The Link Newsletter #53

Friday 8th December 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

Christmas festivities are well and truly here and it is particularly evident judging by the excitement shown by the children. We have enjoyed a vast array of special Christmas events already and yet we have so many more still to look forward to.

Christmas at St John's started on Wednesday 29th November as we welcomed 10 schools from the Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust to a Christmas concert held here in the Church. We invited as many parents and grandparents as could fit into the Church. It really was delightful and ensured that everyone got into the Christmas spirit. Mr Peck was central in organising this wonderful event. Our own choir sang beautifully and a huge thank you to Mr Peck and Miss Davy for preparing them so well with countless rehearsals and practices in the run up to this event.

The launch of the online Advent Calendar on Friday 1st December has had children eagerly waiting for the next door to open to see what treat lies behind. The classes both at St John's and High Beech have thoroughly enjoyed thinking creatively about what to produce and how to record it. I am sure that you will agree that the quality has been exceptional this year and so much fun. Visit the Advent Calendar here: http://advent.st-johns-school.com

Do encourage your children to have a go at the challenge questions below each of the videos.

The Christmas Bazaar had the playgrounds, The Barn and Conservatory packed with visitors for much of the aferoon. Mrs Tinker and I were kept busy throughout the three hours we were open welcoming you to the event.  The choir sang again (see Day 3 of the Advent Calendar to hear their wonderful voices) and Santa kindly found time in his busy schedule to pay the children a visit, ably supported by his bestest Elf buddy, Mrs Noverre. Face painting, games, candy floss, popcorn, pizza, drinks and cakes made the bazaar very successful. The response by children and parents to decorate and fill a sweet jar was a tremendous success and the entries were phenomenal. All of the entries showed the children's creative ideas and it made the judging even more challenging.

EYFS winner: Winnie (Owl).   runner-up: Dahlia (Fox)
KS1 winner: Penelope (Hedgehog.   runner-up: Susie (Hedgehog)
LKS2 winner: Elyssa (Deer).   runner-up: Soleil (Wolf)
UKS2 winner: Amelia (Raven).   runner-up: Amayla (Raven)

Mr Snaith counted the cash raised over the weekend and we will soon be able to announce how much money was raised during a bitterly cold, but bright Saturday afternoon. It would be remiss of me not to thank our wonderful PTA committee and the many parents and staff members who helped to setup, run stalls and clear away at the end of the day. Savills once again sponsored the Christmas Bazaar and our thanks go to them for their generosity and support. Thank you everyone.

We have plenty more to enjoy in the coming week. The children and staff in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 have worked exceptionally hard preparing for the Christmas nativities. We know that you will enjoy watching your son or daughter perform also. I often connect the confidence that children show on the stage to increased confidence in the classroom telling me that drama and performance is important to us at St John's. 

Year 2 Nativity, 12th December, 10am in the Church. 4 seats per family.
Year 1 Nativity, 13th December, 10am in the Church, 4 seats per family
Foundation Nativity, 14th December, 10am in the Church Hall, 2 seats per family. 

The PTA will be serving refreshments at the beginning of the performances so please arrive in plenty of time. Please remember to bring a cash donation for refreshments and also for our collection of which half will go to our nominated Christmas charity and half to pay for costumes and music licences.

CHRISTMAS EVENTS

We have produced an overview of all the upcoming events to help you plan the end of the Autumn Term.

List of Christmas Events 2023 (including nativity shows and times)

 FUN RUN FUNDRAISER

Back in October, the children enjoyed a Fun Run event. The day was a huge success with all classes taking part in this active fund raiser. The children were delighted to receive a coloured dot every time they did a lap of the orchard or a section of the field. They then  shared their number of dots in order to collect their sponsor money. Thank you to Mrs Smith, Mrs Francis and Ms Osborne from the PTA for organising and running this for us and to all parents and families who kindly sponsored their children. This event raised £4368.59 which is a staggering amount. Thank you everyone for your generosity. 

CODE OF CONDUCT POLICY FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

In response to a few altercations between parents and members of my team since September and before, I have written and implemented a Code of Conduct policy for parents and carers. The policy is inline with guidance issued by the Trust and was reviewed and ratified by the Local Governing Board last month.

Everyone has a right to be treated fairly and with respect. We will not tolerate rude, aggressive or threatening language or threats directed towards staff or the children. The Code of Conduct policy sets out our response to such behaviours and could lead to parents being banned from the school site.

Parents and Carers Code of Conduct 2023

I feel particularly saddened that we have had to put this policy in place and I hope this will lead to an improvement in conduct shown by a small minority of parents.

COMMUNICATION

The Home-School Partnership is the corner stone of how we can work together to ensure the best outcomes for your child. Communication is key and our preference is to have conversations with you in person wherever possible. Morning routines mean that this is not the best time to meet with class teachers. After school is preferable.

On the occasion when an email is needed, please direct all school communication towards the front office, office@stjohns.efspt.org. This will always ensure that your email is forwarded to the relevant staff member. It will also cover situations where a class teacher may be absent from school due to illness and the email that you have sent cannot be responded to by anyone else.

Secondly, we have a duty to our workforce to protect them from emails that are received outside of working hours which is another reason for requesting that emails are directed to the office email account. 

...and finally...

Since is the last newsletter of 2023, on behalf of the whole team, I would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. 

Here are some closing images from the month of November.