Newsletters

Newsletter 9– Friday,12th November 2021 

Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you are all well.  You may well have seen me hobbling around the school this week.  Unfortunately, I injured myself playing football and am having a scan this weekend.  My wife tells me I have retired but I am not so sure.  There is a serious point here.  Exercise really does support my mental health.  This week has been a struggle as I have found not cycling in combined with eating doughnuts has not always promoted my usually very positive outlook.  As a school, we really want to promote healthy living and the benefits of regular exercise.  I have been really pleased with the work that Mr Fitzegerald, our PE lead, has done promoting physical exercise across the school.  Every class is completing the weekly mile and I know that we are introducing Activplay into our playgrounds next week. It is never too late for you as parents to be role models for your children. Dust off the lycra and get out there!! 

I would like to thank you all for coming to the parents meetings this week.  The turnout was exceptional with some classes reaching 100% attendance.  I would also like to thank our amazing teachers.  It is abundantly clear to me that they know your children and this will help improve their learning experiences.  

Next week, we are running a series of assemblies to promote anti Bullying.  On Monday your child is encouraged to wear odd socks to school.  This is to show that no-one should be left out and we are all unique.  Bullying as an issue is very close to my heart having been the victim of it as a child.  I never ever want any child in this school to feel like I was made to feel and will work tirelessly to ensure that your children do not experience these feelings.  

I am going to leave the last word to a visitor we had in school.  The author Kate Wilkinson visited various classes today.  She caught Mr Gilbert at the end of the day and said “This is a lovely school.”  I tend to agree.

Be active (a new one for the sign off!), be safe and enjoy time with your lovely children.

Mr Porter          

Office Updates

Odd Socks Day

All you need to do is wear odd socks! It's a great way to celebrate what makes us all unique in Anti-Bullying Week! It will be held on Monday 15th November 2021. 

Flu Vaccinations

Unfortunately we still haven't had an update on the catch up session for the Nasal Flu vaccination. If you would like the vaccination we would advise you contact your GP or local healthcare provider to book one independently.

Lates and Absences

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school you must call the office or email before 9:00am. 

If your child is late for school please come into the front office to sign them in on the electronic system.

Tissues    

It's that time of year again when we kindly ask for your donations of tissues. If you would like to donate a box of tissues please drop them off at the school office. Thank you in advance.

Communications Sent Home 

  • Harmful Netflix Content email
  • Girl’s Football Tournament invite email
  • Author Visit email
  • Individual/Sibling Photo order reminder email
  • Extra Bank Holiday email
  • KS1 Nativity Ticket Booking reminder
  • KS2 Christmas Concert Ticket Booking email

Choir at Kew Sparkle 

Our wonderful KS2 choir have been invited to perform at this year's Kew Sparkle. They will be performing a selection of festive songs, on the main stage, at 6.35pm.  I will be in touch with parents in the coming weeks with the final arrangements. Please come on down, support our choir and enjoy the Christmas festivities!

Diary Dates

Reception Autumn Walk
9:00am – 10:00am
16
November
Reception Autumn Walk
9:00am – 10:00am
17
November
Reception Open Day
10:00am
27
November
Extra Bank Holiday - School Closed
All Day
29
November
Kew Sparkle
5:30am – 8:30pm
03
December
National Christmas Jumper Day
All Day
10
December
KS1 and Reception Nativity
2:00pm – 3:00pm
14
December
KS1 and Reception Nativity
10:00am – 11:00am
15
December
KS2 Christmas Concert
2:00pm – 3:00pm
15
December
KS2 Christmas Concert
2:00pm – 3:00pm
16
December
Autumn Term Ends
9:00am – 5:00pm
17
December
Christmas Break
9:00am – 5:00pm
From 20 Dec until 03 Jan
20
December
Inset Day
9:00am – 5:00pm
04
January
Spring Term Starts
9:00am – 5:00pm
05
January

Wellbeing     

 

Seven techniques for helping kids keep calm

Try these simple relaxation and mindfulness activities together and help your child learn to calm down when they feel stressed or anxious.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/seven-techniques-for-helping-kids-keep-calm?collection=parenthood-tips-and-tricks

Managing anxiety in primary school

While it is normal for all children to have worries and fears, for some, these can start to affect their day-to-day lives. Anxiety can be triggered by both big life changes and by smaller daily pressures like managing homework, so it's important to keep an eye out for any signs that they may be struggling. Read our tips below for how to spot anxiety in your child, and some ideas for ways to help if you're worried about your little one. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/dualwa-anxiety-in-primary-school?collection=parenthood-tips-and-tricks

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.

