So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12
A message from the Head
A very warm welcome to all of our families at the beginning of this academic year, and particularly those who are new to our St John’s community. We trust you all had a very enjoyable summer and are now refreshed and ready for a busy and inspiring year ahead. Our Christian value for this half term is ‘Respect’. Respect means treating each other with politeness and courtesy. Respect does not mean that we always agree with the other person but that we are prepared to listen and share our views without rudeness or impatience. We will be exploring a range of concepts including how to recognise each other as fellow human beings with equal rights to ourselves.
Meet the Teacher
We are holding online Class Curriculum Meetings for Y1 to 6. Thank you to those parents who attended these this week.
These meetings are valuable as the class teacher will be going over school and class expectations, and it will also give you an opportunity to clarify any issue you may have.
The links for these meeting have been sent. The meetings next week are:
Tuesday 14th Sept
Yr 1 Curriculum Meeting – 4pm
Yr 2 Curriculum Meeting – 4pm
Welcome to new staff
We are delighted to welcome some new members of staff to St John's:
Ms Kiss (HLTA), Mrs Baker (LSA), Miss Barter (Nursery Teacher), Ms Panajotovic (HLTA), Ms Quartey-Papafio (Class 5 Teacher).
OWL & Forest School News
During the summer our garden has produced lots of exciting vegetables and fruit and we have all being trying them out this week. A particular favourite has been the Courgette Tromboncino which were huge and the very colourful runner beans!
Our garden has also been shortlisted for a £200 cash prize please vote for us at Cultivation Street
Mufti Day in honour of Mrs Sue Elford
Many parents past and present may know Mrs Sue Elford, a teaching assistant at St John’s who retired in 2018 after 28 years of great service to the school. Sadly we were informed that Sue passed away in August. We have been in contact with her husband Chris, and sent flowers and a card on behalf of St John’s. We would like to hold a mufti day on Monday 20th September. Sue’s favourite colour was blue and she consistently raised funds for a number of charities. We will be donating the funds raised to her favourite charity and we ask our children to wear something blue if they chose to join the mufti day.
Secondary School Admissions
Y6 Parents: Please see the Admissions guide to Kingston's Secondary Schools for 2022 entry on the Year 6 page on our website. You should ensure you visit the individual schools website for details of any open days that they may be hosting.
The deadline for applications is Sunday 31 October 2021.
Please continue to check our website for further information and updates. It is important that you also continue to check the secondary schools’ website for their Open Days.
New COVID rules
There is no need to self-isolate as a close contact if you have been double vaccinated. Children also do not need to isolate due to contact. Those who test positive with COVID themselves will still need to isolate but this will not affect the rest of the pupils. This means we no longer need to keep the children in consistent groups, known as ‘bubbles’.
The government has removed the requirement to wear face coverings in law but expects and recommends that they are worn in enclosed and crowded spaces where you may come into contact with people you don’t normally meet. For this reason we will ask parents/carers to continue to wear a face mask/covering when on school site. This is especially important when picking children up from the playground at the end of the school day.
REMINDERS:
Safety at mealtimes
Please may we remind you that we are a ‘Nut Free School’ as we do have children with severe allergies to this. Please see our policy on Allergies (including Nut & Food) on the school website.
If you do send grapes for your child's lunch, please can we ask them to cut in half to avoid the risk of choking.
School meals
Our new school meals provider is Caterlink. Thank you for bearing with us if you have had difficulties booking lunches for your child. If you wish your child to have a school meal, it is important that you remember to order this via Parent Pay.
Uniform
We expect all children to be in St John’s full uniform. Proper black school shoes must be worn. Children will be expected to wear the St John PE uniform (plain white t-shirt and dark blue or black shorts) on the days they have PE. Please see our Uniform Policy on the school website. Your child’s teacher will let you know which days these are. Please send your child to school with only what is necessary for their school day i.e. reading book and diary, homework. They do not need pencil cases nor toys (soft or hard).
Macmillan Coffee Morning and Cake Sale
Friday 24th September 9:00 – 12:00, St John’s Church, Grove Lane KT1 2SE.
Please come and join us for a coffee and cake and help support the work of Macmillan Cancer care.
St John's Church Community Café
The cafe has now reopened! Do pop in and enjoy a cuppa, chat and bacon butty between 11am and 1pm on the first Saturday of the month.
Dates for your Diary
Week of 13th Sept: After school sports clubs re-start
Mon 20th Sept: Mufti Day
Sat 2nd October: 11am-1pm St John's Church Community Café
Thursday 7th Oct: 2pm Harvest Festival Church service
Saturday 9th Oct: 10.30am PSA Fun Run
Mon 24-Fri 28th Oct: Half term
Sat 6th Nov: 11am-1pm St John's Church Community Café
Sat 4th Dec: 11am-1pm St John's Church Community Café
Thursday 11th Nov: 2pm Remembrance Day Church Service
Weds 15th Dec: 10am Christmas service in school
Friday 17th Dec: Last day of autumn term