Weekly Update 6th March 2026
Read our newsletter to find out what has been happening in school this week and upcoming events ...
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you for giving your time to come to parents’ meetings this week. The support that you give to your children and our school has such a positive impact on their education and is very much appreciated.
This week in school
Lent Reconciliation Services
As part of our Lenten Journey, this week we had two Reconciliation Services. Our Y2 children led the prayers and reflection for KS1 and Y4 led the liturgy for KS2. The children dramatised the story of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus the tax collector. They also reflected on Lent being a time of saying sorry and forgiveness. Thank you to Canon John for joining us for individual Confessions for Y4.
Sports Update from Mr Sagar and Mrs Knowles
St Elizabeth's have had a week celebrating netball! The Y5&6 netball team played well all winter and qualified for the knock-out stages of the Borough leagues. On Tuesday, the team played Meadlands School in a tightly contested match; the scores were level until the final quarter when Meadlands improved their shooting to win the game. In addition to this game, we invited Meadlands to bring a second team that enabled everyone in the netball club to test their skills playing against another school. This was a great experience for all the children and we hope to offer similar opportunities in future.
On Wednesday in glorious sunshine, St Elizabeth's attended the Borough Netball Tournament at Barn Elms. During the morning games, the team worked hard, played well and showed good team spirit scoring 17 goals and only conceding 3. In the afternoon, they were drawn against some of strongest teams in the borough and were a credit to themselves scoring 5 more goals in some closely fought games.
Well done to all our netballers on an excellent week showcasing the depth and breadth of netball at St Elizabeth's!
Y1 Visit to Holly Lodge, Richmond Park
A report from our Y1 class … “Today our Year 1 class visited Holly Lodge to learn about mammals. We walked there together and took part in several fun workshops about different types of mammals. We solved puzzles, followed clues, and even discovered some animal footprints. We also learned about what different mammals eat. It was a very exciting and interesting day, and we all enjoyed learning more about the animals that live around us!”
World Book Day Footy and Booky Quiz
On Thursday, Y5 and Y6 took part in the World Book Day Footy and Book Quiz. This annual interactive quiz featured two rounds of questions (football and reading-themed) hosted by Premier League footballing heroes and writers. The children enjoyed testing their quizzing skills against other schools as well as guest authors and football stars.
Next week in school
Book Week 9th to 13th March
Next week is Book and Arts Week in school and we have a lot of exciting activities planned.
Journey around the World
The theme this year is ‘Journeys around the World’ and on Monday the children will be having sessions with all the class teachers who will be journeying around the school sharing stories from different countries.
Visiting Author – Gareth P Jones
On Tuesday we have a visiting author, Gareth P Jones, who will be talking to the children about his writing and inspiring them to write their own stories and books. For more information about Gareth P Jones see the attached information.
Book Swap
Children are encouraged to bring in books in good condition to swap with other children on Thursday 12th March. The books should be ones that they no longer want to keep, but have enjoyed in the past or would recommend.
Book Character Day
On Friday it is Book Character Day when children and staff are encouraged to come into school as a favourite character from a book, or in their comfiest clothes for reading a bedtime story. We have lots of costumes in school which we are happy to lend to children so please do speak to your class teacher if you would like some support in finding a costume. As part of our focus on ‘oracy’ this year, we would like the children to be able to say who they are, the book that they come from and something about their character.
Book Week Contribution
Thank you to those who have contributed £5 towards the cost of activities and resources. If you have not yet contributed, we would be very grateful to receive your contribution by next Friday.
Orchestra Concert – Thursday 12th March at 6pm
Everyone is welcome to come along to the orchestra concert on Thursday. If your child is performing we ask that they arrive at school at 5:45pm in full school winter uniform so that their instrument can be tuned. The doors will open at 5:55pm and the concert will begin at 6:00pm and we expect that the concert will last for an hour. We look forward to seeing you there.
Sponsored Walk – Monday 16th March
There is just over a week until our Sponsored Walk and you are all invited to join us on the day. If you are able to come, please email the school office so that we can allocate you to a class.
We are looking to raise as much money as possible for the PTA through our walking. This can be collected in cash or cheque or donated via Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/schoolsponsoredwalk2026
If you donate to JustGiving, you can add Gift Aid to your donation. Thank you in advance for your support and to our Y2 parents for helping to organise the walk.
Information for parents
Donations of Lego needed – please can you help?
We are looking to make a collection of Lego for KS2 children to use at playtimes. If you have any spare Lego at home that you could donate to school, please send this into the school office next week. We are just looking for general Lego pieces rather than sets in boxes and all donations will be very gratefully received. Thank you in advance.
Message from NSSport
We would like to remind parents that all spaces at NSSport after school club must be pre-booked by 2pm on the day of attendance at the club. The club is not able to accommodate children who have not booked. If you need any assistance in making a booking please contact Jenny on 07510 079703 or jenny-nssport@outlook.com
School Gate
Thank you for your patience while our school gate is not working. We are hoping that it will be fixed very soon but until then please continue to call the school office for a staff member to let you in. Thank you to our office staff whose ‘step counts’ have increased significantly while they have been managing this problem!
Measles Update from the Local Authority
Important - we need your help to protect children from measles
There has been an increase in measles in London recently and there have been a small number of confirmed cases in young children in our local area. This is of concern given the rising number of cases across London. The London outbreak has led to some children having to be hospitalised.
Measles spreads very easily between people who are not vaccinated. Measles can be prevented by vaccination. All parents and carers want what is best for their child – if your child has missed any of their doses or you’re unsure, get in touch with your GP surgery. It’s never too late to catch up.
Cars in the Cemetery
Please may we remind parents that parking in the cemetery at drop off and pick up times and driving through the cemetery are not permitted. It is important that we keep our good relationships within our local area and so we ask for your co-operation with this.
SEND Updates
Richmond & Kingston SENDIASS - Free information, advice, and support for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
With ongoing media discussions around SEND Reform, this can be a worrying time for families. To help ease some of these concerns, SENDIASS are providing clear, up‑to‑date information about the rights and processes that support a young person’s SEND journey right now.
Click the link for details of their upcoming free online workshops. There is no booking required - families and professionals can simply click the link and join via Microsoft Teams.
Workshops - Richmond & Kingston SENDIASS
YouTube Channel – SEND Information Videos Polaris SENDIASS - YouTube
Upcoming dates
MARCH
9th – 13th Book & Arts Week for all classes
10th Author visit
10th p.m. Y6 Junior Citizen Safety Event at Holly Lodge All day
16th Last full week of clubs
16th a.m. Sponsored Walk
18th All day Y3 visit to Chiltern Open Air Museum
18th – 20th Y5 School Journey to Sayers Croft
18th p.m. Infant Choir to sing at Greville House Care Home
23rd p.m. Y4 to Orchestra Unwrapped at the Royal Festival Hall
25th 9:30 a.m. Y4 Passion Play – parents invited
25th All day Y2 visit to Kew Gardens
26th a.m. Stations of the Cross – children only
26th 10:30 a.m. Y4 & Y3 last swimming session
27th 2:00 p.m. Term ends. Children to be collected at 2pm
Attendance and punctuality this week
Congratulations to Y6 for having the best attendance this week at 99.68%, closely followed by Y2 and Y5 with 99.66%.
Well done to Y3 and Y6 for having the best punctuality this week with the least number of lates.
Wishing you a lovely weekend
Jane Hines and the staff of St Elizabeth’s