School News

March 2009

Red Noses

This picture shows the masks made at Infant art club in preparation for Red Nose Day on March 13th. Children were allowed to wear red accessories, and noses, hats, socks, scarves, wrist bands and hair accessories stood out from the blue uniform. Cakes with red icing and cherries were on sale, and raised nearly £100 for Comic Relief.

Adventure for Year 6

Megan and Taylor report: “Sayers Croft is an outdoor education centre near Guildford. We went there from 4th - 6th March. It teaches you to bond with your class members and trust them more. It is an action-packed three days full of adventure. There are all sorts of obstacle courses and challenges to get your head round. We thoroughly enjoyed getting lost and muddy on the blindfold trail, and making our hearts race on the ropes course. Our teamwork was at the highest on the climbing wall when we held someone else’s safety in our hands. The pond dipping was relaxing.It was soothing to sway your net around the pond, and investigate the minibeasts which live in the murky depths of the water.Altogether, Sayers Croft is a very energetic and educational visit.”

Education outdoors: climbing and pond-dipping at Sayers Croft

Build a bear

The Reception Class had a great time visiting the Bear Factory shop in Kingston - a special invitation after Clevin won a drawing competition last term. Oliver and Eloise reported: "We went on a double decker bus. it was exciting. We filled up a teddy with fluff to make it soft. We made Bell and Barney. They are teddies and they are going to live in Reception Class."

Road safety drama

Years 3 and 4 took part in a drama activity with a visiting theatre company. Charlie and Matthew explained: "It was fun and we learned about how to keep safe on the roads. We must remember to think before we cross the road and we should always look right and left."

January - February 2009

Measures Week

Just after half-term, we held the second of two special maths weeks for this year. The first, last term, was about shape. This one focused on measuring. In both cases, the activities provided a practical context for investigation and problem-solving in maths. Here are some of the children's comments about what they did:

"In Year 3, we measured ourselves - our height, our weight, around our heads, and the length of our fingers. I was surprised how much I had grown."

"In Year 2, we weighed lots of things in grams. The heaviest was the apple and the lightest was the cork."

"In Year 4, we measured the capacity of bottles, It was hard to estimate because of the different shapes of bottle."

"In Reception, we designed clothes for the Three Bears. I measured to make them the right size. Mine looked Hawaiian!"

Snowed out

The main event of the first week of February was the heaviest snowfall for at least ten years. Like almost all others in the area, the school was closed for two days because the site was deep in snow and the staff couldn't get to work. It was a great opportunity to experience something unfamiliar to many children. When they returned to classes on a sunny Wednesday, there was the chance to enjoy it some more at playtime.

"Please be upstanding"

These were the words of Harry, official mace-bearer to the Mayor of Kingston when they visited Assembly on 30th January. Everyone stood up politely and waited for the Mayor, Councillor David Berry, to take his seat. By this time, the Mayor had already spent time at a meeting of the School Council, whose members are elected to serve their classes just as the Mayor is an elected Councillor of the Royal Borough. The agenda was varied - healthy eating, book corners and soap! - and finished with questions. The chidlren asked the Mayor about his role, his hat, his hobbies and his achievements. He asked about their fitness and their reading. After a cup of tea, the Mayor processed into Assembly, and sat with the School Council around him. He told everyone about his splendid robes, and then Harry explained about the historic mace. The Mayor kindly presented achievement certificates for classroom learning and sport, and then everyone was upstanding again as he left the hall, to a formal farewell from the Year 6 School Councillors.

The Mayor addresses the Assembly..........Harry explains about the Mace......The Mayor and Harry with their School Council hosts

Junior Citizens

On 28th January 2009, Year 6 made a winter visit to the World of Adventures - the venue for a morning of challenges. Alex and Taylor report: "Junior Citizen was good. We were mixed in groups with Green Lane School, so we got the chance to meet other people. We were taught about which drugs are safe to use, and which are not. We had to rescue a grandfather and a pretend baby from a buring house. We learnt that 'Graffiti isn't blinging, it's minging' and litter damages the environment."

Bear hug

Congratulations to Clevin (Reception Class) who has won a handsome bear. Last term the children entered a drawing competition organised by the Bear Factory shop in Kingston. Clevin won a bear for himself, and an invitation for the whole class to visit the Bear Factory soon. His prize was presented in Assembly by a huge bear, who made everyone very excited and gave Clevin a big bear hug!

November - December 2008

Green Flag status

Congratulations to Mrs Vaz and the Green Gang for gaining this top award in the Eco-Schools scheme. Please click here for more details.

The angelic host

Children and staff from throughout the school joined forces to present the Christmas story in three different concert performances. All were enjoyed by the audiences, who were generous in their donations to the NSPCC, our Christmas charity this year.

A busy weekend

Thank you very much to the PTA committee and everyone who helped with such a busy and successful weekend at the beginning of December. First there were the children's discos on Friday evening, then the Christmas Fair on the Saturday - a happy event on a sunny day, which raised over £2000 towards the building fund.

Strictly disco dancing! ...................... ............................................Santa and the Everyclick Mouse visit the Fair

Operation Christmas Child

We filled 43 shoe box parcels with toys, games and useful gifts for this project, organised by a Christian charity to spread the generosity of the season beyond our own homes and community. Mr Taylor's friend Bob, who is involved with the project, came to collect the boxes. He thanked the children in Assembly for all they had brought, and told them what a difference the gifts can make to children with very little. Then he put the boxes in his car and drove them to the warehouse, for onward distribution by lorry to Eastern Europe or Africa in time for Christmas.

Filling up Bob's boot with boxes

September- October 2008

Imagining the Blitz

Year 5 and 6 pupils are studying World War 2 this term, and hve been finding out about the 'home front' from a whole range of sources - artefacts, film clips, music of the time, the memories of older people, and our school log books from the 1940s. To help them imagine how families lived at the time, the children have used drama and discussion, music, art and ICT. Year 5 presented a fascinating Assembly to the school and their parents, which reminded some grandparents present of their own childhood. Here are members of Year 6 with the paintings they made after studying photos of London in the Blitz.

Ready, steady, cook!

Key Stage 1 children are enjoying the chance to be chefs at their own after-school cookery club. Here they are with their mouth-watering, hand-made fruit salads:

Banqueting Tudor style

To add spice to their exciting Tudor topic, Years 3 and 4 held banquets. The king and queen sat on the top table and were royally entertained by their minstrels. Loyal toasts were proposed, grace was said, and the feast began! In true Tudor style, there was plenty of meat - chicken legs, pork pies, sausages - with bread to fill the diners up. When it came to dessert, the Tudor guests ate the plate! It was made of sugar, and meringues were a good modern substitute. Lords and ladies dressed the part, and there were a few scruffy urchins too.

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Stay safe!

Jack and Abigail have been elected by their Year 6 class-mates to be our Junior Road Safety Officers for the year. They report: "On 17th October, we went to the Guildhall to have a meeting about what we will be doing in the next year. It involved getting an information pack and doing activities which would give us ideas for competitions. All the other JRSOs from the Kingston Borough were there. At the end we were given a choice of prizes for a competition we will shortly be organising."

The shape of things

In the week beginning 29th September, the whole school held a Maths Week with a special focus on shape and space. There were Foundation Stage children making rectangular robots, Year 1s on a shape hunt, Year 2s exploring symmetry, Year 3s investigating prisms, Year 4s measuring areas, Year 5s plotting co-ordinates and Year 6s tessellating using translations. And that was only on one day! Children said they found it interesting to learn new words and ideas, asking questions and finding out more. "What's the name of a 20-sided shape?" demanded one Year 2 boy. When told the name icosagon, he still wasn't satisfied. "Can you show me what it looks like?"

Bible stories brought to life

On 24th September, story-teller Martyn Payne of 'Barnabas in Schools' spent the day with us. In Assembly, he showed us his 'Bible with a lid' - containing (among other things) a miniature world and a sheep to remind us of ourselves. He sang the story of the Sower with actions from every age-group, and promised more Bible exploring later in the day. Martyn then spent time with each class, unpacking stories with props and drama, to help the children think about their meaning - especially how to welcome and include everyone, even those who may seem different from us in one way or another.

July 2008

Farewells

At the end of term, we said our fond farewells to our Year 6 pupils, to some families who are moving, and to several members of staff. Mrs Underwood is moving to a job in Surrey, Mrs Usher to Essex, and Mrs Matthews will be continuing her support work at Chessington Community College. We also gave gifts and best wishes to Mrs Costard and Mrs Gumbrell, who are expecting babies, and to Russell Watkinson, who is getting married. Goodbyes are always sad, but everyone who is moving on takes with them our prayers and good wishes for the future.

Fun of the Fair

There was fun for the whole family on Saturday 12th July as £1650 was raised for the school's building project . The weather was kind, and a big crowd came along to the PTA's annual Summer Fair. It was good to catch up with old friends who came back to see us, and to welcome newer families for the first time.

A smashing time ...... Reel fun ...... Hooked! ...... Cooked!

Dancing the night away

The PTA's Summer disco wasn't quite that long, but it was noisy, hot, energetic and fun! Thank you very much to the Mums and Dads who organised it.

Moving on

Year 6 had front row seats this year for the special service held in the impressive surroundings of Guildford Cathedral for children moving on to Secondary school. Several of our pupils took part in leading the service, Ruth by reading from the Bible, Rachel by singing in a trio, and others by belonging to the choir. With a wise message from the Bishop and the massive sound of the organ, it was a memorable and meaningful occasion.

Greeks and Romans

History came to life in the first week of July. Year 6's study of the Ancient Greeks culminated in a Greek Day, in which food played a big part! Later in the week, the Roman army marched into the hall to defeat Boudicca's Celtic army, when Years 3 and 4 presented their Assembly about their 'Invaders' topic.

Wildlife spotting

On July 7th, Reception Class went on an interesting outing to the Britiswh Wildlife Centre at Lingfiled. Mahlon reports: "We went on a coach. We saw an owl and a hedgehog. The owl had wings and the hedgehog had spikes. We saw an otter. An otter is a good swimmer."

Winners again

Congratulations to Year 6 on winning the Cop Card competition, for the second year running. This is a competition between the Year 6 classes in the local schools to meet as many officers as possible, and collect from them a signed sticker. Additional stickers can be gained by visiting the local library and local places of worship, and by walking to school. Our children collected 74% of the possible stickers, well ahead of their nearest rivals, and won themselves a class visit to the World of Adventures.

