Key Dates
Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th December
PSA Christmas Tree sale outside school
Friday 15th December
Nursery & Reception Festive Concert at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
PSA Year 2 cake sale
PSA Festive Disco for Years 3 & 4 (5:45 pm) and 5 & 6 (7:30 pm) in the Large Hall
Monday 18th December
Year 1 Festive Concert at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
Christmas Lunch for children & staff
Year 2 Festive Concert at 2:30 pm in the Large Hall
Tuesday 19th December
Year 3 & 4 Festive Concert at All Saints Church, Kingston (10:15 - 11:00 am)
Year 5 & 6 Festive Concert at All Saints Church, Kingston (1:30 - 2:30 pm)
Wednesday 20th December
Class Christmas parties (mufti/party dress up day) and pantomime performances
Thursday 21st December - last day of term & mufti (non-uniform) day
SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM
Friday 22nd December - Monday 8th January
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Monday 8th January
INSET Day - children are not in school
Tuesday 9th January
Children return to school
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
Last day of term
Thursday 21st December is the last day of term. It is a mufti day and the children may wear their own clothes to school - but no football kits please! School will close early on this day, and we are staggering dismissal to ensure the children can be collected promptly. Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 will be dismissed at 1:25 pm; Nursery and Years 3 - 6 will be dismissed at 1:30 pm. Tree Tops will run just one full session from 1:30 - 4:30 pm and this can be booked through ParentPay. The deadline to book will be Monday 18th December.
Parent Volunteers
If you are a volunteer reader or regularly help in the classroom, please check with your class teacher to confirm if you are needed in school over the next two weeks. Timetables tend to change at the end of term, especially at this festive time of year! Thank you for your continuing support – it is greatly appreciated by all staff and the children you work with.
Parking
Please may we remind you to park considerately, and legally, in the residential streets near to school. Please do not block our neighbours' driveways - parking restrictions apply only from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm if you do not have a resident's permit.
This week's class tournament winners are: Year 3 ROWAN, Year 4 LARCH, Year 5 SYCAMORE and Year 6 OAK. WELL DONE!
A big Fern Hill 'Welcome!' to Mrs Coelho and Mrs Greyling who have both joined us in the school office. The children will get to know them very well; parents and carers, please do drop by to say hello!
Christmas Jumper Day
Children and staff looked absolutely fantastic in their Christmas jumpers yesterday! Thank you to everyone for showing your support for Save the Children, a charity working to improve the lives of children all over the world. We've raised £160 so far! There's still time to donate through our JustGiving page here.
KCAH Christmas Appeal
Thank you for the wonderful response to the Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness (KCAH) Christmas Appeal - we have had some lovely filled shoeboxes. If you can help your child to fill an empty shoebox with basic everyday essentials for a person who is sleeping rough, such as hand sanitiser, warm socks, a hat and gloves, vitamins, heat pads or handwarmers, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and baby wipes, please bring it in by Monday 11th December when KCAH will be collecting them. You can watch a short video from KCAH on the work they do here.
Kingston's Children & Young People's Plan
Last week, a group of children from Years 5 and 6 met with Victoria Horner, Kingston's Children and Young People's Development Lead, to give their input to the new Children and Young People's Plan. Together, they looked at plans from other local authorities and the children shared their thoughts on what issues were important to them and how they could be addressed, including mental health, racism and climate change. The vision of the Children and Young People’s Plan is to provide excellent services for children, young people and their families, so that all children and young people achieve their potential, free from disadvantage, and enjoy life as active, participating citizens. This was a fantastic opportunity for the children to get involved in the local democratic process, and we were extremely proud of their thoughtful and thought-provoking feedback and ideas. The Plan will be published next year and will provide strategic direction on the community services that Kingston provides in the future.
Book of the Week
‘Speak Up!’ By Nathan Bryon & Dapo Adeola
Rocket is back and this time she is learning how to speak up for herself. Every Friday Rocket, her brother Jamal, and Mum go to the local library to change their books - it’s her favourite day of the week. Rocket loves to read and sometimes she even meets authors there, but then one day she finds out that the library is going to close. Inspired by Rosa Parks, Rocket organises a peaceful protest to raise awareness and raise money to keep the library open.
This is my favourite Rocket book so far, but I might be biased! ‘Speak Up!’ is a picture book about the importance of reading and libraries, with an inspiring message that everyone, no matter their age, can make a difference in the world when they stand up for what is important. Highly recommended!
~ Mrs Rouillard, School Librarian
Our whole school Christmas Lunch for children and staff will be held on Monday 18th December. If you would like your child to have lunch on that day, please order in the usual way through ParentPay where you will be able to make a choice from the menu.
TEAM POINTS
The overall winner this week is HAMPTON
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Kingston
155
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Coombe
139
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Richmond
130
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Hampton
203
PSA Events & News
Christmas tree sale outside school this weekend!
Christmas trees will be sold outside school on Saturday and Sunday this weekend - come along and pick out your perfect tree!
Raffle - prize collection from Friday 8th December to Friday 16th December
The raffle has been drawn today, and you will receive an email from Raffall letting you know if you have won! Prizes can be collected outside the school's main reception at pick-up time (3:00 - 3:40 pm) on Friday 8th December, and at drop-off (8:30 - 9:00 am) or pick-up (3:00 - 3:40 pm) any day next week.
Festive Discos next Friday!
We hope your children are excited about their discos next Friday! Further information about drop off and collection will be sent out next week, but please can we remind parents that tickets should not be put up for resale as we need the correct details for each child to ensure that they can be signed in and out safely. Thank you for your understanding!
Inspiration 