Dear Parents and Carers,

The school has been full of crazy hair and the colour orange today!  We have raised over £400 which will go to our local charity, Small Steps, to help to fund equipment for children with physical disabilities.  Thank you to the Mini-Vinnies for organising this fundraiser and to all of you for your support.

And the fun doesn’t stop here! Tonight, we have the Wild, Wild West line dancing evening from 6pm to 8pm.  Tickets are available on the door. It promises to be a great evening of music, dancing and refreshments – we look forward to seeing many of you there.

This week in school

School Chapel Update

Today our lucky Y6 children were the first to use the School Chapel for their Celebration of the Word.  The new chapel is a beautiful, calm space, unlike anywhere else in the school. Alice, one of our Pupils Chaplains told me, “When we went in we all gasped.  It’s incredible and I can’t wait to go there again!”

We still have a few more things to complete in the chapel before it is fully completed and we also have a list of people that we would like to thank for their contribution to its creation.  We will also be having an official blessing to which all parents will be invited.  In the meantime though, we wanted to share this photogrpah to give you a first look at the chapel.

The Explorer Dome in school

There was great excitement in the hall yesterday as we had the Explorer Dome in school.  A unique experience, the Explorer Dome is a giant inflatable dome which the children enter through a tunnel to take part in Science workshops.  Children in Reception, Y4, Y5 and Y6 thoroughy enjoyed their sessions in the dome and learnt so much.

Y4 Budding Writers share their writing with Y1 – a message from Miss Lopez

Y4 came to share their writing with Y1 today, and it was a lovely experience for everyone. The children really enjoyed listening to the fantastic research Y4 had carried out about chocolate, and it was wonderful to see them so confidently sharing their work. We even enjoyed a sweet treat together, which made the visit extra special! Thank you so much to Y4 for coming to visit us and for sharing your amazing learning.

Mass for the Presentation of Jesus

On Wednesday we welcomed Fr Peter and Deacon Quentin into school for our Mass for the Presentation of Jesus, or ‘Candlemas’.  On Candlemas it is traditional to take candles to church to be blessed. Following this tradition, during Mass, children from each year group brought their class candles up to the altar for Fr Peter to bless.  Our Reception children also brought up candles that they had made as part of the offertory.

Thank you to Fr Peter and Deacon Quentin for celebrating Mass for us and to Y3 for leading the prayers and readings.

Vocal Concert

Last night’s vocal concert was a real treat!  Children from Reception to Y6 performed songs of their own choice with confidence, enthusiasm and individuality!  Our three school choirs performed too in front of a very receptive audience.  Thank you to Mrs FitzGerald for arranging the evening and thank you too for your kind donations to Small Steps. 

Sports update from Mr Sagar and Mrs Knowles

We have had another busy week of sport in school with two games of tag rugby and a netball match.

On Monday, the rugby team took on Kew Riverside School. The team showed resilience in the damp, cold conditions, with tries from Mateo and Alianna, and some good passes from Alice, Maxim and Teddy. The game finished a 6-3 victory for Kew Riverside. The following day, the rugby team braved more rain and travelled to King's School. The game was scoreless for much of the first half and the game appeared evenly balanced until King's School went decisively ahead. St Elizabeth's responded well with some solid attacking play from Mia, Eddie and Jack, and an excellent debut try from Szymon early in the second half, but were unable to close the gap. Players of the games voted by the opposition were Oliver and Beatrice.

On Wednesday, the netball team travelled to St Mary Magdalen's School. The game was entertaining to watch and the children enjoyed the challenge. St Mary Magdalen's were always ahead and despite some good defending from Dylan and Alianna, some skilful passing from Freya and Millie, and a great comeback in the final quarter with Peggy and Kai combining well in the shooting circle, the game finished 6-7. St Mary Magdalen's voted Beatrice player of the match.

And finally, congratulations to Hugo in Y6 for winning a silver medal in the Richmond Borough Rise swimming gala.

Next week in school

Wednesday 11th February Y2 Class Assembly / Celebration of the Word.

Parents and carers are invited to join us for Y2’s class assembly at 9:10 a.m.  Please may we remind you that we do not allow photography or filming in school and especially in acts of worship. 

Thursday 12th February Reception Class Concert 9:15 a.m.

