Weekly Update from Mr Meehan

With great excitement, we announced the housepoint winners of the term today in worship, with Lime House winning at both the infants and the juniors. Our house captains met recently with Mrs Brooks to decide on an appropriate treat for the winning houses, and have decided that next Wednesday 29th March, children in Lime House may wear their own clothes! Other ideas were shared, such as a house picnic, and we will plot something like that in nearer the end of next term for the Summer Term winners. 

From Reception to Year 6, it has been a busy week of learning at Christ Church. Our newest additions to our family are the ducklings that have hatched this week in Reception! There was growing excitement on Tuesday afternoon, as the first crack began to appear in one or two of the eggs. Our Reception and Nursery children (and some staff!!) have been awe struck as we’ve seen these new lives begin before our eyes.

Fox Class entertained us on Thursday with their lovely class worship, which included some very energetic body percussion dancing! A well done also to our Year 6 pupils who have worked hard this week, having a ‘practice SATS week’ ready for May. 

Tuesday evening was also a favourite evening of high quality music in our Spring Concert. Big thanks to Mrs Bond and her team in making this happen. It is wonderful to see so much talent on display in our midst here at Christ Church.

Today, we say a goodbye and thank you to Mrs Kilby, who has been teaching one day a week in Gazelle in recent months. She is now moving on to new things, but I know Gazelle class will miss her and we wish her all God’s blessings for the future.

We finish term with a celebration of Easter in Christ Church church at 9:45am next Friday 31st March. The church hall will be open after pick up and hot drinks will be available to parents while they wait there until all the children are seated. It will be a lovely occasion with which to finish our Spring Term. A reminder again that our end of day time for final days of term is now 1.15pm for infants and 1.30pm for juniors.

Have a lovely weekend … and don’t forget to make sure your clocks ‘spring forward’!

Our School Updates for Parents

Free Hot Meals for Junior Pupils Consultation

The Mayor of London has announced that junior school aged children in London will receive a free school meal for one year - not just infant children. No details of how much money schools will receive has been published yet. If significant numbers take up the offer we may have to fund the expansion of the capacity of our current kitchen. So, we are trying to establish the likely take up. Please could you help us by completing survey sent via ParentMail as soon as possible.

Reminder: PTA Easter Egg Trail - Saturday 25th March (pm)
Join us tomorrow for an Easter scavenger hunt around The Grove roads. Just turn up on the day (at the Infant site) to take part. There will also be refreshments and craft activities. Please see the attached poster for further details.

Reminder: Learning Look 

We are providing an ‘in-person’ opportunity for the children to show off their learning on Thursday 30th March between 4.30pm - 5.30pm. Please note that this begins strictly at 4.30pm and we cannot accommodate entrance into classrooms before this time. Drop in with your children as you are able to during this time to see their books and learning environment. Your child’s class teacher will be there to welcome you. At the Infants please enter classrooms via the external gates and at the juniors via the school office.

Infant Easter Bonnet Parade: Wednesday 29th March 

On Wednesday 29th, we will be hosting our annual Easter bonnet parade. All the infant children are invited to bring decorated bonnets or hats to wear in a parade around the hall. You are welcome to decorate the bonnets/ hats in any way you wish to celebrate Easter and new life. It could be ribbons, chicks, eggs, or whatever creative ideas you come up with. (Nursery children will have their own parade and will not be joining the older children for the parade in the hall.) 

Reminder: Early finish next Friday

Please remember school will close early on the last day of term next Friday, 31st March, at the following times:

• Infants & Nursery @ 1:15pm
• Juniors @ 1:30pm
• Connect will start at 1:15 p.m. and run until 5:15 p.m.

If you are over 15 minutes late picking up your child they will be taken to Connect and you will be charged. 

New School Lunch Menu: April - October 2023

Please find attached for your information a copy of the new school lunch menu from Nourish which will start after the Easter holiday.

Wider Community Updates

Please see below for information about the Easter Services coming up at Christ Church and St John's:

Christ Church New Malden (91 Coombe Road, KT3 4RE)

• Palm Sunday, 2nd April: Easter Costume and Praise Service - Join us at 9:30am for an interactive retelling of the Easter story! People of all ages are invited to come in costume and take part as we begin our Easter celebrations.
• Good Friday, 7th April - Join us for a half hour, all age service at 9:30am.
• Easter Day, 9th April - Join us for an all age Easter Celebration service at 10am, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden.  

St John's New Malden Easter Services (Kingston Road, KT3 3RX)

• Palm Sunday, 2nd April: The Coming King
• Good Friday, 7th April: A Path to the Cross - A reflective journey through a labyrinth. Drop in any time between 2-4pm.
• Easter Day, 9th April: The Awesome Easter Surprise! - A service suitable for all ages.  

Public Consultation for a New CofE Secondary School

There are plans to build a new Secondary School for Kingston and the project team are seeking community feedback on the proposals and would like to invite local people to a public exhibition. Please see the attached poster for details.

Sassy Stirrers - Easter Cookery Workshops

Sassy Stirrers are running some fun cookery workshops over the Easter holidays, based in Esher for children and teenagers. Please see the attached poster for details and you can book at this link.

Free Arts & Crafts Drop-in Session - Monday 3rd April 2023

Friends of Richmond Park Discoverers are teaming up with Pembroke Lodge - Hearsum Collection to offer a free Arts & Crafts Drop-in Session at Pembroke Lodge's Belvedere on Monday 3rd April 2023, 11-2pm. There will be a willow weaver to show children how to make a dragonfly/butterfly, they will learn to use charcoal to draw from real objects and paint watercolours of trees from artwork taken from the Hearsum Collection or from the trees we see around us. Please see the attached poster for details.

Kingstonian CC - 2023 Summer Sessions

Please see the attached poster for details of Kingstonian CC cricket sessions this summer.

Spring Kingston & Merton Raring2go! Magazine

Please see The Spring Kingston & Merton Raring2go! Magazine for details of Easter days out and events, holiday camps, including a 10% discount with Camp Beaumont, and craft / cooking activities to do at home.  All within the local area.

Casual Cycle Instructors

The Sustainable Transport Team is seeking to recruit Cycle Instructors in the Sutton area to deliver Bikeability, the national cycle training programme for children. As one of their professional trained instructors you could earn up to £422 per week (Casual rate) to deliver our standard Bikeability courses involving 20 hours of contact with riders plus time for course administration and travel. Their Bikeability sessions are typically 10.00 - 12.00 and 13.00 - 15.00, plus travel time. All instructors must train on a 5-day Professional Course. It is an advantage if you already hold this qualification although not essential as training will be paid for the right candidates. The role is advertised on the Job section of the Kingston and Sutton Websites. For an informal discussion about these positions please telephone Eric Chasseray, Sustainable Transport Officer on 020 8547 5826 or email eric.chasseray@kingston.gov.uk

Key School Dates - Spring 2023

• Saturday 25th March - Easter Egg Hunt
• Monday 27th March - Y5 Easter Experience @ Baptist Church (pm)
• Tuesday 28th March - Y3 Trip to Butser Ancient Farm
• Wednesday 29th March - Infant Easter Bonnet Parade
• Thursday 30th March - Learning Look - 4:30pm - 5:30pm
• Friday 31st March - Easter Church Service @ 9:45am
• Friday 31st March - Term finishes at 1.15pm (infants) and 1.30pm (juniors)