Key Dates
Monday 25th November
Parent Volunteer Briefing 8:45–9:30 am
Tuesday 26th - Thursday 28th November
Scholastic Book Fair in school 3:30–4:30 pm
Wednesday 27th November
Inclusion Community Coffee Morning 9:00–10:00 am
Thursday 28th November
Chestnut class parent assembly 9:00–9:30 am
Year 3 visit to London Southbank & the London Eye
Friday 29th November
Kingston BEATS Coffee Morning for Hong Kong families in school 9:00 am
PSA second-hand uniform & Christmas jumper sale 3:00 pm
PSA Festive Magic Show for Year 1 & 2 5:30–6:30 pm
Saturday 30th November
Community Litter Pick at 10:00 am
Tuesday 3rd December
Year 5 Science Dome in school
Wednesday 4th December
Maths workshop for KS1 parents 9:00–9:45 am
Year 2 visit to Cornerstone Church
Thursday 5th December
Year 2 visit to Cornerstone Church
Friday 6th December
MUFTI DAY for PSA Festive Hamper Raffle
Reception local walk to Canbury Gardens
PSA Festive Discos for Years 3-6
Wednesday 11th December
Maths workshop for KS1 parents 9:00–9:45 am
Thursday 12th December
Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day
Whole school Christmas Lunch
Eco-Refill Shop at 3:00 pm
Friday 13th December
HOME LEARNING SHOWCASE
Nursery & Reception Festive Concert at 9:00 am
PSA Year 1 cake sale after school
Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th December
PSA Christmas Tree Sale
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 for the current and 2025/2026 school years, including INSET days.
Reminders
School lunches
Please don't forget to place your child's order for lunch through ParentPay by 8:00 am on the day. To avoid missing the deadline, we recommend that you order your child’s lunches well in advance - you can cancel or amend your orders up until 8:00 am on the day too.
Parking
Please park considerately, and legally, in the residential streets near to school. We have received a number of complaints recently regarding parents blocking neighbours' driveways at drop-off and pick-up times. We would also like to highlight that Albany Court, opposite Fern Hill on Richmond Road, is private property with reserved parking bays for residents only and should not be used as a drop-off or pick-up point. Thank you.
It can be difficult to know if your child is too ill to come to school. The NHS provides useful guidance on common childhood illnesses and how to manage them, including when you should keep your child at home. Please note their advice that children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least two days (48 hours). This is also our school policy. If your child is absent because of illness, please remember to let us know by email or phone by 8:30 am on each day of their absence. Thank you.
Year group weekly news is published every Friday afternoon on the Home Learning Google Classroom. You will also find this half-term's Home Learning Grids on the Classroom. All the work should be completed in time for our next Home Learning Showcase Day on Friday 13th December.
Volunteer Briefings
Thank you to all the parents who attended our first briefing session on Monday. If you would like to volunteer in school on a regular basis, please come along to the next session on Monday 25th November at 8:45 am. The session will be delivered by Mrs Stephenson and Mrs Davies. Please register using this linked form.
Scholastic Book Fair
To encourage a lifelong love of reading, we will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair next week, just in time for your Christmas shopping! All purchases will earn rewards towards buying new books for our libraries. The Fair is open to all families and will be held in the Junior Library from 3:30–4:30 pm on Tuesday 26th November, Wednesday 27th November and Thursday 28th November. You will be able to access the Fair through the external doors to the Junior Library.
Payment at the Fair can be made by cash or card, and gift vouchers are available to pre-purchase here.
Book Fair Poster Competition
Congratulations to the winners of the Book Fair Poster Competition! Ellie (Lavender), Karv (Elm), Milana (Oak) and Ethan (Oak) will choose their free book from the Fair next week.
Book of the Week
‘Starminster’ by Megan Hopkins
Astrid has been locked in the rhubarb shed for as long as she can remember, but all she wants is to be able to see the stars - in particular the Perseids meteor shower. But her mother tells her that the only way to keep her safe is to keep her locked away from the world. One night a mysterious woman with wings called Mrs Wairi breaks into the shed, rescues Astrid and takes her away to a dazzling world hiding in the clouds above London. She tells Astrid that she is a Librae and one day soon she'll grow wings of her own and be able to learn to fly at the Starminster school with all the other Fledglings in London Overhead.
It all seems too good to be true and soon Astrid realises that those who have not grown their wings yet are treated as lesser citizens, the headmaster of Starminster seems to be up to something, and her mother's frantic media appeals about her missing child make her feel guilty for leaving the safety of rhubarb shed.
'Starminster' is a captivating new world with a dark, sinister underbelly - a thoroughly gripping read!
Odd Socks Day
We had loads of fantastically creative entries for our Odd Socks Day competition! Congratulations to Isabella (Cornflower), Oliver (Cornflower), Lara (Clover), Yana (Heather), Hugo (Bracken) and Romina (Chestnut) whose designs were chosen.
Inclusion Coffee Mornings
This school year we are running a series of Inclusion Community Coffee Mornings. Although primarily for our SEND, PPG and EAL families, everyone is very welcome. The purpose 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.
Our next coffee morning will be held on Wednesday 27th November from 9:00–10:00 am. We'll be focusing on ADHD and ADHD Embrace will be presenting and sharing expertise on supporting children with ADHD. If you would like to join us, please let us know via this linked form. We hope to see many of you there.
Festive Concerts
Save the date for our year group Festive Concerts in December! Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children will perform their concerts at school in the Large Hall; children in Years 3–6 will perform at The Kingston Academy. Please note the change of time for the Year 3 & 4 concert. Further information about all our end of term festive celebrations will be sent out next week.
Nursery and Reception: Friday 13th December, 9:00–9:45 am
Year 1: Monday 16th December, 9:00–9:45 am
Year 2: Monday 16th December, 2:30–3:15 pm
Years 3 & 4: Wednesday 18th December, 9:15–10:15 am
Years 5 & 6: Wednesday 18th December, 2:15–3:00 pm
Team Points
The overall winner this week is COOMBE
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Kingston
446
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Coombe
502
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Richmond
482
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Hampton
468
PSA News & Events
Click here for Fern Hill PSA's weekly newsletter.
Inspiration 