Spring Term Issue 18: 30th January 2026
Flourishing in the love of God, love of life, love of learning
Dear Families,
The term is absolutely whizzing by and I can hardly believe we have just two weeks left!
It was wonderful to see so many of you popping into our mini art exhibition this week. The one‑in/one‑out system made it feel like a very exclusive gallery opening! A huge thank you to Ms Hanif‑Banks for organising it. Our art studio produces so much incredible work, and this was a lovely opportunity for you to catch a quick glimpse. Of course, our big SJSC Arts Fest in the summer term will still be the main showcase of all things creative.
Next week, we have our Parent Café on Social Media for Children, and we hope many of you will find it helpful and reassuring.
And on Friday we will be celebrating NSPCC Number Day. You’ll receive a link to our fundraising page shortly - every penny raised goes directly to the NSPCC. Children are invited to come to school dressed in anything with a number or maths theme. Please don’t feel any pressure to create elaborate costumes; a favourite number on a T‑shirt or a simple poster will be just as brilliant and just as joyful!
Wishing you all a relaxing weekend,
Alli
Reception
This week in Reception we have been reading the wonderful Julia Donaldson story The Magic Paintbrush. We have been reading and writing labels for things Shen drew with her magic paintbrush, imagining if we were Shen; how we could escape by painting something that would come to life- a key, a spade, a hammer. We have been doing lots of real painting in class too.
In RE we learned about the story in the bible where Jesus fed the 5000. We sat in a circle and shared 5 ‘loaves’ (pita breads) while we thought about what the meaning of the story was. Hanzala our work experience student helped share the bread in Himid Class.
Thank you to our brave parents who came to read us a story, or recorded us a video in their home language for our International Story Day on Friday. The children really loved it and were so proud of you all!
Here are some pictures from last week ‘s muddy Forest School too 😉
Year 1
We had an exciting start to the week on Monday when a mysterious collection of items appeared in our classroom over the weekend. A picnic basket, a teddy with a blue scarf, a blanket, a bucket and spade immediately sparked our curiosity! The children loved generating questions about why the items were there, who they might belong to and who may have sent them, helping us to further develop our questioning skills. The children also enjoyed bringing in their own special soft toys from home. During circle time, we shared why these toys are important to us and continued practising speaking confidently, listening carefully to others and generating questions.
In PSHE, our focus this term is ‘Dreams and Goals’. The children have loved creating their own ‘welly of dreams’, using creativity to represent their goals and aspirations. It has been lovely to see the care they have taken and the confidence they are beginning to show when sharing their dreams with others.
Year 2
This half term in PSHE, Year 2 have been focusing on the theme “Dreams and Goals.” We have been exploring what goals are, why they matter, and the different ways we can work towards achieving them.
The children learned that reaching a goal often involves taking multiple small steps, and that sometimes we achieve more when we work together. We discussed positive ways to stay motivated, keep trying, and celebrate our progress along the way.
To put our learning into action, the class took part in a series of challenge games. These activities encouraged the children to think carefully, plan their steps, and collaborate with others to complete the challenges. It was wonderful to see teamwork, problem‑solving, and lots of determination!
Year 2 have shown fantastic enthusiasm, and we’re proud of how thoughtfully they have approached their dreams and goals this term.
Year 3 Gormley had an exciting trip to the Natural History Museum, where we explored rocks and fossils. The children especially enjoyed the Dino Dig experience, where they carefully dug up and identified a dinosaur skull, just like real palaeontologists!
We also explored the rocks and minerals gallery and loved learning about sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. It was a fantastic hands-on experience that brought our learning to life.
In school, Muriu class also got hands on with rocks, identifying sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. Children worked hard to classify each of these and understand their properties.
Year 3
Year 4
This week in Year 4, children took part in a practical science activity linked to our learning about solids, liquids and gases. We investigated how a liquid can be changed into a solid by freezing and explored how adding salt can speed up this process.
Through making ice cream, the children were able to observe changes of state in a hands-on and engaging way, while also developing their scientific enquiry skills. The experiment was both fascinating and enjoyable, encouraging curiosity, discussion and excitement about science learning.
Year 5
Year 5 have been getting stuck into our topic of the Ancient Greeks meeting new gods and goddesses every day in both The Odyssey and Who Let The Gods Out which are both proving to be humorous and entertaining. Today they have been learning how to sign food and drink in BSL and have been playing team games at lunch time bonding as a class. They have also used newton meters in Science to assess different levels of friction generated between the soles of different shoes and different floors in school.
Year 6
We couldn’t resist another PE update this week as we made the most of some excellent sunshine! The children took responsibility for leading their own stretching and warm-ups in teams before playing catch tag to develop teamwork and hand–eye coordination. We finished with Beanbag Bucket Challenge, combining accurate throwing, quick thinking and agile movement to avoid the taggers. A fantastic session full of energy, cooperation and fun!
Hearing Resource Base
Work experience in the Hearing Resource Base
This week, we were delighted to welcome Hanzala, a work experience student from Oak Lodge School. During his time with us, Hanzala worked across Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and also provided valuable support during our BSL lessons. Hanzala communicates using British Sign Language himself, making his contribution especially meaningful.
Hanzala particularly enjoyed working in Reception with our youngest pupils, where he was a fantastic support. Pictured here, he is sharing bread with the children during a Religious Education lesson. The children practised signing “thank you” to Hanzala as he shared the bread.
A big thank you to Hanzala and to Oak Lodge School for arranging the work experience opportunity—we thoroughly enjoyed having him with us.
News from the Art Studio…
As part of our Fourth Plinth Schools Award competition, Year 4 visited Trafalgar Square to look at
Teresa Margolles’ sculpture on the 4th Plinth and the other public sculptures in the area. Over the next few weeks, we will explore the art of the 4th Plinth, discussing its purpose and relationship to the other sculptures in the square.
The children will create their own 4th Plinth statues, which will be entered into the competition.
Music this week…
Children in Year 2 were using the song, Hi Lo Chicka Lo to practise a clapping game with a partner. Hi indicated a high clap, Lo was a low clap and Chicka indicated a pat on the back of their partner’s hand. We were also learning how to make rhythms using crotchets and quavers and I was impressed at the children’s ability to read these patterns.
At the end of Year 2 Kusama’s lesson, we were treated to an impromptu mash up from three class members. I never thought I would hear Bob Marley being played on the Bagpipes but Get Up Stand Up was played in a very new light. It was brilliant!
Friends of SJSC
Next Friday 6th February we have our Uniform Swap and Bake Sale in the top playground after school. Please come and help yourself to all those uniform items you need, rather than buying new, and buy some cakes from our cake stall at the same time! We would be grateful for donations of homemade or shop bought cakes, bakes and cookies (no nuts please). Collectors will be at the school gate on Friday morning or bring to the cake stall at pick up. Please also drop any clean and good quality uniform items to the school office before Friday.
Thanks for your support.
Save the date…..
Friday 6th February - Bake sale & Uniform Swap
Friday 20th March - Uniform Swap
Friday 20th March - Quiz Night
Wednesday 20th May - School Disco
Saturday 20th June - Summer Fair
Stars of the Week
See you next week!