Newsletter: 20th December 2024
Newsletter: 20th December 2024
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A Message from Mrs Murphy
A Message from Mrs Murphy
Dear Parents and Carers,
So here we are, at the last day of the term, and last school day in 2024!
We have been so proud of all our children who performed in their Christmas performances. We are very thrilled to be able support all children in the school to participate in a performance at the end of this term.
Our performances began with EYFS and Year 1, who took to the stage to wow the audience with their fabulous singing and acting. Our youngest children all showed great St James courage as they took to the stage. Every single one performed with huge smile on their face.
Year 2 took to the stage next, with their performance of ' A King is Born'. This is the first year that Year 2 have taken a solo lead in their own performance and it really was a spectacular demonstration of how well the children have progressed in confidence, acting and singing during the Infant years of St James.
Next up were Year 3 and 4, who stepped onto the stage on Thursday afternoon to perform their carol concert. With songs such as 'Go tell it on the mountain', 'Sparkle and Shine' and ' I wish it could be Christmas', they truly did put on an outstanding display of their talents.
Finally, to end the week, last night Year 5 and 6 headed to St James' Church to host our annual church service. With the church packed full of supporters, the children presented a reflective service filled with a fabulous blend of modern and traditional Christmas songs. It was truly festive occasion, that was enjoyed by all.
I would like to say a huge well done to every child in the school for their efforts and thank you so much to all the parents and carers who came to support the children. You really did make these events even more magical!
It is not just in the productions that the children have 'let their light shine'. I have asked the phase leaders, Mrs Doyle, Mrs Michaelides and Mrs Boyle to provide updates for their phases. Please see the section below.
Friends of St James Countdown to Christmas.
This week has also been filled with excitement from the Countdown to Christmas by the St James Friends. The disco on Tuesday was an incredible success and it was so lovely to see all the children having so much fun. Thank you to all the parent volunteers that made this event possible, and a special mention to those who joined in with the dancing and games!
To end the week we had a very special visitor at St James today. Santa visited our Hagrid's hut and all children from Reception to Year 6 visited to recieve a book. What a magical experience to end to the week!
My huge thanks go out to Sam and Becky who have worked so hard this term to coordinate these events. Their efforts really have made such a difference to the children and provided them with so many fantastic experiences.
Communication Bulletin Evaluation
From September, we introduced the daily bulletin as a way of combining the communications where possible. While some parents have very kindly provided us with some feedback on this, we would like to ask all the parent body whether this system has been effective or if you would prefer to return to the previous system of individual emails per announcement. Thank you in advance for your views on this.
Christmas Support
We know that whilst Christmas is supposed to be a time to celebrate, it can be a difficult time for many people. We would like to signpost all members of the community to support that is available both within the community and nationally.
Samaritans -116 123
Mindworks for adults and children - 0800 915 4644
Surrey community helpline - 0300 200 1008
The family safety and safeguarding link can also be accessed for further support.
Online Safety at Christmas
For some lucky children, Christmas may bring new devices and technology. It is so important that parents and carers take time to understand these devices to ensure that all children are kept safe.
We know that this may be difficult, as technology moves on at great speed, and the children pick up new skills quickly.
Please follow this Internet Matters link, which will take you to a personalisable online safety toolkit.
Wicked
It has been brought to our attention that the publisher of the book 'Wicked' has updated the front cover of the book to match the film currently showing in cinemas.
We wanted to bring this to your attention as the book was written before the West End production and film came out, and was not written for children or teenagers. The book contains detailed adult content and, therefore, is not suitable for Under 18s.
As the front cover is potentially misleading, we wanted to provide you with this important information.
Thank You for Your Generous Contributions!
A huge thank you to all our families for your incredible support during the Coin Trail Challenge! We are thrilled to share that we have raised £459.00, which will go directly to supporting children who attend the after-school club run by the Coco Foundation in South Africa.
Your generosity will make a real difference in the lives of these children, providing them with valuable resources and opportunities. Thank you for coming together as a community to show such kindness and compassion.