Reception parents and carers are invited to join us for a mini- music lesson where children will showcase what they have been learning in their music lessons this term.  The concert will last around half an hour.

Friday 13th February Y2 Class Concert 9:15 a.m.

Y2 parents and carers are invited to join us for a mini- music lesson where children will showcase what they have been learning in their music lessons this term.  The concert will last around half an hour after which parents are very welcome to join the coffee morning in the Food Technology Room – see below.

Friday 13th February Parents’ Coffee Morning – all welcome

Mrs Compton and Mrs Diver will be hosting a coffee morning for all parents on Friday 13^th February at 9 a.m. in the Food Technology Room. This is an opportunity to meet other parents in a friendly and inclusive setting and also hear about the work of the Mental Health Support Trust (MHST).  The MHST supports children and families in school and always have great parenting tips to share. 

Y6 Cycling Proficiency

Good luck to our Y6 children who will be learning how to cycle safely on the roads around school next week.  For our current Y5 parents, it will be your child’s turn in the Spring Term of 2027 which will be here before we know it. Your child will need to be able to ride a bike confidently without stabilisers to take part.

Information for Parents

PTA Pre loved Uniform Sale

The PTA is collecting clean, good-quality unwanted school uniforms for our Pre-Loved Uniform Sale. If you have items your child has outgrown, we would be grateful for your donations. Please send them into school anytime from now until 26th February.  Thank you for supporting our school community.

Lost Property

We have collected a large amount of lost property this term.  The weather prevented us from putting this out this week and therefore we will try again next week.  We will put this out on the table tennis tables by the school office on Monday and Tuesday.  Please do take anything that you think is your child’s.  Please also make sure that all your child’s clothes and their water bottle have their name on them as some of the names have rubbed off by this point in the year.

The Suitcase Project

Do you have an old suitcase that you no longer need?  If so, we would be very grateful if you could donate this to school.  Our School Council are starting an exciting project to increase the choice of activity at playtime using suitcases for mobile storage.  We are hoping to collect 10 to 15 suitcases, preferable with hard cases. Suitcases can be dropped off at the school office.

Easyfundraising

Did you know that Trainline will donate 15% of the cost of your tickets to St Elizabeth’s and Marks and Spencer donates 12.5% of your spend - all without costing you or the school any money? 

If you haven’t yet downloaded the Easyfundraising App, please do consider doing this and encourage your friends and family to do so too at  Fundraising App | Easyfundraising

Upcoming dates

FEBRUARY

9th   All week   Children’s Mental Health Week

9th   All week a.m.   Y6 Cycling Proficiency

11th   9:10 a.m.   Y2 assembly – parents invited

12th   9:15 a.m.   Reception Class Concert – parents invited

13th   9:15 a.m.   Y2 Class Concert – parents invited

13th   9:00 a.m.   Parents’ Coffee Morning – all parents invited

Half – Term…   Half – Term…  Monday 16^th – Monday 23^rd February    Half – Term… Half – Term

24th   8:45 a.m.   School returns after half-term break

25th   9:15 a.m.   Y1 Class Concert and Phonics workshop

26th   10:30 a.m.   Y4 & Y3 swimming sessions begin

26th   All day   Richmond Borough Orchestra Day

MARCH

2nd – 4th   p.m.   Y3 Safe Walking with London Borough of Richmond

3rd   3:30 – 6:30 p.m.   Parents’ Meetings

4th   a.m.   KS1 Reconciliation Service

5th   a.m.   KS2 Reconciliation Service

5th   p.m.   Y4 Individual Reconciliation / Confession

5th   3:30 – 6:30 p.m.   Parents’ Meetings

6th   a.m.   Y1 EV to Holly Lodge

Awards this week

Values Awards

Congratulations to the following children who have received a Values award this week for living our school values. 

Rec - Verena                                                       

Y1 - Arthur

Y2 - Barnaby

Y3 - Makary

Y4 - Antonia

Y5 - Harriet

Y6 - Mark

Attendance and punctuality this week

Congratulations to Y6 for having the best attendance this week at 99.4%.

Well done to Y6 again for having the best punctuality this week, closely followed by Y2 and Y5.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Jane Hines and the staff of St Elizabeth’s