Wonder - Can you remember the names of some nocturnal animals?

Peake - If you were Leaf Man, where would you like the wind to take you and why? 

Weir - What does it feel like to be in the city? What can you hear? What can you smell? What can you see?

Walker - Would you like to go to tea with Max? What would you put in a spider sandwich? 

Newton - How do we know a story is a fairytale?

Thunberg - What is your alternative ending to Little Red Riding Hood?

Darwin - Would you get bored if you could live forever?

Attenborough - How will the children's life change now that father is going to London and Aunt Carew is in charge at home?

Parks - How has Eldorath ended up living in such an ostentatious house?

Why has Eldorath been ostracised from the Sycamore Hill community?

KS1 Star of the Week

Wonder Class 

Cooper - for developing his resilience and for reading every day

Peake Class

Saud - for taking responsibility for his behaviour and working hard to make good choices. Well done, Saud!

Weir Class

Kai - for working hard on his writing in English and for being a helpful member of Weir Class! Well done, Kai!

Walker Class

Jessica - for participating well in singing assembly and making everyone smile with her beautiful voice and confidence when performing

 

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Tyler - for working hard in phonics and sounding

out words to write them

Thunberg Class

Khaled - for working hard, persevering and trying his hardest in maths

Darwin Class

Leo - for consistent high effort and superb presentation of his work

Attenborough Class

Oliver - for his commitment to learning, striving for excellence in every lesson and offering support to his friends

Parks class

Michel- for taking responsibility and driving his progress in core lessons- particularly writing

E Safety News

Protecting kids from explicit content

As children become more independent online, it’s possible that they may come across things which are inappropriate for their age or stage of development. Using filters to block explicit content and having frank conversations are just a few ways you equip them with tools to deal with it.

follow the link for  support and advice:

 https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/inappropriate-content/

 

 

Follow the link for more information:

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week/anti-bullying-week-2021-one-kind-word

Darell Primary & Nursery School Follow
It was fantastic to see the children in our Key Stage 1 Nurture Group spending some time thinking about Remembrance traditions. They made this beautiful poppy wreath and shared it by our Remembrance mosaic in the playground #RemembranceDay2021 https://t.co/NbLWIIDsEo
6 hours ago
Follow

Attendance

Overall school attendance this week was 93.1% our target is 96.8%.

Well done to Darwin class for the highest attendance of 98.9% this week.

Best for punctuality was Mozart class with 0 late!

Let's do our best for next week!

Community News

London Welsh Rugby Club

The London Welsh Little Wizards (Under 6's) meet at our ground on the Kew Road TW9 2AZ

Our sessions start promptly at 0930 - we suggest coming along any time from 0915

Our sessions last about 60 minutes

The first four sessions are ALWAYS free of charge / on the house, with no obligation, just come along and give it a try.

The Under 6 set-up is run by Julian Davies and myself. Our own children went through it many years ago, and we always enjoy welcoming new families to the club.

I was a Darell parent for 12 years from 1989 onwards: all my three sons still have such happy memories!

We don't have fixtures at this age - it's against the rules - we just train and above all try to make sure the children enjoy it. 

We welcome children from age 4. The guideline is that if the child can take instruction in a group of 3-4 then we know we can keep them safe.

If the child needs separate shepherding then it is probably too early.

London Welsh welcomes girls as well as boys, and we now have good numbers of girls at all ages.

Rugby boots are not mandatory but as the ground gets muddier in November they are advisable. Otherwise, just dress your child for the weather.
With this age of children, we are NOT "in loco parentis" and we need one parent / guardian in sight lines throughout the session.
And we definitely encourage parents to get involved.
We all have a lot of fun!

If there are any other questions just ring my mobile as below and ask. 

It is helpful for us to have a mobile number, so parents are in a WhatsApp group. That is because if we ever have to cancel because of weather, we only ever do that at about 8am on the day, (our pitches often dry out miraculously overnight, and we don't like to cancel!) 

Sebastian Scotney

Coaching under 6s at London Welsh since 1992

W: 020 7014 2818

M: 07768 288 988

Useful Links

     Arbor Parent Portal - darell-primary.uk.arbor

     Follow us on twitter - twitter.com/darellschool

     School Uniform Shop - The Shoe Station