From the Head
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already reached the end of the first half term of the year. Autumn 1 has flown by in a wonderful blur of learning, laughter and purpose. The children have worked incredibly hard and are now ready for a well-deserved rest. From inspiring assemblies to exciting class projects, it has been a truly vibrant start to the year, and I couldn’t be prouder of the focus, curiosity and joy shown across the school.
Thank you all for attending Parents’ Evenings this week. These conversations are such a valuable opportunity to celebrate your child’s progress and to share next steps together. The commitment and warmth you bring to these meetings make a real difference. It means a great deal to our teachers to know that we are working hand in hand to help every child thrive – academically, socially and emotionally.
Our Black History Month celebrations have been exceptional this year. The children have explored stories that deepen their understanding of empathy, courage and identity, and the work produced across the school has been outstanding. I am so grateful to the families who shared recipes, artefacts and experiences with us – your contributions have brought our learning to life and strengthened our community spirit.
Unbelievably, it’s now time to start thinking about Christmas! November always passes in a flurry of sparkle and song, and our wonderful FRSC have already begun planning what promises to be a very special Christmas Fayre. The children are buzzing with excitement about what’s to come. Over the half-term break, we’d love families to start thinking about donations for the Fayre stalls so that we can ensure there is plenty for everyone to enjoy. From bottles and chocolates to toys, gifts and festive treats, every contribution helps us create the magical, community-spirited evening that makes the St Olave’s Christmas Fayre so memorable. Please look at ParentPay for details of items we would like you to start collecting for us, as well as a couple of special, exciting new stalls!
As we prepare for the second half of term, please continue to talk to your children about our value of Collaboration. Whether working as a team in class, helping at home or supporting our school events, it is through collaboration that we achieve the extraordinary things that make our community so special.
Thank you for your continued warmth, generosity and partnership. I hope you all enjoy a restful, joy-filled half term and I look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 3rd November, ready for another exciting chapter at St Olave's!
Kind regards, Miss Holloway
The week ahead...
Lunch Menu
Monthly Safeguarding Update
October – Friendships and Respect
Sometimes children can fall out or be unkind, but we teach that harassment, bullying, or harmful behaviour is never acceptable. If your child ever feels uncomfortable because of another child’s words or actions, encourage them to speak up - either to you or to a trusted adult in school.
Focus on School Values
This week’s school value: Collaboration
This week’s manner: Don’t talk about someone’s physical appearance unless you are giving them a compliment
This week at St Olave’s, we are teaching children the importance of being kind and thoughtful in the way they speak about others. Our weekly manner is a powerful one: Only talk about someone’s appearance if you're giving a compliment. It’s part of helping children understand the impact of their words and how to build a community of mutual respect.
At school, we’re modelling positive language and gently guiding children to think before they speak. At home, it helps enormously if this is mirrored, especially in the way siblings, adults or TV personalities are spoken about. Praising kindness and curiosity over appearance sets an incredibly strong foundation.
We used Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes in assembly - a tender and accessible story about a little girl who feels proud of her name until others tease her. It offers an excellent springboard for discussing self-esteem and empathy. If you’re looking to continue this message at home, try Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell or I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont.
Together, we’re helping children see that what really matters is not how someone looks, but how they make others feel.
This week at St Olave's
Rights Day - Children's Rights and the Global Goals: A Better World Starts With Us
We all know that children around the world have rights protected by the UNCRC and our Rights learning in school this year is going to explore how these link to the Global Goals. These 17 goals are a plan created by world leaders to make the world a better, fairer, and safer place for everyone by 2030.
Today the children explored how the UNCRC and the Global Goals go hand-in-hand. For example:
Goal 4: Quality Education supports Article 28 of the UNCRC - every child has the right to an education.
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being links to Article 24 - the right to good healthcare and a clean environment.
Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions connects to Article 12 - the right to be heard and taken seriously.
