St Edmunds News
Week beginning 22.1.24- 28.1.24
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Families,
It has been a very busy week at school with lots of exciting things taking place.
The first of these things was a wonderful assembly and workshop from electric instrument teachers, 'Rocksteady'. Organised by our Music Leader, Miss Virasami, the one-man show that was 'Rocksteady' demonstrated a range of instruments then proceeded to let children have a go in the subsequent workshops. The children were captivated and motivated by it all and the teachers have been speaking so highly about the demonstration for the remainder of the week. You can find out more about 'Rocksteady below.
On Thursday, Key Stage 1 were treated to an outstanding assembly by Class 2.1. The theme of the assembly was Caring For Ourselves which is our whole school focus this half term. The message was very powerful, firstly linking back to the story of Jesus calming the storm in the new testament. The children acted out the story brilliantly with the whole class using body percussion and movement to recreate the sights and sounds of the storm. The wonderful readers went on to explain that we all have to endure storms in our lives but we should remember that, just like Jesus, we can weather the storm and everything will be ok. The children went on to explain different ways of doing this including breathing (and hissing out like a snake), getting lots of exercise, playing a musical instrument and talking to our friends. They sang Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds' (Every little thing is gonna be alright) while the powerpoint relayed more ways in which we can care for ourselves and played images of the learning that has taken place in Year 2 this year. The parents that were in attendance witnessed a perfect assembly and so Mrs Nicola, Mrs Miranda, Mrs Begum and all of the other adults should be extremely proud of all their hard work in planning and producing it! Well done!
Also, on Thursday, our Reception children were visited by Father Gerry who came to meet the children and introduce himself. There were lots of very important questions asked by our youngest children and lots of good discussion was held. Every Thursday, Fr Gerry will visit a year group or the year group will visit him at the church to discuss the current RE topics or Catholic Social theme. Thank you very much Fr Gerry for dedicating your precious time to our school.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mr Abrahams
Students of the Week
Due to Staff INSET Day, there was no rewards assembly and, therefore, no students of the week. This will return next week.
News
Vaccination Clinics:
You may have seen in the news that there has been a rise in the amount of measles cases and now Enfield has confirmed their first case of mumps. If your child has not received a vaccination against these viruses, and you would like them to receive one, then the following surgeries can provide this.
Baytree House
27th January 2024 (9am – 3:00pm)
15th February 2024 (9am – 3:00pm)
Ordnance Unity for Health
12th February 2024 (9am – 3:00pm)
Evergreen Surgery
4th February 2024 (9am – 3:00pm)
Enfield Island Surgery
14th February 2023 (9am – 3:00pm)
More information about the School Age Immunisation Service can be found here: https://saisenfield.co.uk/
Staffing Updates:
I am delighted to announce that it has been agreed that Miss Graves will continue her role as Acting Deputy Head next academic year (2024/25). Miss Graves has adapted excellently to the role this year, supporting and understanding my vision and the areas across the school that require development. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work and agreeing to continue in this role.
Additionally, as of this term, Mrs Fadahunsi has started her role as Year 5 and 6 Phase Leader. This completes the change from the previous set up. There are now 4 phase leaders across the school:
Miss Osborne - Early Years
Mrs Nicola - Year 1&2
Mr Harding - Year 3&4
Mrs Fadahunsi - Year 5&6
The leaders will be doing a range of things as part of their role including managing behaviour and pastoral care within their year groups and managing playground activities.
We wish them all the best of luck and support in their roles.
St Edmund's Rocks!
On Tuesday, the whole school were treated to a musical extravaganza as we were visited by 'Rocksteady' who entertained us with demonstrations of a range of musical instruments including electric guitar, electronic drums, keyboards and singing. They led an assemvly and two workshops for the whole of Key Stage 1 and the whole of Key Stage 2. They had the children in the palm of their hands because they were so engaged and inspired by what they saw.
