St Mary's Newsletter

“Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12)

Dear Parents & Carers,

Well, that was an incredibly quick half term, and it is ending just as the wonderful weather is about to begin. We have been as busy as ever at St Mary’s.

Year 6 and Year 2 completed their SATs. We’re really proud of how well Year 6 managed the fairly pressurised exam conditions. They are now starting work on their Year 6 production of Treasure Island, allocating a range of roles, including props and set design, lighting and sound, communication and promotion and costume, as well as acting, dancing and singing.

There have been plenty of trips too. Nursery enjoyed their trip to Railway Fields while Reception visited Freightliners Farm and their Forest School as well as Alexandra Palace. They have also had the very cute ducklings in class this week and will be sad to say goodbye to them today. Year 2 and Year 5 both visited Wightman Road. Year 5 also hosted a fundraising event for the rainforest, to top off their topic and raised a very healthy £211 with a cake sale. Year 1, Year 2 and Reception all showed off what they have been learning this year in their class assemblies. Well done to them all for showcasing such wonderful speaking and singing.

At the beginning of May, we held our very popular International Evening and welcomed so many of you to school to watch the very talented children (and one parent – thank you!) perform. It was lovely to see everyone dressed up to represent their countries and cultures, and also to taste the incredible food that was donated. If you couldn’t attend this one, we would love to see you next year. We’d also love to have more adult or family performances.

We have had some sporting events – a mixed Year 4, 5 and 6 athletics event, and today some lucky children have had the opportunity to cycle at the Olympic Park Velodrome.

Today was ‘When I Grow Up Day’, and it’s always such an honour to welcome in our visitors to speak to the children on such a vast array of professions and careers. We welcomed a conductor, a dancer, a town planner, a children’s author and a doctor as well as representatives from the police, the fire service and the church and an incredibly generous ice-cream man. Thank you to all our volunteers who have taken time out of their busy schedules to inspire our children in their future careers.

Looking forward to next term, we start with our Year 5s on their day trip to Paris – bon voyage! We also hold our last Summer Fair at the Church Lane site on Saturday 13^th June from 12-4pm. It’s looking like a fun-filled extra special day. (Don’t forget the non-uniform day for our ever-popular tombola on Thursday 11^th June).

I have been asked to pass on a request from After School Club. If anyone has a Connect-4 in good condition, and any Barbie type dolls and furniture, they would be gratefully received in club. More Lego and other construction toys are also always welcome. Other things we would really love are: indoor and outdoor beanbag seats and comfy sofas and armchairs. If you’re having a clear-out, please think of us!

The building work at Rectory Gardens is now in full swing! Many of the children will have an opportunity to visit the site and document its progress for you through the newsletter.

Immediately after half term, ClassDojo will be going live for parents. We hope this will enhance the school’s communication with families, so please sign up as soon as you receive information about how to do this.

Also, after half term, you will receive an online Parent Survey, as we would love to hear your views about our school and how you feel your children are doing. Please look out for the message and link, which will be sent to you in week 3, and give us your feedback.

We wish you all a lovely half term. Enjoy the sunshine and we’ll see everyone back in school on Monday 1^st June.

Best wishes,

Debbie Butcher

Consultant Headteacher

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Important Dates – please make a note

Friday 22nd May – When I Grow Up Day – can you help us out for this legendary day? WIGUD 2026
Friday 22nd May – Half Term Begins Haringey Holiday Fun May 2026
Monday 1st June – Back to school
Wednesday 3rd June – Y5 to Paris
Thursday 11th June – Non-Uniform Day in return for tombola donation (something you’d like to win!)
Saturday 13th June – Summer Fair @ CL 12-4pm – three weeks to go Summer Fair 3 Weeks to Go
Sunday 14th June – Celebration Centenary event in Priory Park. Choir performing at 12.00pm
Tuesday 23rd June – Music Assembly – Choir, Band and Y3 Recorders – 9.00am
Tuesday 30th June – New Nursery & Reception Welcome Evening 6-7pm
Wednesday 1st July – Paris Assembly – 9.10am
Tuesday 30th June – Violins Assembly Y4, and Y5/6 continuers – 11.00am
Friday 3rd July – Sports Day – more details to follow
Monday 6th July – New Nursery and Reception Stay & Play 1.30-3.00pm
Wednesday 8th July – Year 6 production – more details to follow
Thursday 9th July – New Nursery and Reception Stay & Play 9.30-11am
Friday 10th July – End of Year BBQ – all welcome – more details to follow

For Your Information

Request from After School Club – does anyone have a Connect-4 game they don’t need, or any dolls (Barbies etc) that could be donated to club?
Free Sports Activities over half term in local venues including Priory Park and Finsbury Park – see poster below and scan bar code to register
Interested in Cricket – we have choices for you –
Alexandra Park Cricket Club is offering free junior cricket training every Friday evening this summer — and they’d love to see your children come along! U9s and Girls U12/U10s — 17:30 to 18:30
• U11s and U13s — 18:30 to 19:30 – email for more details & see poster below APjuniors@gmail.com
Sessions run for 10 weeks from 24th April at The Racecourse Ground, Alexandra Park, N22 7AX.
Interested in Cricket? Hornsey Cricket Club are looking for girls to join their team – please see poster below for more details
Alexandra Park Youth FC provides fun, inclusive football for boys and girls of all ages in North London, nurturing talent and teamwork in a supportive environment. They will be holding trials for Y2 boys on Saturday 9th May and Y2-Y5 girls on Saturday 16th May – see poster below for details.
Are you interested in fostering for Haringey? There is a constant need for more carers in Haringey, for children of all ages and backgrounds. Making the decision to foster is a generous one and we aim to make it as satisfying for you as possible, by giving you individual support and on-going training in a wide variety of areas relevant to the fostering task. You will also receive a weekly allowance to cover the cost of caring for an extra child – the amount varies according to the age of the child. If you would like to speak to member of the team, please contact 020 8489 3754 or email us on fosteringrecruitment@haringey.gov.uk. Fostering Info Ad

