Dear Parents and Carers,
Celebration of Church Schools at St Paul’s Cathedral
On Thursday, seven Year 5 children represented St Mary’s at the London Diocese Board for Schools (LDBS) ‘Celebration of Schools’ at St Pauls Cathedral. This annual service brings all LDBS schools and staff together. The service is quite spectacular because of the beautiful surroundings and the amazing sounds of music, whether that be singing or the steel pans and brass band we heard yesterday. The children did a great job of representing St Mary’s, they sang beautifully and their behaviour was impeccable.
Do you know how Church Schools began?
Long before the government became involved in providing education for everyone in our country, the Church of England had a vision that it wanted every parish to have a school for the education of children. Church Schools began in 1811 and were set up to serve the community in each parish, providing an education and developing a moral character. Church schools are open to all children in the community. The ethos of the schools is based on distinctively Christian values (the same values that most people share, regardless of faith or background) and they will offer children an experience enabling them to flourish. We are very fortunate to be in the family of Church schools, one of 155 in London, and one of nearly 5000 across England.
Animal Encounters at Church Lane
This week Early Years Church Lane children had the opportunity to meet some unusual animals, including a prairie dog, a gecko, an albino frog, a very large stick insect and even a skunk! What was their favourite? What else did they see?
Parent Consultations
We will soon be inviting you to start booking your appointments for your child’s Parents Consultations that will take place on the 27th and 28th February (26th & 27th for Y6 Amethyst). Please look out for communication that will be sent to you in next week. We encourage all parents and carers to attend so that you can find out about your child’s strengths and things that they need to work on. It’s important that we work together as a team to ensure that your child is able to be the best that they can be.
Social Media and Workshops for Parents
Reports from parents with regard to unkind or inappropriate communication by children through social media outside of school is increasingly common in schools and is impacting on children’s education. It takes up a vast amount of senior leaders and teachers time trying to resolve these issues. Please be reminded that children at St Mary’s should not be using any social media as the minimum age for children using it is 13 years old. If you do allow your children to access social media, it is your responsibility as parents and carers to carefully monitor your child’s use so that these incidents do not occur or are swiftly picked up. The internet is constantly changing and new issues, challenges and online platforms are arising all the time. For Rectory Gardens parents and carers we have set up a parent/carer meeting to help you better understand the challenges that our young people face online. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 22nd at 6pm, without your children please. If Church Lane parents and carers have any concerns or questions please see Mr Beardwell.
Coming up…
On Wednesday 7th February we invite you to attend our reading themed Stay and Play sessions, for 20 minutes from drop-off. We look forward to seeing you there. Ms Vidic is planning a ‘Mother Tongue’ project for our children and families, celebrating the many different languages that our community speaks. Please look out for more information.
The end of this first half term
I cannot believe how quickly the first half term of 2024 has gone, can you? Next Friday we break up for the half term break and return to school on Monday 19th February. If you are looking forward and planning events and activities for the future months, please note that our term dates are available on our school website for your reference.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Jane O’Brien
Headteacher