Exploring other traditions

Year 3 had an interesting morning visiting Kingston Synagogue as part of their study of Jewish faith and customs. Mr Ralton and Mrs Lewis showed them round and explained the symbols and services to them, answering many questions.

Church Centre open

On 5th July, St Mary's Church proudly opened its new Church Centre for the first time. The former youth club hall next to the church is being leased from the Borough with their encouragement, to improve facilities for the congregation and for the community. The rather dilapidated premises have been transformed by a huge team effort and a great deal of paint, and have opened up very exciting possibilities for the church in serving its community. The opening ceremony was conducted by Sarah, our vicar, and attended by representatives of local churches, the Council, the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and many other friends.

Best foot forward

On 4th July, the whole school took part in a Borough-wide attempt at entering the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of footprints made in one day. This was in aid of local charity the Landirani Trust, which supports work with children orphaned by AIDS in Africa. Our children enjoyed adding their print to the canvas sheet, which was then taken to lie alongside many others at Tolworth Girls' School before the end of the day.

Rap and Rhyme Week

Feet were tapping all over the school during this special week - to poetry in English lessons and skipping in P.E. We had a visit from a skipping coach, who visits many schools teaching rope skills and rhymes to go with them. He said how impressed he was with how fit our children are. In a display at the end of the day, he used children of all ages to demonstrate a wide range of skills they had learnt during the day.

May - June 2008

Down on the Farm

Mrs Moon reports: “Last week, Nursery went to visit Ladyland Farm, at Horley. They had a fun-packed time which lasted all day. There was a variety of hands-on activities, from feeding the calves with bottles of milk to stroking new-born chicks. The Nursery have produced some lovely drawings and paintings from their experience at the farm, and are still excited about their tractor ride at the end of the day!”

Nappies are expensive!

This is one of the discoveries which Year 6 made during their 'flour baby' lessons in June. Each child made their own 'baby' from a bag of flour, suitably decorated and dressed. The children took responsibility for caring for their 'baby' at school and at home - not dropping it, leaving it lying around, or letting it lose weight! Other information about baby care was included, like the nappy question. This project, part of the children Personal, Social and Health Education, really helps them think about the duties of parents, and the responsibilities of family membership.

In the creche!

I do like to be beside the seaside

Isabelle and Danny (Y2) report: "On 18th June, Years 1 and 2 went to Brighton by coach. When we got there we screamed because we were so excited! We went to the Sea Life Centre and saw jellyfish, rays, angel fish and enormous sea turtles. After that we went to the beach and had lunch, and then we went for walk on the pier and played in a playground. It was an amazing day!"

Ask a policeman

This photo shows many members of Year 6 meeting up with members of the Neighbourhood Police Team, who visited the school one lunchtime. They are popular people at this time of the year because of the Cop Card scheme. This is a competition between the Year 6 classes in the local schools to meet as many officers as possible, and collect from them a signed sticker. Additional stickers can be gained by visiting the local library and local places of worship, and by walking to school. Last year, St Mary's won, so our current class has a high standard to meet! They are working hard at it.

Pausing for thought

On 11th June, the whole school took a day out of its usual routine for what we called a 'Pause Day'. This was the brainchild of Mrs Heather Henderson, our Diocesan adviser, and our own staff and vicar worked hard with her to turn the idea into successful reality. The theme we took was Creation. For the children, their day centred around a reflective telling of the Biblical creation story by Sarah our vicar or her friend Bryony. Their approach prompted a thoughtful response from the children, first in words, and then through drawing and making of many sorts - for example collage, modelmaking, construction toys or puppetry. The day also included music, drama or dance, and a chance to offer prayers and thoughts which they had considered in advance at three outdoor 'prayer stations'. The day finished with an Assembly, where we were able to share the music and ideas in worship. The children enjoyed many aspects of the day, especially the opportunity to draw, make and play their response to a meaningful story without being rushed.

Over on the island

Year 5 had a great time on their four-day residential visit to the Isle of Wight. Here are a few photos to give a flavour of the trip, but to see more please click here for their island slideshow.

In the Fast Cat ferry, fossil hunting near Culver Cliff, and sketching Bembridge Windmill.

Down in the jungle

As part of their topic on growth, the children of the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 enjoyed finding out about the luxuriant plants and trees of the rainforest in a Jungle Workshop led by a visiting drama group.

March - April 2008

School and church in flowers

On the last weekend of April, St Mary's Church held a community flower festival, with the church door open for local residents to call in, have a cup of coffee, and admire the church. The theme was 'We are Family', and different local organisations made their own contributions. The school were allocated a wide window sill beside pictures in stained glass of Jesus welcoming children. We displayed a wide range of articles representing the variety of school life, framed by flowers beautifully arranged to include the colours of our school badge. Here are two photos of our window, together with a collage picture of the church itself in flowers, made by members of the church family:

Classroom Carnival

As a climax to their geography topic about Kingston, Jamaica, Years 3 and 4 held carnivals in the classroom. Here are some of Year 4 in tropical clothing after their long 'flight' to the Caribbean, studying their travel brochures over a feast of jerk chicken, dried banana and fresh mango.

'Car-less talk'

A report from the audience in between bursts of laughter! "On Wednesday 2nd April, Key Stage 2 watched a hilarious play about road safety fromt he Mo-Mo Theatre Company. There were lots of jokes, but the message was to decrease pollution by sharing car journeys.”

Fire!

Foundation Stage children were thrilled to welcome the local fire brigade, who brought a fire appliance to school, complete with helmets, hoses, ladders and sirens.

Maths in Motion

Tom and Jake (Y5) report: "On Wednesday 2nd April, we represented St Mary’s in a maths competition at Burlington Junior School. We had to measure a diagram of the Monza track, then adjusted our car settings. There were about 20 cars in the race which we watched on our computers. Some drivers crashed or ran out of fuel, but we managed to get round the track 25 times. Despite our efforts we came second to last, but it was a really fun morning. Thank you to all the staff who helped us."

Mini gardeners

The PTA organised a successful Spring competition to design and make a miniature garden. For fuller details, please click on the photo below of one of the entries.

What about us?

Caitlin (Y6) reports: "On Wednesday 2nd April, five pupils from Year 6 went to a conference at the King Charles Centre, Surbiton, called What about us?. There were four groups of six children, and we were mixed with other schools across the Borough. Our first activity was about what a good citizen would do. We sorted cards into piles to show what was most important, e.g. a good citizen does not drink and drive. Later, we had to make our own political party with a leader and spokes-persons on the environment, defence and education. We had to present our policies and vote for the best presentation. All in all, it was interesting and fun, and we had a great day. Thank you to Mrs Strong for taking us."

Sayers Croft Adventure

Alex and Rickie (Y6) report: At the beginning of March, Year 6 went on a trip to Sayers Croft for three days and two nights. The best bits were the ropes course and the blindfold trail. On the ropes course, you get strapped into a harness and you have to walk on thin ropes, and swing like Tarzan into a net and climb onto the next platform. On the blindfold trail, you have to wear a safety helmet and goggles which are blacked out. You have to get past obstacles. One of them is a tunnel. You have to crawl through it on your hands and knees in the mud. The food was delicious. On the way back we sang songs, and some of us fell asleep!

The ropes course, pond dipping, shelter building, and back on the ropes again.

Chess tournament

Laura (Y5) reports: On Saturday 15th March, Laura, Karl and Taylor (Y5) went to the chess tournament at The Mount School. There were six rounds. We played in partners and swapped them during the day. I learnt a new set of moves called Scholasr's Mate, which gets someone in check-mate in four moves. At the end the Mayor came and shook hands with everyone when they collected their certificate and rosette. There were trophies for good sportsmanship and winning. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

January- February 2008

Active learning

It was great to welcome 50 people of all ages to our evening of active learning for families. Children and adults together enjoyed computer activities, maths games, making robots, connecting circuits, playing hockey, creating music, and - at the end - family fun with a parachute!

Parents, children and staff - all active together

Crazy ties

There was an enthusiastic response to the PTA's Crazy Tie Competition. Joint Chairman Mrs Secrett writes: "There were nearly 40 ties entered. A lot of thought and effort had gone into designing them. The children were definitely thinking 'Russell'. I think they had good fun, and so did some of their parents!" The prize was to have your own specially created tie worn by P.E. teacher Russell Watkinson for a whole day. Well done to Hannah (Y3) for winning, and to runners-up Amelia (Y2) and Karl (Y5).

The colourful collection of crazy ties, and Russell Watkinson wearing the winning entry

Junior Citizens

Carly and Matthew (Y6) report:

On Monday 28th January, Year 6 went to the World of Adventures to do Junior Citizenship. At our morning session there were two schools, St Joseph's and St Mary's. We learnt about a variety of different things such as first aid, stranger danger, drugs, crossing the road safely, graffiti, railway and fire safety.

Carly tells us about ‘stranger danger’:

• A stranger is someone you don’t know. If a stranger asks you to do something, don’t do it, even if they seem friendly. Instead you should 'Run, yell, tell!' People wearing uniform (e.g. policemen) are people you can trust.

Matthew tells us about first aid:

• Put an unconscious person in the recovery position before calling an ambulance. In a case of serious bleeding, lie the casualty down and lift the injured part. Press around the wound to stop the blood and bandage it firmly.

Arts Day

On Monday the 28^th January a small group of Year 5s went to Hook Library for an art day. We joined with other schools in groups with a mix of each school and went to art, music and drama sessions. In music, we recorded ourselves onto a CD. We used our bodies and voices to make the sounds. In drama, we posed as famous people, and acted out their roles. The art was our favourite. What we had to do for art was paint any picture. Then while it was wet we got a little stick and scratched it so there was a picture. Then we cut out pictures from magazines and put them into a collage. We made lots of little birds, and stuck them onto a big tree and it is displayed on the Hook Library wall. We all enjoyed it!! (by Elie and Kiera Y5)

Send a cow

Thomas (Y5) writes: "Many thanks to all the school for collecting their spare coins and bringing them in, and for their sponsorship money. Altogether, we raised £1500 for the Send a Cow charity, double our target. On Wednesday 9th January, Ted Bellingham came to Assembly and we gave him the cheque. Ted sent his thanks to everyone."

by Michelle and Georgia (Y5)

November - December 2007

Victorian school days

For the final part of their study of the Victorian era, Years 5 and 6 visited Guildford Museum to experience life as a Victorian child. Dressed in long skirts and shawls, the girls did needlework, while the boys in waistcoats and flat caps studied technical drawing. If they smudged their work, the teacher rapped on the desk in anger. They worked out arithmetic in £ s d, tried copperplate handwriting, and were told several times, "Children should be seen and not heard." On their return to the present day, the children voted the day a good way to learn - "because you found out what it felt like to live then". Their main complaint was having to sit up straight with your hands behind your back: "I kept wanting to scratch my nose!"

