Dear Parents
Another busy week in school as we head towards the end of term!
World Faiths Week
The children have been learning about different faiths in our World Faiths Week work and although we haven’t been able to do the usual trips to places of worship, they have enjoyed a virtual trip to the Jewish Museum in London (Y4) and a visit from an Orthodox Rabbi (Y2 and Y3). This morning’s collective worship focussed on the children’s learning in different year groups and it was great to hear their reflections on the differences and also on the similarities between the different faiths. We noted that love and respect for others are key tenets of all faiths and we prayed for peace and understanding between all people in our world. There are photos from our World Faiths Week on the website here
Year 6 Leavers
This week, the school has resounded with the dress rehearsals for our Year 6 Leavers’ Production, “Archibald’s War” and we are delighted that every year group has been able to attend a performance. We know that our younger children see Year 6 as role models and aspire to be as proficient and confident as they are when they are in Year 6.
On Monday, the Year 6 children will (all being well) be the first to perform to a live audience in our new school hall and we are really looking forward to welcoming Year 6 parents into school both for the production on Monday and for the Whole School Mass (led by Year 6) on Wednesday morning.
Our Year 6 children, like all of our children, have been remarkably resilient during this very unusual year – for many of them, even their transition to secondary days have been disrupted. Their secondary destinations this year include: Salesians, Three Rivers, Cobham Free, Tiffin, St Teresa’s, St George’s and Cranmore. We wish them all the best as they go on to the next stage of their education and we pray that they will always remember the most important things they have learned at Cardinal Newman, among our community of learners, believers and friends.
Staff Leavers and Joiners
This term we will say goodbye to Mrs Jones (Teacher in Ruby Class) who has been helping us for the Spring and Summer Terms and to Mrs Ferrari (LSA) who is moving on to work with younger children. We are grateful for all their support for our children and for their contribution to our school community.
In September, we will welcome to our community of learners, believers and friends two new full-time Class Teachers and two new Learning Support Assistants. Class teachers Mr Carter (Y6) and Mr Doe (Y1) will be joining us and have already spent a number of days in school acquainting themselves with the Cardinal Newman ways. Congratulations to two of our dedicated parent volunteers who have now been appointed to the role of Learning Support Assistant: Mrs Sonia Quigley and Miss Shauna Roche. We look forward to working with all of them.
As previously advised, Fr Bill Muir will be retiring from his role at St Erconwald’s, Walton and thereby also from his role supporting our school liturgies. Fr Bill’s last official Mass in school will be the Y6 Mass on Wednesday and we are so grateful for all his wise and generous support for our children and staff. We will of course stay in touch with Fr Bill, who will remain on the Local Governing Committee at Cardinal Newman, and we hope he will visit us often! Fr Ruslan Kurdiumov will become Parish Priest at St Erconwald’s on 1st September and we look forward to welcoming him to our community.
Our first whole school Mass in September is planned for Sunday 19th September at 11am – this will be an open air Mass in the school grounds and all of our families are warmly welcomed. More details nearer to the time, but please save the date!
Looking Ahead
In school, we are planning for September to be “normal” and have mapped out the school calendar and procedures accordingly. Nearer to the time – on 6th September – we will update you about any necessary changes, depending on the national picture at that time. All dates and plans remain provisional pending the schools guidance for September, but let us pray for an undisrupted school year in 2021-22!
Some “Covid” changes which we feel have worked well and which will therefore stay in place in September include:
Use of two different gates for relaxed entry at 8:40am (YR to Y3 and Y4 to Y6)
Staggered collection (3-3:15) at the end of the day, using the one way system round the school
Home use of Phonics programme Reading Eggs for Year R – Y2
We are keen to get parent volunteers back into school as soon as possible in September – if you would like to volunteer in school in September (whether you have previously done so or not), please click here for information about the process for DBS check and volunteer safeguarding training. Volunteers who have come into term during the second half of the summer term do not need to apply again and we will look forward to welcoming you back in September!
Thank you
Finally a huge thank you to all parents for your unstinting support of the school and the staff team this year! It has been an enormously challenging year for many families (and indeed for schools!) and it is testament to our strong community at Cardinal Newman that we have worked together to give our children the best outcomes we could in these difficult circumstances.
We are of course proud of the children’s academic outcomes – almost all children across the school have made at least expected progress during this academic year and most have made accelerated progress, which is testament to the fantastic teaching and incredible home support our children have benefitted from. The national picture remains mixed, but we are very positive at Cardinal Newman about the impact of our Big Five Covid Recovery work, which will benefit our children going forward.
More than academic work though, we are proud of our children’s resilience and positive attitudes as they have adapted to change after change in their everyday routines, yet they have also remembered to look outward from themselves and their own needs to give so generously both within the school community and beyond to the local community. Through their Mission Weeks and child-initiated projects, our children have organised PE sessions for younger children, written letters of support (all year long) to care home residents or letters of thanks to key workers, supported environmental projects including recycling and tree planting and even grown seeds to give as plants to local residents who were shielding.
As a school this year, we have been blessed with tremendous parental support to deliver community projects such as the Giving Tree for families in need and for older members of the community who were especially isolated from their families this Christmas; we have supported clothing donations for the homeless and food donations for the Walton and Hersham Foodbank. Our children have grown in their understanding of the needs of others and of the inter-connectedness of our fragile world. Let us continue to nurture this understanding as a school community, that we may always look outwards and support those in whatever kind of need. Lead kindly light, Lord Jesus lead us on!
Thank you to all our school families for all that you have done to support our school and our community during this year. We wish you all a very happy and relaxing summer break and look forward to seeing the children refreshed and revitalised in September!
God bless,
Catherine Burnham
