St Olave's News

From the Head

Dear Parents, As another busy week draws to a close, I would like to take a moment simply to say thank you. This week has certainly tested us all. The exceptionally high temperatures have meant that plans have needed to change, routines have had to adapt and, at times, we have all needed to think a little differently. Whilst none of us enjoy postponing events that children and families have been looking forward to, the wellbeing of the children will always remain at the heart of every decision we make. I have been incredibly proud of the children this week. Despite the heat, they have continued to approach each day with enthusiasm, resilience and, remarkably, good humour. Whether learning in the classroom, taking part in activities or simply remembering to keep drinking plenty of water, they have shown great maturity and have looked after one another beautifully. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to our wonderful staff. Caring for children in such challenging conditions is no small task. From ensuring water bottles were constantly topped up, making the most of our air-conditioned spaces, handing out well-earned ice lollies and continually checking on the children's wellbeing (and suncream application!), they have worked tirelessly to keep everyone safe, comfortable and smiling throughout the week. I feel incredibly fortunate to work alongside such a dedicated team. One of the greatest privileges of being a headteacher is the trust that families place in us each day. Every morning you leave your children in our care, and that is something I never take for granted. It is a responsibility that sits behind every conversation, every decision and every plan we make. I may not always get every decision perfectly right, but you can be assured that every decision is made thoughtfully, with the children's best interests firmly at its centre. As we look ahead, we have two wonderfully busy weeks remaining. There is still so much to look forward to: performances, celebrations, Sports Day(!), transition activities, our Year 6 Leavers' events and countless opportunities for the children to create lasting memories with their friends. These final days are always some of the happiest of the school year and I know the children are excited for everything that lies ahead. Finally, thank you for the kindness, understanding and support you have shown us over recent weeks. Strong schools are built on strong relationships and I feel enormously grateful to be part of a community where parents and staff work together with the same shared purpose: to give every child the very best school experience possible. I really hope that everyone attending the FRSC Summer BBQ tomorrow has a wonderful time. There is certainly already a carnival atmosphere in the air and I know it is going to be a fantastic afternoon. I am so sorry that I won't be there to join you – in fact, it will be the first Summer BBQ I have ever missed! Instead, I will be making the journey to Newcastle to collect Grace, who has completed her four years at university and graduates next month. Whilst I am incredibly excited to have both my children at home again for the summer before Ben heads off to university in September, I will certainly be thinking of everyone back at St Olave's. Finally, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the FRSC. The time, energy and enthusiasm that goes into organising events such as tomorrow's Summer BBQ is extraordinary. These occasions don't just happen by chance; they are the result of many hours of planning by volunteers who care deeply about our school community. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated Fundraising Committee, and I know you will all join me in thanking them for everything they do. I wish you all a wonderful weekend. I hope the sun shines, I know the food will be delicious, the children have enormous fun and that you enjoy spending time together as the St Olave's community that makes our school such a special place. I look forward to welcoming everyone back for the final fortnight of another memorable school year.

Kind regards, Miss Holloway

The week ahead...

Lunch Menu

Monthly Safeguarding Update

June – Moving On

As children move classes or prepare for new schools, we make sure information is shared so they are supported. You can help by talking positively about change at home, while letting us know if your child is worried - it helps us to put support in place early.

Notices

Food Allergy, Intolerances and Preferences Form If you have been sent a form, please complete and return it to Mrs Farrell if you have not yet done so.  Thank you.

This week at St Olave's

Y3 Visit the National Gallery

Year 3 began the week with a fantastic trip to The National Gallery, where they took part in a walking tour based on myths, legends and stories. Their wonderful guide was full of praise for the children's exceptional behaviour, enthusiasm and impressive prior knowledge. We were extremely proud to take them out and represent our school so positively.

Sporting Round Up

The extreme temperatures this week meant that our sporting programme looked a little different than planned. Activities were carefully adapted to keep the children safe whilst still encouraging participation and enjoyment. The children approached every session with fantastic enthusiasm and maturity, and we are hopeful that cooler weather next week will allow us to enjoy the exciting sporting events we have planned for the remainder of term.

Nursery

The Little Acorns have had a great week and our air conditioned classroom has been a real godsend as the temperatures have soared. The children continue to be excited by the topic of pirates, this week making their own treasure maps using tea to stain the paper and then adding their own illustrations and pictures. And of course the map was finished off with a big red X marking the location of the treasure!

Reception

WOWEE! It has been a scorching week, and the sun has certainly come out to play! Reception have still managed to get outside in the mornings, where we had a fabulous time playing with water to help keep cool. As the temperature rose throughout the day, we enjoyed spending time in our air-conditioned classroom and had lots of messy fun, exploring dinosaurs in slime and playing with bouncing water beads. We had lots of friends from other year groups come to play with us as we all tried to keep nice and cool.  We have also been blown away by the children's writing this week. They have been independently writing silly sentences, and we are incredibly proud of their efforts and progress. On Thursday, Sally from New Eltham Library came to read us a story and tell us all about the Summer Reading Challenge. The children are so excited to get started! Despite the hot weather, the children have been absolutely fantastic all week, and we are very proud of them.

Year 1

Despite the extremely hot weather this week, the children have been absolutely amazing and have continued to show great enthusiasm and resilience in all that they do. In Maths, we have been learning about position and direction. The children have been describing turns using vocabulary such as quarter turn, half turn, three-quarter turn and full turn. They have also been discussing directions including left and right, forwards and backwards, above and below, and using ordinal numbers to give and follow instructions. In English, the children have been reflecting on the school year and all that they have achieved. They have thought carefully about what they would like to improve next year, their favourite memories and experiences, how they have shown kindness and been helpful to others, and what they are looking forward to in Year 2. It has been lovely to hear their thoughtful responses and to celebrate how much they have grown. In Art, we have been focusing on portraits. The children began by completing the missing half of their own faces before using mirrors to create self-portraits. They then moved on to drawing portraits of their friends, taking great care to observe details and develop their artistic skills. We have been so impressed with the children's amazing enthusiasm and effort this week, and we are sure their new teachers will be equally impressed when they meet them before the end of term.

Year 2

What a week for Year 2! The weather hasn’t stopped us from having an amazing week, despite having to reschedule some of our planned activities. In English, we composed our point of view speech in the role of Grandma from ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’. Our creativity really shone through as we brought her back story to life to explain her thoughts and feelings about George and her experiences so far, explaining to our reader why she is so truly terrible.  In maths, we continued our learning about statistics. We learned how to use a key to create and interpret pictograms. We explored the ways that we could represent data with different symbols and discovered we could half a symbol when required.  The highlight of our week was visiting Thomas Tallis to see their amazing production of Mary Poppins Jr. We were in awe of the older children’s bravery as they dazzled us with their performance. Their professionalism and talent was admirable and we enjoyed sharing our favourite moments together when we returned to school.  In History this week, we have started to explore early flight and prepare for our trip next week to Duxford. We learned all about the Wright brothers and their first ever successful flight. We then considered the life of Amelia Earhart and her amazing accomplishments, as well as her mysterious disappearance.  In science, we learned all about how an aeroplane flies! We are very much looking forward to using our new knowledge of forces when we see the aeroplanes at Duxford on Wednesday. Please remember to put suncream on your child before we leave and pack a nut free lunch with plenty of drink. Thank you in advance.

Year 3

Year 3 have coped brilliantly in the hot weather this week and have continued to wow us with their focus, resilience and adaptability. They have approached every challenge with enthusiasm and determination, making the most of every learning opportunity. Following on from our trip to The National Gallery on Monday, Year 3 have been busy developing their mystery story writing in English, carefully crafting clues and red herrings to keep their readers guessing. In Maths, we have been exploring shapes and angles, using our growing knowledge to solve a range of challenges. The children have shown great perseverance and confidence as they have tackled new concepts and applied their learning in different ways. Using what we learnt from our visit to The National Gallery, we have started to create our final pages for our own illustrated picture books.  We have also thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Year 6 rehearsals in preparation for next week’s performance. It promises to be a fantastic celebration and our heartfelt thanks for supporting us with helping the children to learn their parts and provide costumes. As expected, the children have demonstrated exemplary behaviour and infectious enthusiasm throughout rehearsals. As we begin to reflect on all that we have achieved in Year 3, it has been wonderful to see how much the children have grown in confidence, independence and maturity. We are incredibly proud of everything they have accomplished this year and look forward to finishing the term strongly together.

Year 4

What a scorchio week we have had in school! The children have done a fantastic job of keeping themselves safe in the hot weather by applying sunscreen, drinking plenty of water, wearing caps and staying in the shade. Thank you for helping them come to school prepared. We have also enjoyed lots of Shrek rehearsals, with the children perfecting their songs and dance routines. They are working incredibly hard, so please continue to support them by encouraging rehearsal at home. Thankfully, our air-conditioned hall has provided a welcome break from the heat. In Maths, the children completed their assessment on Time before beginning our new topic on Shape, learning about angles, different types of triangles and revising the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We have been very impressed with their knowledge. In English, we finished The Lady of Shalott, exploring how Tennyson uses pathetic fallacy and tackling the challenge of understanding Victorian language. The children also created comic strips to retell the story and enjoyed listening to a musical version of the poem. In Science, we explored the ecosystem of a pond, learning about producers, primary and secondary consumers, predators and food chains. The children then drew and labelled their own pond habitats to showcase their understanding. In RE, the children learnt about Buddhist temples, identifying features such as shrines, pagodas, prayer wheels, prayer flags and gilding. They also listened to Buddhist monks chanting and meditating. The children also took part in the Summer Maths Challenge, showing fantastic enthusiasm and mathematical thinking. We look forward to celebrating those who achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates. Finally, please remember to send your child's Presentation Evening costume into school on Monday in a named plastic bag so we can check everyone has everything they need. We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Year 5

What a scorcher of a week! Year 5 have very much impressed us with their resilience this week, although being fortunate enough to have air con in our rooms has definitely helped.  In English we have had a focus on our spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge. Revisiting lessons learned throughout the year to see if we can apply what we've learned in isolation. We also reminded ourselves how to create atmosphere in our writing using 'show not tell' sentences. We also undertook an extended writing piece; we planned and wrote an information text about the future! Imagining we had traveled to 2126, our job was to share information about what life was like. Using subheadings and paragraphs to organise our writing, whilst also ensuring we used the correct punctuation. It was very interesting to read. Maths had us focusing on questions involving the four operations, as well as revisiting squared and cubed numbers. We also practiced cloze tasks, where we had to choose the right word to make the sentences accurate. This was excellent as boosting our vocabulary too as we considered unfamiliar and brand new words.  With rehearsals for our presentation evening in full swing, the children have worked so hard on learning the timing for their dance and we have nailed the song to accompany it.  We ended our week with a very mature discussion about getting ready for our entrance exams, not just in terms of knowing the content, but also how to help ourselves prepare emotionally. We considered our 'exam circle of control' alongside the importance of looking after ourselves and asking for help when needed. The children have excellent ideas and have all written a self-talk mantra to help them through.