Dear Parents,
We come to the last newsletter of the year, but of course with nearly a week of school until the end of term. The last day of term, on Wednesday 24th July, finishes at 2pm (R/KS1) and 2.10pm (KS2). We look forward to welcoming the children back on Wednesday 4th September after our two INSET days on 2nd and 3rd September.
I wish you all an enjoyable summer break and look forward to the new academic year 2024-25.
It seems apt to start the newsletter off with various thank yous.
Staff
Thank you to all the staff for their hard work throughout the year and I hope they enjoy a well-earned break. In a large school, we try as much as we can to stay positive and support each other, whilst also acknowledging that aspects can improve and follow our mantra of Review, Reflect, Refresh and Replace.
Parents and children
We thank our parents for their commitment to supporting the school and working with us in doing our best for the children.
We particularly thank our departing Year 6s and wish them well on their future journeys. You have been excellent role models for the rest of the school this year, and we look forward to you keeping in touch and visiting us in the future.
Volunteers - We have a huge amount of volunteers that come into the school and support the children with their learning every week. These essentially fall into three groups-
Parent body-helping with reading, other curriculum areas, the library, swimming, PSA events and various other ways.
Local volunteers-these occur through people in the community, ex-teachers and various other connections from staff and the past
Secondary school children from the independent and state sector-we have over twenty that come in throughout the week.
Governor Letter
Please see attached the end of year letter from the chair of governors, Susan Boughton.
I would like to thank the governors for all their work in their voluntary roles across the school. They are more visible to the staff than ever before and very engaged with school life.
Pupil Numbers in School
You will no doubt be aware of the significant changes that have taken place with school catchment areas over the last two years in the borough and within London.
Whilst our school's catchment area has increased in line with other schools, this September we have the smallest catchment of any three form entry school in the borough and are full, with 90 children in reception for September. In times of school finances being tightened, the principal income is through the number of children on your school roll. Typically, we do have places from Year 1 upwards and are delighted to have welcomed new children into year groups this year from local schools and further afield.
Woodland Walk Through
A reminder that after school on Friday 19th July (tomorrow) parents can visit the woodland area from 3.20pm pick up. The idea is just to walk through and see it rather than stay and experience it. It will be a one-way system from the Orchard playground and then exit through the blue gate at the end of the path by West Temple Sheen entrance.
Everyone will need to be off site by 3.45pm as the Year 6 reps have the Year 6 party to organise.
New House Names and Points
The four new names for the houses have been chosen following a long list from the school council and each child in the school then voting for their favourite two. The top four names were Maple, Oak, Willow and Palm. Alongside the sports day results tomorrow, we will tell the children which house was allocated which colour.
The house point system will be revamped from September, and we will bring you more news then. Essentially, children's points will be tracked over time, and they will be working towards awards (Bronze, Silver and Gold) whilst also collecting points for their house weekly. We also look forward to being able to give them out around the school for acts of politeness and kindness as well as for various aspects in the classroom.
New PE T-shirts
We have worked with Sheen Sports to bring updated, breathable material and more practical PE t-shirts at minimal additional cost. The collection point will be from the shop. Modelled by some Y2 school councillors and volunteers from Y1! 
From September, children may wear the previous heavier cotton style ones or the new ones. From September 2025, there will just be the new ones. The cycling t-shirts cannot be worn on PE days from September 2024.
https://sheensports.com/product/sheen-mount-performance-tee/
A reminder-any Reception parents for next year will receive their complimentary t-shirts from the PSA.
Toys
There seems to be a bit of a trend for children in phases R, KS1 and LKS2 to bring toys into school. From September, no toys from outside school will be allowed in school. Two caveats to this point-if you feel there is any need for a toy to come in from home, please discuss this with the class teacher and they will then discuss it with the phase leader. We will look to have some toys on site for imaginary play at break times.
Platinum Mugs
Following the fund-raising event for the dress up day on our Platinum day in March, the PSA have funded the difference so that every child can come home with a mug celebrating the platinum jubilee. These will be distributed from tomorrow.
