NEWSLETTER 39 - W/C 17TH JULY
A BENCH FOR COLIN
In 2020 we lost our beloved Mr Plant. Our longstanding Premises Manager, he had worked at St Stephen's for more than twenty years and is held dear in many of our hearts. Colin was gentle, kind and blessed with a wicked sense of humour. Famed for his amazing Christmas lighting display in his back garden (we think it probably sent many an aircraft bound for Heathrow off course, such was the its scale) Colin is sorely missed. Coming up with the right tribute to celebrate such a beacon of our community has long been considered. And, here it is - Colin's Bench. Miss Mizon has installed this beautiful bench as a gift to Mrs Bachour. The most fantastic tribute to a wonderful man. Thank you so much Miss Mizon.
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LEAVERS' SERVICE
Sometimes the old cliches are the best and when it came to Wednesday's Leavers service, we really did 'laugh and cry' ... oh, and we sang a bit too! Our Year Six delighted us with times past at St Stephen's and we were all thrilled to sit back and think how well they have done and how lovely they all are. As Mrs Bachour said: "We are all so proud of them."
We wished a tearful farewell to Mrs Howes, Miss Mizon and Mr Downes. And, to quote Mrs Bachour again: "They are part of St Stephen's foundations and we don't know what we will do without them." We also sang a bespoke version of Oasis' Wonderwall to celebrate Mrs Howes remarkable twenty five years to St Stephen's. We renamed it 'Wonder Mel,' just for her.
And then, (drum roll please) it was time to dish out the end of year cups as follows:
Alice - Year Five - Stephanie Roberts Music Cup
Rocco - Year Six - Shelagh Coutts Cup
Lewis - Year Six - Academic Cup
Kyle - Year Six - Ducker Cup
Tina - Year Six - Girls Sports Cup
Arthur - Year Six - Boys Sports Cup
There were a few St Stephen's siblings around to congratulate some of our marvellous winners. The service was also an opportunity for Mrs Bachour to say goodbye to Jez, our St Stephen's vicar, who is moving on with his family to pastures new. She thanked him for his unstinting support of our school. Good luck to the whole Barnes family!
SO LONG, FAREWELL MRS HOWES, MISS MIZON AND MR DOWNES ...
This final newsletter of the year is mostly a tribute to three St Stephen's staffers who are leaving us after many years of service to our community. They are marvellous Mel Howes, amazing Grace Mizon and awesome Aaron Downes. It's a double celebration for Mrs Howes, as this term marks her twenty fifth anniversary at St Stephen's ... see pages three, four and five for our leavers' celebrations of this remarkable trio ...
PARENT WELLBEING SURVEY
We would be very grateful if parents could complete our wellbeing survey. Please click on this link or the QR code- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZbFwJa3Qu1FVZlc_P59RGicS1YhaCeAXr87leNPSiqc/edit
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DATES AND REMINDERS
Friday 21st July - End of term - 2.15pm
Monday July 24th - First Day; Stars Summer Camp
Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th September - Inset Days
Wednesday 6th September - children return to school
Tuesday 12th - Friday 15th September - Year Six residential trip to Hooke Court
Wednesday 20th September - Year Six swimming assessments (further details to follow)
Thursday 28th September - Year Six - Junior Citizenship
Monday 2nd - Tuesday 3rd October - Year Four residential to Thames Young Mariners
Thursday 5th October - Kamkwamba class assembly
Monday 23rd October - Friday 27th October - Half-term
Thursday 21st December - End of term. School closes 2.15pm
PITCH PERFECT YEAR TWO
Year Two played magnificently to a packed auditorium of family members last week. A repertoire which included Ode to Joy and London's Burning was music to our ears. Our music co-ordinator Mr Munn said: "What was so wonderful about this concert was that it was easy to distinguish each and every note played by these very young musicians. Huge thanks to their teacher, Miriam, from the Richmond Music Trust, who has taught them so well and brought them up to concert level standard. Well done Year Two." Psst if you are a Frozen fan, you might like to know Miriam played on the soundtrack of Frozen 2. Wow!
