St Paul’s C of E Primary School Parent Portal - Newsletter Issue 09/22, 27 January 2023

ISSUE No. 09/22

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LDBS service St Paul’s Cathedral

Some of the children in Year 6 who are part of the Collective Worship Committee were able to attend a service of thanksgiving and celebration for church schools belonging to the London Diocesan Board at St Paul’s Cathedral this week. We all felt very lucky to attend the service in such a beautiful building and celebrate being part of the LDBS community.

The Collective Worship Committee wrote:

'On Thursday 26th January 2023 the Collective Worship Committee (Catalina, Isabela, Joan and Elysia) went to a special service at St Paul's Cathedral. Firstly, we looked around the shop, which had beautiful mosaics and statues. Secondly, we entered the cathedral and got a candle and a leaflet. After, we took our place in the building and looked up at a magnificent dome of art. Then the service began. During one song, every candle was lit to signify Jesus is the light of the world. Once the service had finished we headed back to school.'

by Catalina, Isabela, Joan and Elysia

Collective Worship

Anthony Bryan led one of our Collective Worships this week. Anthony is an international Para Athlete. He spoke to the children about the many challenges he has overcome since being diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 6.

Anthony described his biggest achievement- being selected to represent England in the Cerebral Palsy World games and going on to win 2 gold medals. Anthony was truly inspirational, and it was another opportunity for the children to think about their resilience when they are finding things difficult.

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School Vision Day 25^th January

On Wednesday, to coincide with the feast of the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus, the whole school took part in activities to celebrate our school vision:

The life of Saint Paul

Children read the St Paul’s version of the life of Saint Paul, which was written by the school’s working party with Mrs Brown, and thought about the example he set of Resilience and Independence. Then every year group created artwork to illustrate different episodes in his life.

Pencil drawing by pupil of an episode in the life of St Paul

Crayon drawing by a pupil of an episode in the life of St Paul

Mosaic Design

We also discussed a new mosaic which is planned for the entrance to the school and the children created their own designs. These will be used as inspiration for the final artwork.

Pupil's idea for the school's mosaic

Pupil's drawing for the school's mosaic

Pupil's drawing for school mosaic

Values Stories

Each class familiarised themselves with a Bible story to illustrate one of our six school values – Faith, Hope, Love, Forgiveness, Peace and Friendship. We will be sharing these with other classes.

School Council

In 2023 the School Council are planning on bringing some exciting initiatives to the school. On Tuesday the School Council met to discuss plans for the new year as well as potential charities we wish to support. The charities mentioned were, Animal Asia, Dogs Trust, Christian Aid, Water Aid, WWF and Make A Wish. These charities will be fed back by school council representatives to their classes. We will then gather the consensus and make a decision towards which charity / charities as a school we wish to fundraise for.

A new idea of 'Friendship Buddies' has been introduced, lots of our School Council representatives and other children will launch this new idea to help children find others to play with. They will also create some games for children to join in with.

As a follow-up to our previous meetings, the School Council voted on which toilet posters to display around the school to help encourage a safer environment. Well done to Elysia, Sienna, Dylan and Emiliana, your posters are our winners! A big thank you for all of the entries!

Miss Crego

Friendship Buddies

We are launching a ‘St Paul’s Friendship buddies’ initiative beginning next week. From Year 2 upwards each year group will have two ‘Buddies’ who have volunteered and been selected by staff. Their responsibility will be to be on the playground every break and to keep and eye out for any children who don’t appear to be playing with anyone and to check if they are OK. They will offer to play with them or help them find someone to play with. The ‘Buddies’ will be introduced to the children during a whole school Collective Worship and will wear a ‘high-visibility’ jacket while out on the playground. We have set up a ‘Buddy Bench’ on the playground where children can sit if they find themselves alone. Our aim is to encourage friendships and to ensure each child has a happy playtime.

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Applications for Reception 2023

Please remember that the deadline for returning your Supplementary Information Form and supporting documentation to the school is 6th February.

Please contact Mrs Zmajkovic at schoolbusinessmanager@st-pauls.enfield.sch.uk if you have any queries.

INSET day 10 February

A reminder that school will be shut to pupils on Friday 10 February due to an INSET day.

Parking

Driving and parking—Please ensure that you drive and park considerately around the school. Please do not park on the corner or on yellow lines around the school.

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NEU Industrial Action

As you will be aware from the letter earlier in the week, following recent ballots by teacher unions, the National Education Union (NEU) intend to carry out industrial action over the national pay offer and working conditions.

Due to members of staff striking school will be closed to all pupils next Wednesday 1 February.

British Science Week logo

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths. This year's theme - Connections!

To celebrate British Science Week, the children will be taking part in an innovative workshop using Lego bricks to cover the STEM topics. More information to follow.

As well as other exciting activities throughout the week, we would also like to ‘connect’ with our community and this is where we would like our school and local community to be involved. If you, or someone you know, has a STEM related job (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and would be happy to talk to the children about what you do and what your job involves, then please contact me via the school office office@st-pauls.enfield.sch.uk F.A.O Athena Patsalis. Please let me know your job and the dates and times you are available during British Science Week. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from lots of you!

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Mobile phones – Year 5 and 6 children

It has come to our attention that there are a number of children in KS2, especially years 5 and 6 who have access to mobile phones. Please find attached the latest guidance for parents with children who are using WhatsApp on their phones.

We strongly encourage parents to regularly check the content on their child's phone. Misuse of phones can lead to potential cyberbullying and contact from strangers.

Please talk to your child about how to use their phone in the correct way. Please be aware that there are age ratings to a number of different apps including WhatsApp which has an age rating of 16+.