St Cecilia's News

We had our first ever Christmas Fair during the early evening at the start of December. We were so pleased to see so many families and staff supporting the event.

We knew that it would be a learning curve however it soon became apparent that it was far too small an area for the numbers of people that came straight after school. We have yet to meet as a PTA to evaluate the fair however I must thank all those who attended for their support and patience. It was a lovely evening and we were humbled by the attendance on the night and the support we received from staff, children and parents. The fair raised just under £4800 for which many for which many thanks. It's a remarkable achievement and I know that the PTA will put the funds to good use in supporting learning activities in school.

Many thanks to all our volunteers leading up to the fair and those who were stallholders on the night.

The PTA have just donated £7000 towards computing resources in school, we are now proud owners of a new trolley with 32 Chromebooks , more news on that in the next newsletter!

Our chaplaincy team recently represented the school at the Diocesan Carols Service at St George's Cathedral. Four members of the team have also designed our Christmas Card for this year, we are very grateful for their efforts which look so beautiful and have sent out best wishes for Christmas to hundreds of families and supporters of the school.

It's the final week of term next week, the term has flown by as usual. Don't forget to check the email that came our from the school office with all the reminders for this week.

There are parties on different days:

Monday - Key Stages 1&2 Christmas parties - non uniform day.

Tuesday - Nursery parties and Wednesday Reception parties.

Carol Concert

We have our Carol Concert at 6pm. on Tuesday evening, we hope that you can attend. We will have readings, carols along with mulled wine, mince pies and other treats for a very Christmassy event.

We are trying to enable a greater variety of experiences for the children within our curriculum and we are therefore linking with theatre companies in order to provide a theatrical experience in school. The children really love the experience of live theatre and working with actors. We recently had a "Polar Express" dance experience for Years 3 and 4, the Globe Players performed "Cinderella" and on February 14th we welcome Wizard Theatre with a storytelling of "Pippi Longstocking." Along with a contribution from the school budget, we do make a voluntary charge for these performances, many thanks for your support.

I was pleased to meet with the Diocese this week to discuss the possibility of a new school building to replace the 1939 original and temporary accommodation. We do need a building with a larger hall and improved disabled access and services. Our staffroom shouldn't be a stage, we need more adult toilets and improved energy supplies, our boilers are old and prone to breakdown. As additional classrooms have been added to the school, central services have not been upgraded, it's time that now that we make plans for improvement.

I hope that over the coming months the Governing Body and I can work with the Diocese, Sutton Local Authority and the DFE to develop plans for a new wing to the school to replace the original building. we will then be able to offer a greater variety of after school clubs, sports and extended performing arts along with improved resourcing and space for everyday teaching and learning.

I will keep you updated on our progress.

Please remember that swimming is an important part of the National Curriculum and is compulsory for all children in English schools. We have a good swimming programme in Years 1, 2 and more recently, Year 5. Please ensure that children have their swimming kit on swimming days. Children that are too unwell to swim must remain at home with you. It's an important life skill and we do require all children to participate.

We will be sending out details of our after schools to you this week. We have some new clubs for Spring 2020 with Spanish and cookery joining the list, we may also have an option on cheerleading.

We are currently finding it difficult with space and its clear that we need more space for Irish Dancing, the music room is just too small. This club will be ending this term and we hope to welcome it back to a new hall sometime in the future, in the meantime we thank Richard and Maggie for their dedication and enthusiasm over the past few years.

We are currently investigating an alternative venue for Year 6 pupils for their residential school visit, we are also planning to move the visit to the summer term, reshaping the end of primary experience for pupils.

Many thanks to Year 5 parents who recently answered a questionnaire and sent emails as part of our consultation. I will be visiting the centre in January and will then come back to parents with a decision on the visit.

Whilst we have considered a number of centres, Hooke Court in Dorset is our current preferred partner from 2021,

The children have had a good Advent preparation in school with assemblies and a service of reconciliation. We've also had lots of fun with our fair and panto and the many events that are coming up this week.

The staff and I wish you all a very happy and Holy Christmas and some lovely family time over the Christmas period. School closes at midday this Thursday - please note our early closure.

Many thanks for all the presents and cards that staff have received for Christmas, we are very appreciative.

School reopens on Monday 6th January, we look forward to welcoming you all back to a lovely Spring Term in 2020.

Vince Burke

Head Teacher

London Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM3 9DL

Email: office@stcecilias.school
Website: www.stcecilias.school
Phone: 020 8337 4566