Newsletter
Friday 21st June 2024
DIARY DATES
SUMMER TERM
Tuesday 25th June
Country Dance Festival Kingsmeadow
Wednesday 26th June
Year 4 - Hindu Temple Visit
Thursday 27th June
Year 5 Taster Day - Chessington School
Parents' Information Evening - New to Reception Families September 2024
Saturday 29th June
FOE Summer Fair
Monday 1st July
Year 4 - Cooking at Chessington School
Tuesday 2nd July
Year 1 Trip - Natural History Museum
Wednesday 3rd July
Year 6 children visiting their new secondary school (Kingston Schools)
Thursday 4th July
Year 4 - Visiting Hook Church
Year 5 - Year 5 Hampton Court Trip
Friday 5th July
Reception Class Assembly
Monday 8th July to Friday 12th July
Culture week
Last week of clubs
Tuesday 9th July
Year 4 - Visiting Hook Library
Friday 12th July
Year 2 Trip to Littlehampton
Week commencing Monday 15th July
Reports go home
Tuesday 16th July
Year 6 Production (matinee performance - babies/siblings welcome)
Wednesday 17th July
Year 6 Production (evening performance)
Year 4 - Design Technology Day
Thursday 18th July
Drop in parent/carer evening
Friday 19th July
Year 4 - Ancient Greek Day
Nursery Sports Day at 10.45am
Monday 22nd July
Year 4 - Geography Field Trip
Tuesday 23rd July
Sports day
Wednesday 24th July
Year 6 Leavers Celebration
Last day of Term
Reminders
Save the dates
Nursery Sports Day - Friday 19th July at 10.45am
FOE Summer Fair - 29th June
Sports Day - 23rd July
ELLINGHAM SCHOOL NEWS
Year 4 Steal the Show at Rose Theatre
It was with great excitement that our two year 4 classes and the KS2 choir set off on the bus for the Rose Theatre this week. In addition to three songs to perform with the other schools, they had been rehearsing quite a difficult three-part harmony song for weeks, and were about to perform it at the Kingston Schools Festival. Would they remember the words? What if they forgot the correct actions? Would nerves get the better of them?
Well - they didn’t need to worry. Their parents and teachers were so proud of them as they took to the stage and delivered a stunning performance of ‘Song of the Earth’. They embodied the values of Ellingham in every way; their behaviour, commitment, smartness of uniform and, for some of them, their willingness to overcome nerves and try something completely new was really commendable.
Mrs Pakes sends her thanks to all those who helped make this possible for the children, particularly the office staff for making all the arrangements, the parents who accompanied us and Mrs Steed and Mrs Gait who also made their Rose theatre debuts. What a talented bunch!
20240620_103810.mp4Save the Date - Summer Fair - Saturday 29th June
The Summer Fair is coming up and the children are so excited. Thank you for your donations to the tombola stand and thank you to all those families who have sold raffle tickets so far. There are still lots to sell to win the amazing prizes that have been donated thanks to the hard work of some Friends of Ellingham parents. There is a competition in school with a prize for the class that sells the most books.
Sign Up To Help - The Summer Fair Needs You!
Every day after school next week, Friends of Ellingham will have sign up sheets available for our Summer Fair on Saturday 29th June. Unlike previous years, the stalls will not be assigned to particular year groups and you can help on a stall of your choice. There are half hour time slots running from 12 until 3pm. Thank you to those who have already signed up but currently there are no volunteers for refreshments or clear up and there are at least 20 unallocated slots on the stalls. All help is greatly appreciated as these stalls won't be able to run without your amazing support. Contact friendsofellingham@outlook.com if you can help.
With the sign up sheets, FOE will also have our popular Golden Bucket! If you would like to take part, then it costs £1 (cash only) for your chance to win some of the money in the bucket! The names of the winners will be drawn out on the day of the fair so it will also be available on that day until the draw takes place.
We are also excited to announce a new game we have for the children to take part in. Similar to our previous 'Guess the sweets in the jar' game, this year we are having 'Guess the Lego in the Jar' where the child who guesses the closest number will win a £10 voucher to spend in The Entertainer Toy Shop! This will also be available after school next week.
Summer Fair Poster.pdfraffle prizes poster (3) 2024 SF (1).pdfInternational and Cultural Week
We are excited to celebrate some of the different languages and cultures of our children and school community during Cultural Week starting on 8th July. Children will run assemblies, learn some phrases in different languages, share a French breakfast, create some art, sing songs and many other things.
If you speak another language and/or come from another country and you would like to participate, please let us know - office@elp.rbksch.org. We would love for children to have a traditional tale from your country read to them or share or make a typical food item so if you would like to join us in school, please get in contact.
A Place to Explore and Learn
The school is delighted to be refreshing the Nursery and Reception outside areas to provide a stimulating and exciting environment for the children that meets the Early Years curriculum effectively. We have started with Nursery and will move onto Reception through next term.
