Dear Parents and Carers,
So many children enjoyed the Autumn Lights disco on Friday afternoon. It was lovely to see the children having fun and showcasing their dance moves! Many thanks to all of the volunteers from The Friends for the preparation for the event, supervising the children and for all the tidying up afterwards.
The week started off to a flying start with the news that the St. Cuthbert Mayne Cross Country Team came 4th overall out of 12 schools in the Matt Kemp Cross Country Competition held at Glebelands on Saturday. We are very proud of all of the runners that took part!
Then on Wednesday afternoon children from Year 4, 5 and 6 took part in a Basketball Tournament organised by Sports leaders at Glebelands School. The children played against 3 other teams and did not concede any hoops in any match and won the tournament!
Year 4 led a beautiful Collective Worship for the rest of the school and their families on Tuesday afternoon. The children spoke clearly, were confident in delivering their lines and led the worship so reverently. They gave us all ideas for how we can follow the Gospel and be children of the light through our kind actions and words. Well done to all of St. Bernadette’s class, especially as you had the tricky job of leading the first class worship of the year! Mrs. Armstrong, Miss Wilkin and I are particularly proud of you! In the words of Billy in Reception - “Thank you!”
Before we know it, it will be our Christmas Fair. Do try to support this if you can. It will take place at school on Sunday 8th December from 12-3pm. If you are able to volunteer time to set up or run a stall, please contact The Friends.
Have a lovely weekend and keep warm!
Mrs. Amy O’Donovan
Head of School
Collective Worship
The children thought hard in Collective Worship on Monday to work out the meaning of the Gospel. The children impressed me with their ability to identify that the picture I had on the screen was a fig tree, that Jesus used parables to help everyone to understand his messages and how children in Key Stage Two recognised Jesus’ message in the Parable of the Fig! Jesus’ message for us was all about recognising the signs for his return, and we thought about how we might prepare ourselves for this.
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
There is a podcast to accompany this week’s Wake Up Wednesday on the theme of healthy spending habits that can be accessed here:
https://nationalcollege.com/podcasts/top-tips-for-educating-children-on-spending-and-saving
Managing money can be a difficult skill to master, even for adults. As such, it’s incredibly important for children and young people to learn all they can before they reach an age at which they’ll be responsible for their own finances. Teaching strategies for saving and responsible spending early on can be a huge help to youngsters, in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
It can be tricky to know the best approach for teaching money management to children, however, especially in terms of giving them practical experience with this important life skill. This week’s episode of the Wake Up Wednesday podcast – made in collaboration with financial education app GoHenry – provides you with expert advice on how to educate children and young people on both spending and saving their cash.
Shoe Box Appeal for the Ukraine
Thank you to the families that were able to support the Shoe Box Appeal this year. St. Cuthbert Mayne provided 12 shoe boxes for the Cranleigh appeal.
Ukranian Christmas Carol Concert
The Ukranian School Surrey are leading a Carol Service and play at Cranleigh Baptist Church on Saturday 30th November at 5pm. There is a suggested donation of £5 for adults and children are free. The proceeds will support those in need in Ukraine in partnership with Ukraine Mission UK.
Discos
Thank you to Mrs Weller and her team of volunteers for running the discos for the children last Friday! They were very well attended and the children had a great time. £450 was raised (not including donations given for wearing mufti).
School Lunches
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.
Drop off and pick ups
Whilst we recognise that everyone has the odd occasion where they are late to either drop their child off or pick up, this should be an exceptional circumstance. Please remember that the morning gate opens at 8.40am and then closes at 8.50am. If you arrive after the closing of the gate, you need to take your child into the office to sign in and you will be asked to provide a reason for the lateness.
Similarly, at the end of the day, the gate is opened just before home time - which is 3.15pm. The gate is closed once the playground is cleared. If you arrive after the gates are closed, you will need to collect your child from the school office. Thank you for your support with this.
