Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary School Parent Portal

Dear Parents

Another busy week at Cardinal Newman! Thank you to all of you for your support of all our events this week, including the “Live Simply” Lenten lunch (photos here) and the costume sale in aid of Ukraine. It has been great for the children to reflect on their own blessings and take small steps to support others around the world. Thank you to parents who have supported with this. KS2 had a visit from author Michael de Sousa (photos here) as part of our Book Week celebrations this week - their enthusiasm and excitement during these workshops could be heard around the school! Thank you to the PA for funding this wonderful opportunity for our children! Photos of some of our events in school this week can be found as usual on the News and Events tab on the website here:

Pick up and drop off arrangements from next week

Following today’s email, just a reminder that we have scaled back some of the Covid arrangements in terms of pick up and drop off. In brief:

Drop off from 8:40am through the “Children’s Entrance” (KS1 playground) for all children

Pick up between 3:10 and 3:15pm from the classroom doors for all classes (Both gates will be open from 3:10 and Y6 walkers will be released at this time) Clubs will begin at 3:15 and finish at 4:15 as usual.

Whizz Kids pick up and drop off will now be through the main school office as pre-Covid

There is no longer a one-way system in place.

We will continue to review the arrangements going forward into the new term and beyond.

Please remember that there should be no parking or turning in Arch Road - please use the Coronation Recreation and Hersham Station car parks. Thank you!

Talking to our children about Ukraine

As the situation progresses in Ukraine, parents are increasingly asking us what we are doing in school to teach the children about this. As previously discussed, we have a diverse community at Cardinal Newman and children all have a range of ages and experiences. We therefore believe that parents are best placed to discuss with their children the situation as they see fit. In school we are taking the approach of reassuring (where there is anxiety) and exploring the facts (where there is curiosity) but without giving any political commentary.

We are not covering the topic in school directly, but we have discussed the facts of the growing humanitarian crisis in collective worship. Our children have asked us to pray for peace in Ukraine and for help and support for those left without homes. We have also prayed for wisdom for world leaders, that they may make the best possible decisions. We talk regularly about all people being “uniquely created and loved by God” and we avoid any “us” and “them” dialogue which may be damaging.

We have heard wonderful stories about some of our children who have undertaken selfless and inspiring acts to support those in need at this present time - thank you for sharing these! It may well be that the best way to approach the situation for our young children is to focus on the small acts that they can undertake to raise money or support practically - in this way, they feel they can make a difference and this allays anxiety and gives hope for the future. Something we all need at present!

If your children are particularly anxious about the situation, some resources which have been recommended are:

How To Talk To Your Child About The War In Ukraine (YoungMinds)
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/blog/top-tips-for-talking-to-your-young-person-about-the-events-in-ukraine/

Worrying about Russia and Ukraine (Childline)
https://www.childline.org.uk/get-involved/articles/worrying-about-russia-ukraine/

Twenty Four Hours for the Lord - Monday 28^th March

All parents are invited to join us from 8:30am in the school hall for a moment of prayer and reflection before the Blessed Sacrament. Mass for Peace in Ukraine will be offered for staff at 8am and thereafter the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in school all day. Individual classes will spend some time in prayer at the following times - parents are welcome to join their child’s classes for quiet prayer at these times (or any other!). It would be advisable to arrive early as these are not performances and we will not be able to wait for parents to arrive.

During the afternoon there will be the Sacrament of Reconciliation for all children from Y4 - Y6 - parents are also welcome to receive this sacrament. From 3:30pm, there will be a prayer service and blessing of our school and all present - this will be led by Y5 children and all are welcome to attend.

9am Red Class

9:30am Orange Class

10am Yellow Class

10:30am Green Class

11am Blue Class

11:30am Violet Class

12 noon Ruby Class

12:30pm Topaz Class

1pm -1:45 - Y6 classes Reconciliation

1:45 - 2:30 - Y4 classes Reconciliation

2:30 - 3:15 - Y5 classes Reconciliation

3:30 - 4pm Y5 / Choir / Parents and staff - Prayer service and Blessing (Benediction)

Science Day - Friday 18^th March

Tom Holloway from the Primary Science Trust will be in school on Friday 18^th March - he will lead a whole school assembly for Science Day and then work with groups of pupils across the school in some fun and engaging Science workshops.

Many thanks for all your support. We wish you a happy weekend!

Catherine Burnham

Headteacher

Notes/Reminders

Topaz Class Mini Olympics winners!

Well done Topaz class! They have returned to school victorious this afternoon after competing against 4 other local schools at Cleves School.

Fundraiser for the Ukraine - Costume Sale

The costume sale raised an amazing £280 yesterday! The cash has been transferred to the account at St Erconwalds for the Ukraine appeal. Thank you for all of your support with this.

Multi-sports Camp on Inset Day Wednesday 16th March.

Planet Soccer will be running a Multisports Camp on the next INSET day on Wednesday 16th March. Please follow the below link here if you would like to sign your child up.

Volunteering at school - Meeting Tuesday 15th March 9.00 am

We are most appreciative of the time and effort given by our volunteers to help support the children’s learning, and we warmly welcome volunteer helpers to come in to school now that Covid regulations have been relaxed.

