Weekly Update from Mr Meehan

Whilst election fever has been gripping the country in recent weeks, we have had an election of our own at the juniors over this week. We began the week with five excellent candidates for Pupil Leader for next year, who all can be very proud of themselves. Nearly half of our Year 5s applied for these roles, and these five were all successful in being shortlisted. They launched their campaigns on Monday with a campaign poster, and then delivered their manifesto speech to the juniors, and all of their speeches were outstanding. Voting by secret ballot happened later in the week, in the junior classes. Today, I am pleased to announce that Hayun Chung and Jac Hui have been elected as our Pupil Leaders for 2024/25, and they will take over from the great job that Emily Geer and Keira Parkes have done this year. 

There’s also been many other things going on during this ‘well-being week’. Our Year 6 worship leaders led collective worship on Monday to set the theme for the week. 

Added to this, our reception and nursery children enjoyed a ‘Teddy Bear’s picnic’ show on Tuesday. Today, our juniors have enjoyed workshops from the National Youth Orchestra in the junior hall. Finally, we’ve all enjoyed celebrating reading over this week with our ‘Booknic’ on Wednesday. My thanks to Mrs Honeybone for coordinating this. 

Big congrats to our Year 3s as well, who took part in the Country Dancing Festival on Tuesday. My thanks to Mrs Brooks, not only for getting our troop ready, but also helping to coordinate this borough event. 

Mr Newman has been busy recently with many sporting events, and this week has been no exception. Not only coordinating a staff game of rounders after school earlier in the week, he was also with our Year 6 netballers on Tuesday at St Agatha’s where the games ended in a draw. Well done to all involved in some great play and sportsmanship.

You can see photos of some of these activities and more in our June newsletter.

With our recent focus on our playground and outdoor spaces, we are delighted to be beginning a project in September called OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning), which will involve us working with play experts to develop further the creativity and range of our play activities across both sites. As we get started, here is a list of items that we will need to help us with this. Let us know if you can offer any of this ‘loose equipment’ as we begin to collect some of this.

In the meantime, enjoy the continued summery weather this weekend and the long June days!

MRS BOND RECOMMENDS

I really enjoyed reading with my daughter When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. Suitable for Year 5/6 children about a German Jewish family who leave Germany when Hitler comes to power and travel to London. There are two follow up books which are good to read a few years later about her life. Judith Kerr based the novels on her own experiences.

Our School Updates for Parents

Clubs w/c 1st July

Next week, w/c 1st July, the following clubs will have their last session of the term:

• Y1 and 2 Football
• Good News Club
• Orchestra (Mon 1st not Wed 3rd)
• Recorders
• Pop and Rock
• Y5 and 6 Football
• Junior Dance
• Junior Drama
• Y3 and 4 Football
• Handbells

Request for a Gazebo

We are in need of an additional gazebo for our sports days on 5th and 12th July, for the children to sit under in between their races.  Please could you email the office (office@ccnm.uk) if you are able to lend us one for these two mornings.

School Photography - Pret-a-Portrait End of Year Sale

If you didn’t get round to ordering all the school photos you wanted from any of their recent visits, or if you have a child leaving school this year, now would be a great time to take another look at your school photos. Until Wednesday 10th July, they are offering between 20-50% OFF many of their most popular products. And what’s more, you can also now choose a ‘Through the Years’ picture to produce a fabulous record of your child’s progress through school. Just go to www.pret-a-portrait.net and enter a Sitting ID, or login to your account. If you need help with any missing Sitting ID’s, please contact Pret-a-Portrait directly on 0800 021 7626 or customerservice@pret-a-portrait.net

Flight Simulator Learning

Last Wednesday, Philippe Polman and Robbie Conington from Echelon Air visited the junior school with their Cirrus G6 SR2X flight simulator. Students in Years 5 and 6 learned about the different ways aeroplanes move in three dimensions and the parts of the aeroplane that make this possible. Everyone had a go practising take offs and landings with the simulator and practised spelling their name with the NATO phonetic alphabet. Here are some links about what the children learned and a short quiz to test their knowledge. Hints - all the answers are in the links and you'll see your score after you hit submit. They can also send a message to Philippe and Robbie at the end of the quiz if they would like to.

• Quiz
• NATO phonetic alphabet 
• Video of pitch, roll and yaw explained for kids 
• Parts of the airplane and what they do

Wider Community Updates

Summer STEM Camp

Next Thing Education will be hosting their STEM camp at our Junior site from 29th July – 9th August. Across the summer they will be at each of their venues for 2 weeks with their flagship themes with new activities, click here to see a few. Please see attached flyer for more details! They have extended their booking discount, and are still offering 1 week bookings at only £175 or 2 week bookings at only £299 (saving £191).  They also have a limited number of HAF spaces which will become available closer to the event on their website. Don’t miss out and book today, simply visit www.nextthing.education.

