It’s a Friday round up from Mr Schumm and he’s not dressed as an elf – yet!
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you hear what I hear? No that’s nothing to do with sprouts – it’s the sound of St Stephen’s bringing the festive season to life with Nativities, carol concerts, scavenger hunts, quizes, being on telly and so much more!
We now have the date for the Chitty Rides Again documentary, with David Walliams, that the school was involved in (darling!) and it’s the 1st January at 7.30 pm on Channel 4. The programme lasts for 90 minutes and there are lots of our amazing children taking part and a very emotional finale so this is definitely not one to miss. As if Channel 4 wasn’t enough, check out the BBC news next week, not sure of the date yet, and you will be able to see the school choir singing – more info to folllow.
Our two Reception classes delighted us this week with their superb Nativity. They were incredibly loud and Olive just loved that microphone – a complete St Stephen’s natural! The children spoke with such confidence and made us all feel so proud of them. Watching them, I was filled with such joy at the children being able to take part in a live performance – they gain so much from having an audience and parents have to see that first Nativity – even in a mask! A massive thank you to our Early Years team for all their hard work.
Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 recorded their Carols by Candlelight and it is absolutely stunning! The singing is magnificent and the readings wonderful. The whole performance is so slick and such a celebration of your wonderful children but that is what we have come to expect in the expert hands of Miss Bell.
Both Nativities and The Carols by Candlelight have been professionally recorded and will be available to purchase next week on Parentmail. It’s that perfect gift for Granny and to embarrass your children in years to come.
Year 6 braved the cold this morning and enjoyed their annual intra-school football tournament at the astro pitches in Hammersmith Park, competing in teams of 5 or 6 in a round robin format. They seemed to have a great time, and were all very excited to be out and about, despite the weather.
We are in the process of publishing our very own St Stephen’s Recipe book filled with delicious recipes. I personally sifted through numerous traditional Schumm recipes and toyed with my Sous vide duck and my yoghurt cake with macerated strawberries and balsamic candied pistachios but, finally, after a few fraught hours I decided on Yorkshire puddings! You can take the man out of Middlesbrough but…
Don’t forget to check out the St Stephen’s boutique for those last minute bargains and recipe books (check out those bargain aprons for a last minute gift) – https://www.ststephensboutique.co.uk/ the link is also on the FOSS page on the school website.
Sunday 13th December – it’s the FOSS Scavenger Hunt! The perfect opportunity to explore Shepherd’s Bush as a family or with a group of friends. There are still tickets available until noon today on Parentmail. This is going to be a fantastic event with the most spectacular ending with hot food – wink wink say no more! All I’ll say is you’ll regret not investigating SheBu!
Tuesday 15th December – Years 1 and 2 are treading the boards in their socially distanced, following all the guidelines, performances. Year 1 in the playground at 9.15 and Year 2 in the church at 10.30am and 2pm.
Wednesday 16th December –Christmas lunch – and you can’t eat Christmas lunch without the most festive jumper you can find. So, please dig out those reindeer jumpers with luminous horns and away we go!
Thursday, 17th of December at 6pm – The House Captains are very excited to announce that they will be hosting the annual St Stephen’s Christmas Quiz (virtually of course!). All of the proceeds will be going to our school charity this year, Friends of the Earth, and towards the new Yr. 6 trip to Whitby. Each house has prepared a fun-filled round that is guaranteed to entertain the whole family and get those little grey cells humming. For £12 (on Parentmail) per family, you will be able to play and receive a scrumptious goodie bag packed with terrific treats handmade by all of the four houses. We will also include surprise gifts, a fun picture round and answer sheets for the general knowledge questions. There will also be some very exciting items to be auctioned on the night!
Friday 18th December – the children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, in their bubbles, will be singing carols to parents, with a few words from Denis, in the large playground. The children will be positioned in different spots around the playground with the parents cordoned off in their children’s year group bubbles, socially distanced, following all the guidelines, one parent/ carer from each family (please) and wearing a face mask. This Carol Mash Up will last no more than 15/ 20 minutes.
At the end of the autumn term, I always do a photo round up of the year so if you have any photos of your children taken during lockdown you would like me to include please email them to head@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk. I am searching those school lockdown TikToks and we might just have a TikTok countdown next week with the top 5!
Have you bought that raffle ticket? Well, there’s still time – just follow the link, check out the amazing prices and away you go! Remember you’ve got to be in it to win it! https://raffall.com/152182/enter-raffle-to-win-win-a-fantastic-prize-hosted-by-st-stephens-ce-primary-school
Please follow us on twitter @ststephenslbhf and check out the school website www.ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk for regular updates from the class teachers and in the news and events section.
Have an amazing weekend and see you on Sunday!
Mr Schumm
