Hello Lyndhurst Family,

 I can’t quite believe that October is here already! Yesterday we launched our celebration of Black History Month with an assembly that looked at Black British Women who have influenced our staff team. Later this month we have: poetry performances, poetry workshops, competitions, workshops form The National Caribbean Heritage Museum, book sales and much more. All pupils will also prepare a piece of art work for our end of year exhibition and a written outcome showcasing the learning that has happened in school this month to celebrate BHM. This is on top of our standard curriculum which we continue to ensure explores diverse and often under-represented narratives and viewpoints. This month staff are also focusing their professional development on diversity and the power of language. If you have ideas or want to share the stories of a Women of Windrush, it is not to late to get in touch.

Here are this week’s announcements:

‍SEND Quiz Night: As you may know by now, we are hosting a SEND Fundraising Quiz Night on Thursday 19^th October to raise money for a state-of-the-art Sensory Room at Lyndhurst. After the lockdowns we are seeing more and more children who struggle to regulate and we have recognised the need to provide an increased form of sensory support. While we all have sensory needs such as preferring open or closed spaces, certain types of touch or the ability to manage noise in different ways - there are some children who are more severely impaired by sensory overload. Being able to support this overload means we can provide a more tailored and inclusive learning environment for all of our children, so that they can work more effectively in class alongside their peers, which will be of advantage to all the children in our school.Funding in education is at crisis point; Southwark has seen a dramatic rise in the number of EHCP applications, which is causing huge delays in funding being allocated and CAMHS has waiting times in excess of a year. We believe that a well-planned sensory room will provide a safe and supportive space and allow those children who need it the opportunity to escape the sometimes-overwhelming environment of a busy classroom. Our SEND quiz night fundraiser will help us raise the money we need to installstate-of-the-art equipment to provide positive sensory input. You can help raise funds (as well as having a fun social evening) by buying a ticket via Parent Pay or just donating to our Go Fund Me page‍

‍Yr. 6 School Journey Reminder: A friendly reminder to Year 6 parents- the deposit for school journey is due on Friday 6^th October and can be paid on Parent Pay.

‍Parents Consultations: If you have not yet booked your parent consultation slot, please log in to your My Child at School account to secure your place. Year five booking is also open for a 1:1 discussion about secondary schools with Mr Turnham.

‍Reminder- Early Closure: A friendly reminder that on the 13^th of October we have a scheduled early closure, with school finishing at 1:15pm. During this time our entire staff will be taking part in some training provided by Diverse Educators exploring the power of language.

‍Stay Put Alarm: You will receive a letter today about our Stay Put Procedure and the associated practices. Please take some time to read through it. If you have any questions, please speak to your class teacher.

‍My Child at School & Pupil Premium: Many thanks to everyone who has updated their information using the My Child at School app. It is really important for us to have up-to-date information about your child including their medical, dietary and emergency contact information. If you haven’t yet provided information about you, such as your National Insurance number, please do as it allows us to determine if your child is eligible for additional funding that can be used to support them at school.

‍Jamakespeare Performance: A reminder that this Thursday at 3:45pm we will have a performance from Brenda Garrick in the playground. Her poetry brings to life the work of Shakesperare using the dialect of Patois. Copies of her book will be available to purchase for £8.99 (cash only). It will be a fantastic event so please come along.

‍Library Volunteers: We are looking for two or three parent volunteers (DBS checks will be needed) to help with the library each week. Ideally you would commit to 45mins to 1 hour every week for at least a term to help us with stock checking, tidying and sorting books and labelling. If you would be happy to join a rota, please contact Miss Harwood at aharwood@lyndhurst.southwark.sch.uk .

‍Friends of Lyndhurst Link tree: A reminder that you can find all of the information you need for Friends of Lyndhurst on their Link Tree.

‍Emma Gleadhill Parent Seminars: Our Trust are running another brilliant session by Emma, this one will focus on maintaining a connection with your child as they enter adolescence or puberty. Register in advance to attend the webinar: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

‍Sporting Results: Our upper school boys team had their first fixture in the Southwark and Lambeth Football League, they played Dunraven and won 3-1! Coach Jim reports that they not only all played hard but they supported each other beautifully. Man of the match goes to Antonio for his super-skills and tenacity. Some of year five and six pupils attended a trust touch-rugby fixture yesterday playing against all of the other primaries in the trust, the year fives one all but one match and the year sixes were undefeated with only one draw. Mr Peddle was very impressed with their performance.

‍Poetry Competition: Next Thursday is National Poetry Day and children will be writing poetry to enter into the Black History Month poetry competition. If you’d like to know more, click here.

‍Working Weekend: Last year we had several very successful working weekends where we renovated the memorial garden, treated the wood in the playground and tackled some of the flower beds. We would like to have one more push before the winter kicks in—we have a bit more to do in the memorial garden and many of our flower beds need some more love and attention. We will be having a working day on Saturday, 18^th November. You do not need any experience just gardening gloves, a travel mug and a smile.

‍Holiday Camp Booking: Jaegar HC Half-Term Camp is now open for bookings, click here to book. This camp has been running for a year now as a partnership with the school as a non-profit project. So far it has raised £12,500 for the school in addition to having brilliant reviews from families and external agencies. It is open to anyone not just Lyndhurst families—so do spread the word.

‍Author Visit- Benji Alexander: On November 10^th the author Benji Alexander will be visiting our school to conduct some assemblies and workshops. You can use this form to order a copy of his book.

‍Friends of Belham BHM Invite: Local Primary School, The Belham, have extended an invite to us to celebrate Black History Month and watch two incredible films that tell stories of excellence and resilience. Book your tickets now before they sell out! That’s it from us, have a great week.

‍Key Dates: Starting 2^nd Oct- Black History Month starts (focus: Women of Windrush)

Thur 5^th Oct – Jamakespeare Performance 3:45pm

Fri 6^th Oct- National Poetry Day

Fri 6^th Oct- Coffee Morning – Curriculum

Tue 10^th Oct- World Mental Health Day

Wed 11^th& Thur 12^th Oct- Parent Meetings & Yr. 5 1:1 Secondary Meetings

Fri 13^th Oct- FOL meeting AGM

Fri 13^th Oct- Early Closure

W/C 16^th Oct- Religious Rotations (Sukkot, Navaratri & St. Francis Day)

Thur 19^th Oct- Reception Parent’s Phonic Workshop

Fri 20^th October – Yarra Class Assembly (10am start)

Thur 19^th Oct --SEND Quiz Night

Fri 20^th Oct-- Coffee Morning- SEND & Mental Health

Fri 20^th Oct – Last day of half term.