We also thought about what the world will look like in 2030 if they are all achieved. Our aim is to inspire the children as changemakers in order to help build a brighter future - not just for ourselves, but for children everywhere.
Pupil Voice Elections
We are delighted to announce that our Pupil Voice roles for this year have now been allocated. The standard of applications and presentations was incredibly high, and we were so impressed by the enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and commitment shown by all who applied. It’s wonderful to see so many pupils eager to take an active role in shaping school life. Congratulations to those who have been appointed — we look forward to seeing the positive impact you’ll make this year!
Poet in Residence
In this week's poetry workshops with Adisa, pupils explored the theme of identity and what makes each of us special. We began by thinking about our names – their meanings, origins, and the stories they tell about who we are. Pupils then described themselves through colours, textures, sounds, and weather, creating imaginative metaphors that painted a picture of their unique personalities.
We then explored Lubaina Himid’s installation, 'Naming the Money', which celebrates the lives and contributions of Black people in Britain whose stories have often been forgotten or left untold. Inspired by Himid’s work, pupils imagined and wrote identities, voices, and stories for the unnamed figures in the installation, considering who they might have been and the impact they had on history.
Through poetry and art, pupils learned how creativity can help us understand ourselves and others, give voice to the overlooked, and celebrate the diversity of our shared stories.
Black History Month Workshops
On Tuesday, Upper School were treated to workshops linking drama to our work on Black History Month. The sessions for Years 5 and 6 were inspired by Stormzy's story - from rapping in the park to his friends to performing on stage at Glastonbury and winning a Brit award! We also heard about his generosity in supporting people less fortunate than himself to access university through scholarships. We used his story to first think about the people who inspire us and the activities we do that make us feel happy. We finished our workshop by recreating a scene from Stormzy's life that we found the most inspirational. Children in Years 3 and 4 learned about Malorie Blackman and how her work challenges sterotypes. The children enjoyed learning about someone different and it was an excellent way to round off our work for Black History Month.
Sporting Round Up
Cross Country
Wednesday saw children from Years 5 and 6 take part in the Greenwich Cross Country event at Avery Hill Park. Competing against 16 different schools, and approximately 90 children racing in each race, our children demonstrated many of our school's values throughout their race. Determination, resilience, and commitment in gaining the best possible finishing place they could get. We had fantastic results across both year groups and gendered groups. We had 4 children finish within the top 10 positions and 6 children finished in 11-30 positions. Furthermore, the top 15 children from Year 6 go through to represent Greenwich at the London Youth Games and 3 children from St Olave's qualified! Well done to all the children for their hard work and brilliant attitudes throughout the afternoon.
Nursery
Who will help me EAT the bread? I will, I will!!
The Little Acorns have been reading the stories Chapati Moon and The Little Red Hen and have had a go at making their own flat breads. They mixed flour, yogurt and baking powder and then kneaded and rolled the dough. The children then cooked the bread in the pan and finally got to eat their delicious flat breads. Luckily none of the breads jumped out of the pan and ran away!!
Outside the children have been brewing up some herbal teas and making potions. The different teas provided lots of sensory experiences as we used warm water, cold water, berry teas that turned pink and lemon and ginger tea that smelled delicious! Some of the brews had magical results and turned us into spiders, dinosaurs and even purple haired witches!!
We have finished our first half term with a wonderful campfire, making magical memories for our children and bringing us together for a sing song. Enjoy the holiday and see you all again in November!!
Reception
And that’s a wrap on our first half term! What a wonderful first half term it has been in Reception! We have absolutely loved getting to know each and every child in Aspen and Beech Class. The children have made an incredible start to their school journey, and we couldn’t be prouder of all they have achieved so far. From the very first day, the children have shown such kindness, curiosity, and resilience, building new friendships, learning to work as a team, and developing so many new skills.
It has been a joy to watch their confidence grow day by day. This week, it has been lovely to speak with so many parents and share just how proud we are of your children.
We have rounded off this half term with a truly magical week of learning and fun. The children were captivated during our storytelling workshop, where they listened to the tale of Anansi the Spider and joined in with actions and retelling the story through drama. Later in the week, we gathered together for a wonderful EYFS campfire. The children loved drinking their cup of warm hot chocolate, toasting marshmallows over the fire, and singing cheerful campfire songs that filled the air with laughter. To finish our week, we explored the celebration of Diwali, learning about the Festival of Light and creating our own colourful Rangoli patterns. It was the perfect way to end a fantastic half term.
We wish you all a wonderful half term break. We can’t wait to see your photos on Tapestry and hear all about your exciting adventures when we return.
Year 1
What a busy half term the children have had! They’ve enjoyed so many wonderful experiences and embraced lots of new learning. We are incredibly proud of how much they have achieved — their enthusiasm, curiosity, and kindness have really shone through.
This week began with a fantastic “Anansi the Spider” workshop, where the children retold the story of Anansi and the Turtle through drama. We are sure they were very excited to share the experience at home! In English, they have been revisiting capital letters, verbs, and adjectives, reading poems aloud, and presenting their manifestos to classmates as part of our school MP project.
In Maths, the children have been exploring fact families and number bonds to 10. Please continue to practise these at home to build strong foundations for future learning. On Wednesday, Mr Macedo visited to teach the children all about computers, allowing them to explore components and even compare computers to human beings — it sparked lots of curiosity and discussion!
In Science, we finished our “All About Me” unit with an investigation using our sense of smell. The children loved exploring different scents and sharing their observations. We also enjoyed a special Rights Day focused on the Sustainable Development Goals, where the children came up with fantastic ideas for how they can help make the world a better place.
We are sure you are very proud of all that your children have achieved this half term. We hope you have a wonderful half-term break and look forward to seeing them back for more exciting learning and adventures next term!
Year 2
Wow! What a half-term we have had in Year 2. The amount of progress the children have made had been amazing to see and we are very proud of all they have achieved already. To finish our English topic this week, we have finished writing character descriptions using expanded noun phrases and challenging ourselves to add even more detail. We have enjoyed being creative and exploring different adjectives and we hope you can keep doing this through reading and conversations over the half-term break.
In maths we have continued our addition and subtraction work by adding and subtracting one-digit numbers and two-digit numbers. Our fluency and understanding has been building quickly but please do keep practising this too!
We have enjoyed hearing presentations from our peers as the bid for class MPs began and we have enjoyed reading the applications for other roles around the school. The presentations were delivered confidently and effectively with many great ideas shared so all candidates should be very proud of themselves.
In science this week, we have finished our topic of 'animals, including humans' by learning about hygiene. We completed an experiment using pepper to show the importance of washing our hands properly in the fight against spreading germs. We were amazed to see how soap dispersed the pepper in water and fingers crossed this lesson sticks with us and helps with keeping us all well this winter.
Rights Day on Thursday saw us considering how the world would look if all the Global Goals were met in 2030 as planned. We created towns and cities to reflect what would be needed to help the goals be a success. We included food banks, recycling centres, electric bus garages and of course schools for all. We also considered the impact that meeting the goals would have on our environment and all the things we would be grateful to protect.
Many thanks for your time this week as we met for Parent’s Evening. It was lovely to discuss your children and give you a glimpse into their daily lives and their learning so far. We hope you all have a lovely time over the next two weeks and come back refreshed and ready for a Christmas-tastic second half of the term!
Year 3
As we approach the end of our first half term in Year 3, we reflect on challenging and enriching learning and classrooms filled with positive energy and laughter.
In maths this week, we have been working on addition and subtraction, using a variety of strategies to solve calculations. The children have enjoyed using number lines, counters and column methods to help them tackle trickier questions. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they challenge themselves and explain their mathematical thinking.
