Dear Parents and Carers,
I cannot believe my first year as Head of School has come to a close today! The year seems to have flown by, but so much has happened in that time. Thank you for your support over the year.
Not only have we had a busy year, but this last week of the term was also full to the brim with events! Today we said farewell to our lovely Year 6s. We wish them all the best as they spread their wings and take on the next stage of their journey to secondary school. We hope that they remember all that they have learnt in their time at St. Cuthbert Mayne – particularly how to be good people, how to be kind and true to themselves.
We also said "see you later" to Mrs. Quinlan who moves to St. Edmund’s for a year’s secondment. Miss Davies (who has worked in Reception and ASC) left us today to start University in September- we wish her all the best for her exciting new start. Finally, we say goodbye and thank you to Mrs. Coughlan who will be working for Surrey County Council’s Speech and Language team in September. We wish all three members of staff the very best in their new ventures and thank them for the dedication and service they have given to the school. In September, we welcome Miss Tiffany Robinson as Year 5 teacher and Miss Emms, Mrs. Rudska and Mrs. Harry as Learning Support Assistants.
There have been so many celebrations in school this week! On Monday there was a choir performance at the Church to celebrate their work with Mr. Ellson throughout the year. The children sang a mix of religious songs and a couple of Beatles tunes.
On the same evening, families of Year 6 enjoyed their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The children were amazing – they had learnt challenging Shakespearean lines, lively songs and so many stage directions. A number of children braved singing solos too. The costumes were amazing – many thanks again to the parents for your support with this. None of this would have been possible without Mrs, Hasler’s hard work and ambition!
Then on Tuesday, Year 6 had a day of reflection at Wintershall and Year 1 visited Brooklands Museum as part of their learning in History.
EYFS had their Sports Day on Wednesday – this was a wonderful celebration, and the playground was full of joy. The children participated amazingly!
On Thursday we celebrated the talents of children across the school in our Talent Show. This was an afternoon full of entertainment – from singing, to dancing, a comedy sketch, card tricks, piano playing and martial arts. Thank you to Mrs. Newland for organising this and to our judges: Miss Wylie, Mrs. Walker and Mr Lewin who had a very tough job on their hands!
We also had our end of term Celebration Assembly where we celebrated the children who have lived out our school mission, not just for a week or half a term but for the whole year! Children in Year 6 also received trophies and cups for their contributions to the school.
Finally, today we celebrated our Year Leavers Mass together as a community in our Parish Church.
Have a wonderful summer holidays!
God bless,
Mrs. Amy O’Donovan
Head of School
saint_cuthbert_mayne
Collective Worship
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus shares his most famous parable – The Good Samaritan. Jesus gave a really clear explanation of how to be a good neighbour in this story. We reflected on times we have been like the priest or the Levite who walked past or avoided the person in need – do we or have we ever ignored people who need our help? We thought about how we good be “more Samaritan” in our school, with our families and in our community. We decided that Jesus is the best Samaritan and the children thought that this artwork reflects this.
Morning arrivals
We look forward to welcoming children back to school on Wednesday 3rd September.
For the first morning only, all parents may come through the gate to drop children off and ensure the children get safety to the correct places.
On Wednesday (the first day of term), class teachers in Year 1 to 6 will come onto the playground to meet the first wave of children arriving at school and wait for a few minutes to gather children before going to the classroom.
From Thursday, parents in Year 1 and 2 may walk children to the door by the library if needed. KS2 parents should say goodbye at the gate please.
New Reception children, your arrangements for drop off and pick up are a little different for the first few days. Please see the information in the letter you received previously.
Pick up arrangements
At the end of the day, pick up is at 3.15pm.
If you need to speak to the class teacher at the end of the day, please could we ask that you kindly wait until the teacher has finished dismissing first. This just ensures that all children are handed over safely to the correct adult at the end of the day.
From time to time, you may wish for other people to pick up your child from school. To help you and the class teachers with this, we will be setting up a new form from September. On the form, you will be able to name the people you are happy to collect your child on any day of the week or specific days. This will be kept in a folder by the teacher and checked before children are handed over to any adults other than parents. For one-off arrangements e.g. play dates where you may only want someone to pick up on that one day, please can we ask that you inform the school (via the office) as soon as possible so that the message can be given to the teacher in good time and kept with the going home folder.
Mobile Phones
From September, children in Year 6 will not be able to have smart phones in school. If they need a phone to be contactable because they are walking home, they should have a “brick style phone” which they will need to take to the office at the start of the day and collect at the end. Our policies and procedures will be updated in line with this.
Aiming High in September
Attendance and Punctuality
Thinking ahead to September, let’s start as we mean to go on by arriving punctually for school before the gate closes at 8.50am. We do need to close the gates at 8.50am to ensure all children in school are safe – this means that all adults dropping off need to be off site too. If you arrive after this time, you will need to take your child into school via the office.
It is also really important that children are in school every day. Frequent absence from school can impact upon children’s learning as they miss out on learning that can be hard to catch up on. If your child is absent, you must contact the school office and give the reason for their absence. This is not because we are trying to be difficult – as part of our safeguarding duty to all children we need to know why a child is absent. If you have not called the school, please expect a call from the office. If we are still unable to make contact, we will start our safeguarding procedures which will involve a home visit as the next step.
Whilst we fully understand that going on holiday in the school holidays is expensive, holidays in term time will not be approved, and we will refer absences for fines when the threshold is met. Please see our Attendance Policy for more information.
Absences for medical appointments or other circumstances should be notified to the school in advance. We do need you to complete paperwork that needs to be signed off by Mrs. O’Donovan - the forms can be found here. For medical/dental appointments we will ask to see proof of an appointment and requests should be made before the day of absence.
Uniform
Please could we also ask for your support with ensuring that the children are wearing full school uniform. Children may wear summer uniform up to October half term. A gentle reminder that all uniform should be clearly named - it is impossible to track down items of uniform and reunite them with owners if they are not named!
Earrings should only be a small, plain gold or silver studs, and these should not be worn for PE days. If your child is having their ears pierced over the summer, please do this at the start of the holidays so that they have healed by the start of term and can be removed for PE. Earrings cannot be worn for PE and for health and safety cannot be taped over.
Watches may be worn if the children can tell the time, but they should not be smartwatches. Hair longer than shoulder length must be tied up.
National Online Safety
Whether it’s sunny days at the beach or fun in the paddling pool, children are naturally drawn to water. But with excitement comes risk. This guide brings together 10 clear, practical tips to help parents and educators protect children around water – whether that’s at home, on school trips or on holiday.
Backed by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, the advice includes knowing what beach flags mean, avoiding inflatables in open water, and learning to ‘float and call’ in an emergency. With a focus on prevention and supervision, this guide is a must-read for summer safety and beyond.
Parking and Road Safety
As we start the new academic year, please also make sure that we start off by following the rules and being considerate to other road users. By doing this, we are role models to our children and ensure their safety.
Points to remember please:
Sayers Croft – Summer activities for children with additional needs
Sayers Croft are running free adventure and exploration days for children with additional needs and their families. The days will take place throughout the summer holidays at their site in Ewhurst and activities include rock climbing, caving, pond dipping, shelter building and much more.
To find out more and book places, you can visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sayers-croft-action-stations-tickets-1362788690659?aff=oddtdtcreator
Sayers Croft are also running holiday clubs. There is a booking link here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sayers-croft-holiday-club-tickets-722756824117?aff=oddtdtcreator
The days will be full of outdoor exploration, adventure and education activities.
If you use the code 'badger' at checkout you will get an extra 10% off the £27.50 cost per day.
