From the Head
What a fantastic day we had today for Red Nose Day! A huge thank you to Mrs Farrell for her impeccable organisation and for bringing so much fun and laughter to the school. The children were not only full of energy and creativity, but their generosity in supporting this important cause was truly heartwarming. From wacky hair to a party in the playground, the joy was felt by everyone. Thank you to all who participated and we look forward to seeing the final tally of funds raised for such a worthy cause.
I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the FRSC volunteers who organised the wonderful Mothers' Day shop yesterday. Your time and effort in making this such a special occasion for our children and their families are truly appreciated.
Looking ahead, Parents' Evenings are next week and we’re excited to welcome you to discuss your child’s progress and achievements. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to work together to support your child’s journey here at St Olave’s. Our teachers are eager to share the strides the children have made, as well as discuss ways we can continue to nurture their development. We encourage you to come prepared with any questions or insights you might have!
In addition to these important events, we are thrilled that Year 4 will be embarking on their first ever residential trip to Danbury next week. This is such a special milestone for the children, as they step outside the classroom to experience the wonders of nature and teamwork. We know that this trip will be filled with learning, adventure and memorable moments that will help them grow as individuals. We wish them all the best as they set off for what promises to be an unforgettable experience.
With so much going on, it’s a busy time for our school community, and I'm so grateful for the energy and enthusiasm from staff, children and families alike. Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.
Kind regards, Miss Holloway
The week ahead...
Lunch Menu
Safeguarding Team
This week at St Olave's
Year 5 Residential to Swanage
Wow! What a week we had in Swanage! Year 5 had an unforgettable experience on their residential trip, representing St Olave’s with great pride and enthusiasm. From the moment they arrived, the children displayed remarkable curiosity, eagerly engaging in the wide range of activities planned for them. One of our highlights was the visit to Corfe Castle, where the children fully immersed themselves in role-playing historical stories, stepping into the shoes of past figures such as King Edward, Prince Arthur and King John. The children showed great enthusiasm and creativity, showcasing their keen interest in exploring new knowledge. On our trip to the Dancing Ledge, the children enjoyed being fossil hunters, discovering the ancient treasures hidden in the rocks (including lots of ammonites!)
Not only did we learn lots about the history of Swanage, the children took on physical challenges that required courage and perseverance. The hike to Old Harry Rocks was an enjoyable journey, as the children tackled the scenic route with determination, supporting each other along the way and sharing the joy of reaching the unforgettable views at the end. Their teamwork and positive attitude was evident throughout the whole trip as they encouraged one another and celebrated achievements together. Throughout the trip, the children demonstrated a growing independence, managing their belongings and taking responsibility for themselves and others. Whether enjoying some downtime with their friends, engaging in activities or reflecting on their experiences, we are extremely proud of their deep commitment to representing themselves and St Olave’s in the best possible way. When can we go back?!
Marine Conservation Assembly
On Monday our wonderful Eco MPs led a whole school assembly on the importance of the ocean to everyone's lives. Sharing insightful facts, along with worrying statistics, they challenged each class to take part in a lesson this week based on marine conservation. From exploring the impact of marine litter to tracking its journey to the ocean and considering how we can better protect our seas, the children have shown understanding, empathy and compassion.
Primary Maths Challenge - Bonus Round
Back in November, some of Year 5 and 6 took part in the Primary Maths Challenge and they all performed brilliantly. Five of the Year 6s were successful in getting through to the Bonus Round, which took place in February, and I am pleased to announce that three of them achieved a Bronze award in this! We are so proud of all of the children who completed this challenge as they showed great perseverance and commitment. We are looking forward to taking part in the First Mathematics Challenge in June, which will be for the Year 3 and 4 children!
FRSC Mother's Day Shop
Thank you to all the parents who organised and came into school to help with the shop - it was a very busy day!. The children enjoyed choosing a gift and designing a bag to give to their special person next weekend, and we hope everyone enjoys their gifts.
Red Nose Day
St Olave's children and staff have used their imagination to celebrate Red Nose Day today with fantastic hairstyles, hats and wigs. Everyone had a fun time in the playground at lunchtime on a specially designed obstacle course. We learnt about the challenges faced by children around the world, and how the money we have raised will make a real difference. Thank you to everyone who donated.
