Dear parents,
I hope you are well. We arrive at the last newsletter of term and are very much looking forward to our end of term events and activities. We have Reception's Christmas performance tomorrow and then the carol services from LKS2 and UKS2 on Wednesday, followed by Christmas lunch on Thursday. I have even heard whispers of a staff panto on the last day of term (just for the children before you ask!)
We have greatly enjoyed Year 2's nativity performances over the last two days and Year 1's Christmas songs this morning.
Thank you to all the staff for their hard work; it is a great time of year to work in a primary school, even though all the events take a lot of time and effort!
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and New Year and look forward to seeing everyone in 2025!
End of term/Beginning of Spring term
A reminder we finish early on Friday 20th December- 2pm R/KS1 and 2.10pm KS2.
We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 6th January with no INSET days to start the term.
The Times 'parent power' league tables
Several parents had mentioned this at the gate this week. We are very proud of our position (100th in the country and 2nd in the borough), but as always with all league tables, the data does not tell the picture of a school. Whilst we strive for academic excellence, track children's progress and carefully monitor them and constantly review our own practice, there is so much more to a primary school. We ensure, in particular in their year of SATs, our Year 6s receive a broad and balanced curriculum, with the intention to enter the world of secondary school as happy, confident students with a wide range of interests and skills.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/33fc7514-4fad-4fc6-aa4f-0c08b1d801ce?shareToken=5cebf0bf93bdbb9826e47daf06a84980
(You can scroll down and type the school name in or Richmond Borough.)
Christmas fair
Despite the weather, the show went on! It actually felt like the perfect atmosphere on Saturday with no indoor spaces being overly busy but a good atmosphere. Many thanks to the PSA committee and all those who gave up their time in any capacity. Extra thanks to the Year 1 parents for the grotto, who I know were here until late the night before and had given up time throughout the week. The classes have been enjoying a reading session in there this week, as the grotto has stayed up. The community aspect is just as important as the money raised, but over £10,000 was raised and we look forward to the final figure.
Christmas Jumper day-Save the Children
It was great to see a variety of jumpers today. Please do not forget the link below-
Save the Children-Sheen Mount
Clubs with space
The following clubs have spare capacity for next term and are in danger of the 'use it or lose it' category. 
Good Neighbours
Please see a message from Good Neighbours and thank you for your donations.
Please extend our thanks to all the parents who donated so generously to our Christmas gift bag collection.
We will be delivering them to our clients during the w/c 16/12 and where there are names on the gift cards I do hope some of the recipients will send a thank you note back.
Many thanks
Anne
Choir
The choir have had two fantastic performances over the course of the week. 
On Thursday night, they took a leading part in the Holly Lodge Centre concert in Christ Church. They sang with two other choirs and then on their own. On Tuesday this week, they visited the Lawn Tennis Association centre to sing for them at their annual lunch. Well done to all the children and thank you to Mrs Boa and Mrs Adams for their time and expertise during the weekly club sessions that led to these events.
Sports
Cross country-girls borough champions!
You will recall in the previous newsletter our efforts of our cross- country team, but we were not aware of the placings. Well.... the girls finished 1st out of 29 schools, which is a fantastic achievement! With two Year 5s in the team, we look forward to defending our title next year.
The boys finished a creditable 11th, which saw us finish in 4th overall. Well done to all the team.
Y3 boys Ham tournament
Our Y3 boys did incredibly well in one of their first school tournaments last week. They played four group matches, winning three. They progressed to the semi-final, which they won and then unfortunately lost the final. However, they came back with silver medals and having had a great morning out.
Y5/6 Boys borough football tournament
They had their borough event last Wednesday. After safely negotiating the morning session and making it through to the cup, unfortunately, they came up against some strong opposition and were not able to progress to the semi-finals. Onwards to the league competition boys!
Year 3/4 basketball tournament
We even managed to attend the above tournament today. Well done to all those taking part, for many their first experience of representing the school. Mr Brown was impressed with the team's attitude and effort throughout.
PSA
We want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who braved storm Darragh to come to Sheen Mount’s Christmas Fair. Despite the weather, more than 1,000 people came through the door, including legions of volunteers, making it a brilliant event! We are so grateful to all our class reps, teachers, staff, parents, carers and pupils who supported the school. The fair simply wouldn't be possible without all of your efforts. Thank you to the staff for running their ever popular raffle. Thank you to the parents who made delicious Turkish food, to Le Swine who brought an exciting new element, and to all the local businesses who put on such brilliant stalls. And to our grotto sponsors Betterpad and overall sponsor Hamptons.
We are still calculating the total but it looks like this fair raised in excess of 10k.
In the past, your efforts helped the school to have an indoor pool that raises money itself, and build the amazing AstroTurf. This money will be helping to transform the tepee area and ball court-more on that soon! A Merry Christmas to all!
Christmas lunch-Thursday 19th December
For those who do not have school lunches, there will be an opportunity for you to choose this. The office have sent the communications this afternoon.
You can contact me directly on headteacher@sheenmount.richmond.sch.uk or see me at the school gates before and after school.
Best wishes
Tom Holmes - Headteacher
Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher
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