Newsletter
Friday 7th February 2025
DIARY DATES
SPRING TERM
Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th February
Parent Consultations
Wednesday 12th February
Year 6 - Junior Citizens Trip
Thursday 13th February
Year 4 Cooking at Chessington School
FOE - Love Ellingham Sale
Friday 14th February
Last day of half-term
FOE - Love Ellingham Sale
Emerald House - Mufti Day
Monday 17th to Friday 21st February
February half-term break
Monday 24th February
Children return to school
Monday 24th to Friday 28th February
Year 5 Bikeability Course
Tuesday 11th March
Year 6 Easter Experience - The King's Centre
Thursday 20th and Friday 21st March
Year 3 and 4 Cake Sale
Friday 21st March
Year 2 Class Assembly
Tuesday 25th March
Year 4 - Chessington School Production
Friday 4th April
Last day of term (early finish)
Monday 7th April to Monday 21st April
Easter break
Tuesday 22nd April
Children return to school
Friday 2nd May
Year 4 Class Assembly
Reminders
Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th February
Parent Consultations
Friday 14th March 3.10pm STEM Fair (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) in the school hall. Come and visit.
ELLINGHAM SCHOOL NEWS
Know Yourself: Children's Mental Health Week
This week was Children's Mental Health Week and the theme was Know Yourself Grow Yourself - the idea is that learning to recognise your emotions makes you stronger at managing them. The children certainly agreed:
Poppy: Children's mental health week is good for us because every child has something to do and focus on so they don't feel by themselves.
Rosie: Children's mental health week matters as it helps every child share their feelings so they can feel happy and help understand their emotions.
Ana: Children's mental health week inspired me know how to understand myself and comprehend who I am.
There are more examples of children's contributions and the well-being ambassadors assembly in the well-being section of the newsletter.
Love Ellingham Day
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and love is in the air at Ellingham! Friends of Ellingham are excited to bring you our Love Ellingham Valentine’s sale, filled with sweet treats and thoughtful gifts for everyone you care about. We even have lovely labels so you can add a heartfelt note!
When & Where:
📍 The very end classroom by the gate to the playground (downstairs)
🕗 Thursday 13th February & Friday 14th February (while stocks last)
Open early at 2.50 on Thursday : perfect for parents to sneak in some shopping with little ones or secure your Valentine’s treats early!
Valentines_poster_E1.pdfValentines_poster.pdf
February Artist of the month - Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama was a Japanese artist who particularly enjoyed exploring polka dots, nature and writing poetry.
Yayoi's family grew pumpkins which she enjoyed drawing as a child and continued when she became an artist. She also created many pieces of art called 'infinity rooms'. The walls are lined with mirrors and she places sculptures at different heights. People then enter the rooms and the mirrors give the impression that the room never ends and the art keeps going.
To enter this month, you need to create a sculpture, drawing, painting, photo or collage in the style of Kusama! Be creative"
Closing date for entries Friday 28th February.
Diary Date: Ellingham's STEM Week
We have so many exciting activities lined up to immerse the children in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and we are planning to celebrate the events of the week after school on Friday 14th March by welcoming parents and carers into school.
If you work in any of these fields and would be happy to come in and share your experience to a class or assembly, we would be grateful. It always makes more sense to children when we have people who demonstrate how STEM is part of our daily lives.
Stunning Music Skills in Year 3
3BP are enjoying their ukulele lessons with Mrs Pearman from Kingston Music Service. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn an instrument for a whole term and the school is delighted to fund this enrichment opportunity. Each child is able to take their ukulele home each week so that they can practise between lessons.
Good listening skills and a willingness to learn have meant that, after only three lessons, they are playing whole songs already, which is really impressive. 3G will be having their turn after Easter.
IMG_7141.MOV
LEARNING TOGETHER
Early Years Mark the Year of the Snake
It was Chinese New Year last week and Nursery and Reception children learned that it is the Year of the Snake.
Nursery Tuck into Spring Rolls
Last week in Nursery the children learnt about Chinese New Year. They watched some videos on how they celebrate by decorating their homes with red decorations and eating special food. They also listened to and re told the story of the great race where 12 animals raced across the river to have a year named after them.
We then made some spring rolls. The children helped to grate, cut and roll them before cooking them. We also tried some prawn crackers at snack time. The recipe for the spring rolls is here if you would like t have a go at home.
Reception's Dragon Dance
Reception children listened to the traditional story of how the years were named and then retold it for themselves. The classroom is now decorated with the lanterns and snakes they made. They ended the day with a taste of prawn crackers and their very own dragon dance.
DSCF7741.MOVYear 1 Shape Shifters
Year 1 have been busy learning all about 2D and 3D shapes. They have grouped them based on their properties, created 2D shape pictures and got creative this week by moulding 3D shapes out of plasticine.
