Newsletters

Newsletter 13th November 2020

Dear Parents,

We hope you all had a restful half term. The children have returned to school full of energy and ready for learning.

Tomorrow many of you will be celebrating Diwali, albeit very differently this year. I would like to remind you we are still on a national lockdown and it is important we all follow the rules, not only to protect our loved ones, but also for all my staff who continue to work tirelessly for your children.

Armistice Day

Throughout the school children have been learning about Armistice Day. Year 5 performed a beautiful assembly that was watched in each classroom and recorded. It is available for parents to view on the Parent Portal, which is now password protected.

Baby bank

The Baby Bank were delighted to receive our Early Year's donation. Miss Druce put together 50 Christmas Pyjama Packs (each including a brand new set of pyjamas, a book and some chocolate) for local children in need. We also donated nappies and £670 in cash, so the charity could make emergency purchases. Thank you to everyone involved.

Happy Diwali

Early Years have had a lovely week full of Diwali activities. They celebrated with some delicious Indian street food by Vazza's Green Cuisine, followed by their own homemade barfi sweets. There were some beautiful outfits worn by the children (and staff!). Thank you to all the parents who gave positive feedback - so much thought and effort goes into organising these experiences for the children.

Primary Maths Challenge

Our Year 6s took part in the Primary Maths Challenge this week. The PMC is designed to inspire enthusiasm and boost confidence in mathematics. It encourages problem-solving and helps pupils to develop their reasoning skills. Questions don't necessarily cover subjects in the curriculum, but can create a great starting point and lead to discussions later in the year. It's a challenge we take part in every year and our pupils really enjoy it. After the November results are collated and moderated, high scoring pupils are invited to take part in the Bonus Round. Whereas the November Challenge is an in-school Challenge, the Bonus Round sees pupils competing on a worldwide level - we look forward to seeing if some St Bernard's pupils qualify for the next round.

Current Instrumental lesson vacancies

Drum kit lessons

Yr 3 only Wednesday afternoons a half hour lesson -- between 13:30 – 15:30

Years 2 – 6 pupils a half hour lesson -- between 15:30 – 17:00

Year 5 only

Saxophone, Clarinet, Piano or Flute lesson

Upper trans – Miss Kirk’s class – Thursday 11:15 - 11:45

Upper trans – Mrs Hupalo’s class 11:45 – 12:15

Year 6 only

Clarinet, Violin or Piano

Remove V or B/W Tuesday afternoons a half hour lesson -- between 13:45 – 15:00

We are currently full on all other instruments --- but there will be lessons available for pupils to start instrumental lessons next term.

Please find terms and conditions of instrumental lessons on the school website – parent portal.

If you need further information about Instrumental lessons please email Ms Johnson - RJohnson@stbernardsprep.org

Date for the diary: 25th November Mrs Rafferty will host an online e-Safety meeting to advise parents on how to protect children when using the Internet. Details to follow.

How a wonderful weekend and Happy Diwali.

Yours sincerely

Mr N Cheesman