The advantage of an early Easter is that we have the opportunity to spend some of Holy Week with the children. We began the week with Mass in the church, celebrated with members of the parish community. In a break from the norm the children read and acted out the Gospel. In our Liturgy yesterday, two children acted out the washing of the feet in anticipation of the events of the Last Supper – Christ leads by example and encourages us to be servants to one another. I was quizzed by one child about why this Friday is called ‘Good’, when what happened to Jesus was really very bad. If we look back at Good Friday through the lens of Easter then it is the crucifixion which enables the resurrection, which in turn gives birth to our Christian faith. 

Despite the shorter school week, we still managed to pack plenty in: 

• Thank you to the Friends who organised our Big Lent Walk on Palm Sunday – it was lovely to have tea and coffee after Mass in the school hall and welcome parishioners to join us. It was also wonderful to see the effort that had gone into creating the beautiful Easter Bonnets. 

• On Monday we marked World Maths Day – children enjoyed a carousel of different problem-solving activities in the afternoon. 

• On Tuesday Year 5 visited Winchester Science Museum – thank you to the parent volunteers who joined us for the day. 

• On Wednesday, the winning entrants from the recent Science Fair attended the Grand Final with all the other Xavier Primary Schools at ACS Cobham – thank you to Cranleigh Prep School for kindly providing transport to this event. 

Please note that there is a change to our PE Days for some classes in the Summer term. There are also some extra days when KS2 children will be practising for Sports Day at Glebelands. 

On Tuesday, 16 April, we will celebrate Mass in church at 2.15pm - parents and carers are warmly invited. 

We will be thinking of Miss Quinlan who will be getting married over the Easter break - we look forward to hearing all about the big day.

I hope you all have a peaceful Easter holiday – I shall be spending a fair bit of time preparing for the London Marathon in April. I am raising money for Depaul UK, which is a youth homelessness charity helping young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. If you are able to spare anything in the way of sponsorship, I’d be most grateful indeed – please see my JustGiving page. If you happen to see me plodding around Cranleigh over the next few weeks, please feel free to hurl some encouragement in my general direction! 

God bless

Mr Hall, Head of School

Liturgy 

Simon Peter was outraged when Jesus offered to wash his feet for him. This act of service turned things on their head for the Disciples. As ever, Christ was showing us how to be. He reminds us that we are all equal and that we should all look for opportunities to ‘wash one another’s feet’.  

Loving Jesus, thank you for showing us how much you love us. Thank you for the people in our lives who care for us and wash our feet. This Easter, teach us to be servants like you and to show your love in the little things that we say and do. Amen 

MARATHON MADNESS

There's a lot of running taking place next month. We are fortunate enough to have been given 12 places in the Mini London Marathon on Saturday, 20 April. Not only is this an exciting opportunity for some of our children to run the final mile up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, but the school also receives £10 for each participant.

The following day we will be keeping an eye on the London Marathon. The current world record is not thought to be under threat from Mr Hall who is making his marathon debut.

On the first Tuesday of term Mr Hall will be doing laps of the daily mile route in the playground with pairs of children as part of his training plan. 105 laps = 5 miles! He is raising money for Depaul UK, which is a youth homelessness charity helping young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. If you are able to spare anything in the way of sponsorship, please visit his JustGiving page.

At the end of each term we celebrate children who have lived out our school values throughout the term. This is a special award that is presented to two children each term. Huge congratulations to the following children.

ONLINE SAFETY ADVICE

WEEKLY CERTIFICATES

This week just Year 3 and 4 pupils were awarded certificates, as they were away on a school trip last week.

Cranleigh Prep School have invited our pupils and families to attend their Patron of Reading Lucy Strange’s new book launch on Thursday 2^nd May at 5.15pm, at Cranleigh Prep School.

We would very much like to extend an invitation to your pupils and parents to join us for this book launch.   - https://forms.gle/WXZ1gf6BTK8Gz9Vj6.

