Key Dates
Wednesday 17th January
Curriculum Evening at 6:30 pm
Thursday 18th January
Year 1 Cornflower class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Monday 22nd - Wednesday 24th January
Chinese Dragon Dance Workshops
Thursday 25th January
Year 6 Elder class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Friday 26th January
PSA Reception cake sale
PSA Cinema Night for Years 5 & 6
Thursday 1st February
Year 5 Lime class parent assembly at 9:00 am
PSA Meeting at school at 7:30 pm
Friday 2nd February
NSPCC Number Day - more information to follow
Monday 5th - Friday 9th February - Wellness & Wellbeing Week
Thursday 8th February
Year 4 Yew class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Friday 9th February
HOME LEARNING SHOWCASE for Years 1 - 6
PSA Nursery cake sale
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. Term dates for the 2024/2025 school year are now published.
Reminders
Lunchtime & after school clubs
Clubs start next week, except Athletics which starts on Friday 26th January and Gardening, which starts after the February half-term break on Tuesday 20th February. We do have a few places left for the following school-run clubs which can be booked through ParentPay: Start to Sing on Tuesdays (Years 1-2); Choir on Wednesdays (Years 3-6); Keyboards on Thursday lunchtimes (Years 3-6); Football on Thursdays (Years 5-6); and Khalsa Karate on Fridays (Years 1-6). For clubs run by external providers, please contact the provider directly.
This term's Home Learning Grids for children in Years 1 to 6 are published on the Google Classroom. All work should be completed for the children's Home Learning Showcases on Friday 9th February.
Your year group weekly news is published every Friday afternoon on your child's Home Learning Google Classroom. Please note that Google Classroom should not be used to contact your class teacher. If you would like to speak to a teacher, please email the school office who will forward your query. Thank you.
Community Litter Pick
Miss Evans and our Eco-Schools Committee are organising a community litter pick on the last Saturday of every month this term. If you would like to join them on Saturday 27th January, please let them know here. The litter pick will take place from 10:00 - 11:15 am and all are welcome! You can read more about the Eco-Schools programme and this initiative here.
Welcome back to the spring term. We hope you had a restful break and that the children have enjoyed their first week back. We have an exciting term ahead!
Parents' Evening will be held on Tuesday 26th March from 4:00 - 7:00 pm and Wednesday 27th March from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. On Wednesday 27th March, school will close at 1:30 pm to allow for Parent's Evening appointments. School will also close early at 1:30 pm the following day, Thursday 28th March, which is the last day of the spring term.
Fern Hill Curriculum Evening
We are pleased to confirm details of our Curriculum Evening on Wednesday 17th January 2024. This annual event is an excellent opportunity for you to gain a greater insight into different aspects of teaching and learning at Fern Hill and will include Q&A with the Senior Leadership Team.
The Curriculum Evening will be held in the Large Hall. Doors will open at 6:20 pm and the event will start at 6:30 with a short welcome presentation. The workshop sessions will begin at 6:45 pm and run consecutively, covering a wide range of topics: our curriculum; our personal development offer; safeguarding, maths progression and writing for pleasure. You can read a summary of the content of these sessions below. The evening will end at 8:30 pm.
To register for the Curriculum Evening, please click here. The closing date for registration is Tuesday 16th January at 5:00 pm. Please note that this event is for parents and carers only and not intended for the children.
Fern Hill Curriculum Evening Workshop Sessions
Our Curriculum
At Fern Hill, we are extremely passionate about instilling an enduring love of learning through a stimulating and ambitious curriculum. In this session, you will find out more about our whole school curriculum aims and how these are realised in practice.
Our Personal Development Offer
Developing the whole child is one of our core aims. This session will provide an opportunity to hear more about how we provide rich experiences and exceptional personal development opportunities beyond the academic curriculum so that our pupils flourish and thrive socially and emotionally, physically and mentally.
Our Safeguarding Curriculum
Ensuring that our pupils know how to stay safe so that they can thrive as citizens in the modern world is a top priority. Find out more about our approach to ensure this by hearing more about how our PSHE curriculum teaches our pupils to stay safe, our wonderful wellbeing offer and how we encourage our children to build and sustain positive relationships.
Maths Progression at Fern Hill
Do you ever wonder how children learn mathematics and how it has changed since you attended school? This session will be an opportunity to hear more about the key methods and vocabulary that we use to teach the four operations in Maths as children progress through school to ensure Maths Mastery.
Writing for Pleasure
Is your child a reluctant writer? This session will share some practical ideas on how you can encourage your child to start writing for pleasure at home.
Book of the Week
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín
Pedro Martin is a 'Mexikid' - a child of Mexican parents, born in the USA, and this graphic novel memoir tells the story of their family road trip to Mexico to collect their elderly grandfather and bring him back to live with them in America.
Pedro has heard stories about how his Abuelito lived through the Mexican Revolution, and he imagines him as a superhero figure. But can the man live up to his expectations? And, as Pedro is one of nine children, will his grandfather even remember him or be interested in all the Star Wars knowledge he has to share?
Pedro's reminiscences are as wildly, joyfully bizarre as the unregulated Mexican toys they buy at the Mercado in Tijuana - from a disgusting story of snot and pop-rocks to a poignant cemetery exhumation. But the heart of the story - a boy trying to build a relationship with a grandparent he doesn't know - is universally relatable and very moving. The Raina Telgemeier-style illustrations are clear and engaging and this is a warm, empathy-inducing story.
TEAM POINTS
The overall winner this week is KINGSTON
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Kingston
164
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Coombe
152
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Richmond
159
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Hampton
132
PSA News & Events
Happy New Year to all our families!
Next PSA Meeting - Thursday 1st February
Our next PSA meeting is on Thursday 1st February and may also be attended virtually (link to follow), so do come along if you can!
Cinema Night for Years 5 & 6
We have organised a fabulous Cinema Night for Years 5 & 6 on Friday 26th January, 5.30 - 7.30 pm. We will be showing the lively adventure movie JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND which is rated PG. Tickets cost £8 and include a hot dog (meat or vegetarian), a soft drink, popcorn and some sweets (suitable vegetarians and halal). This is a drop-off event for Fern Hill children in Years 5 & 6 only, with parent volunteers supervising. Don't forget to book your tickets! Sales close on Friday 19th, so book now to avoid disappointment!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Cinema Night organisers are still looking for adult helpers for the event so please, please volunteer if you can. Our events can’t run without you, and we’d love some friendly faces to support us. For Cinema Night, help is needed with set up from 4:30 pm and, at the event itself, checking the children in, serving food and supervising from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, with a short tidy-up after. Please let your Class Rep know if you can volunteer. Thank you!
Inspiration 