Newsletter 2 Autumn Term

Farewell, Mrs Church  

This week, SASM said goodbye to Mrs Church, who is retiring as our School Business Manager after 10 years of working at SASM. You will most likely recognise Mrs Church from the school gate, where she has been greeting children each day. 

Beyond managing the school finances, premises and human resources, Mrs Church has stepped fully into school life during her time with us; from hearing children read to being soaked with buckets of water for charity, she has done it all!

Fittingly, Mrs Church's final days at SASM are being spent on the residential visit to Marchants Hill with Year 5. I am sure you will be joining me in thanking Mrs Church for her incredible service to SASM and wish her a happy retirement.

We need donations of empty 500ml bottles!

Next week, we will be sending you more details of our new Eco-Refill shop, which will be open on the last Friday of every month, before and after school.

To help get the shop up-and-running in the most environmentally-friendly way possible, we need donations of empty (cleaned) 500ml bottles. Please save your old shower gel, shampoo, washing-up liquid and handwash containers and give them to our office team. Thank you!

Art competition - What a wonderful world

Would you like your artwork on display to the public?

St Mark's Church Eco Committee are running an art competition to celebrate our beautiful world. The competition is open to all and they are looking for a picture of the natural world. This can take any form but must include an image of nature. The winning piece of art will be displayed in the gallery at St Mark's Church and here at SASM.

Please hand your completed entries (with your child's name and class) to the school office. The closing date for entries is on Friday 20th September.

How do our English and maths groups work?

At SASM, our teachers work either solely with one class or teaching classes across the school.

In each year group for maths and English lessons, the 3 classes are taught in 4 smaller groups. For Years 4 and 6, these groups have started this week; group teaching for Years 3 and 5 will begin next week.  All of our groups are chosen to be balanced with a range of abilities - there is no 'setting' of groups by ability. Teaching in smaller groups allows for greater participation, feedback and - ultimately - success.

Year 5's residential visit and activity week begins

Today, 72 pupils left SASM to begin a 2-night residential visit to Marchants Hill in Hindhead, Surrey. During their time at Marchants Hill, pupils will work as teams to complete a range of physical challenges including archery, the 'Big Swing' and laser tag. Everyone has arrived safely and are looking forward to tonight's campfire.

Year 5 pupils remaining at SASM have also begun their activities, led by Mrs Hamilton. After an afternoon of stop-motion making, the group are looking forward to 'campfire cooking' on Thursday.

Author Alert!

We are delighted to kick-off this new school year by welcoming Blue Peter Award-winning author, Pamela Butchart to SASM later on in September. Pamela will be joining us to launch her latest novel, "The Great Crisp Robbery". 

We are thrilled to have partnered once again with our friends at Regency Bookshop to offer "The Great Crisp Robbery", along with other titles from Pamela, at an exclusive discounted rate. Pamela will also be available to sign any pre-ordered books during her visit. 

To make a good deal even better, Regency and Pamela's publishers are offering every child who places an order a FREE copy of a special Baby Aliens short story, "The Baby Brother from Outer Space".

Look out for further information via ParentMail in the coming days. Orders can be made via ParentMail, or with cash through the school office. Please place all orders by Monday 16th September - thank you. 

Oracy at Home

Space agency, NASA, says two astronauts stuck on the international Space Station (ISS) won't return to Earth until next year. Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore originally went on an eight-day mission but have currently been in space for three months.  The Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were supposed to return on has a problem, so they need to wait for a different space capsule to bring them home in February.  The astronauts will continue researching whilst they are there.  

Things to talk about at home......

• How do you think the astronauts felt upon hearing the news that they would be staying much longer in space than originally planned?

• Can you think of a time you were in an unexpected situation or a time when you needed to change your plans? How did you deal with it?

Big Chop for a Big Cause

Esmae in Year 5 decided to donate her long hair to the Little Princess Trust who provide real-hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair due to illness.

The Little Princess Trust depends on generous hair donations to create the wigs that can truly change lives.

If you would like to make a donation please follow this link to Esmae's Fundraiser page for the Little Princess Trust. 

Well done Esmae, you are an inspiration to us all, showing how acts of kindness, no matter how big or small can have a powerful impact. 

Invitation to Parents/ Carers of pupils with SEND 

Parents/carers of pupils with SEND are invited to attend an informal coffee and biscuits afternoon  on Friday 11th, October from 2:00pm until 3.15pm. This is a chance to meet Sarah Crowther (SENCo/DHT), Emily Woodward (AHT/Senior Mental Health Lead) and Alison Miller (School Community Worker). They will also be joined by Rob Harris from Achieving for Children (2:00pm - 2:45pm) who is the SEND Parent and Carer Engagement Officer for Kingston who will be helping explain and signpost parents/carers to local services, capturing views and wishes and explaining the SEND Parent Champions scheme. For further details of the scheme click here.  

