Message From Miss Gladstone
Today marks the end of the first half term of the academic year and what an amazing half term it has been!
Thank you to the children for settling so well and for coming to school with a smile on your face every day – you make us all so proud on a daily basis! A special well done to all of the children in Early Years who have completed their first half term with us at SJSJ – we love having you as part of our school community!
Thank you to all of the staff who continue to work incredibly hard and to all of the parents and carers who support us all so well. Wishing you all a safe and happy half term break.
We look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday 31st October.
Hackney Light Party
Come and join the Annual Light Party. There will be music, bouncy castles, craft activities, slime making, face painting, with hot dogs and sweets.
All children must be accompanied by an adult. (First come, first served).
Hackney Church
Tuesday 31st October 2023
4.30pm – 6.30pm
There will be fireworks display held at the Hackney Church (the front lawn) on
Sunday 5th November 2023 at 7.30pm
Skateboards
It’s great to see so many children being active and creative in the way they travel to school – it seems that skateboards are a popular choice amongst our KS2 children. For safety reasons, please ensure skateboards are brought to the office at the beginning of the day where they will be safely stored until the end of the day.
Year 1 Writing Sample
Please take time to read this AMAZING piece of writing from Dajanae in Year 1. She has worked hard to include adjectives, conjunctions and speech (our grammar foci for this half term) and loved writing this retelling of the story, The Odd Egg. Enjoy!
All the birds had laid an egg but Duck had not laid an egg. Then Duck had an idea. Duck went into the real world. He found a giant egg and all the birds laughed.
One day, all the eggs hatched but Duck’s had not. Duck waited and waited. CREAK CRACK SNAP! Duck loved his egg because a crocodile blasted out of the egg. “Mama” it said. They lived happily ever after.
Dogs
Please be reminded that dogs are not permitted on the school premises. If you choose to walk your dog on route to school, please ensure you leave them safely outside of the school gates when collecting your child/ren. Thank you.
Black History Month
This week, we celebrated Black History Month with a whole school performance at the church.
The children were absolutely incredible and their voices sounded simply stunning!
Thank you to all of the parents and carers who came to support the children and to all of the staff involved.
A special thank you to Mrs Barrett for preparing this special occasion.
After School Clubs
With the winter months approaching and the darker nights coming in, we have decided to make a change to the collection of pupils who attend after school clubs.
From Tuesday 31st October, all KS1 and KS2 children must be collected from the school office.
This is to ensure that all children are dismissed safely and to avoid children standing outside in the dark, particularly when the weather gets wetter. EYFS clubs will continue to be dismissed from the Nursery gate.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
SJSJ PTA Christmas Fayre
The countdown to the Christmas Fayre has started. For the first time since Covid, the school and the PTA will host a Christmas Fayre on 1st December 2023 at 3.30-5.15pm. We need to make this event memorable for our children! Any help is welcome.
We need prizes for the raffle. Do you have contacts with businesses would could give prizes for the Christmas raffle or do you want to get rid of that beautiful present you never used? We are takers!
We also need enough volunteers to help with the different activities so that we can organise shifts cover for the stalls and everyone can enjoy the Fayre. Face or Nail painting, art and craft, Pomander making or cookies decorating, sport activities… If you feel like animating one of these activities, please let a PTA member know or leave your name at the Office.
The proceed of the Fayre will go to renewing the school’s IT suits and purchasing sport equipment for pupils taking part in inter-school competitions.
Green Team
To celebrate Recycling week, Reception to Year 6 got to experience the future using VR headsets.
The children took part in an interactive workshop, where they saw what the world will be like in the future if we do not recycle.
This brought to life the importance of recycling and protecting our precious planet!
Winkworth Sponsorship
The real estate agent is still happy to do the usual signboard sponsoring. They will offer the PTA £25 per board for having them up for 5 weeks. What this means is that we need families who agree to have the “Winkworth supports St John and St James” board in front of their house for 5 weeks. If you can help please let the school or someone from the PTA know by 20 October 2023. And if you can ask friends, neighbours or family members to take part, that would be even better! (Some schools manage to have at least 50 boards out, why not us?) We would plan to have the boards up in November for 5 weeks.
Winkworth is also offering to return 5% of their total net office fee as a donation to SJSJ on successful completion of a sale or let of a property. For that, if you sell or rent your property using their service, you just need to make them aware of the relationship with SJSJ at the time of instruction so the donation can be noted in their terms. They will then make the donation once they’ve received their fee from the seller or landlord.
Harvest Festival Food Donation Appeal 2023
Harvest Festival is being celebrated throughout the month of October, where farmers and growers give thanks for a successful harvest season and churches, community groups, schools and individuals give to those who are less fortunate.
Harvest season makes a real difference to families by collecting food from local schools and delivering it to those who need it most. This year we are asking all parents and carers to donate food items to support this cause.
Which items can be donated?
Please donate any of the following items to support local charities:
– Tinned food or spreads
– Long-life milk, juice and drinks
– Dried pasta
– Cooking sauces
– Condiments
– Tea and coffee
– Rice
– Cereal
– Toiletries
All items can be dropped off at the main school office.
Lateness
If your child is regularly arriving to school late you will be sent a warning letter. If lateness does not improve you will then receive a fine of £60. Getting to school punctually and every day is an important part of the school day. It is your responsibility to ensure that your child attends school each day and is on time.
Holidays during term time
Parents are reminded we do not authorise any absences during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances of which we will ask for evidence. Any request must be put in writing to the headteacher and you must wait for a response. You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school’s permission.
Secondary School Applications
All parents/carers of children currently in Year 6 will need to complete their secondary school application by 31st October 2023.
To support you with making your decisions, each secondary school in the borough will run open evening sessions which you are encouraged to attend. Please see below the information for these events.
As always, if you would like any support with the admissions process, please make an appointment with Miss Khaleel who is more than happy to help!