Key Dates
Monday 4th November
Children return to school
Wednesday 6th November
PSA Fireworks Night 5:45–7:30 pm
Thursday 7th November
Flu immunisations (Reception - Year 6)
Friday 8th November
Inclusion Coffee Morning 8:50–11:00 am
PSA Year 3 cake sale after school
Monday 11th November
Year 4 Ancient Greece workshop in school
Wednesday 13th November
Foundations in Phonics workshop for Nursery parents 9:00–9:45 am
Thursday 14th November
Oak class parent assembly 9:00–9:30 am
Friday 15th November
Year 5 visit to the Science Museum
BBC Children in Need fundraising day
Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th November
Year 6 visits to The Poppy Factory in Richmond
Thursday 21st November
Ash class parent assembly 9:00–9:30 am
Friday 22nd November
PSA Year 3 cake sale after school
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.
Reminders
Flu Immunisation
The deadline for giving consent for your child to have the flu vaccine (nasal spray) is Monday 4th November. A letter from the School Immunisation Team with further information, including a link to their electronic consent form, is available here.
School lunches
Lunches for the second half of the autumn term are now available to order through ParentPay - you can view the menu here. There will be two special theme days - Children in Need on Friday 15th November and Christmas Lunch on Thursday 12th December.
Did you know that you can set up notifications on your child's Google Classroom to alert you when your teachers publish a post? You can enable this for any device, including your mobile phone. Please see the step-by-step instructions here. Home Learning Grids for children in Years 1-6 will be published at the start of next half-term and work should be completed in time for the Home Learning Showcase in school on Friday 13th December.
If your child plays an orchestral instrument and would be keen to join the Kingston Educational Trust Orchestra, please let us know. We will be holding auditions after the half-term break. Please email the school office with the name and class of your child, the instrument they play and their playing proficiency. The orchestra is not for complete beginners, but a basic skill level is very welcome.
Each year, KET (the trust that Fern Hill belongs to) looks back over the previous academic year and reflects on achievements and effectiveness. You can read the KET Annual Report for 2023/2024 here.
We would like to wish all our families a well deserved and restful half-term break and look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 4th November.
With the colder weather, please ensure that your child returns to school with a warm (and preferably waterproof) coat - we try to ensure that the children's break times are spent outside, even if there is a little rain. For outdoor PE, children should have a black tracksuit (unbranded) or black jogging bottoms and a long sleeved jumper or jacket. They should not wear their school uniform jumpers or cardigans for PE.
Please may we also remind all our families that snacks brought to school from home should be healthy ones only - cereal bars, fruit and vegetables.
Fern Hill Eco Refill Shop
Our Eco-Committee are very excited to announce the launch of the Fern Hill Eco Refill Shop! The shop will be held after school on the last Thursday of every month, starting in the spring term. Run by Fern Hill pupils, the shop will sell a range of affordable, ethically sourced, cruelty-free and environmentally friendly cleaning products on a refill basis, including washing up and laundry liquids, hand wash, and soap, shampoo and conditioner bars.
To help us decide on what we should stock - and how much to stock - we would be very grateful for your feedback via the survey linked here. Please note that this is not our questionnaire; your answers will inform our partner, Pupils Profit, what we could sell, according to your interests, and also how much refilling our wider community are already doing.
Pupils Profit provides enterprise-based PSHE learning through a variety of school-run initiatives like the Eco Refill Shop. Supported in the planning, set up and operation of the enterprise, pupils themselves take ownership and, in so doing, practice teamwork, problem-solving, creativity and leadership while providing a valuable service for the local community.
Kingston Foodbank
This week, our Year 6 School Council Reps accompanied Mrs Davies and Mr Morrow on the minibus to deliver the World Food Day donations to the Kingston Foodbank where they learned how the produce is stored and distributed to families in need. Thank you for all your kind donations - they were gratefully received.
Fern Hill Parent Trust Associate Election
On Thursday 17th October, you will have received an email from Choice Voting on behalf of the school, inviting you to vote in the election of a Fern Hill Parent Trust Associate.
If you have not received an email from getinvolved@choicevoting.co.uk, please check your junk/spam folder first, and then contact Zara Gallagher, Head of Governance and Legal at KET, to let her know. You can get in touch with Zara by email to: zgallagher@kingstoneducationaltrust.org.
Each parent has one vote (irrespective of the number of children at the school) so if another parent of your child has not received an email and would like to vote, please let us know. Voting closes at midnight on Monday 4th November.
We would like to thank all the individuals who have nominated themselves as candidates in this election and will let you know the outcome after the half-term break.
Curriculum Evening - change of date!
Our Curriculum Evening, previously scheduled for 13th November, will now be held on Wednesday 22nd January from 6:30–8:00 pm. This event is an excellent opportunity for you to gain a greater insight into aspects of teaching and learning at Fern Hill and will include Q&A with the Senior Leadership Team. It is for parents and carers only and open to every year group. We will be sending out further information after the half-term break.
Inclusion Coffee Mornings
This school year we are running a series of Inclusion Community Coffee Mornings for the parents and carers of pupils who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND), are in receipt of the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG), or have English as an additional language (EAL). The primary goal of these events is to encourage an inclusive community and offer support from outside professionals and Fern Hill staff who will share research-based strategies and school practice. All families are welcome. Our first coffee morning will be held on Friday 8th November from 8:50–11:00 am and is an opportunity to meet our inclusion team (SENCo, ELSA, Welfare & Mental Health Support) and the Achieving for Children (AfC) Parental Engagement Officers. If you would like to join us for a coffee and chat, please let us know via this linked form. We hope to see many of you there.
Team Points...
...will be back after the half-term break
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Kingston
000
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Coombe
000
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Richmond
000
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Hampton
000
Fern Hill PSA News & Events
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