January 2025

Headteacher’s Welcome – January 2025

It feels a little strange to say Happy New Year now that we’re well into the term, but as this is our first newsletter of 2025, I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you all a wonderful year ahead.

 

We’ve had an eventful and positive start to the term, and I hope that those of you who attended our Learning Cafés found them useful in understanding our ongoing focus on embedding our core values—love, respect, and integrity—in everything the children do, whether in their work, their play, or their everyday lives. In a world where young minds face so many pressures and influences, working together to reinforce these values is more important than ever.

 

We are also excited to share that we have several trainee teachers with us at various stages of their teaching degrees. It is so encouraging to see their enthusiasm and desire to become great educators, especially in a time when the media often shares negative messages about the profession. Their passion and dedication are truly inspiring, and they are already making a positive impact on our school community.

 

In addition, I’m thrilled to announce that following Assistant Headteacher interviews during the autumn term, Ms. John has been successful in obtaining this role. Please join me in congratulating her on this well-deserved achievement!

 

The children have returned full of enthusiasm for learning, and as always, we remain incredibly proud of their curiosity, kindness, and commitment. We look forward to another fantastic term ahead.

 

Prayer Morning 8.15
8:15am – 8:45am
05
February
NSPCC Number Day
All Day
07
February
Education Sunday at Church
10:00am – 11:00am
09
February
Half Term
All Day
From 15 Feb until 23 Feb
15
February
First Day Back
All Day
24
February
Contemporary Class Photographs
All Day
25
February
Parents' Evening
3:45pm – 7:30pm
26
February
Parents' Evening
3:45pm – 6:00pm
27
February
Traveling book Fair
9:00am – 10:00am
From 28 Feb until 05 Mar
28
February
Spring Disco Yr 1,2,3,4,5&6
5:00pm – 8:00pm
28
February

                          

Happy New Year from your PTA! 

We loved seeing the creativity that went into Wacky Hair Day with children, teachers and a few parents joining in! With your support we raised £550.90 from the day so thank you. 

 

To help us raise money for the school when doing your online shopping, please use

 https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/panel/

Once you sign up for free, your favourite shops will donate a % to the school pta.

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Tickets are currently on sale on Parent Pay for the Spring Disco on Friday February 28th and if anyone would like volunteer on the night (for either disco) please do let your class rep know. 

There will be a Coffee Morning on Monday 17th March so please do pop in to say hello and hear all about our future events. On March 28th we have our spectacular Talent Show so look out for future details on how to apply.  Then, before Easter break we see the return of the ever popular Bacon Bars. Will you be one of our lucky winners and find a golden rasher?

 

Introducing Arbor: A New Way to Stay Connected

We know how important it is for parents to stay informed, and we’ve been working hard to make communication more streamlined and accessible. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Arbor, a new app designed to bring everything into one place.

With Arbor, you’ll have easy access to basic attendance and behaviour information, as well as a central hub for permissions, requests, and school communications. We understand that managing school admin can sometimes feel like a full-time job (as a working mum, I often felt like I needed my own PA!), so we hope this new system makes life a little easier.

We aim to launch within the next two weeks, with our first test being parent evening bookings. Please bear with us as we get everything up and running—we truly appreciate your support!

More details will follow soon. Watch this space

Education Sunday – 9th February

We would like to invite you all to join us for Education Sunday on 9th February—a special service where we come together to pray for all those who work in education and for all those who learn. This tradition has been celebrated for over 100 years and is an opportunity to reflect on the vital role education plays in our lives.

This year’s service is particularly significant as it will be Father Stephen’s last Education Sunday with us. We are sure he would appreciate as many of you as possible joining us to mark this occasion and celebrate the gift of education. It will be a wonderful time to come together as a community to give thanks for the many ways God supports and blesses us in our educational journey.

We hope to see you there.

