Dear Parents and Carers,

Christmas has begun in earnest at St Elizabeth’s! We have just had our KS1 disco which was great fun for the children and their staff. The highlight was definitely Santa’s arrival at the end and the children’s faces were a picture as they received their gifts and whispered, ‘Is it the real Santa?’ Huge thanks to the Y5 parents and the PTA for organising our two discos and to Santa himself, of course! We look forward to our KS2 disco this evening.

This week in school

We have enjoyed a number of beautiful Advent events this week.

Reception Carols Around the Christmas Tree

Yesterday our Reception children performed Carols around the Christmas Tree. Dressed as angels they delighted the audience of parents with their singing of traditional carols and festive favourites.

KS1 Nativity

This morning Y1 and Y2 performed their version of the Nativity. Following the journey of a midwife who is looking for the baby king, the children showed us the story of Jesus’s birth and explained the real meaning of Christmas. In the midwife’s words “It’s funny, all evening I’ve been thinking He needs me, but the simple truth is that I need Him. Baby Jesus, it’s good to know you”.

The children’s wonderful acting and singing made for a very memorable Nativity.

Diocesan Advent Service

On Tuesday our Schola Choir took part in the Diocesan Schools’ Advent Service at St George’s Cathedral. They joined choirs from forty schools across Southwark Diocese, each performing their own carol and the standard of singing was extremely high.

Junior Choir – Carols at Greville House

Yesterday our Junior Choir, made up of sixty children, sang carols at Greville House, our neighbouring care home. It was very special to see how much the residents enjoyed hearing the children sing and a lovely way for us to spread the good news of Christmas in our local community.

Huge thanks go to our class teachers, our teaching assistants and Mrs FitzGerald, our music teacher, for all their hard work in preparing our Advent musical events.

Advent Charity – Catholic Children’s Society

Pupil Chaplains have chosen 'The Catholic Children's Society (CCS)' as their Advent charity this year. This charity supports disadvantaged children and families across London, Hertfordshire and the South East.

CSS work with individuals of all faiths and none; their sole aim is to help those in greatest need. There are many families in our local community who are in need at this time of year. We are inviting parents to make a donation to the CSS at each of our Advent concerts. Thank you very much for your generosity.

There are still more Advent events to come - please see the upcoming dates below for more details.

Around the classes this week

Y4 Roman Day

As the finale to their History topic, yesterday Y4 held a Roman Day. The children came into school dressed as Romans and spent the day making Roman soldiers’ shields and preparing a Roman banquet which they invited parents to join. A fun, memorable day was had by all!

NSPCC Assemblies

This week children in all classes have watched the NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe assemblies in their classes. These assemblies form part of our annual Safeguarding programme for children and present information about keeping safe in an age-appropriate way. The assemblies reinforce our school message that children should always speak to a parent or a trusted adult if they have worries. The children are also taught the Childline number, a free helpline for children. Although we would hope that children would never need to use this, we know that in every school there are children who need help and this is an important way for children to access support.

For more information about the NSPCC and for resources for parents, including ‘positive parenting’, visit the NSPCC website at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/

Sports Update from Mr Sagar and Mrs Knowles

This week, it was the Y3 boys turn to represent our school in a mini borough football tournament. We played three games in total, winning one game and drawing two games, which meant St Elizabeth’s qualified for the knock out rounds. In the quarter-final, we played East Sheen Primary School; the boys put on a great display of passing football and eventually, after a very close match, we lost 2-1. Well done to all our players who showed great teamwork and spirit.

SEND Update from Mrs Compton

The APDR (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) meetings will be taking place in the week of 15th January. Appointment times will be emailed to parents next week.

KS2 Carol Service on Thursday 14th December

Two tickets per family have been sent home to families in KS2 for the Carol Service taking place on Thursday 14th December. Please return any tickets not needed to the school office. If you would like additional tickets, please email the school admin email: admin@st-elizabeths.richmond.sch.uk with your request. More information about arrangements for the KS2 Carol Service will be sent home next week.

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday 13th December pm - KS2 to Rose Theatre. KS1 Christmas Pantomime in hall.

Thursday 14th December 7pm - KS2 Carol Service.

Tuesday 19th December - Christmas Lunch.

Wednesday 20th December 9:30am - Advent Mass.

Wednesday 20th December 2pm - end of term.

Attendance

Whole school attendance this week is 97.26%. Congratulations to Y4 for having the highest attendance at 98.77%, closely followed by Y3 with 98.49% attendance, Y5 with 97.51% attendance and Reception with 97.17%.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Jane Hines