Dear Parents and Carers,
Wow! We are hurtling at speed towards the end of term and life in school is very busy. I am sure you are looking forward to a slightly slower pace over the holidays, as are the children and staff!
Thank you to everyone who came along to the Christmas Fair on Sunday. This was such a wonderful community event. The Fair saw a constant stream of people coming through the school, and there was such a great atmosphere around the school. Thanks to everyone’s generosity and the hard work of the Friends Team, class reps and Governors, the Christmas Fair raised an amazing £3,216.18 (before expenses). This beat last year’s grand total by £6.63!
Last Friday, children in KS2 enjoyed watching The Nativity for their film night. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the children’s reactions to the film and its humour – the hall was full of laughter. A big thank you to William S and Maggie in Yr6 who helped The Friends and I tidy up afterwards!
Early Years and Key Stage 1 performed their Nativity for their parents and families on Wednesday and Thursday. The children spoke so clearly, sang their hearts out and filled the Church with joy! Fr Alistair said the children should be very proud of themselves. In the words of Eloise in Year 1, “It was epic!” It was particularly impressive to see our youngest children perform so confidently in front of so many people. A big thank you to the staff for working so hard on this to organise costumes, teach the songs and help children learn their lines! I have heard and seen parts of the KS2 Advent Service - you are in for a treat next week!
It was a delight to accompany Mr. Ellson and the Choir at the Cranleigh Schools Carol Concert on Wednesday evening, alongside Ewhurst Infants and Parkmead. I was a very proud audience member, as were the parents who attended!
Thank you to The Friends for organising and paying for the pantomime for all of the children today. The hall was full of laughter and lots of panto chants “He’s behind you!” etc. It was wonderful to be able to provide this experience for the children – many of whom have never seen a pantomime before.
We finish for the end of term on Friday 19th December at 12pm.
Do follow us on Instagram if you haven’t already https://www.instagram.com/saint_cuthbert_mayne/
Mrs. Amy O’Donovan
Headteacher
Collective Worship
We explored Matthew’s Gospel on Monday in Collective Worship when St. John the Baptist preached in the wilderness of Judea and told people to “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” We thought about how we are preparing for Jesus during Advent.
John the Baptist told people to “prepare the way for the Lord.” What might it mean for us to prepare our hearts for Jesus today?
John asked people to “change their hearts and lives.” What small changes could we make in school to show we are trying to be better?
John said that good trees bear good fruit. What “good fruit” can we show through our actions this week?
School Choir Carol Concert
Everyone is invited to join our School Choir and Mr. Ellson for a Carol Concert on Monday in the Church at 3.30pm until 4pm. Do come along and sing if you can!
Christmas Jumper and Christmas lunch day
We are looking forward to celebrating our Christmas lunch and wearing Christmas jumpers on Thursday 18th December. Children should wear their normal school uniform on this day, with just a Christmas or Winter jumper instead of their cardigan or school sweatshirt. They may also wear a winter hat or headband, but we will leave these at school when we go to Mass.
Learning in Year 5
This half-term, Year 5 have been exploring the fascinating world of the Vikings. As a final project, pupils designed and built impressive model Viking Longships and researched ten intriguing facts about the boats. We then shared our favourite discoveries and highlighted the standout features of each ship. I was amazed by the creativity, effort, and enthusiasm every pupil demonstrated through their boats.
Year 5 have been hanging around in PE this week! They have shown amazing talent and focus in gymnastic lessons this term – this has included extending their limbs, creating shapes as they jump and perfecting quality landings! They also displayed amazing perseverance and determination when climbing the ropes.
Headlice
We have had cases of headlice in school recently. There is no need to keep children off school when they have headlice, but they should be treated.
The best way to avoid headlice is to be proactive:
See here for NHS advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/
Recruitment of Staff
We are always looking to appoint high-quality staff, would you be interested in finding out more about roles available in school now or in the future? If you would, please contact the school office to book an appointment to see Mrs. O’Donovan to discuss opportunities.
Road Safety
Surrey Highways are proposing lowering the speed limit on Parsonage Road and the surrounding roads from 30mph to 20mph, this does include St. Nicolas Avenue. To view the plans and to have your say, please visit https://parsonage-road-cranleigh.commonplace.is The online survey is open until the 5th January.
Online Safety
Toy scalping, fakes and online scams are more than just frustrating, they can impact children’s wellbeing and financial understanding.
Important dates
Tuesday 16th December - CYE Christmas Assembly 9.30am
Tuesday 16th December - 2pm KS2 Christmas Advent Service
Wednesday 17th December - 6pm KS2 Christmas Advent Service
Thursday 18th December - 10am End of Term Mass
Thursday 18th December - Christmas lunch and jumper day
Friday 19th December - School finishes at 12pm
Friends of St. Cuthbert Mayne – Dates for your diaries
- Friday 19th December – Year 4 Cake Sale
Interested in teaching?
Are you or someone you know interested in a change of career or have a passion for teaching? If the answer is yes, The Xavier Teach South East Hub have several events coming up with opportunities to find out more about teacher training. You can find out more on their website: www.teachsoutheast.co.uk or if you feel you just want to apply, there is a fast track application here.
