Dear Parents and Carers,
Despite only being a four-day week for us in school, it has been a busy one and the buzz of Advent preparations is evident as you walk around the school. The sound of the children singing is truly beautiful and one of my favourite sounds!
Year 1, St. Andrew’s class led a thoughtful class collective worship on Tuesday afternoon for the whole school and their families. The children spoke confidently and clearly about how we can look after God’s wonderful creation and why it is important to do this.
This week has been busy for all of you who are helping to organise the Christmas Fair. It really is a military operation and will be a wonderful event for our school community and the wider community too.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the fair on Sunday,
Mrs. Amy O’Donovan
Head of School
Collective Worship
Last Sunday was the start of the Advent season and our spiritual preparations for Christmas. How can we ensure we do not get lost in the commercial hype and busyness of the season? How can we ensure there is room for God in our lives this Advent? Our Faith Council have prepared an Advent calendar for the children to use to help with their preparations. I’ve signed up for daily emails from CAFOD to help me, there are lots of resources for adults and families on the CAFOD website https://cafod.org.uk/pray/advent-prayers
Thank you to Mrs. Woodhams for making our beautiful Advent Wreath.
Advent events
Reception and KS1 Nativity
We look forward to sharing with you our Nativity led by children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 on Tuesday 10th December at 10am in the Church and Wednesday 11th December at 2pm in the Church.
KS2 Advent Service
The following week, on Tuesday 17th December, KS2 will share their Advent Service with parents at the Church at 2pm. On Wednesday 18th December, the Advent service will be in the evening at Church, starting at 6pm. Children wearing costumes need to arrive by 5.40pm please. All KS2 children should be in full school uniform for this event please.
Disco and mufti day
Friday 13th December is a Christmas mufti day with discos after school.
Christmas Lunch and Christmas Jumper Day
The children will have Christmas lunch on Wednesday 18th December and can wear a Christmas/Winter jumper to celebrate.
End of term Mass
We will be celebrating the end of term as a school with Mass at 10am on Friday 20th December at the Church. Do join us if you are free.
Wreath making workshop
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined the Saint Cuthbert Mayne Christmas Wreath Making Night! Your enthusiasm and creativity brought such festive cheer, and the beautiful wreaths you crafted were truly inspiring. We're thrilled to share that, thanks to your support, The Friends raised an amazing £250 to support our school projects. A very special thanks to Catherine Kibble and Lucy Hall for hosting the evening and providing the beautiful foliage and festive treats that made the night so enjoyable. Thank you to all who made last night a wonderful success.
Bauble competition
Thank you to everyone who took part in the bauble competition. It was so hard to judge the entries and choose 1 winner from each class. The tree looks beautiful with all the children’s amazing designs on it.
Well done to our winners:
Reception – Ollie
Year 1 – Finley V
Year 2 – Drake
Year 3 – Emily P
Year 4 – Penny
Year 5 – Albie
Year 6 - Bohdan
School logo
When you order new uniform, you will notice that we have had our logo updated. We will gradually phase out the old logo, but I do not want anyone thinking they need to buy new uniform! We made a change to the logo as due to where the “I” of SAINT was sitting, it could not be read clearly. This is our new logo:
Linked to this, we have worked on our mission statement and images to reflect this, you may have noticed this on the display at the entrance to the school.
Road Safety and parking
Just a reminder for all parents and anyone that picks children up from school, the Church car park should not be used by the school community at the end of the day. If people who do not read this newsletter pick up your children, please make sure that they know the Church car park cannot be used at drop off and pick up times. It has been particularly worrying to see people parking in the car park and then trying to drive out when families are still walking through having collected their children. Please remember to be kind and considerate when parking in the vicinity of the school.
The situation with the zig zag lines and double yellow lines is continuing to be dangerous outside of school. By not following the Highway Code, you are putting children and adults at risk. PCSO Aaron Baker will continue to make visits to school to work on this. Please make sure you are doing the right thing all of the time rather than only when the PCSO is present.
Wake Up Wednesday
Mental health and well-being apps can provide support to those in need, but they can provide risks and dangers. Find out more about these below:
Christmas Cards
If children would like to hand out Christmas cards to their friends in school, these can be brought in from Monday 9th December. If there are cards for children in other classes, please ensure that these are labelled with the class or year group to ensure they are delivered to the right person.
Information regarding lunch payments.
To avoid accumulating debts for families, we cannot book lunches for children without funds in their Scopay accounts. Please note that this does not affect children in Reception, Year 1, or Year 2, who are eligible for universal free school meals, nor those receiving free school meals.
Beginning November 4th, if your child arrives at school without a pre-booked meal or packed lunch and does not have a balance on their Scopay account, our office will contact you. You will have the option to add funds to your account for us to book a meal or to bring in a packed lunch for your child.
If you are facing financial difficulties, please feel free to reach out to me in confidence so we can explore ways to support you.
Thank you for your understanding.
