Dear parents and carers
I hope you are well.
We look forward to the work on the main playground (the area near the ball court) starting on Tuesday 14th October. There is enough space for the children to still play to have this development taking place in term time.
The children are working towards the harvest singing assemblies as we approach them in the last week of term. Please ensure you are aware of the new arrangements and there are two performances now for each key stage; the first letter of your surname decides which one you should come to. These were all on the 'Significant School Dates' document.
One of the first PSA events of the school year is next weekend with the Halloween Trail. Thank you to all those who have given up their time to organise this event.
Parent Presentations
We saw a healthy number of parents on the online Headteacher's annual presentation last week. The slides were sent out last Friday. I hope you found the presentation useful to see what the school achieved last year and then looking forward to this year. There were slides towards the end explaining what we had spent the school fund on since its re-launch in January this year and our intention for future donations.
We also look forward to welcoming our reception parents for their curriculum morning on Friday 17th October.
SCHOOL FUND REMINDER
Parent Governor Election
A new parent governor needs to be elected to our board. Please look out for the separate email communication sent tomorrow which will explain the process including nominating yourself or someone nominating you and how to ask any questions.
ADHD Awareness month-from Mrs Kennedy and Mrs Bojkovic (Rabbits class teachers)
October is ADHD Awareness Month, and we’re excited to introduce ourselves as the ADHD Ambassadors for Sheen Mount. Our role is to support staff, students, and parents with any questions or guidance related to ADHD.
As part of our work, we’re hosting a Coffee Morning in collaboration with the charity ADHD Embrace on Wednesday, 22nd October at 9am. This will be a relaxed opportunity to meet us, learn more about our role, and discover the support we can offer.
If you’d like to join us, please complete the short form via the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2McR0cKhL8eJS3hzM6wdhs-U-54VETHH8z3kYQJ14ogulkQ/viewform?usp=header
We look forward to seeing many of you there!


Black History Month
We are constantly reviewing our curriculum in terms of diversity and gender and ensuring we have a wide range of role models within our curriculum from areas such as the authors of the set texts we use in English to people from the past. We approach Black History Month through our assemblies where Miss Palmer is joining Mrs O'Brien to focus on the subject.
Reminders please
I spoke to the KS2 children in assembly about not playing with balls before school – it is dangerous when the playgrounds are so busy. They will unfortunately have to miss some of their football/basketball time in the school day if this is seen by a member of staff.
Equally, we need KS1 children to not play in either playground at the end of school.
We appreciate your support with these items, which are only for everyone's safety.
School events
Maths Wizards competition at Hampton School Year 4 from Mrs Humphreys our maths lead.
On Tuesday 30th March, four Year 5 children went to Hampton Secondary School to take part in a maths competition known as 'Maths Wizards'. The competition consisted of five rounds, based on different mathematical concepts. To make it more challenging, the children had a certain amount of time each round to complete the tasks. The event required them to be able to think efficiently and flexibly whilst thinking mathematically. The children worked incredibly hard and demonstrated excellent team work skills, trying different approaches in order to be successful! Even though the children did not win, they had a great time and described the day as 'fun', 'engaging' and 'challenging'. The children who attended also stated they enjoyed answering maths questions in a different environment, as well as solving questions under timed conditions.
Visit to Holly lodge for science from Mrs Adams
On Wednesday, a group of children from Years 3, 4 and 5 visited Holly Lodge education centre in Richmond Park to learn about living things and their habitats. The children enjoyed building their own animal habitats, hunting for invertebrates and pond dipping as well as learning about the wildlife of Richmond Park. Did you know that yellow meadow ants farm aphids for their honeydew?

Sports
Football v Thomson House and Kew Riverside
Three significant victories to start our league campaign for both our teams. The school team beat Thomson House 8-1 and then followed up with a very comfortable double-digit win over Kew Riverside. The girls team also had a very comfortable double-digit win over Kew Riverside.


Netball v Thomson House
The netball team ensured their league campaign got off to an emphatic winning start last week- you may have seen the game playing at the end of school last Wednesday. Well done to the team for their emphatic 17-0 win.
It is fantastic to see all the netball clubs before school, run by an ex and current parent. All the way from year 2 to year 6 with girls and boys taking part.

Chicken Monitors
The Du Parcq family have handed over the weekly running of the chickens to two trusted year six monitors. Here is their report on their duties, one of them has to be present, but they take different friends with them. The area is also open on a Friday afternoon for class teachers to send children from their class as Alice Du Parcq volunteers her time to come in every week.
From Rudy and James Year 6
Our job looking after the chickens comes in 5 main stages:
-
Checking for an egg every day.
-
Cleaning out poo.
-
Refreshing food.
-
Refreshing the water.
-
Most importantly, giving them cuddles and making sure they are happy and comfortable.
Checking for the eggs are a vital part of looking after them as they will sit on them and eat them. We then take the eggs to the office where you can buy them for £3 a box of 6 eggs. Cleaning out the poo is important because it makes sure that the chickens are comfortable. Refreshing their food is very important because they stand in it and tip it on the floor as well as always sitting on it. Refreshing their food is equally important to their water; we also have to add one cap full of apple cider vinegar to help with their digestion. Last but not least, giving them infinite cuddles and making them comfortable is a vital part of keeping them happy and wanting to lay eggs. We usually get one to two eggs a day.


Have a good weekend.
Should you wish to contact me directly, please do so on headteacher@sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk
Tom Holmes - Headteacher