To help us plan for the event please sign up using this link.

Helping children with sleep and routines!

The ‘Helping Children with sleep and routines’ workshop introduces a number of key concepts and strategies to support you in creating a healthy bedtime routine for your child. This workshop focuses on the importance of sleep due to its impact on child development and wellbeing, and explores key components in enhancing sleep quality.

This workshop will also be exploring how to promote positive behaviour and help your child become more independent by using praise and rewards for morning and evening routines.

What will the ‘Helping Children with sleep and routines’ workshop cover?

• The importance of sleep for children's development

• Scientifically proven tips to develop a positive sleep routine.

• How to encourage children to sleep independently and positive sleep routines

When will the workshop take place?
The workshop will take place on Thursday 26th September from 8:45am-9:45am. The workshop will be held in the school or online. If you choose to attend online, a Google Meet link will be sent nearer the time.

How to sign up
Parents and carers can sign up to the workshop by clicking on this link. 

Safer Schools App

We would encourage all parents/carers to download the Safer Schools app for free push notifications about online safety and helpful advice. You can download the app using the instructions here. 

Do you have concerns about a child?

Adults - you can contact the Single Point of Access to request support, or to report a concern about a child or young person. Click here to make a referral.  You can also call for advice. Opening hours: From 8.00am to 5.15pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8.00am to 5.00pm on Friday - call 020 8547 5008  (Out of hours, phone 020 8770 5000). If you think a child or young person is in immediate danger call 999. Referrals are not limited to safeguarding: the Single Point of Access acts as a signposting service to other services, including mental health. Matt Gates is our Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Help children get a healthy start to the new school year by ensuring they are up to date with all their routine vaccinations

When your child starts or returns to school, they will have increased contact with other children. If they are not up to date with their routine immunisations, they may be at risk of catching preventable diseases, including measles, whooping cough, meningitis, diphtheria and polio.

Please check that your child is fully up to date with their routine immunisations before they start or return to school. You can check if your child is up to date with immunisations by checking their red book or contacting your GP surgery. For a full checklist of vaccines and when they should be given visit - NHS vaccinations and when to have them.

• Immunising primary school children - Postcard

• Immunising pre-secondary school children - Postcard

Supporting Our Families with Kingston Foodbank

We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That is why we are pleased to be able to offer our families support in partnership with Kingston Foodbank.

Kingston Foodbank provide three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. They are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

Foodbank clients bring their vouchers to a foodbank centre where they can be redeemed for three days of emergency food. Volunteers meet clients over a warm drink or free hot meal, and are able to signpost people to other agencies that may able to them solve the longer-term problems.

Vouchers can be issued any day and at any time during the school week. These can be either printed or sent to you electronically via your mobile phone. This is a confidential service and vouchers are only allocated by Mrs Miller - School Community Worker.

Our nearest food collection points are listed below - please note the opening times.

Monday (6.00pm - 7.00pm)

Surbiton New Life Baptist Church
1 Balaclava Road
Surbiton
KT6 5PW

Tuesday and Friday (11.00am - 12.30pm)

Kingston Everyday Church

46 Union St, Kingston upon Thames
KT1 1RP

Kingston Council - Sustainable September

Sustainable September returns to Kingston for a third year! This year the campaign will focus on providing practical information and tips to help us all adapt to the challenges which climate change presents now and in the near future. 

A variety of topics will be covered throughout the month, from flood awareness, to coping with excessive heat in the home, and conserving water to planting for pollinators.

As with previous years there are loads of fun activities taking place and a number of challenges for adults and children alike.

Full details can be found on Kingston council’s website. 

Please send a water bottle with your child

Its important to ensure that our pupils stay hydrated throughout the day.  Please remember to send your child to school with a  water bottle.  To avoid any mix-ups, kindly label the bottle with your child's name.   Thank you.

No toys in school, please!

We would like to remind parents and carers that pupils are not permitted to bring their own toys or collectables into school. Not only do toys provide a distraction from pupils' learning, there is a potential for personal items to be misplaced. Please be aware that any lost toys, collectible cards or other play items are beyond the responsibility of the school.

Jewellery

Children can wear watches to school but the wearing of jewellery and earrings of all types is not permitted on safety grounds.  Any child wearing earrings to school will be asked to remove them.  If they are unable to remove them they will be required to stay inside during break and lunch times and will not be able to participate in any PE or physical activities. 

Smart Watches

Fitness trackers without smart watch capability are permitted but St Andrew’s and St Mark’s accept no responsibility for the loss or damage of these items. Smart watches , including iWatches- are not permitted due to their messaging capabilities. 

Lost Property

Please remember to label your child’s uniform, lunch box and water bottle.  All named lost property will be returned to your child by the next school day.  Unlabelled property will be kept for one week only in the school office.