Year 6 - Shall we be afraid of our strict Victorian teacher, or happy to be going on a trip?

A busy weekend

First, on Friday 7th December, the PTA organised discos for the children. The music and dancing were led by our own expert team of two dads from the PTA, and the children went home fitter, hotter and ready for bed.

Then, first thing on Saturday, the PTA team was back again getting ready for a very successful Christmas Fair. Santa arrived and had a long queue of young visitors. A log-pulling contest was popular with the lads, and the lasses were delighted with their painted faces. With craft and games for the children, tombolas for the adults, and great raffle prizes, there was something for all the family, and a grand total of £1930. Congratulations and thank you to all who helped in any way.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, a lot of school families met again at St Mary's Church Christingle Service, where the music was led by our own band of staff, pupils and former pupils.

New leaflet

It is several years since we first made a publicity leaflet for the school, and some of the children in the photos are now at college! So we decided to update the leaflet, and sought help from Kingston Arts Service. Two photography students from Coombe Girls’ School, together with their teacher, spent several hours in school, and took a marvellous collection of photos. Their teacher sent them to us with the following message:

“ There were so many smiling faces and so much engagement in, and enjoyment of , the wide range of activities on offer. I couldn't help feeling how lucky those children are to be in such a nurturing, creative and fun environment, where they really are at the centre of the teaching and learning. It has been a privilege to work in such a positive setting where we were warmly welcomed by everyone."

We were encouraged by the impression the teacher took away, and we have chosen a small selection of the photos for the leaflet. A number of school families have moved away to other parts of the country or the Borough. We are looking to recruit into several year groups at the moment, and will be offering the leaflet to the library, estate agents and surgeries. If you could deliver any or know of any other outlet for this local publicity, please could you let us know?

Send a cow

We’ve reached our target of £750! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed by collecting small change, sponsoring the scootathon and fitness, and supporting the cake and bring and buy sales.  A special thank-you to St Mary's Church Council for their generous donation. When the final money comes in, we hope we can add some chickens to our cow! Ellie-Mai (Y6) has emailed on behalf of the School Council to invite an Ambassador from Send a Cow to visit Assembly and collect our cheque.

The Juniors raising money at their bring-and-buy sale.

On the box

Did you catch Jack and Charlotte Binstead and their mum on GMTV? Jack was winner in the Child of Courage Award for this year, for his determination to participate in the wheelchair mini-marathon against the odds. We share the family’s pride, and admire Jack's courage in the face of so many operations..

Roadshow

By popular request, Peli and Zebi returned to St Mary's on 22nd November to teach Years 1 and 2 about road safety. Their lively presentation had humour, drama, music and lots of action, and strong messages about how to stay safe on the road.

Fruit on Friday

The School Council have often discussed the fact that Infants are provided with free fruit, but not Juniors. The Government pays for the Key Stage 1 fruit, but the School Council have decided that the school ought to buy fruit for Key Stage 2 once a week, so they can keep up their healthy eating. So we have started Fruit on Friday, with the help of a parent who is a greengrocer. On the first week, there was a choice of apples and bananas, and almost all of them were eaten and enjoyed.

Threadbare

Year 1 are finding out about the history of toys. Here are some of them with the toys their parents and grandparents owned - quite similar to their modern equivalents, but with less fur. The fur has been hugged and cuddled off, which is a lovely way to grow old!

Nursery opens its doors

Once a month the Nursery are inviting parents and other family members to join the children as they learn. The first session was popular with parents, and the children really enjoyed the chance to show and share their activities, as these photos show:

Exciting ICT

St Mary's got a mention in the November issue of the National Confederation of PTAs for our innovative ICT work - in particular the way Year 6 used the computer on their Sayers Croft trip to record 'blogs' and share their adventures with parents. Later in the year, they also held live video-conferences with a school in Greenwich. Well done to the pupils and their teachers for making the news! This term Years 4 - 6 are among the Kingston pupils piloting the new Managed Learning Environment called It's Learning. It is proving popular as a way to carry on learning at home as well as at school, and to share tasks and discussions with friends in a safely supervised internet 'space' - a sort of electronic extension to the classroom. Staff are making good use of it too, with their own paper-saving 'virtual staff room'.

September - October 2007

Confirmation

Laura Smith (Y5) writes: "On Monday 29th October, I went to Guildford Cathedral with my family. My mum, my sister and i made our decision to be confirmed as members of the church. The bishop prayed for us and made a cross on our foreheads with oil. My Dad, Sarah, Miss Williams and Mr Taylor were there to encourage me. 65 people were confirmed, and at the end we all paraded with candles to share the light of Jesus."

Permission to build

On 23rd October, the neighbourhood planning committee gave permission for the school extension to go ahead. A programme is now being drawn up, and building specifications prepared so the 'enabling works' can go to tender before Christmas, and the main project in the Spring. It is hoped that the current 'hutted' classrooms will be repositioned before Easter, so the main building work can start in June. The plan is to have the building ready to use by September 2009.

Snap happy!

Congratulations to Archie Wilson (Year 6) on winning his age group in the photographic competition organised by Hook and Chessington Library. He entered an attractive picture of a duck on a lake, which is to be printed on canvas for him to keep. Here he is at the presentation with the Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Shiraz Mirza. He is in good company. The winners of the two age groups above him both have St Mary's connections. Emily Godwin is an ex-pupil and daughter of a Governor, while David Yeeles' mum is a member of the school staff.

Expert photographers Archie, Emily and David with their certificates

Catwalk Kids

The PTA recently organised another of the popular children's fashion shows in conjunction with clothing retailer 'Kids on the Catwalk'. The young models had fun as they entertained their families:

Working Together Week

The last week of September was our 'Working Together Week'. In Assemblies and class Circle Times we thought about how to make the school a happy and harmonious place. We also talked about what makes people unhappy, including being bullied. We discussed what makes bullying different from squabbling: it is when someone keeps picking on another person. We agreed that it is unfair and unkind, and if it happens, a grown-up needs to be involved. On Friday, we held a School Council when the elected councillors brought ideas from their classes to create a new set of 'Golden Rules' for our school. To read them, please click here.

Detoxing Childhood

On 27th September, St Mary's hosted an event on behalf of the Chessington Cluster when researcher and author Sue Palmer presented her findings and beliefs about the nature of childhood today and the roles of parents. About 40 people came, parents and staff from St Mary's and further afield. The audience appreciated her lively talk, and went away with a lot to think about. To find out more about Sue, her research and her books, click here to visit her website.

Sue Palmer and her latest book

Safety first

Congratulations to Rachel Payne and Max Harmer (Year 6), who have been elected by their class as our Junior Road Safety Officers for this year.

Rhyme time

Our latest family learning course has involved Nursery parents, children and staff. Musical tutor Mrs Munday from the Family Learning Service has divided the afternoon session between working with parents and then with the children and staff. First the parents prepare an activity or visual aid, gathering ideas which could be used at home too. Then they all join the Nursery children to share rhymes and songs, which often teach words and numbers without the children even noticing. The staff are sharing the songs and rhymes with the class at other times too, so everyone is learning together.

Parents, children and staff share animal songs and masks

Quality Mark renewed

Following an assessor's visit in July, we were pleased to hear from the Basic Skills Agency that our application to renew their Primary Quality Mark was successful. This confirms that we are working hard by a whole range of strategies to improve children's attainment in English and mathematics. The two ticks in the award symbol show that this is the second time we have gained it. For more details, please click here.

Over the holiday

Repairs and redecoration took place indoors and out, and the premises were well used for two weeks of Sportszone activities with RAW Skills Coaching, and three family craft afternoons with Chessington Supporting Families Service. In addition, the latest version of the plans for the major Key Stage 2 and hall extension was submitted for planning permission, and has gone out for local consultation.

July 2007

Last day

On the last day of the Summer Term, Year 6 took a major role in their own Leavers' Service. They left us with recollections and hopes, prayers and songs, and energetic dancing which got thunderous applause - from the many parents who joined us, and even from the sky above as the rain poured down in torrents. Spirits were not dampened, though, and on a day of many mixed emotions, our leavers left more special memories behind them.

Disco fun

Thank you to Andrew Stotter-Brooks, Warren Secrett and the PTA committee for another very enjoyable (and very loud!) evening of partying for the end of term:

Co-operation and competition

Our end-of-year sports events were designed to suit the various ages of the children, but they all required co-operation between teams and a spirit of friendly competition. This photo from the Junior sports sets the scene - a well-done handshake between winner and runner-up:

Thanks to Danny Lowry for the photo. For more shots, please visit our Sports Page by clicking here.

Cop Card victory

Congratulations to Year 6! 'Cop Cards' is an award-winning scheme designed by Chessington Neighbourhood Police team to encourage citizenship. The children in the eight Year 6 classes in the local schools are given a card in which to collect stickers. To fill the card, they have to speak to all 12 police officers, meet the neighbournood rangers, visit the library, the garden centre and a place of worship, belong to a club and bring healthy lunches. To locate the police they made use of the internet to find clues. Over half of our Year 6 class collected every sticker! Overall, they collected 87% of the possible stickers, a long way ahead of their nearest rivals, and more than the winning class last year. Well done to the children for a real team effort, and thanks to their parents for their support. They really deserved their prize - a free class visit to the World of Adventures.

You make a difference

Year 6 classes from all over the Diocese congregated at Guildford Cathedral for a service of memories and hopes, thanksgiving and prayers. The message from the Bible said, "One child's packed lunch made a huge difference when offered to Jesus. You can make a difference too by offering yourself, your gifts and skills to God and to other people." Here are our Year 6 class, their teachers and their banner party, outside the cathedral.

Youngest entertainers

Well done to the Nursery children who delighted their parents and guests with an end-of-term performance of some of their favourite songs and rhymes.

