Key Dates
Tuesday 29th November - Thursday 1st December
Scholastic Book Fair in school - open 3:00 - 4:00 pm in the Junior Library on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Tuesday 29th November
Flu immunisations in school
Year 5 workshop - Science Dome
Wednesday 30th November
Year 6 visit to Imperial War Museum
Reception (Bluebell & Poppy) local walk
Thursday 1st December
Lime class parent assembly at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
Reception (Sunflower) local walk
Friday 2nd December
PSA Festive Hamper Donation Day - children can wear their own clothes in return for a donation (see below)
PSA Year 3 Cake Sale at 3:15 pm
PSA Festive Magic Show for Year 1 & 2 at 5:15 pm
Thursday 8th December
Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day - more information to follow
Year 1 workshop - Amazing Animals
Nursery Festive Concert at 2:30 pm in Daisy class
Friday 9th December
Home Learning Showcase for children in Year 1 - 6
Reception Festive Concert at 9:15 am in the Large Hall
PSA Year 2 Cake Sale at 3:15 pm
PSA Festive Discos for Year 3 & 4 at 5:30 - 6:45 pm and Year 5 & 6 at 7:15 - 8:30 pm
Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th December
Christmas tree sale outside school
Monday 12th December
Year 1 Festive Concert at 9:15 am in the Large Hall
Year 2 Festive Concert at 2:45 pm in the Large Hall
Tuesday 13th December
Year 3 - 6 Festive Concert at All Saints Church, Kingston (see below)
PSA Pre-loved Fashion Event at 7:00 pm in school
Wednesday 14th December
Christmas Lunch in school
Thursday 15th December
Class Christmas parties (MUFTI / dress up day) and pantomime performances
Friday 16th December - last day of term & MUFTI (non-uniform) day
SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM
Saturday 17th December
Christmas tree sale outside school
Monday 19th December - Tuesday 3rd January
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Tuesday 3rd January
INSET Day - children are not in school
Wednesday 4th January
Children return to school
Reminders
Booking for Tree Tops
Please note that Tuesdays and Thursdays are now fully booked for the remainder of this term.
Home Learning Grids
This half-term's Home Learning Grids are posted on your Home Learning Google Classrooms. Work should be completed in time for the class Home Learning Showcases in school on Friday 9th December.
Pupil Photographs
If you have purchased a photograph of your child, delivery is due to school at the end of next week. We will let you know when the photographs arrive and will send them home to you with your child.
Google Classroom
Your year group weekly news is published every Friday afternoon on your child's Home Learning Google Classroom. Click here for information about how we use the Google Classroom.
Thank you so much to all the children and staff who showed their support for BBC Children in Need by wearing spots and to all the families who purchased Pudsey badges and key rings, donated through our dedicated JustGiving page and bought cakes after school. We have raised £616! There’s still time to donate via JustGiving (we will be keeping the page open until the end of term). Thank you!
Thank you to the PSA for running another second hand school uniform sale today. There are two more planned for this school year: Friday 24th February (also a dressing up costume sale to coincide with World Book Day) & Friday 19th May (also sports kit).
A number of new members of staff have recently joined the Fern Hill community. Welcome to our three new Teaching Assistants, Mrs Rutley, Mrs Rudd and Mrs Robertson who are supporting in Reception, Year 1 and 2. In the school office, Miss Knight has joined the team, working on Mondays and Fridays. Please pop by and say hello!
From Tuesday 29th November to Thursday 1st December, Mrs Rouillard, our school librarian, will be running a pop-up bookshop in school. During the school day, children will be able to browse over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, from award-winners and new releases to beloved favourites and bestsellers, and the bookshop will be open for purchases each day from 3:00 - 4:00 pm in the junior library (entry via the junior library door). This is a great opportunity to stock up on Christmas presents and, for every book bought, you will also help us to earn free books for our libraries.
The easiest way to pay for books at the Fair is to pre-purchase gift vouchers available here although we will be able to accept cash and use Scholastic's online payment system.
Book Fair Poster Competition Winners
Congratulations to our competition winners who have each won a voucher to spend at the Book Fair: Krishan (Bracken), Manuela (Heather), Mathias (Beech), Hayley (Chestnut) and Nell (Sycamore).
Book of the Week: 'The Girl Who Lost a Leopard' by Nizrana Farook
Selvi spends a lot of time roaming the mountains and forests of Serendib but she’s not lonely because she has Lokka the leopard to keep her company. But when a gang of poachers set their sights on Lokka, Selvi must try to convince him to go somewhere safe. But she won’t be able to protect Lokka alone…
'The Girl Who Lost a Leopard' is another thrilling and atmospheric animal adventure from the author of 'The Girl Who Stole an Elephant'.
