17th November 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
This Week in School
The school looked very cheery today as children wore their items of yellow, spotty or dotty clothing. Thank you once again to the parents who highlighted to the school that today was Children in Need day. We are always keen to support such good causes, and we are delighted to announce that as a school community, with your generous support, we raised a whopping £247! There is a wealth of information related to the events happening today on the BBC to support the cause on the Children in Need website. You can also make donations online.
You may be aware that we have already kicked off our preparations for the festive season at St George’s. In EYFS and KS1, nativity scripts have been finalised, songs are being practiced and I have already seen a few costumes stored in the classrooms ready for the big event. KS2 carol singing practices are well underway – we started practicing Christmas carols last week and I have a few of the hymns stuck firmly in my head! It is an exciting and busy time of year, and we are really looking forward to inviting parents in to share in the Christmas fun in the coming weeks. Please ensure you have noted the dates for the upcoming events in your diary, as it would be a shame to miss out! They can be found of the end of this newsletter in the usual place.
St George’s School Open Day – Wednesday 22nd November at 1.45pm
We will be hosting a tour around the school for prospective parents of Reception Class/EYFS children starting in September 2024. If you know any families who may be interested in attending, please do pass the information along. We appreciate your support with this.
A message from our Bishop, Declan Lang
The Diocese would like us to make you aware of a message of prayer for peace in the Holy Land from Bishop Declan Lang. They would also make you aware of this statement from CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) published on the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales website. We share in the hope Pope Francis has expressed for peace and reconciliation in this region, and we join with our brothers and sisters around the world in prayer for this intention.
A note on our Christmas Holiday Dates
Please can we draw your attention to the fact that our Christmas and our summer holiday dates are slightly different to other schools locally this year. As a voluntary-aided school, although we will still be open for the required 195 days, our holiday dates can vary from the Somerset school calendar and this is the case this year. St George’s school will remain open until Tuesday 19th December and will be closed from Wednesday 20th December and returning on Thursday 4th January, which is also later than local schools. In addition to this, our summer holidays begin earlier than other schools locally.
Our St George’s Term Time and Holiday Dates Calendar is attached to this email to ensure you are fully aware of these differences and we would ask that you do not use the Somerset Calendar to avoid confusion.
Christmas Hamper Raffle 2023
We are delighted to advise you that our Parent Support Group will be arranging the Christmas Hamper Raffle again this year! Mufti Day will be held on Friday 1st December when the children will be able to come to school in their own clothes for the day in exchange for a donation which will be used to create the wonderful Christmas Hampers.
Suggested items are listed below for each Class:
Reception Class Gifts for a Female
Class 1 Gifts for a Male
Class 2 Gifts for Girls
Class 3 Gifts for Boys
Class 4 Food (any food items suitable for a hamper, excluding perishable food!)
Class 5 Drink (including Alcoholic or Non-alcoholic)
Class 6 Anything goes! An item you feel would be suitable to include with the gift hampers
Any items you can donate will be very much appreciated. Raffle tickets will be given out next week to each child to help raise much needed funds for the school. The Christmas Hampers raffle will be drawn on Friday 15th December so all money and tickets will need to be returned to the school office by no later than Thursday the 14 December.
Amenities/Swimming Contributions
Please can I remind all parents and carers that each year, we ask for a voluntary contribution of
£10 per term per child for swimming, and £10 per term for each family for School Amenities.
The school has always traditionally asked parents and carers for an amenity contribution. The Amenities Fund allows the school to give children extra opportunities and experiences such as visiting artists, performers and sport companies. We feel it is crucial that the children continue to have these WOW moments and with the rising costs of funding school everts and maintaining and running the swimming pool, we would really appreciate your contribution to allow this to continue.
Payments for Swimming and Amenities can be paid online, details are as follows:
Bank Account Number: 02887152 Sort-Code: 30-98-45
Please quote reference S for Swimming and A for Amenities
Best wishes,
Edwina McDonnell
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday 22nd November – Year 5 will attend the Parish Mass – 9.30am at Church. Parents welcome.
Wednesday 29th November – Year 6 will attend the Parish Mass – 9.30am at Church. Parents welcome.
Friday 1st December – Mufti-Day in exchange for donations for Christmas Hampers Raffle.
Tuesday 5th December – Reception Class (EYFS) Nativity Play – 2.30pm
Wednesday 6th December – Key Stage 1 Nativity Play matinee performance – 2.00pm
Thursday 7th December – Key Stage 1 Nativity Play evening performance – 6pm
Wednesday 13th December – Carol Concert in Church, 2pm
Thursday 14th December – Christmas Dinner Day/Christmas Jumper Day
Thursday 14th December – Last day for return of Raffle tickets and Money for Christmas Raffle.
Friday 15th December – Christmas Hampers Raffle draw.
Tuesday 19th December – End of Term Mass in Church, 9.30am
Wednesday 3rd January – INSET DAY – SCHOOL CLOSED
Thursday 4th January – SCHOOL OPEN
Wednesday 10th January – Start of Term Mass in Church – 9.30am
