Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been lovely to see all the children in school this week.  They have made a fantastic start to the new school year and their teachers and teaching assistants are all very impressed with the way they have settled in to their new classes, work and routines.

We are looking forward to welcoming our new Reception children into school next week.  We also wish all our Y6 pupils who moved on from us in the summer a successful start to their secondary school career.

Good news to share

We are delighted to share the following good news with you.

Attachment Aware Schools Silver Award

At the end of the Summer Term, St Elizabeth’s achieved the ‘Attachment Aware Schools’ Silver Award’.  This is the result of the school’s commitment to supporting all children’s emotional needs and development.  ‘Attachment Aware Schools’ are recognised for ‘developing a culture of compassion and nurture which plays a pivotal role in getting young people into a state of readiness for learning’.  Congratulations go to Mrs Diver who leads the Attachment Aware programme in school, supported by Mrs Compton, our Well-being Lead and Mrs Graf our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant).  We are now ‘going for gold’ and will keep you updated on well-being and emotional regulation initiatives over the year.

Y6 National Test Results

We received the Y6 national test (SATS) results at the end of last term and we are very proud of all the children’s hard work.  Their achievement in all subjects was significantly higher than the National averages.  We are particularly pleased that 100% of pupils achieved the expected standard in Reading, with 53% achieving the higher level.  90% of children achieved the expected standard in Mathematics, again with 53% achieving the higher level.

More information about the Y6 tests can be found on: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment-national-headlines and on our school website.

Congratulations to Mrs King

Congratulations to Miss McCrossan who got married over the summer and is now known by her married name of Mrs King.  Mr and Mrs King had a wonderful day and were delighted that some of our Schola choir were able to share in their celebration, singing at the wedding.

Information for Parents

RE and Catholic Life

Education Sunday

Education Sunday is a special Sunday for churches across England and Wales.  This year it is celebrated on the 8th September, just as the new academic year starts.  Education Sunday is a national day of prayer and celebration for everyone involved in the world of education.  Prayers are said for all those who work in education, and all those who learn.  At the beginning of the new school year we ask you to pray for the pupils and staff in all places of education, particularly all those who learn and work at St Elizabeth’s.

'Celebration of the Word' assemblies

This week in our ‘Celebration of the Word’ assembly we looked at our school motto ‘Love one another as I love you,’ as we start the new school year.  We also looked at what St Paul’s letter to the Romans taught us about being a Christian family.  The children reflected on how we can live out our school motto and St Paul’s teaching in our school community, showing care and respect for one another.

In our Values Assembly this morning we focused on the Paralympic Games and the inspirational achievements of two of the Paralympic athletes: Jodie Grinham and Sheetal Devi.  We have encouraged the children to watch some of the final weekend of competition and perhaps some of the closing ceremony on Sunday evening.  If your child would like to research a Paralympic athlete they admire, they can bring in a photograph or piece of writing to share in assembly next week.

Message from Mrs Briggs, School Librarian

If your child completed the Summer Reading Challenge, please could you pass the certificate to Mrs Briggs by Monday 9^th September.  These will be presented to the children during assembly.

Class Information Sessions

We will be holding class information sessions for each class on the dates below.  These sessions are led by your child’s class teacher and are an opportunity to hear what your child will learn this year and how you can help them at home.  The sessions begin at 9:00am and last approximately 45 minutes.  The sessions for Y5 and Y6 will include information about the secondary school application process.

Monday 16th September – Y6
Tuesday 17th September – Y5
Thursday 19th September – Y3
Friday 20th September – Y4
Monday 23rd September –Y2
Tuesday 24th September – Reception
Wednesday 25th September – Y1

Upcoming Dates

We are currently finalising the termly dates and will send these out to you shortly.

September

Thursday 12^th September - PTA Second Hand Uniform Sale at 8:45am by table tennis tables

Thursday 12^th September - Cake and lolly sale organised by Y6 parents

Wednesday 18^th September 3:30pm in the school hall – Piano Concert. All children who play the piano are invited to perform.

Values Awards

Congratulations to the following children who have been given a Values Award this week.

Y1 - Elzbieta

Y2 - George

Y3 - Emmeline

Y4 - Marcus

Y5 - Kai

Y6 – Angie

Millionaire Readers

Congratulations to Dearbhla and Maximus in Y5 for reading 10 million words. An amazing achievement!

Attendance this week

Congratulations to Y5 for having the highest attendance this week with 98.7%.  This is closely followed by Y6 which has 98% attendance.

Wishing you a relaxing weekend,

Jane Hines