Spring Term Issue 21: 27th February 2026

Flourishing in the love of God, love of life, love of learning

Dear Families,

Welcome back to the Spring 2 term. I hope you all had a wonderful half‑term break and have been enjoying the early signs of spring—the sunshine and blossom are very welcome!

This morning we held another of our Headteacher Parent Cafés. Although it was a small group, it was a really valuable opportunity to talk, share ideas, and hear directly from parents. Our Co‑Chairs of Governors, Hannah Hickman and Miranda Wightman, joined us to explain a bit about the role of the Governing Body. I also led a discussion on home–school communication, exploring what is working well and where we can develop further. Parents attending felt there was already effective avenues for communication and shared thoughtful suggestions, including how class reps and WhatsApp groups might be used more constructively to support families. We will keep you updated as these ideas progress.

On Wednesday we held the second of our Spring Term Parents’ Evenings. It was lovely to see so many of you attending. These meetings are such an important time to talk about how your child is doing and to celebrate their progress.

Although this half term is a short one, we have plenty planned. Next Thursday is World Book Day, and we are already excited to see the wonderful costumes the children will be bringing in.

Wishing you all a great weekend.

Alli

This week in Reception we have been Reading the Book the Tiny Seed by Eric Carle,  and looking at all sorts of seeds with magnifying glasses, using adjectives to describe them.  After we all planted and labelled our own seeds, we wrote instructions about how to grow a plant from a seed on our very own seed packets.

We have been practising reading words with digraph sounds in Phonics, practised spotting 5 in larger numbers and spotted patterns in counting up beyond 20.

In RE we started wondering about Easter and why it might be a special celebration for Christians.

We have more forest school trips coming up so please do sign up to volunteer.

Stik Class 13th March,      Himid Class 27th March   9-11.30

Reception

Year One have absolutely loved their first week of Spring 2! The children have been busy innovating familiar stories in preparation for the World Book Day writing competition, and we have already seen some wonderfully creative ideas.

In maths, we have begun our addition unit. We have learned that the parts we add together are called addends and the whole is known as the sum. The children are becoming increasingly confident at using part-part whole models to represent addition equations.

In geography, the children have been learning all about the United Kingdom and the four countries that make it up. We have developed our understanding by exploring the capital cities and discovering the different types of settlements found in each country.

The children have also been very excited to start our new Literacy text, Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish! We have been linking this to our Big Idea for the term, Sustainability, and thinking carefully about how factories can pollute the air and affect our environment.

We are all looking forward to celebrating World Book Day next Thursday and enjoying a day filled with stories and imagination.

Year 1

This week, Year 2 took part in an exciting and very important Fire Safety Workshop. The children learned all about how to stay safe, what to do if they ever see a fire, and why it’s so important to understand the dangers.

During the session, the children explored:

  • How to spot fire hazards at home and in school

  • What to do in an emergency, including how to call 999

  • How to keep themselves safe, such as staying low to avoid smoke

  • The importance of fire alarms and keeping escape routes clear

The workshop was fun, interactive, and full of practical tips the children can use to keep themselves and others safe. We were incredibly proud of how sensible, engaged, and thoughtful Year 2 were throughout the session.

Well done, Year 2—you're becoming brilliant Fire Safety Champions!

Year 2

This week in Year 3, we have been learning about the importance of physical health and how it helps our bodies and minds.We took part in a one-minute fitness challenge where we tested how many burpees, push-ups and press-ups we could do. We counted our repetitions carefully and tried our best to keep going for the whole minute. It was a great way to challenge ourselves and build our strength and stamina. We also discussed fatigue and how our bodies can feel tired after exercise. We learned that this happens because our muscles are working hard and need oxygen and energy. We also learned that the heart is a powerful muscle that pumps blood around the body. We discovered that improving our physical fitness can also improve our mental health. Exercise can help us feel happier, calmer and more focused in class

Year 3

Year 4

This half term, Year 4 have been selected to take part in a special cricket coaching programme. The children have already demonstrated impressive skills from their previous coaching sessions, and now they have the opportunity to build on this strong foundation.

With the support of an experienced coach, they will be able to refine their techniques, develop greater confidence, and deepen their understanding of the game. From batting and bowling to fielding and teamwork, each session is designed to help them progress further and experience the joy of playing cricket at a higher level.

We are excited to see how their enthusiasm and talent continue to grow. By the end of the programme, we’re confident that our Year 4 pupils will be well on their way to becoming expert young cricketers!