Festive Concerts
Please make a note of the dates of our year group Festive Concerts in December. Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children will perform their concerts at school; children in Year 3 - 6 will perform at All Saints Church in Kingston. We will be sending out a letter on Monday with further information about the concerts at All Saints Church.
Nursery - Thursday 8th December at 2:30 pm in Daisy classroom
Reception – Friday 9th December at 9:15 am in the Large Hall
Year 1 – Monday 12th December at 9:15 am in the Large Hall
Year 2 – Monday 12th December at 2:45 pm in the Large Hall
Years 3 & 4 – Tuesday 13th December at 10:15 am at All Saints Church, Kingston
Years 5 & 6 – Tuesday 13th December at 1:30 pm at All Saints Church, Kingston
Further information about all our end of term festive celebrations will be sent out next week.
Sports News
Over the next few weeks, the children have an added incentive to complete their Daily Mile: Can they help the reindeer get back to Lapland in time to help Father Christmas?
Each class has a reindeer trying to complete the 2000 miles before 16th December. Each day that there is a completed Daily Mile, the reindeer will move 100 miles closer to the destination.
Will they reach there in time? Will Father Christmas have his full team to pull his sleigh on Christmas Eve? We'll let you know!
- Mrs Lawn, Sports Lead
Spelling at Fern Hill
This year, we are implementing a new approach to teaching spelling which places the emphasis on ‘teaching not testing’. Research tells us that spelling tests that focus on different word lists each week are not the most effective approach to improving spelling for many children. This is because whilst a child may consistently achieve highly in their weekly spelling test, for many, the spelling is not retained and not applied in writing. Additionally, children who may need to develop their memory skills struggle to succeed in spelling tests – this can be demoralising and impacts their confidence as a writer overall.
Instead of weekly spelling tests, children from Year 2 upwards are using this time to investigate spelling patterns and tricks for themselves in a collaborative and interactive way. Alongside this, children have additional regular short spelling sessions throughout the week to revisit key patterns and common errors. This revisiting is the key to ensure children can remember and apply spellings in their writing. Your child will not be formally tested on spelling, apart from at the very end of Year 2 and Year 6, but will be continuously assessed within their writing.
More information about the approach we are using can be found in the slides that were shared at the Curriculum Evening, published here.
TEAM POINTS
The overall winner this week is KINGSTON
-
Kingston
414
-
Coombe
404
-
Richmond
379
-
Hampton
288
PSA News & Events
Christmas Trees for sale!
Niki and her team are now taking pre-orders of Christmas trees with free local delivery on Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th December. If you would like to pre-order please email Nikicochrane@hotmail.com and specify if you would like delivery on Saturday 3rd or Sunday 4th December. Please also include the size of tree you would like, the delivery address and a contact telephone number. Niki will confirm an ETA the day before your tree is due for delivery and payment can be made by either cash or card on delivery.
Trees will also be for sale outside the front of the school on Saturday 10th, Sunday 11th & Saturday 17th December.
The trees are priced as follows: 4ft - £40; 5ft - £45; 6ft - £50; 7ft - £60; 8ft - £70.
For every tree sold, Niki and her team make a donation to us, so please buy a tree from Fern Hill and support your school!
Festive events for the children - book your tickets!
A reminder that tickets are still on sale for the Year 1 & 2 Festive Magic Show on 2nd December (5:15 - 6:30 pm), the Year 3 & 4 Festive Disco (5:30 - 6:45 pm) and the Year 5 & 6 Festive Disco (7:15 - 8:30 pm), both on 9th December. All these events are being held at school in the Large Hall. Tickets cost £5 and can be booked here.
Hamper donations and mufti day - Friday 2nd December
A reminder that Friday 2nd December is a mufti day for the children and in return we are collecting donations for our festive hamper raffle at drop off. We would love to receive your donations of luxury items such as wine, chocolates, toiletries, biscuits, chutneys etc. And any unwanted hampers would be great too...thank you!
Fern Hill Pre-loved Fashion Event - Tuesday 13th December (7:00 - 8:30 pm)
Calling all fashion lovers! We are hosting the Fern Hill Pre-loved Clothing Sale on Tuesday 13th December between 7:00 - 8:30 pm with support from Jigsaw. The school hall will be transformed into a boutique shopping venue, perfect for picking up some Christmas gifts for family and friends, or for yourself!
Further details including a link to book tickets will be released next week.
Inspiration 