Key Dates
Wednesday 15th March
Proposed strike action - please refer to communications from ParentPay for updates
Thursday 16th March
Proposed strike action - please refer to communications from ParentPay for updates
Friday 17th March
Comic Relief Red Nose Day - mufti (non-uniform) day
PSA Mother's Day Breakfast at 7:45 am
PSA cake sale in aid of Comic Relief at 3:15 pm
Monday 20th March
Year 2 visit to the British Wildlife Centre
Year 6 SATs parent meeting at 8:50 am
Tuesday 21st March
Year 5 visit to the Easter Experience
Year 2 Clover class visit to Richmond Park
Wednesday 22nd March
Year 3 visit to Kew Gardens
Year 2 Heather class visit to Richmond Park
Thursday 23rd March
Beech class parent assembly at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
Friday 24th March
HOME LEARNING SHOWCASE
Elm class parent assembly at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
PSA Year 3 cake sale at 3:15 pm
PSA Comedy Night from 7:00 pm in the Large Hall
Saturday 25th March
PSA Easter Egg Hunt for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 29th March
Parents' Evening from 4:00 - 7:00 pm in school
Thursday 30th March - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM
Sycamore class parent assembly at 9:00 am in the Large Hall
Parents' Evening from 2:00 - 6:00 pm in school
Friday 31st March - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM
Last day of term & mufti (non-uniform) day
Monday 3rd April - Friday 14th April
EASTER BREAK
Monday 17th April
Children return to school
Reminders
Secondary Schools
Congratulations to our Year 6 children who received their offers of a secondary school place last week. Please don't forget that the deadline to accept or decline your offer is on Wednesday 15th March. You must do this via the eAdmissions website. If you will be taking up a place at an independent school, please let the school office know.
Tree Tops
If you plan to use Childcare Vouchers or Tax-free Childcare (TFC) payments to pay for Tree Tops sessions next term, please ensure you arrange for their transfer by Monday 20th March. This is to ensure that they reach us and can be processed before the end of term. The school is closed over the Easter break and any vouchers or payments received after this date will not be processed until school reopens.
Your year group weekly news is published every Friday afternoon on your child's Home Learning Google Classroom. Don't forget the home learning activities for this half-term that are due by Friday 24th March for the Home Learning Showcase.
This week's Times Tables Rock Stars class winners are Beech, Yew, Lime and Oak. Well done!
Masquerade Theatre Arts, Mother Nature Science and Pleiades are all running exciting activities at school over the Easter break. For more information and booking links, see our website here.
Welcome to Red Nose Day 2023!
Next Friday 17th March, we will be fundraising for Comic Relief. The day is all about spreading some joy, coming together as a community and smiling - all great preparation for the United Nation's International Day of Happiness on Monday 20th March!
Dress up 'red to toe' or as a Mr Men or Little Miss character
Friday is a mufti day and everyone is invited to wear red or dress up as a Mr Men or Little Miss character, in return for a £1 donation to Comic Relief. We have set up a JustGiving page and we will have collection buckets on the gates at drop off and pick up on the day. No football strips though, please!
Thank you to the PSA who will also be running a cake sale after school - cake and biscuit donations can be dropped off at the school office on the morning of the sale.
Art competition
This year, Comic Relief have collaborated with the LEGO group to launch the Build the Change competition asking schools to work together to come up with solutions that help bring a smile to people and our planet. We would love the children to build - or draw - their own creation (it does not need to be made of LEGO!). It can be 2D or 3D, made of - or drawn with - any material/media and brought into school on Friday (or before) for display. We cannot wait to see what they imagine!
Parents' Evening
Our spring term Parents' Evening will be held on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th March and you can now book an appointment with your class teacher through our Parents’ Evening System. The booking window will close at 10:00 pm on Thursday 16th March. Appointments are in-person and will be held at school. On Thursday 30th March, school will close at 1:30 pm for children in Reception through to Year 6. Nursery will run as normal until 3:25 pm.
If you have a SEND review scheduled with the Inclusion Team, or are in the process of scheduling one, you do NOT need to book a Parents’ Evening appointment as well. Your child’s class teacher will attend their SEND review.