Gel

All the Key Stage 2 classes and their teachers practised, produced and performed Gel, a Junior version of Grease! Actors and singers did gel by the first night and the audience were kept smiling by the witty script and clapping at the lively songs.

Ugly bugs!

This year's education project sponsored by Chessington Garden Centre was about minibeasts. Entitled The Good, the Bad and the Uglies, it celebrated the work of local schools with an exhibition at the Garden Centre. The picture shows Mrs Vaz and pupils with the St Mary's display, featuring a variety of bug studies from around the school - including drawing, poetry, science, pottery and gardening.

Road Safety champions

Congratulations to Nicole and Harry, who have been awarded the De Lord Trophy for the best Junior Road Safety Officers in a Kingston school this year. The award recognised their commitment to spreading the road safety message around school with competitions, newsletters, notices, a website page and a visit from Debra the Zebra. Here they are being presented with their trophy by Mr De Lord:

Here is a link to their JRSO page on the wbsite - click here

Fun in the sun

After several wet weekends, it was a real treat to have a lovely sunny day for this year's Summer Fair. As usual, the PTA committee worked really hard to make it an enjoyable family afternoon and a great fund-raising event for the benefit of all the children.

Look at the lions!

On July 2nd, Reception Class had an exciting visit to London Zoo. Isobel and Emily report: "First a lady read us a poem about animals. It was funny. She told us about giraffes. They have seven bones in their necks. We saw zebras and lions asleep. They weren't in the same place in case the lions ate the zebras. It was exciting and fun."

May - June 2007

Flour babies

What is it like to be a parent? Year 6 spent a week finding out by creating and caring for their own 'flour babies'. Inspired by Jacqueline Wilson's book of the same name, the project involves turning a bag of flour into a pretend baby by adding limbs, head, clothes, blanket, and even in some cases carry-cot or buggy. The 'baby' has to be looked after throughout the week - cuddled, minded, weighed and measured to ensure that no neglect is taking place! It is surprising how heavy a bag of flour becomes after a week of carrying. Most children take the project very seriously and understand the message of responsible parenting.

For lots more pictures and information, visit Year 6's Flour Babies webpage by clicking here

Egyptology

Years 3 and 4 made fascinating trips to Haslemere Museum to deepen their knowledge of Ancient Egypt with some first-hand, and even hands-on learning. Jai and Megan said, "We took some toys to the museum and we mummified them. We got a really long bandage and wrapped it round our dolls really tight. Then we put a top on the mummy made of papyrus and decorated it with a death mask. It was fun." Here are some of the children with their soft toys mummies, alongside the real thing!

What a busy week!

Here is one week in June in a nutshell, with quotes from various children:

"On Monday, we all watched a play about being healthy. It was mainly funny, but the alien was a bit scary. We had to shout, 'Don't be a twit, just keep fit!'"

"On Tuesday, Class 2 went to the Music Festival. I enjoyed singing all the songs and doing the actions."

"On Tuesday, all the Nursery went to Ladyland Farm. We went on a tractor ride and we saw a black and white cow. We liked the pigs and the rabbits."

"On Thursday, Classes 1 and 2 went to the Tower of London. The best bit was going to see the dungeons. It was a good day."

"On Thursday evening we went to the King's Centre. Four people in Year 2 gave a little talk about healthy eating. Then we gave out samples of our salads. I gave some salad to the Mayor."

Members of Year 2 at the King's Centre, helping to launch the Chessington Cluster book of healthy recipes

Fast Cat to Fun

When Year 5 crossed the Solent on the Fast Cat ferry on 5th June, they travelled to four days of energetic enjoyment. They visited HMS Victory, Dinosaur Isle, and the windmill and lifeboat station at Bembridge. They went fossil hunting, hiking, paddling, and interviewed tourists on Sandown sea front. They also visited a Primary School to compare notes on the local environments of Chessington and a seaside town. They enjoyed it a lot! Thank you very much to the adult team led by Miss Williams for all their hard work in making the visit possible.

A taste of Year 5's Isle of Wight experience - sketching HMS Victory, interviewing tourists, playtime in the park, fossil hunting and paddling

If you have Powerpoint, you can see a full slideshow of pictures by clicking here

After they returned, Year 5 thought carefully about all they had learnt - about geography, history and how to get on together - and presented it to their parents and to the rest of the school in an Assembly and an exhibition. These photos show parents visiting the exhibition:

Keep fit and safe

Debra the Zebra is the Borough's mascot for the Walk to School campaign. Year 6 were delighted to meet Debra as they walked to school on Wednesday morning 6th June, as it meant they could add another sticker to their Cop Cards . The rest of the children were just as glad to see her again, and to meet the members of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team who came along too. During the following weeks, Years 6 and 5 took part in cycle training courses, to prepare them for travelling to school on their bikes if their parents wish.

Click on Debra to see photos on our Junior Road Safety Officers' webpage

Half-term fun

Once again, St Mary's was a busy place over half-term. Chessington Supporting Families Service held a Family Fun Afternoon, which was very well-attended, and Raw Skills Coaching ran another of their popular Sportszone course out of doors.

Family Fun for half-term, organised by the Supporting Families Service

Arts Week

The last week before half-term was a lovely opportunity to explore the arts for a whole week. Mrs Usher and Miss Cunden, our Music and Art Co-ordinators, had worked very hard with Kingston Music and Arts Service to bring a whole range of arts and artists into school. There was a 'down under' theme running through it, with a traditional Australian tale providing inspiration for much of the activity. Jane Entwistle, a sculptor, worked with the children to create a big, bright installation with two huge creatures surrounded by colourful trees, flowers and sea creatures.

Jane and children installing the sculpture on the field

Meanwhile in the hall, David Lawson-Lean and Aine Lark brought the story magically to life through drama, and Steven Ochan brought with him some very lively dance movements. Finally on Friday Hannah Kirk got the whole school singing. She worked with every age group, including a powerful Aboriginal song of welcome, which opened the short concert and presentation to parents which closed a very exciting week.

There is a special Arts Week section of the website - please click here

Happy Birthday Church

Our Pentecost church services fell during Arts Week, which prompted us to worship with as much as colour, movement and music as possible. The Pentecost story of wind and flame provided inspiration for dance, both graceful and lively. The church was bright with reds and yellows, both Christian symbols and birthday balloons and streamers, reminding us that the Holy Spirit breathed energy into the waiting disciples, and brought the Christian Church to life. Sarah, our vicar, dressed to match the theme, and Year 4 shared the leading of the service with her.

Year 4 with Sarah leading worship for Pentecost

Peace be with you

During June, visitors to Guildford Cathedral will be welcomed by a host of peaceful doves created by St Mary's pupils. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, expressing God's gentle presence in his world. Each dove contains a thought or message about peace - in our homes, our world or our hearts. The vision of a peaceful world is shared through a colourful group of children holding hands around the globe. Special thanks to Miss Cunden and Miss Blake for inspiring and displaying the children's work.

Stars in their eyes

On Friday 18th May, the PTA held a talent show for enthusiastic young performers. There was singing, dancing, gymnastics and a spectacular human pyramid! Well done to all the entertainers and thanks to the organisers.

The Circus comes to school

On Saturday May 5th, the PTAs of St Mary's and Ellingham Primary Schools joined forces to invite Happy's Circus to our school field. Tickets were sold through the local schools, and in all about 850 people attended the two performances. They all went home as happy as the circus name promised. Some who came in the afternoon even returned in the evening. It was really good family entertainment, with lots of pace, excitement, humour, and water! Thank you to the PTA organisers who worked very hard over many months to prepare for the day, which was fund-raising with lots of fun.

March - April 2007

Holiday activities

St Mary's was a busy place over the Easter holiday. Three different activities were on offer to children and families. RAW Skills Coaching ran another of their popular Sportszone courses for four days, Chessington Supporting Families Service led two well-attended art and craft workshops for families, and Kingston's Road Safety team taught a group of children to cycle more confidently. Here too parents were able to take part alongside their children, sharing in the learning experience.

Learning for all

The final day of the Spring Term was one of the periodic staff training days allocated to all schools. On this occasion, all the staff went on a visit to Guildford Cathedral. We worked in the Education Centre there, thinking about how to use history and geography to engage and inform children, and enthuse them to talk, read, write and draw. We spent half-an-hour exploring the cathedral itself, looking at how we could plan a visit with children. We shared successful projects from around the school, and discussed ways to spread and improve good practice. One of these is to develop the Learning Links section of this website, with headings related to our school topics, to give a starting point for research at home. This has begun - click here to see.

Members of St Mary's staff learning with and from each other

Disco time

The PTA again organised two enjoyable end-of-term discos for Infant and Junior children. With music and hugely energetic leadership from Mr Stotter-Brooks, the evening went with a swing, a bounce and a sway!. Some of the adult helpers enjoyed the dancing as much as the youngsters.

Bear factory

On March 27th, the children in the Reception Class visited the Bear Factory shop in Kingston. They all had great fun making bears. They recounted the visit like this: "We went on the 71 bus to Kingston." (Alessandra) "I put the stuffing in the cat. I pushed the pedal." (Isabel) "We rubbed their hearts to wake them up." (Emily) We dried the cat. He was fluffy." (Aaron)

Easter competitions

There were two competitions running as Easter approached. Amy and Ruby (Year 6) organised a miniature garden competition on behalf of the Green Gang, and the PTA arranged a competition for decorating boiled eggs to look like clowns. Here are some of the brilliant entries:

Outrageous obstacle course

The Foundation Stage classes had great fun testing their agility and energy over obstacles, and raising some money at the same time for new equipment and resources to help their learning.

Visit to the Mayor's Parlour

Following the visit of the Mayor of Kingston to St Mary's, the School Council researched the views of all the Key Stage 2 pupils about their local neighbourhood. They sent the results to the Mayor, who kindly invited them to her Parlour in Guildhall to discuss their findings with Mr Allen, the Neighbourhood Engineer for Chessington. After this meeting, Councillor Reid showed the school councillors round the Council Chamber and then chatted to them over drinks, fruit and crisps. The School Council were delighted that our pupils' views were being heard at Guildhall, and were very grateful for the Mayor's generous hospitality.

The Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Mary Reid, showing the School Council round the Council Chamber and The Mayor's Parlour

P.S. The Mayor's 'blog' (internet diary) has another lovely photo - click here and find March 26th

Debra walked to school

Our Junior Road Safety Officers (Harry and Nicole, Y6) report: On Wednesday 21st March, Debra the Zebra paid a little visit to our school! She came to open the new footpath in Churchfields. Several members of Kingston Council were there to witness the event. After that we went to the school hall, where all the pupils enjoyed meeting Debra, a very big zebra!

Debra opening the footpath with Councillor Bamford, and meeting the children in the hall

All in red

To raise money for Comic Relief almost the whole of the school paid to dress in red - red noses, red clothes, red hair ribbons, red hair! The donations amounted to £170, and on top of that there was a red cake sale at the end of the day. Luke M-T and Philip (Y6) took photos at lunchtime of our red playground:

If you have Powerpoint, click here to see a slideshow with lots more pictures

Flying visit

On March 8th, the Red Tail Falconry Team visited the school with a selection of falcons, hawks and owls. They explained about the different types of birds and how their bodies are suited to their habitats and need for food. Later, we had the chance to see some of the birds fly. This was the part which really impressed the children: "It was great watching the falcon swooping over Churchfields when he was chasing the lure with food on it." "Harriet the Harris Hawk flew from one grown-up to another just over our heads." The children have been talking about the experience a lot. Younger children were soaring round the playground like owls, and making bird stories with puppets. They have enjoyed drawing the birds and creating art work, researching their lives and writing about them.

Tarzan!

Charity (Year 6) made this sketch of herself swinging from tree to tree on the ropes course at Sayers Croft activity centre at Ewhurst, Surrey. On the second evening of their three-day residential visit, the children were muddy, tired and happy. They were full of tales of being blindfolded in the woods, pond dipping, popping balloons on the archery targets, and talking late into the night! Olivia spoke for lots when she said, "I enjoyed getting muddy and working as a team."

Charity impersonating Tarzan at Sayers Croft

For more photos visit the Year 6 Sayers Croft site by clicking here

Salad Days

St Mary's contribution to the Chessington Schools' Recipe Book is the section on salads - savoury and sweet. Year 2 have been experimenting with the recipes, and posing for the photos which should appear in the book when it is published in June. They enjoyed creating the salads from fruit and vegetables, and they enjoyed eating them too. Their healthy tastes are a good example for us all! Here are some of the chefs at work:

Charity (Y6) has created a gang of 'fruit and veg' characters to advertise the value of salads

Transatlantic mail

Year 4 are corresponding with children in the USA. Earlier in the year, Miss Maddox, a student teacher from Texas, spent time helping Year 4. Now she is working with an American class of the same age, and they have sent letters across the Atlantic to introduce themselves. We hope to develop the correspondence via email too.

Cool School

On March 1st, Neil Long, breakfast show disc jockey from Radio Jackie, visited Year 2 through an arrangement made by the parents of a pupil. All the children had the chance to be a DJ for a moment, making short introductions and announcements. Their lively contributions were broadcast the next morning so the listening public could know that St Mary's is a 'Cool School'.

January - February 2007

Making a difference

For our Lent service Sarah, our vicar, chose the theme 'Making a difference' - to our planet and the people who live on it. The service sheet summarised the message like this: "By the choices we make we can change the world. We can make a difference if we act together." In the services, we explored the theme using poetry and teaching from the Bible, drama and music. All the children wrote or drew their own 'prayer for God's world' to offer at the service. There were many thoughtful, meaningful and attractive contributions. To see a small selection of the prayers, please click here.

Kingston School Sports Partnership Awards

Congratulations to Eloise Robini, Jack Binstead and Russell Watkinson for gaining these awards this year. The photo shows them with wheelchair athlete Clare Strange, who presented the awards. For more detail about the awards and the ceremony, please see our Sports Page by clicking here.

Madam Mayor visits St Mary's

On 9th February, Councillor Mary Reid, Mayor of Kingston, visited the school. She has visited before in her role as a local councillor, and it was a pleasure to welcome her back. First, she met for half-an-hour with the School Council, answering their questions about her job, and asking them in return to find out from their classes what improvements they would like to see in the neighbourhood. The older school councillors took the Mayor for a tour of the school, and then she kindly performed the opening ceremony for our refurbished ICT suite. This was an opportunity to thank The Accessory People and the PTA for their generous support of this project. Finally, the Mayor visited our end-of-the-week Assembly. She introduced the children to Ethelred her elephant, and presented certificates to pupils whose learning had been commended. The Mayor invited the School Council to visit her at Guildhall, and they are very keen to accept!

Madam Mayor with members of the School Council, and opening the refurbished ICT suite

For a School Councillor's report on the afternoon, please click here.

Transport trip

Years 1 and 2 made a very popular visit to Brooklands Museum to find out more about transport for their current topic of study. Toni and Mica (Y2) report: "We went to Brooklands Museum. We saw some cars and aeroplanes and bikes. Our favourite thing was the Discovery Room. We played games about different sorts of transport. We both liked riding the penny-farthing. We needed someone to balance us so we didn't fall off!"

Alien invasion

The Reception and Nursery classes had some special visitors early in February. From a far-away land high in the sky some Aliens from space came to visit them. The children really enjoyed showing them round the school, visiting each class in turn, and the offices too. The Aliens learned a lot about the geography of St Mary's School, and the children did too! For some children's pictures of the Aliens, please click here.

The Aliens and their flying saucer

The Hook Centre

The new library and community centre at Hook opened on 20th January and within a fortnight, St Mary's children made two visits there. Firstly, 20 older children involved in musical activities spent a morning in the exciting new recording studio. For a report and photo, please click here. A week later, Year 5 made a visit to see the new library. Paige and Caitlin report: "Year 5 went on a bus to Hook and Chessington Library. Emma, the children's librarian, kindly showed us around and explained to us how to use the computers to find the books that we want to read. She also read us an extract from a book by Anthony Horowitz. Emma gave us a book mark each to take home."

Emma showing Year 5 her new library

First snow

January 24th saw the first snow of the winter, and for our youngest children the first snow they can remember. The snow was lovely and soft - great for building snow-men, snow-women and snow-mountains. The children had an extended playtime in the morning to enjoy it. By lunchtime it was slush!

Family music

St Mary's was the venue for the first event of the year organised by the Supporting Families Service for the Chessington Cluster of schools. It had a musical theme, with African drumming, singing, percussion playing and making tambourines. There was face-painting too, plus the chance to borrow a police officer's hat! There was a good turnout of children, many of them from our school, and they all brought their parents - to join in the activities, and to pick up information from the various local organisations who were represented in the hall.

November - December 2006

Party time

Newspaper fashions, snowman disguises, pass-the-parcel, musical bumps, a feast of food, and chilling out in front of a large-screen film - all these were part of the relzxed party fun in different classes at the end of a long term.

Year 5.................................................. Nursery.................................................... Year 3 ........................................ and Year 6

Tear Fund Total

News items this term have featured the various events the classes and their teachers organised in response to our harvest project. This was to support development work in South America sponsored by the Christian agency Tear Fund. We have watched with amazement as the total of money raised has grown and grown until it has reached an amazing £1000! Thank you to everyone who made a contribution.

Younger and older

A group of Music Club members visited Southborough Nursing Home on December 11th to sing and play to the residents. We received a lovely letter afterwards: "The standard was first class, and I know that our residents thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon's entertainment. The children's behaviour was outstanding, and it was lovely to chat to them after the concert."

It's what's you're like inside that matters

That was the moral of the Hoity-toity angel, Key Stage 1's Christmas nativity play. With musical styles ranging from gentle ballad to hand-jiving rock 'n roll, it was entertainment with a message for performers and audience alike.

Little donkey

The Key Stage 2 classes presented a joyful concert of modern and traditional carols to their parents. With the rooftops of Bethlehem behind them, the shepherds join Mary, Joseph and the donkey in singing to God's praise.

For more pictures please click here.

Band aid!

At the moment, St Mary's Church doesn't have an organist, so for the annual Christingle Service we made a band. Present and former pupils joined with staff to lead the songs at the service, which was packed out! It was lovely to see the flickering candles of the Christingles all over the darkened church while former pupil Lucy led Away in a manger on solo clarinet. Here are some of the band in action, and to see more pictures on our music page, please click here.

Friendly competition

During the first week in December, St Mary's pupils pitched their skills against other local schools in two very different ways. First, two members of Year 6 received two hours' basic training in 'Maths in Motion'. This is a computer simulation of races round the Formula 1 tracks of the world. Using maths skills, competitors program their imaginary car to navigate the track at the fastest speed they can. Ruby and Alex, who represented us, did well to come 4th in a field of ten (including Secondary pupils). Later in the week, representatives of our Key Stage 2 classes took part in an indoor athletics event against the other Chessington schools at Chessington Sports Centre.

Our 'Maths in Motion' drivers with their certificates

Mary surprised by shepherds!

The Foundation Stage classes presented a delightful musical nativity play called It's a baby! Midnight visitors would be enough to startle any new mum!

Mosaic masterpiece

If you have followed last month's news about our Family Learning course to create a mosiac panel, you will be interested to see the finished result, which is very striking mounted in the library. Here it is, with Tamara, the local artist who worked with children and parents to design and make it:

Chessington twinned with Texas

For many years, St Mary's has been one of a group of Kingston schools involved in a link with Baylor University, Texas, USA. Student teachers from the American university come to spend three weeks in our English school, helping classes and finding out first hand about the characteristics of the UK education system. The students also have a busy time outside the school day, visiting the sights of London, and other places as far afield as Edinburgh and Paris. This month, it has been a pleasure for us to host Sadie and Lydia from Baylor. They have worked with classes in all three learning Stages, and have shown real commitment and enjoyment in their work. We are really grateful, and wish them well for the rest of their stay in the UK, and safe travelling home. Children in Years 2 and 4 are writing to Texan children of the same age, and we hope that we can continue the link further by email.

Operation Christmas Child

This year we joined in this massive project to send over a million Christmas presents to needy children overseas. It is a long-established project organised by a Christian charity, which brings joy to children in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia who have very little. Toys, games, sweets, small items of clothing and toiletries are packed in empty shoe-boxes, taken to warehouses and loaded onto lorries. They are transported abroad, and distributed through schools, children's homes, etc., to children who wouldn't otehrwise recieve presents at Christmas or other festivals. They are given away, regardless of nationality, religion, etc. Where it is appropriate to the country, a Christmas story book is included. Here are pictures of our contribution, and some of the joy brought by last year's parcels.

