The Link Newsletter #58
Friday 7th June 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
There is much to look forward to as we commence the last six weeks of this academic year. Where did that year go, I hear you ask?
Some key reminders for the coming weeks:
Monday 10th June - Year 6 children and staff set off (12pm) for the residential trip to Kingswood in West Runton, Norfolk. Whilst the weather remains unsettled, I am sure they will have a wonderful adventure. We wish them safe travels and an enjoyable experience.
Tuesday 11th June - School closes at the slightly earlier time of 2pm on Tuesday 11th June. This is to allow the staff team to attend an EdTech event which has been organised by the Trust and hosted at Staples Road Primary School. We would politely request that children are collected promptly as staff will be car pooling and setting off as soon as possible once the children have been collected.
Wednesday 12th June - Year 2 children travel by coach to watch The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London. I am confident that the children will be in awe of this fascinating, high quality stage production.
Thursday 13th June - Year 3 Stone Age workshop in the church. A wonderful and exciting day for the children learning about life in the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
Tuesday 18th June - Whole School Sports Day. A first for St John's to have a combined KS1 and KS2 Sports Day morning. The sports day event will start at 9.30am and we aim to complete all the events by 11.30am. As reported in the last newsletter, a competitive sports day will take place on the same afternoon for children in Year 3-6 who wish to compete in track events. Parents of children participating in this event are welcome to join us and cheer on the runners. We intend to start the afternoon session at 2pm.
Friday 21st June - Summer Fayre 3.30pm to 6pm. Children are invited to dress-down in non-school uniform in exchange for bringing an item for the bottle tombola. Bottles may include alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Monday 24th June - Transition 1 - This is the first of three sessions where children will spend the morning with their new class teacher. This will be an opportunity for children and the staff team to build relationships before the new academic year commences in September. This year, we will send a letter to parents on Friday 19th June advising you of your child's class teacher. You may then choose to share this information with your child over the weekend to help them to prepare for the session on Monday. We will send this communication after 4.30pm, once your child is at home.
SCHOOL VALUE FOR THIS HALF TERM
As you know every half term, we focus on one of the six school values. This half term we are focussing on Achievement. Each value relates to a Biblical reference which is shared with the children during our Monday assembly in the church. This term's Biblical reference is from Philippians 3:13b and was written by St Paul to the Christian community of Philippi.
To find out more about our values please take a look at the Vision and Values page on our website.
ARTS WEEK
Before the half term break, children enjoyed a delightful week of art, using the 2024 Olympics as the theme for the artwork produced. Children attended workshops led by teachers within their phase team, meaning that children worked in different classrooms led by different adults. Some of the artwork produced was displayed at Copped Hall on their Open Day. Thank you to everyone who made the Arts Week a tremendous success, particularly Miss Gibbons who coordinated the week.
Some slides containing a sample of photos from each workshop can be viewed in the gallery below.
SATS WEEK
Year 6s showed great maturity and resilience during their SATs week. We were incredibly proud of how well the children had approached the week and how they applied themselves during each of the papers. There were some very tricky questions in both the reading and maths papers. However I know that the children have tried their best.
The children were treated with a visit from the ice-cream van after the SATs had finished.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS
GIRLS FOOTBALL - WEDNESDAY 8TH MAY
On Wednesday 8th May, the football team played a friendly match against a strong Alderton Junior School team. The girls played amazingly well despite the 2-0 defeat. Well done to everyone who represented St John's and also to Miss Ruddock who leads the girls football team. Onwards and upwards as they say.
YEAR 3/4 FOOTBALL MATCH AGAINST HIGH BEECH - WEDNESDAY 15TH MAY
Pupils from St John's travelled to High Beech on Wednesday 15th May to participate in a friendly football match with a selection of children from Year 3 and 4. It was a fantastic game with a final score of 15 to 11 to High Beech. The game was incredibly close with each school leading at various times throughout the 60 minute match! Thank you to the families, pupils and staff who came along to show their support.
Thank you to Mr Nash from High Beech, Miss Ruddock, Miss Tallowin, Miss O'Reilly and Mrs Aarons for organising and supporting this event.
SPORTS DAY - TUESDAY 18TH JUNE 9.30-11.30AM
Final preparations are underway ahead of the Sports Day on Tuesday 18th June. Once again we will be welcoming our friends from High Beech to join us. We have taken the brave decision to make this a single event for children in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 based on feedback from parents in previous years. I've always been an advocate for being brave and taking risks; a mindset that we try to instil in our children. Let's see how this format works this year.
If the weather prevents this from taking place safely, we have scheduled Tuesday 25th June as our reserve day. It is sometimes difficult to call a postponement; we recognise that parents have booked days off from work. However, the children's safety is paramount and if the grass is at all wet, we will not be able to run our sports day safely. Fingers crossed that such decisions are not required this year.
We will continue with the competitive and inclusive carousel of events where each child will collect points for their colour group or House. Sports Day will commence at 9.30am. Parents are to wait at the front entrance until the gates are opened. We anticipate this to be at 9.20am. Last year we invited parents from High Beech to enter the school first so that they can find and follow their child.