The good news is that Rocksteady would like to continue working within the school and are keen to deliver lessons for these instruments. The idea is that the children will then come together to form a rock band. The opportunity will also lead to an accredited qualification in music.
Your child would have received a letter with all of the details on how you can sign up and more information about what is involved. We cannot recommend this opportunity highly enough as the buzz around the school from children and adults alike shows how much fun was had and how important music is to our young children.
Some videos and photos of the workshops will be on our school website next week.
Catholic Life
Once again, the academic year will follow the three words which make up our school motto - 'Love, Care, Share'. In order to bring the motto to life, I have divided its three words into the three terms of the school year. Therefore, our assemblies contribute towards the focus of the term, which can be seen in the diagram below. As we move into the the new term, we shall focus on 'Care for Ourselves', which will cover the upcoming Internet Safety Day and Children's Mental Health Week.
Catholic Social Teaching:
This year, St Edmund's are raising the profile of Catholic Social Teaching. According to CAFOD, Catholic social teaching (CST) is rooted in Scripture, formed by the wisdom of Church leaders, and influenced by grassroots movements. It is our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith in the world. Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbours in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Following in the footsteps of Christ, we hope to make present in our unjust and broken world, the justice, love and peace of God.
At school, we follow the Rooted in Love programme and we will dedicate the first lesson every half term and an assembly towards the Catholic Social Teaching theme. You can see these themes below.
As you can see, the new theme this half term is Solidarity and Peace. You can read more about this on our website on https://www.st-edmunds.enfield.sch.uk/page/?title=Catholic+Social+Teaching&pid=111
Attendance
Whole School Target: 95%
This Week: 93.69%
This Year: 94.74%
Class R.1: 91.95%
Class R.2: 85.17%
Class 1.1: 88.94%
Class 1.2: 92.94%
Class 2.1: 92.31%
Class 2.2: 96.15%
Class 3.1: 96.67%
Class 3.2: 92.08%
Class 4.1: 93.97%
Class 4.2: 95.69%
Class 5.1: 95.67%
Class 5.2: 100%
Class 6.1: 94.83%
Class 6.2: 96.43%
NO NUTS OR SEEDS
Please remember we are a NO NUT SCHOOL. This is also extended to seeds. Some members of our school community have severe allergies to nuts and seeds, and food products containing them.
Your child must not bring in any products containing nuts and seeds as a snack or as part of their packed lunch. This includes seeded bread, hummus (which contains sesame), pesto (which contains pine nuts), peanut butter and chocolate spread (which often contains nuts).
DINNER MENU
Please see below, the new school dinner menu which will rotate over three weeks for this half term.
Please remind your children of the importance of eating their lunch: mainly to ensure that they are nourished and energised for their afternoon of learning but also to teach them the importance of not wasting food.
St Edmunds AUTUMN WINTER 23-24 - STIR Primary.pptx Halal.pptx.pdf
St Edmund's Way Certificate
Last year, we launched a special certificate that can be awarded to both children and staff if they show that they are truly living ‘The St Edmund’s Way’ by going above and beyond to show they are living out our motto and displaying selflessness, love and care for others.
Safeguarding
Childline Update:
Childline have updated their website. Take a peek at the new-look website on this link: https://www.childline.org.uk/
Social Media Safety Advice:
Please see the link below to Internet Matters guide to cyberbullying for parents and carers. On the link it discusses what to look out for and where to report any issues.
Mental Health Support:
As we move into January, being healthy mentally can become more challenging. Please look at the link below to see who you can contact if you or someone you know needs support.
Urgent mental health support for children young people and families (1).pdfEach week, we will share a guide from National Online Safety, which will give you advice about how you can keep your children safe online at home. This week, the page tells you what you need to know about MyLOL which is a dating app for teenagers. Even though it is for children aged 13+, these sorts of apps tend to have a way of filtering down to younger children and, with Safer Internet Day approaching, we think it is important that you are aware.
Thought of the Week:
