St Cecilia's News

Dear Parents,

As we enter the season of Advent, we invite you to join us in preparing our hearts and homes for the joyful celebration of Christmas. Advent, which began this weekend, marks the four weeks leading up to Christmas and is a special time of waiting, reflection, and anticipation. It’s a season focused on the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love—the key aspects of Advent that we celebrate in both our school and home lives.

In school, we will be exploring the meaning of Advent through stories, prayers, and special activities. Our students will learn about the significance of this time of year and reflect on how we can prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Jesus.

We also encourage families to create their own Advent traditions at home. Simple practices such as lighting an Advent wreath each Sunday, reading an Advent story, or reflecting on acts of kindness can help children focus on the deeper meaning of this season. Advent is a wonderful time for families to grow in faith, deepen their understanding of God's love, and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

May this Advent season bring your family peace, joy, and blessings as we await the coming of Christ.

Vince Burke

Headteacher

Join Us at the Christmas Fair This Weekend!

A huge shout-out and heartfelt thanks to Liz Khan, our amazing PTA Chair, and her dedicated team of helpers for putting together what promises to be a magical event!

Here’s what not to miss at the Fair:

1pm – A dazzling performance by Dance Unlimited
1.20pm – Cinderella Christmas Panto by Dance Unlimited
1.45pm – The enchanting voices of our School Choir
2.20pm – The Grand Raffle Draw with exciting prizes up for grabs!

Your help is still needed!
We’re on the lookout for more volunteers to make this day truly unforgettable. If you can spare some time, please sign up using the link below – together, we can make the magic happen!

Top Tip: While some card terminals will be available, cash (especially change!) will make your visit smoother and your shopping merrier.

Come along, bring your family and friends, and let’s celebrate the season in style! We can’t wait to see you there!

The builders are making good progress on the back playground retaining walls and drainage, we have been fortunate with the weather so far! The fencing has been removed along with much of the playground surface. The school community has been marvellous at diverting to other play areas and changing rotas, we look forward to the completed work at the end of January.

We are grateful to the support of our buildings team at the Archdiocese of Southwark for these urgent safety works and to you parents for the £16k of donations from the Governors Fund.

We have a stakeholder meeting for parents with the Chair of the Governing Body and myself tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd December from 2pm. (for refreshments) with the meeting starting at 2.15pm. Thanks to those who have replied to the invitation.

You can join us online at the link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84913596744?pwd=zXFSFEKsVUW0rNF23IuZjzR13abbnp.1

You can find out more about the academy process and hopefully view the recording of our stakeholder meeting on our website at stcecilias.school/consultation

Our guided tours for the next admissions round are coming to an end. Please don't forget to apply before the closing date of 15th January.

Reception applications need to be made through eadmissions, Nursery applications through our online form, links for you below.

As a London primary school, we are proud to have an incredibly diverse and international community, representing the nations of the United Kingdom, Europe, and countries across the globe. To celebrate this rich diversity, we aim to highlight and honour our various communities through special events and initiatives throughout the school year.

Many families have a fascinating mix of cultural heritage, and we believe it’s important for children to explore, understand, and take pride in these connections. As we prepare our young people for a rapidly changing and globally connected world, fostering an understanding of different cultures and communities will benefit everyone.

To support this vision, we have partnered with the PTA to establish a small group dedicated to identifying and celebrating the world communities within our school.

We need your help to get started!
To better understand the international backgrounds of our families, we will soon send out a Google Form. This will allow us to celebrate not only each child’s heritage but also the diverse identities of parents and extended families. Please note that while the form is issued by the school, the information will be shared with the PTA to help connect parents, create community groups, and organise events.

For our British families, we want to ensure that the unique identities of the UK’s nations are also recognised and celebrated, so we encourage everyone to complete the form as well.

Thank you for helping us embrace and celebrate the wonderful diversity that makes our school so special!

In case you missed it on Class Dojo, here is Miss Fry's lovely report on our recently formed and quite amazing girls football team.

"This afternoon it was the girl’s turn to play their round in this tournament. They were still after their first win of the season, so there was a lot to play for.

Each game was 8 minutes straight, so it was fast paced from start to finish. First up was Stanley Park Juniors and thanks to Matilda they secured their first win, with the match ending 1-0.

Next up was St Mary’s and despite some great efforts on goal the game ended 0-0. Then we had St Dunstan’s, who had beaten us 4-0 last week. However, this was not the case today. The defence worked tirelessly and just would not let them through. Then within 20 seconds of getting subbed on Matilda scored again. St Dunstan’s were determined to score against us but a heroic save from Leah stopped them and the game finished 1-0.

Our final game was against Westbourne and it was full of end to end action for both teams but neither team could get that goal and it finished 0-0.

Once the points were added together we waited in hope of qualifying for next Friday’s final. Not only did they qualify but they won this afternoon’s tournament 😀⚽️😀

The smiles on the girl’s faces said it all and made my numb feet and hands worth it. Well done girls - we are so proud of you. Onto the final you go!"

Well done girls and good luck this week, thanks to Miss Fry and the team for all the support for football.

The Department for Education have asked us to remind parents of the following message:

The UK Government is replacing physical immigration documents with eVisas, a digital proof of immigration status.

Parents and guardians of children who are not British or Irish citizens, and whose children have either a biometric residence permit (BRP) card expiring on 31 December 2024, or a passport with an indefinite leave to remain ink stamp or vignette sticker, should take action to access their eVisa now, and do so on behalf of their children too.

An eVisa cannot be lost or stolen and can be accessed online by visa holders at any time to prove their rights in the UK. It’s free and their immigration status won’t be affected.

London Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM3 9DL

Contact us:

General queries - office@stcecilias.school

Report an absence - absence@stcecilias.school

Anything finance - finance@stcecilias.school

Extra Curricular Activity booking - eca@stcecilias.school

Childcare - childcare@stcecilias.school

Special educational needs - send@stcecilias.school

Admissions - admissions@stcecilias.school

Website www.stcecilias.school

Phone: 020 8337 4566

December

Sun 1st - First Sunday of Advent

Mon 2nd - ECAs end this week

Mon 2nd - Y5 swimming fortnight begins

Tues 3rd - Flu Immunisation Day. For those children receiving the injection, parents need to attend and will go first once the team have set up.

Thurs 5th - Y6 Boys League Match v Cheam Park Farm

Fri 6th - PTA Bottle collection & Xmas jumper sale (drop off and pick up) Non uniform day.

Thurs 12 - Y4 Nativity at 9am - Christmas Readings and Carols - Y4 parents welcome
Thurs 12th - Y2 Nativity at 2pm - Y2 parents welcome.

Mon 16th - Christmas Lunch Day - (Non uniform - Christmas Jumpers)

Tues 17th - Class Christmas Parties (Non - uniform - Christmas Jumpers)

Weds 18th - Candlelit Carols at 6pm.

Thurs 19th - End of term for Nursery

Fri 20th - End of term at Midday, no after school childcare, breakfast club as usual.

January 2025

School reopens for all year groups on the Epiphany, Monday 6 January, childcare as usual.

Fri 31st - Years 3&4 Disco - 6.15-7.45pm.

You can find our term dates for this year and next on our website, link for you below.