Weekly Update from Mr Meehan

It’s been a week to show off! We’ve enjoyed a Year 3 and 4 soloist concert on Tuesday and a wide-ranging talent show at the juniors on Wednesday, which included gym, magic tricks, dance, poetry and a whole lot more! My thanks to Mrs Bond and Mrs Summers respectively for organising these events, and showcasing our children’s varied skills and talents.

It’s also been a week of lots of science in our science week, and the children have been enjoying forest school activities, our carousel science experiment activities, and our flight simulator which landed at the juniors today! In relation to this, we have been asked to send out the attached sheet should your child like to complete this activity on the air traffic controllers alphabet. We are thankful to Mrs Coltman, who leads science in the school, for all her work in putting this week together for the children, and making it so much fun.

Following last week’s ‘grand opening’ at the juniors, we’ve been enjoying the new astroturf pitch, and are trying out different rotas and taking feedback from the children. It’s also been a week for wheels and the children have really been enjoying this! Please keep the OPAL feedback coming and look out for more OPAL news (below).

It was great to spend some time this week with the children who form our Faith and Spirituality Group, led by Mrs Burkinshaw; they are full of ideas and wonderful feedback on how we could do collective worship and RE even better in the school. My thanks to Mrs Burkinshaw for all her work with this group. Incidentally, our Macaw children were also out and about this week, with their trip to a synagogue and learning more about what worship looks like within Judaism.

It was a delight at the infants yesterday to see Fox Class lead us in their class worship. They skillfully wove our current iShare Learning theme of ‘New Creations’ into this, and also really brought alive their history learning about the Great Fire of London. 

In other news, thank you for your recent feedback on road safety around our infant site, and the possible introduction of a ‘School Streets’ scheme on Lime Grove. We are pleased to announce that, in a council meeting last week, a trial of School Streets has been approved to begin in September, to be reviewed next June, along the stretch of Lime Grove from the main road down to Poplar Grove. We will let you know more detail on this nearer the time, so our parent community are fully aware of what this means for Lime Grove at drop off and pick up time. This initiative should help in making the area outside our infant site a safer place to be at these busy times. Thank you again for the excellent response to our survey, which has helped this move quickly. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, with all this extra daylight we’re getting!

Our School Updates for Parents

PTA School Disco - Years 1-3 

Next Friday, 21st March is the Years 1-3 PTA school disco after school from 3:30-5:00pm in the junior hall. All children in these year groups, regardless of whether they are attending the disco, can wear their own clothes to school on this day.

Charity Tuesday

On Tuesday 25th March, we are having our next Charity Tuesday to support our chosen ‘national’ charity of the year, British Heart Foundation. We are asking the children to wear something red and bring in a donation for the buckets in the morning. On the day, each class will be getting outside and doing some kind of physical fun activity to get their hearts racing to support this. 

Opal 

Thanks for all your donations so far - the children are loving the changes in the playground. This week, we introduced wheels and it was lovely to see the children racing the Ben-Hur trikes across the junior playground. Next week, we will introduce large loose parts. We need more, so, next Friday, there will be buckets outside both sites collecting:

• Fidget Toys, especially spinners and pop-its. 
• Soft Toys
• Hot Wheels Tracks 

We also need the following, and can collect:

• Large loose parts: drain pipes, planks of wood, tarpaulins, pallets, rope, plastic shopping/milk crates etc. 
• Sofas
• Old Pianos

In addition, can anyone lend us a powerful water pump to drain an old pond? 

Please contact the school office if you are able to help. 

Nourish App

Nourish are launching a new App for parents/carers where you can view menus, theme day details and recipes. Please see the attached poster for details on how to sign up.

Wider Community Updates

Strings Spectacular: A Family-Friendly Musical Journey - Sunday, 23rd March, 11am-12pm

As in previous years, Kingston Music Service is organising a family concert at the Rose Theatre towards the end of the Spring term. On Sunday, 23rd March, they invite you to explore the world of string instruments with Strings Spectacular. A concert designed to enchant families and ignite the imaginations of music lovers of all ages. Celebrate the magic of string instruments with a programme that blends timeless classics with modern favourites. For more information and to book please visit their website. 

Easter Hockey Camp at Old Kingstonian HC

Old Kingstonian Hockey Club are offering a hockey camp during the Easter holidays this year for children in school years 3-11. Please see the attached flyer for details.

Ultimate Activity Camps at Holy Cross Prep School

Ultimate Activity Camps provide activity day camps for children aged 4-14 during the school holidays. Running this Easter and Summer at Holy Cross Prep School, children will enjoy a fantastic range of over 40 sports, games and art activities every week. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

MNS STEAM April Easter Science Activity Holiday Camp

Mother Nature Science are running a STEAM Easter Science Activity Camp during the Easter holiday. They are also offering an Early-Bird Discount but this expires soon. Don’t forget your Special School Booster Basket Discount Code ‘coolschool20’ for an extra £20-off list price. Note: 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. Book now here, by entering your Home Postcode or see the attached flyer for more information.

Key School Dates

• Monday 17th - Friday 21st March - Wellbeing Week
• Monday 17th - Friday 28th March - Y5 Bikeability
• Wednesday 19th March - Ross Montgomery Author Visit (pm)
• Thursday 20th March - Y4 Insight Visit (pm)
• Thursday 20th March - Owl Class Worship @ 2:40pm
• Friday 21st March - Reception Trip to Polka Theatre (am)
• Friday 21st March - PTA Disco (Years 1-3) @ 3:30-5:00pm
• Monday 24th - Friday 28th March - Chums Week
• Tuesday 25th March - Charity Tuesday for British Heart Foundation
• Tuesday 25th March - Y6 National Child Measurement Programme (am)
• Wednesday 26th March - Y5 Easter Experience at The Baptist Church (am)
• Thursday 27th March - Learning Look - from pick up until 4:30pm 
• Thursday 27th March - Lion Class Worship @ 2:40pm
• Friday 28th March - PTA Break the Rules Day
• Tuesday 1st April - Y5/6 Cluster Choir Concert at Rose Theatre (pm)
• Wednesday 2nd April - Easter Bonnet Parade at Infants
• Thursday 3rd April - Y3 Trip to Butser Farm
• Friday 4th April - Easter Church Service @ 9:30am
• Friday 4th April - Term finishes early at 1.05pm (infants) and 1.20pm (juniors). Connect will finish at 5:15pm
• Monday 7th - Monday 21st April - Easter Holiday
• Tuesday 22nd April - Summer Term Starts