Holy Cross Prep School Summer Camps

We have been asked to reshare this summer camp information. Ultimate Activity Camps provide outstanding Ofsted-registered activity day camps for children aged 4-14 during the school holidays. Children will enjoy a fantastic range of over 40 sports, games and art activities every week led by engaging staff at amazing locations. Running this Summer at Holy Cross Prep School in Kingston. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

OurCamps - Free Holiday Camps + Athletics clubs 

In partnership with the Kingston Council, OurCamps deliver free athletics clubs for all children as well as the holiday activity and food programme which allows any child eligible for benefit related free school meals to attend their camp for free. Please see the attached flyers for more information:

• Athletics Club
• Summer Camp

STEM Summer Science Activity Holiday Camp - Mother Nature Science

Mother Nature Science are running Summer Holiday camps at locations across London during the summer for children aged 5-12. Their Early-Bird Discount is expiring soon - use Special School Basket Discount Code ‘coolschool20’ for an extra £20 off list price for full-week places. All Childcare Vouchers, GTFC, CGPS and Universal Credit (UC) payment methods are now accepted by MNS. Just book online as normal and choose ‘Pay By Other Method’ at Checkout to receive further instructions. Find your closest camp location (by entering your home postcode) and Book Now here or see the attached flyer for details.

Kingston Music Services Performances

Please see the attached list of music performances taking place in July that may be of interest to you.

Summer Kingston & Merton Raring2go! Magazine

The summer edition of Raring2go! Kingston and Merton has loads of ideas / activities for families. This edition has a lovely page on graphic novels for children, opening up a different route to encouraging reading and several discounts to help families save some money at this challenging time. 

Fire Station Open Days

We have been asked to advertise the open days of a number of local fire stations. These open days present an invaluable opportunity for attendees to gain insight into the operations of fire stations and enable dedicated fire crews to engage with the communities they serve. These events promise an informative and enjoyable experience for children and families, offering the opportunity to learn about fire vehicles and equipment, participate in various activities, acquire knowledge about firefighting techniques, and even experience donning a firefighter's uniform. Please see the attached flyer for dates and locations.

Key School Dates 

• Monday 1st July - Infants Circus Days Workshops
• Monday 1st July - Y3 Trip to the Gurdwara
• Tuesday 2nd July - Junior Summer Concert @ 6:00pm
• Wednesday 3rd July - Y6 New School Day
• Friday 5th July - Junior Sports Day
  • Years 3 and 4: 9.15 a.m. - approximately 10.20 a.m.
  • Years 5 and 6: 10.45 a.m. - approximately 11.50 a.m.
• Friday 5th July - Infants Only Mufti Day
• Friday 5th July - Y2 Celebration Disco @ 3:30 - 5:00pm
• Tuesday 9th July - Y6 Production @ 4:00pm
• Wednesday 10th July - Reception Visit to Magic Garden at Hampton Court
• Wednesday 10th July - Y6 Production @ 6:00pm
• Thursday 11th July - Learning Look @ 4:30 - 5:30pm
• Friday 12th July - Infant Sports Day
  • Reception - 9.00 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.
  • Year 1 - 10.05 a.m. - 11.00 a.m.
  • Year 2 - 11:10 a.m. - 12.05 p.m.
• Friday 12th July - Y6 Celebration @ 5:30 to 7:30pm (Run by parents) (New)
• Monday 15th - Friday 19th July - Y6 Isle of Wight Trip
• Monday 15th - Friday 19th July - Chums Week
• Monday 15th July - Y2 Production @ 5:00pm
• Tuesday 16th July - Y2 Production @ 2:00pm
• Friday 19th July - Reception Celebration @ 3:30 - 5:30pm in junior hall (New)
• Friday 19th July - PTA Quiz Night @ 7:00 - 11:00pm 
• Monday 22nd July - Y6 Leavers’ Celebration @ 2:00pm (Run by school)
• Tuesday 23rd July - Church Service @ 9:30am 
• Tuesday 23rd July - Term finishes early at 1.05pm (infants) and 1.20pm (juniors). Connect will finish at 5:15pm
• Wednesday 24th July - INSET day (School closed to pupils)
• Monday 2nd September - INSET day (School closed to pupils)
• Tuesday 3rd September - Autumn Term starts