'Treat others as you want them to treat you'
Matthew 7.12
A message from the Head
As we are approaching spring time, we are enjoying more blue skies and sunshine, all part of God’s beautiful creation.
We are continuing to explore our Christian value Justice, and this week we have been looking at treating everyone equally. The children listened to a story and they helped
re-enact this, delivering a clear message about treating people fairly and with respect regardless of status or wealth. It is very easy to fall into the habit of treating people well if they are popular, good-looking or rich and not so well if they are none of these things.
On Thursday 9th, a local author, Robin Hutchinson, from Community Brain, retold a story based on local history. This was part of the introduction to the new Kingston Light Procession, which took place on Sunday 12th March. As part of the celebration, all the children visited Stanley Picker Gallery to design their own lanterns which were used in the procession and now displayed in Kingston. Thank you to all who participated in this event, as you are not part of history!
Friday 10th saw the PSA put on a successful Quiz night for our St John’s family and friends community. There was an abundance of great humour, and healthy competition! The feedback has been really positive and all had a brilliant evening. Well done to the PSA Team, and thank you!
Year 5 learn about rivers
South East Thames Rivers Trust, came in to support Newton Y5’s learning about rivers.
The class had an introductory river assembly last Thursday where they recapped what they had learnt so far in their unit of work. On Monday, the class went out on a walk along the Hogsmill River (with our expert guide, Miss Shaw) and discovered the island, sewage drains and the weir behind the Stanley Picker Gallery. The pupils learnt about the uses of rivers, why we have rivers and that the Hogsmill River is one of the tributaries leading to the River Thames. Year 5 enjoyed discovering the birds and animals that depend on the river system. They had a fantastic time!
Thank you to Karen Lord, Author
Continuing our world book day celebrations, we were delighted to have Karen Lord, a local author, visit school on Tuesday 7th. Karen has written a number of children’s books themed around emotions and well-being. Every class enjoyed reading a specific story as a class, and then listening to Karen reading another one of her books to the whole school. Throughout the day every class had workshops with Karen, which involved activities around their class selected book. It was so encouraging to see many of the children really keen on owning one or more of her books. Well done to them for dragging their adults into the hall to purchase signed copies. These books can still be purchased on line from the Chameleon website here.
Surbiton High 6th formers were on hand to support the workshops, as well as hear many of our children read. The students reported that this experience reminded them of their happy days reading in primary school.
Thank you message from Karen Lord, Author
Thank you for welcoming us into your school, we both had a lovely day with the children. What a polite, well-behaved group of children. They listened beautifully in all our sessions and were keen to ask questions to find out more. When we met children in the corridor, some delighted us with things they wanted to tell us, while others just wanted to say hello. They were a true pleasure. Thank you also to the staff for all their help and support throughout the day.
Book reviews
‘I’m Better Than You!’ by Karen Lord, is a story about a monkey and a giraffe who argue and boast about what they can do. It takes a little mouse to show them a better
way of using their individual talents.
Armadillo has been asked to find termites for tea. Along the way he encounters creatures that scare him, needing reassurance and encouragement to persevere.
Being able to regulate our emotions is hard, especially when trying to be brave.
Book review from Ben Wraight Y6
Dogman Lord of The Fleas by Dav Pilkey
" I really like this book because it is very action packed and if you like mechanical or technical type of things, then you will love this book. The characters are very funny because they are a mix of a dog and a man and they go through a range of funny scenes."
We have copies of this book in the school library.....why not grab yourself a copy!
Forest School Easter Holiday Club 4,5 & 6th April
Open to ALL primary aged children. (Year 1-6). Come enjoy the magic in the outdoors, make new friends, create amazing memories with our Easter Club, with plenty of seasonal activities for all primary school aged children, from arts and crafts to real-size tool use and fire-making.
School dinners
With effect from 1st April 2023, the price of your child's school dinner in years 3 to 6 will increase to £2.60 per meal. This is a result of the price increase from Caterlink who provide our meals.
Parent consultations are next week
We are looking forward to seeing you all at Parents’ Evening throughout the coming week (week beginning 20th March). This is an important opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and targets.
The Forest Schooling Bunny Money Hunt!
Come and take part in a fun family activity for all ages and abilities at Forest Schooling UK and help the Easter Bunny find his Bunny Money. Take part in an Easter treasure trail and see if you can complete the clues to receive your share of the Bunny Money from a grateful Easter Bunny.
Saturday 25th March,
Forest Schooling UK, Three Bridges Path, KT1
£3 per child on the day, £5 for two children.
Pay on the day, cards accepted.
Open for all children and families 10am - 2pm
Job Opportunities
We are looking for additional support in our Blue Bridge Buddies Breakfast Club from 7:30am to 8:45am Monday- Friday term time only. If you are looking for early morning work, please contact the school office.
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 Hand-book 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.
PSA dates for your diary & Newsletter
You can keep up to date with all PSA events and read their latest newsletter on their page on the school website here.
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.
Remember...
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: