Newsletter 36 27/06/25

Happy Feast Day, everyone!

We have been blessed by the sunshine as we celebrated the Feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus today. Beginning with our Mass this morning, and joined by parents and people of the parish, Father Graham opened our celebrations by reminding us to keep love in our hearts - and try to remove the feelings and actions that don't belong in a sacred heart. Thank you to the church community for joining us, the Year 6 readers and, of course, Father Graham for his wise words and support.

Last night, our church welcomed the Mayor and other dignitaries to a civic service and reception. Father Graham has been designated as the Mayor's Chaplain for his term of service and Sacred Heart as his city church. We were very proud of Father Graham for his honour and of our school choir who sang so beautifully under the guidance of Mrs Elvidge.

Our Feast Day continued with a special lunch. Assisted by the helpful weather, the children enjoyed a meal of (mainly) fish and chips on the playground. We then rounded off the celebrations with our traditional year group and class dances: parents who were able to attend were treated to everything from Baby Shark (from Nursery children) to Mr Blue Sky - very apt for the sunny day!

Congratulations to all of our Super Sports athletes who represented us this week. After already showing their capabilities by qualifying from earlier Borough Sports, there were a number of excellent achievements at this week's events. As always, our social media captures all of the highlights. The KS1  Borough and Catholic Sports are coming up next week, followed by our own, in-school sports in the week after.

At the end of next week, the children will be meeting with their new teachers for next year. We will send you some information regarding the teachers for each year group, along with the new names for our reshaped classes, on the day. This is not intended to be an exercise that is carried out every year but looking closely at year group and making some adjustments should result in a better balance of skills and attributes in each class. 

I would also like to make you aware that Mrs Edmunds - currently, one of our excellent Nursery teachers - and Mrs Vanda Horton (of our site staff) will be retiring and leaving us in just a few week's time. They are both dedicated and loyal, long-standing members of staff who exemplify the spirit of Sacred Heart.

Have a blessed and peaceful weekend

Mr Beazeley

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

• 01/07/25 – KS1 Borough Sports

• 03/07/25 – KS1 Catholic Sports

• 04/07/25 – Transition Day – all children in new classes

• 04/07/25 – Stay and Play sessions for new Reception & Nursery children

• 06/07/25 – Summer Fayre

• 07/07/25 – KS1 (Yrs 1&2) Sports morning

• 07/07/25 – Reception Beach trip

• 08/07/25 – Year 5 Taster Day – at St Bernard’s /St Thomas More

• 08/07/25 – Lower KS2 (Yrs 3&4) Sports morning

• 09/07/25 – Year 2 Pier trip

• 09/07/25 – Upper KS2 (Yrs 5&6) Sports morning

• 09/07/25 – Year 6 Production – Annie 6.30pm to 7.30pm

• 10/07/25 – Year 6 Production – Annie 6.30pm to 7.30pm

• 11/07/25 – Musical Summer Concert 9.00am to 10.00am

• 11/07/25 – School reports go home

• 14/07/25 – Reception Class Sports morning from 9.00am

• 15/07/25 – Prize Giving Years 3-5 from 9.00am

• 16/07/25 – Prize Giving Years R,1 & 2 from 9.00am

• 16/07/25 – Prize Giving Year 6 from 2.00pm

• 18/07/25 –  Sacred Heart Talent Show

• 21/07/25 – Leavers Mass at 2.00pm

• 23/07/25 – Leavers Assembly at 2.00pm

• 23/07/25 – Last Day of term

• 03/09/25 – First Day of new academic year

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.

Our choir sang at a service to mark the start of the new Mayor of Southend's term. They performed beautifully and bought tears to many people's eyes.

Nursery went on a nature hunt, played some games, had a snack picnic and then finished the trip with the story 'Shark in the Park' in Southchurch Hall Park. Lots of fun was had by all!

Year 5 participated in the Dr Me workshops today, looking at 3 key areas, fever and sore throat, diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration & head injury, sprains and strains. The pupils learnt how they can cope with and deal these aliments at home before seeking mental attention.

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.

OUTSTANDING MONEY

Just a remind to all our families to ensure that all outstanding monies are paid for by the end of this school term.  Please log onto your School Money accounts to check for outstanding balances and ensure any outstanding clubs, trips, dinners are settled.

If you have any questions regarding this please email annemariedriscoll@sacredheart.southend.sch.uk

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