From the Head
Dear Parents and Carers
What a wonderful evening we’ve had at our Christmas Fayre! Thank you all for your attendance, enthusiasm and generosity - it truly made the event a fantastic success. From the bustling stalls to the festive music and the joy of seeing the children’s faces light up with excitement, the magic of the season was everywhere. Your support not only helped create a memorable evening but also raised valuable funds to benefit our school community. A heartfelt thank you to our FRSC committee for organising and to everyone who contributed, whether by donating items, volunteering your time, or simply joining us for the festivities.
Looking ahead, the coming days promise to be equally special, filled with festive celebrations to bring the term to a joyful close. Our children have been rehearsing their Nativity plays with dedication and care and we can’t wait to share their performances with you. Carol singing will fill the local community with the sound of Christmas cheer, while Christmas Jumper Day and our much-anticipated Christmas lunch will add a touch of sparkle to the week on Thursday. We’re also excited about the various trips out, which will give the children even more opportunities to create happy memories.
With so much happening, it’s natural for the children to feel a little tired and overwhelmed as the term draws to an end. I encourage families to make time for calm, quiet evenings to help the children recharge after their busy days. Rest is so important to ensuring they can enjoy all the magic of this time of year while remaining healthy and happy.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership throughout this festive season. Together, we are creating lasting memories for the children and a strong sense of community within our school.
Wishing you all a peaceful and restful weekend as we prepare for the excitement of the week ahead.
Kind regards, Miss Holloway
The week ahead...
Lunch Menu
Safeguarding Team
This week at St Olave's
Pantomime at Greenwich Theatre
Well it wouldn’t be Christmas at St Olave’s without our annual trip to the Panto! An excellent show of ‘Dick Whittington and his Spanish saxophone playing cat’ was put on by the always brilliant Greenwich Theatre. The children had a fantastic time and were all dancing and singing to the songs. Christmas has certainly started!
Primary Maths Challenge
Last Friday, some of the Year 5 and 6 children were awarded either a bronze, silver or gold certificate for taking part in this year’s Primary Maths Challenge run by the Mathematical Association. This challenge is a national competition where the children are tested on 25 challenging maths questions. We have submitted our results, and hope to find out whether any of our children have been successful in making it into the Bonus Round in the new year. Well done to all of the children who participated!
New Eltham Christmas Lights
Thank you to all of the families who joined us last Saturday for the New Eltham Christmas Lights carol singing event. Over 60 families joined our procession of lanterns leading to the performance area in New Eltham Village. There we met the Mayor of Greenwich who shook our hands and wished us a Merry Christmas. We then brought the festive cheer by singing Christmas Carols to everyone who had come to see the New Eltham Lights being switched on. It was a great event and all the better for your support, thank you!
Mrs Aldridge & Mrs Farrell
House Meetings
Year 6 House Captains and Vice House Captains spread festive cheer in a Christmassy meeting on Thursday. Highlights included ‘Guess the Picture’, a Christmas quiz and the favourite ‘Finish the Song Lyric’ round. Lots of fun and smiles all round.
Football Fixture
This week saw children from Year 5 and 6 compete in a friendly football fixture at Sidcup Sports Club. Both games were very competitive and both year groups lost a closely battled game 3-2. Well done to all the children who took part. A big thank you to Mr Russell who led the Year 6 team, and Miss Foreman who led the Year 5 team. Both games had goals, skills and fun involved!
Pupil Achievements
Christmas Jar Winners
Congratulations to Ona, Emily, Emilie and Aarna for winning our annual Christmas Jar competition!
Nursery
In Nursery this week, the children have been inspired by the story of the Gingerbread Man. We have made ‘gingerbread’ play dough and added buttons and bows to our creations. Elsewhere in the classroom we have cut out and decorated gingerbread people of all shapes and sizes and used them to retell the story and come up with our own adventures!
A box of decorations has appeared in our home corner and the children have had lots of fun decorating the tree and adding tinsel and bows around the ‘house’!
We have continued to work hard practicing our songs for the Christmas Nativity and we are all very excited about performing it to our parents and families next week.
Reception
It’s been busy, busy, busy in Reception this week (you will get this reference after seeing our Nativity next week!). The children have been working so hard to learn all the words in the songs and their lines for their performance. They really are superstars and they are SUPER excited to show you their play.
We have created lots of activities to support the children with their fine motor skills. They have been cutting, sticking, and gluing to make Christmas decorations and snowflakes to put up in the classroom. It’s lovely to see them so proud of their art. Our classroom looks so festive with decorations all around the room and the beautiful Christmas jars ready for the Christmas Fayre.
Yet again, we are amazed by the children’s writing skills. They have been practising writing words using their phonics to tell Santa what they would like for Christmas in letter.
The children have really enjoyed telling us about their Christmassy weekends; putting up the Christmas tree, ice skating and seeing family. The children really enjoy showing their friends the pictures on Tapestry so please keep sharing them. We look forward to seeing all Reception parents at the Nativity! We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Year 1
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The children have had such an exciting week. On Tuesday, Year 1 had their first experience of the pantomime at Greenwich Theatre. They were so well behaved, and most importantly a wonderful time was had by all! We are sure they were excited to tell you about the delicious ice cream they were given during the interval. This has definitely lifted their spirits even higher in preparation for their very own Christmas performance next week. We are looking forward to seeing you all there.
