Loading

HeadTeacher's Update Autumn Term Week 12

Dear Parents,

One of the most important aspects of our school is our kind and caring community and, following our focus on Anti-Bullying Week last week, I was delighted to present ten of our pupils with a Headteacher's Award for reaching out and showing kindness as part of the initiative. They were all nominated by their teachers for going above and beyond in helping their fellow pupils and I am pleased that so many of them are developing this vital characteristic of our pupil profile.

We are also very proud of our Year 5 and 6 pupils this week who have been taking part in the Mathematical Association's Primary Maths Challenge, an annual event open to primary schools nationally. They have exceeded expectations, with many being awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates and some will go on to compete against other schools next term. They have worked really hard at this core area of the curriculum and it is brilliant to see so many of them taking part in these extra challenges.

Nativity Reminders

There is only one week to go until our Pre-Prep children perform their first Nativity for an in-person audience in two years! Due to the timing of the performance on Friday 2nd December, there will be no Celebration Assembly. The final Celebration Assembly of the year will be on Thursday 8th December, the day before the Carol Service.

For parents of children taking part in the Nativity, please remember to send them to school wearing shorts and a white t-shirt under their tracksuit on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd December. This will be worn under their costumes.

Spring After-School Clubs

Next week we will be sending out a communication with information about the After-School clubs on offer next term, including pricing and booking information. We would appreciate it if you could make your choices by Monday 5 December so we can finalise numbers before the Christmas Holidays.

Christmas Holiday Club

This year's Christmas Holiday Club will run from Monday 12 December to Wednesday 21 December for children aged 3 to 11. We hope you will join us for all the festive sports and crafts activities, including Christmas Whacky Races, gingerbread decorating and a special Christmas treasure hunt! Booking is now open - follow the link below to secure your child's place.

Online Safety Update

We have been made aware of a new app called Picnic that young children may be using, which is similar to TikTok but with an age rating of 9+. It allows users to message and chat to any other users, putting children at risk from talking to strangers who may try to deceive them. There is also concern around image sharing as they are no longer under the child's control once uploaded.

Please be vigilant about what your child is accessing, the age ratings of films, series and games they watch and play and the age limits on social media and messaging platforms. Did you know that WhatsApp in particular has a minimum age limit of 16? These limits are designed to protect our young people from exposure to harmful content beyond their years of understanding and ability to cope. For a better understanding of the legal definitions of content ratings in gaming, visit the Pan European Game Information website, and if you need to report an incident you can do so on the Thinkuknow website.

Autumn Book Awards - Year 4 to 6

It is wonderful to see so many pupils developing their love of reading at St Edward's, including taking part in the Awesome Book Awards 2023 voting. This opportunity is open to all children in Year 4 to 6 but Year 5 and 6 have had the first chance to read the books on the list due to a limited supply. To find out more about the awards, how we will submit our votes and the availability of the books, please read the letter linked below from our English Coordinator, Connor Hounsome.

Good Luck LAMDA Students

We would like to wish all pupils from across the school who are taking their LAMDA exams this Sunday the best of luck and we look forward to hearing how everybody gets on.

Staff Update

Please give a warm welcome to the two newest members of the St Edward's Prep team. Jade Beard is our new Early Years Teaching Assistant who will be supporting Mrs Turner with looking after our Little Griffins pupils and Cara McNicolls-Norbury joins us as a one-to-one Teaching Assistant.

After Christmas, Miss Rush will finish working in the Early Years classroom but will still be continuing with the LAMDA programme, running a number of after-school clubs, as well as taking on our Little Hatchlings Stay and Play. Amy has been a positive and caring member of the Little Griffins Team but wants to move back to her passion of teaching Drama.

We are also excited to share the happy news that our Head of Music and Drama, Hayley Hagyard, is expecting her second child next year and we wish her many congratulations from all of the St Edward's community. Mrs Hagyard will be looking to start her maternity leave in May so we have plenty of time to get prepared.

Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing lots of you at the Nativity performance next week.

Best wishes,

Jonathan