School Newsletter : 15 March 2024

The last few months have been incredible for the Year 4 & 5 children and staff! They have worked tirelessly towards realising their performance of the Lion King musical.

Rehearsals are now finished – a culmination of 16 weeks of hard work and dedication. And this week, our talented cast and crew delivered four of the most amazing in-school performances to their families, friends, staff and other pupils.

Thank you to everyone who supported the process by rehearsing lines, preparing costumes, attending performances, and learning the lyrics to all the songs. A huge thank you to the incredible Disney mentors – Lauren, Dom, and Tori – who guided and supported them every step of the way.

Year 4 and 5, this is an example of true perseverance. All of you, as well as everyone else involved, should feel very proud of your achievements. We are so excited to finally see the children on the big stage at the Lyceum Theatre; what a journey you have been on!

Over the February Half Term, pupils were invited to decorate an Easter Egg for the Victoria BID competition.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Nina (Year 2) and Taha (Year 5) have been shortlisted and won a £50 voucher each for their achievement. Well done Nina and Taha!

Their designs will be two of six giant easter eggs situated in Eccleston Yards, which will be on display from Tuesday 26th March to Monday 1st April. Visitors can vote for their favourite and the winning egg will receive £500 worth of Amazon vouchers to put towards school or club equipment.

So head over to Eccleston Yards over the Easter weekend, where you can vote for your favourite design via the OR code at the exhibition. Winners will be decided after the Easter break.

To find out more, goto https://www.victoriabid.co.uk/event/cracking-community-eggs/

Run Kids Run is a registered charity helping connect primary school communities with long term corporate benefactors.

We’ve been selected as 1 of 10 schools to take part in their next event at Battersea Park on Sunday 28th April 2024.

We’re utterly thrilled at this amazing opportunity to participate in what promises to be a fun, fitness fundraising event!

Who can run?

Everyone! All pupils from Nursery to Year 6 can register to compete in this fundraising event. Nursery & Reception will complete a 1km run (with a parent), and Years 1 – 6 will complete a 2km run.

All you need to do is register your child via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/V3rbcVRERWsmVeck8 

You can register up to 4 runners on one form and older siblings can also take part (please select the 2 mile Y5 & Y6 option).

Then get training! While you’re training, don’t forget to get as many people as possible to sponsor your child/ren’s sporting challenge.

You can seek sponsorship from as many friends, family & neighbours as possible, as every donation will go towards raising funds for our school.

On Sunday 28 April, bring your child/ren to Battersea Park from 2 – 4pm. The children will run their races and on completion, will receive a medal and snack at this fun family day out.

Fundraising goals:

Our school’s PSA, The Friends of Burdett-Coutts (Charity #1167707) are working with us to realise our School Council Playground Pledges of improvments to our playgrounds.

The total amount required is £16,000 to fund:

• Project 1: Through discussions with our youngest pupils, it was identified that a REALLY BIG sandpit (one you can get into) and sand-play equipment would be a huge asset to the EYFS & KS1 playground provision.
• Project 2: KS2 requested further resources, including a dedicated comfortable seating area (similar to the one in the KS1 playground) and age-appropriate construction & imaginative play resources.

So far, we have raised £3,000 from the FoBC PSA and £5,000 from the initial sponsorship from Run Kids Run.

With a remaining £8,000 still to be raised, this is where you can help out, by having as many family members, friends and neighbours sponsor your child/ren to compete in the Run Kids Run event.

In-School training:

Starting on Friday 15th March, our PE coach, Mr Raheem will be leading in-school training sessions for all pupils who have registered for the Run Kids Run event.

All pupils will need to wear their full PE kit and trainers to participate in these training sessions (see side panel for dates).

There will also be lunch-time training sessions for these pupils on their normal PE days (as they’re wearing their PE kits).

Parents, in order for your children to be able to take part, you must register your children via the Run Kids Run Google Form AND inform the school office by email before the start of any session.

Thank you for your support in this whole-school fun, fitness fundraising event.

We hope to see many children signed up, ready to train and be sponsored for their run at Battersea Park on Sunday 28th April.

We are thrilled to announce that the Burdett-Coutts Art Gallery will be open from Monday 25th to Wednesday 27th March in the First Floor Hall.

Our gallery will display individual pieces of artwork created by all pupils based on the theme of Sustainability.

Parents & carers are welcome to visit each day between 09:00 – 10:00 and 15:00 – 16:00.  The artwork exhibited will be for sale, with all proceeds going towards our playground fund-raising projects.

The Easter Bonnet entries will also be on display for you to view, with those receiving awards identified.

Light refreshments will be available, including tea, coffee and a selection of baked goods, with all proceeds going towards our playground fund-raising projects.

We look forward to seeing you there.

If you are a parent, carer or a guardian of a child that attends our school, then you are automatically a member of our Parent Staff Association, Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

Being part of our PSA offers an exciting opportunity for you to meet other parents, whilst supporting our school, through organising fundraising events, volunteering and much more.

Even if you can only give a small amount of time, you will be making a difference to the school experience for your child and other pupils in our school.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 28th March from 09:00 – 10:00 in the Ground Floor Hall.

Please do come along and join us, your energy & support is very much needed!

Items of discussion at our next meeting will be around:

• Plans & organisation for the Spring Fete including stalls and events, volunteers  etc.

Our Spring Term parent-teacher meetings will take place on Thursday 21st March.

You can now sign up for these via the Arbor App until the midday on the 21st March.

Kindly ensure that you arrive 10 minutes before your meeting time so that you can sit with your child and discuss the work they have selected together.

After a five years hiatus due to the pandemic, the Prom Praise for Schools Concert in the Royal Albert Hall has restarted.

Members of the Choir Club, with Miss Barnett, Mr Carden, and Miss Mattey had a fantastic time singing and dancing together with 2,500 other children, their teachers and parents in this special event.

The performance presented the Old Testament story of David; from his boyhood as a young shepherd, to his duel with Goliath, to his kingship, and his founding of the royal household which would eventually beget Jesus thousands of years later.

We had wonderful seats in the Loggia Boxes of the Albert Hall and a brilliant view of the stage, the full orchestra, and the actors and dancers. The venue was nearly full, and the sound of the singing and the orchestra and the magnificent organ filled the air.

Over sixty schools from all parts of London sent choirs to take part, and being able to perform with such a large group of singers was thrilling.

As part of this year’s Science Week, Years 5 and 6 took part in an exciting workshop led by Imperial College London.

We learnt all about the history of The Great Exhibition which took place in Crystal Palace in 1851. We then used this as our inspiration to create prototypes of our own inventions, two of which will be displayed at The Great Exhibition Road Festival on the 15th and 16th of June this year!

It was lovely to see the children so engaged and working in teams with children across year groups. A massive thank you to the scientists, Alex and Sam who ran the workshop.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival on the 15th and 16th of June 2024. You can find more information about the festival by following this link: https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk

We are so egg-cited to be launching our Easter Bonnet competition again as the entries last year were truly egg-ceptional! 🙂

Time to dig out your glue guns, decorative material, feathers and other crafty pieces to start hatching your egg-citing bonnet designs! Parents & carers, please note that all entries should be designed and made by the children (with adult support only when needed).

But fear not, this year we’re going the egg-tra mile with a special parent category, so all you creative yolks can get in on the competition and design alongside your children at home.

Bonnets will be available to buy from the school office for £1 each on Monday 4th March. All competition entries must be submitted to school by 5pm on Wednesday 20th March.

The bonnets will be judged by externally, with winners announced & prizes awarded on Monday 25th March. All the bonnets will then be displayed as part of our Art Gallery installation from Monday 25th to Thursday 28th March in the First Floor Hall.

Happy crafting with this egg-tremely fun project 🙂

Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct PE kit to school each week.

Pupils who are not wearing their full PE kit will not be able to participate in lessons, and a note will be sent home indicating why they were not able to participate.

The full PE kit for the Autumn/Winter term is as follows:

• Plain navy blue leggings or tracksuit bottoms
• School navy blue PE t-shirt
• School navy blue sweatshirt (all year groups).
• Pupils in KS2 (Years 3 – 6) must wear a school navy sweatshirt for PE and NOT their school jumper.
• Plain black trainers (velcro if your child struggles with shoe laces)
• Please ensure all items of uniform are clearly labelled (with a permanent pen or label)

On Monday 8th January, parents were sent a welcome email from Arbor via the school office email account. Please read this carefully, as it contains vital information of the steps required to download the Arbor app, which is now live and ready to use for our school.

Once you have downloaded the app and followed the setup steps, you will be able to pay online for the following:

• Breakfast Club
• After School Club (6 o’clock club)
• School Trips and Visits
• Nursery Extended Day Fees
• Preschool Fees

You will also be able to view your child’s details held by the school, such as their attendance record  and the named adults allowed to collect them from school.  After the Easter Break, you will also be able to sign up and pay for Extended School Day (Enrichment) Clubs.

We understand that while paying online is the preferred option for many of our families, those wishing to continue paying by cash will still be able to do via the school office.

If you would like your child to move from bringing a packed lunch to having a school meal, you must inform the office at least a week in advance of this change being made. Kindly note pupils are not allowed to alternate between having packed lunches and/or school meals on a daily or weekly basis. If you have any questions, please see a member of the school admin staff at the school office.

You can find the current school lunch menu here >

If you require a printed copy, please ask at the school office. Should you have any questions about the menu, kindly make an appointment to speak with Miss Barnett.

February 2024 half term vouchers for pupils eligible for FSM are available for collection from the school office.

We have noticed several pupils are consistently late to school each day. It is essential that every child arrives at school by 08:45 so that they are in class and ready to learn at 09:00. If your punctuality has slipped recently, please ensure that you take steps to arrive in school on time after the February half term break.

Why good school attendance matters: Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem a big deal, but research shows that it can have a significant impact on children’s learning.

Children who miss a substantial amount of school fall behind their peers, and struggle to catch up. Most of the work they miss is never made up, which can lead to big gaps in their learning.

• Poor attendance often starts at primary school and children who fall into this pattern are likely to under-achieve at secondary school.
• Pupils who miss between 10 and 20% of school (that’s 19 – 38 days per year) stand only a 35% chance of achieving five or more good GCSEs, compared to 73% of those who miss fewer than 5% of school days.
• An attendance rate of 95% is generally considered good; this allows for children to miss 9.5 days across the school year.
• Persistent absence (PA) is defined as an attendance rate of 90% or below.
• All pupils are expected to have an attendance rate of 95% or higher.

Attendance class of the week: Each week we will be celebrating the class with the highest attendance levels.