In English, the children have been reading the story ‘Knuffle Bunny’ by Mo Willems. They have enjoyed describing their own special toys, using speech bubbles to express what the character wants to say and planning their own stories using the same structure. They have begun to create their very own books and we look forward to seeing what adventures they go on with their lost toys.
In art, the children tried their hand at colour mixing and experimented with making secondary colours from red, blue and yellow.
Both classes have had cooking lessons with Mrs Dourmoush this term. They used delicious leeks from the school allotment to make leek and potato soup. They were very proud of their ‘rainbow soup’ and were very excited to share it with their friends.
Year 2
Christmas has most definitely arrived in year 2! We all loved our Panto trip to Greenwich Theatre on Tuesday - especially where we got to join in and have a ‘sing-off’ with Tommy the Cat and Muffy the Mouse!
The rest of our week has been peppered with nativity rehearsals. From drum playing sheep, singing shepherds and dancing stars we cannot wait to entertain you next week! The children have worked very hard to learn their lines and try to remember when to get on and come off the stage
Our understanding of shape has expanded in Maths this week, we’ve been exploring the properties of 3D shapes ensuring we know and understand key vocabulary including faces, edges and vertices. A grammar focus in English means we can now use commas in a list and put this into practice with a letter to someone familiar!
Year 3
Year 3 have started December with a festive bang! We have been busy rehearsing our poem and songs for the Christmas Carol Concert and we hope to blow you all away with our performance. We also got into the Christmas spirit with our trip to the panto - Dick Whittington and his Cat. The children behaved brilliantly on the trip and really enjoyed the show, especially the parts where they were encouraged to participate!
In English this week, we have been completing our non-chronological reports on Antarctic animals, between the dusky dolphins, elephant seals and chinstrap penguins we are shaping up to have some fantastic, colourful and informative non - fiction books made by each class.
In Maths this week, we have been continuing to utilise our multiplication skills by looking at the relationship between the 2, 4 and 8 times tables as well as understanding the effect that multiplying by 10 has on numbers. Multiplication will be a continued topic for this term and beyond so keep practising those times tables up to 12x12!
Magnetism continues to be our focus in Science and this week we explored how the shape of a magnet can affect its ability to attract objects. Using magnets, paperclips and rulers we discovered that bar magnets have the greatest magnetic force.
In PSHE, we looked at family conflict and discussed a range of scenarios that may occur in everyday life. We then talked through strategies and solutions that we could use if these situations happened to us. The children were great at understanding that conflicts happen and that with patience and respect can be resolved. So the next time there’s an argument over the remote or a disagreement about sharing toys - look to the children in Year 3 - they will know what to do.
Finally, this week sees us continuing our ‘Faster Read’ story, ‘The Land of Roar’ by Jenny Mclachlan. As with our previous class texts, the children have been really engaged in the story. They have been able to summarise what has happened so far and have been developing their vocabulary with each few chapters. We should now know words such as jittery, incredulous and awestruck, to name just a few. We can’t wait to find out what happens next in this incredible fantasy-land and I am sure your children will want to tell you all about it.
Year 4
It has been a fittingly festive start to December! We have been rehearsing our carols ready for our Demelza Carolathon in Eltham High Street next Tuesday, and the children sound brilliant! It was lovely to see some of our Year 4 children attend the New Eltham Lights event, last Saturday - they were in fine voice and full of smiles.
In English, the children have begun writing their non-chronological reports. Using their research homework, they have organised their information by topic and created subheadings and topic paragraphs. Next week, they will be publishing their reports about various landmarks around the world. In maths, we have been honing our reasoning and problem solving skills by solving worded maths problems for the four operations.
The highlight of the week was our trip to see Dick Whittington and his Cat at the Greenwich Playhouse. As ever, there was singing, dancing and lots of bad jokes. The children had a wonderful time. On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have a Year 5 parent visit us to talk about her job as an architect. As well as learning about the skills required to be a successful architect, we also built geodesic structures and viewed architectural plans using virtual reality.
As our Roman topic comes to a close, we learned about Boudicca and stepped into her shoes writing a persuasive speech. In PSHE, we learned how important it is to not make assumptions based on what people look like.
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Christmas Fayre on Friday. Thank you for your support and donations towards this. We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Year 5
This week we have continued to explore our poetry unit and studied two further poems by Ogden Nash. Their surprising storylines had Year 5 in fits of laughter. Following on from this, we used the poems to inspire a deep dive into the structural and language features of informal letter writing. We planned in role as one of the characters to respond to and retell the sequence of events in the form of a letter.
In maths, we have continued our fractions unit and have been exploring adding and subtracting mixed number fractions. We explored two methods - 1. Converting our mixed numbers to improper fractions and 2. Partitioning the whole and the fraction to add or subtract separately. The children have demonstrated a fantastic grasp of both methods and were eager to apply their knowledge to problem solving questions.