Surrey Consultation
Surrey County Council have launched a consultation about changing to a two week half term from October 2026.
From Surrey County Council:
Nationally, there are approximately 10% of state funded schools that have made a change to the length of the Autumn half term holiday, which includes a number of Surrey schools and education settings.
The council is inviting you to express a view which will assist us to consider our approach to determine if there is an appetite for change to the Autumn half term holiday for future academic years. If it is determined that there is significant appetite for change, the council will adopt a two-week autumn half term break from the 2026/2027 academic year at the earliest. If we proceed with a two-week autumn half term break, the additional 5 days would be taken from the summer break. Where there are opportunities to recover days through the natural positioning of bank holidays during the Christmas and Easter breaks, we would seek to minimise the reduction of the summer break.
The academic year will still be a total of 195 days for community and voluntary controlled schools, of which five are to be taken as INSET days to fulfil the 190 days entitlement for pupils.
Schools have already submitted their views and now Surrey would like to hear form Parents. This consultation closes on the 31st December 2024
Surrey County Council - Autumn Half Term Survey - November 2024 (1).pdfSt James Yearly Planner 24-25.pdfUpdated date sheet for the new year
In order to give all parents and carers the most up to date information, to help them plan for our school events, please see attached an updated version of our date sheet for the year.
This now includes the celebration of learning assemblies for the Summer term.
We hope you find it useful
Christmas thanks
Ahead of this festive period, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the staff at St James who have worked so hard over the term. We talk a lot about how we want to 'strive for excellence' here at St James in all we do so I am incredibly grateful for the time that is given to our mission to provide the best possible education for all children. I am sure you will all join me in wishing every staff member a well-deserved restful Christmas holiday.
And finally, I would like to extend my thanks to all the members of the community who have supported St James this term. Whether it be through volunteering to hear readers, cook with the children, support on school trips or been a school governor, we are very grateful for your time you have given.
Wishing you all a fabulous Christmas holiday and break.
See you all on Monday 6th January for the new term and 2025.
Mrs Murphy
Curriculum Successes Across the Phases
Curriculum Successes Across the Phases
EYFS Christmas Newsletter
This term, we have thoroughly enjoyed getting into the festive spirit while preparing for the celebrations of Christmas during Advent. The children have been immersed in the joy of the season through a variety of exciting activities:
Creating envelopes, posting letters, and receiving cards.
Wrapping presents and crafting special gifts for our families.
Exploring the significance of stars, trees, and festive celebrations.
Making delicious reindeer treats and baking Christmas biscuits.
We even found inspiration in Kandinsky’s art to design beautiful creations and write heartfelt letters to Santa and our friends. One of the highlights was singing enthusiastically in our Christmas show with Year 1 – a magical experience for all!
Now, as the holiday approaches, we are ready to enjoy precious time with our families and return refreshed and eager for a wonderful Spring term.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us in EYFS!
Key Stage 1
Year One and Two have been very busy this term and produced some wonderful work across the curriculum. Year One have been learning about their family history in History, seasonal changes in Science and been investigating spirals and lines with different media in Art. Year Two have been learning about The Great Fire of London in History, reptiles and Joan Procter in Science and have made chairs for Baby Bear out of cylinders of paper in Design and Technology. We have all thoroughly enjoyed reinforcing our knowledge of the Nativity story whilst rehearsing for our outstanding productions of The Angel Who Nearly Missed It All and A King is Born.
Lower Key Stage 2
Year Three and Four have been very busy this term and have produced some incredible work in lessons across our curriculum. In Year Three, we have been learning about weather and climate in Geography and identifying the different climate zones from around the world. In Science we have been learning about forces and magnets, investigating how friction works and exploring magnet strength. In DT we have been learning how seasonal foods grow in specific seasons in different countries based on their climates, why we import and export certain items and how this can affect the environment and the children were vey excited to create two dishes as part of our unit of work. As part of our Computing work, children learnt how animations begin and they worked together to plan and create their own stop frame animations on iPads. They edited these by adding sounds, text and animations to their videos.
