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Headteacher Message

Hello all,

In my book, Christmas does not begin until you have seen the nativity performance at Darell School. Today was the day and it did not disappoint. We had a roomful of VIP’s in attendance as 26 children and adults came from Windham Nursery for the dress rehearsal. They were a superb addition to our audience. What impressed me most about the performance was the confidence of all the performers. All the narrators had learnt their lines by heart and were not reliant on cards and the singing, including a solo, was excellent. I really do not like backing voice tracks and there were none. It was all them. It was a rehearsal so of course it did not all run to plan, but I am pretty sure there has never been a perfect nativity and all the better for it.

Our children are performing everywhere and this week our choir performed at St Lukes Church to the Avenue Club. By all accounts they were superb; once again showcasing Darell positively in the community. They will also be on the stage in Kew Village at 5pm for Kew Sparkle tonight. Please come along and support them. It takes place just outside Kew station and is very Christmasy. A number of other schools come and perform at this event but none with such energy and happiness as our very own choir. Miss Carter will be leading them and a number of staff will be in attendance – I can’t wait.

We have two weeks left of term. Please make every effort to ensure that your child attends every day. Learning takes place right up to the point we leave the building and we do not want anyone to miss vital lessons.

Hopefully see some of you sparkling this evening. Have a lovely weekend.

Joe Porter

Office Updates

^{Christmas Cracker Donations}

We are asking for Christmas cracker donations for our festive lunch being held on Wednesday 17th December. If you can, please bring any donations to the front office. Thank you.

RAFFLE TICKETS - if you would like to purchase some more, please come to the main office.

Our Christmas disco is next week! If you haven't yet purchased a ticket please come to the main office.

Communications Sent Home

Whole School – Medical information letter – Chickenpox
Reception – Year 6 - Spring Term Clubs List
Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 – Mastering Numbers At Home
Year 6 – Walton Firs Information
Whole School - Prescribed Medication Procedure
Individual – Outstanding Payment Reminders

Diary Dates

Non Uniform day - Raising money for "Kew Village Lights"

from 12 Sep and on Friday each week until 13 Dec

05
December

Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 Performance "The Nativity"

2:00pm – 3:00pm

09
December

SRP - Panto Trip "Cinderella"

12:30pm – 3:30pm

10
December

Non Uniform Day / Christmas Jumper Day

8:30am – 3:30pm

11
December

KS2 Christams Performance "Christmas Through the Ages"

3:00pm – 3:00pm

11
December

EYFS & KS1 Christmas Disco

3:30pm – 4:45pm

11
December

Thanks Giving Festival

from 12 Sep and on Friday each week until 13 Dec

12
December

The Reading Corner

Welcome to our weekly section of the newsletter all about reading. Every week, we will share a question (or two) with you about the book your child is reading in school. Please use these questions to help you find out a little more about what your child has been reading in school and continue to develop their love of reading.

Reception - Why do Mary and Joseph stay in a stable when they arrive in Bethlehem? How does the shepherd find his way to the stable? How do the kings find their way to the stable?

Year 1 – Can you explain the meaning of the word hibernate? When winter came, which animals in the story hibernated? (chipmunk, marmot and bear) What else do you know about hibernation?

Year 2 - What are the key features of a diary entry?

Year 3 - What does the space on the page mean to you? What would you fill it with? Why?

Year 4 - What made Gregory Cool change his mind about liking Tobago?

Year 5 - ‘Treason’ – What did King Henry VIII gift to William? Why was he not happy with the first name (Green Willow) that William chose?

Year 6 - Can you use the information we have so far from reading Letters from the Lighthouse to create a map of the village that Olive is staying in?

SRP 2 - In the story of Cinderella – how is the Prince going to find out who the glass slipper belongs to?

EYFS Star of the Week

Reception

Matteo - for trying hard in phonics. You are beginning to sound out and blend words! And for showing real enjoyment in our nativity dress rehearsal. Well done!

KS1 Star of the Week

Year 1

Everyone in Year 1 – for being a credit to yourselves and Darell School during our trip to the Museum of Richmond. You truly lived every one of our school values and I am very proud of you all. Well done, everyone!

Year 2

Manha - for For your excellent engagement in your learning at school and on our trip to The National Archives. You have also done an excellent job learning your lines for The Nativity – well done Manha!

SRP 1

Liam - for Starting to join in with whole class carpet sessions. Well done, Liam!

Nurture Star

Mia Rose - for her excellent attitude towards her learning and not been afraid to ask and accept help when needed. We are proud of you!

KS2 Star of the Week

SRP 2

Caleb - for participating so well in the cooking session on Friday and making his visitor feel so welcome at school!

Year 3

Reed - for being ambitious and challenging yourself to use neat, joined up handwriting consistently! You have produced a beautiful piece of writing in English this week! Well done, Reed!

Year 4

Elliot - for continuing to work on his handwriting and for helping others in class with their maths. Thank you and well done.

Year 5

Youssef - for his enjoyment, enthusiasm and excellent singing in the KS2 Christmas performance, as well as being an ambitious learner in Maths.

Year 6

Sofia - for being a reflective learner, who takes feedback on board and is ambitious in all lessons.

What's going on in the community?

arell at Kew Sparkle

Join us on Friday 5 December for this year’s wonderful Kew Sparkle Community event.

Held in Kew Village, the festivities will begin a little earlier this year at 4.00 p.m. with a special ‘Nutcracker’ themed performance by the Richmond Dance Collective on the main stage.

Your school choir will perform at 17.10pm and we would love you to come along and cheer on your friends.

As ever, there will be some fabulous craft and food stalls, street entertainment, rides for the children and Santa will be in his Grotto at Trindles Store. Plus the lovely farm animals are returning this year too.

This year the Grotto will be trialling a new queuing system, make sure you purchase your wristband before joining the Grotto queue. Wristbands will be sold from the stand outside The Shoe Station.

This year’s Charity is Small Steps – a fantastic local organisation supporting children with physical disabilities.

We hope to see you there.

Useful Links

darell.school

darell.richmond.sch.uk

Arbor Parent Portal - darell-primary.uk.arbor

School Uniform Shop - The Shoe Station

Newsletters

Newsletter 13 – Friday, 5th December 2025