We have changed our safeguarding procedures for volunteers to ensure that we are compliant with recent changes in legislation. The process is quite rigorous, but we are really keen to encourage volunteers in school to help with a wide variety of activities to benefit the children. If you are interested in helping at school, or you have volunteered in the past and would like to re-apply, we have arranged a meeting on Tuesday 15^th March at 9.00am to go through what is involved. At this meeting, we will explain all the steps to be completed and answer any questions you may have. You will also have the opportunity to begin your application so you can start to volunteer as soon as possible.

The steps in the process are :

1. Complete a short application form (including the name of a referee)

2. Complete an online DBS application (there is an admin fee of £8.75, charged by the Registered Body, not the school)

3. Attend an online safeguarding training session (approx. 2 hrs)

4. Complete a safeguarding declaration to confirm that you have read and understood the school’s Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy

You can find further details, and access the documents mentioned above, in Volunteering at School on our school website

I hope you will agree that the safeguarding of children in school is one of our most important priorities. The above process is designed to support this and adhere to the requirements in the Department for Education’s “Keeping Children Safe in Education” document.

We want to encourage as many volunteers in school as we can and really hope that you are able to support our children in this. If you are able to attend the meeting, please let us know by emailing office@cardinalnewmanschool.co.uk. In the meantime, If you have any questions about helping in school, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you very much for your help and support.

Parent Prayer Group

The Parent Prayer Group will take place next Friday morning at 9.10 am.

Buy a Brick

Bricks SOLD OUT!! Thank you to all who purchased bricks. All brick forms received since July 2021, will now be ordered. Apologies for the delay and thank you for your patience. We will keep you updated as to when the wall will be complete. A big thank you to everyone who has supported the Buy a Brick scheme and our school.

Alley Catz - School Uniform

Notes for Parents – Summer 2022 (Back to School- BTS)

ORDER EARLY- RETURNS PERIOD EXTENDED FOR SUMMER UNTIL SEPT 10^TH

(Whilst we have been working hard to ensure good stock levels for the summer, we are, however, anticipating Covid will continue to affect some stock supplies).

We’re here to help you and your child achieve the best possible start to the new academic year. Early planning is essential! Please use the following advice to help us help you!

New Starters:

Please book your store appointment for summer BTS at https://www.alleycatz.co.uk/booking: open for summer bookings now.
Appointment system ends on Saturday 20^th August 2022- we welcome walk-ins after this date.
Pre-order personalised bags online two weeks in advance of your fitting: select ‘Click and Collect’ and they will be ready for your appointment.

Existing Pupils:

Please order online if you know sizes (www.alleycatz.co.uk)
Once an online order is placed, we cannot amend orders. You will need to reorder and return the unwanted item for a refund.
Alternatively, we have plenty of staff in store if you just need a few ‘top up’ items.
Free School Deliveries: many schools prefer us not to deliver during the summer, please see your school’s section of our website for individual school’s details.

General Information:

In stock items with no personalisation could take up to five working days during this busy period.
CLICK & COLLECT: orders are fulfilled in date order from our warehouse- please wait for your ‘Order has been Completed’ email before coming to the store to collect.
CLICK & COLLECT: Items not collected within 14 days may be returned to our warehouse.
We always extend the returns period during the summer from 28 days to two months.
Please note that we do not take phone orders during the busy summer period.
Personalisation- allow up to two weeks for personalised goods during the summer (please ensure someone will be available to accept your delivery if it is completed early).
Please note that, throughout the summer, the store will be closed for a 30 minute lunch break from 1pm to 1.30pm to allow our lovely staff to refuel!

CONTACT US:

AlleyCatz Store: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm (NB close 1pm to 1.30pm during summer)

Claremont House, 34 Molesey Road, Hersham, KT12 4NH

01932 223075

AlleyCatz Online & Warehouse: (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)

01932 221883

www.alleycatz.co.uk

Dinners

Please book your child's school dinners at least 1 week in advance on Scopay.com.

Parent Governor Election

One of our Parent Governors has reached the end of her term on our local governing committee (LGC) and we need to hold a new election. We are inviting parents and carers with parental responsibility for registered pupils to consider standing for the role. For more information, please click here. Nominations should be submitted on the nomination form to Mrs C Burnham, Headteacher by 12 noon on Monday 14th March 2022.

Greenredeem

Help our school win funding for eco-projects! Sign up to Greenredeem and donate your points to help out. We’re currently in 3rd place in the league table. Thanks for all your support so far! Sign up for free here → https://register.greenredeem.co.uk/elmbridgeschools-internal

Notes/Reminders

Topaz Class Mini Olympics winners!

Fundraiser for the Ukraine - Costume Sale

Buy a Brick

Alley Catz - School Uniform

Dinners

Parent Governor Election

Greenredeem

News and events

Club News

All Club information

Report your child's absence

Parents Association Notes

Cake Sale

Wellbeing

Parent Support

Sibling rivalry, healthy gaming habits, dealing with meltdowns and anxiety