St Mary's Newsletter

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

Dear Parents & Carers,

Summer Fair

We all have our fingers firmly crossed that this rain will stop and the weather will be wonderful for our Summer Fair on Saturday (the weather forecast says it will). A lot of hard work by the PSA has gone into prepararing for the last Summer Fair at Church Lane so we hope that lots of you will come along, and have spread the word to other families who have a connection with the school. It’s from 12pm to 4pm and as well as the usual fun and games, there will be the talent show plus some entertainment for you all. If you haven’t returned your raffle tickets yet, please take them to the ticket table on the day. See the poster below for more details.

Class Dojo

You will have received (or will shortly) a request to set up a Class Dojo account. This is a way that we will be sharing information with you about classes, and what they are up to. When setting up your account, if you see a request for a premium account or for any payment, please don’t click on it. This is free for you to use.

Year 4 and Year 5 next year

You may have heard some talk about some changes to the way the current Year 4 and Year 5 will be structured next year. If you want to find out more, you can read the letter that has been sent to the families involved Y4 & Y5 Letter and send any questions you may have to office@stmarysn8.co.uk in advance of the meeting at Rectory Gardens next Thursday 18th June at 4.30pm.

Parent Survey

You will receive a link on Monday to complete the annual survey for parents. We are keen to capture your views on the school, so please take the time to complete it. It should only take a few minutes.

SchoolMoney

We said recently that we would be moving our payments system to Arbor, but would like to let you know that this is not happening at the moment. We will let you know if we revisit. Please continue to use SchoolMoney to make any payments.

Paris Trip and other experiences

Year 5 had wonderful day in Paris last week. The weather was kind and the children thoroughly enjoyed their experience, especially ordering crepes in French. A huge thank you to Mme Williamson for all the organisation to give the children such an enriching experience. Here is a link to their day Year 5 in Paris

Reception finished their Forest School sessions with a flourish as they learned to make fire using a flint and steel, which allowed them to toast marshmallows.

Year 3, 4 and 5 also had visitors all the way from Hong Kong who shared insights into their life and gave the children tutorials on a variety of cultural things – you can read more here Hong Kong Students visit St Mary’s

I look forward to seeing you at the fair.

Best wishes,

Debbie Butcher

Consultant Headteacher

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Important Dates – please make a note

Saturday 13th June – Summer Fair @ CL 12-4pm
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
Friday 26th June – Y3 trip to Crazy Golf and Trent Park
Friday 26th June – Y6 trip to Ally Pally Ice Rink
Monday 29th June – Y5 to Rowans Bowlling
Tuesday 30th June – Violins Assembly Y4, and Y5/6 continuers – 11.00am
Wednesday 1st July – Paris Assembly – 9.10am
Wednesday 1st July – Y3 Nature Walk
Wednesday 1st July – Year 4 to Wood Green Library (afternoon)
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 – 6-8pm
Wednesday 8th July – Y4 trip to Rowans Bowling
Thursday 9th July – New Nursery and Reception Stay & Play 9.30-11am
Thursday 9th July – Year 1 to Bruce Castle
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 School Meals – The Government is changing the way that Free school meal (FSM) eligibility is awarded. This is due to the way the Universal Credit is calculated. If you were previously entitled, you may no longer be eligible to receive it. Between now and the end of term, we will be running checks on all families who have been receiving FSM up to now, to find out if this will continue in the next academic year. If the check comes back as NO, that means you will no longer receive holiday vouchers, and may not be eligible for discounts on some services at school (although please contact us if you think it’s wrong or you need support).All meals are currently free for all children from Reception to Year 6 so you won’t have to start paying for those.

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.

Important Dates – please make a note

Saturday 13th June – Summer Fair @ CL 12-4pm
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
Friday 26th June – Y6 trip to Ally Pally Ice Rink
Tuesday 30th June – Violins Assembly Y4, and Y5/6 continuers – 11.00am
Wednesday 1st July – Paris Assembly – 9.10am
Wednesday 1st July – Y3 Nature Walk
Wednesday 1st July – Year 4 to Wood Green Library (afternoon)
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 – 6-8pm
Thursday 9th July – New Nursery and Reception Stay & Play 9.30-11am
Thursday 9th July – Year 1 to Bruce Castle
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 School Meals – The Government is changing the way that Free school meal (FSM) eligibility is awarded. This is due to the way the Universal Credit is calculated. If you were previously entitled, you may no longer be eligible to receive it. Between now and the end of term, we will be running checks on all families who have been receiving FSM up to now, to find out if this will continue in the next academic year. If the check comes back as NO, that means you will no longer receive holiday vouchers, and may not be eligible for discounts on some services at school (although please contact us if you think it’s wrong or you need support).All meals are currently free for all children from Reception to Year 6 so you won’t have to start paying for those.

