Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Y5 pupils have had a wonderful few days on their residential visit to Sayers Croft this week. They were so lucky with the weather for the first couple of days which allowed them to take part in a great variety of activities such as a rope course, climbing wall, orienteering and camp fire. This is their first time away as a class and it has been such a fantastic experience. Thank you to the staff team who, along with the Y5 children, certainly deserve a restful weekend!

This week in school

We are preparing for Holy Week and Easter in a number of ways in school.

Y2 Class Assembly

On Thursday, our Y2 children led us in a beautiful assembly in which they dramatised the temptation of Jesus in the desert and his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They shared their Lenten promises and reminded us to keep working on these until we celebrate Easter next weekend.

Passion Play

This afternoon the whole school watched a performance of the Passion Play, with our Y4 children leading the acting and our Y3 children singing in the choir. The Passion Play tells the story of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and the children performed with such maturity to create a very moving production. The performance for parents will take place at 9:30am on Wednesday morning, 27th March. All parents from all classes are invited to watch and there will be a charity collection at the end of the production for both ‘Small Steps’, our local school for children with physical disabilities, and CAFOD.

Y3 Visit to Chiltern Open Air Museum

On Wednesday our Y3 children visited the Chiltern Open Air Museum as part of their History study of the Stone Age and Iron Age. The children got the opportunity to go inside an iron-age home and learnt how to churn cream into butter, throw a spear and grind corn amongst other things. The highlight for many though was lighting a fire using flint. It was a brilliant day all round!

Next week in school

No extra-curricular clubs next week

There will be no extra-curricular clubs next week. NSSport and Breakfast Club will be running each day as usual. Children should wear their full school winter uniform unless it is their PE day. Please can Y5 children wear school uniform on Tuesday as they are leading the Mass and bring their PE kits into school to change into for their PE lesson?

Orchestra Visit to Gamelan Workshop

On Monday, 25th March, children from our school Orchestra will be travelling up to London to take part in a gamelan workshop at the Royal College of Music. The gamelan is a group of instruments from Indonesia and the children will have a unique opportunity to learn about the cultural context of the gamelan and learn how to play with a gamelan expert.

Holy Week Mass

Our Holy Week Mass will be taking place on Tuesday 26th March at 11am with Canon John Weatherill. Y5 children will be leading the Mass and all parents are invited to attend.

Y6 Mental Health Support Team Well-being session

On Tuesday afternoon our Y6 pupils will be having a resilience workshop from the Mental Health Support Team. This is part of our transition programme for our Y6 pupils, preparing them for their next stage at secondary school.

End of Term Movie Night on Wednesday

Y6 parents are organising a movie night on Wednesday 27th March from 6pm to 8:15pm. All children are invited to come and watch a special screening of Wonka! (PG) in the school hall. There will be a hot dog, popcorn, drink and treat for each child … and a few golden tickets! Children can come in PJs if they wish!

You can purchase your child’s ticket via this link: https://st-elizabeth-s-school-richmond-pta.sumupstore.com/products

A child ticket is £6, or £5 without a hot dog. Parents are welcome to drop off or stay (for free). A lovely way to end the term.

Information for Parents

Attendance and Punctuality

Absence and punctuality letters will be sent home next week to parents whose child’s attendance and punctuality is below 90%. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child is in school on-time every day. You are giving them an excellent habit for life and giving them the best start to their school day.

Upcoming dates

March

Monday 25th Orchestra visit to gamelan workshop at Royal College of Music

Tuesday 26th 11am Holy Week Mass prepared by Y5 with Canon John Weatherill – parents invited

Tuesday 26th Resilience workshop for Y6 pupils

Wednesday 27th 9:30am Passion Play prepared by Y4 and Y3 – parents from all classes invited

Wednesday 27th 6pm-8:15pm Movie Night for all children in school hall

Thursday 28th Term ends. Children to be collected at 2pm

April

Monday 15th April School returns for Summer Term

Thursday 25th April PTA Quiz Night for parents – details to follow

May

Friday 3rd May INSET Day – school closed

Monday 6th May Bank Holiday

Sunday 19th May School May Fair – Save the Date!

Attendance this week

Whole school attendance this week is 95.24%. Congratulations to Y5 for having 100% attendance this week, followed by Reception with 96.33% attendance.

And finally, we wish Miss Bolger, our Y1 teacher all the very best as she heads off to Australia to get married over Easter. We wish Miss Bolger and her fiancé a wonderful wedding day and a very happy future together.

Kind regards,

Jane Hines