Dear Parents,
I hope you had an enjoyable half-term. Summer 2 is always a very busy half-term at school with numerous events going on. We are getting ready to welcome our Reception children for September 2023 for their first stay and play next week. At the same time we are ensuring our Year 6s have an enjoyable and fitting send off to their seven years at Sheen Mount, including preparing them for their Year 6 production and leavers assembly.
The heat has been very strong this week and the hottest block is the Y3/4 block. We have sourced some air coolers for each of these classrooms that we hope will have a lot greater impact than just fans. Whilst the teachers utilise the school grounds, we hope this will make the rooms significant cooler.
I am writing this newsletter from the Isle of Wight where I have been with the Y5s for their week long residential. You may have seen some of the posts on Twitter. We have been blessed with the weather (cooler than London), enjoyed a range of activities and experiences and a wonderful beach that the hotel looks out upon.
Class Photos
These took place on Friday 9th June with a new company. There is a choice of different style of photos and colour/black and white and these will be available in the next few weeks.
Healthy Eating Enhancement Homework
A message from our DT lead, Miss Costa:
All year groups have the opportunity to take part in a whole school competition activity: to research and design a healthy school lunch or a healthy school packed lunch. This will be optional, but any child who chooses to enter will need to complete their design on a piece of paper and bring it in to school. Entries to be named and bought to the school office.
Mr Holmes, Mrs O'Brien, Miss Costa and Gintare (our school chef) will pick the winning entries- whose designs will be made by Gintare and served in the school canteen or appear in their next school packed lunch.
Events this Week
Year 6 rowing
A unique opportunity was presented to us for all children in Year 6 to go down to the boathouse at Richmond Bridge in the next few weeks and enjoy two sessions of rowing a 'Skerry' with 8 rowers, one cox and one passenger.
"It was really fun and all of us enjoyed it" (Shayan)
"It was fun. It can be a bit annoying when you "catch a crab" but we soon learnt how to get better and it was really enjoyable." (Zach) 
"It was really fun and a great way to start off the new half term." (Maisie)
"Where are those children?" Mr Kennedy
Year 3 Trip to Matilda
Year 3 were privileged to go up to the West End for a Wednesday matinée performance of Matilda last week. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and thank you to all the staff who took them on this fantastic trip.
Borough Sports
Thirteen children took part in the first athletics Borough Sports competition for three years at St Mary's University athletics track. The children performed very well in both the School Team and Team 1000 event. There were some notable individual performances, including Gui finishing 2nd out of 140 athletics in the standing long jump and 600m and then 10th overall. Whilst in the girls team - Ava and Liberty were second and third in the 600m overall.
End of Term Dates
A reminder of a few dates coming up:
KS2 Sports Day - Thursday 6th July - 9.30 -12.00pm on Sheen Common
R & KS1 Sports Day - Friday 7th July - 9.30 -12.00pm on Sheen Common
We have reviewed the programme of events and there will be fewer rotational events and more individual or collective relays. The schedule should finish about 11.30am, but as we try this slightly new format we don't want to commit to these timings.
Moving up morning - Monday 3rd July. Children will spend their mornings with their new class teacher. Their teachers will be announced on Friday 29th June.
'Le Grand depart' - London to Paris cycle, Friday 23rd June
All the hard work and the training has been completed and 46 parents and 4 members of staff will set off for the two-day London to Paris cycle ride on the date above.
The aim will be to leave school at 9.05am, with children in the playground as we cycle through in a wide channel. We would ask any parents wanting to give a final cheer off to do it from Christchurch road up to the corner of Fife Road.
To help with this smooth departure, classroom doors will open at 8.40am and close at 8.50am. Anyone who arrives after 8.55am will have to wait at the office until after the departure.
Own Clothes day Thursday 29th June - bring a bottle for the summer fair which is on Saturday 1st July.
A message from the PSA and events for the summer fair.
The school fair (1st July) needs your cakes. Either:
- Homemade competition cakes
- Cupcakes/brownies/biscuits to sell at the fair
The illustrious Sheen Mount cake competition:
With three categories of winners, there are plenty of opportunities to be crowned in glory/win a prize.
Categories:
- Reception to Year 3
- Year 4 - 6
- Parent submission
Please note, for the first two pupil categories, we’re not looking for the perfectly decorated cake; but a yummy authentic one (made by a child), with personality and creative flair.
Just leave your cake by reception/the assembly hall at drop-off on Friday 30th or Thursday 29th June. Please label your cake with the following information:
- State whether your cake should be entered into the competition (“competition cake”)
- Name
- Year group/class
- Cake description
- Allergens / free-from details (please do not nuts)
We will place all competition cakes in a designated “competition” area. Just look for the signs.
Thursday 29th June is also a “be yourself” day. So, every child that brings in a cake or bottle for the tombola can wear their own clothes?
PSA events
Italian themed party evening
Thank you to all those who organised the Party evening last Friday. We had fantastic weather and the wonderful talents of Andrew Bain (parent at the school) singing. We also had an exclusive first ever performance from the 'Sheen Mount dads'.
Cycle event
Thank you to Mia Hodges for organising an online Q & A event with a professional cyclist, Nelson Powless, as part of the fundraising associated with Forest, Field, Fun.
Although it was only adults on the call, we did manage to put some of the children's questions to Nelson and they will watch his responses in due course in an assembly.
Kherson appeal
A message from a Sheen Mount parent
Alona and her daughter Amelia have been living with our next-door neighbours for the past year. She is from the Kherson region and is hearing first-hand about the shocking impact of the dam being destroyed. If you wish to make any contribution, please do so below.
https://biz.ks.ua/en/main/
Parent Workshops-reminder
Please see below some information from Mrs Jeffery, our Assistant Headteacher and SENCO. These look very valuable and should answer many of the questions we get at school around parenting.
Sheen Mount is undertaking the Attachment Aware Schools Award and as part of this project staff have been trained in a range of different strategies, including the Restorative Approach and Emotion Coaching. We are in the process of updating our behaviour policy in light of this training.
We would like to offer parents the opportunity to learn about these approaches and to begin to use shared language and approach with their children. Therefore, we are offering two parent workshops on Positive Behaviour Management. These workshops are aimed at supporting all parents in our school community. Please find the dates, times and joining information below:
Session 1 - Emotion Coaching Tuesday 20th June 2023 from 19.00 – 20.00 meet.google.com/aev-qnzd-phs
Session 2 – Restorative Approach Tuesday 4th July 2023 from 19.00 – 20.00 meet.google.com/fdh-qsxk-ykh
Have a good weekend.
Tom Holmes - Headteacher
Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher
