.
We have raised £1267.38 so far and have 88 supporters! Every purchase made through easyfundraising means a donation to our PSA.
St John's Book List - Donate a book to celebrate birthdays, support our library or buy class books. Please click below to go to our Amazon page
Stamptastic is the fastest way to name your kids' belongings. Use code KT1 2SG or click on the button below to earn donations for the PSA
You can keep up to date with all PSA events and read their latest newsletter on their page on the school website here.
Corinithian Casuals Youth FC & Soccer School
The Corinthian Casuals Soccer School for 4-5 year-olds (Reception & Year 1) gives boys & girls the opportunity to love, learn and play football in a safe, positive learning environment teaching high quality football skills.
Sessions take place on grass pitches at Corinthian Casuals Football Club, Queen Marys Close, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, KT6 7NA. The sessions are on Saturday morning at 8.30-9.30am and cost £5 per session on a pay-as-you-go basis. There is a free car park available at the Club.
They are also looking for boys and girls in Year 2 to join their U7 Football Team which trains on Wednesday evening and plays in matches in the Surrey Youth League on Sundays.
Click below for more details:
Dates for your Diary
All dates appear on our school calendar on the school website. This includes school holiday dates, inset days, clubs, swimming and parent's evenings. You can find the calendar here:
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