Her new book ‘The Island at the Edge of Night’ is most suited to Years 5 & 6 pupils.

In2Drama - FREE PLACES AVAILABLE

In2Drama are proud to be able to provide free places at the summer academy this year  (22nd-26th July at Cranleigh Arts),  following a very generous grant from the Wates Family Trust. We are determined  to find talented, enthusiastic performers who ordinarily may not be able to access the 1st class training provided by our industry professionals, due to financial constraints. We expect a high take up of  these places and would very much like to meet, hear and see students perform to ensure these coveted all paid for bursaries go to the right performers. Confidence building, communication and teamwork skills are vital to what we do, so we really hope we have a big turn out later this year.

Our ambassador, the West End and Broadway legend herself, Kerry Ellis,  is confirmed this year and will be teaching an audition masterclass. She will also be performing a professional show “An Evening with Kerry Ellis and Friends” at 7.30pm on the 26th July where a couple of lucky talented students will have the chance to sing alongside her in this professional show at the Cranleigh Arts Centre.

We intend to meet and hear potential academy performers who would like to win a bursary on the 11th May. Please write to me on phil@in2drama.com or register directly on https://www.in2drama.com/scholarship 

Please go to our website to understand more about what we offer.www.in2drama.com 

Stations of the Cross at Wintershall - Good Friday (29 March) 

Foundation Governor, Stephen Rockhill will be running the Stations of the Cross for children at Wintershall on Good Friday at 10am.  This will be followed by hot cross buns and a visit to the lambing sheds to see the lambs and cuddle a few.  Can you please email Stephen on stephen@sprockhill.co.uk to let him know you are coming as he needs to make sure there are enough hot cross buns.

For Year 2 Parents - First Holy Communion for baptised Catholic children starting Year 3 in Sept 2024

As parents you will be aware that supporting your children through their FHC is an important part of their faith formation.  To support you in this we invite you to attend a parents’ preparation course on 28/2, 13/3, 10/4 and 24/4 from 7.30 to 9 pm.  The meetings will be held in person in the Cranleigh Parish Meeting Room and will be a necessary part of strengthening our faith community as you as parents prepare for this important moment.  This a requirement of your child being accepted onto the First Holy Communion Course which will start in September 2024. Please book your place by emailing cranleigh@abdiocese.org.uk by 30 January 2024.

Attendance

At St Cuthbert Mayne we place great importance on school attendance. Please see the graphic below which illustrates the cumulative effect of continued poor attendance at school. In the first instance we will always work closely with families to support improvement in attendance when necessary.

On 19 January Mr Hall wrote to parents outlining the possibility of Penalty Notices being issued to parents in the event of unauthorised absences. School attendance is rarely out of the headlines - this BBC article details plans to increase the minimum fine from September 2024.

The cost of a family holiday outside of term time can be eye-watering, but we would urge all parents to consider what sort of message they are giving their children about the value that they place on education if they choose to take their children on holiday during term time.

Useful Links:

Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know

School Attendance Policy

Cupcake Baking and Decorating Classes

As part of the 2024 Parish Talent scheme, our family is offering cupcake Baking and Decorating Classes. Before I started as a TA at SCM I spent 10 years running my own successful celebration cakes business from home, and I thought that I could pass some of that knowledge on to anyone that would like to learn and have fun whilst we are at it!

Please contact: Kirsty Kay-Russell on WhatsApp 07563 140611 or email kirstykayrussell@googlemail.com to book your space/s!

Positive Parking

We continue to be very grateful to all our parents that park and stride/cycle/walk to school, and to those that park safely and respectfully around the neighbouring roads.

We are aware that some people continue to park on the yellow zig-zag lines outside the school and the church car park. Rule 243 of the Highway Code states that road users must not park near a school entrance; for the safety of all the children at St Cuthbert Mayne, we would ask that all members of our community adhere to this rule and do not park on the yellow zig-zag lines.

