Hello everyone,
I hope you have all had a good week. I cannot believe that we are approaching the final week of this half-term. The Autumn term is always the longest but this first half-term has flown by. Next week we have our virtual parent consultations taking place and we are looking forward to discussing the progress of all your lovely children.
Black History Month
This week, we have continued to celebrate Black History Month with some classes swapping and sharing their learning with others. Please take the time to read about all the different things that have been going on across the school in the Year Group sections below.
Covid-19
I know that we are now beginning to learn to live with Covid and, with so many of us vaccinated, the world is appearing to return to some sense of normality. However, as the headteacher of a large school I am acutely aware of the rising Covid rates, particularly in the 10 -14 age range, and the responsibility I have to keep all the children, staff and parents as safe as possible. Within school, we have had several positive cases including one in each of the Year 6 classes last week and we currently have two members of staff who have tested positive. With this in mind, I want to remind you how important it is that we each do everything we can to limit the chances of infection. Therefore, I am politely requesting that:
- you wear masks at all times when you are inside the school grounds
- at morning drop-off you adhere to the one way system, in through the brown gate on Christchurch Road and out of the blue gate on West Temple Sheen. This is because all children have to be in school at the same time, unlike the afternoon when pick up times are staggered (3.20 pm for Reception and KS1 and 3.30 for KS2)
- you help your child to be organised and arrive with everything needed for the day, so that nothing needs to be dropped off later.
Thank you for all your support with this. Whilst it is something that we all must learn to live with it is also something we cannot afford to be complacent about, particularly as we move into the winter season.
School Performances
As a school, we have always been very proud of our assemblies and performances. However, over the last year and a half, we have had to make some difficult decisions about what we can and can't do with regard to our normal schedule of performance events. We have restarted our singing assemblies but are alternating year groups so that there are never too many children singing together in the hall. Alongside this, our priority in the first half-term of this academic year has been focused on assessing, identifying and addressing gaps in the children's knowledge and understanding that have resulted from the two extensive periods of Lockdown. As a result, I have made the decision that we will not be holding our usual Harvest Festival assemblies this half-term. We will keep an open mind about Christmas performances and keep you informed about our decisions.
Home School Agreement
When your child starts in Reception, you are asked to sign our home school agreement. It is an agreement between the teachers, the pupils and the parents which summarises the different roles that we play in making your child's Sheen Mount journey as successful as possible. If, as a family, you have joined Sheen Mount as an in-year admission, you may not have seen this. If this is the case, please download the agreement, sign it and return it to school, to your child's class teacher. Here is the link:
Home School Agreement
Clubs news
Outdoor clubs that are run by our PE Teacher, Mr. March, will be available to book from 8pm on Tuesday 19 October on Arbor next week, for the second half-term. These will be for the period up to Friday 10 December. The school office will email a reminder ahead of booking going live. Please note no clubs will run for the last week of term. Mornings are £9/session and lunchtimes £6/session, payable per half term, not by session.
If you think you may need financial assistance to book a club with Mr. March, please contact the office on info@sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk
We are also pleased to welcome back Chess with instructor David Okike. This club will take place in the Berners-Lee Hall (we are using this venue as it is spacious and airy with lots of windows) on Thursdays, starting after half-term on 4th November. David will be running two sessions of 20 children as follows:
The cost for autumn 2nd half-term will be £42. Please email daveokike@yahoo.com to secure your place and make payment.
Keeping Everyone Safe
Finally, we would like to remind you of the importance of monitoring your child(ren)'s online activities and in helping you to do so, we would like to make you aware of a useful website that is updated regularly with the latest information on keeping safe online. This website has been developed by the NSPCC in conjunction with O2 and is called Net Aware. We would really encourage you to explore the site as there are so many useful features such as a SEND online safety hub.
Just a reminder that Mrs Jeffery is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and I am the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL).
Here is the link:
https://www.net-aware.org.uk
So, have a lovely weekend everyone and I'll see you all next week.