We have managed to squeeze in two experiments in science this week. We are continuing our topic properties of materials and this week, we focused on the solubility of materials in solvents. We took this investigation a step further and discussed what could affect solubility. We decided to compare the effects of heat on several solutes and discovered how the temperature of the solvent could affect the saturation point.
Year 6
This week in Year 6 has been both productive and festive! In English, we continued to explore Alfred Noyes' The Highwayman, focusing on its vivid imagery and dramatic story. The children worked on sequencing events and summarising the poem in their own words, demonstrating great creativity and understanding.
On Tuesday, the children enjoyed their final pantomime at St O’s, a lively event filled with laughter and festive cheer. It was wonderful to see the children fully embracing the Christmas spirit.
On Wednesday the children participated in an inspiring Goal Getters Online lesson, exploring the wide range of careers in football beyond the pitch, such as groundsman, club psychologist, journalist, presenter and announcer to name a few. The session showcased how skills like teamwork, resilience, and creativity are key in these roles and encouraged the children to reflect on their own aspirations. It was a motivating experience that broadened their horizons and sparked plenty of enthusiasm for future possibilities.
In science, the children explored the fascinating circulatory system, learning how to identify and compare different types of blood vessels, including arteries, veins, and capillaries. They examined the issues caused by restricted arteries, such as reduced blood flow and its potential impact on overall health.
Year 6 also took on an entrepreneurial challenge set by Miss Holloway, preparing creative activities for the School Christmas Fayre. Their ideas included Lucky Dip, What’s in the Box?, the Christmas Cup Game and a Human Bauble Machine, which all were a hit! Their teamwork and enthusiasm are bound to have raised valuable funds for the school. We were impressed by their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial mindset, as they carefully considered the most effective strategies to maximise profits for the school.
Thank you for your support, whether through donations or encouragement. We look forward to continuing the festivities next week as we approach the end of term.
Outdoor Learning
This week has been another mild one weather wise and the children have managed to plant the last of our onions, garlic and beetroot. They have also continued to pick up leaves to make a leaf mulch. Most of the trees near the allotment have lost their leaves so hopefully not too many more to pick up. At the moment we have filled three tonne bags! We have also started to dismantle the old sweetcorn cage to replace it with a more robust structure before next year. Our flowers are growing nicely in the greenhouse ready for Mother’s Day next year. The children have spread a lot of coffee granules and old leaf mulch from last year to feed many of the beds over the winter.
Languages
Welcome to December! In the Languages department we have started to get ready for the Christmas celebrations, learning about Christmas traditions in French and Spanish speaking countries. Early Years, Year 1 and Year 2 learnt some words related to Christmas and played memory games to reinforce their knowledge. Great work everyone!
In the Upper School, Year 3 talked about how Canada celebrates Christmas holidays, what food and activities families eat and do. In Spanish, Year 5 has explored Spanish food during Christmas, and in particular the delicious Roscon de Reyes, a traditional cake eaten in Spain on the 6th of January. Year 6 has talked about Spanish Christmas markets and what you can buy there, practising the core vocabulary with a board game based on translation.
Design & Technology
Year 3 Pneumatic Monsters
This week pupils in Year 3 added moving features to their projects by creating levers with anchor points. They also took the opportunity to manipulate materials in order to add facial features like eyes and teeth to their pneumatic projects.
Year 4 Slingshot Cars
Pupils in Year 4 cut out the chassis shape for their slingshot cars and practiced cutting wood with junior hacksaws. They also took the opportunity to experiment with aerodynamic design by altering the shape of their chassis.
Year 5 Doodle Bots
This week Year 5 assembled the circuits and experimented with the layout of all the components. They made very neat attempts at concealing the components within the doodle bot body in order to create more aesthetically pleasing final products.
Year 6 Steady Hand Game
Pupils in Year 6 improved their accuracy and neat cutting when they used steel rulers and canary cutters to mark out and cut the bases for their steady hand game projects.
Music
What a wonderful turnout we had for the New Eltham Christmas Lights event last Saturday and thank you to all who came along - further details of the event are at the top of the Newsletter.
It was great to have our school community gather at our Christmas Fayre to sing Christmas Carols! Thank you to all of the children (and adults!) who joined in!
The Early Years and Lower School children have been rehearsing their Christmas plays ahead of their performances next week. Thank you for supporting them with learning their songs and lines at home - we can’t wait to see them in full costume next week!
The Upper School children have been rehearsing Christmas Carols ahead of their carol singing events in the local community next week. A reminder for children to please bring a waterproof coat and a Santa hat (we do have a few spare hats in school) for travelling to and from these events.
All Upper School children have been asked to learn their song words and their class Christmas poems ahead of our Upper School Carol Service rehearsals. Next week, we will be rehearsing without the words so Music homework for all of the Upper School over the next two weeks is to rehearse their songs and poems, learning the words off by heart. Your support with this at home is much appreciated.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our festive performances soon!