From the Head
It really has been one of those weeks where you can feel the school quietly thriving – the sunshine certainly helps, but it is the children’s attitude to their learning that has made it so special. Our Nursery children have made the very most of the beautiful weather, with water play, climbing and balancing all in full flow. It has been a joy to see such confidence and independence outdoors, matched by some genuinely impressive early writing. In Reception, I have been thoroughly educated on volcanoes – from active to dormant to extinct – and even warned about the very real challenge of digging from the crust to the Earth’s core (apparently a 4000-year project, with molten lava to avoid along the way!). Year 1 approached their NSPCC PANTS learning with great maturity, speaking clearly and sensibly about safe and unsafe behaviours. In Year 2, I was so impressed by the depth of thinking in their inference work in English – a real step forward in reading for meaning. Year 3 have produced some truly outstanding fables, full of rich language and creativity, while Year 4 have shown real maturity and excitement as they prepare for their first residential trip to Danbury next week. Year 5 continue to impress me greatly with their focus and determination as they approach their secondary school examinations. It was lovely to see them enjoy a well-deserved trip this afternoon to watch High School Musical – a perfect way to round off a hardworking week. Meanwhile, Year 6 continue to enjoy their final term at St Olave's while showing kindness and thoughtfulness – not least in the form of some delicious homemade flapjacks that came my way! Alongside all of this, we were delighted to welcome our assessor for our third reaccreditation of the Wellbeing Award for Schools yesterday. It is hard to believe that we began this journey nine years ago. My sincere thanks go to Mrs Pons for the significant work involved in preparing our evidence, and to our staff, Wellbeing Champions, parents and pupils across the school who spoke so warmly and articulately about what wellbeing means at St Olave’s. We now await the final report and outcome and look forward to sharing it with you in due course. Thank you to those of you who have agreed to record a short (can be just 15-20 seconds!) video testimonial for us - 'finding your brave' is never easy as an adult but your support is so appreciated. If we have any dads or grandads who would like to volunteer it would be good to have some male faces among our marvellous mums! Finally, it was a pleasure to welcome our new Nursery and Reception children into school this week for their first ‘stay and play’ transition sessions. They settled beautifully and it was a timely reminder of just how quickly school years pass! Childhood is precious and time limited and it is a privilege to welcome our siblings and many new families to our St Olave's community. Wishing you all a restful Bank Holiday weekend; let's keep our fingers crossed that the sun decides to make an appearance and hold the rain at bay! I look forward to seeing you all next week.
Kind regards, Miss Holloway
The week ahead...
Lunch Menu
Monthly Safeguarding Update
May – Trust and Transparency
At St Olave’s, we want every child to feel safe with the adults who care for them. If you or your child ever have a concern about behaviour you’ve seen, however small, please let us know. It helps us keep our community strong, open, and safe.
Focus on School Values
This week in assembly, we explored the theme of wellbeing through the story Cleo the Completely Fine Camel. Cleo insists she is “completely fine”, even when it is clear that she is not, and it provided a gentle but powerful way for us to reflect on our own feelings. We spoke about how, of course, we want all of our children to feel happy and secure in school. However, we also recognised that it is completely normal not to feel happy all of the time. There will be moments when things feel difficult, overwhelming or upsetting, and those feelings are valid. What matters most is that children understand it is ok not to be ok and that they feel able to talk to someone about it. We reminded them of the importance of speaking to a trusted adult – whether that is a member of staff in school or someone at home – so that they are supported and never feel they have to manage worries on their own. This message sits at the heart of our approach to wellbeing at St Olave’s: helping children to develop not only academically, but emotionally, with the confidence and language to understand themselves and seek support when they need it.
Safeguarding Team
Notices
Boppin' Bunnies Singalong Session
If you have a younger child not yet in school, we would love for you to bring them to our Boppin' Bunnies Singalong Session next Friday, 8th May. Please contact the School Office if you would like to book your spot!
This week at St Olave's
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Our Budding Debaters Take the Floor - Upper School
This week, the children from Years 3 to 6 took part in an exciting debating workshop led by Riley Richards from Noisy Classroom. Debating proved to be a fantastic way to build confidence in speaking, while also developing listening, critical thinking and the ability to present well-reasoned arguments. As oracy is a key part of life at St Olave’s, these engaging and interactive sessions supported pupils in expressing themselves clearly and confidently. Through a range of fun activities, children were introduced to parliamentary-style debating, where every pupil had the opportunity to share their ideas. To keep the conversation going at home, why not host your own “living room debate” and tackle some big issues: School uniforms should be banned or children should choose what they learn at school.
Eco MPs - Energy Saving Assembly
On Monday, our Eco MPs led an exciting assembly all about saving energy and protecting the environment. The team shared simple but effective ways that everyone can help reduce energy waste both at school and at home. During the assembly, students learned that saving energy is important because it helps reduce pollution, protects natural resources, and can even save money. The Eco MPs explained that small actions by many people can make a big difference. Some of the top energy-saving tips included:
- Turning off lights when leaving a room;
- Switching off computers and screens when not in use;
- Unplugging chargers after devices are fully charged;
- Keeping doors and windows closed when the heating is on.
