Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you had a lovely half-term break and enjoyed the sunshine.  We have a busy half-term ahead filled with some exciting events, activities and performances.  Please do look at the dates below to see what we have coming up this month.

Today we gathered as a school to wish Mrs van den Driessche all the very best as she begins her maternity leave.  We look forward to sharing Mrs van den Driessche’s baby news with you before the end of this term. Mrs Compton and Mrs Bolger will be teaching Y6 for the remainder of this term.

This week in school

Y1 and Y2 Visit to St Elizabeth’s Church

On Wednesday our Y1 and Y2 children visited St Elizabeth’s Church where Deacon Quentin showed them around the church explaining the purpose and meaning of the objects and symbols they could see. 

This was a really valuable session and the children learnt so much.  We would like to thank Deacon Quentin for welcoming the children to the church and look forward to him visiting school next week to join in Celebrations of the Word with Y4 and Y2.

Reception Visit to Bocketts Farm

Our Reception class had a fantastic day at Bocketts Farm yesterday.  Their favourite moments were feeding the sheep and the goats, watching the pig race and stroking the rabbits and the mini Shetland pony.

Y3 and Y6 Visit to Richmond Synagogue

This morning our Y3 and Y6 children visited the Richmond Synagogue as part of our whole school study of Judaism.

The children were delighted to see the Torah scrolls, taste the Challah bread and learn how Jewish families celebrate Shabbat.  

We would like to thank the volunteers at the synangogue very much for their warm welcome and for making this informative and memorable visit possible.

Cream Tea

Thank you to the Y6 parents for organising the Cream Tea this afternoon.  We were so lucky that the weather was kind to us and allowed us to get together for an end of the week treat.  It was lovely to see so many children and parents sharing books together during the Cream Tea as part of the National Year of Reading and we hope that everyone found a new book to take home with them.

Upcoming Dates

Archbishop’s Visit – Tuesday 16^th June

On Tuesday 9^th June Y6 will have a Choices workshop.  This workshop explores peer pressure and peer preference, through drama and pupil interaction and is excellent preparation for the children for their move to secondary school.  Y6 parents, please make your payment for the workshop in Arbor Pay.  Thank you.

Y5 Assembly                                                                                                                        

On Thursday 11^th June, Y5 will be leading the school in their Celebration of the Word assembly.  Parents and carers are invited to join us at 9:10am in the school hall.

JUNE

8^th   Duckling eggs arrive

8^th to 12^th   All week   KS1 Phonics Screening

8^th to 12^th   All week   Other Faiths Week – Judaism

9^th  a.m.   Y6 ‘Choices’ workshop

11^th   9:10 a.m.   Y5 Class Celebration of the Word Assembly

11^th   p.m.   Opera Workshop for Schola and Music Ambassadors

17^th   All day   Y1 visit to Kew Gardens

19^th   All day   INSET: School closed for staff training

22^nd   a.m.   Y4 and Y5 visit to Morden Baitul Futuh Mosque

22^nd to 26^th   Catholic Social Teaching Week in school – theme of Dignity

23^rd   a.m.   Individual school photos

24^th   All day   Schola and Music Ambassadors’ visit to Opera at Holland Park

25^th   All day   Chaplaincy Retreat day at Aylesford Priory

25^th   All day   Battle of the Books competition at St James’s School for Y4 team

26^th   All day   Chaplaincy Retreat day at Marymount                   

29^th – 3rd   All week   Other Faiths Week in school - Islam                                       

Information for Parents

St Elizabeth’s Instagram

You can follow the school on Instagram for more photographs of our activities and please do share the link with family and friends, past parents and future parents at: https://www.instagram.com/stelizabeths_richmond?igsh=b3p6NWJhaGViaWtw&utm_source=qr

Our School Safeguarding Team

If you have concerns about the welfare or safety of a child at our school, please contact Mrs Hines (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or Mrs Compton (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead while Mrs van den Driessche is on maternity leave). You can email both staff members via the main school admin address, or telephone the school to request a confidential safeguarding conversation.

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, please call the police on 999 or contact the Richmond Single Point of Access (SPA) directly on 0208 547 5008 during office hours, and on 0208 770 5000 during out of hours (evenings and weekends).

Values Awards

Congratulations to the following children for living our values this week.

Reception: Oliver

Y1: Poppy

Y2: Freya and Alperen

Y3: Lia

Y4: Kelly

Y5: Pavle

Y6: Alianna

Attendance and Punctuality

Thank you for ensuring that your child is in school every day that they can be.

We are aware that we have had a high number of Chickenpox cases this year which has meant that children have needed to have a few days off school.  Please don’t worry!  This amount of time off school should mean that your child still has attendance of 95-100%.

Did you know? Pupils with 95–100% attendance in primary school are 30% more likely to meet expected standards in reading, writing and maths than those with 90–95% attendance. If your child is absent for just 10 days across the academic year, the maximum attendance they can achieve is 95%.

Well done to Y6 for having the highest attendance at 99.2% this week.

Congratulations to Y1 and Y5 for having the best punctuality this week.

We wish those children who are making their First Holy Communions a very special and blessed day.  We also congratulate those who have already made their First Holy Communion.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Jane Hines and the staff of St Elizabeth’s