School Newsletter : 14 July 2023

Some of you may be aware that we are sadly saying farewell and good bye to several members of school staff next week.

Ms Baker (Karen) who has been ‘front of house‘ in the school office of Burdett-Coutts for the past 17 years has made the decision to retire at the end of this term. She will be hugely missed by staff, pupils and parents as she been a pillar of the school community for a long time; overseeing, leading, initiating and reminding so many families (and staff) about trips, dinner money, photographs, uniform, PE kit – the list is endless.

We wish her all the very best as she embarks on her well deserved retirement, and are only ever so slightly jealous of her new life in the Spanish sun.

Mrs Baker (Josie) is also moving on to new adventures (not with the other Ms Baker), and is embarking upon a leadership role in another early years setting. Josie has been teaching at Burdett-Coutts for the last 10 years, and we thank her for her contributions to many new initiatives and changes over the past few years. She will be missed by staff, pupils and parents, so please join us as we warmly wish her all the very best on her next stage of her career.

We will also be saying farewell to Mr Peter Barney, our full-time premises manager, who has been keeping our school and playgrounds looking smart and tidy for many years. Thank you for all your contributions to the school, the many makeovers you have given rooms over recent years, school security and event support in the broader life of the school. We wish you all the very best for the future and for your start in a new school.

We will be welcoming a new part-time school keeper in September.

Thank you to Mr Gower-Rudman who has been working with Year 3 over the last two terms. We wish you all the very best for next year  and all the exciting adventures and travels in your future.

We would like to warmly welcome three new members of staff who will be joining Burdett-Coutts as confirmed class teachers for next year Michelle Hendricks, Ashlee McPherson and Natasha Findlay who will be joining us full-time in September. They have been spending time with classes and participating in handover and transition tasks with school staff.

We are excited to be able to confirm that from September 2023, we will be offering a 2-year old pre-school provision.

If you would like to reserve a space for September 2023, please collect an application pack from the school office as soon as possible and return this, along with your deposit, to secure your place.

Please note that places are limited and we’ve already had a strong response from in-school families. School families have a week to sign up before the offer for places is advertised more widely across the borough.

If you know of friends or family currently on a waiting list for a 2-year old place but who are not attending our school, please ask them to get in touch with us.

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 contact Ms Baker in 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.

A huge thank you to all of our families who are in school everyday and arrive on time! It is important that your child attends school every day and on time. Arriving late to school is unsettling for children and disrupts the start to their day.

Our school day starts at 09:00, and all pupils need to be in school by 08:55, to ensure that they are ready for learning at 09:00. Teachers are waiting in classes with learning ready to start at this time.

The main pupil entrance (gates) will open at 08:45 and will close at 08:55. After this time parents will need to bring their child/ren via school office. Please ensure your child is in school before 08:55.

From the February Half Term you will need to sign your children in if entering through the office. The time of entry and reason for lateness will be noted.

We are carefully monitoring attendance and punctuality as we have noticed an increasing trend of both becoming a pattern for some families.

Routines are the easiest way to ensure your child attends school on time every day, so try to create good routines for the start of your day, particularly if mornings are hectic in your household.

Try and prepare as much as possible the night before, and ensure that older children are taking much more responsibility for their readiness for school.

Collective Worship

The whole school attends acts of Collective Worship every day.

• Mondays and Tuesdays: key stage singing assemblies led by Mr Carden.
• Wednesdays: Church service led by Graham or Helena, the clergy at St Stephens with St John on Rochester Row. These services are very child-friendly, and Year 6 take a leading role by processing, singing in the choir and reading the Bible readings and prayers.
• Thursdays: We focus on celebrating achievements, led by a member of SLT, School Council or a class teacher with their class. When a class teacher leads the assembly, their class also recite a piece of poetry they have been learning. We would be very grateful if parents could support their children in learning these poems when it is their turn.
• Friday: Opportunities for classes to share what they have been learning with their families and the rest of the school.

Community Corner

This week we were meant to be hosting a joint service with St Matthews, which sadly they had to postpone. We look forward to planning more joint services with them next academic year.

But the show went on, with Graham leading our service on Wednesday and Year 6 in the choir stalls for the penultimate time. Next week we will have one more Wednesday service with this cohort of brilliant choristers, prayer and Bible readers, and soloists. Well done Year 6 for a great year at the top of the school!

This week’s reading came from Matthew 10: 1-7, where all of Jesus’ disciples are named. Graham talked about the importance of names – not the nasty name-calling that can happen in the playground or online, rather the names we are known by and answer to.

The names we all know each other as; and the names given to us by our parents. Jesus and God call us by our names and we are called by our name to be kind, thoughtful and loving.