Key Dates
Wednesday 13th March
Year 4 visit to the Polka Theatre
Reception visit to Petersham Park
Thursday 14th March
Year 6 Willow class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Friday 15th March
Comic Relief Red Nose Day - wear something red mufti day in aid of Comic Relief
PSA Easter Egg Hunt tombola donations drop off
PSA Mother's Day Breakfast
Tuesday 19th March
Year 5 visit to the Easter Experience
Wednesday 20th March
Year 3 visit to Kew Gardens
Thursday 21st March
Year 5 Sycamore class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Friday 22nd March
HOME LEARNING SHOWCASE for Years 1 - 6
PSA Year 4 cake sale
Saturday 23rd March
Fern Hill Community Litter Pick - meet at school at 10:00 am
PSA Easter Egg Hunt at school from 12:30 - 2:30 pm
Monday 25th March
Parents' Evening for Heather, Chestnut & Lime classes only
Tuesday 26th March
Parents' Evening from 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Wednesday 27th March
Parents' Evening from 2:00 to 6:00 pm
SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM ON WEDNESDAY 27TH MARCH
Thursday 28th March - last day of term & mufti (non-uniform) day
SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM ON THURSDAY 28TH MARCH
Friday 29th March - Friday 12th April
EASTER BREAK
Children return to school on Monday 15th April
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
Secondary Schools
Congratulations to our Year 6 children who received their offers of a secondary school place this week. Please don't forget that the deadline to accept or decline your offer is Friday 15th March. You must do this via the eAdmissions website. If you are taking up a place at an independent school, please let the school office know.
Tree Tops
If you plan to use Childcare Vouchers or Tax-free Childcare (TFC) payments to pay for Tree Tops sessions next term, please ensure you arrange for their transfer by Monday 18th March. The school is closed over the Easter break and any vouchers or payments received after this date may not be processed until school reopens.
Parents' Evening
Please don't forget to book your Parents' Evening appointment. The booking window closes at 12:00 pm next Friday 15th March.
Don't forget to read your year group weekly news, published every Friday afternoon on Google Classroom. Home learning should be completed in time for the Home Learning Showcase on Friday 22nd March.
Get Red Nose Reddy!
Next Friday 15th March, we will be fundraising for Comic Relief. The day is all about spreading some joy, coming together as a community and, through the charity Comic Relief, supporting some incredible projects and organisations that are fighting the impact of poverty, conflict and climate change on people across the UK and around the world.
Friday is a mufti day and everyone is invited to wear something red in return for a £1 donation to Comic Relief. We'll be setting up a JustGiving page, so look out for the link we will send you next week.
World Book Day
On Thursday, we celebrated our love of reading with lots of different literacy-related activities and assemblies, and some pretty fantastic character costumes and cosy pyjamas! The children have been given a World Book Day book token which can be exchanged for a free special edition World Book Day book at participating retailers or used for a £1 discount off any other book. Vouchers can be redeemed at the following retailers: Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, Your local independent bookseller eg. Regency Bookshop, until Sunday 31 March 2024.
Eco-Schools Committee Update
Congratulations to Elise in Year 5, the winner of the bird feeder competition! The Committee loved judging all the entries which have now been filled with seed and hung around the juniors' playground. Read on for details of our involvement in The Big Plastic Count next week!
Putting an end to plastic pollution!
Did you know that nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging are thrown away by UK households every year, and just 12% is recycled in the UK? Next week, over 90,000 schools, households, community groups and businesses will be coming together to count their plastic waste. And we are joining them! The information gathered will be used to convince the Government to lead the way for the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty - an international legal agreement to prevent the harmful impacts of plastic - which is being negotiated right now. Tally your household plastic waste over the week using this sheet and bring it back to school on Monday 18th; we'll enter the data on the Big Plastic Count database for you. The children have all been given a tally sheet to take home - and there are copies in the school office too, if you would like to pick one up. We will find out how much of our plastic waste would, on average, be collected for recycling, what’s then likely to happen to it, and what that means for Fern Hill's plastic footprint.
Book of the Week
‘Can You See the Stars Tonight?’ by Anna Terreros-Martin (Spark! Early Readers Shortlist)
‘Can You See The Stars Tonight?’ follows Nora and her pet puffin as they realise that the stars are not bright enough to guide young pufflings to where they need to be. Can the two of them, and all of us, make a difference? This is a beautifully illustrated and unique story that will encourage children to think about the impact of light pollution on our natural world.
TEAM POINTS
The overall winner this week is HAMPTON
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Kingston
191
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Coombe
179
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Richmond
171
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Hampton
197
PSA News & Events
Bounce4Books - donate until 18 March!
We hope your children enjoyed bouncing for books today! You can donate in cash (please hand in to the school office with your child's sponsorship form and Gift Aid declaration completed, if possible) or through the JustGiving page. Thank you for your support - you're helping us to buy some wonderful new books for the school libraries and classrooms. A huge thanks to all the parent volunteers today too!
School Lottery - our first draw is tomorrow!
Our first draw is tomorrow! Good luck if you have already purchased tickets and if you missed this month's cut off, you can still buy tickets for the next draw which will take place on Saturday 30th March. Sign up here.
Easter Egg Hunt for Nursery - Year 2 - tombola collection on Friday 15th March
Our Easter Egg Hunt for children in Nursery through to Year 2 is on Saturday 23rd March from 12:30 - 2:30 pm. We're planning a fun prize tombola for the children on the day, and we would be hugely grateful if families could raid their cupboards for donations of...
- age-appropriate toys and books in good condition
- children’s toiletries / bath bombs
- stationery
- a ‘treat jar’ (a jam or spice jar filled with sweets/small toys)
Please remember, no alcohol or nuts!
You can leave your donations on the trolley outside the school office on Friday 15th March. Tombolas are hugely popular with the children, so please do get involved! Tickets will be available for the event very soon. Watch this space….
Thank you!
Inspiration 