Key Dates
Monday 25th September
Pupil photographs (from Monday 25th - Wednesday 27th September)
Wednesday 27th September
Author visit from Cressida Cowell
PSA Teddy Bears' Picnic for Reception at 3:15 pm
Friday 29th September
PSA Macmillan Coffee Morning at 9:00 am
Thursday 5th October
PSA meeting in school at 7:00 pm
Tuesday 10th October
Flu immunisations in school
Friday 13th October
PSA Year 5 cake sale
Saturday 14th October
PSA Pumpkin Hunt for Nursery to Year 2 children
Monday 16th October
Author visit from Jack Meggit-Phillips
Wednesday 18th October
Parents' Evening from 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Thursday 19th October
Parents' Evening from 2:00 to 6:00 pm
SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM ON THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER
Friday 20th October
Home Learning Showcase
Key dates for this school year are published here. Some of these dates are provisional, and all dates are subject to change — please refer to this newsletter and communications via ParentPay for the latest information.
Click here for term dates including INSET days.
Reminders
Pupil photographs
From Monday 25th to Wednesday 27th our school photographer will be in school to take individual pupil and sibling photographs. These will be available to purchase before the half-term break. Children should come to school next week looking smart and wearing the correct school uniform, including a school jumper or cardigan and, if they are in Years 3 - 6, a school tie.
Safety on site
For everyone's safety, please do not ride scooters or bikes anywhere on the school site - this includes the car park and pedestrian area running between Fern Hill and The Kingston Academy. Adults and children should dismount at the Richmond Road entrance. Thank you.
Year group weekly news
Your year group weekly news is published every Friday afternoon on the Home Learning Google Classroom. Click here for information about how we use the Classroom. Reception and Nursery will be sending their news through ParentPay for the next few weeks as they transition to the Classroom.
This half-term's Home Learning Grids for Years 1 - 6 are posted on your child's Home Learning Google Classroom, along with other home learning resources. Children will share their home learning pieces with their year group and teachers during the Home Learning Showcase on Friday 20th October.
Lost Property
A lost property box is located in each playground by the water fountains. Please check these boxes for lost items before contacting the school office. We will always endeavour to return items to their owner, so please make sure everything your child brings to school is clearly named (first name and surname), including water bottles and packed lunch containers. Items not collected by the end of every half-term are disposed of.
We’ve had a great start to the new school year. Welcome Week was all about settling in and celebrating the diversity of each class; children and teachers spent time focusing on activities that create a sense of belonging and togetherness, getting to know each other and remembering the expectations and routines of the day. We are all really looking forward to the busy term ahead!
A special welcome to all our new families joining us this term throughout the school and thank you to all the parents and carers who came to their year group Parents' Welcome Meetings; we hope you found them useful and informative. The information presented is available on the Google Classroom.
Punctuality
Please may we remind you of the importance of children being on time and settled in their classrooms before the start of the school day. Your child may go straight to class once their playground gates are opened at 8:40 am; class registers are taken at 8:50 am when the playground gates are locked. Children arriving after the gates are locked should go directly to school reception to be signed in. Arrivals after 8:55 am are marked as late. The first 10–15 minutes of the morning are used for revisiting key skills such as handwriting, spelling, reading, times tables and arithmetic, which pupils start before the registers are taken. Further information on the timing of the school day can be found here.
Consent for Local Visits
Please don't forget to complete the generic consent form, giving permission for your child to take part in local visits out of school this school year. Local visits are those within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames or where the children will travel by foot to their destination, walking for a maximum duration of 45 minutes. You will still receive advanced notice and details of these trips, but you will not need to complete a consent form for each one. We will continue to ask for your consent for visits that are not local, or for which we are asking for a voluntary monetary contribution. If you have more than one child at Fern Hill, you should complete a separate consent form for each child.
Cauliflower Cards is a fundraising project run by the PSA. Children can design their own Christmas cards which are then professionally printed and delivered back to school - a lovely way to welcome in the autumn and every order placed raises money for the school too!
Cauliflower cards don’t just offer cards; your child’s design can be printed on notebooks, mugs and even wrapping paper and gift labels! Their design doesn’t have to be festive either – they may like to create a thank you or birthday card.
The children will have brought home a Cauliflower Cards project pack this week that includes an order form and a sheet of plain, white A4 paper on which they create their design. Please follow the instructions on the order form regarding placing your order, payment and returning your child’s artwork. Orders and payment are made online, directly with Cauliflower Cards, before returning your order forms with artwork attached to your class teacher. Each order form has a unique code, so please do not photocopy it to use for a second design. If you need another order form, please email the school office. For some great design ideas using lots of different materials, have a look at the Cauliflower Cards gallery.
The deadline for placing an order and paying online AND returning your design artwork to your class teacher is Friday 29th September.
Book of the Week
‘‘The Destiny of Minou Moonshine’ by Gita Ralleigh
Minou, or ‘Sparrow’ as she is known to her friends, has lived on a dilapidated houseboat with her adopted Grandmother since the day she was found abandoned as a baby during the monsoon, thirteen years earlier. Their home, the former Queendom of Moonlally, is suffering under the oppressive rule of a tyrannical General, but a rebel force called The Green Orchid is fighting for freedom and to restore the power of the goddess called the ‘Dark Lady’. When a terrible tragedy occurs, Minou is swept up in a thrilling adventure involving airships, mechanical elephants and ferocious crocodiles. Minou is a feisty and determined protagonist who fiercely protects and defends her friends, but when her world is upended, will Minou have the courage to step into her destiny? This story is set in an alternative, steampunk version of India called ‘Indica’ – a vivid world, full of colour and magic. ‘The Destiny of Minou Moonshine’ is a captivating and atmospheric read, perfect for fans of Nizrana Farook and Radiya Hafiza’s ‘Rumaysa’.
Team Points
The overall winner this week is Kingston
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Kingston
481
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Coombe
393
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Richmond
469
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Hampton
409
PSA News & Events
Reception Teddy Bears' Picnic - Wednesday 27th September
There is still time to book tickets for the Teddy Bears' Picnic for Reception children in the Large Hall on Wednesday 27th September. The event will start straight after dismissal at 3:15 pm. Due to space restrictions and so that all Reception children have the opportunity to attend, sadly, we cannot accommodate siblings and ask that only one parent or carer per child attends. Thank you!
Macmillan Coffee Morning - Friday 29th September
We hope you can join us for our annual coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research next Friday 29th September, in the Small Hall from 9:00 - 10:00 am. Donations of shop-bought or home-made cakes would be very gratefully received - please bring your donations along to the coffee morning or leave them on the trolley in the school reception foyer at drop off if you would like to donate but cannot attend. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet old and new friends, and support the amazing work of this charity!
PSA Meeting - Thursday 5th October
Our first meeting of the new school year is on Thursday 5th October, in school, at 7:00 pm. Please join us and help plan our events calendar!
Inspiration 