Newsletter 33 06/06/25

Welcome back to the last half term of the school year with, as yet, not too much sign of the Summer weather! I hope that you managed to enjoy some happy times together during the half term break. I was lucky enough to be abroad for some of the week where I discovered that Norway is one of the most expensive places that I have ever visited, as well as being a beautiful country of lakes and hillsides.

If you want to know the dates for holidays in the future, I notice that term dates for this year and next are included in this newsletter.

We started the new term with thoughts of sunnier climes as we enjoyed a lovely Spanish Day. The children and staff were dressed colourfully to welcome in the term and prepare ourselves for a transition from French to Spanish learning. A range of activities and food tasting taught us more about what wonderful Spain has to offer, with thanks to Mrs Michaels for her organisation of the day.

On the subject of languages, this Sunday in the church we are celebrating the ascent of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, where the apostles were filled with the ability to spread the Good News to people of all countries. Yesterday, St Peter class in Reception delighted their parents and friends with songs, prayers and hats of flame. Well done to our little ones for bravely performing their assembly to lots of grown ups, as well as other classes, aided by Mr Bragard & Co.

This is the season for athletic events and sports days and we have quite a few, in school and out, coming up. We are also thinking more about transitions to new classes and have already had visits from secondary schools this week. 

On Tuesday, parents of our new Reception children are invited to visit in the early evening and we, along with most other schools, are in the unusual position of being quite low on numbers for September's intake. With only around 45 of our 60 places currently taken, we are feeling the effects of a low birth rate in the area. In a months' time, at the start of July, our new classes will be meeting new teachers, with some of those staff also moving to a new year group next year. Fresh starts and new, exciting challenges for many!

Finally, for this week, I must mention Bella in Year 4 who has been living out our Christian values in a most impressive and admirable way. With a combination of a 10k sponsored walk and cake sale, she has raised over £400 for Havens Hospice - great effort, Bella! 

May Bella's spirit of thoughtfulness and generosity be with us all in the coming week and term.

Mr Beazeley

Please follow the link to the Ten Ten collective Worship Newsletter this month www.tentenresources.co.uk/prayers-for-home/parent-newsletter/  

• 09/06/25 – Phonics Screening throughout week year 1 & 2

• 09/06/25 - MTC year 4 throughout week

• 10/06/25 – Borough Sports – Selected team

• 11/06/25 – Year 6 Retreat – With St Thomas More in school

• 13/06/25 – SEESMA Music Festival – Year 5 -  6.00pm at Cliff’s Pavilion 

• 17/06/25 - Catholic Sports - selected team meetings

• 19/06/25 - New reception families meet the teacher

• 19/06/25 - Tennis festival - selected pupils

• 19-20/06/25 – Year 4 Activity Day and overnight residential at school

• 23/06/25 - Transition workshop for Year 6

• 24/06/25 – Beach trip year 1

• 24/06/25 - Super Sports - track - selected pupils

• 25/06/25 - Year 2 Great Fire of London workshop in hall

• 25/06/25 - Year 3 to the beach

• 25/06/25 - Nursery trip to the park

• 25/06/25 - Super Sports - field - selected pupils

• 26/06/25 – Choir Singing for Mayor in church

• 27/06/25 – Sacred Heart Feast Day Celebrations

Next year's term dates have been announced, please see below for the school calendar

Here is our new Summer Term dinner menu, which is now in effect.

In line with other schools we will be introducing a new policy where by any children not collected from school by 3.30pm will be placed in our after school tea club and a £6 fee will be applied to your School Money account.

We have seen an increase in the number of children not collected on time and we hope the new charges will ensure children are collected promptly.

Our Amazon Wishlist is live!! The idea is that friends and family of the school can donate directly to the school library. We’ll still accept preloved copies from home that you may also wish to donate. The selection of books are chosen by the staff as texts that may benefit the pupil's reading comprehension, engagement with the curriculum and foster an interest in reading. The current list is reflective of this and will update as and when donations come through.  The link to our Wishlist is here.

A big thank you to those that have bought books for the school, we truly appreciate it.