 

 

Project Touchline at St. Michael’s

This term, we are excited to be working with Project Touchline, a fantastic initiative that links rugby (sports) with creative arts, worship, and our school’s core values. As part of this, our staff took part in an inspiring CPD session with Chris Andrew on our INSET day, exploring ways to integrate his approach into our PE curriculum and beyond. The children from Nursery to Year 6 are already engaging enthusiastically with the sessions, and we continue to see the positive impact this project has on their learning and personal development. We hope they’ve been telling you all about it—especially how they demonstrate our school values while playing. As part of this, you will have received a non-consent form, as we will be filming the children participating in the programme next week to create a video showcasing their experiences.

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Read for Good Readathon – Get Involved

A quick reminder to get involved in our Read for Good Readathon We only have 40 children signed up so far, and we’d love more of you to take part in promoting a love of reading while supporting a great cause.

 Read anything! Books, comics, audiobooks—even sharing stories counts!

Raise sponsorships: Friends and family can sponsor online (details on your child’s Google Classroom) or via the sponsor card sent home.

Every penny raised helps bring books and storytellers to children in UK hospitals, and our school will receive free books worth 20% of the total raised!

Let’s work together to spread the joy of reading—thank you for your support .

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Difference Primary – Continuing Our Journey

We are delighted to share that, following the successful pilot of Difference Primary before Christmas, the programme is returning to St. Michael’s to work with children in Reception, Year 2, Year 4, and Year 6. This initiative encourages pupils to explore inclusivity, respect, and diversity through engaging and interactive activities. By adopting habits such as Be Curious, Be Present, and Reimagine, children are empowered to embrace differences, challenge stereotypes, and help build compassionate and inclusive communities.

Although these sessions were due to take place this week, they have been postponed due to illness. We will share the rescheduled dates as soon as possible and look forward to continuing this important work with our pupils.

Thank you for your ongoing support in fostering these values within our school community.

 

Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 – Know Yourself, Grow Yourself

 

This year’s Children’s Mental Health Week theme focuses on self-awareness and personal growth.

Understanding our strengths, challenges, emotions, and aspirations helps us build resilience, develop strong relationships, and navigate life’s ups and downs.

Throughout the week, we will explore ways to express emotions, celebrate what makes us unique, and support each other’s well-being.

To introduce the week, we will hold a special assembly on Friday, 31st January, where children will learn about the importance of knowing themselves to grow. Parents can access the assembly PowerPoint and helpful tips to support discussions at home via Google Classroom.

As part of our activities, we will also take part in the Picture News Live Assembly on Tuesday, 4th Feb, exploring how talking about the world around us can support our mental health.

We look forward to a meaningful and engaging week of self-discovery.

EMS Music

 

 

"On Friday, February 7th, St Michael's School will be joining in the NSPCC's Number Day celebrations! This year marks 25 years of this exciting event, with the theme 'Patterns in Pajamas!' Throughout the day, students will engage in fun maths investigations, exploring patterns in numbers, shapes, and data. We invite your child to come dressed in patterned pajamas or any patterned clothing to join in the fun!"

Any donations collected will begiven to the NSPCC charity.

 

A Moan

Parking, Idling, and Respect for Our Community

We continue to receive serious complaints from local residents about dangerous and illegal parking, as well as unnecessary engine idling around the school. The sheer volume of cars at drop-off and pick-up times, along with ongoing issues of vehicles blocking driveways, parking unsafely, and leaving engines running for long periods, is causing frustration, environmental harm, and, most importantly, putting children’s safety at risk.

We regularly remind families of responsible parking, have involved our School Council in patrols, and have made kind pleas for cooperation—yet, unfortunately, these efforts are often ignored. This leaves the school in a difficult position, as we do not have the authority to enforce parking laws, yet we are the ones dealing with angry emails from residents, which takes valuable time away from supporting our children’s education.

With no improvement, we are now having to use part of our already tight budget to install parking deterrents—funds that could have been better spent on resources for your children.

Beyond safety and environmental concerns, this is also a matter of respect—one of our core school values. We are working hard to instill respect in our children, and we ask parents to lead by example. If you wouldn’t park dangerously, block a driveway, or leave your engine running outside your own home, please don’t do it outside our school.

We know that not all families contribute to this issue, and we thank those who make the effort to park safely and responsibly.

Let’s work together to make our school environment safer, healthier, and more respectful for everyone.