Thank you to the Eco Team for delivering such an informative and inspiring assembly. Together, we can all help make our school greener and more environmentally friendly!
Sporting Round Up
Lacrosse Fixture
On Monday, Year 6 spent a sunny afternoon at Footscray RFC for a Year 6 pop lacrosse friendly fixture against St David’s Prep School. This was our first ever pop lacrosse fixture and the children were super excited to compete and showcase their skills. The boys played one big match with 3 different intervals to be coached and have drinks breaks. The girls had 3 mini matches, one against St David's, and the other two teams played a friendly practice match against each other. It was a pleasure to see how far the children have progressed their skill set in lacrosse and we're excited to see how much further they can go. Well played Year 6, and thanks for a great afternoon of sport.
Nursery
This week, Little Acorns have been soaking up the sunshine and diving into colourful water play. Each day the water trays have changed colour and the children experimented with mixing shades, creating their own magical potions, from Hulk‑strength mixtures to Spiderman brews, and even one that turned your fingers into hair! Their imaginations have been in full bloom, and it’s been wonderful to watch them explore so confidently. Indoors and out, there has been a real buzz around mark making. The addition of a message pad to the phone table has inspired lots of purposeful writing and imaginative conversations. Meanwhile, the daily book vote continues to be a highlight, prompting lively discussions as the children work out how many votes each story receives. They are becoming impressively skilled at comparing quantities and confidently deciding which book has “more” and therefore becomes the winner.
Reception
Reception have had a wonderful and busy week filled with hands-on learning and creativity. We spent some fantastic time in the allotment, where the children planted red sunflowers and learned all about the lifecycle of a sunflower. There was lots of excitement as we explored how plants grow, and the children particularly enjoyed tasting sunflower seeds. We reassured everyone that, despite their concerns, no sunflowers would be growing in their bellies! In maths, we have continued with our book vote, using 5 and 10 frames to help us work out how many votes each story received. This week, we also introduced the addition sign and began exploring the language of addition, helping the children to build confidence in combining groups and explaining their thinking. During Drawing Club, we read Mouse House, which sparked some thoughtful discussions about where mice live, both indoors and outdoors. Inspired by this, the children designed and created their own imaginative mouse houses, complete with wonderful features such as swimming pools, see-saws, obstacle courses, and even exercise wheels for their tiny residents! We hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend!
Year 1
It has been another busy and exciting week in Year 1, with lots of wonderful learning taking place across the curriculum. In Maths, the children have continued our multiplication topic. They have been practising counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, as well as recognising equal groups. The children have shown great enthusiasm and growing confidence as they develop their understanding of early multiplication concepts. In English, the children have been applying their writing skills to create fact files all about the Galápagos Islands. They worked hard to present their information clearly and used many of the skills we have been practising in class. In Geography, we have been learning about Charles Darwin and his travels to the Galápagos Islands. The children were fascinated to learn about the journey of the HMS Beagle and enjoyed plotting the different stages of the voyage on a map. In Science, the children have been learning about glass and considering the properties that make it such a useful material. They enjoyed discussing why glass is suitable for different purposes and thinking carefully about its everyday uses. In PSHE, we have been learning about the human life cycle and how we change as we grow. We loved sharing photos of the children as babies - they were all so cute! The children enjoyed making observations about how much they have grown and changed over time. We are incredibly proud of all the children for their hard work and enthusiasm this week, and we hope you enjoy hearing all about their learning at home.
Year 2
Year 2 have had a very productive week, sailing smoothly from one subject to the next - the children are always ready for the next burst of learning and their positivity shines out. On Monday, the children were excited to be given the task of planning their own traditional tale with a possible role reversal for the characters and a twist to surprise us at the end. Their ideas have been flowing and there have been some interesting discussions about the characters and their motivations. The story writing process has now begun, and the enthusiasm for this task has been fantastic. Maths has been all about fractions and we have been working hard to develop our understanding of halves, quarters and thirds, in different ways. The children have enjoyed finding fractions of shapes, real life objects, moving on to quantities. We shall continue to practise working out fractions of numbers next week. We have started a new topic in science, Living things and their habitats, and this week, learned about the seven signs of life that all living things have. This has introduced us to some new vocabulary such as respiration, nutrition, sensitivity and reproduction and it has been interesting to see how these characteristics relate to people, animals and plants. In our Geography lesson, our task was to learn about some famous physical and human geographical features found in England and we located these on maps. The children were fascinated to study photos and read facts about The River Thames, The White Cliffs of Dover and The Angel of the North. Finally, to give an update on swimming, the children had an excellent swim this week - they worked hard and are really enjoying the experience of being in the pool splashing with their friends. No lost socks or shoes this week! Have a wonderful weekend.
Year 3
Year 3 have had a busy and engaging week full of creativity, curiosity, and thoughtful discussion. In English, the children explored the world of fables, learning about their key features such as morals, animal characters and clear story structures. They then put their understanding into practice by planning and writing their own original fables. It was wonderful to see their imaginations come to life, with many pupils crafting meaningful lessons through their storytelling. In maths, the focus has been on applying fractions to word problems. The class worked hard to interpret questions carefully and decide which operations to use when dealing with fractions in real-life contexts. They showed great perseverance, especially when tackling multi-step problems and are becoming more confident in explaining their reasoning. Science lessons have been equally exciting, as pupils compared animal and human skeletons. They learned about the different functions of skeletons, including support, protection, and movement and discussed how these vary across species. To round off the week, Year 3 took part in a lively debating workshop. They practiced speaking clearly, listening respectfully and building arguments to support their ideas. It was fantastic to see their confidence grow as they shared their opinions and responded thoughtfully to others.
Year 4
It has been another busy and exciting week in Year 4, and the anticipation for our visit to Danbury next week is certainly building! In English, we have continued our journey aboard the Endurance, writing in role as crew members. The children used ambitious vocabulary to describe how it felt to first set eyes on the Antarctic landscape. As the Endurance has now become trapped in the ice, we have also explored what daily life would have been like for the crew during this challenging time. In Maths, we have been strengthening our understanding of decimals by partitioning, as well as comparing and ordering them with increasing confidence. In Science, we applied our knowledge of animal characteristics to classify some tricky examples. Is a whale a mammal or a fish? What about a platypus? The children enjoyed the challenge and engaged in thoughtful discussion. We also had a fantastic afternoon taking part in a debate workshop, where the children learnt and practised a range of techniques to develop their speaking and listening skills. Activities such as “Where do you stand?” and “Debate Tennis” were a great success. The children were excellent at articulating their viewpoints and confidently arguing for and against a range of controversial statements. We wish you all a relaxing (and hopefully sunny!) extended weekend before the excitement of our residential begins!
Year 5
What a whirlwind of a week - we have been busy from start to finish! Our debating workshop on Tuesday was superb - and we really do have some budding speakers in our midst. The children were challenged to not only think of ways to justify and convince others of their opinion but they also had to consider points for the opposite side of the debate. One of the best parts for us though was listening to the children compliment each other on what they were saying and the way it was said. We then used this as our inspiration for persuasive writing in English - as a starting point we asked the children to choose one statement they did not agree with and then challenged them to persuade us why it was a good idea. This meant thinking about the other side of the argument and developing their understanding of the reasons why someone might support it. We have also focused on inference in our comprehension and guided reading lessons, with a deep dive into only what we know can be true from the information we are given - it was tricky not to ‘assume’ based on our own knowledge and understanding, but we are improving our skills all the time. In maths, we challenged our understanding of number properties to prove statements and tackle questions in a different way. We also explored line graphs, both using data to create them and then interpreting the data to answer questions. Friday afternoon was an absolute treat as we headed to Babington House to watch their performance of High School Musical Jr. After such a busy week it was nice to be able to sit back and be entertained.
Year 6
This week in Year 6, pupils have been connecting their learning across subjects through themes of investigation, understanding, and communication. In English, this has been reflected in their work on non-chronological reports about espionage. The children have approached this topic as researchers, gathering information about the world of spying before carefully organising and composing their own reports. There has been a strong focus on clarity, cohesion and presenting information effectively. This sense of enquiry has also carried into History, where pupils explored the Kindertransport and the actions of Sir Nicholas Winton. They considered the human stories behind these events, alongside their study of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), helping them to build a deeper understanding of this significant period in history. Communication skills were further developed during this week’s debating workshop. Pupils demonstrated thoughtful listening and confident speaking, learning how to construct balanced arguments and respond respectfully to differing viewpoints. In Maths, pupils have been applying logical reasoning within their geometry unit. They have worked on calculating vertically opposite angles and angles within triangles, before extending this knowledge to angles in quadrilaterals. The focus has been on explaining their thinking clearly and applying known facts to solve problems. In Science, the theme of understanding systems continued as pupils learned about the heart and its role within the circulatory system. They explored how this vital organ works to pump blood around the body, linking structure to function and considering why this process is essential for life.
Outdoor Learning
This week has been a strange one weather wise and this has affected our plants. We were very hot on Monday, almost early Spring like on Tuesday, windy on Wednesday and then back to tropical for the rest of the week. The children have planted beetroot, repotted all of our sweet peas, sowed sweetcorn, salvia and peas as well as doing some of their science experiments in the allotment. Year 2 were lucky to use the rotivator which was a real treat. As we have not had real rainfall again this week, there has been lots of watering too. Let’s hope the Bank Holiday weekend weather is lovely!
Languages
This week Nursery and Reception carried on with the topic of food, also practising colours and numbers. We are still practising the three questions in French that we have started last week (what is it? what colour is it? how many there are?) and the children are getting very confident. Year 1 had a lesson on phonics: the sounds IN and AN were explored and the children successfully played a very challenging game. Year 2 also practised phonics, focusing on the difference between EU and AU. Year 3 started to describe the landscape of a country or continent, and also added the use of “il y a” in a sentence; Year 4 children have learnt how to express opinions on the school subjects. In Spanish, Year 5 talked about the sports they do, also focusing on pronunciation; in Latin, Year 6 children have done their dress rehearsal for the Latin Assembly and both the children and myself are really looking forward to next week’s performance.