For further information, click here.
Tree Tops
On Thursday 30th March, Tree Tops will run from 1:30 pm until its usual finish of 6:00 pm for existing bookings. Please note that Tree Tops is now fully booked for that day and any new bookings made through ParentPay will be automatically cancelled.
Week commencing Monday 27th March is catch-up week for clubs. Currently, the following catch-ups are planned: Wednesday 29th March - Choir at 3:30 pm; Thursday 30th March - Keyboard at lunchtime; Friday 31st March - Athletics at 1:30 pm.
Book of the Week
'How To Be More Hedgehog' by Anne-Marie Conway
Spark! School Book Awards 9+ Shortlist
When Lily's new teacher asks the pupils to team up and create a presentation about conserving the environment, Lily is thrilled as she is very passionate about wildlife. But she has a stammer and finds some letters particularly difficult to say - other people often talk over her as they don't have the patience to wait for Lily to get her words out. She is determined to do the presentation, however, and she videos herself practising to help with her preparation. But then someone shares the video online and the comments fill up with people making fun of her stammer. Lily is sure that the only solution is to run away to live with her Dad in Scotland, change schools and start over where no one knows her. But perhaps Lily needs to learn to be more hedgehog... Lily is a resilient and determined character and her experience of living with a stammer is sensitively and astutely explored. 'How to be More Hedgehog' is a warm, emotive and inspiring story about learning to face your fears and stand up for the things that are important to you. Highly recommended!
~ Mrs Rouillard, School Librarian
TEAM POINTS
The overall winner this week is HAMPTON!
-
Kingston
274
-
Coombe
340
-
Richmond
295
-
Hampton
365
PSA News & Events
Thank you to our volunteers! Bounce 4 Books and second-hand book sale
Thank you so much to all the parents and carers who volunteered to help with our two book-themed events last Friday! The children had a fantastic time bouncing for books, so a huge thanks to Bojana, Ayushi and the whole team for a brilliantly organised and fun event. Thanks also to Caroline, Jenny and their team of volunteers who helped to sort and sell at our second-hand book sale, plus everyone who donated books and came along to support the sale, which raised an amazing £420!
We'll be collecting sponsorship money until Monday 13th, so there is still time to return your donations and gift aid forms to the school office, or give directly via our JustGiving page.
Mother’s Day Breakfast - Friday 17th March from 7:45 - 8:45 am
To celebrate Mother's Day, we are holding a special Mother's Day Breakfast at school on Friday 17th March from 7:45 to 8: 45am. This is a lovely opportunity for all mums and female carers to come along and share breakfast with their children.
This is a free event, funded by the PSA with cereals, toast, pastries, tea, coffee and juice all on the menu.
Due to space restrictions, only children currently attending Fern Hill (Nursery through to Year 6) may attend. No babes in arms or buggies please. Thank you for your understanding.
Tickets will be available to book via this link from Sunday 12th March at 10:00 am. Each attendee should hold a ticket, so for example if one adult is bringing two children to the breakfast, three tickets need to be booked. You will receive a confirmation email once you have booked your places.
Help needed! We still need a couple more dads to help serve breakfast at this event. Please let us know via your Class Rep or the PSA WhatsApp group if you can help. Thank you.
Comedy Night - Friday 24th March from 7:00 pm
There is still time to book your Comedy Night tickets! This week you will have a received an email encouraging you to support this event - it would be great for parents to take this opportunity to socialise together!
PSA Easter Egg Hunt - Saturday 25th March from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
We are delighted to announce that tickets for the EYFS and KS1 Easter Egg Hunt are now available to buy via this link! Join us for a fun filled afternoon on Saturday 25th March from 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm.
Tickets are just £1 for adults and £3 for children and include access to the egg trail, a prize, bunny face paint and Easter crafts! Please note that this event is for children in Nursery - Year 2 and their younger siblings only. Children in Year 3 - 6 will be warmly invited to take part in a separate trail over the Easter break. Thank you for your understanding.
Inspiration 