St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
“Jesus is at the heart of everything that we do.”
St Catherine’s News
Friday 15th May 2015, Number 37
Dates for your Diary:
Monday 1st June – Start of term 5
Tuesday 2nd June – Siena class visiting
Roves farm
Tuesday 2nd June – Ten Ten Theatre
parents session at St Mary’s
Wednesday 3rd June Ten Ten Theatre
working with all classes
Thursday 4th June – Junior Good Citizen
for Year 6.
Thursday 11th June – Anti-bullying & Sex
and relationships workshop for parents
Friday 12th June – Non-school uniform day
– donations for summer fete.
Friday 12th June – SUMMER FETE
Thursday 18th June – Year 6 Leavers mass
at Clifton Cathedral
Wednesday 24th June – Sport’s Day for
the whole school with picnic lunch
Thursday 25th June – First Communion
assembly at 9am
Monday 29th June – INSET day (school
closed to the children)
Wednesday 1st July – Years 3 & 4 visiting
@Bristol
Wednesday 1st July – Infant music festival
Tuesday 7th July – Year 6 Production at
2pm & 6:30pm
Thursday 9th July – School disco
Friday 10th July – Annual reports to
parents
Friday 17th July – Year 6 leavers assembly
at 9am
Friday 17th July – Last day of school year
Contact Us
admin@stcatherines.swindon.sch.uk
head@stcatherines.swindon.sch.uk
A message from the Headteacher…
Well here we are in the last week of Term 5. What a whirlwind
of a term! It has been so busy and the last three weeks have
gone very quickly. I would like to thank everybody for the
very warm welcome I have received since I started as
headteacher on May 1st. It has been lovely getting to know
the children and the whole community.
Over the last week or so, all of the classes have been involved
in assessments and our Year 6 children have had their end of
Key Stage 2 SATs in the hall. The children in Year 6 were so
focused last week. They approached their tests in such a
positive and mature manner and I was so impressed that for
almost all the time they did it with a smile. In my first
assembly at St Mary's I left the children with my key
message which I want everybody attached to St Mary's to
remember and that is to 'make the most of what we've
got'. Year 6 really embraced this last week and I am so proud
of each and every one of them.
I hope you have a lovely May holiday and look forward to
seeing you all at the start of next term.
Andrew Henstridge
First Communion
The dates of the First Holy Communion at St Mary’s
Church are 7th and 14th June. There will be a special First
Communion assembly for those children on Thursday 25th
at 9.00 am. This is so they can dress up in all their finery first thing
in the morning then change for a party afterwards.
Teacher Training day
Please could I remind you that school will be closed on Monday 29 th
June due to a teacher training day.
Previously loved School Uniofrm
Thank you to all the parents who sent in "previously loved" school
uniform for the sale on Thursday. It I very much appreciated.
St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
“Jesus is at the heart of everything that we do.”
Parking and Road Safety
I would like to draw your attention to an article from the Swindon
Advertiser which was published last Thursday:
“North Swindon Police would like to thank members of the public who
sprang into action to help when a young boy was hit by a car outside
Haydon Wick Primary School this morning. The eight year old ran out
from behind a car which was parked on the school safety zone zigzags without looking and was struck by a vehicle which was thankfully
travelling at low speed so he only sustained minor injuries.”
The article above is a sharp reminder of how we often forget our road
sense when trying to park as close as possible to our destination.
Please could I ask all parents to take extra car with parking and to
avoid using residents drive ways to turn around on and not to park in
the turning area outside the school. Thank you for your
understanding.
Year 1 Phonics Week
A reminder to Year 1 parents that the phonics
check takes place during the week beginning 15th
June and we need all the children to be in school.
Thank you.
TEN TEN Theatre:
This Catholic theatre company comes annually to
the school and explores relationships in a
Catholic, Christian context. It is part of our
relationships curriculum in PSHE. There is always
a parent’s session at the end of the day where
parents can see excerpts of the plays seen by
their children and discuss any issues that may
arise. You will have received a letter about the
parent’s session which takes place on Tuesday 2nd
June at 7:30pm in St Mary’s School.
Sport’s Day
Holiday Absence during
Term Time
We are receiving a large
number of holiday request
forms, particularly with
parents requesting days either
side of holidays. In line with
government guidance, please
note that we are not able to
authorise any holiday absence
request unless it is exceptional
circumstances. Examples of
exceptional circumstances are
detailed in our attendance
policy. Thank you for your
understanding.
Workshop for Parents
On Thursday June 11th at 6pm, Mrs Lee and Miss
Wright will be holding a parents' workshop. The
workshop will cover two areas - Anti-bullying and
the Sex and Relationships curriculum that the
children will be following during June and July.
The anti-bullying aspect will give you an opportunity
to look at our anti-bullying policy and hear how we
deal with bullying in school. The Sex and
Relationships session will provide an opportunity
for you to look at the materials that we use with
your children before they do. Both sessions will
include plenty of opportunity for you to ask
questions. We have run both of these workshops
before and they have both resulted in some
fantastic dialogue between school staff and our
parents.
Sport’s day is always an important event in the life of any school and is a
great opportunity for children to experience the challenges that come in
the sporting arena. We are going to change parts of the format this year
to give the children additional challenges. We will give you more
information after the holidays but make sure you have the date in your
diary.
As in previous years there will be a communal picnic lunch on the field and there will be a barbecue
serving burgers and hot dogs during lunch time. There will be no hot dinners on this day but school
packed lunches will be provided. There will be more information about sport’s day after the holiday.