Assembly, Performance Dates 2024-25
After producing this document for you for the first time last year, we have worked hard to produce this document before the end of the term. It is attached to the newsletter.
Mini Marathon Challenge Completed!
The school have received the plaque in the picture following everyone running/walking 2.6 miles in their PE lessons in the first part of this term. Well done to everyone for participating and to Mr Brown for facilitating and Miss Lawton for organising!
Path to Paris-summer challenge
From Miss Lawton, our PE lead-
Sheen Mount are taking on another challenge!
To encourage physical activity over the summer holidays, we are participating in Path to Paris! All you need to do is log every form of physical activity on the website. We are competing against other schools to travel to Paris, where the Olympics are this year!
To log your exercise:
- Go to this website https://www.getset.co.uk/pathtoparis
- Scroll down till you see 'how do I find my team'
- Enter our unique PIN - 3432
- Our team name is SHEEN MOUNT PRIMARY SCHOOL
- You can then log your activity and see how well we are doing.
We look forward to seeing how far we can travel as a school.
School events
Year 2 have all visited the Wetland Centre over the course of the past week.
Reception are going on their first external trip for a few years on Monday at Nower Wood.
Chess team
Congratulations to our Y5/6 chess team for winning the borough title over the weekend! A fantastic achievement. We had three teams play in total in the event-well done to all those involved.
Project cluck 
Congratulations to Poppy in Y5 who has successfully completed her cycle ride in order to raise money for the school to have chickens. Now we need to complete our due diligence to ensure we can maintain and look after them properly before they become residents!
She raised over £2000 for the project and the link is here should anyone else wish to donate. https://www.justgiving.com/page/projectcluck
PSA
Before we look to the future, it is important to acknowledge the huge amount of work numerous members of the outgoing PSA committee have given over the previous two years. Thank you to all of them, whether it has been organising the fairs, the discos, parents events, looking after money raised and our due diligence or the second hand uniform.
The summer fair raised a fantastic £10,000, which, considering the variable weather, is an excellent result.
Dates for PSA events 2024-25
18 September - PSA parents meeting 8pm - school hall - all parents invited.
26 September - Reception and new parents party - 8pm - school hall
12 October - Odd Jobs - parents unite to sort out the odd jobs around the school - 1pm - 5pm
19 October - Halloween Spooky Trail - 3pm - 6pm (start at Sheen Common)
22nd November - Parents Quiz - 7.30pm - 10.30pm-school hall
7 December - Christmas Fair - 11am - 3pm
7 February - Winter Parents Party - 7.30pm - 11pm - school hall
2 April - Easter bounce - during school hours
5 June - Kids disco - 3.30pm - 6.30pm
20 June - End of year summer parents party - venue TBC
5 July - Summer Fair 11.30am - 4pm
Easy fundraising
The holidays are almost here, but just because school's out doesn't mean you can't fundraise for Sheen Mount.
But fear not! There is no need to bake a cake, run a stall or ride to Paris. Just simply shop...
Since Sheen Mount partnered with Easyfundraising parents have raised more than 13k for the school.....just by their normal purchases.
With many major retailers affiliated including John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Tesco, Booking.com, comparethemarket.com you can earn cash for the school by shopping and paying bills.
STEP 1
Simply download the EasyFundraising app or visit easyfundraising.co.uk to sign up.
STEP 2
Choose Sheen Mount Primary School as your good cause.
STEP 3
When you have an account make sure you enable the donation reminder function which will automatically offer you a chance to earn a donation when you shop at an affiliated store.
That's it. Happy shopping and happy holidays!
School Street-Sustrans
Please see the attached survey from school streets asking how they can support parents' journey to school.
Youth engagement attachments-Police and Heatham House
Please see various attachments and below-
https://kr.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/young-people/information-and-advice/youth-centres-and-activities/heatham-house-youth-centre/heatham-house-summer-holiday-programme
Have a good weekend and summer.
Best wishes
Tom Holmes - Headteacher
Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher
