School Newsletter : 05 July 2024

Tuesday 25th June: Year 2 Trip to Pizza Express
Year 2 had a fabulous time at Pizza Express on Victoria Street. Children were very excited and when they arrived, they washed their hands and were each given an apron and a baker’s hat to wear. The pizza chef carefully explained each step and then the fun began! They learnt about the different ingredients and techniques that go into making pizza and became chefs for the morning. Each child had the chance to make their own individual Margherita pizza. They created the perfect base and discovered how important the fresh ingredients are to the pizza’s flavour. For the final touch, children topped their creations with tomato sauce, mozzarella and oregano – representing the colours of the Italian flag – and added a special ingredient: love. After returning to school, they enjoyed their delicious pizzas for lunch, making it a day to remember.

Thursday 27th June: Year 5 Trip to the Lord Mayors Parlour
We were lucky enough to attend The Young City Makers Awards Ceremony, along with several other Westminster schools. It was held in the rather grand Lord Mayor’s Parlour which is on the 19th floor and offers fantastic views all over the city. The children enjoyed pointing out famous landmarks, along with our own school and church and in some cases their homes. Before the ceremony, we were offered refreshments and a chance to look at all the models submitted for judging and were very impressed by the standard of the work.

The Lord Mayor presented awards covering a range of categories and we are proud to say that we won the award for model making, which we achieved in partnership with Jamie Fobert Architects. Each child received a medal and a personalised certificate, and I am sure they will take away lasting memories of attending this rather prestigious event. We are most grateful to Open City and Westminster Council for extending this opportunity to our school.

We are excited to confirm that our school’s Sports Day will be on Monday 8th July from 09:45 – 13:30 at Vincent Square.

Parents & carers are very much welcome to attend to support their child(ren). If attending, please arrive at the Vincent Square entrance at the intersection of Elverton Street and Vincent Square from 09:45. There will be a designated member of school staff manning the gate from this time.

Our Sports Day activities will be split into 4 sections: Running Track, KS2, Ks1 and EYFS. Kindly note that we will have a shared lunch break that day, and parents & carers are welcome to enjoy a picnic lunch with their child(ren).

Detailed information will be sent home via a newsletter closer to the date.

We are delighted to announce that swimming lessons will begin again this term, for pupils in Years 3 to 6.

These lessons are an important (and statutory) part of the national curriculum and provide an opportunity for pupils to develop key skills and knowledge about water safety and learning basic swimming skills and strokes.

Pupils are issued with certificates at the end of each unit of swimming, which acknowledge the skill level that they have met.

All swimming lessons will take part at the Queen Mothers Sports Centre. Classes will complete their lessons in blocks (6 consecutive lessons over two weeks), instead of one lesson per week (over 6 weeks).

This arrangement ensures pupils have the best chance to consolidate and make the most of their lessons, with the opportunity to build on learning over sequential days, as opposed to having a week between each lesson.

On the weeks that your child’s class is swimming, they will need to wear their bathing costume to school with their PE kit over the top. They also need to bring in a bag; a towel, underwear and goggles, plus a cap (if they choose to use one).

Children will change into their PE kit after each lesson and put their towel and bathing suit in their bag to return to school.

Pupils will swim on Tuesday, Wednesday & Fridays of each week. They will walk to and from the pools with their class teacher and a teaching assistant.

If you have any questions or queries about your child’s swimming lesson, please contact the office to arrange a time to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

We are very excited to announce that we are now part of the Accelerated Reader program, for children in Years 1 to 6.

Accelerated Reader encourages children to read regularly, while ensuring that they bring home a book appropriate to their reading level. There are three steps to the program:

1. Pupils complete a star assessment which informs us of their reading level
2. They choose a reading book from the library, appropriate to their reading level
3. After they’ve read the book, they complete an online quiz about the it. The children earn points for the quizzes that they complete.

Pupils can log into the Accelerated Reader portal @ https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/2243804

They can also log in by clicking on the Accelerated Reader link found at the top right hand corner of our website (in between Staff Login and Sooper Books).

Please click the image below for information about Accelerated Reader, or click here for a PDF >

Our church service last week focused on the story of Jesus calming the storm from Mark 4:35-41.

Jesus and his followers went out on a boat across a lake. While they were sailing the winds came up and a large storm was upon them. The waves were enormous and the boat filled with water.

Jesus’ friends were very afraid but Jesus lay asleep on the deck. They woke him and asked him for help, wondering how he could sleep through this terrifying storm.

He awoke and commanded the water and the wind to calm down, before turning to them and asking why they were so afraid.

Graham told another story of his own experience in a boat, when he had gone fishing with a friend and the boat’s engine had broken while they were drifting out to the open sea. They tried to drop the anchor but the rope was not attached to the boat.

Graham was panicking and very afraid, but his friend was calm and told him not to worry. Eventually the boat became stuck on a sand bank and stopped so they could get out and swim to safety.

Graham explained that the story of Jesus calming the storm teaches us that Jesus – and God – will always calm us when we are frightened. All we need to do is put faith in God and He will bring us peace.

This teaching was accompanied by two beautiful songs this week: Be Still for the Presence of the Lord and Amazing Grace. What perfect choices, Mr Carden!

Prayer:

Lord, sometimes my life feels a bit scary.
Help me to trust you when things feel out of control.
Amen

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.

All meetings are held in the Ground Floor Hall from 09:00 – 10:00, with refreshments.

All are welcome – please come along and join us, your energy & support is very much needed!

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.