Year 5

This week, we were lucky enough to have a visit from London Fire Brigade. We learnt about how the fire brigade help prevent fires and support communities as well as extinguish fires. They informed us about the largest causes of fire in London and steps we can take in our own home to prevent fires igniting and how to get out of house safely in case of a fire.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Year 6

This week in History, Year 6 became brilliant timeline detectives! Working in teams, the children created their own chronological timelines to show when the Maya civilisation existed alongside other civilisations. 

Using their prior knowledge, they carefully placed the Maya civilisation on their timelines and compared it with the Ancient Egyptians, the Roman Empire, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Vikings.

Through fantastic teamwork and discussion, the children discovered something exciting — some of these civilisations actually overlapped! 

They showed great collaboration skills, carefully reasoning, debating dates, and supporting one another to ensure their timelines were accurate. We are so proud of their curiosity and enthusiasm for discovering how different parts of the world were developing at the same time.

News from the Art Studio…

This week in the Art studio 6S have made mock-ups of their wearable zines. They have folded, ripped, and manipulated paper into wearable forms. Their final pieces will be used to display their social justice manifestos.

Music this week…

This half term children in Reception will be listening to a piece of music called The Cuckoo Polka by Johann Strauss II. This week we were playing a singing game called “Cuckoo Where are you?”. We also listened different types of bird song before imitating the hooting of an owl, the gobbling of a black grouse and the honking of geese. I promised the children in Stik that I would include the following video which shows how you can make a paper bird using different sized circles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEPXMld_3f8

For the next few weeks Children in Year 1 will be looking at a Unit of Work called Magical Musical Aquarium. This week, they were looking at percussion instruments and selecting those which they thought could make a nice ripple sound to represent the gentle flow of moving water. It was an exercise in taking turns, listening to each other speak and comparing the “timbre” of different instruments.

Children in Year 2 were listening to Orawa by Wojciech Kilar. Orawa (pronounced ‘Arva’) describes a huge river. As pupils listened to the music, they imagined the journey of the river through Europe, and made decisions about the scenery and events it passes on its way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PSVEWD6Rs

For the next few weeks Children in Year 3 will be continuing to learn the Recorder and Children in Year 4 will be returning to The Ukulele.

This half term, children in Year 5 will be learning how to write Song Lyrics. We are going to be looking at SJSC’s Big Idea, Social Justice and the children will be considering what they want to sing in protest about.

This week in Year 6, the children were revising their understanding of Kodaly rhythms as they listened to the song Not Last Night but the Night Before and had to match different lines with the correct rhythmic patterns. For the next few weeks, our inspiration will be coming from the film music, Chariots of Fire.

SJSC Governing Body

Dear parents and carers

We are halfway through the academic year and it is a good time to update you on some of the activities and changes in the governing body. We met some parents this morning at the parent cafe and its was a great opportunity to share some of the work of governors. The slides are attached here for you to see.

Since the start of the year I am really pleased to welcome 3 new governors to the governing body.

Billy Chan as foundation governor for St Clements Church

Marie Perry as parent governor

Lucy Wilkins as foundation governor for St Johns Church

At the first full governing body of the year we revisit roles on the governing body. Over the past few years we have had a Chair and two vice chairs which has been an opportunity to allow more governors experience in leadership roles. This year we have changed to two Co-Chairs and one vice chair and I am very happy that Hannah Hickman has been elected to co-chair with me for this year. My time as a governor will be ending soon and this is a useful opportunity for Hannah to familiarise herself in the Chair role. Simon Rutland continues as Vice Chair and I would like to acknowledge and thank the contribution of Chris Gonde as Vice chair for many years on the board.

Following the successful Ofsted and SIAMS inspections the school is in a strong position but we continue to work with the head teacher and staff closely on the key priorities in the School Development Plan. These include progression for vulnerable learners in school, enrichment of the curriculum through Big Ideas and critical thinking and investing in staff development. 

Miranda Wightman

Co Chair

Friends of SJSC

Our Summer Fair is scheduled for Saturday 20th June and is one of our main fundraisers for the year.  We need some volunteers who can help organise this really fun community event for our school.  If you have ideas, skills, enthusiasm, or just want to be involved, please us know via your Class Rep or email: sjscptfa@gmail.com 

 

And a reminder there are tickets left for our Quiz Night on Friday 20th March.  You can buy up to 6 tickets for team or come solo and meet some new people.  Tickets are a bargain at £8 each and are available here: https://square.link/u/6uYZvYan

 

Thanks for your support.

Stars of the Week

See you next week!