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Sheen Mount Newsletter

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Thursday 14th November 2024

 

Dear parents,

Welcome to the new half-term, the long evenings and dropping temperatures show us autumn is fast drifting past. There is lots to look forward to in the coming weeks as we begin the build up towards Christmas. Our choirs have performances coming up before the end of the term at Christ Church (The Holly Lodge Concert) and John Lewis in Kingston.  It was lovely to see our Year 1s enjoying the new woodland area during their forest school. 

I hope you have found the parent consultation meetings valuable this week. They play a vital part in the partnership between home and school. Thank you to all the teachers for their preparation and time after school at the meetings.

Please see the information below from Good Neighbours. This time of year is always an appropriate time to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. For children to learn to support those in their own community with a simple act of kindness is a very worthwhile cause and ties in very nicely with our current Living Value of Love. The deadline to get the gift bags to school is Wednesday 27th November - which gives two weekends. 

A reminder of the emailed information out about Children In Need Day tomorrow:

Children In Need is on Friday 15th November and, as this is a national campaign, children can wear one item of clothing/accessory that is spotty on Friday and then parents should donate to the central online point.  https://donate.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/

Like last year, the school council will also choose a charity day to support a good cause once a term and this year, it will be a Christmas Jumper theme later this term.

Attendance

This always plays a key part in school life, but nationally and locally it has a real focus at the moment and will continue to do so moving forward. I stood at the gate a couple of times this week right up to the last entry time at 8.55am and there were very few late comers after this point- thank you for your promptness.

One metric that we measure (and have to then subsequently report and are hold to account on) are those who we deem to be 'persistently absent'. Those with an attendance of less than 90% are in this category and will be receiving letters this week, ensuring they are aware of this and with the hope this will improve as we move through the year. 

Peer review

We had two headteachers and our school improvement partner visiting us last week for the day. They visited over half of our classes and spent time talking to children and looking at their books. We were then presented with a report around our strengths and then questions for us to consider. In turn, I will then visit the other two schools within the same process. It is a useful process for us to have ratified what we believe we are doing well, and then consider how to further develop as we move forwards. 

Remembrance Event by Mrs O'Brien

Over the last few weeks, Sheen Mount has been involved in preparing for the Remembrance Weekend. Working with a local resident, Bernard Adams, we have been helping him to showcase the stories of the 308 men from East Sheen and Mortlake who, sadly, lost their lives in WW1. This year is the 110th anniversary of the start of the First World War and Bernard has worked really hard to find and share the information about these brave men. He had them printed onto large cards and then Years 4, 5 and 6 neatly copied some WW1 poetry and drew poppies to decorate the cards.

The Year 6 Art Ambassadors: Frank, Vivian, Hazel, Seren and Darcey worked with Mrs O’Brien to complete the decoration of the cards with wooden crosses that they painted and resin poppies that were glued to each card. Poppy seeds were also put into little bags to be taken home by the people who attended the event to grow poppies in their gardens, in memory of those who were lost. Altogether, 76 cards were decorated and put on display in Christ Church and at the war memorial in Mortlake. We have already had requests from other churches to use them in the years to come. The children in Years 4, 5 and 6 have also been to Christ Church to read the stories of these men. It has been a lovely community event to be part of.

Ambassadors

It is the turn of our English ambassadors and Miss Breckon this week. She said they were very enthusiastic and excited!

Introducing our Year 6 English Ambassadors: Poppy, Arya, Nefes and Evie.
 
