It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20: 35
A message from the head
Welcome back! What a lovely start to the week we had with our themed week ‘Caring for Me’, and such a sad end.
Welcome to all our new families across school. Teachers in Key stage 1 and 2 look forward to seeing you during the ‘Meet the Teacher’ on Tuesday 20th September. The time is on our school calendar.
It was great to see all your children back at school. They were full of life and enthusiasm. Naturally they have been getting more use to school routines as the weeks go by. It is essential they get back to a normal bedtime routine please, so they are less tired in school. We have shared some resources from the Sleep Charity to help with this on our Wellbeing Page.
A reminder also that school starts at 8.45am, with early morning work, which adds a crucial 1hour 15 minute to the school week. We do keep the gates open slightly longer but children who arrive after 8.45am are missing out on the start of their learning.
Last week we had the very sad news that Queen Elizabeth II had died. We talked to the children about her in collective worship and had our own special service and also in their classes.
We had a focus on Wellbeing and Safeguarding last week, so we have talked with the children about emotions of loss as it is something we will all experience.
The Queen came to the throne in 1953 when this country was still recovering from the devastating impact of World War II. She was, and remained, a symbol of hope and unity for many people. The Royal Family has faced many challenges but she rose above them all. For her to still be performing her official duties two days before her death is testament to the service and sacrifice she showed this country. She truly embodied our school’s focus Christian Values – Respect, Honesty, Service and Perseverance. We now have a King, who is grieving the loss of his mother, but who will have to immediately start his official duties. Their life is one of unimaginable privilege but also of unimaginable duty to others.
Monday 19th September is a national bank holiday and school will be closed.
Collective Worship
As a Church of England school our aim is to encourage participation and response through active involvement in the presentation of worship. It is important for our children to have an active role to play in leading our faith community. The Bible says Jesus welcomed children and used them as models of faith for his followers, rather than as inferior beings to ignore.
This term our children will be playing a part in Collective Worship. They will have the opportunity to lead worship through planning and delivering some of our Tuesday Collective Worship at 9:05am – 9:25am. This worship will only be for 15mins, in line with all our school worships. Children will have opportunities to say their own prayers, read scripture, be involved in drama, share their reflections and choose their worship songs.
Parents are warmly invited to attend their child's class worship on the following dates:
Year 6: 27th September
Year 5: 11th October
Year 4: 8th November
Year 3: 22nd November
Covid
It is not recommended that children and young people are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional.
If a child or young person has a positive COVID-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.
Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.
School Council
As part of St John's own democratic process, on Monday 12th September, we held our annual School Council elections. We now have two newly elected representatives for Year 1 to Year 6.
The first main duty of our School Council will be to attend a special Service on Monday 26th September at 11:00am at All Saints Parish Church, Kingston. This service is to pray for those involved in the administration of our Justice System within the UK and, in particular, our local Crown Court Judges and Magistrates.
The Mayor, Cllr Yogan Yoganathan & Deputy Mayor, Cllr Nicola Nardelli, will be attending in Full Civic State as well as Judges from Kingston Crown Court.
Polio Vaccine for ages 1 – 9 years
Over the summer you will doubtless have seen the announcement that all children aged 1-9 in London are being offered a polio vaccination following the detection of poliovirus in sewage samples in various parts of London over the past few months. To date, no clinical cases of polio have been reported.
It is important your take up this offer from the NHS of a booster dose of the polio vaccine.
Further to the letter we sent out to you, below is additional information.
Links to resources have been included if you would like more information:
Information leaflet for parents/carers - Polio booster campaign resources - GOV.UK
Information leaflet for parents/carers in different languages - https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/ArticleOverview.html?sp=Sall&pageTableId=tableView&pageNr=2
SWL ICB Polio information for parents/carers https://www.southwestlondon.icb.nhs.uk/find-nhs-services/vaccinations/polio
SWL ICB for vaccination clinic booking https://bit.ly/poliovax
NHS Polio vaccination webpages https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polio/vaccination-sites
Kingston Grammar School
In the past years, St John’s has liaised with local high schools, selective and non-selective to offer parents additional support, or information about applying to their settings. Mr Lehec, KGS’s Headteacher, has asked me to share with you the link to their prepared resource pack to help pupils prepare for the entrance assessments.
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:
Meet the teacher
Tuesday 20th September (KS1 9 - 9:20, KS2 2:45 – 3:05)
Individual School Photos
13th October