Sporting Round Up
Dodgeball Tournament
Last Friday, children from Year 3 travelled down the road to Eltham Hill Secondary School to take part in a dodgeball tournament. Out of 8 different schools, Year 3 ended the tournament in 5th place. A brilliant event which the children loved! Well done Year 3!
Girls Football League
Tuesday was the return of the Girls Football League. This week we played two more fixtures winning both games 3-0 and 2-0. The girls remain unbeaten with nine more fixtures left in the league. Keep up the amazing work girls!
Year 6 Football
On Wednesday, Year 6 had an afternoon in the beautiful sunshine playing football at Sidcup Sports Club. The girls played two games winning both games 1-0 and 2-0. The mixed team won their first match 3-0, and drew their second match, in the best 0-0 game I have ever seen! Well played everyone!
Gymnastics Plus
Thursday saw Birch class experience their first Gymnastics Plus session. The children were beaming with smiles and laughter throughout the lesson as they gained confidence on the beams, bars and trampoline. It was such a pleasure to witness the enjoyment Birch class had throughout the afternoon, and they should all be proud of how much they progressed within the session.
Notices
Nursery
Watch out everyone!! Some very large spiders have chosen to spin their webs in Little Acorns this week. The children have used different threads, wools and ribbons to weave a complex web which they have then had a wonderful time using to trap flies and other assorted baddies! Weaving the webs and untangling the models has given our finger muscles an excellent workout.
The lovely Spring sunshine has prompted us to uncover the sandpit after a very wet and cold winter. The children have really loved digging and moulding the damp sand and making cakes and pies with their friends.
Reception
We say it every week but time has flown this week in Reception. We have had so much fun - celebrating St Patrick’s Day, learning about marine conservation and a trip to the library.
The children were so excited to learn about St Patrick’s Day. They had a great time making shamrock wands, Leprechauns, rainbows and pots of gold. They used their phonics knowledge to write about their creation.
This week for Drawing Club, we read the book ‘The Undersea Cleaning Spree’. This tied in beautifully with Marine Conservation week as the story talked about rubbish polluting the sea. We created our own sea creature and then a machine that cleaned up all the rubbish. The children learnt lots of new vocabulary such as pollution, pristine and clogged. They were able to use these words in their conversations as they came up with a plan on how to save our oceans and sea life.
We had lots of videos sharing Holi celebrations on Tapestry. The children were so excited to tell their friends all about their experience. They then took it upon themselves to create their own Holi celebration in class. They made musical instruments out of loose parts and used coloured paper to represent the powdered paint. It was so sweet so see.
We look forward to meeting with lots of you next week at Parent’s Evening. We hope you have a great weekend!
Year 1
The sun is shining and spring is here! This has set the tone for a wonderful week writing descriptive poems all about spring. The children have learnt about similes and applied their new skills to write beautiful poems describing the features of spring. The children have used such wonderful vocabulary including ‘Daffodils as golden as the sun’ and ‘Flowers as colourful as a beautiful rainbow’. The children really enjoyed sharing their poems with their peers and should be very proud of their enthusiasm and creativity.
In maths, the children have moved onto measuring height and length. They started this unit by using objects such as ‘cubes’ or ‘lollipop sticks’ as a unit of measure. Once they became confident with the concept of measure they then moved on to using centimetres. Next week, the children will move onto the topic of mass and volume. Over the weekend you may want to discuss vocabulary such as ‘lighter’ and ‘heavier’.
In science, the children have begun to learn about food chains. They discussed key vocabulary such as ‘producer’ and ‘consumer’ and were enthusiastic to identify what different predators may eat. They were able to discuss how we live in an ecosystem and how everything has its own place to contribute to it.
In Geography, we have been learning all about maps, so on Thursday afternoon, we took a walk to Fairy Hill Park. The children have been looking at the purpose of a map and even drawn their very own of the classrooms. Before we left on our walk we had a look at a map of the local area. We planned our route and discussed what different markings on the map meant. We then looked out for the things we had noticed on the map while we were on our walk. Once we arrived at the park the children used compasses to identify north and south. We are sure the children were very excited to tell you all about their lovely afternoon.
We hope you have a fantastic weekend and we look forward to seeing you all at parents evening next week.
Year 2
What came first… the children or the egg? The children were challenged with this question in science this week with a focus on the life cycle of a chicken. We also looked at the data of a new chicks weight, plotted a graph and made predictions!
In English, we explored the difference between plural and possessive '-s' (it’s trickier than you think!) and made sure we knew when to use apostrophes. Maths saw us reach the end of our length and height topic with a focus on problem solving. Please support your children with their maths reasoning at home by asking questions for them to justify.
Our Marine Conservation lesson had us considering the impact of marine litter on not only the oceans and marine life, but also the wider impact on the environment all around the world. We considered where marine litter comes from and what we can do about it. We even tried our hands at writing newspaper reports!
On Thursday we took part in a special LIVE assembly with National Rail all about rail safety and visited the FRSC Mothers Day Shop!
We have been busy preparing for our very special Spring Concert and cannot wait to welcome you into school on Monday for the ‘big event’. Please encourage your children to have one final practice over the weekend.
Year 3
Year 3 are having a dreamy week as we begin to write our dream-based poems in English. We explored prepositions and conjunctions to extend our sentences and began writing about exploring faraway lands we might discover as we slept. We then created matching artwork to show the reader the imagery we were attempting to create with our words.
In maths, we began our new topic of mass and capacity. We explored the importance of working out the increments on scales to accurately read them and explored the difference between grams and kilograms. We also learned the importance of stating the unit of measurement when we are writing mass to be clear for our records.
In science this week we learned all about how shadows are formed. We investigated how moving the source of light affected our shadows as we mimicked the sun with a torch and changed the distance backwards in 5cm increments. We then related this to how the sun creates shadows at different times of the year. Now it is a bit sunnier outside, see if you can spot shadows when you are out and about!
Ahead of our trip next week we discovered the reasons why people might want to live near a volcano. After learning the different reasons we made our final verdict on whether we would want to live near one ourselves and cast our votes. Some of us were still quite concerned about the idea of lava destroying our homes so there was a resounding no overall! We can’t wait to learn more about volcanoes and earthquakes at the Natural History Museum!
Year 4
Our week seems to have gone by quicker than usual, but I think the anticipation of Danbury next week has definitely had something to do with it! On Tuesday, we enjoyed our Marine Conservation lesson all about overfishing and the effects this can have for people and wildlife. We discussed different fishing methods and which ones we thought were the most sustainable for the environment. Our Eco MPs even helped out during the lesson as well as taking part in the assembly on Monday.
In maths, we have continued with our decimal unit and have looked at hundredths as fractions and decimals as well as dividing 1 and 2-digit numbers by 10 and 100. We learnt that the decimal point never moves and how this can be applied to larger numbers too. We even got onto talking about percentages and the link between them and fractions and decimals! In English, we have started to plan our own playscripts based on ‘The Princess and the Pea’ fairytale. We looked at how we can convert dialogue into a playscript and also explored the stage directions that we can use. We cannot wait to write them now!
On Wednesday, we took part in the Switched On Live Assembly by National Rail which was all about rail safety. We designed some posters to promote how to be safe when being near a railway. On Thursday, we were very fortunate to visit the Mother’s Day shop - we would like to thank all the parents who made this happen.
With Danbury fast approaching, this weekend is a great opportunity to pack for our exciting trip. Please remember your child needs a sleeping bag and pillow. We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Year 5
We have been super impressed with how the children have returned to school after our trip at Swanage, their commitment to their learning does not go unnoticed!
In English, we have explored using adjectival phrases and prepositions in our writing to enhance our cohesion. We read about the legendary match between Brazil and England in 1977; writing in the role of Gordon Banks, thinking about how he might have felt after his epic save against Pele. In mathematics, we have used our understanding of division and fractions to help find percentages of amounts.
On Thursday, we enjoyed our Marine Conservation lesson about life in the deep ocean, exploring how animals have adapted to survive the harsh conditions. We then had a go at creating our own animals using what we had learnt about the adaptations sea creatures have made. We were also very fortunate to visit the Mother’s Day Shop - thank you to all those involved in organising and making this happen.
On Friday, we enjoyed wearing something red to celebrate Red Nose Day. We thought carefully about why it is important to come together to support each other, and help people in the UK and across the world.
Year 6
This week, Year 6 immersed themselves in the world of Shakespeare, bringing the drama of Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth to life through an exciting role-play activity. The children carefully selected key scenes from these famous plays, took on the roles of tragic heroes, cunning villains, and star-crossed lovers, and acted out the scenes using their own improvised dialogue. Following the role play, the children took on the challenge of transforming their performances into well-structured playscripts. They worked well to include all the essential features—character names, stage directions, scene settings, and engaging dialogue—crafting scripts that reflected both their creativity and understanding of dramatic structure.
This week in Maths, Year 6 focused on decimals, deepening their understanding of place value, rounding, and problem-solving. They identified digit values, compared and ordered decimals, and practiced rounding to the nearest whole number, tenth, or hundredth. Through perseverance and collaboration, they tackled multi-step word problems, applying their knowledge effectively.
In preparation for their final piece in the current topic, the children selected and researched an artist of their choice. They compiled detailed research pages, showcasing their findings and insights, to inspire and inform their masterpiece next week.
The highlight of the week was their visit to Kent Life for an immersive Evacuee Day, dressed as wartime evacuees. They took part in an interactive workshop, learning about rationing, air raids, and rural life. Meeting historical characters and practicing wartime drills brought history to life, making the experience engaging and memorable.
Outdoor Learning
This week has turned the allotment from quite a cold place into a gloriously sunny hotspot! The children have begun sowing the first new seeds of the new year with tomatoes and chillies being put into the heated greenhouses. We will watch them grow over the next few weeks. The children have also dug over our beds in readiness for the new plants we will be growing. We have spread some Growmore over the soil to feed it and give our plants the best chance to grow. The pencil fence has been extended in the Wellbeing garden and the sofas are ready to use at lunch when the weather permits. Let’s hope the warm weather is here to stay!
Languages
In Early Years, both Nursery and Reception started their topic of pets: they learned MANY animals (well done!) and how to say “I have” in front of a pet. Year 1 had a lesson on phonics: the children learnt two more sounds- OU and U, and practised their listening skills. Year 2 carried on with the alien project: they practised the new vocabulary with the third person verbs, and they practised their comprehension skills, writing labels and doing some translations.
In the Upper School, in French, Year 3 used a map of France to create their own weather forecast and they shared it with the class; the children used this activity to revise the vocabulary for weather and compass points. Year 4 learnt time phrases to be able to say when they do an activity, and the children also practised French dictation very successfully. In Spanish, Year 5 has practised their listening skills in a very challenging lesson that involved a great amount of new vocabulary: we listened to people talking about whether they lived in a flat or a house, in the country or in the city centre, and how they described their homes. Year 6 has practised their reading and comprehension skills, reading a text out loud.
Design & Technology
Year 3 Electrostatic Game
Year 3 pupils have started to assemble the casings and bases for their games whilst referring to their design criteria and initial game drawings.
Year 4 Pavilion Structures
This week, Year 4 pupils customised their final designs ready for a final evaluation.
Year 5 Bridges
Pupils in Year 5 have been reinforcing and customising their bridges as well as rectifying errors in the structure to make their bridges strong and symmetrical.
Music
This half term we have been treated to wonderful performances by our Upper School and Lower School instrumentalists. They have been fantastic role models to the younger children in the school, with many of them popping into classes to play a piece of music for them or playing in assembly. We’ve also had many children taking part in music examinations this term, gaining excellent results. If you are interested in your child learning an instrument at St Olave’s (this can be from Year 1 upwards) please contact Mrs Aldridge (s.aldridge@stolaves.org.uk). We currently have harp, violin, guitar, singing and piano lessons taking place in school.
The children in Nursery have been rehearsing their songs ahead of their Spring Concert to parents. The children took home invites for their families this week and we are looking forward to seeing you soon. The Year 2 children have also been learning poetry and Spring songs ahead of their concert and we look forward to seeing you soon too!
The Upper School childrenhave brought their song lyrics home this week ahead of the Easter Concert. Their homework is to learn their songs off by heart, many of which they already know. We will be rehearsing both Upper School Easter Concert songs and Choir songs without the words next week.
Postcards of Praise
Community News
Tooled Up Education April Webinar
Ask Prof Adam Fox Anything about allergies - Live Q&A
April 4, 2025, 13:00 -13:30 GMT
Join us for a live Q&A with Professor Adam Fox, an expert in Paediatric allergies. Adam will be with us for 30 minutes to answer any questions you have on allergies including what allergic reactions look like and how to respond. He will also cover the key things you need to know about allergens, and much more.