Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God. 1 Peter 2:17
A message from the Head
We have had a fantastic autumn half term with children gradually returning to their schooling routines.
We have had many children in school with unpleasant coughs and cold as well as a number of cases of COVID; it is important that children showing symptoms are tested – and if a child is unwell they should not be in school. This will protect all in school and give your child the opportunity to recover. If your child is unwell with symptoms like a fever, headache, cough or a change to their sense of taste or smell, they should not be in school and you should arrange a PCR test. We have been informed that 40-70% of children have no symptoms, so the twice weekly rapid flow tests are so vital for your family. Test kits are available from the school office.
We have been lucky to have a number of educational experiences including visits and visitors into school this half term: Students from Kingston University's MA Museum and Gallery Studies course came to visit KS2 with their 'Museum in a Box'. They brought artefacts for the children to see and ask questions about. This experience gave the children an opportunity to further understand how secondary resources can be used to find out about the past in History. Feedback from the children was very positive, and they thoroughly enjoyed handling the artefacts shared with them. The founders of National Youth Music Theatre also visited school for a drama and music workshop.
October is the month set aside nationally to celebrate Black History. Over the past terms we have embedded more Black History into our curriculum. This year we have looked at artists and the children have tried to imitate their amazing style of work. We intend to continue to look at how we can make our curriculum inclusive. These are photos of our Black History Month display.
OWL & Forest School News
It’s Half Term and that means marshmallows in Forest School. We had great fun lighting the fire safely and cooking our treats! We‘ve also had lot‘s of fun decorating our pumpkins that we grew for October in the allotment, which we are getting ready for our winter veg, and we’ve even been planning for next Spring already.
Online safety - Netfix TV series 'Squid Game'
You may well be aware of a Netflix TV series called ‘Squid Game’. This was released in mid-September, it is now the most popular series on Netflix. However, it has a certificate rating of 15 years old due to its extreme violence, and so it is not suitable for primary aged children. The popular TV series has led to Squid Game-style contests and online challenges which are going viral on social media and are easily accessible to children. Please follow the below link to understand the basis of Squid Game and the potential risks to young people who might be exposed to it.
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/wakeupwednesday/squid-game-trending-across-platforms-what-parents-need-to-know Profiles on Netflix can be set to age-restrict content. Parental guide to Netflix here: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/2064
'Relativity' Technology Grant
Lily, Louis and Grace's father works for a technology company 'Relativity' and has kindly helped secure a technology grant for the school, enabling us to purchase android tablets and additional Bee Bot robots to enhance the IT curriculum for all our KS1 students.
At Relativity, our vision is to power the pursuit of justice. We make software to help users organise data, discover the truth and act on it; our SaaS product, RelativityOne, manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. relativity.com
Flu immunisation
We have just been informed of a new date for the Flu immunisations - Wednesday 3rd November. The deadline for providing your consent is midnight tonight. Please follow the link to complete an online consent form (one for each child) to ensure your child receives their vaccination. https://sav.hrch.nhs.uk/flu/2021/kingston
St John's Church
Thank you to everyone for your shoeboxes - the Church really appreciates your generosity.
Please note that the next family service is on Sunday 7th November at 10.30am where they will be decorating gingerbread saints for All Saints Day.