Reminder: Rectory Gardens is a School Street. This means no driving on the road between 8am–9am and 2.45–3.30pm. Let’s keep our children safe, the air clean and prevent you from getting a penalty notice

Reminders

Please remember to call or email if your child is going to be off school – don’t wait for us to call you!
We are on Instagram – follow us to see our wonderful school @stmarysschooln8 and tell your family to follow us too!
Reminder about unauthorised absences and holidays during term time As you will know from previous correspondence, St Mary’s will be following the Government guidance with regards to fining families when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. Children should only be out of school for reasons that have been authorised.
We are strictly a nut-free school – please remember this for packed lunches and party treats
We are a latex-free school – this includes balloons, latex gloves, rubber bands etc

Contact Details

Are your contact details up-to-date?

If you have changed your address, telephone or email address please let us know as soon as possible. Have your personal circumstances changed? Again, please let us know. If you don’t get emails or texts from us then we may need to update your details.

Class News

Nursery	Nursery have had a lovely half term. We have been learning all about the numbers 1, 2 and 3, comparing, repeating actions and basic shapes in our maths carpet sessions. We are confident showing, finding and counting to 3 and have been practising some lovely counting songs. In literacy, have been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Frog and Toad are Friends and Dear Zoo. We have been thinking about describing, making lists and sequencing the stories. The RE this term has been thinking about who we are, what class we are in, who is in our family and how do we show that we are thankful. The children have come up with some really lovely ways to show their thanks. For our Understanding the World sessions we have learned that animals are living things and how we can work that out, we’ve been to see the ducklings in Reception and looking at maps. We also went to the Railway Fields on Green Lanes, where we looked for different animal homes, made our own nests, hunted for mini beasts (we found 3 stag beetles!) and made rainbows from the plants we found. A big thank you to the parents who were able to join us, you were a fantastic help and we couldn’t have done it without you. As the weather gets warmer and sunnier, please do remember to put sunscreen on your child as we are unable to put it on them. They need a water bottle every day and please send them in with a hat on the sunny days. A gentle reminder that we are a healthy eating school, snacks should just be fruit or veg (we do provide snack in the morning and afternoon). Have a lovely half term break.
Reception	Reception have had the most amazing two weeks learning all about ducks. We kept the eggs warm in their incubator and the children were amazed watching the eggs crack and the first two ducklings hatch out. When we got back to school on Monday there were 4 noisy ducklings waiting for us! They are getting big now and the children can see their tiny feathers starting to form. They have learned all about the life cycle of a duck and about what we need to do to look after them. We have also been practising for our assembly, and I’m sure you will agree the children gave a fantastic performance. In maths, we have been using shapes to make different shapes, completing shape puzzles and making shape pictures. In English, we have been planning and writing our stories based on ‘The Extraordinary Gardener’.
Year 1	Year 1 have had a really great half term. In English, we have read and enjoyed The Secret of Black Rock, through which we have made predictions, written poems and planned and written a diary. In maths, we have investigated multiplication through making repeated addition groups, division through sharing into equal groups, found halves and quarters of shapes and quantities and used the Beebots to practice the language of left and right, above and below and forwards and backwards. We have continued to practice all of our phonics sounds and real and nonsense words in preparation for the phonics screening early next half term. In RE, we discussed the story of Noah’s Ark, looking at the real meaning of it and discovering it’s about trust, forgiveness, hope and promises. In geography, we explored the weather using wind socks, weather vanes, thermometers and okta grids and created a weather map over two weeks using symbols. In PSHE, we looked at how we can stay healthy by thinking about what foods, exercise and other means can keep us healthy. In ICT, we explored e-safety and how to stay safe online.
Year 2
Year 3	In English, we have been writing return narratives, focusing on creating detailed character and setting descriptions to engage the reader while in maths, we have been learning to tell the time, including using am and pm and understanding days, weeks and months. In our science topic, we have been learning about plants and pollination, exploring how plants reproduce and the important role pollinators play.
Year 4	It has been a busy and exciting half term in Year 4! In English, we completed our writing unit on refugee narratives based on the book ‘The Journey’ by Francesca Sanna. The children produced some thoughtful and imaginative pieces of writing inspired by the story. In maths, we have been learning all about decimals and money, and we are now moving on to our new unit on time. In science, we explored electricity by investigating conductors and insulators, as well as designing and making our own switches. In DT, we have had lots of fun working on a sewing project, where we are creating our own book covers complete with a fastening. In RE, we have been learning about liturgy and developing our understanding of its importance and meaning. We have also been enjoying our art, PE and music lessons with our specialist teachers and we look forward to starting cricket next half term.
Year 5	In English, we have just begun a new unit based on a lovely version of King Kong written by Anthony Browne. This book has lovely pictures and lots of ambitious vocabulary – we have really enjoyed it so far. We have nearly finished our work in maths on angles and are about to begin a unit on 3D shape. Each week, we are also working on our arithmetic and times tables skills. Please do support your child by reminding them to use TTRS or use other ways of learning/testing them on their times tables. We are enjoying learning about the Five Pillars of Islam in RE and are also looking forward to visiting the mosque next week. We also wanted to thank you all so much for supporting our recent Rainforest Exhibition – we raised £211 so thank you for your generosity.
Year 6