Hello Lyndhurst Family,
As we enter the final week of the half term and the mid-point of the year, it seems sensible to look back at what we have achieved. We have put in place improved fire and security systems, updated our risk assessments and procedures across the board, tackled the urgent actions from our health and safety and computing infrastructure audit, migrated to the cloud, moved the library and lunch hall, invested in curriculum resources to teach a full curriculum, had a proms, winter concerts, discos and winter fairs, elected a school council, repaired leaks and electrical faults across the school, managed a reduction of staff and the loss of funding that the dyslexia centre provided, made positive steps to tackle a significant budget deficit, run period workshops, built a fit-for-purpose SEND suite, expanded our bike and scooter storage, launched our new values and built phase one of a sensory room.
I’m sure there is more to add to that list. It’s fair to say that all of this has been possible because of the amazing family that is Lyndhurst. From parents varnishing woodwork to helping with FOL events to staff giving up their evenings to decorate or governors dedicating hours of their evenings to critique new policies everyone has played their part and some.
I’d like to thank everyone individually but the list would be too long. Our community and people really are the heart of our school and they make Lyndhurst the remarkable place it is.
Here are this week’s announcements.
Half Term Camp:
A reminder that Jaegar are running a holiday camp at Lyndhurst next week. Booking can be made here.
Parenting in a digital Age Workshop:
Emma is back to talk about the challenges of parenting teens and young adults in the online world. This theme has become a pressing concern in the aftermath of the pandemic. Many boundaries that were clear previously, have been stretched, meaning a fresh look is needed.
During the session Emma will use insights from the research behind positive psychology, child development, safeguarding in schools and her own work as a professional coach. We strongly recommend registering in advance…we had over 300 people sign-up to Emma’s last webinar! This exclusive session will take place on Wednesday 1st March, 7-8pm.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fafkmVauT_isfqgjUOFhEw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Southwark 2030!
We are very excited to be hosting a listening event for our school community. All are welcome to this family event run by Southwark Council. More details can be found here.
Half Term Woodland Workshops:
Friends of Burgess Park are running some half term woodland workshops. These are free to access but you must book a space. More details can be found here.
Book Week:
Lyndhurst Book Week will run from Monday 20th Feb – Friday 24th Feb. The whole school will be delving into one exciting book for the week so look out for some wonderful works of art, writing and radio the following week to see what your children have been up to. As part of this, children across the school were lucky enough to take part in some author workshops last week and we hope they’ve told you all about these exciting events involving Joseph Coelho (year 5), Thiago De Morae year 3) and Bridget Marzo (year 2).
World Book Day is on Thursday 2nd March – the following week and children will be able to come to school dressed as a character from a book. They will also receive a book token to spend towards the cost of a book in most bookshops.
Our annual Read-A-Thon will be taking place later in the term so keep an eye out for more information in next week’s Scoop.
Children’s Mental Health Week
This year for children’s mental health week in partnership with A Place2Be the focus is all about connections. They have produced a helpful guide full of tips to make quality connections with your child. Details can be found here.
Mobile Phones in the Playground:
We know that life is busy and that time is at a premium but we would like to ask that adults collecting their children refrain from using their phones whilst in the playground. This is especially important in nursery and reception but applies to all year groups.
Old Pots and Pans:
Nursery and Reception are on the hunt for some old pots, pans and wooden spoons. Please drop off to Ms Jarman in Reception if you have any you'd like to donate.
Warm Rooms and Free Meals:
As we enter half term, can we please remind you that Southwark have a list of warm spaces that you and your family can use. Details can be found here. Lots of restaurants are also offering free or heavily discounted food for children over the half term. This blog has more details.
Call for Volunteers:
Lastly, we are on the hunt for some volunteers for a number of projects that we will be conducting next half term. If you have experience/competence in laying deck foundations, please get in touch tturnham@lyndhurst.southwark.sch . We will also be looking for less experienced but enthusiastic painters, labourers and gardeners in the later part of this half term for a series of working weekends—details to be published soon.
Below are the key dates for this term:
- SEND Coffee morning 8th Feb 9:15am
- Book Week start on the 20th February.
- World Book Day is the 2nd March.
- Comic Relief is the 17th March
- Parents Consultations are on the 22nd and 23rd March (exact times tbc).