Laura and Kane from the School Council helped sort the gifts, which were packed into the car.

Look at the smiles the parcels bring when they reach the end of their journey!

Create a mosaic

Our Family Learning course at the moment is very interesting and absorbing. Parents and children working together with the tutor have created an Autumn design, which they are turning into a large mosaic picture for display in school. They are using real tiles, which have to be cut with care, wearing goggles and using special tools. Then the cut pieces are carefully arranged to build up the picture gradually. Look at the concentration!

For more pictures, please click here.

Bring and buy

On November 8th, Years 3 and 6 held a bring and buy sale and raised loads of money for the Quechua people in Bolivia. Year 4 have also been collecting money in Smartie tubes over the past few weeks. Year 5 held a sponsored mini sports day, so WELL DONE EVERYONE. (Report by Charity, Y6)

Buying and selling for Tear Fund's harvest project

September - October 2006

Inspected again

Because St Mary's is a church school, it has a second inspection shortly after Ofsted has visited, this time by a representative of the Diocese of Guildford. This took place just after half-term, with the focus on RE, worship, ethos and community links. To read the report please click here.

Scootathon

Well done to all the Year 1 and 2 children who scooted round the playground with such energy in aid of our harvest project to support agricultural and community development in South America. Key Stage 2 classes are planning a bring-and-buy sale and other events shortly.

A palace fit for a king

On October 4th, Years 3 and 4 visited Hampton Court Palace to find out first hand lots more about their Tudor topic. Abi and Joshua (Y3) report:

"First we went in the Great Hall. There were deers’ heads on the wall and portraits. We saw the stairs where the servants rushed up and down. There were pictures of the Tudor rose. We talked to Thomas Seymour (Jane Seymour’s brother) who showed us his dagger. In the Haunted Gallery we saw a picture of the Field of Cloth of Gold. At the end, we took photographs of people dressed in Tudor clothes. Before we went home we had a run around. We enjoyed our day. It was really fun."

Later in the month, both classes held Tudor banquets, where the King and Queen were fed generously by their servants and entertained by their subjects. Tudor music was performed on recorders and guitars (we couldn't afford any lutes), and there were jokes and jests galore. Lots of fun was had at the royal court, and no-one lost their head!

Year 4 bid farewell to their honoured guests

Inspected

The school had been anticipating an Ofsted inspection for some time, but when the phone call came on 18th September everything started happeing quickly. Nowadays, schools only get two or three days' notice, so the inspectors see life as it is, and the inspection itself lasts two days - two intensive days. The inspectors said they enjoyed their visit, and found adults and children alike welcoming and helpful to them. They described the school as a happy place with good teaching, learning and achievement. To read the report, please click here.

Welcome to new vicar

It has been a pleasure to welcome Rev Sarah Oakland as the vicar of Chessington. The headteacher and chairman of Governors attended her induction service, and it wasn't long before she visited school, attending and then leading worship in Assembly. We're looking forward to getting to know her better. For more details, please click here.

More than potatoes

In our harvest thanksgiving services this year, we thought particularly about a community work team in Bolivia called Yanapanakuna. They comprise a gardener, a cook, a doctor and a Bible teacher. Working together, they bring improved health and happiness to villagers high up in the Andes. In particular they expand the staple diet of potatoes by building greenhouses to grow a much wider range of vegetables. Yanapanakuna means 'Let us help each other' - a really good motto which has made us want to help them. Watch this space!

The service was also our chance to say goodbye to Rev Pippa Ross-McCabe, who has been looking after the church so well during the time it has taken to appoint a new vicar. Pippa really enriched the life of the school with her thoughtful worship, her drama skills, her fruitful ideas for church-school links, and her vision for future joint working. We will miss her, and wish her well in her new parish nearer her home. We gave Pippa a gift, and she wrote saying, "The splendid pot of flowers and plants has taken pride of place outside our front door. When people ask about it, I am delighted to tell them about St Mary's School - about your warmth, the learning you do together and the welcome you have given me during the last year. Thank you for your kindness."

Pippa talking to Year 6 in church

July 2006

Farewell

On the last day of the Summer Term we said goodbye to Mrs Lesley Coles, who has worked with dedication for several years as a teaching assistant and as co-ordinator of our Healthy School project. We are very grateful to her, and wish her a happy and active retirement. We also offered our goodbyes and good wishes to Year 6. They prepared an entertaining and reflective presentation for their Leavers' Service, where they were presented with Bibles by Rev Pippa Ross-McCabe. Pippa talked about the armour of God, including the Bible as a spiritual sword to fight for the right. Our prayers and best wishes go with them all.

Year 6 and their teachers after the Leavers' Service

Hot stuff

Tuesday 18th July was a hot day. The weather wasn't ideal for athletics and disco-dancing, but St Mary's pupils proved their stamina. For the sports, a whole camp of gazebos was pitched on the field to provide the children with shade, and plenty of water was provided. There was no shortage of enthusiasm from the children, and plenty of support from families on the banks beside the field. And the children still had energy to come back after school for the PTA discos! Thank you to all the staff and parents who organised this very busy day.

Infant and Junior sports events, and the Junior disco

'Hoodwinked'

The audiences for Key Stage 2's Summer production were entertained by a tuneful and witty musical play, with colourful costumes and props. Robin won the hand of his fair maid, the wicked sheriff was locked up, and a generous sum was collected to support the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Onwards and upwards

Thursday 13th July was a special day for Year 6 as they prepare to move on to their Secondary schools. In the morning, they joined together with 20 other schools from the Guildford Diocese in a huge service in the cathedral to mark their 'graduation' from Primary school. Later in the day, with the help of some of their parents, they enjoyed an evening of bowling and food with their friends.

Year 6 outside Guldford Cathedral

Fun Fair!

The PTA's Summer Fair was held on a lovely July afternoon - with the heatwave over, there was sunshine and a pleasant breeze. There were queues at the gate as many families and friends of the school came to enjoy the fun - displays of dancing and gymnastics, races for all ages, football shooting, face painting, a coconut shy, a bouncy castle and lots of other attractions. The school community was very generous and the Fair raised over £2000 towards the upgrading of the computers throughout the school.. Thanks and congratulations to the organisers from all the children and staff who will use the new equipment.

Folk Dance Festival

On 3rd July, more than 30 members of the school joined with folk dancers from all over Kingston for the annual Priary Schools' Folk Dance Festival, held at Tolworth Girls' School. The St Mary's team was right next to the band and danced in front of the Mayor all afternoon. Georgia from Year 3 was chosen to present a posy of flowers to the Mayor.

Members of the Folk Dance Team who took part in the Borough Festival on 3rd July

May - June 2006

Exhibition

Year 5 prepared an interesting exhibition of their work following their recent residential visit to the Isle of Wight. They invited their parents, who said how much the children had enjoyed the journey, and how much they had learnt by visiting a contrasting locality - one whose history and geography has been shaped by the sea.

Displays based on the fossil hunt on Sandown beach, and the visit to Bembridge windmill.

JRSOs united

"On Wednesday 21st June, Ben and I went by train to the Mermaid Theatre in London. We were invited because we have worked hard being Junior Road Safety Officers for our school. There were lots of JRSOs from other school in London. We met two TV presenters called Anna and Geoff and we watched live performances with plays and acrobatics. We enjoyed it a lot, and say thank you to Mrs Mason and Mrs Craig for taking us." (Report by Ella, Y6)

'You're better off by bike'

Congratulations to Charity and Eloise B (Y5) on being runners-up in this road safety art competition which attracted 1000 entries from all over the Royal Borough of Kingston. (P.S. St Mary's was the only school with two people in the top six!)

Red and white

On June 16th, the PTA persuaded all the children to wear red and white clothes in exchange for a donation to the Summer Fair - and to mark the World Cup at the same time. The whole school looked like the England supporters' club!

A fishy story!

On Wednesday 14th June, Years 1 and 2 went to the London Aquarium. We travelled by train. There were nine stations to pass, but it didn't take too long. Then we had to walk past the London Eye to the Aquarium. We put our lunch boxes down and a lady came to show us round. We saw big sharks and some tiny fish. There were zebra sharks, puffer fish and sting rays in a rock pool. We saw Nemo and his friends! On the way home we saw the football ground where I play. It was a good day.

(Report by Thomas H and Nicolas, Year 2)

Year 5 on the Isle of Wight

On 6th June, Year 5 left for a trip to the Isle of Wight. When we got to Portsmouth, we visited the cathedral and Luke dressed up as a bishop. We went on a Fast Cat ferry to the island and by train to Sandown. We walked to our hostel and settled in. After dinner we went to the beach. Some of us went paddling and got a bit wet.

On Day 2, we did a town survey and then went to Dinosaur Isle. In the museum we found out a lot about dinosaurs, and then went fossil hunting on the beach. We found lots of stones with fossils in them.

On Day 3, we went on a long walk up to Bembridge windmill, where we were shown round. Next we visited Bembridge School and showed our powerpoint presentations about Chessington. We had cake with the Bembridge children. In the evening the staff dressed up to entertain us and we sang songs.

On the last day we packed our bags and loaded them into the minibus so Russell could take them back to school. When we were back in Portsmouth, we visited H.M.S.Victory and learnt about Lord Nelson.

We really enjoyed our school trip and we can't stop talking about it!

(Report by Eloise B and Harry, Year 5)

If you have Powerpoint, you can see a complete Isle of Wight slideshow if you click here.

Copped!

Sgt Ellis and the Neighbourhood Police Team have set a challenge to all the Year 6 pupils in Chessington: talk to as many of our team as you can over the next month, and you could win a class trip to the World of Adventures! All the children have been given a card with spaces to collect stickers - photos issued by members of the police team, or proof that the child has visited the library, a local club or sports activity. Representatives from each school attended the launch of the scheme, and you can see Sugania, Ella, Jamie and Christopher in the photo below with the Mayor, Councillor Mary Reid. Among those behind are local officers P S James Ellis and P C Gary Perks, who are familiar and welcome faces at St Mary's.

Sportszone strikes again

Following the success of the initial venture in the February half-term, Raw Skills Coaching again hired the school's facilities for a half-term sports activity week. Coaches Russell, Dan and Stuart provided a relaxed and active time, with a variety of games on the field and the playground. To read the children's reactions, please click here.