In Year four, Children have been very enthusiastic in learning about the ancient Egyptians. They have been excited to decode hieroglyphics, understand the daily life of Egyptians and the way the pyramids were constructed. Since September, children have been learning ukulele for the first time. They have been practicing four chords: A minor, C, G and F, alongside notation and songs. This term, Year 4 have enjoyed learning about God’s Kingdom and the five covenants. We have discussed beatitudes and the importance of these to Christians. We have all thoroughly enjoyed reinforcing our knowledge of the Christmas story and rehearsing for our outstanding carol service.
Upper Key Stage 2
Year 5 and 6 have all been working hard this term on their writing stamina and descriptive writing. In Maths, they have developed their understanding of place values and the 4 operations, with many now becoming fluent with their formal methods to solve calculations with larger numbers and decimals.
Across the curriculum, Year 5 mastered their understanding of electricity from Science to create their very own 'Doodlers'. Many of the children challenged themselves to incorporate a reversible switch to make their designs move in different directions. All children ( and the staff) showed great St James in the creation of these, as they required precision and care to get them to work.
Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their visit to London Zoo to extend their learning about Evolution and Inheritance. In Music they completed a term's learning on the keyboards developing their understanding of musical notation and chords.
SEND resources to support the return to School
SEND resources to support the return to School
Mrs Wales has prepared some resources to support all children with their return to school in January. We hope they are useful
Job Vacancies at St James
Job Vacancies at St James
Celebration Awards
Celebration Awards
Y1 Wrens - Sloane / Wylder-Rose / Tara
Y1 Wrens - Sloane / Wylder-Rose / Tara
Robins - ALL / Elizabeth
Y2 Woodpeckers - Tabitha / Sophia
Kingfishers - Freya / Sebastian
Y3 Barn Owls - River / Kermori / Arthur
Snowy Owls - Thomas / ALL
Y4 Kestrels - Elsie / ALL
Merlins - Finlay / Katelyn
Y5 Falcons - Seb / Isabella / Emily
Kites - Raman / Molly
Y6 Eagles - Anna / Molly
Hawks - Leila / Oscar
Values Certificates and Counter Collection
This week we awarded:
LOVE: Maddie / Danielius / Ianis / James G. / Merlins
RESPECT: Favour
UNITY: Sam
COURAGE: Leonel / Felicity / Poppy / Olivia
Attendance Award
Last week we introduced the Attendance Award for classes as a way to encourage positive attendance in school. We explained to the children what attendance is and when it is OK to be off school, but also what to do if they have any worries about coming to school.
The attendance trophy is being given out every Friday to the class who has the highest attendance each week.
The award has been presented to the following classes:
Friday 6th December - Kingfishers Class
Friday 13th December - Kites Class
Friday 20th December - Hawk Class
Well done to all the children in these classes.
Friends of St James
Friends of St James
Collective Worship
Collective Worship
W/C : 9th December
Monday: Mental Health
Tuesday : Worship by Father Damian
Wednesday: Singing Assembly
Thursday: Picture News
Friday: Celebration Assembly
W/C : 16th December
Monday: Christmas Production - No Assembly
Tuesday : Christmas Production - No Assembly
Wednesday: Singing Assembly
Thursday: Worship by Father Damian
Friday: Celebration
Attendance and Penalty Notices
Attendance and Penalty Notices
Weekly reminder - for parents/carers, that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), then you will be liable for a penalty notice fine
1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.
Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.
The St James Attendance Policy can be found here..
Leave of Absence form can be found here.
Autumn/Winter School Menu
Autumn/Winter School Menu
Please find below the lunch menu from our school caterers, Twelve15. This is a three week rolling menu. All children choose from one of the three meal options at the start of each school day.
If your child is in KS2 and has a school meal, please remember to pay for and book their meals in advance using the SCOPAY app for next term.
Family Support
Family Support
Diary Dates
Diary Dates
Flyers
Flyers
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