Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
A message from the Head
This week is National Anti Bullying Week and this year's theme is 'One Kind Word.' This theme fits in well with our Christian values Respect and Peace and is most appropriate as kindness is more important today than it has ever been. The isolation of the last year has underlined how little acts of consideration can break down barriers and brighten the lives of the people around us.
We started the week with a virtual Anti Bullying assembly, looking at our Children’s Anti-Bullying Leaflet written by St John’s pupils. We looked at our school definition of bullying, the role of the bystander and the effects of bullying. Throughout the week all year groups had the opportunity to engage with insightful resources and explore what kindness means. We also explored what we can all do to spread more kindness throughout school. Our children have produced a beautiful display showing the importance of working together to treat all people with kindness and respect.
As part of Anti Bullying week, we are encouraged to hold an Odd Socks Day to continue to raise awareness. As we have already asked children to come dressed in their pyjamas, onesies or mufti this Friday for Children in Need, we will hold our Odd Socks Day next Friday November 26th.
It has been great to see our children participate once again in a borough sporting event. Well done to Byron Year 2 Boys Football team who represented St John’s in a borough competition and performed very well. In total we scored 26 goals and we only let 4 goals in. Overall, in the tournament we won 6 games. In the last match we came from 2-0 down to win 4-2. Well done to the team (Dylan, Hamish, Jacob, Joshua, Josiah, Magnus, Teddy and Oscar) and thank you to Ms Wilson for her dedication to getting St John's joining in community sporting events and Mrs Parison for her support.
Last week, Cornerstone Insight (a Christian Charity supporting Kingston schools), returned to St John's after a long absence due to Covid. They visited Reception Hubble Class, Newton Year 5 and Turing Year 6 to support the delivery of Religious Education. The children really enjoyed these sessions which were interactive and fun. Reception Hubble Class especially enjoyed pulling their Christmas crackers!
Over the past few weeks we have had a lot of energy efficient work done across our building, funded by the diocese through the 'decarbonisation scheme'. New LED lighting has been installed throughout the school at a cost of £35k. Additional roof insulation in every suspended ceiling, and currently 2 heat pumps are being installed on our boilers. As an Eco School we are keen to continue to reduce our carbon footprint and our new heat pumps will reduce this by 38%. This total cost of this work exceeds £160,000 which was arranged by the Southwark Diocese. Please consider a contribution to the Governors maintenance fund to continue to support our building work, if you haven't done so already.
Lastly, thank you to Ms Kiss and Ms Panajotovic for their beautiful remembrance display.
Children in Need
Everyone is enjoying school in their pyjamas and onesies today! Thank you all for your donations towards this worthy cause - we will share the final total raised next week.
School Street
Portland Road is now a 'School Street', which means there is a restriction for vehicles between 8.30-9.30am at the start of the school day and 2.45-3.45pm at the end of the day, during term time. There will be exemptions extended to our neighbours, staff and families that meet certain criteria. Please follow this link for further information on exemptions.
Q. Why is the council trying to reduce the number of parents driving to school?
A. We want all parents to consider whether they can use alternative modes of transport to bring their children to school. The scheme encourages those who can to walk or cycle and avoid driving on the streets around school entrances; parents who feel they need to drive will have to park legally nearby and walk the last leg of the journey park and stride. Where available, information will be provided on locations where parents can park, such as supermarkets or leisure centre car parks. At many schools, there is already a high proportion of pupils walking and cycling to school and observations show that a significant number of the vehicles using school streets are in fact using the streets as a shortcut on their journey, rather than school-related traffic. Evidence is available on how School Streets have created reductions in traffic around these schools and a host of benefits, such as increased levels of walking and cycling, across London. There are currently over 300 School Streets in operation across the capital.
Only parents with blue badges, or very exceptional circumstances known to the school which makes it difficult to walk or cycle, are exempt to register as a blue badge holder.
OWL & Forest School News
We've had great fun this week in the lovely autumnal weather. In OWL rope swings have been very popular with the children challenging each other to be brave and swing from the top of the tree house. We have been re-enforcing our Zones of Regulation knowledge by playing 'Zones Bingo" which has proved very popular. Be sure to ask your child to explain the colours and what they mean. In Forest School we have spent a lot of time laying leaf traps and burying each other in the huge amount of leaves that have dropped around the site. We've also ordered all our components for the chicken coop, which is very exciting. We will build it this year and then introduce the chickens in the spring term. A big thank you from all the children to those who donated to make this possible!