We must also ensure that we are polite and respectful to local residents at all times.

Please show your children, by your actions, that positive and respectful parking is a way to show that you care about other pedestrians, neighbours and road users. Be a good role model!

For helpful information about road safety please visit: https://www.think.gov.uk/

Uniform

After a considerable amount of time spent moving our uniform supplier to Marks and Spencer we have been informed that they will be discontuing their service as a provider of bespoke school uniforms.  We have already contacted an alternative supplier.  Details will be provided but it looks like it will be October when we move to the new supplier.

The new supplier have already sent a sample product and the purple is closer to the school colour than the one Marks and Spencer supply so if you do require new jumpers and cardigans you mighty want to wait for the new supplier to take over.

Classlist

Classlist is the most effective way of staying touch with other parents. Please click this link in order to sign up.

Safeguarding

We know this time of year can put pressure on families and loved ones. For that reason we just wanted to draw your attention to some websites and resources that may come in helpful now and in the future:

Family Lives – very useful parental information website, provides lots of links and resources - they also have a telephone support line for parents/carers. Parenting and Family Support - Family Lives (Parentline Plus)

Mental Health support – suitable for lots of families, especially at this time of year. Mental health support - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

NHS Talking Therapies – it may be helpful for any parents to be able to talk to someone and this is a self referral service Home Mind Matters Surrey - NHS Talking Therapies (mindmattersnhs.co.uk)

Family Conflict – SCC pages for parents. Our resources for reducing conflict between parents - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

Your Sanctuary – Domestic Abuse Support Services. YS Home (yoursanctuary.org.uk)

Relate – resources for relationships –

Get Help | Relate

Find your online centre Relate

Drug and Alcohol Support Services

i-access Drug & Alcohol Service : Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (surreydrugandalcohol.com)

Catalyst – substance and mental health support

Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Service in Surrey (catalystsupport.org.uk)

Citizens Advice – another more general link but useful for newsletters at this time of year

Citizens Advice

Family Information Service – Families can search for services near to them

Family Information Service - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

Online Understanding your child guides – Free for all Surrey residents – use access code ACORN.

Online Learning (heiapply.com)

Our Safeguarding Team: Mr Hall (DSL), Miss Wilkin (DDSL), Mrs Chalstrey (DDSL)

As a team we are always here to support, to be a listening ear, and guide in anyway you feel appropriate. Do get in touch with any member of the team via phone 01483 274961 or email DSL@stcuthbert-mayne.surrey.sch.uk

You are not on your own and many individuals or families do come and ask. 

Summer Teaching Internship Programme

Teach Southeast are offering a new, three-week internship programme which incorporates a paid scheme for secondary maths, computing and physics undergraduates (£300 pw) and an unpaid scheme for all other secondary subjects and primary teaching. Our aim is to help undergraduates in all subjects explore how rewarding and challenging a career in teaching can be.

As part of the programme, interns will have the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of school life, including: 

· Taking part in a bespoke training programme with other interns.

· Working closely with a mentor in a placement school to observe and teach lessons.

· The chance to meet with ECTs and SCITT trainees to get their perspective on the realities of  teacher training.

Xavier Teach Southeast - Undergraduate teaching internship

Mary’s Meals would like to invite you to collect all your foreign currency* no matter how old or obscure.  Clear out your drawers and have a look under the sofa.  Currently, the charity feeds over 2.4 million young children one good meal every day in their place of education – by giving Mary’s Meals your foreign coins and notes, you can help feed the next hungry child.

Mary’s Meals feeds in over 18 countries.  Because of our low costs, we can do this for as little as £19.15 per child per year!  *We will also take UK coins/notes that aren’t legal tender

Donations can be left in the Cranleigh Parish Office, which is outside the SCM green school gates - double white patio doors - on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday mornings.   With thanks from Tracy in the parish office.

Our calendar for the term can be found here.