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 th