“The main reason I wanted to be an English Ambassador was because I really enjoy writing my own stories and finding out new things, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. I hope I can give younger kids the same feeling English gave to me six years ago. This subject is AWESOME!” Nefes 6AD                                                  
 
“I wanted to be an English ambassador because I love reading and would like to share my passion with other children. I also really enjoy writing, and I want to encourage people to think more creatively. I hope I can encourage people to write and read more. Even though English isn’t my first language, I fell in love with it as soon as I arrived in this inspiring country. ” Arya 6K
 
‘’I knew that English was my favourite subject from the moment I started reception. I love this subject so much because it trains your imagination to fly out of your head and into space. And being an English ambassador emphasises the point that I love to read, write and support this wonderful subject. I LOVE IT!’’ POPPY 6S
 
“I think that it is really fun to be an English Ambassador and it's really good to encourage people to read. At home I spend most of my free time reading books. I love books!” Evie 6S
 
We look forward to many exciting things happening all over the school in English this year. We are really happy to be joining the SPARK! Book Awards again this year as well as attending the Barnes Literature Festival, hosting the Travelling Book Fair and hopefully organising some visiting authors. We would also like to promote reading and writing competitions, like the Young Writers competitions.

 

Sport

Football

Girls' Borough Tournament 

The girls went to the Richmond borough tournament yesterday. They had one win, draw and a loss in the morning matches and progressed to the cup phase. They then had 2 victories and a narrow loss, just missing out on the semi-finals. With over half the team from Year 5, we look forward to watching their progress over the next two years. 

Basketball Tournament

Our basketball team attended a tournament this morning between 7 schools run by Richmond Knights. The team did very well, receiving their silver medals for only losing in the final and winning their other 5 games. 

 

Football Friendly versus Radnor House

On Tuesday, myself and Mr Brown took 36 children down to Richmond to play 4 games at once against Radnor house. There were two boys' and two girls' teams. This was a fantastic experience for all the children and resulted in comfortable victories.

London Youth Games Cross Country

Congratulations to Lottie Westlake and Tabby Tapp for qualifying to represent Richmond in the London Youth Games U11 Cross-country on Saturday. Their reward is to run up Parliament Hill in a race against over 200 children from across London. Good luck girls! 

Good Neighbours

We are delighted to welcome Anne Speak and Jennie Vian from Richmond Good Neighbours to our assembly on Wednesday to talk about being a good neighbour.
 
RGN is one of eight neighbourhood care groups in the Borough who support 125 local residents to continue to live independently by offering the sort of help a good neighbour might offer, doing some shopping, popping in for a cup of tea and a chat, taking someone to an appointment at the doctors or a local hospital or a lift to the hairdressers.
 
At Christmas they specifically support residents who may be on their own without family or friends nearby and drop off goodie bags with some Christmas treats and hope that you might be able to bring in some festive items go in to the collection box to be gifted to these residents.
Suggested items include, jam, chutney, shortbread, chocolates, puzzle books, 2025 calendars, hand cream, shower gels and soaps -no perishables and no alcohol.
Christmas cards written by the children are always well received by RGN clients.

Chickens!

Following Poppy Du Parcq's fundraising last year, the chicken coop was successfully installed by 'Team Du Parcq' last weekend in the fenced off area at the back of reception.  We look forward to welcoming some chickens in the next few weeks. They are from a battery farm and therefore will not be the most healthy looking animals when they arrive. However, part of the project is to restore the chickens to their former glory with feathers and laying eggs. We hope their new 5-star abode will assist them on this journey. 

PSA-Quiz, Christmas Fair and Cycle. 

PSA Quiz

We very much look forward to the quiz on Friday 22nd November and a 10 strong staff team are going through some rigorous training.....

Cycle Ride

Many thanks to the team organising the cycle ride. I understand places are filling up fast and the significant challenge of a 3-day cycle from Lands End to Sheen Mount has motivated many to sign up-including yours truly.

For any further enquiries or applying for the wait list please contact info.sheenmountride25@gmail.com

Christmas Fair requests from the PSA

CAN you help with our silent auction? 

In the past, our auctions have raised lots for the school thanks to some really generous offerings from parents. In the past, prizes sourced from our school community have spanned everything from tickets and meals to special experiences like photography, portrait painting sessions and (even the loan of holiday homes!)

