'Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of one another'
2 Corinthians 8:21
A message from the Head
Children have had a fantastic term of learning, and supporting each other across school. They have demonstrated a good understanding of our Christian value ’Justice’, with a number of children being recognised with a Christian values certificate. All classes in mainstream school led collective worship on the values Courage and Justice. We are all very proud of how they led and delivered their message to parents and the classes in attendance.
We had a brilliant Red Nose day raising £228 for the charity. The children learnt this campaign is to help support ending child poverty and ensure a healthy future for all children. They also learnt their gifts deliver lasting help to children experiencing food insecurity, unsafe environments and poverty. Thank you to all who contributed towards this!
For children in YR – Y6, last week was your opportunity to hear about your child’s successes, and targets for moving them on during our spring Parents’ Evening. We ran this over for days across the year groups due to the patterns of how teachers work. I hope you were all able to make an appointment. If for some reason you were unable to attend, please make an appointment after Easter.
Cornerstone Church put on an amazing annual Easter Experience event in which all schools in Kingston attended over a week. Newton Y5 walked down there accompanied by some helpful parents. They loved how the story of Jesus’ death was brought to life as they moved from station to station. Thank you to the parents who supported the class.
On Saturday Forest School had a very well attended Easter Egg Hunt. Well done to Sam, Stephen and the team for organising this event for the children within our local community. It was well attended, with even our local Safer Neighbourhood team dropping in!
Our local NHS Oral Health Promotion Team were in school to deliver workshops to years R,1,2,4 and 6. We are seeing an increase in tooth decay in our children, especially with their permanent teeth. This is a growing worry across the county.
Prime drinks (and other similar beverages)
We are seeing more and more children arrive in school with these drinks in their school bags or lunch boxes. Prime energy contains a whopping 200mg of caffeine, compared to 86.4mg in a can of Monster Energy. Deborah Lee, from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, said: "I would not recommend children drink Prime energy drinks or other energy drinks for children of any age. Children don't need energy drinks anyway – they have plenty of energy!
We ask you not to send your child into school with these bottles as they will not be allowed to consume them, even if they say it only contains ‘water’.
Staff News
At the end of this school year we will be saying farewell to Mrs Rees (School Business Manager), who is retiring, and Ms Brierley (Y2 teacher and Science Leader), who is relocating out of the county. We thank them for the years of service to St John's, and wish them all the best for the future. We will be welcoming Miss Sarah Gunstone as a full time member of our teaching team, and Mrs Mala Mistry as our Business Manager.
Punctuality
The school day begins at 8:40am, so all pupils should be waiting to come into school before that time. Please ensure your child is in school on time and ready for their day’s learning.
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.
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: