From the Head
Dear Parents,
It has been the greatest joy to welcome your children back to St Olave’s this week. The school has been alive with the sound of laughter, curiosity and determination – the kind of atmosphere that makes me remember why our school is such a special place. I have walked into classrooms and been greeted by calm, purposeful learning and children who are already giving their very best. It is a privilege to see how beautifully they have settled – whether starting in Nursery and Reception, joining us for the first time or returning higher up the school – and to know that each child has returned eager to learn, to grow and to play their part in our wonderful community.
Every September feels like a fresh chapter in St Olave’s story, but this year I have been struck by the confidence and positivity with which the children have stepped back into school life. Year 6, in particular, deserve a mention: their first set of 11+ exams begin next week, and they are tackling the challenge with courage, resilience and good humour. They are already superheroes in my eyes, and I know you will join me in cheering them on. Across the rest of the school, the children have shown the same spark – whether through lively discussions in class, imaginative play outside or the enthusiasm with which they have embraced the start of the year. Following the great success of last year’s Year of Reading initiative, we are proud to launch it again, beginning with September’s new theme: Reading is Magic. We want every child to experience that feeling of being transported into another world through books and I cannot wait to see what adventures they discover this term.
At St Olave’s, we know that children achieve their very best when home and school work in close partnership. Together, we can make an extraordinary difference. I would like to highlight three small but powerful ways in which you can support your child this year:
Reading Every Day
Reading is the foundation of success across every subject. We ask that you aim for 20–30 minutes daily – this might be your child reading independently, sharing a book with you or listening to you read aloud. Talking about books, stories and new vocabulary makes all the difference, and it is one of the most precious gifts you can give your child.
Limiting Screen Time
Children need balance in their lives: family time, rest, outdoor play and hobbies all matter. Please support us by setting clear limits on screen use, particularly on school nights. Good sleep routines and less screen time directly support focus, wellbeing and happiness in school.
Uniform Pride
Our uniform is an important part of St Olave’s identity. We expect it to be worn smartly and consistently, with jewellery kept to the minimum of small studs (removed for PE, games and swimming). Smartwatches are not permitted. Please help us by ensuring your child takes pride in their appearance every day – it builds a strong sense of belonging and community.
These habits may seem small, but together they make a powerful impact on your child’s success and confidence. With your support, we can ensure every child thrives, feels proud of themselves and knows that they are part of something truly special.
Thank you, as always, for entrusting us with your most precious children. We will never take that privilege for granted. I am filled with excitement for all that lies ahead this year, and I know – with certainty – that St Olave’s will continue to be a place where children not only achieve, but also flourish and shine.
Warmest wishes,
Miss Holloway
The week ahead...
Lunch Menu
September Update
Safeguarding at St Olave’s
This term, we remind all children and staff that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. If your child ever shares a worry with you, please let us know straight away so we can help. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) team is always here to listen and act.
Sporting Round Up
We’re proud to begin this academic year with a trophy, awarded to us for being voted the team that best demonstrated the value of respect. As a school we constantly show respect to each other, opposition, officials, and everyone that we come into contact with, so we are delighted to be awarded the Respect Trophy during last year's mixed football tournament. Congratulations Year 5 and 6!
Nursery
We are so impressed with how our Little Acorns have started their journey at St Olave’s. They have played beautifully together, and it has been wonderful to see so many new friendships beginning to form.
This week, as well as exploring the classroom, they have enjoyed French, Music, PE, and Gardening lessons with our specialist teachers. We have loved story time, and after reading Owl Babies, the children made their very own owls.
Our lunches have been a highlight too, with chicken curry, spaghetti bolognese, and traditional fish and chips on the menu!
We can’t wait to see you all again on Monday for our first full week. Have a fantastic weekend!
Reception
WOW and we’re back with a BANG!
The children in Reception have returned full of confidence and enthusiasm, eager to share their wonderful stories from the Summer. We have been so impressed with how quickly they have settled into the daily routine and embraced all of the exciting activities.
This week, the children have enjoyed making bracelets, building, playing with dinosaurs, creating owls inspired by Owl Babies, and designing robots through junk modelling. Story time has been a highlight, with the children showing great engagement and sharing fascinating facts about sea creatures and books they have read. They also loved their French lessons, music lessons (where they sang and danced like wiggly worms) and their PE lesson, where Mr Kendall turned into a monster! On top of all that, they have been happily tucking into their school lunches and delicious snacks.
It has been such a busy and fun-filled week, and we’re sure they are ready for a well-deserved rest! We wish you all a lovely weekend and look forward to another fantastic week ahead.
Year 1
Welcome to Year 1, Pine and Spruce classes! The children have had a great few days settling in and starting to develop their skills ready for Year 1. We have practiced writing letters and numbers correctly, building confidence in maths work and learning all of the new routines of the day.
The children have settled really well and are certainly ready for a year of fun and learning in their new year group.
Year 2
It has been lovely to welcome our Year 2 classes back to school. They are now officially at the top of the Lower School… and are greatly enjoying the new experience of being ‘upstairs.’
It has been a short week, but the children have made an excellent start, already working hard and trying their best to follow instructions and new routines. We have been refreshing our number skills, and wrote about the fantastic Summer of 2025. Time has also been nicely spent getting acquainted with the book collections in our classrooms. So many new books to try! The children have enjoyed a variety of ‘getting to know you’ activities; they are clearly very happy to be back with their classmates. We will recharge at the weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Monday.
Year 3
Welcome to Year 3 and the Upper School! Both Holly and Willow classes have wowed us with their maturity, energy and enthusiasm this week. We have enjoyed getting to know the children and hearing about their adventures over the summer holidays.
The children have settled into their new routines and have impressed us with their attitudes to learning and behaviour both in the classroom and around the school. This week brought our first DT lesson, where the children learnt what their first project will be. We can’t wait to see the end result!
In English, the children used a visual stimulus to create a piece of descriptive writing independently. We have greatly enjoyed reading their work and are impressed with their creativity, vocabulary and focus.
Another first for Year 3 next week will be the Upper School games session at Footscray Rugby Club on Wednesday afternoon.
We look forward to seeing you at our welcome meeting on Tuesday evening.
Year 4
Year 4 have made a fantastic start to the year and we are so proud of how well they have settled in. Each morning begins with smiles and positivity as the children greet us with a fist bump, high five or handshake.
In Maths, we revised key skills including place value, the four operations, fractions and shape. In English, we introduced Varjak Paw by S. F. Said, using the front cover and blurb to develop prediction skills before beginning to read the story together.
For Writing, the children planned and wrote imaginative time-travel stories, showing great creativity and an excellent understanding of story features.
We also enjoyed some creative activities: the children designed birthday cards for classmates, which will be shared on birthdays throughout the year, and drew their “10 Brilliant Things,” celebrating everything from horses and slides to Pikachu.
It has been a joyful first few days in Year 4, and we look forward to seeing you all at our welcome meeting on Tuesday at 6pm.
Year 5
What a stupendous start to year 5! The children have returned to school so well and have settled straight in. There was no hanging around - from maths to music, computing to English and Spanish to science, they have really hit the ground running!
We have been impressed by their focus in a piece of descriptive writing from their holidays and their engagement with maths questions designed to switch their brains back into work mode.
The first Spanish lesson was a hit - Muy buena! We’ve visited our wonderful school library and delved into the realms of space in our science lesson.
It was lovely to see so many of you at our parent meeting on Thursday. Have a lovely weekend and we’ll see you Monday!
Year 6
Year 6 have made an excellent start to the new year, showing real focus and determination as they continue their preparation for Tuesday’s exam. It has been fantastic to see how dedicated they are, giving their very best and acting as wonderful role models for the rest of the school. They have shown maturity and responsibility, proving that they are ready to step up to the challenges ahead. We are very proud of their hard work and positive attitude. We wish them a calm and restful weekend so they return refreshed and ready for the week ahead.
It was lovely to see so many of you at our Meet the Teacher on Thursday and we wish you a lovely weekend.
Outdoor Learning
This week the children have returned to see how much the fruit and vegetables have grown. The most spectacular has to be the pumpkins which are enormous. The children have had a good look at the beds and inside the greenhouses and polytunnels and are very excited to taste a lot of the produce. They all had a taste of the grapes in Greenhouse Five and we have managed to save some of the seeds to see if we can grow a new vine. We will taste more things next week.
Languages
What an amazing start we have had in our department! The children showed their enthusiasm straight away and nearly all the classes had their language lessons.
Nursery and Reception have started to familiarise themselves with new French instruction and they heard a lovely story - Les trois petits cochons.
Year 2 revised greetings and numbers and Year 4 talked about themselves, what their favourite animal is and when their birthday is. Year 5 had a great start in Spanish and the children enjoyed learning instructions and acting them out.
Design & Technology and Computing
Year 3 Cardboard Castles
This week pupils explored the history of common features found in castles. They will be including these in their initial designs that they will apply to their final products
Year 4 Electronic Torches
Pupils in Year 4 revisited their knowledge of circuit assembly by experimenting with linking up the electronic components create a functioning circuit.
Computing highlights
Year 3 have been learning about website design, they learned the meaning behind the acronym ‘www’ and which security features to look for when navigating websites. Year 5 have been exploring new terminology relating to devices as well as exploring the world of Micro:Bit.