Weekly Update from Mr Meehan

It’s been a busy week and the “getting out and about” for the term is now definitely in full swing. Not least of all, our Year 5s were at Carroty Wood earlier this week. We were so proud of the children as they tackled each challenge: abseiling, raft building, high ropes to name just three! The children were brilliant at encouraging and supporting each other and were determined to have a go and be their best. 

Also, this week, we’ve had a group of eight Year 6 children, who went to Raynes Park High School to take part in their annual Maths Challenge. Out of the 23 teams that attended, we placed 6th and 14th. The children were a credit to the school, their behaviour was something to be proud of and they worked well as a team to try to solve very challenging questions.

This week, our Fox class children also became pizza chefs and enjoyed making some pizza creations at Pizza Express. Our Year 4 children spent Tuesday at the French Institute in South Kensington, enjoying some French language and culture together for the day.

Meanwhile, it was good to be spending some time earlier this week looking at work in children’s books this year so far, especially in maths, and seeing such good attention to presentation, which has been one of our seven norms as the year has started. Many children are really making a good effort with this, and can be proud of their presentation. 

At Christ Church, we value ‘achieving widely’, as is our vision, but it’s good to be reminded too that, as far as the core areas of reading, writing and maths, we are always focused on children gaining these skills confidently before heading off to secondary school. In looking at comparative local and national data on our Year 6 pupils who left at the end of term, children at Christ Church, at both the expected level and the greater depth standard, achieved above or well above the national average. Nationally, children achieving the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Year 6 was 61%. Across all schools in the KIngston borough, this average is 67%. For us, at Christ Church, 75% of our Year 6 pupils last year attained the expected level in all these core areas. We can all be very proud of how well our Christ Church children are achieving!

At both sites this week, we conducted our first fire alarm practice of the new skills year and I must commend all our children, who were excellent in evacuating swiftly and sensibly, despite the unpleasant weather for the juniors. We conduct these practices roughly half-termly to ensure all children and adults understand evacuation procedures.

Finally, don’t forget, next week we will be celebrating harvest with a service at the church on Friday 4th October at 9:30 a.m. We would like to welcome as many parents and carers who are able to join us.

Enjoy your weekend!

Our School Updates for Parents

Allergy Alerts

The Food Standards Agency has issued an alert to say that people with a peanut allergy should not currently eat any products containing mustard, may contain mustard, mustard powder or mustard flour. This is because there has been some cross-contamination detected. They are investigating this at the moment to see which products are affected. For your reassurance, both Connect and Nourish, will remove any food with mustard from the menu until we receive a further update from the food standards agency. Please see further information here: Urgent Allergy Advice: Mustard Ingredients Contaminated with Peanuts | Food Standards Agency

Mr Nourish Birthday Menu - 3rd October

Please see the attached special menu for Mr Nourish’s birthday on Thursday 3rd October.

Safeguarding - Visitor Badges 

All visitors will now be required to wear a red visitor’s lanyard to identify them as having permission to be in the building. Please note, this includes any parents/carers coming in through the inner reception lobby doors, including using the toilets.

Request from Early Years

If parents have any children's wellies (up to size 1) that they no longer need, nursery and reception would be very grateful for donations for our children to wear in the mud kitchen. Donations can be given to Turtle or Rainbow Nursery teachers on the door, or to the office. We would also be grateful for any shoes (of any colour) that are no longer needed, up to size 1, that we can use as spare shoes if the children's get wet during the day.

STEM Lunch - Volunteers Needed

We're hosting a series of STEM Lunch and Learn events where parents with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) expertise share their experiences with the children. If you work or volunteer in a relevant sector we would love to hear from you. Please email the school office with your name, role/profession and they will contact you with more information. Do also pass this invitation to anyone you know who might be able to help. Help inspire our future innovators! 

Parent Musicians Needed

We are looking for parents who may be current musicians or ex-instrumentalists to show the children different instruments. As part of the musical journey at Christ Church, several topics involve listening to or learning about orchestral instruments. If you play one and could come in to demonstrate it, that would be fantastic. Alternatively, if you have an instrument from your childhood that you could show to the children and demonstrate even a couple of notes, that would also be helpful. The children are always delighted to see different instruments and a very friendly, appreciative audience! We are especially always looking out for slightly rarer instruments such as the bassoon, tuba etc however, all are very welcome. If you can help at some point, please email Mrs Bond at lucy.bond@ccnm.uk.

Secondary School Application Deadline

A reminder to Year 6 parents/carers that the deadline for secondary school applications is Thursday, 31st October.  Please complete the online application if you haven't already done so at eAdmissions.

Wider Community Updates

Be a chorister for a day at Hampton Court Palace - Saturday 5 October 2024 at 2pm

If you are a boy aged 7 to 9, you can see what life is like as a Chorister of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace. Click here to view the flyer.

