Dear families,
As we enter into the penultimate week of the academic year, we still have so much going on. Here at school we are a bustle of activity as we prepare not just for the last two weeks and all that happens in them but for the next academic year.
It’s also the time of year where we start to realise that we are saying ‘see you later’ to our year six pupils. Having spent the last week with them on school journey, I join our staff in wishing them the best in their transition to secondary school.
Here are this week’s notices:
Attendance:
A few weeks ago, I read a post on twitter that surprised me (perhaps naively), we had four weeks left of the school year and yet the post instead said we had 10% of the school year left! It’s easy to think that missing a week has little impact but one week is2.5% of the academic year. In a tightly packed curriculum where every hour counts, missing school means your child misses learning that they will need to build upon in the next academic year—putting them at a disadvantage. This is why the UK government are pushing attendance so much. We are only able to authorise absence for specific exceptional circumstances. All absences that are not sickness must be requested using an absence request form which can be found on our website. All sickness absences must be reported to the school office. As the year ends, please do not assume that time is being wasted and does not count as that is no longer the case in Primary schools.
Can you help the Playground Proms?
The Playground Proms is one of Lyndhurst’s best loved events. You can find the poster here. Each class performs a song they have been practising all term while their families watch and share picnics with friends on a balmy summers evening. It is really special and a beautiful end to the academic year. The children are taught and accompanied by some really dedicated, expert musicians. Some of you will know them as they might teach your children the piano or another instrument. They are professional session musicians and Lyndhurst is really lucky to have such a good music team, many schools do not. However, they are not free and they are also not on the same contracts as teaching staff. On the evening of the proms each musician is paid by the hour. In the past the school has been able to pay for this, but this year there is not enough money to pay the musicians and if we don’t have the musicians we don’t really have the proms……Therefore we are hoping that we can raise around £1000 to ensure that the proms goes ahead. Please donate if you can using the just giving link. We will also have a BBQ, ice creams and a bar on the night to raise money. Thank you all so much for your ongoing support of our school.
Parent Vs. Teacher Five-A-Side Fixture
Friends of Lyndhurst are excited to announce the Parents Vs Teachers 5-a-side fundraiser. The attached poster has more information.
Parents who are interested in playing or commentating on the day should join the parents football team WhatsApp group via the link https://chat.whatsapp.com/BevhCzV1oLbBNGLGHophEl in the transcript below.
This is a friendly game, so no previous experience is needed!
Beyond The Classroom:
Autumn term2023-24 club allocations have now been emailed out. Please check your emails to see which clubs your child has been allocated a place for. If you no longer want that place please email hpeddle@lyndhurst.southwark.sch.uk by Monday 17th July. Failure to do so will result in you being charged for the full 10 week block of sessions.
We still have places in the following clubs:
Combat Kids(Yr. 3-6) – Monday
Netball (Yr.4-6) – Monday
Dance (Yr.4-6) – Tuesday
Running Club(Yr. 4-6) – Wednesday Morning (8:00 – 9:00am)
Chess (Yr.3-6) – Wednesday
Gymnastics(Yr. 3-6) – Wednesday
Football (Yr.3-4) - Thursday
If you would like a place in any of the above clubs, please email hpeddle@lyndhurst.southwark.sch.uk to book a place for your child.
Term Dates:
Please find attached our term dates for next year. This includes the inset days and early closures planned for the year.
Reports:
On Friday you will received your child’s end of year report. The report will include the details of both teacher assessments and test scores, an effort score, attendance information and a personal comment from the class teacher. The report will be sent home in an envelope inside of the envelope will be a form for you to give feedback to your class teacher about how the year has gone or about your child’s progress—please return that form to the school office.
Art Exhibition:
Next Tuesday before the Playground Proms we have our art exhibition. Much of the school will be open with art displayed in classrooms. This is a great chance to not only see the art work that has been created this year but also to meet your child’s teacher for next year (most of them will be on site). The exhibition starts at 4pm (so that we have time to do the final set up after dismissing pupils) and ends at5:30pm (to give us time to get to set up the proms).
French Day:
This Friday we will behaving our first French Day (Bastille Day). At Lyndhurst all pupils learn French in some form although this is something we plan to develop further next year. For French Day pupils will have the chance to take part in traditional French games.
Staffing Update:
We are delighted to bewelcoming some new staff to our team.
Izzara Byrd will be teaching in our nursery classroom, she comes with a wealth of experience in both nursery and in specialist provision.
Gennie Joy will be teaching in year one, she has been teaching music across Southwark as well as writing schemes of work for specialist SEND schools and Early Years settings.
Will Barber will also be teaching in year one, he has significant experience working with young pupils in particular those with SEND. He also comes with exceptional sporting knowledge.
Lydia Skawinski-Shearer will be teaching in year five, she joins us with experience of the film and media industry which we are excited to apply to our wider curriculum.
Lastly, Leah Philips will be covering Mrs Walker’s maternity cover, she has worked with us before as a supply teacher and so knows the school and its pupils.
I know that you will join me in welcoming them to the Lyndhurst community.
Key Dates
- Fri 14th Jul 9am- FOL meeting- rescheduled due to strike action
- Fri 14th July- reports out
- Tue 18th Jul 4pm – Art Exhibition
- Tue 18th Jul 6pm- Playground Proms
- Thur 20th Jul- Yr 6 Leavers Assembly & Disco
- Fri 21st Jul 1:15pm Last day of term.