Our families helped clear the Nursery shed and this has been moved to Reception and repurposed as a role play area. The grounds will be cleaned and tidied to be developed into a green area for exploring and growing plants and, of course, the mud kitchen. Storage and an outside role play area has been purchased and a 'paint the fence' morning will take place soon - all volunteers welcome.
Impact of Low Attendance
The school curriculum and lessons are planned so that each small step of learning creates a solid foundation for greater understanding and for the children to make the best progress possible. Every missed day of school creates gaps in children's understanding and the cumulative effect can become a barrier for children to achieve their potential. Please ensure that your child is in school. All holidays are unauthorised.
LEARNING TOGETHER
Nursery Adventures
This week the children have been learning more about butterflies. We made pictures by painting one side and then folding the paper to make it the same on the other side. We also made a butterfly that we took outside to see the reflection on the ground.
While the Nursery garden is being refurbished, we added some different exciting activities to the morning. The children took the bikes outside the Nursery garden and enjoyed riding up and down the path. We also visited the trim trail and had snacks in the garden.
Metamorphosis in Reception
Reception have five painted lady caterpillars that we are watching to see if they will spin cocoons and turn into butterflies. We have now had the caterpillars for 12 days and they have begun to form their cocoons.
Our ladybird larvae have also grown and we have put them in a net with a plant. The plant has lots of aphids - the perfect food for the larvae and our future ladybirds!
Year 1 'Walking on Sunshine' in their Assembly
Year 1 were amazing in their class assembly to their families. They taught us all about the seasons and the colours of the rainbow. It was a lovely time.
Video from LisaYear 2 Gardeners
Year 2 are developing green fingers and have been planting sunflower seeds in Science lessons.
We have been making planters in DT this half term and the children will eventually be transferring their sunflower into their very own planter to take home!
Year 6 Science
On Monday, Year 6 were fortunate enough to take part in a practical dissection lesson in science where they got to delve deep into the four chambers of a sheep's heart!
A recount by Trixie:
Today we dissected a sheep's heart - it was disgusting but interesting.
Before we could start, we had to put on aprons and gloves to prevent us from getting ill. Once we were ready, the hearts were handed out and we were allowed to pick them up and hold them. I was surprised by how light it was and how cold it felt. Next, we found the four chambers: right and left atrium and the right and left ventricles. We used blue straws to represent the deoxygenated blood and re for oxygenated. We then found the coronary sinus and moved our surgical scalpel about a centimetre to the left of it before slicing through the heart. We did the same on the right and I found the right side was much harder to slice than the left. After later research, I found this is because on one side the heart pumps more blood, so it is stronger.
I really enjoyed today's lesson and would love to do it again. This is something I will definitely remember.
SAFEGUARDING, HEALTH AND SUPPORT
ASD support group July 24.docManaging anger seminar flyer.docx June 24.pdfInternet-Matters-Discovering-Digital-Primary-guide-Jan2023.pdfInternet-Matters-Digital-safety-at-a-glance-8-10-year-olds-printable-Dec-2023.pdfMental Health Support
MHST parent drop ins poster.pdfThis is the full safeguarding team in school. They are all trained to Level 3 and everyone in the school received the annual update of Safeguarding Level 2 training at INSET.
Contact details: 020 8397 3864 or email: office@elp.rbksch.org to request a safeguarding call back. For pupil support, contact 020 8397 3864 or email: pupilsupport@elp.rbksch.org
LOCAL EVENTS & COMMUNITY NEWS
09_A3_Surbiton Holly Webb_24_Literary Festival_v02.pdfKingston Music Service
Kingston Music Service: NEW workshops, concerts and Summer Holiday Programme
Kingston Music Service is delighted to be running a family Gospel Workshop at The Rose Theatre on Saturday 6th July. You will be able to listen to some of London’s finest Gospel singers and learn to sing with them! Tickets are available from: https://creativeyouthcharity.org/event/kms-workshop-come-and-sing-gospel/
Tickets are £13.50 for adults and £9.50 for children
Then in the afternoon, musicians from The Grenadier Guards will be leading workshops with our bands for a concert in the evening which is sure to blow the roof off! Concert, 6pm; tickets are £16.50 for adults and £10.50 for children
https://creativeyouthcharity.org/event/kms-concert-the-massed-bands-of-kingston-and-richmond/
Summer Holiday Music & Creativity FUEL course
Monday 29th July - Thursday 1st August
Hook Centre, Chessington
From singing and djembe playing, to writing their own music and learning the keyboard, this four day course is set to be lots of fun for children aged 6-11. Some sessions will be held in the library, for craft and lego activities too. Sign up here for a FUEL place or here for a non-FUEL place.
Bands Concert 24 (1).pnggospel workshop.pngAt the Hook Centre.pdf
Chessington Summer Cinema
‘Chessington Garden Centre Presents Summer Cinema’ and they are really excited to reach out to the local community to welcome you to the event. Parents who will be looking for ways to entertain children during the summer holidays may be interested. Link to the website is also here - https://www.chessingtongardencentre.co.uk/blog/chessington-garden-centre-summer-cinema/