Key Dates
Friday 22nd December - Monday 8th January
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Monday 8th January
INSET Day - children are not in school
Tuesday 9th January
Children return to school
Friday 12th January
PSA Year 1 cake sale
Wednesday 17th January
Curriculum Evening at 6:30 pm
Thursday 18th January
Year 1 Cornflower class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Monday 22nd - Wednesday 24th January
Chinese Dragon Dance Workshops
Thursday 25th January
Year 6 Elder class parent assembly at 9:00 am
Friday 26th January
PSA Reception cake sale
PSA Cinema Night for Years 5 & 6
Key dates for this school year are published here. Some of these dates are provisional, and all dates are subject to change — please refer to this newsletter and communications via ParentPay for the latest information.
Click here for term dates including INSET days. Term dates for the 2024/2025 school year are now published.
Reminders
INSET Day
Monday 8th January is an INSET day and the children are not in school. Their first day back after the break is Tuesday 9th January when school will start at the usual time. The school office will reopen at 8:00 am on that day.
Lunches for the spring term will be available to order through ParentPay by 27th December. You can view the menu here. The option of a hot pasta dish will now be available every day and there will be three themed days on 18th January (Best of British), 8th February (Chinese New Year), and 7th March (World Book Day).
The deadline for booking for next term’s school-run clubs is Friday 5th January. School-run clubs are booked through ParentPay. Clubs run by external providers manage their own bookings, so please contact them directly regarding availability and payment. The full club timetable is published on our website.
On behalf of all staff, we would like to say a huge thank you for all the gifts and festive wishes received this week. They are very much appreciated.
Please find linked the latest version of Trust-ed, the termly newsletter from Kingston Educational Trust.
Festive Fern Hill!
We finished the term on a very festive note! Congratulations to the children and staff for their fabulous concert performances, some in the spectacular setting of All Saints Church. Thank you for joining us to celebrate your children and life at Fern Hill.
Today, Mr Scott presented his Headteacher Awards to the children in a whole school celebration assembly. The Team Point House winner was also announced (see below). The children have earned over 10,500 team points this term, a real testament to their positive behaviour, attitudes to learning and sense of belonging at school.
Despite the length of this autumn term, the children have continued to model our values right to the very end and have certainly made the most of all the rich learning opportunities on offer both in and out of school. You can read about just some of the highlights here.
Thank you to all our families for their continued support of our home-school partnership. So many of you go above and beyond, helping in the classroom and on visits out of school. A huge thanks to the Class Reps for all their efforts throughout the term, particularly the organisation of the class Christmas parties this week – the children had such a great time!
We hope you are all able to have a well-deserved break and look forward to seeing the children back at school on Tuesday 9th January, rested and ready for what will certainly be a shorter but equally rewarding spring term.
Year 6 Book Club
Our Year 6 Book Club pupils have been reading the latest mystery story by Lauren St John, 'Finding Wonder'. This is what they had to say about it:
“I loved how each word makes you instantly want to turn to the next page. Whenever the author reveals a new secret, I become permanently addicted.” Nell
“It is an outstanding mash-up between mystery and adventure. It takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions - perfect for any reader.” Luca
“I really enjoyed the book and I liked that they all thought that they knew who the thief was but they didn’t.” Molly
“It made me feel really excited and accomplished when Roo and Skylar found all the horses.” Sofia S
“My favourite character was Joni because she’s such an optimistic person and so joyful and she reminds me a lot of myself.” Sofia M
My favourite character was Rhianna because she seems like a mixed bag and tries to suppress her emotions.” Leila
“I would recommend this to a horse lover and a person who loves mysteries.” Rei-Green
Book of the Week
‘Legendary Creatures’ by Adam Auerbach
This beautiful picture book for older children is a menagerie of bizarre and mysterious beasts from mythologies all over the world. It explains the origins of some creatures you have heard of (the phoenix, the mermaid, the dragon) as well as some that might be new to you like the Japanese elephant-tusked Baku who eats your bad dreams, the giant crocodile Cipactli with mouths on all of its joints, and the terrifying swallowing monster from Lesotho – the Khodumodumo. In addition to the fascinating information, compelling ink and watercolour illustrations create ethereal and yet vivid manifestations of each imagined creature. This book would be a perfect companion-read to Katherine Rundell’s ‘Impossible Creatures’ – for those who want to delve a little deeper into the world of mythical beasts.
~ Mrs Rouillard, School Librarian
Team Points
At the end of every term, the number of team points each House receives is allocated based on their position (1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th) each week of the term.
The overall winner this term is RICHMOND with 2,714 Team Points
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Kingston
23
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Coombe
22
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Richmond
29
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Hampton
26
PSA News & Events
Festive Events - thank you!
Huge thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with our Christmas fundraising activities and events, including our wonderful raffle team, Magic Party and Disco organisers and their band of volunteers!
Coming up next term…
Next term we have a Cinema Night planned for Years 5 and 6 on Friday 26th January - more details to follow, but tickets will be available very soon after we return to school in the new year!
Our popular Bounce for Books event will also be back after the half-term break, in March, and we will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt for our younger children towards the end of the term. Lots of fun is planned, so watch this space!
Our next PSA meeting is on Thursday 1st February and may also be attended virtually, so do join us if you can.