Newsletter 12 05/12/25

Christmas is certainly coming! With practices and performances going on all around, there is no doubt that the season is truly with us.

We began this week with Early Years - Nursery and Reception - singing and moving along beautifully, dressed in their costumes and hats. It certainly was an early Christmas treat for other pupils, as well as parents and families, with much credit going to the staff and children for putting on a great show with those so new to school life.

Advent is the season for preparations and FOSH have been busily getting ready for this Sunday's Fayre. Thank you for bringing in bottles and jars in exchange for today's non-uniform day. We hope that you can join us for an hour on more from midday and offers of help - on this International Volunteering Day - will still be gratefully received. This is the link to a sign up sheet - if anyone wants to help they are very welcome!   https://volunteersignup.org/E8KRF      Cakes and raffle prizes are also still needed.

Before Sunday, we have our open morning for prospective parents tomorrow morning from 10 o'clock. As I have mentioned previously, please invite people you know with children starting school next September to come along.

Part of what we will be mentioning to parents is the Catholic ethos of the school. As part of doing our best to support those in need, we are asking children to make Christmas cards for the lonely, ill or disadvantaged. It really would be in the true Christmas spirit to be able to pass on cards that children have made - including at home - with love and care. We already have a few but need lots more!

Look out for a Christmas Hamper Appeal next week, on behalf of the SVP Centre, as we come together in an effort to lift up more families in need.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend and in the final two weeks of term.

Mr Beazeley

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. 

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

• 06/12 – Saturday Open Morning for EYFS Starters 10-11am

• 07/12 – Christmas Fayre 12-3pm

• 08/12 – Flu Immunisation mop-up date

• 08/12 – KS1 Nativity 2.00pm

• 08/12 – Year 6 Bikeability (for those that registered)

• 09/12 – KS1 Nativity 9.30am

• 10/12 –Year 4 Chocolate day (can dress as a character from Willy Wonka)

• 11/12 – Christmas Dinner for whole school

• 11/12 – Choir Singing at Waitrose

• 16/12 – KS2 Christmas Service 1.45pm

• 16/12 – KS2 Christmas Service 6.30pm

• 17/12 – Year 6 Victorian day (in costume)

• 17/12 – KS1 Christmas Party afternoon

• 17/12 – Choir with Mayor at Sacred Heart Church

• 18/12 – KS2 Christmas Party afternoon

• 19/12 – LAST DAY OF TERM - SCHOOL FINISHES AT 1.00PM FOR ALL

• 22/12/25 to 2/1/26 – CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

• 5/1/26 – CHILDREN RETURN TO SCHOOL

Below are our Nourish dinner menus, which will run until the end of March

Our Nursery and Reception classes shared our first Nativity of the season and it was wonderful. The children sang beautifully with many smiles and tears shared in the audience. A big thank you to all involved in creating this magical performance for us to share in and to help us prepare in this season of Advent.

Year 6 visited the beach on a beautiful winters afternoon to make comparisons between Victorian Southend and modern day.

As the season of advent begins staff and pupils prepared our tree and nativity scene.

Dear Parents and Carers,

My name is Dori Calik, and I would like to introduce myself as the new Chair of Friends of Sacred Heart (FOSH), parent-run charity supporting SHS. Alongside me is Frankie Chilton, our new Vice Chair, and a small group of dedicated committee members. 

Following the recent resignation of the previous committee, the new FOSH team was formally appointed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 2nd October. Our shared goal is to continue the valuable work of supporting and enriching our school community - be it events, fundraising, and working alongside school staff and families.

Our first project together will be the School Christmas Fayre, a much-loved event that brings our community together to celebrate the festive season. 

To make the fayre a success, we are looking for volunteers to help in a variety of ways — from planning and organising to setting up, running stalls, or tidying away afterwards.

We completely understand that time is precious, so our aim is to divide tasks into small, manageable roles to make it easy for everyone to get involved. Every bit of help, no matter how small, makes a real difference.

If you are interested in helping with the Christmas Fayre or getting involved with FOSH in general, please leave your name and contact details at the school reception, and one of us will be in touch soon. Or if you have a business and would like a stall at the fayre, again please leave contact details. 

Thank you for your continued support. We are very excited to get started and look forward to working together to make this year’s events enjoyable and successful for the whole school community.

Kind regards,

Dori Calik Chair, Friends of Sacred Heart (FOSH) and Frankie Chilton, Vice Chair

We are looking forward to delivering another successful Holiday Activity and Food programme this Christmas. 

The programme will run from Mondays and Tuesdays 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th December 2025. 

Eligible families will be able to book up to a maximum of 4 sessions and only attend one club per day. 

Next steps for Schools – Christmas HAF Programme Email all your Benefits Related Free School families to share the booking link to book their Christmas HAF bookings on Wednesday 26 November at 10.30am. 

Here is the link: to the Eequ Booking site: Book your free HAF place here 

We know some of our families struggle with technology, so we have partnered with the Salvation Army and have arranged 2 drop-in sessions from 9.30am to 12 at the following locations to support families to book onto the HAF clubs and find out more information about free Early Years Childcare options 

Salvation Army Community Centre Frobisher Way Shoeburyness SS3 8UT 

Salvation Army Community Centre 121 Elm Road Leigh on Sea SS9 1SP 

At both venues Jade Hartley from the Early Years team will share childcare support available for families from 9 months to 4 years. 

No need to book and refreshments will be available. I will be available to support families to access a HAF place and potential providers who want to know about how to become an approved HAF Provider. 

Any questions please contact me email HAF@southend.gov.uk or call 07795 044329 We look forward to seeing you at the Drop-in sessions. 

Kind Regards Fiona Comish HAF Coordinator 

Dear Parents and Carers,

We wanted to send a reminder to all our families of the uniform requirements from September 2025. We would like to draw special attention to:

• Hair styles - must not be extreme

• Earrings - no earrings of any kind. If you wish to get your child's ears pierced, the must be done at the beginning of the holidays to allow sufficient time to heal before returning to school. 

• Shoes - must be sensible and sturdy - no trainers

• Boots - only to be worn to and from school - need to change to shoes in school

 Please read the attached document for full information on all uniform requirements. 

 There will be a PRE-LOVED UNIFORM EVENT at the beginning of September, so please look out for this. 

 We would also like to remind everyone that all items in school must be clearly labelled, and the school will not accept responsibility for lost items. 

 Please help us to be 'The smartest school in town' and support us in ensuring the children are wearing the correct uniform, are fully prepared and ready to learn.

Kind regards,

School Office.

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.

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.  Lost Property with no name is regualry sorted and either given to the pre-loved sale or taken to a local charity shop.

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.

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

Thank you to everyone who attended the Autumn ISP meetings and parent meetings—we really appreciate your time and input. Please remember to add your comments on the Provision Map website, as this helps us keep everything up to date and ensures your child’s support is clearly documented.

During the meetings, many conversations focused on children experiencing sensory overload. We’d like to share a helpful resource with you, the Sensory Toolkit, which offers practical strategies for supporting children with sensory difficulties. It’s a wonderful tool for both home and school.

https://padlet.com/specialistteachingteam/southend-city-inclusion-ideas-and-inspiration-cbow1gcprlnux121/wish/4b3zaM0Rep3gW2j7

Thank you for your continued support!

Best Regards

Mrs K. White (SENCO) 

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

Click or tap on the picture below to view the digital brochure for Christmas In The City 2025 – Southend’s festive celebration full of activities, entertainment, and seasonal fun for all ages!