Sport4Kids - Weekend Football Classes

We have been sent details of some local football classes which take place at Tolworth Recreation Centre, offering a fun, engaging environment where children can stay active, develop their football skills, and build important life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and resilience. The classes are suitable for children of all abilities, and focus on creating a positive and encouraging atmosphere for learning and personal growth. Please see the attached poster for details.

Free Girls’ Golf Classes

Please see the attached flyer offering free girls’ golf classes at Malden Golf Club on Fridays in October. The age range is 8 to 13 years. 

Old Kingstonian HC free trial 

The Old Kingstonian HC is a local hockey club, offering hockey for all abilities. This autumn, they are excited to offer free trials for all age groups. Please see the attached flyer.

Autumn and Christmas Holiday Touch Typing Courses for 7 – 16s

Please see the attached flyer for details of these courses taking place at St Joseph's Primary School, Kingston KT1 2UP; 28 – 31 October 2024 and Twickenham Prep School, Hampton TW12 2SA; 16 – 19 December 2024. Beginners, improvers and advanced typists are warmly welcome.  

Yellow Days - October Half Term Activities

We have been sent details for Yellow Days, a 'Deliveroo for children's activities' with over 70 activities available for parents to book in the area. They are a new online marketplace for selling children's activities, think Deliveroo but instead of buying a pizza. a parent books holiday clubs for their child. They save parents time by allowing them to book all their child's favourite activities in one place - Barracudas, Camp Beaumont, Stagecoach, Inspire Girls Football and lots of local heroes are on their app and website. Please see the attached flyer.

Capture Kingston Photography Competition - £50 prize for under 16s

This is an annual competition run by the Friends of Kingston Museum and Heritage Service to increase the photographic collection of Kingston History Centre. Entrants could win a cash prize but will also have their photographs become a part of the historic collection to be enjoyed by visitors and researchers in the future. If you are under 16 years, please ask your parent or guardians permission to enter, there is a question on the form that asks for their name and email address. A parent or guardian can fill out this form on behalf of a child who is entering. You don't have to have an expensive camera to take part and most entrants use the camera on their smartphone. The only rules are the photographs must be taken this year and must be within the borough of Kingston which includes Chessington, New Malden, Hook and Tolworth. Please see the attached poster and information on how to enter can be found on their website here. The closing date is Monday 30th September. 

Key School Dates 

• Tuesday 1st October - Y2 Hedgehog Trip to Pizza Express
• Wednesday 2nd October - PTA AGM in Infant Hall @ 7:30pm 
• Friday 4th October - Harvest Service @ 9:30am
• Tuesday 8th October - Reception Tour for Prospective Parents @ 9:30am
• Tuesday 8th October - Y3 & 4 - Drumming Workshops (am) 
• Thursday 10th October - Y2 Trip to the Science Museum
• Friday 11th October - PTA Break the Rules Day 
• Monday 14th - Friday 18th October - Chums Week
• Tuesday 15th October - Nursery Tour for Prospective Parents @ 9:30am
• Thursday 17th October - Y1 Trip to the Natural History Museum
• Thursday 17th - Friday 18th October - Y5 Junior Roadwatch
• Monday 21st - Friday 25th October - Art Week
• Wednesday 23rd October - Parents’ Evening @ 3:45-6:45pm
• Thursday 24th October - Parents’ Evening @ 2:45-5:45pm
• Monday 28th October - Friday 1st November - Half Term
• Thursday 7th November - Leopard Class Worship @ 2:40pm
• Monday 11th - Friday 15th November - Anti-Bullying Week
• Tuesday 12th November - Nursery Tour for Prospective Parents @ 9:30am
• Wednesday 13th November - Reception to Y6 Individual & Sibling Photographs
• Friday 15th November - Reception Tour for Prospective Parents @ 9:30am
• Monday 18th - Friday 22nd November - Y4 Learn to Ride Bikeability
• Monday 18th November - Nasal Flu Immunisations
• Wednesday 20th November - Reception Tour for Prospective Parents @ 9:30am
• Thursday 21st November - Learning Look @ 3:30-4:30pm 
• Thursday 28th November - Antelope Class Worship @ 2:40pm
• Saturday 30th November - Christmas Fair
• Monday 9th - Friday 13th December - Chums Week
• Tuesday 10th December - Junior Christmas Production @ 4:00pm
• Wednesday 11th December - Christma Lunch
• Wednesday 11th December - Junior Christmas Production @ 6:00pm
• Thursday 12th December - Reception Nativity @ 9:00am
• Thursday 19th December - Church Service @ 9:30am
• Thursday 19th December - Term finishes early at 1.05pm (infants) and 1.20pm (juniors). Connect will finish at 5:15pm
• Friday 20th December - INSET Day (School closed to pupils)
• Monday 23rd December - Friday 3rd January - Christmas Holidays
• Monday 6th January - INSET Day (School closed to pupils)
• Tuesday 7th January - Spring Term starts