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?

Class News

Nursery
Reception	The children had an amazing time at their last forest school session. As well as building dens, painting with natural materials and cooking in the mud kitchen, children learned to make a fire with a flint and steel. Once the fire got going we toasted marshmallows and had hot chocolate! In English, we have started a new unit of work based on ‘The Storm Whale’ by Benji Davies. The children are becoming much more independent in their writing and they have all had a go at writing about how they would help a stranded whale. In maths, we are learning about patterns. Children are creating and continuing patterns in lots of different ways. In RE, we have started a new unit ‘What can we learn from stories?’ and children have talked about the Christian stories of ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘The Wise and Foolish Builders’, talking about why Christians believe that Jesus told these stories
Year 1	This week, Year 1 completed their Phonics Screening Check. They have worked really hard on their phonics all year to make sure that they were ready and they all did an absolutely incredible job. Well done Year 1! In RE this week, we learnt about the two main Jewish symbols, the Star of David and the Menorah and considered what symbols could reflect our own lives. In DT, we were learning about where different fruits and vegetables grow and found out that which parts of different fruit and vegetable plants we eat. In PSHE, we learnt about the different rights and responsibilities we have in schools and what consequences we could face if we break the school rules. In science, we learnt about the different parts of a plant and drew and labelled our own plants. We also continue to monitor the sunflowers that we planted last week and they are starting to grow. In ICT, we used Busy Things to create algorithms to move a sprite. We also continue to practice reading, phonics and high frequency words daily
Year 2	Year 2 has had an incredibly busy and creative few weeks! Inspiring Authors and Engineers – in English, we have been reading the fantastic book Rosie Revere, Engineer written by Andrea Beaty. Inspired by Rosie’s creativity, the children are diving into an exciting writing project. They will soon be drafting brilliant descriptions of their very own wonderful inventions! Mastering Data in Maths – we have also turned into statistic experts in our maths lessons. The children are learning how to collect and interpret data. They have practiced using a variety of practical tools, including: Tally charts to gather information quickly / Tables to keep data organised / Pictograms to show numbers with pictures / Block graphs to visually compare amounts. We are so proud of how hard the children are working!
Year 3	In English, we have been writing letters, focusing on organising our ideas clearly and using appropriate language and features for the purpose and audience. In maths, we have been learning to measure and draw lengths accurately using centimetres and metres, as well as comparing different measurements. In history, we have been learning about Ancient Greece, exploring the different city-states, key aspects of Greek life, and the influence of Greek gods and goddesses
Year 4	In English, we have begun a new unit on invention narratives, inspired by the book Manfish. This fascinating story explores the life and achievements of Jacques Cousteau, and will inspire our own creative writing. In maths, we have been learning how to tell the time using both analogue clocks and 12-hour and 24-hour digital formats. We have now moved on to our new unit on shape, where we will be exploring the properties of shapes and angles. In RE, we are learning about the Gurus of Sikhism and the important role they played in shaping the Sikh faith. In science, we have started an exciting new unit on states of matter, which will involve lots of practical investigations and opportunities for scientific enquiry. In geography, we are exploring climate change, including climate zones around the world and the reasons why our climate is changing. Keep an eye out for updates on our dojo class story, as we have lots of exciting activities and experiences planned over the coming weeks!
Year 5	In English, we have planned our stories based on the exciting book of ‘King Kong’ by Anthony Browne. We have worked on using speech to express how a character is feeling and short sentences to create suspense and intrigue. We have just finished our unit on geometry in maths including coordinates, translation and symmetry. We have now begun work on adding and subtracting decimals. Also, we have been answering problem and reasoning questions. We have just finished our unit on Islam and are about to start work on Buddhism.
Year 6	During our English lessons, we have begun looking at ‘Documentary Narrative’ writing, looking at nature documentaries and replicating the style of script. In science, we have continued to study the circulatory system and the process of osmosis through an observation involving gummy bears while in geography, we have continued our study of the polar regions. As you are no doubt aware, we are rehearsing for our school production of Treasure Island. Thank you for any help you have given to assisting your child in learning their lines so far. We will soon be sending a letter requesting a base costume for each child, but this should be making use of old school uniform and has already been discussed with the children. Thank you for your kind donations for the Summer Fair tombola – we look forward to seeing you on the 13th for the fair itself. Lastly, your child should have brought to you a QR code so you can sign up to ‘Class Dojo’ where you can receive news and updates on the class.