Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that you all enjoyed a lovely summer holiday. The children have made a fantastic start to the new school year and we are all very impressed with the way that they have settled in to their new classes, work and routines. 

A big welcome to our new Reception children who are joining us this week and next.  We hope they will very soon feel like part of the St Elizabeth’s school family and we wish them happiness and success in their school journey.

We are finalising our calendar of events for the Autumn Term and we will be sending these out to you next week.  For upcoming dates in September, please read until the end of this newsletter.

This week in school

Oscar Romero Award

We are delighted to have gained the Oscar Romero Participator Award for the school’s charity work and social action activities over the past year.  Our new Y6 Pupil Chaplains and Mini-Vinnies will be continuing the good work of their predecessors in promoting Catholic Social Teaching in school and they will be helping us work towards the next level of the award.  Their first charity event will be the MacMillan Cake Sale which will take place on Thursday 24^th September.  More details to follow.

Summer Reading Challenge

Well done to everyone who completed the Summer Reading Challenge! 

An amazing 82 children completed the reading challenge! This is an incredible number and the children received their certificates during assembly today.

Congratulations to Miss Burr and Y5 who had the most completed challenges and are the winners of the Reading Cup!

Next week in school

We will be holding Class Information Sessions for each class on the dates below.

These sessions are led by your child’s class teacher and are an opportunity to hear what your child will learn this year and how you can help them at home. They begin at 9:00am and last approximately 45 minutes.

Y6 - Wednesday 16th September

Y5 - Thursday 17th September

Y4 - Friday 18th September

Y3 - Monday 21st September

Y1 - Tuesday 22nd September

Y2 - Wednesday 23rd September

Reception - Thursday 24th September

The sessions for Y5 and Y6 will include information about the secondary school application process.

We hope you find these sessions useful.  The slides used in the presentations will be shared after the sessions have taken place.

Information for Parents

Uniform and Jewellery

Thank you for sending your child into school looking smart in their school uniform.  Please be reminded that all items of uniform should be named and children should wear school shoes not trainers with their school uniform.

We do not permit jewellery in school – this includes crosses on necklaces and friendship bracelets.  The only jewellery items permitted are simple metal stud earrings.

St Elizabeth’s Safeguarding Team

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for the school is Mrs Hines and the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Compton.

If you have any concerns about the safety of a child in our school you can contact Mrs Hines or Mrs Compton in confidence by email at safeguarding@st-elizabeths.richmond.sch.uk.  If a child is at immediate risk of harm, you should call 999.

Awards this week

Values Awards

We could have given a School Values Award to every single child in school this week!  Congratulations to the following children who were spotted living one of our School Values:

Szymon, Dexter, Lion, Oliver, Sara and Valentina

Upcoming Dates

SEPTEMBER

Mon 14^th   School Clubs start

Wed 16^th   9:00 – 9:45 a.m.   Y6 Class Information for Parents Session in school            

Thu 17^th   9:00 –   9:45 a.m.   Y5 Class Information for Parents Session in school

Fri 18^th   9:00 – 9:45 a.m.   Y4 Class Information for Parents Session in school

Mon 21^st   9:00 – 9:45 a.m.   Y3 Class Information for Parents Session in school            

Tue 22^nd   9:00 – 9:45 a.m.   Y1 Class Information for Parents Session in school            

Wed 23^rd   9:00 – 9:45 a.m.   Y2 Class Information for Parents Session in school

Thu 24^th   9:00 –   10:00 a.m.   Reception Class Information for Parents Session in school

Thurs 24^th   3:15 p.m.   Mini-Vinnies Cake Sale for Macmillan Cancer Support

Fri 25^th   3:30 p.m.   Piano Concert – details to follow

Fri 25^th   p.m.   Richmond Music Trust clarinet lessons start for Y4 class

Tue 29^th   11– 12 noon   Reception 2027 Parent tour

School Tours

We are booking school tours for parents of children who will be starting Reception in September  2027.  If you know of any families who are interested in a place at St Elizabeth’s, please do advise them to look at our website or contact the school office to book a tour.  Parents of children in other year groups are also welcome to contact us to arrange a visit.

Attendance this week

Last year our overall attendance for all pupils in school was 96.3%.  This is above the National Average and reflects the value that our families place on school attendance and academic achievement.  This year our attendance target is 97%.  Please help us to achieve this by not taking term time holidays and by arranging routine medical appointments for outside of the school day.  Thank you.

And finally, during our INSET days last week, we were excited to have a visit from Mrs van den Driessche and baby Alfie.  Alfie was very happy to have cuddles with the staff and Mrs van den Driessche is loving her new role!

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hines and the school staff