Autumn Term Issue 15: 19th December 2025
Flourishing in the love of God, love of life, love of learning
Dear Families,
What a magical Christmas week we have had here at SJSC! The school has been filled with festive cheer – from lively pantomimes and delicious Christmas dinners to incredible performances by our talented children. We ended the week on a truly special note with a beautiful Carol Service at the church, which was a wonderful way to celebrate together as a community.
Children will return for the new term on Tuesday 6th January. Until then, we wish you all a joyful Christmas and a very happy New Year. Thank you for your continued support – we can’t wait to see everyone back in January, ready for another exciting term!
Alli
Upcoming Diary Dates
Reception
What a glorious end to our Autumn term for Reception! We are so proud of all the children for their amazing progress and resilience, they did fantastically in their first Nativity show. We are sure you all loved it as much as they did!
Christmas jumper day was great fun. We started with Christmassy yoga in the hall for 60! The church service was wonderful; they all sang their hearts out so beautifully and Christmas lunch with crackers was super fun!
Our Christmas class parties were very jolly affairs with traditional games, dancing, a movie and tasty treats that have lasted us for 3 days, thank you.
Thank you all for our lovely cards and gifts- we hope the super decorations the children have made will decorate your trees for years to come. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas- your Reception Team x
Year 1
Children in Year One have been very busy this week preparing for and performing their highly anticipated Nativity show, A Miracle in Town. We would like to say a huge thank you to the children for working so hard to make their performance so special, and another big thank you to the adults for supporting them with learning their lines. We hope you all enjoyed the show!
Alongside the Nativity, the children have been consolidating their part–whole knowledge in maths by using bar models. In english, they have been learning about verbs, adjectives and nouns, and using these to create expanded noun phrases.
To celebrate the end of term, both Year One classes enjoyed festive Christmas parties. We danced, sang, enjoyed snacks and spread kindness through drawings and cards. A huge thank you to the children for all their hard work this term. We hope both children and adults enjoy a well-deserved break and have a lovely rest!
Year 2
Year 2 were absolute superstars this week as they took to the stage for their nativity performance! The children did an amazing job singing, acting, and telling the Christmas story, and they should be incredibly proud of themselves.
Thank you to all the families who came along to watch and support them — the children had a fantastic time performing and loved sharing such a special moment with you. What a wonderful way to celebrate the season!
This week, Year 3 went on an exciting trip to the Science Museum to support our science learning about forces. The visit helped the children see how forces work in real life through interactive displays and practical activities.
A force is a push or a pull, and forces can make objects move, stop, change speed, or change direction. At the museum, we explored pushes and pulls by testing how objects move when different forces are applied. We also learned about gravity, the force that pulls objects down towards the Earth.
The children investigated friction and discovered how it slows objects down, especially on rough surfaces. We also explored upthrust, learning why some objects float while others sink.
We also explored magnetism and electromagnetism, discovering how magnets attract and repel objects and how electricity can be used to create magnetic forces.
We watched the live show “Feel the Force”, where the children saw exciting demonstrations of forces in action, including pushes, pulls, gravity, and friction.
The children were curious, engaged, and used scientific vocabulary confidently throughout the trip.
Year 3
Year 4
To wrap up our English unit, we let our imaginations run wild! We wondered what might be happening inside a snow globe—perhaps mischievous fairies firing off spells or a wizard stirring up a magical potion to spread Christmas cheer.
Then we discovered the real science behind the magic! Did you know that glycerin mixed with water makes it thicker, so the glitter (or ‘snow’) falls slowly and beautifully?
Finally, we rolled up our sleeves and made our very own snow domes! It was simple, sparkly, and so much fun. We loved watching the glitter swirl gracefully around our snowmen when we flipped the jars.
Well done, Year 4! Wishing you all a fantastic Christmas break—see you in 2026!
Merry Christmas!
Year 5
Year 5 have written wonderful letters to Anne Frank telling her all about the future that she was unable to experience and sharing the news about her diary and how she has inspired millions of others to start writing diaries and to be a light in a world that can sometimes be dark. We wish everyone a happy holiday season and look forward to the New Year! Best wishes Sally and thank you for all your hard work as well.
Year 6
Every week, the children look forward to their time in the Reading Room, a calm and cosy space where they can slow down, relax, and lose themselves in a good book. This week’s session was especially well deserved, as it followed some fantastic maths learning, with the children showing great focus and skill when working on division. It was lovely to see them unwind, enjoy some quiet moments, and share their enthusiasm for reading after such a busy and successful week of learning.
News from the Art Studio…
This week in the Art Studio 2K decorated their sticks, using ribbons, beads, feathers and pipe cleaners, topped off with some detail in posca pen and gold paint. Each stick was totally unique.
Music this week…
This week has seen the school filled with wonderful singing as children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have performed their nativities and we have all been rehearsing for the Church Service on Thursday. Choir are preparing their voices for a visit to Goose Green Centre on Thursday where they will sing to the Lunch Club members and on Friday, choir will be hoping to raise some money for charity as they sing Walking in The Air. We also had three Year 6 members rapping along to Run DMC’s Christmas in Hollis in Tuesday’s singing assembly. Well done to Omari, Simeon and Lexi! It really gives me such joy to see the children coming together as one voice. Thank you, students of SJSC.
Year 2 Van Gogh were treated to a lesson of music technology and games for all of their efforts over the last term. Children enjoyed looking at Chrome Music Lab and playing on the keyboards. You can use Chrome Music Lab at home for free.
Children in Year 1 Kahlo enjoyed a silent disco as a reward for their wonderful nativity singing. What a lot of groovy dance moves!
We have a lot of talented pianists in Year 4 and we were treated to some Christmas tunes during this week’s lesson.
Friends of SJSC
Thank you so much for supporting our Christmas fundraisers this year. Your generosity at the Christmas Fair, buying raffle tickets and Christmas cards, and trees, has raised over £10,000 for our school!
We wish you a wonderful festive break and here’s to many more community and fundraising events in 2026!
Resilience Awards Winners
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Reading Award Winners
See you next year!