Mummies and Year 3 Up Close
Last week, Year 3 had a wonderful trip to the British Museum, where they looked for the artefacts that they have been learning about this term, such as the sarcophaguses and canopic jars.
IMG_7843.movAmazing Year 3 Egyptians
This week, the children presented their extensive knowledge of Ancient Egypt to their parents, through some very fine acting and singing.
Year 4 and Reception Share Learning
This half term in DT, Year 4 have been learning about levers and linkages. They were tasked to create an educational toy which could be used alongside a story book for children aged 3-7. We created our levers using wooden sticks and split pins. We then showed them to the Reception children who really enjoyed playing with them.
Year 5 Measuring Forces
Year 5 have been enjoying our topic of forces. This week we have been measuring the size of forces using Newton meters and discussing the different forces acting on an object. Ask us about gravity and upthrust, as as well as balanced and unbalanced forces!
SAFEGUARDING, HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Examples of Knowing and Growing
Y3 Poppy: Children's mental health week is good for us because every child has something to do and focus on so they don't feel by themselves
Y3 Rosie: Children's mental health week matters as it helps every child share their feelings so they can feel happy and help understand their emotions.
Y3 Ana: Children's mental health week inspired me know how to understand myself and comprehend who I am.
Y5 Liv and Daniel: Mental health awareness and activities are important to include into school life as it helps us to stay strong minded and focused on learning!
Well-being artwork from Year 3 and Year 6
Year 6 Wellbeing Ambassadors Assembly
The Year 6 wellbeing Ambassadors took over assembly on the 31st January. They had been inspired by their trip to Wellfest, so they were keen to share what they learnt with the rest of the school. They had prepared their presentation slides totally independently.
They started off by showing an emotion rainbow and asked children to think about one emotion and reflect on when they might have felt that way. They confidently asked children for their responses. They talked about how being physically active and being creative was important for wellbeing.
The Year 6 ambassadors showed pictures of their pebbles/shells which they had painted and showed their positive cards they had made. They ended their assembly with a quote from
Roald Dahl:
‘To be kind - it covers everything, to my mind. If you’re kind that’s it.’
Sporting Stars
We are delighted to have received the Equal Access School Award as a result of offering equal access for girls to football across key stages in the curriculum and extra-curricular activities. Year 3 and 4 girls went to the local tournament and had a great time.
Ellie (Y4) - "We won our final match! I had a great time playing with my classmates!"
Poppy (Y3) - "We worked so well together as a team!"
Year 2 attended the dodgeball tournament and Rocco explains how it went: "We played 4 matches in total and we won 3 of them and tied one. I had so fun playing dodgeball with my friends!"
The Safeguarding Team
This 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. If you are worried about a child, please let one of the team know.
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
Lisa Keogh
Headteacher & Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Jacqui Malherbe
Pupil Support & Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Sally Sephton
SENDCO & Designated Teacher (LAC/PLAC) Safeguarding Team Member
Esme Winn
Deputy Headteacher & Designated Safeguarding Team Member
Lorraine Davis
Pupil Support & Designated Safeguarding Team Member
Natalie Harris
Dan Martin
Designated Governors for Safeguarding and Child Protection
Parent advice clinic online parent communication.pdfASD support group Feb 25.doc.pdf2024_25- Helping children series flier.pdf
LOCAL EVENTS & COMMUNITY NEWS
Thank you for joining us on our mission to uplift the lives of 25,000 underserved young people in our communities. With your support, we are creating lasting change and are inspiring new possibilities.
As a thank you, we’re delighted to offer your students and wider school an exclusive 50% discount on tickets for Harlequins v Connacht on Wednesday, 21 February at 7:45 pm.
How to claim your discount
If you don’t already have a Harlequins Ticketing account, you’ll need to register first.
Follow the link to purchase your tickets.
Enter the promo code FOUNDATION50 in the promo code box before checkout – we’re unable to apply discounts retrospectively.
Match Details
Date: 21 February 2025
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Location: The Stoop, Twickenham
Discount Code: FOUNDATION50
Ticket link: Buy tickets
Please note: This special offer is for your school community (students, parents, staff) only, please do not share it on social media or with the wider public.
We truly appreciate your support and hope to see you at The Stoop for what promises to be a fantastic match!
Spring half term and Easter holiday touch typing courses for 7 – 16s
St Joseph's Primary School, Kingston KT1; 17 – 20 Feb; 7 – 10 Apr; 14 – 17 Apr.
Course session times: 10:00 – 12:15 pm daily
Beginners, improvers and advanced typists are warmly welcome. We mix formal technique with the latest app games to make learning effective and fun. Typing proficiency makes a huge impact on academic attainment at all ages.
Cost per place: £176.00. 10% discount for siblings/ bring-a-friend/returners
OFSTED registered – childcare vouchers accepted. Duke of Edinburgh Award skills assessor. Apply at www.typingscool.co.uk
Nick and Sarah Holt www.typingscool.co.uk 07812 632238