A Friday Night Round Up from Mr Schumm
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As I write this, the sun is shining and there is a most definite whiff of spring in the air! We are stepping forward into a jam packed half term full of St Stephen’s fun with lots of exciting events coming your way in true St Stephen’s style – wait till you take a peek at the auction prizes! You might need a coffee and hobnob, as this is a rather lengthy round up!
Covid Update
As you will be aware, the Prime Minister recently set out the end of legal restrictions in England related to Covid. These announcements have obvious implications for everyone, but schools in particular. Whilst we love returning to normal – nothing normal at St Stephen’s I say! We have a duty of care to all pupils and staff. In removing restrictions, the Government has placed great emphasis on personal responsibility so, when deciding whether your child should attend school, please use the same judgement as you would for any infectious condition.
The FOSS Auction Night Thursday, 17th March at 7.30 pm is back with a little Irish twist – St Patrick’s Day. What a cracking night we have in store for you. Think…Guinness and all your usual FOSS bar favourites, live Irish music to entertain you during a three course Irish inspired dinner followed by a digestif before the auction starts… Tickets available via Parentmail
Country Cultures Evening Thursday, 31st March at 7.30pm is all things French this year – more information to follow but I know there are great plans afoot including the ‘Can Can’ and La Discotheque! So dig out those dancing shoes!
Year 5 go to The Natural History Museum
On Wednesday, Year 5 went to The Natural History Museum as part of their Science topic ‘Space’ and to revisit their Computing topic ‘Coding’ from Autumn Term. They worked in groups to build and program a Lego model rover to move across Mars’ surface and gather information about the Red Planet. They then had to program their robots to complete special missions using their coding skills to make the Lego model move. This was a great day where they learned more about Mars and our Solar System and also had the chance to expand on their coding knowledge.
Year 1 and 2 Road Safety Show
Year 1 and 2 were excited to welcome The Dangerous Theatre Company for ‘Peli and Zebe’s Roadtastic Adventure’. Through lively songs and movement, the children learnt to ‘stop, look and listen’ when crossing the road and to find safe places to cross. They delivered a road-tastic adventure and made sure we all know how to cross the road safely. We are all now ‘Roadwise Rangers’.
A word from Nursery on their trip to the farm
On Thursday, Nursery had a fantastic trip to the farm. The day kicked off with a meet and greet with small, furry animals. We met rabbits, chickens, geese, chinchillas, rats and fancy mice. The children got to hold them and stroke them. We had to frisk Miss Elena to make sure she didn’t bring the chinchilla back as she was rather attached to him!
We had a tour of the farm and met the bigger animals. Some of us bravely fed them. The goats were very hungry. The calf slobbered all over Miss Quartermaine, so there weren’t many takers for feeding her after that! Next we met the exotic pets and we got to see a scorpion light up under a torch and try on a snake as a necklace. Even some of the teachers tried the snake on! Miss Valerie looked very comfy in her snake necklace!
Packed lunches were a highlight as always, you just can’t beat a good packed lunch on a school trip!
Lastly, we went to see Ozzie the owl who flew over our heads. Miss Newton regretted her choice of seating when Ozzie nearly landed on her head! Then, it was back to the bus for a quick nap on the way back to school. What a fantastic day we had!
Queens Gate Science Week
On Thursday February 10th, students from Year 5 & 6 were kindly invited by Queens Gate Junior School to participate in a special science afternoon where they were lucky enough to go inside the Wonder Dome planetarium to fly through the Milky Way looking closely at the planets. This was followed by an inter-schools quiz in their science lab and a building challenge using nothing but marshmallows and spaghetti. We are happy to report that St Stephens came first place against some tough competition and were awarded certificates and a brand new Space book for our library. A huge thank you to all at Queens Gate for inviting us and making us all so welcome.
‘My favourite bit was when we went into the planetarium and I saw lots of constellations. I also really liked the quiz as it kept you on your feet’. Philip (Y6)
‘It was an unexpected experience and I really enjoyed it. I think our co-operation was really powerful and I think that led us to victory’. Oscar (Y6)
‘The planetarium was astronomical and the quiz was my favourite. I learnt loads of amazing new facts’. Blake (Y5)
‘My favourite bit was the planetarium as I learnt a lot about stars and constellations. I loved making (and eating) the spaghetti pyramid!’ (Giselle, Y6)
‘My favourite activity was the quiz as we had very strong members on our team and we did a fun activity’. (Sophia, Y6)
Sport for Champions Day
Before the half-term break, it was our Sport for Champions day and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the St Stephen’s community in raising sponsorship for the school and Sport for Champions. Thank you to everybody for their contributions – almost £3000 was raised for the school for sports equipment, which will be invaluable in improving our sports provision. We are hoping to buy some high quality football goals, basketball hoops and netball posts.
On the day, the children listened avidly to international athlete Ezekiel Ewolu, when he gave an inspirational and entertaining assembly. It was also a treat for us to have Eric Shirley to join us for the assembly and the morning. Eric is a grandparent of children in the school and has been involved in British Athletics throughout his career, including being Olympic team manager. Eric’s father (also called Eric) was the first steeple chaser to break 9 minutes in the 3000m in 1954. He is now over 90 and still running regularly. Eric (junior) knew Ezekiel through his work and measured out in the hall the actual distance jumped by Ezekiel (7.75m) – we were all stunned to see just how far that is in reality. Alastair and Mr Schumm, concerned they hadn’t been enough in the limelight, made sure they got involved by having a jump themselves.
Throughout the morning, all children from Reception through to Year 6 had a short fitness circuit session with Ezekiel, and Eric entertained various classes giving talks about his time involved with athletics. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning in the school.
Quiz Night at Latymer Upper School for The Upper Room Charity
A fun-filled Quiz Night is taking place at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, on Thursday 10 March from 7 to 10pm, with all proceeds going towards The Upper Room. Tickets cost £25 (plus booking fee) which includes a platter of cheese and paté (from the Chiswick Cheese Market) per table and a free drink. Tables will seat up to 10 people. The quiz master is Jamie Coia and there will be prizes for the winners, bonus prizes throughout the evening, and a raffle. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-upper-room-quiz-tickets-244706773547
Are you still with me or are you looking for something a little stronger than a hobnob? Don’t forget to come and grab a book bargain after school in our massive sale.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mr Schumm
