Dear Parents,
Welcome to the first newsletter of the academic year. We have had an excellent start to the term with children enjoying the full range of curriculum subjects, whilst utilising the school's extensive facilities. Clubs have started this week along with swimming (Year 6 and Year 5) and it was lovely to hear the singing assemblies yesterday afternoon.
We welcome all our new children, parents and staff and look forward to you joining and becoming part of the Sheen Mount family.
We hope you have enjoyed the 'Meet the Teacher' events, giving you an overview of the year. The final Year 5 meeting is tomorrow. The curriculum maps and bulletins will be uploaded onto the website in the next week and we will let you know when this has happened.
We will be offering a range of parent engagement events throughout the year including an EAL coffee morning, curriculum evenings and future plans for the school. This starts with an online secondary school transition meeting on Wednesday 21st September from 7pm-8pm. Here is the link:
meet.google.com/rrj-hgao-duv
As always, PSA events will take place throughout the year and you will find details of the some of the Autumn Term events below.
A reminder that the school is closed on Monday 19th September for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II which is being marked by a national Bank Holiday
Staffing
Miss Hopwood has been appointed as our new maths lead, as Mrs Hole has moved to EYFS (Reception) as the Phase Leader. A reminder, too, that Miss Bolton is our KS1 Phase Leader whilst Mrs Bakrania-Ashton is on maternity leave (following the birth of her baby son in the summer holidays). Mrs Teeling and Mr Kennedy continue with their roles of LKS2 and UKS2 Phase Leaders. The Extended Leadership team (ELT) comprises of the Phase Leaders, Mrs Jeffery, Mrs O'Brien and myself.
Twitter
A reminder that we regularly update our twitter feed and it is a very useful way of knowing what is going on all around the school-both in and out of the classroom. Whilst we do tweet about special events and workshops, we also upload day to day teaching and learning.
Parent consultation evenings 2022/23
Following the feedback through the survey last term, we have decided to have the following format for parent's evening. The first evening will be in person only, the second online only and the third a mixture of both. Hopefully, most parents will be able to get their preferred choice of evening. We will review the format for the spring term. The parent consultation evenings are the week commencing 7th November and more information will be sent around half-term.
Birthday books
We are reintroducing the birthday book donation to a child's class. When it is your child's birthday, they may donate a new book to the classroom. They can bring it in wrapped up and then talk to the class about the book. We will also ensure it is labelled inside the front cover with your child's name. The book will remain in that classroom for the foreseeable future. If your child has already had their birthday this academic year, they are very welcome to still make a book donation.
Framed photos around the school
The school now has over thirty framed pictures on the walls around the school, showing pictures of children enjoying various parts of the school day. They are spontaneous photos of the children and many thanks to Laura Starbuck for taking this wonderful range of photos for the school.
Open mornings - Reception entry
You may know of parents who are interested in sending their children to Sheen Mount in the future. We have our first open morning next week and the first two are fully booked with over 120 people attending. There are three further open mornings this academic year.
Please see details here- https://www.sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk/page/?title=Open+Mornings+%2F+School+Tours&pid=35
Swimming charges
Due to the increased electricity costs associated with the swimming pool, the school has had to increase its voluntary contribution request to £20. We are committed to all children using the swimming pool for at least 10 weeks a year, therefore the wording 'voluntary contribution' is deliberately used. You will receive this request when your year group start their lessons. Contributions are very much appreciated as we confront the considerable increase in these running costs.
Pick up and drop off routines
Thank you for keeping the first four classrooms clear for pick up and drop off, it has really helped with the flow.
Please can children keep off all play equipment before and after school. The insurance does not cover any accidents if school staff are not supervising and it doesn't help with the smooth arrival and exit of pupils.
Car parking
A reminder, please do not under any circumstances drop off or pick up on the yellow zigzag lines or block local residents driveways when parking. We see this happening on West Temple Sheen and more specifically Christchurch Road. If you are dropping off your children please park further away. Richmond council do have traffic wardens sporadically monitoring school drop off areas. There are clear signs informing you of when you can stop or park in these areas.
Term dates 2023-24
Please find a reminder of these below as I published them in my email last week. Both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 dates are on the website should you wish to consult them at any stage.
2023 - 2024
Autumn Term 2023
· Monday 4th September – Inset Day (1)
· Tuesday 5th September – Inset Day (2)
· Wednesday 6th September – Start of Term
· Monday 23rd October – Friday 27th October – Half Term
· Monday 30th October – Inset Day (3)
· Thursday 21st December – End of term (2pm)
Spring Term 2024
· Monday 8th January – Start of Term
· Friday 9th February – Inset Day (4)
· Monday 12th February – Friday 16th February – Half Term
· Thursday 28th March – End of term (2pm)
Summer Term 2024
· Monday 15th April – Start of Term
· Monday 27th May – Friday 31st May – Half Term
· Monday 3rd June – Inset Day (5)
· Wednesday 24th July – End of Term (2pm)
PSA
We wanted to say a quick hello from this year’s PSA Committee and welcome to the Autumn Term. We are a partly new team this year and look forward to introducing ourselves at the first school PSA meeting on the 26th of Sept at 7.30pm in the school hall. Everyone is invited (as a parent/carer of a child at Sheen Mount you are automatically a member of the PSA) and the meeting is a great opportunity to meet some new people and understand the asks from the school this year as well as more about how the PSA work with our school. We also encourage that one rep from every class attend the meeting so that you can share information in the case of not all parents/carers being able to attend.
For any Reception or Year 1 parents please put the 14th of Oct 7.30pm in your diary for the 'Welcome to Sheen Mount drinks’.
We also have the Autumn Ball coming up this term on Friday 18th November. Tickets sell out incredibly fast on this one so watch out for news on Classlist.
More dates for other events to follow soon.
And lastly, we will be sharing information with you shortly about how to best get in touch with members of the PSA Committee, but for now, if you have any burning questions or want to say hi, please reach out to Sophie Creamer or Calli Louis via Classlist who plan to head up the PSA Committee this year.
Introducing the new look Sheen Mount 100 Club Lottery, open to all parents, careers, staff and friends of the school. This year it is easier to sign up and therefore easier to be a winner, just like Paul Johnson who is this year's first winner of our £100 prize draw. Well done Paul!
If you would like to be in with a chance of winning and to find out more, email sm100club@gmail.com for details.
Communication
A reminder, I am more than happy to speak to parents at drop off and pick up, or you can contact me directly at:
headteacher@sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk
Have a good weekend
Tom Holmes - Headteacher
Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher
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