Family Fitness

Earlier in the year all the Key Stage 2 classes followed a P.E. module about health-related fitness, including exercise and nutrition. Year 6 and their P.E. teacher Russell Watkinson were keen to share some of their knowledge with parents, so they organised an after-school session with warm-up stretches and a circuit of activities. About ten families joined in, with members of all ages, and they are now keen to repeat the exercise!!

For more fitness photos, please click here

Mad Hair Day

Friday 19th May was Mad Hair day. You should have seen how many people wore their mad hair to school! They had wigs, hair dye and unusual clips. The people who wore mad hair gave about £1.00 as a donation to the PTA. We raised at least £80. (Report by Caitlin, Y4)

Family Learning

Over the last few months, we have held four workshops for parents about different aspects of learning - reading, writing, maths and the whole curriculum in the Foundation Stage. The class teachers and Nursery Nurses have been involved in leading these, and issued invitations to the parents in their own classes. We have also worked in partnership with the Borough's Family Learning Service, who will shortly be arranging a course of basic ICT lessons for parents. We are pleased to have welcomed a quarter of school families to one or more of these workshops. The evaluation slips have been very positive, and have given us lots of ideas for future sessions.

March - April 2006

Remembering St George

As well as being our national saint, St George is patron saint of the Guide and Scout movements. He is an active saint, with the courage to stand up for the right and help others - qualities which the movements value. To help us mark St George's Day, lots of members of the Guide and Scout movements responded to the invitation to wear their uniforms to school:

Guides and Scouts of all ages came in their uniform

Ferrets alive!

Sue from Chessington World of Adventures brought a ferret called Crystal to see us. She let us stroke her, and then we washed our hands. Crystal was a white ferret. She was skinny and about 40 centimetres long. She didn't sit very still. She liked to touch people's hair. Sue said that ferrets like to sleep on top of each other. We liked meeting Crystal because she looked nice and she was very soft. (Report by Charlie and Rachel T, Year 1)

Close to fame!

Ella (Y6) reports: "On 30th March, I went to see Jacqueline Wilson in the CBBC shop in Kingston. She signed my copies of two of her books which I have already enjoyed, and I bought a new one called Candy Floss. I had my photo taken with her. It was fantastic!"

Jack in training

Jack (Y4) is training hard three times a week to race part of the London mini-marathon course in his wheelchair. He is working with a trainer from Velocity, the local wheelchair athletics club, and hopes to take part in the event later in the year. To find out more from the Surrey Comet, please click here.

Full speed ahead! ...Jack with Christine, his trainer

Reflecting

Each class had the chance to go to St Mary's Church during the last week of term to reflect on the story of Holy Week, the last week of Jesus' life. Revd Pippa McCabe showed us pictures, and led songs and prayers. When they came back, many of the children made their own pictures and prayers to share their thoughts and feelings about the story. To see some photos, drawings and prayers, please click here.

Mice on the menu

Even the slaves in Year 3 enjoyed their Roman banquet! Imagining themselves into the life of a villa in Roman times, all the class members played different roles in the household. Once they had served their masters, the servants were allowed a portion of the extensive spread, including seeded bread, pancakes with honey and edible (chocolate) dormouse!

Hot news from Sayers Croft

Even before Year 6 returned from their three-day residential adventure to Sayers Croft activity centre, they sent their news:

We're having fun. Yesterday we did pond dipping and caught fish, beetles and some soggy MDF! We went round the hedge maze and got lost and muddy. Today we did the ropes course, rock climbing, abseiling, team challenges and archery. It was great swinging ourselves through the air into a net, and abseiling down the rock face. Most people hit the target in archery, but Ben hit the fire exit sign and broke it in half! The food is good, and we are hoping to get more sleep tonight. (Report from Christopher, Jack and Liam, Y6)

Fun and friendship in the evening at Sayers Croft

For lots more photos, information and a video, please click here to visit the Year 6 Sayers Croft website.

When Grandad scored the goals

Ella (Y6) has brought in an interesting picture of her grandad and her great uncle in an unbeaten St Mary's Primary School football team in 1960. There were only 20 boys to choose from at the time, but they won 11 out of their 12 matches that season. Ella's grandad looks rightly proud in the photograph, and she is proud of him too.

A faded photo of St Mary's footballers 46 years ago

Ash Wednesday

Christopher and Oliver (Y2) report: On Ash Wednesday we walked to the church for a service. We sang songs and listened to Pippa. She showed us a dead flower and a colourful rainbow. We all went up and had a little cross of ash put on our forehead. It was a sign that we are sorry when we are naughty or make mistakes. We are going to collect stickers when we are kind to each other, to colour in the rainbow in our classroom.

There is a Prayer Walk set up in the churchyard during Lent. For details, please click here.

January - February 2006

Keep safe!

On Thursday 9th February, we went to the annual Junior Citizen event at Chessington World of Adventures. We paired up with teams from Year 6 at Tolworth Junior School. We had to go round the site following the arrows to lots of activities. There were ten activities about safety. There was one about being safe on a bus, and one about a fire in a house. We had to dial 999 and rescue a baby and her grandpa. Most of us got 'killed' at least once as we went round! We learnt that millions of pounds is spent on cleaning off graffiti each year, and agreed that 'Graffiti is not blinging, it's minging!' Or, putting it another way, 'It's not cool to be a fool'. (Report by Paloma, Emma and Ryan, Y6)

Year 6 and Tolworth friends on a cold day at CWA - learning about transport safety from bus and train staff

Digging up the past

On Wednesday 8th February, Mr Benge from Kingston Museum came to our school. He showed us Roman helmets and old pottery that people used to do lots of things with. We got to wear some Roman clothes too. It was very exciting and fun. Some of the things were 2000 years old. (Report by Jack and Jodie, Y3)

Making a lot of noise

When Kingston Music Service offered a free percussion workshop to one Primary school, St Mary's got in quick! As a result, about 30 children from Key Stage 2 spent an hour and half with Odehei, an African drum and dance group. It required energy and concentration, and the playing and dancing were good fun. For more photos and a report by one of the participants, please click here.

Focused faces holding the beat and tapping out the rhythms

Visit of the Mayor

Hassia and Jamie (Y6) represented the School Council in greeting and looking after the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Kingston when they visited us on 25th January. Jamie writes: "We welcomed the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to our school, and took them to the staff room for a chat. They asked us about what we do around the school, for example being mediators and playing sport. We showed them into Assembly, and the Mayor talked about the history of the Royal Borough. The Mace-bearer told us about the rare and valuable mace. After Assembly, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor answered questions, then visited Reception and Nursery before leaving in their limousine."

Addressing the Assembly....................... Finding out about the the mace...................... Answering questions after Assembly

Visit to the Bears

On 24th January, the Reception class went in two groups to the Bear Factory, a shop in Kingston town centre. Each group brought back a bear. The boy bear is called Barnaby, and the girl bear is Sparkle. To see pictures and read more about the visit, click here to go to the Reception Class website.

Fire! Fire!

On 26th January, Years 1 and 2 visited the Museum of London in connection with their topic on the Great Fire of 1666. Thomas H and Prince report: "Yesterday we went to the London Museum. We went on a coach. My favourite bit was lunch! A lady called Lizzie told us about the Fire of London. Where it started was in Pudding Lane. We know that because it is in Samuel Pepys' diary. We also saw a skeleton and a sword."

November - December 2005

End-of-term celebrations

On the next to last day of term, all the classes held parties with games and food, some of it made by the children themselves. There was lots of fun, as you can see from the photos. To round off the term, we remembered the reason for the season in our end-of-term service in the church hall. We told the Christmas story in words, actions and music. We welcomed back some old friends to play in the band, and enjoyed meeting Emma - a doll brought by Rev Pippa McCabe. With a name to remind of us Emmanuel ('God with us'), her whole face lit up - to encourage us to brighten the lives of our families this Christmas.

Musical chairs, a parachute story about Santa, and tea-time - all part of the party fun.

Concerted effort

This year, all three Key Stages have presented Christmas concerts, twice each, all in the school hall, all in one week. This has required quite a lot of planning and organisation in school, together with help and co-operation from parents. The audiences appreciated all three concerts: The Sleepy Shepherd by the Foundation Stage, The Hopeless Camel by Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2's Victorian Christmas entertainment - including seasonal traditions and a rousing old-time music hall.

Scenes from 'The Sleepy Shepherd', 'The Hopeless Camel' and the Victorian Music Hall

Maths in Motion

Jamie and Kumit from Year 6 attended a Borough training session on a new computer program. Along with their headteacher, they learnt how to program a racing car to speed at 210 km/h around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. They used lots of maths as well as ICT skills, and competed against the other schools at the session, finishing the 'virtual race' in 8th place out of 16. It was fun, and now they plan to share their new skills with friends from their class.

How fast will it go? Will it crash? Can we win? - the programmers at work

Santa visits Christmas Fair

Once again Santa Claus managed to fit the St Mary's Christmas Fair into his busy schedule, and delight the children who queued to visit his grotto. There was plenty to do - games and make-up for the children, tombolas and auctions for the adults, and delicious refreshments for all ages. Congratulations to the PTA committee for organising such an enjoyable and event, and for raising £1900 to support the work of the school.

Bright sparks

A new after-school club for this term was the Science Club. Budding inventors from all the Key Stage 2 classes enjoyed trying out experiments and building working models, under the guidance of Miss Williams. Here they are with their final project of the term - models to show off their skills with electric circuits.

Framed!

Well done to Kumit, Megan and Kiera, who were awarded certificates for their art work submitted for an exhibition at Kingston Gate Gallery. Kiera also won the prize for her age-group. Families and friends attended the presentation, and admired the pictures which had all been mounted in frames by the gallery. It was lovely to have the other entrants Charity and Eloise there too. Kumit reports: "After the presentation, we had to line up and a press photographer took our photos. Then the winning pictures were sold by an auction. Parents and grandparents were bidding against each other. My Mum bought mine. The money was to help the children in the Shooting Star Hospice."

The prize-winners at Kingston Gate Gallery

Scootathon

Thomas W and Gaby (Year 2) explain how they raised money for Children in Need: "On Tuesday 15th November, Years 1 and 2 had a scootathon. We brought scooters to school. We went up and down the playground 15 times. We raised money for Children in Need. So far we have raised more than £200, but more money is still coming. It was fun, but a few people were a bit sad when they fell over."