If you feel you have something you could offer, please get in touch on  clarazmnelson@gmail.com

Tickets for the Santa’s Grotto at the fair will go on sale Monday 18th of November at 8pm on Classlist (poster attached)

Also, from Monday, the Secret Santa Stall is asking for donations of new and unused gifts, wrapping paper and sellotape for the Secret Santa stall (poster attached)

There will also be a pre-loved uniform sale at pickup on 21st November. 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet people

Many thanks to Phoebe from a local vets - Pet People, who gave up her time to speak to our Reception children recently around their topic of 'People who help us'. 

AfC news

Please see a range of links around health

Help keep children safe in the cold weather

Support staff, parents and children to prepare for cold weather by:
  • Reviewing and implementing the UKHSA guidance on looking after children during cold weather.

Support staff, parents and children to reduce risk of infections and protect health by:

  • Promoting flu vaccination for children.
  • Reinforcing public health messages around hand and respiratory hygiene and taking other steps to prevent the spread of infections during the winter.
  • Providing parents with information on children attending school or early years settings when ill.
  • Promoting vaccination for COVID-19 and/or flu among those staff who are eligible.

 

You can contact me directly on headteacher@sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk or see me at the school gates before and after school. 

Best wishes 

Tom Holmes - Headteacher

 

Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher

 

Reception

12 Nov 2024
Three Little Pigs and 1, 2 3!
Reception have had a brilliant start to this half-term and enjoyed finishing our All About Me topic by painting our self-portraits and thinking about what makes each of us SUPER DUPER! This week, we started looking at our first traditional tale and watched the adults perform the story of the Three L...
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Year 1

14 Nov 2024
Forest school fun!
Year 1 have had a fun filled 2 weeks since half term! Moles and Otters class have enjoyed being outdoors for their forst school sessions and Hedgehogs are looking forward to their session next week. They have been enjoying creating leaf sparklers, dens and of course the mud kitchen!  In Engl...
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Year 2

14 Nov 2024
Verbs, recycling and Christmas!
This week in English, we have been busy learning about verbs and adverbs! We have applied our knowledge to the story of Lost and Found. In science, we have learnt about how to look after our environment by reducing, reusing and recycling. We created a poster in class that will help us remember...
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Year 3

13 Nov 2024
Lila's decision
Year 3 have started reading The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. We are using this text to inspire our writing this term. Last week we wrote instructions for making our own firework using magical ingredients just like Lila and her father do. This week we are considering  how Lil...
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Year 4

12 Nov 2024
Hindu Temple
Year 4 went on quite an adventure this week! After being brilliant travellers on the train, we arrived at the Hindu Temple in Wimbledon. The first thing that hit us was the flowery fragrances and wonderful colours. We walked around and absorbed all the beautiful statues, wearing glistening jewell...
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Year 5

11 Nov 2024
A force to be reckoned with
The second half of the Autumn term got off to an explosive start as we have discovered how plate tectonics are involved in the formation of volcanoes. In science, after briefly considering volcanoes that exist beyond the realms of Earth - including the extinct mega-shied volcano Olympus Mo...
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Year 6

14 Nov 2024
A busy start to the new half term
The children in Year 6 are starting out on their learning in a range of new topics as the new half term kicks off. In RE, they visited Christ Church to view the display of Remembrance poems and art works created by the art ambassadors.
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School Diary

Parent Consultations - In person
3:30pm – 6:00pm
14
November
OWLS and 4S swimming
All Day
From 09 Sep and on Monday each week until 25 Nov except for 28 Oct and for 04 Nov
18
November
DOVES and 4C swimming
All Day
From 10 Sep and on Tuesday each week until 26 Nov except for 22 Oct, 29 Oct, and for 05 Nov
19
November
4BH and ROBINS swimming
All Day
From 11 Sep and on Wednesday each week until 27 Nov except for 16 Oct, 23 Oct, 30 Oct, and for 06 Nov
20
November
Parents Quiz Night
7:30pm – 10:30pm
22
November