We have also listened to feedback from parents about how we can make the Sports Day even more competitive for our older children. Last year we ran 100m sprint finals (having completed the heats before the sports day). However the feedback from parents was that they would have liked to have watched the heats leading to the final race. We will invite all children (in Years 3-6) who wish to compete in a variety of running races to an afternoon event and parents are welcome to attend this too. The afternoon event will commence from 1.45pm. We will communicate with parents next week to let you know if your child is wishing to participate in the competitive afternoon event.
A picnic lunch for all children will help us to facilitate this exciting sporting occasion. If your child has a school lunch, we will provide a picnic lunch alternative on this day. Lunchtime will be between 12pm and 1pm for all children.
CAN YOU HELP?
School funding is tighter than ever before and this has become even more evident recently as I have been working with Mrs Freedman to try to set a balanced budget for 2024-2025. In real terms we have less money than we had last year due to increases in staff costs, pension and national insurance contributions. The continual pressure on school funding ultimately squeezes the opportunities we have to provide the over-and-above provision, sadly this includes running additional sporting clubs and attendance at competitions. We remain ambitious and resolute in finding creative ways in which our passion and enthusiasm for sport can continue.
If you have a particular expertise and are able to volunteer some of your time, either after school or possibly during a lunchtime in the summer months, we would love to hear from you.
Please complete this form. https://forms.gle/3rKFtrZPY7ALVRjK6
NATIONAL BOOK TOKENS
We need your help!
The National Book Tokens site is inviting schools and parents to complete a simple form which could lead to our school receiving up to £1000! As an individual completing the form you may also win £100.
Please complete this form - who knows, this might help us buy books for our school.
https://www.nationalbooktokens.com/schools-prize
COMMUNITY AND FAMILY LEARNING
We all know that being a parent is amazing and ensures that life is never dull! However there is no doubt that it can be hard at times and so it is helpful to know that there is support on offer for all residents in Essex. Free courses for adults are provided by Essex County Council and cover a wide variety of different topics, ranging from healthy eating and cooking, arts and crafts to understanding ADHD and other SEN needs. Some courses are face to face with many based in Harlow, others are online, often during the school day.
Please see the leaflet below for information and for your ease follow the link to the website detailing online courses available this term.
https://courses.aclessex.com/AvailableCoursesList.Asp?PageIndex=2
PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) UPDATE
QUIZ NIGHT - 9TH MAY
The quiz night on May 9th was a fun night enjoyed by all who attended. We also raised almost £700.
SUMMER FAYRE - FRIDAY 21ST JUNE, 3.30-6.00PM
This will take place on Friday 21st June from 3.30-6.00 pm. Each year group will be allocated a stall to set up, run and tidy away on the day. More details to follow via class reps next week.
The cost of tickets per person (under 5s free) is £5 prior to the 21st and £7 on the day. The ticket price covers inflatables, dance sessions, sing a long, selfie background and stocks. All other food, drink and activities can be paid for on the day so please bring plenty of change to help the event run smoothly.
Tickets can only be booked via the link below.
https://www.pta-events.co.uk/stjohns-bh-pta/index.cfm?event=shop
The email will be your proof of entry on the day and must be shown at the gate for entry.
Friday 21st will be non uniform day for all children in exchange for bottles and wrapped sweets for the tombolas.
Thank you to Enfield Town FC who have donated a prize. Please see their flyer if you are interested in joining their football sessions.
The PTA
GET INTO TEACHING WITH THE WEST ESSEX SCITT
Are you interested in training to become a Primary School Teacher?
We have Initial Teacher Training vacancies to begin training at the beginning of September 2024. We are looking for people who have a degree, a passion for education and teaching and want to inspire young people to fulfil their potential.
We would be very interested to hear from you if you are thinking of becoming a teacher, or know someone who is.
This is not a drop in event so please book your place now by emailing vsmullen@efspt.org
We welcome the opportunity to meet and talk to you about the exciting teacher training opportunities available. Susan Marbe, the West Essex SCITT Director can be contacted at smarbe@efspt.org or please call one of our team on 02085042934 option 6. We can also provide you with support and guidance on your DfE APPLY application form
For any further information on what becoming a teacher might involve more generally, you can visit http://www.westessexscitt.co.uk/ or https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/
You can find and apply for our Initial Teacher Training courses via DfE FIND
...AND FINALLY...
PE KITS - NEW!
We have been working alongside Forest Casuals, the school uniform shop in Loughton, to improve the quality of the PE tops.
Forest Casuals have produced St John's branded sportswear tops in a polyester fabric. We believe these will be more practical for the children to wear. The fabric is lightweight and breathable, which will help keep the children cooler in the summer months. It is also quick-drying which is important now that the children wear their PE kits twice a week.
Currently, our children wear polo shirts that are various shades of red, green, yellow and blue. This would give all children a consistent look, particularly when representing the school at sporting events.
The cost of the new shirts is £6.95. We would really appreciate parents purchasing this top when it comes to renewing PE clothing for September.
Jonathan Furness
Head Teacher