In English, we have continued to explore Greek myths. The children have loved hearing about brave heroes, fearsome monsters and magical creatures. They planned and wrote their own myths, complete with exciting settings and imaginative characters. We were so impressed by their creativity and the powerful vocabulary they used to bring their stories to life.
Science has been all about rocks this half term. We have learned how different types of rocks are formed and carried out experiments to test their properties. We finished the topic with a practical investigation, exploring different types of soil and discovering the tiny bits of wildlife that live in them! It was a brilliant way to end our unit.
If our core learning wasn’t enough this week, we also heard from our hopeful Pupil Voice candidates who prepared speeches and formal applications with professionalism and thoughtfulness beyond their years. We also enjoyed an informative and inspirational Rights Day where we learned about the Global Goals and how we can make a difference to our World.
Thank you all for joining us for parents’ evening this week, where we enjoyed the opportunity to discuss your wonderful children. We wish you all a restful half term and look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.
Year 4
What a wonderful way to end the half term! This week has been full of enthusiasm and creativity. Our highlight has been the number of children presenting manifestos and ideas for roles such as Community or Eco MP and Anti-Bullying Ambassador. We have also been impressed by those applying for Equality Hero, Wellbeing Champion, and Food Committee roles. The children showed great confidence and passion, and we discussed the importance of applying for roles that truly interest us and persevering if we’re not successful this time.
In English, we began our new text 'Until I Met Dudley' by Roger McGough and Chris Riddell. The children loved the girl’s imaginative ideas, like dragons firing toast and cats working in fridges, and enjoyed learning how real explanation texts are structured to help readers to understand.
In Maths, we focused on addition and subtraction, exploring the most efficient strategies. The children had great discussions about whether the column method is always best—quickly spotting that counting on was faster for questions like 2005 – 1998.
In Science, we explored the water cycle, learning through a lively Go Noodle song that helped the children remember key vocabulary. History saw us designing Roman shields, thinking carefully about their patterns and meanings. We also loved our Black Heroes Workshop with Amber, who led fun drama games like the “Opposite Game” , a great test of listening skills!
In Art, the children created colourful folded skulls inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival, which they were proud to take home. We ended the week with a visit from our Poet in Residence, Adisa, who inspired everyone with his energy and creativity.
It was lovely to meet so many of you at Parents’ Evening this week - thank you for your time and feedback. Wishing you all a relaxing and happy half term... Christmas is coming!
Year 5
All of a sudden, it's half term! We've had a whirlwind of a half term and Year 5 have impressed us throughout with their hardworking attitude and focus.
We kicked off the week with a bang, enjoying a drama workshop to introduce us to Stormzy. We thought about the people in our lives who inspire us; it was lovely to hear so many children talk about their parents. We also got to put our acting skills into practice as we reenacted our favourite things to do - from reading to sewing; gaming and eating. It was a lot of fun!
We've turned our attention to the link between fractions, decimals and percentages this week; being careful to adjust and simplify fractions to be accurate in our equivalents.
In English we have reached the end of our focus on descriptive narratives and have been amazed with how well the children have incorporated different literary techniques into their writing to create imagery alongside boosting mood and atmosphere. Already we can see confidence increasing in independent and creative writing; it's wonderful. We've pushed ourselves with VR learning this week; exploring challenges and trying out new techniques.
We are so proud of the progress made in swimming lessons this half term; with every child impressing the instructors with their resilience and determination to improve their individual skills.
It was a joy to listen to the children deliver their presentations for their pupil voice jobs this week. Those that applied spoke with such confidence and were so full of ideas it was really tough for their peers to choose who to vote for.
We would also like to say thank you for your time during parents evenings this week. It's so nice to have the opportunity to talk about your wonderful children and how well they've settled in. Have a wonderful and restful half term break.
Year 6
As we reach the end of a busy and rewarding half term, Year 6 have continued to impress us with their enthusiasm, determination and hard work.
