Newsletter 1 Summer Term

19th April 2023

St Andrew’s and St Mark’s Church of England Junior School

“I have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness.” John 10:10 

-School News- 

Our Instagram feed displays photos of school events. Click or tap on a photo to find out more:

If you would like your child to have the opportunity to be featured on our Instagram page, please update the parental consent on the SIMs Parent App and ensure permission to be posted on social media is ticked.

A message from Mr Gates:

Welcome back for the summer term. I hope you have had a restful Easter break and celebrations - Christ is risen! With Easter, Passover and Eid all taking place within a short space of time, April is a time of joy for many of us. 


Our Christian theme for this half term is truthfulness. Through collective worship, reflections in class and our interactions with each other, we will be learning about why we believe it is important to be honest as we remember that we are all creatures in Christ.  


Each year we ask parents and carers to fill in a short survey for us - your truthful feedback is hugely important to us and we would like everyone to complete the survey. Please do spare 5 minutes to do this for us and help make our school an even better place for our community. 

Please fill in our parent/carer survey - we need as many responses as possible!

We are always looking at ways to improve and your feedback is vital in helping us make our outstanding school even better. Please do spare 5 minutes to complete our short feedback survey by tapping on the link below: https://forms.gle/mjWN3mqQhA8Qy3Sk8 

We read and consider every response when planning for our school's future.

Class photographs tomorrow

Cliff Harris Photography will be in school tomorrow to take photographs of classes. Please ensure your child is smartly dressed in the correct school uniform (or SASM PE kit if your child has a PE lesson on this day).  Only pupils with parent/carer permission will be included in the photograph. You can give your consent here.

Summer uniform

From now until the end of the October half term, pupils make come to school in their summer uniform, which includes a white long/short sleeved school shirt or blouse, white polo shirt or red checked dress. You can find our full uniform policy here: https://www.sasm.kingston.sch.uk/parents-carers/school-uniform . 


Please remember that we do not permit jewellery or smart watches. When not in PE kit, pupils must wear smart black shoes (no trainers, boots or football boots are allowed). If your child has an after-school club that requires PE kit, please send them to school in their uniform with their PE kit to change into at the end of the day.

VIP Day

Pupils are awarded 'VIP slips' for showing our Christian values, demonstrating excellent learning behaviour or completing outstanding work. Each term these slips are entered into a draw, with one winner being randomly selected from the lower school and upper school. 

The winners are then allowed to choose a friend (or sibling!) to join them for the VIP day. The pupils: come to school in their own clothes; have breakfast with Mrs Crowther; sit on adult chairs in collective worship; have lunch with Mr Gates and visit any classes they would like to in the afternoon. Matilda (6S) said, 'I have felt very important today - I loved visiting 4M this afternoon and judging their singing in music'. William (4G), said, 'We got to help out in lessons this afternoon and heard some brilliant jokes from pupils too'. Congratulations to Matilda and William.


Reading with Nelly

Nelly, the therapy dog, was delighted to receive an Easter card from children across the school!  She’s looking forward to doing more reading this term!


Year 4 begin swimming at Imber Court

A statutory part of the National Curriculum includes learning to swim. Whilst Kingston suffers from a lack of local swimming pools, we are thrilled that Year 4 are participating in swimming lessons at Imber Court. Good luck, Year 4!


Upcoming Mental Wellbeing Courses

If you are interested in  attending any of the following courses designed to help your children - please follow this link for further details and to register your interest.

Running for CureEB

Sophie's (6M) Dad, John, is running the London Marathon on Sunday to raise funds for Cure EB.  He has been inspired to run for this charity by Poppy (6M) who has bravely battled EB for 11 years.  To read more about John and Poppy's stories and to donate please visit his JustGiving page. Thank you for your support. 

-This Week's Notices- 

Autism as a superpower

On Tuesday 25th April (6.30 - 8.00pm) Latchmere School are hosting an evening with Sam and Tony Holness who will talk about their journey and the importance of setting high aspirations.  For further details and to book a ticket please follow this link. 

                                                   -Repeat notices-

Sign up to Free School Meals – not automatic and more than just a free lunch!

 

Please click here for further information. Please sign up to the Free Schools Meals scheme if you are eligible.

Raising FREE funds for SASM

If you would like to support the PTA continue to provide extra curricular projects for our pupils,  please follow this link for further information about how you can help raise free funds.  

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. 

Safeguarding in 60

This week the  Safeguarding Hub discusses the key trends and findings from the latest Ofcom report about the ever-evolving landscape of media consumption and the impact it has on children and young people in today's society. 

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 8am to 5.15pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8am to 5pm 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.

-What's New? Community Groups-

Click the 'Community Groups' button to see all community notices:

-School reminders-

Break time snacks

As a healthy school, pupils' daily snacks should be full of goodness to keep children full until lunch. Suitable snacks include:

 

These snacks are NOT suitable for a break time snack:

For further information regarding our school uniform please follow this link to our school website  and our school uniform supplier.  

 

Alternatively, every Friday there is a second hand uniform sale in the office foyer


PE Kit

On PE days children must come to school wearing their PE kit.  Please click here to see PE days for each class.

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. 

Hair and shoes!  

Please remember that all shoulder length hair needs to be tied back for school, even on mufti days. Having your child’s hair tied back, is one of the most effective ways of keeping the nits and lice at bay.  With the hair tied back, it makes it more difficult for the lice to hold on to  the hair. Please note that pupils are required to wear black shoes  (no trainers, boots or footwear displaying a logo).

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. 

 

Road safety for children

If your child walks to school on their own, it is important they know how to cross roads, including  zebra crossings safely. Please click here for more information about Road Safety for children.

 

Unwell and absent children 

If your child is unwell and absent from school please contact the school office before 10am. If you need to leave a message on the answerphone please explain the symptoms of your child’s illness. Siblings of unwell children should attend school.


Diarrhoea and vomiting 

PHE recommends that children are kept off school until 48 hours after the last symptoms have passed. Whilst this is not enforced by us it is responsible practice by parents/carers.


Raising FREE funds for SASM

Businesses can now register with easyfundraising and raise FREE funds for causes when they make business purchases.  From booking travel for work trips to restocking the stationery cupboard, businesses can raise regular and BIG donations for SASM with popular retailers including Booking.com, Viking, Currys PC World, Euroffice and more.