Spanish Day

On Tuesday, pupils had great experiences tasting food, learning phrases and working with pupils from St Thomas More.

Year 2 visited the beach to recreate the City of London in the sand and then to experience passing buckets of water along a line like they did during the Great Fire of London to try and put the fire out. (throwing water on their sandcastles)

Here are our stars of the week who have represented our core values well through their actions of responsibility, achievement, compassion, equality, faith and respect.

PUPIL ABSENCE

When a child is off sick, a phone call must be made daily to record their absence.  For sickness and diarrhea, the school has a 48 hours policy from the last episode before a child can return to school.

Any medical appointments need proof of the appointment for our records.

For any other absences a leave of absence form must be completed which can be obtained from the office.

LOST PROPERTY

Please can all parents check their child’s clothes -  All items should be clearly labelled and your child needs to ensure they can identify their own property.  Staff are wasting too much time searching for children’s clothing and dealing with frustrated parents.

Thank you for your co-operation.

We would like to remind all our families using breakfast club of the importance of booking in advance.  We have noticed an increase of children not booking in advance and this effects our staffing ratio.

Breakfast club (£3 per session) runs from 7:30 until the start of school and includes a light breakfast and childcare.  

We also run a tea club (£6 per session) from 3:15-5:30pm which includes a light tea and childcare - again all bookings must be booked and paid for in advance.  Failure to pay will result in the child not being able to attend future sessions.

All bookings must be made at the beginning of each week so we can ensure we have enough staff available.  Priority will be given to children who have booked in advance and those who have not booked may not be able to stay.

If you need assistance making a booking please email annemariedriscoll@sacredheart.southend.sch.uk

We would like to remind all our families that we are a nut free school to protect some of our pupils/staff and therefore request that no items of food containing nuts are brought in.  We have noticed an increasing number of children bringing in snacks and spreads containing nuts ie cereal bars, chocolate spread etc.  We hope you all understand the importance that some of our community have epi pens for their allergies and we need to ensure their safety at all times.  Thank you for your co-operation.

Sleep workshop (virtual sessions)

These sessions are for children under the care of the Lighthouse Child Development Centre or who have a diagnosed neurodivergent condition. To book a place please email to book a place: epunft.Lighthouse.asd@nhs.net. Sessions run from 10am to 12pm.

2025 Dates: 3 July, 18 September and 16 October.

Dear Parents/carers,

Thank you so much for attending the Spring ISP meetings with your child's class teachers. Your involvement and partnership in your child's education is deeply appreciated. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to book a meeting, it's not too late! We encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher to discuss the targets they will be working on next term. This is a wonderful way to support your child's learning and progress.

As a polite reminder, we have created a Learning Plan tailored to your child's needs and would greatly value your input. You can view and comment on the plan by visiting the following link: https://edukeyapp.com/parent/login. To access the plan, please use the code provided by your class teacher or contact our school SENCO, Mrs. White, for assistance in accessing it online.

Your feedback is important to us, and we look forward to your contributions, as we continue to work together to support your child's development.

Warm regards,  Mrs White (SENCO)

Click on the image below to read a workshop for parents of children who are anxious or worried about coming to school

Free Training - How to safeguard children and young people from experiencing gaming and gambling harms 

About the Workshop: Ygam are delivering fully funded City and Guilds workshops on how to safeguard children and young people from experiencing gaming and gambling harms. 

There is a dedicated Parent Awareness session for parent/carer/guardians who wants to learn more around the topic of gaming and gambling harms effecting young people. 

Why Attend?

+ Learn how to spot the signs of gaming and gambling harms 

+ Increase your safeguarding knowledge 

+ Support young people in managing screen time and in-game spending 

+ Receive free resources to embed the learning into your safeguarding practice 

+ Gain a City and Guilds Certificate and digital credential for attending our training 

Workshop Details: To secure your free place on our training, click the link below: 

https://ygam.org/training/south-of-england-safeguarding-children-partnership-workshops/ 

If you have any questions, please contact training@ygam.org