In English, pupils have taken on the role of reporters, crafting newspaper articles that capture the drama and intrigue of Macbeth. After writing reports on the death of Banquo earlier in the week, they brought together all the techniques they had learned to produce independent pieces describing the events at the Macduff household. Their writing demonstrated real flair, attention to detail and a growing confidence with journalistic style.
In Maths, the focus has been on developing understanding of BIDMAS and refining mental calculation methods. The children showed great perseverance as they tackled challenging problems and applied their knowledge in increasingly complex contexts. The week concluded with an engaging inquiry lesson, giving pupils the opportunity to explore mathematical reasoning in creative and collaborative ways.
To round off the week, Year 6 continued their exploration of photography in Art. They experimented with composition and lighting to recreate some of the world’s most famous paintings, with impressive and imaginative results!
It has been a wonderful end to the half term, and we are incredibly proud of all that Year 6 have achieved. Their hard work, curiosity and positive attitude have shone through in every lesson. We wish them all a restful and well-deserved break.
Outdoor Learning
This week the children have been picking our enormous pumpkins and the last of the courgettes. We have been busy repairing some of the old beds and the Year 2s used the saw and a mallet to create and then install some new posts. Year 5 put a lot of leaf mulch into our cleared beds and they will be left to rot down over the winter. There are gardening clubs on the two Thursdays over half term so I hope to see some of you at one or both of these.
Languages
What an amazing first half term we've had! The weeks were packed with activities and fun and this week was not short of success in the Languages Department!
In French, Nursery and Reception have finished practising colours with games and songs, and they enjoyed the story of “Leon le raton”.
Year 1 had their first lesson on phonics: we focused on the sounds “UN” and “ON” and played the game “Feed the penguins” with the correct words. Year 2 worked at saying the time in French and Year 3 revised their learning over this half term with writing, reading and speaking activities. Year 4 had a culture lesson on recognising the important landmarks in Paris: we found out many facts about Paris and its iconic places, also placing them on the map.
In Spanish, Year 5 revised the program covered during this half term via reading a story in Spanish and learning facts about the Spanish-speaking world; Year 6 carried on practising the core vocabulary of our half termly topic and got introduced to more key words. In Latin, we started talking about the conjugation of the present tense, understanding that the endings are the important part of the words. This week we met Pandora, the new slave in our Vindolanda family, who is going to make Lepidina (the mother of the family) very happy with her excellent hairdressing skills
Design & Technology and Computing
Quiz of the week: Look out for the words in bold and ask your child if they can recall what they mean.
Year 3 Cardboard Castles
Pupils in Year 3 secured their bases and started adding the external facades features to their castles that include curtain walls, turrets and towers. Pupils also started decorating the external features of the castles that they can continue to work on at home.
Year 4 Electric Torches
This week, pupils completed their circuits and added extra features to their torches to create original designs aimed at their target customer.
Year 5 Pop Up Books
Pupils in Year 5 added backgrounds to all of their pages and installed another folding feature into the last pages of their books.
Year 6 Steady Hand Games
This week, pupils in Year 6 connected their circuits together, they reinforced the wiring to prevent breaks and short circuits.
Computing highlights
Year 1 pupils reviewed their understanding of algorithms by drawing images following a sequence of instructions. Year 2 pupils started exploring inventions that include computers as part of their functionality. Year 3 pupils added filter features to their spreadsheets and converted their data into charts and graphs. Year 4 experimented further with embedding videos and maps into their websites. Year 5 coded a polling program and explored more coding features of Micro:Bit to make code. Year 6 created data spreadsheets that filtered information chronologically and they customised the spreadsheets to make the data easier to read and analyse with bar charts.
Postcards of Praise
Community News
A Line Art
We're delighted to share that one of our parents is an artist who runs an arts and theatre company called A Line Art, creating interactive art and theatre shows for children and their families. This half term (October 25th, 26th, 29th and 30th), they are running an event at Southbank Centre called Alphabet Soup for 5-11 year olds. You can find out more about it here: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/alphabet-soup/