to view 4th March 2016 - St Marys Catholic Primary School

Hornchurch Road,
Headteacher: Mr David Leech
Hornchurch,
Essex,
RM12 4LT.
01708 448430
admin@st-marys.havering.sch.uk
4th March 2016
Spring. No 7
Our Mission Statement reads ‘With Jesus and through the prayers of Mary,
we enjoy learning and celebrate our lives together’. For the pupils, staff,
parents and community at St Mary’s, we have celebrated an amazing actionpacked week, thoroughly enjoyed by all. Our heartfelt thanks goes to all the
staff who took the time to organise, take part in and contribute to events for
Book Week, aimed to inspire and enthuse children about reading, Thank you
in particular to Ms Kirwan and our English team (Miss Peoples, Miss
Saggers, Miss Gassoub and Mrs Hodgson) for organising such fabulous
events.
Book Week Events
Book Week started with a bang on Monday when everyone came to school
dressed as a character from a fairy tale, The Chronicles of Narnia or the
Harry Potter stories. The children took part in a parade at assembly and the
panel of judges was blown away by the hard work and creativity that had
gone into the costumes. The judges found it very difficult to choose the
overall winners, but a decision had to be made. Well done to:
Caelen O’Sullivan (Reception) - Dick Whittington
Bobby Foote (1L) - Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk
Nancy Trew (4K) – the wardrobe
Finlay Redmond (5G) - Griplook the Goblin
A special mention goes to Cassie Shields, Olivia Gallagher, Grace Dunne and Emily
Williams for their excellent teamwork, Megan McAniskey for her particularly
inventive ‘lantern’ costume, Matthew Williams and Harry Bryant for their superb
lion make up and Amelia Singleton and Grace Sutton for their truly terrifying White
Witch costumes. Well done also to Zac Chiswell for his dementor costume, Daisy
Blue and Matilda Allen for their Luna Lovegood outfits, Noel Sullivan, who dressed
up as Nearly Headless Nick, and Madelin Peterson, who came as Harry Potter,
complete with a Hedwig prop.
Well done to all the children who took part in the Extreme Reading Challenge. So
many children were shortlisted and it was extremely difficult to choose our winners
from so many inventive and intriguing photographs. Congratulations to:
1st Place: Joshua Hill
2nd Place: Megan McAniskey
3rd Place: Grace Sutton
On Monday evening, the pitter patter of tiny feet and the twinkling of fairy lights,
signalled the beginning of bedtime stories for the children in Reception and Key
Stage One. Everyone enjoyed listening to their favourite stories whilst sipping hot
chocolate and munching on biscuits. Luckily, no one fell asleep before it was time
to go home!
The fun did not stop on Tuesday when parents were welcomed into school for ‘Stay
and Read’. Thank you to all those who took part. Please pass on any feedback you
may have about this event.
On Wednesday we were very lucky to have children’s author, Ian MacDonald, visit
the school for workshops and stories. The children in Key Stage Two learned all
about the journey of a book from the initial idea to the final published book. They
then enjoyed workshops on description, plot and setting. Ian also read some of his
stories to the younger children. He commented that the children were extremely
engaged and demonstrated exemplary behaviour throughout the day.
Thursday provided a wonderful opportunity for our Key Stage Two children to get
toasty by the campfire and listen to stories told by both Mr Walshes! We warmed
ourselves with hot chocolate and enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere as the sky
grew dark and the flames flickered.
Thank you to all the parents and carers who supported events over the course of
the week. Without your commitment and enthusiasm, these weeks would not be the
success they are. A special thank you goes to Mrs Conway, mother of Oscar in
RHS, who baked over 100 biscuits for Bedtime Stories. We would also like to thank
the lovely ladies from Harris and Hoole coffee shop at Tescos, who not only
donated hot chocolate for all the evening events, but also gave up their time to
serve it. This week has been a resounding success and the children have had an
amazing time.
Book Week Contributions
Many thanks to all those who have sent in a contribution of £2 for Book Week. This
money not only pays for the costs of organising exciting events for all the children,
but also goes towards the purchase of reading books for the school. Please could
any outstanding contributions be sent to the school office. Thank you.
Year Five Ancient Greek Day
Year Five spent a spectacular day this Friday time travelling all the way back to
Ancient Greek times with support from ‘History Off The Page’. The children
enjoyed hands-on experiences, including soap sculptures, creating mosaics and
learning all about medicine in Ancient Greek times. Thank you to all the staff and
parents who supported the children during this exciting day.
End of School day September 2016
Further to our letter sent in the autumn term, please be reminded that the will be a
change in the end of school day starting from September 2016. The new end time
to the school day will be 3.15 pm.
School Closure Days
A reminder that the school will be closed to pupils on Thursday 5th May and
Thursday 23rd June as the school will be used as a Polling Station on these days.
Parents’ Consultation Evenings
We look forward to seeing you at the Parent Consultation Evenings on Monday 7 th
March and Thursday 10th March. Our Book Fayre will be open slightly later than
usual, so please visit the Parish Hall to purchase any books and help raise funds for
our school.
PFA AGM
The PFA would like to announce that their annual general meeting will be held on
Tuesday 8th March at 7.00 pm in the Parish Hall. The PFA hope to see as many
parents at the meeting as possible to hear all the amazing things they have all
helped to achieve. Information on how the money raised so far has gone towards
helping the school will be given as well as what the PFA hope to achieve over the
next coming months. We thank the PFA and parents for all their fundraising which
is vital to our school and can only be achieved with everyone's support.
Upcoming Dates
Book Fayre
collected
PFA AGM
Y6 Parents Isle of
Wight meeting
Nearly New Uniform
Sale
Easter Egg Hunt
5G Class Assembly
Year 1 Cake Sale
Year 3 & 4 Easter
Service
Last day of term
Tuesday 8th March
Tuesday 8th March
7.00pm Paris Hall
Monday 14th March
School Hall at
6.30pm
Wednesday 16th
March
Thursday 17th March
Thursday 17th March
Friday 18th March
Tuesday 22nd March
7.30
Thursday 24th March
Finally, a Happy Mothering Sunday to all mothers, grandmothers and carers. We hope you
have a lovely and relaxing day.
Have a lovely week-end.
God bless,
Mr Leech, Mrs D’Souza and Ms Kirwan