Sacred Heart News

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have reached the end of the first half-term and everybody is ready for a little rest. The first half-term is always harder for the children as they usually find the class work more challenging at the start of the year and there are also new expectations. Well done to all the children for their hard work and to the parents for getting everyone to school each day, helping with homework and coming along to support school trips.

Thank you for all your Harvest Donations which have been safely delivered this week to Richmond Aid, Teddington. They have asked us to pass on their sincere thanks to everyone at Sacred Heart School.

Thank you to the PTA for organising a number of fundraising events this term and to everyone who has helped with various jobs behind the scenes. This has really lightened the load this year and it has been fun having everyone in and around school. The children especially enjoyed the Discos and the Virtual Balloon Race.

We want to wish Mrs Hall (Nursery) and her family all the very best as they move to Lincolnshire. They will all be missed.

Have a restful holiday.

Please take a moment to see some of the highlights from the past two weeks.

AUTUMN TERM 2024

Monday 28th October - Friday 1st November - Half Term

Tuesday 5th November - Individual and Sibling Photographs

Tuesday 5th November - Netball vs Twickenham Primary Academy

Wednesday 6th - Thursday 7th November - Parents Evening 3.45pm-6.45pm

Thursday 7th November - Year 1 Parent Phonics Workshop

Friday 8th November - Netball vs Collis

Wednesday 13th November - Yr 5/6 Girls football tournament

Friday 22nd November - Nasal Flu Immunisations

Friday 22nd November- Mufti Day

Wednesday 27th November - Yr 5/6 Boys football tournament

Friday 29th November - Mufti Day

Saturday 30th November- Christmas Fair

Monday 9th December - Girls football vs SMSP

Tuesday 10th December - Boys football vs SMSP

Friday 20th December - TERM ENDS (1.30pm finish)

Reception Sofia for always being so helpful and caring towards her peers.

Lion for his great attitude towards learning and his participation in all the class activities.

Year 1 Atarah for demonstrating fantastic focus and concentration during our Maths lesson. Keep up the hard work Atarah!

Saoirse for showing a wonderfully positive attitude towards her learning! It has been a joy to see you so excited and engaged with your learning this week.

Year 2 Rae for always being so polite and well mannered and for being such a kind and thoughtful friend.

Huria for her focus and contributions in lessons and for challenging herself and supporting others. Well done Huria!

Year 3 Isabella for always giving 100% to what she does and for being an excellent role model to her Year 3 classmates!

Austin for working really hard and for showing determination to do his best in his learning of timetables.

Year 4 Karena for her fantastic focus, effort and attitude towards her learning. Karena is a pleasure to have in class.

Sophie for her fantastic, detailed book reviews as well as her brilliant poem from the crew and those below deck, in English.

Year 5 Clara for being a kind and considerate friend and for having a mature approach to her learning. Well done Clara.

Zaelena for her wonderful attitude towards every aspect of school life and being a role model for her peers. We will miss you.

Year 6 Filippo for exceptional participation in class discussion and for his dedicated approach to develop his learning.

Hannah for settling in to the class and school so well. It is a joy to see you joining in with every opportunity. Well done!

On Tuesday, 8 children went in the mini bus to Barnes for a Football Tournament. We played 5 games of football. We played Collis, Stanley, St Mary Mags, St Osmund's and St Johns. We won 2 games, lost 2 and drew 1.

By Gabriel, and Ellis

Year 5 did an amazing job at translating a French fact file on the Komodo Dragon! They used their language detective skills to work out the meaning of words such as 'les îles d'Indonésie', 'changements climatiques', 'prédateur', ‘allongé’ or ‘animal dangereux’. Their main strategy was to look out for cognates (words that are spelt the same) and near-cognates (words that are very similar in their spelling). They then classified all the words under sub-headings such as habitat and diet, and created a word bank.

Well done Year 5, even Miss Flowers could not believe it when she saw the text!

Madame Coney

On the 24th October, 4 policemen visited Sacred Heart to teach Year 5 all about how to keep safe on the roads. We got to use a special speed gun to see how fast vehicles were travelling on the Kingston Road. If it was over the speed limit (20mph) we pulled them over to question them.

We found it very exciting and enjoyable. It was such a great experience!

The policemen were very kind and taught us lots about the consequences of speeding. We are very pleased to report that we only found 4 cars speeding. We are very grateful to have had this experience.

Now we hope everyone stays within the speed limit!

