1st December 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
This Week in School
It was lovely to walk through the Hall after school on Thursday to see the Book Fair in action. The children were full of enthusiasm as they rummaged through the book shelves, and it was wonderful to see how they lit up at the thought of having a new book to cherish. Thank you to our St George’s families for supporting the Book Fair. Scholastic gives the school a small allowance to buy some books once the total money raised has been worked out. These books are very welcomed and will be used to top up our class and school libraries. Thank you also to Mrs Carpenter and Mrs Earp, who are possibly the school’s biggest fans of reading and who are continually looking for ways to raise the profile and enjoyment of reading at our school.
Mr White (our part-time caretaker) and I went on a little excursion today to buy a Christmas Tree for the School Hall. Mr White spotted a very fine tall tree straight away, and as is always the case, we considered at least 20-30 more trees before we decided to go with the first one we had seen! It is starting to feel very Christmassy at St George’s, and we are excited to welcome parents in the coming weeks to join us for our upcoming Christmas events. Please see the dates listed below for further details, and contact the school office should you have any questions.
An Update on Staffing
As you may be aware, we had arranged temporary cover in Year 5 this term with a view to advertising to secure a permanent teacher from January onwards. I am pleased to confirm that we have been successful in filling the Year 5 teaching post. Mrs Chidgey will join our teaching team in January, working in Year 5 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The interview panel were very impressed with Mrs Chidgey, and we know she will add a lot to our team. Mrs Earp will continue her work as Year 5 teacher on Thursdays and Fridays, alongside Miss Droba, who will remain the Year 5 teaching assistant, providing excellent continuity for the children. It is heartening to be able to give you such a positive and reassuring update.
Miss Roberts has been doing a wonderful job in Year 1 covering Mrs Crocker’s maternity leave this year. Although her contract for working in Year 1 will end soon, we are delighted to announce that she will stay at St George’s and provide cover for us, one day per week. She will work in Year 2 for a morning each week to release Mrs Carpenter for her management time, and for one afternoon per week she will provide cover across the school, releasing subject leads to monitor their subjects. Miss Roberts lives quite far away from school and has a long commute, so we are very pleased that she is willing to continue to travel to St George’s to remain a part of our team!
Christmas Dinner – Order your child’s lunch!
The school office would like to make you aware that Wednesday 6th December is the last day for ordering your child’s Christmas hot dinner. For those parents who are having issues with ordering, please contact the school office. I will be checking that my child’s Christmas jumper still fits in preparation for the day!
Charity Christmas Market
Queens College have asked us to make you aware that they are hosting a Charity Christmas Market on Sunday 3rd December 11-3pm. On the day, there will be festive food, arts and crafts and Christmas gift ideas. Entry to the event is free and proceeds will raise funds for underprivileged Cambodian families. The organisers would like to thank you for your consideration.
Christmas Hamper Raffle 2023
As you may know, our Parent Support Group are organising the Christmas Hamper Raffle again this year. We held a Mufti Day today in exchange for a donation and these will be used to create the wonderful Christmas Hampers.
We would like to thank you for your support in providing the generous donations and for buying and promoting tickets for the hampers. We are so grateful to the PSG for their hard work – you help to make St George’s the wonderful community it is!
Parking Fines – a Reminder
Please can I remind parents that there is a system in place at the Catholic Centre where parking fines will be issued if people park there unless they validate at the Church. Parking is reserved for those attending Church only.
I have had a few parents make me aware that they have recently received fines. For those of you using the one-way system, you need to enter the gate at the bottom of the playground to ‘cancel’ your car from the system, otherwise you could be issued a fine. Do not turn around in the lane, at Church or at Nuns field, as a fine will be issued. I do urge you to get in touch with the Parish Office if you believe you have been fined mistakenly.
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 events 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:
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 returning Christmas Raffle tickets.
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
