January 13th, 2017
Dear Parents,
We are, as you know, frequently visited by those wonderful little friends, nits. These pesky creatures love clean hair and friendly children especially those that hug, play with each other’s hair or spend a lot of time with their friend; all typical of St. Saviour’s!
We have had a number of complaints about nit discovery from a wide range of families so I thought it was about time to take some action. On Monday, we held a whole school Hair Check and the result was an almost clean bill of health. Two classes stood out as having more than one case of eggs and these were Years Two and Five. All parents have been informed.
It is clear that some parents check their children’s hair regularly and some do not. If you are a parent that checks, I am sorry if your child keeps getting these visitors. It is mainly because other families do not check……what to do?
If everyone undertakes to check hair and also treat whether there are nits or eggs or not, we may be in with a chance of winning. Otherwise, we will constantly be told of new infestations – which is annoying for everyone. From now on, we will be performing more whole school checks. You will be informed on the Friday before and the checks will always be on Mondays.
PTA News
We have lots of PTA events coming up shortly so here are some dates for your diary:
- Bingo Night: Friday 27th January – by popular demand this will be our first entry into Bingo Land. We have ordered all the equipment and entry will be free. You need only pay for the Bingo books you want and Dabbers if you want one!
- Nursery Auction Talk:Tuesday 31st January. Starting from drop off time at 9:00 a.m., three of our wonderful PTA Committee (Mrs. Ireland, Mrs. Nicolaides and Mrs. Ager) will give a short talk about what the auction is all about as well as how much fun we all have. This is intended to let you know how important this major fund raiser is so please try to come along. Refreshments provided.
- The Famous St. Saviour’s Quiz Night: Friday 24th February
- The PTA Auction: Friday 19th May
The recent Parent Questionnaire (also see below) made very interesting reading. There were a few comments about the amount of fund raising we need to do and this is understandable as, to be honest, it is a lot! The commitment of PTA Committee, Class Reps and the collective parent body to raise money is amazing but there is a catch.
The school budget does not allow for the cost of our specialist Music, PE and Art teachers. To ensure we keep these wonderful members of staff, we need to attempt to have one fund raiser per month. The wonderful fact is that every child directly benefits from these lessons so every time you come to an event or make a contribution, you are directly helping.
The downside is that in order to keep delivering the marvellous education we provide; we have to keep fund raising.
World Faith Day
Next Wednesday is World Faith Day and Mrs. Spence has organised a wide range of activities and speakers to join us for this special occasion. This year’s theme is: Leadership in World Faiths and I have attached a plan for the day so you will know what your children will be studying.
Other Themed Weeks That Are Coming Up!
Week Beginning:
Monday 23rd January: Computing Week with a theme of e-Safety. Details to follow
Monday 6th February: Maths Week. Again, details to follow
Parent and Children Questionnaires
Thank you to everyone who completed a questionnaire via our new ParentMail system. The response was amazing!
I am currently compiling these together with a useful commentary to the questions asked by you. This will be sent home to you early next week.
Parking Problems – Again!
Several parents are repeatedly double parking or parking on the zig-zag lines. Both of these practises are illegal. Please give yourself more time to get to school so you can park safely. If you park in this manner, you are putting children, parents and the general public at risk. Enough said, I think!
Buster’s Weekend Friend: Service
Buster will be spending the weekend withIsabel Chappell. This is because she is extremely thoughtful and caring of others. She consistently works hard and encourages everyone in her class and the wider school. On a recent trip to The Science Museum, Isabel was a credit to St. Saviour’s by being sensible, enthusiastic and responsible. We are all very proud of her.
Typical of most children who are awarded Buster, Isabel had no idea it was going to be her this week. Literally, she jumped when her name was read out. What was also wonderful was that her brother, Hugo, could not have been more pleased!
Stars of the Week
Nursery: Louisa Freyman because everyone has been so impressed with your phonics andwriting. We are so happy you have come back after Christmas so ready to share your amazing skills! Reception:Austin Toptsis because everyone has been impressed with your effort in writing and behaviour this week. Keep up the excellent work! Year One:Jackson Hill for making amazing progress in reading. Your sounding out in Phonics has been impressive. Keep it up! Year Two: Olive Duffy for making such an engaged and enthusiastic start to 2017! You have finished off the week by writing some fantastic exclamation sentences. Year Three: Alex Staite for taking responsibility with his learning and being conscientious in class. You have made a great start to 2017 – well done! Year Four: Maximos Nicolaides because you have really impressed everyone with your numeracy work. Your attitude towards learning sets a fantastic example to everyone! Year Five: Ruben Oliveira for settling back to school so well after Christmas. He has been incredibly helpful and has risen to any challenge he has been set. Keep up the great work! Year Six: Ella Bishop-Hodgkins for having another fantastic week. She continues to be helpful, kind, considerate and police. She is brilliant to have in class!
Teacher Angel: This week’s Teacher Angel is Mr. Oxley – his class were delighted. He was given the award because the children felt he makes learning fun and enjoyable. He also tells great jokes. Overall, everyone is really pleased that he works at St. Saviour’s!
School Mass on Monday
The theme of next week will be theme of Reverence. Year Six will be leading our Mass on Monday. The reading will be taking from John 1:29-34: Jesus is The Chosen One.
Video Clips You May Wish to Watch:
Last week, I showed the children two video clips which were amazing. One was about a group of circles going in straight lines (the link is: ) and the second one was about that old chestnut “Which falls faster a heavy ball or feathers?” The link to this experiment is:
Today, thanks to Lucas Sels’ visit to see an NBA competition at the O2 Centre, we watched some basketball favourites, the Harlem Globetrotters. Great fun!
With all best wishes,
Ms. Woodford