Reverse Advent Calendar
Our school have helped so many families in the last few years with our very successful reverse advent calendar and we would like to participate in this again. This is an opportunity for the children to understand the importance of helping others less fortunate, particularly at Christmas time. Each class from Nursery to Year 6 will have a reverse advent calendar box. The children can bring something in such as items of food (please check shelf life) which will be given to the local food bank in order to help local communities that are struggling. Children are invited to bring in anything from the food list below between the 29th November and the 10th December. If they would like to make a donation on their designated date, we will then take our gifts to Kingston food bank. Thank you in advance for your support for this very important and worthy cause.
URGENTLY NEEDED FOOD ITEMS
· JUICE (SQUASH) · INSTANT MASH · RICE · HOUSEHOLD CLEANING ITEMS (WASHING UP LIQUID, WASHING MACHINE TABLETS)
· SHOWER GEL, TOOTHBRUSHES, SHAVING FOAM AND RAZORS
WE STILL NEED SOME
· TOILET PAPER
St John's Church news
Please help support silent auction at St John's church. The profits of any lots donated by parents of the school will be shared 50/50 with the PSA. The auction opens on Saturday but lots can be added in as it goes along. Thank you for your support!
Safety online
This is the time of year parents & carers will be buying devices that access the internet for their children and so we would like to highlight the importance of setting parental controls before giving the devices to children. Please see attached information sent on behalf of Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership:
Squid Game
We are concerned as a number of children in KS2 have mentioned watching Netflix show 'Squid Game' and we are finding that this is reflected in their play at break times. This is a reminder that this show is aimed at those aged 16+ and is not suitable for primary school children. Please see more information in the article in the link below, as well as guidance on how to set parental controls on Netflix.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58915851
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/264
Attendance
Please remember to let the school office know if your child will be absent or is off sick. If they are ill for more than one day, please let the office know each morning before 8.30am. If you have hospital appointments or will be away, again please let the office know and complete the relevant form.
Thank you.
School Tours
Mrs Hutchinson will be giving school tours for prospective parents. Please book via the school website home page https://www.stjohns.kingston.sch.uk/
23rd November 3.30pm *New date added*
7th December 3.30pm
Applying for a School Reception place
You can now apply for a School Reception place for September 2022. For more information please see
The deadline for applying for a Primary School place is 15 January 2022.
https://www.stjohns.kingston.sch.uk/apply-now
New COVID rules
We have had an increasing number of confirmed COVID cases in school since half term. In order to protect our school family, and your child’s education, it is imperative that you follow the guidance below if anyone in your household or your close social group tests positive.
If your child has symptoms, or has tested positive with the Lateral Flow test:
They and siblings of the household should not come to school – and you should inform school.
You should immediately order a PCR test for all children in your family.
If the PCR result is negative, that child can return to school.
If the PCR result is positive, that child must remain at home until the date given on the positive test result.
Other siblings should continue to take a daily lateral flow test.
As numbers are steadily increasing, we have returned to some of our earlier restrictions. These include:
Pupils remaining in class bubble at break and lunchtime with pupils playing in own zones
Collective worship in class bubble
Continue to reinforce use of hand sanitisers/washing hands
Continue to keep the classes/building well ventilated (children to wear layers when cold)
Continue to ask adults to wear face coverings at drop off and pick up
No unnecessary items brought from home (except reading books, homework etc.)
Continue to use the one way system at pick up – please do not linger unnecessarily in the playground once your child is with you.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school family safe.
REMINDERS:
INSET day
This Monday 22nd November school will be closed.
Safety
- 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.
- Please ensure children wear helmets if riding scooters and bikes.
- Please ensure long hair is tied back for school in order to prevent the spread of nits.
Recycle your print cartridges at school
Please drop off your used printer cartridges to the school office - we can recycle them.
Class pages on the website
Please keep an eye on your child's class page on our website for regular photos and updates.
Donations for school - help us save £££
If you can donate a box of tissues to your child's class at school this would help us save our budget for other things - and it will also help stop the spread of germs!
We could also use spare socks for all age groups. If you are having a sort out, please donate them to school. Thank you.
Dates for your Diary
Friday 19th Nov: Children in Need
Mon 22nd Nov: INSET day
Fri 26th Nov: Year 6 Hot Chocolate sale in the playground after school
Fri 26th Nov: Odd Socks Day
Sat 4th Dec: 11am-1pm St John's Church Community Café
Sat 4th Dec: 9am-12noon Christmas tree sale at St John's Church
Fri 10th Dec: Afternoon Christmas Fair at St John's Church
Fri 10th Dec: Christmas Jumper Day
Weds 15th Dec: 10am Christmas service in school
Weds 15th Dec: Nursery last day before Christmas
Thursday 16th Dec: 2pm Last day of autumn term
Friday 17th Dec: INSET day
Term dates have been updated and more diary dates can be found on our website here