A Friday Night Round Up from Mr Schumm
Good afternoon,
What a glorious sunny day and what a lovely time we had last night too! Adam, our new PE teacher, will remember to lock the PE cupboard next time! The Family Supper is such a great evening filled with delicious food, our amazing community and lots of children having great fun running around the playground as the sun goes down. It’s always lovely to catch up with everyone and this year I would say we had one of the busiest evenings for a long time! So much scrumptious food from around the world to enjoy – I have put some remaining dishes outside the main school entrance for collection.
Thank you to all those parents who completed our school questionnaire at the end of the summer term – see attached. The four main suggestions involved Maths in KS1, winning House rewards, green issues and developing playground procedures and systems.
These suggestions have been incorporated into our School Improvement Plan and here is a quick update:
- Maths in KS1 – We have planned a Year 1 Maths Meeting and Drinks on Wednesday 18th October at 6.30pm and a Year 2 Maths Meeting and Drinks on Monday 16th October at 6.30pm to go through and explain how we teach maths and what you can do to support the children’s maths learning at home.
- House Prizes – the winning house each term will receive an afternoon of games with Adam, our new PE teacher and his colleagues.
- Green Issues – We are set to develop the middle playground into a sensory garden. We are liaising with the Green Team/ school kitchen to develop ideas for composting/ recycling. Our old lighting is being replaced with LEDs. Thermostats have been fitted on to the radiators, the heating is on a reduced temperature and is on a strict timetable. We are forming a ‘carbon neutral’ group to combine FOSS and the school resources to develop an action plan. We monitor food waste from the kitchen by completing daily surveys and all school events will, with the help of the Green Team, use school plates, cutlery and glasses rather than single use items. We are continuing our commitment to sustainability and the planning of a long term strategy to aim for Net Zero.
- Developing playground systems and procedures – Playtime rules have been reinforced with the children and are visible in the playgrounds. We have invested in new resources and equipment for the children to play with and have increased the number of staff in the playgrounds at lunch and at break times. The library is now open every lunch time for those pupils preferring a quieter time and Y6 playground buddies are in place. Thank you to all the children who have volunteered for this role so far. Playground Buddies work so enthusiastically in getting to know the younger children and supporting them with their playground interactions and fun in such a positive and reinforcing way. A new rota for equipment sees year groups sharing resources to maximise play time experiences also.
Year 2 at St Paul’s
Well, the big news for this week was Y2’s amazing trip to St Paul’s Cathedral. Y2 climbed over 300 steps to reach the Whispering Gallery and were blown away (not literally) by the beautiful interior. Their guides told them all about the history of the cathedral and how it has been rebuilt five times over the centuries. They were really impressed with how much Y2 already knew about the Great Fire of London. Some of the classes were chosen to play the roles of Samuel Pepys, the Mayor of London and fire-fighters from the time. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to help that day and did a fantastic job. I’m sure everyone slept really well that night after all of their adventures!
Harvest Festival
Please join us on Wednesday 4th October at 9am in St Stephen’s Church for our Harvest Festival service. We are asking for donations to the Upper Room Charity and I have attached their ‘wish list’. Please hand your donations to the class teacher on the day.
Year 2 Football Tournament
A group of children from Year 2 set out this morning for Sunningdale Prep for an exciting day of football and fun. Our 3 teams came runner up in their groups and played brilliantly. Adam, our new PE teacher, had a fantastic time and got to see St Stephen’s in full competitive spirit! The children were playing against lots of London schools. Well done Year 2 – we are very proud of your efforts!
House Captains
Hot off the press! This afternoon a number of our Year 6 students gave presentations to their houses on why they should be a House Captain, ideas they would like to put in place and their chosen charity to fundraise for. As always I was truly impressed with their confidence, their detailed powerpoints and ideas. It is uplifting is watch the children’s confidence grow as they step forward and present their ideas to the various houses – we love a ‘Can do’ attitude at St Stephen’s! The House Captains for 2023/4 are…
Wesley – Eliza, Rose, Joseph E, Aiden
Liddell – Jean, Mia, Millie, Ethan
Aylward – Carter, Maude, Phoebe, Nina
Crummell – Gabriel, Bea, Kian, Enkhjin
Have a great weekend.
Mr Schumm