20 mph is plenty

By Thea and Sacha

Today we got to help Ms Flowers and Mr Wardell bring the Harvest collection to people who need food. We brought all the boxes of food to the mini bus and we drove to the Food Bank. We brought the boxes inside and took some photos. Then we went back to school. It was a really good experience, and we were really happy we got to represent Sacred Heart. MM AK

This week Nursery and Reception went on an Autumn walk to Bushy Park. We looked for signs of Autumn and saw the leaves changing colour from green to brown. By the pond we saw a pair of fallow deer, a pair of Egyptian geese and a pair of swans with their cygnets. In the woodland we saw fungi and lifted logs and found minibeasts including a speedy spider in the moist environment underneath.

Thank you to all the parents who accompanied us.

School Tours
Children starting school in September 2025: We would be delighted to welcome you for a tour of our school. Tours are running every Friday morning at 9.40am until early January 2024. Please ring or email school to book a place. Should a Friday not be convenient, please speak to the school office and they will arrange an alternative time. We look forward to welcoming you to Sacred Heart. In the meantime, please take a moment to watch a video about our school and to read about the benefits of choosing a smaller school for your child.

Sacred Heart also offers an EXTENDED NURSERY PROVISION to those eligible for 15/30 HOURS FREE CHILDCARE and to those who are SELF-FUNDED. We are happy to show you around so please do arrange a visit. Short video of our Nursery setting.

A Prayer for Half Term

We thank you Lord, for this half term. For the challenges, the successes, and the mistakes from which we have learnt. Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends. Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun. Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new half term.

Amen

Well done, to one of our Year 5 pupils who last weekend served at Westminster Cathedral for the Archconfraternity of St Stephen, National Mass 2024. Here he is photographed with His Eminence Vincent Cardinal Nichols.

Tel: 020 8977 6591

Email: info@sacredheart.richmond.sch.uk

Website: www.sacredheartteddington.co.uk

Address:

St Mark's Road,

Teddington,

Middlesex,

TW11 9DD

Sparks Film School at Sacred Heart School on Saturday morning during term time and also the school holidays. Details at

teddington - Sparks Film School (sparksarts.co.uk)

£1 entry to Kew Gardens

On universal credit or pension credit? Enjoy £1 entry to Kew Gardens.

Flyer here.

Changes to the Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC) programme

Ahead of the new school year starting, we are writing to inform you of changes to the Volunteer Police
Cadets (VPC) programme, run by the Metropolitan Police Service.

The Met is committed to continuing to support the Cadet scheme, recognising how it contributes to
building trust with young people, supports recruitment and diversion, as well as having a positive
impact in communities through crime prevention and other police initiatives. There are currently 32
cadet groups across London and the scheme currently supports 4,100 cadets from the age of 8 to 18.
Changes to the scheme will see us retain all 32 groups, but instead our revised scheme will now run
for 13 to 17 year olds.

Click here to read more.

Free Saturday coding and digital making sessions at CoderDojo Kingston University

Youngsters aged 7 - 17 at all levels of experience, from beginner to expert, can create video games, web pages, build robots or explore digital electronics at sessions hosted in Kingston University’s cool STEM Outreach suite. We offer activities using Scratch, Python, Unity and Raspberry Pi computers and microcontrollers.

Sessions are led by technology professionals, KU computer science staff and students. Kids under 13 must be accompanied by a parent or carer. Bring a laptop if you have one, or you can book one of ours.

Sessions are held one Saturday afternoon each month during school term, from 2:00 – 4:30pm, with booking through Eventbrite. Email us to register and to receive the calendar of sessions.

Click here for more information.

Connect with Your Kingston - New Whatsapp Channel

There is a new convenient way to stay up-to-date with the latest news, exciting events, and activities and services in your local area directly on your smartphone. Your Kingston Whatsapp channel from Kingston Council is a secure, private way to follow what matters.

Click here for more information.

Parenting support

Please see details below of two groups that will be running this term for parents and carers of adolescents.

Triple P Teen: This group is for parents and carers of adolescents with mild to moderate challenging behaviour.

Topics include encouraging appropriate behaviour and managing problem behaviour
Saturday 9 and 16 November at The Star Centre, Surbiton, KT5 8SU 10am-2pm for two consecutive weeks

Talking Teens: A four week parent group for parents and carers of adolescents.

Topics covered include understanding your teenager, managing conflict and communicating.
Friday 8 November at The White House Family Hub, 45 The Avenue, Hampton, TW12 3RN

For more information and to register interest in any of the above courses, please contact Karen Williams.

Learn to swim this half term holiday

Children can learn to swim this half term holiday with our wide range of crash courses and workshops available at Teddington Pools and Fitness Centre and Pools on the Park.

Bookings can be made by calling us on 020 37722999 or at the in person at the centre reception.

Please see our website for more information.

Half term holiday toddler fun time sessions

Come along to our October half term holiday toddler club sessions at Teddington Sports Centre and Whitton Sports and Fitness Centre. Under 5’s can enjoy the fantastic range of soft play equipment.

Drop-in session, pre-booking not required.

Please see our website for more information.