Pudsey Bear by Jessica (Y2)

A Victorian school day

Years 5 and 6 visited Guildford Museum to experience what life was like in a Victorian school. Christopher (Y6) reports : "At 9.15 a.m. we wet out to get on the coach, but we had a problem - it wasn't there! Suddenly we saw the coach coming down the road, and in about an hour we were at Guildford. We walked a short distance to a school. We were taught Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (the Three Rs). The teacher was very strict and she called us 'child' and not by our name. We had inkpots to dip our pen into. In the afternoon we all went to the Museum and the shop. Suddenly it was time to make the journey home. It was a tiring day but we all enjoyed it."

Y5 cheerful about their trip and Y6 solemnly thinking about Victorian schooldays

September - October 2005

'Kingston Young Masters'

Five of our children recently volunteered to enter this local schools art award, organised by Kingston Gate Gallery in association with Shooting Star Hospice. The theme was life in Kingston, and the first step was preliminary sketches done at home - or in one case on the bank of the River Thames. Then the children spent an afternoon making their pictures in school. Pastels were a popular medium, and also fabric collage. The attractive results can be all seen on our Showcase, in the Key Stage 2 section, by clicking here. There were 350 entries to the competition, and three of ours were shortlisted - a special well done to Kiera, Megan and Kumit.

Charity based her picture of Kingston Bridge on her own sketch made by the riverside

News of the month!

We were excited to hear that the Government has accepted the school's bid for major funding (over £2 million) to extend the school. It was good to receive messages of congratulation and support from Edward Davey, MP, local councillors and the Directors of Education for Kingston and the Diocese of Guildford. Further planning will soon start to realise our vision of a modern school building to suit the curriculum, the children and the community. (To read the Surrey Comet's article on the subject, please click here.)

Kids on the Catwalk

Nicole (Year 6) reports: "On Monday 10th October, there was a Kids on the Catwalk show, and all of us enjoyed it very much. It was organised by the PTA and the parents came to watch us. We didn't have long to practise the show, but the people said we did well and a lot of people bought the clothes after the show. Year 6 did their own dance at the end of the show. WE ALL ENJOYED IT A LOT!!"

MAD!

Bekky (Year 6) reports: “On Monday 3rd October, five Year 6 pupils went to Make A Difference. We joined together with other schools from the Kingston Borough and learnt about how what we do affects our world now and in the future. The environment was the first thing we talked about.We thought about how factories and cutting down trees affects our world around us.Then we talked about being a good citizen and helping others.Finally we had lunch, played in a park and became our very own party ready for being elected. It was great fun and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to Make A Difference.”

Spelling it out

Twelve members of the school came to the St Mary's Church harvest service on Sunday 2nd October. They sang two songs and made a thought-provoking presentation during the service. Using the letters of the word HARVEST, they spelt out a number of other topical words (EAT, STARVE, etc.) and concluded by spelling out the word SHARE. If you would like to read the whole text, please click here.

Family friendly

Congratulations to Kloe (Y2) whose logo design appeared on the Borough's Family Learning brochure. She based it on all the members of her own family:

Thank you

... to the members of the British Legion Club which is near our school. They have very generously raised £300 for the school's fund to improve sports equipment and facilities. Earlier in the year our only basketball net was damaged by intruders, and with this kind gift we should be able to replace it with two portable posts and nets. We are really grateful for this local community support.

July 2005

Backward and forward

We have been looking backward over this year's academic results, and forward to how we will be organising the school next year. For more details, please click on pupil achievements and plans for next term.

Farewells

In addition to our goodbyes to Year 6, the final day of the year was also the occasion to say thank you and farewell to Miss Louise Brown, class teacher of Year 3 for the last two years, who is taking a short break from her career to travel to other parts of the world. We wish Miss Brown and her fiance 'bon voyage' on their exciting journey. We also said thank you and farewell to Revd. Peter Flynn, who is retiring after thirteen years' ministry as vicar of Chessington. At our end of term service, he was presented with a plate, designed and decorated by a Year 6 pupil, to remind him of the school where he served as Chairman of Governors for eleven years, before stepping into the post of Vice-Chairman. We are indebted to him for active, strong and compassionate leadership in these roles. All the headteachers with whom he has worked were guests at his farewell lunch, where his final duty was to cut a cake baked and decorated in his honour. We wish him a very happy retirement near his family in rural Kent.

Revd Peter Flynn with his farewell cake, and (earlier this year) enjoying the school's new altar frontal

Year 6 on the move

At the end of each year it is sad to say goodbye to our Year 6 leavers, who have achieved and contributed a great deal during their time in the school. Their farewell has been marked this year by the Diocesan Leavers' Service in Guildford (please click here to find out more about their special contributions), by a fun day with pizza and a lovely cake iced with all their names by a talented parent, and by our own Leavers' Service led by Year 6 themselves. We hope they will go on to their various Secondary schools confident in what they have learnt at St Mary's - both in their lessons, and through the companionship of their Primary school.

The Year 6 Leavers' cake

In the saddle

Congratulations to Mrs Underwood, our Learning Support Co-ordinator, who completed the Capital to Coast cycle ride recently in aid of the Downs Syndrome Association. Anyone else who would like to add to her sponsorship for a worthy cause can do so care of the school office.

At the coast - challenge completed

Sports reports

These photos give a flavour of our sports events for the different Stages in the school, with the chance for everyone to participate in more or less 'serious' athletics. For more details and pictures, please visit our sports page by clicking here.

Sharing music

On 18th July, members of our musical clubs contributed to an informal end-of-year concert for parents. The choir showed off their range of styles, and recorder players of all stages played short pieces. Several soloists performed on trumpet and keyboard, and the guitarclub accompanied songs - including some with audience participation. The children thanked Miss Brown for leading the choir this year, and then did her proud in their finale as they danced round the hall performing 'Engine, engine number 9' in four syncopated parts!

The choir entertaining parents with their skilful part-singing

Year 5 showcase

Danny (Y5) reports: Year 5 offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for families and friends to come and see our school journey work. There was a little something for those who attended, on a first-come, first served basis. Our parents, brothers and sisters enjoyed seeing our website, photos, storybooks, quizzes and lots, lots more.

Visitors enjoyed the competitions and displays in Year 5's classroom

Message of peace

Alex (Y4) reports on a class visit: On 11th July, we went to Kingston Mosque. We travelled there on the top of a double decker bus. When we got there we took off our shoes. Inside, a man welcomed us and told us loads of information about the Mosque and the Qur'an, the holy book of the Muslim faith. He said Islam means peace, which means true Muslim people don't want to hurt anyone. He gave us some cakes and drinks, and on the journey back we played I-Spy. I thought that the man was generous and the visit was interesting.

Monday night fever

The Summer discos on Monday 11th July were rated highly by the children - "best ever" said members of Year 6. Thank you to the PTA for organising them and to Mr Lee and his team for the music.

The discos were enjoyed by Juniors and Infants alike

Fair brings fun and funds

The PTA's Summer Fair on July 2nd was a great success. There was a big crowd - school families, former pupils and staff, Governors and friends from the local community. Our own country dancing team provided entertainment, together with the 1st Hook Scout and Guide Band and the local karate club. There were races for children and adults, coconuts to win, wet sponges to throw, face and nail painting, and lots more. The burger stall served a record number of hungry customers, and the raffle prizes were presented by Neil Long and his co-presenter from Radio Jackie's breakfast show. A great deal of generous effort was made by many parents, led by the enthusiastic committee and its co-chairmen. Apart from providing an enjoyable time for the family, the Fair raised a record total of £2000 for the benefit of the children in school.

1st Hook Scout and Guide Band and the Karate Club display

(Thank you to Alex Guy for the photos of the day)

May - June 2005

Folk dance festival

Congratulations to the Infant folk Dancing Team, who gave a lovely display at the Borough festival held at Tolworth Recreation Centre. Lots of parents kindly provided support and transport, and the team was skilfully trained by Mrs Chambers.

Going digital

Thanks to an amazing total of 18000 Tesco tokens collected for us by parents and friends, we are able to buy each class its own digital camera. The cameras we have at the moment are always in demand, to capture special events and record the work of the classes. So this purchase will increase the chance for adults and children alike to develop their photographic skills. Thank you very mcuh to all the Tesco shoppers!

Animal adventure

Charlotte in the Reception Class reports on their class visit to an animal sanctuary in Surrey: We went to the British Wildlife Centre. We saw a rabbit. It jumped. We saw an owl. It went tuwit tuwoo. We saw a snake. It made Sam's hands smell. We saw a dog. Then we had lunch.

Back from Broadstairs

Year 5 had a great trip to Kent for four days. They are preparing their own mini website about the visit, which you can access from the homepage of the school website.

Astride a cannon on Margate cliffs

Theatre in Education

Kingston University Theatre Company visited with three plays for different age groups. Nicole (Y4) enjoyed the visit: The play was about a granddad who told his grandchildren about how unkind he was when he was younger. He had doors to go through with tests to do, to see if he could learn to be kind. The actos made it really funny.

Don't eat the teacher!

The Nursery children had a visit from the Children's Librarian.Emma, Jordan and Leah talked about what happened: Pauline came to read us some stories. One was about two ducks who thought a cat's tail was a scary snake. Another was about a shark who went to school on his first day and learnt not to eat the piano, the paintings or the books, and NOT TO EAT THE TEACHER!

In good voice

Year 2 took part in the Borough's music festival for Infants. Laura reports: We went to the King's Centre. We sang lots of songs. Some of them had actions too. My favourite was ocean Commotion. It was really fast and it was hard to fit the words in, and I really enjoyed it.

Trip to the Tower

Classes 1 and 2 enjoyed an informative and interesting visit to the Tower of London. The children behaved well and were a credit to the school. Several American tourists commented on their enthusiasm and interest. The staff and chidlren would like to say a big thank-you to all the helpers.

Farewell

We were sorry to say goodbye at half-term to Mrs Bahia, who worked with Year 5 during Mrs Usher's absence on maternity leave. We offer her our best wishes for the future as she and her husband seek a move of house and jobs.

Kingston Olympics

We were represented at the opening ceremony of this event by children from Key Stage 1 and Year 6. The younger children contributed folk dancing, and the older ones paraded a flag in the processsion. They then had the chance to participate in different sports events. For further details of this and other recent sporting activities, please click here.

March - April 2005

New building takes shape

If only we could write that about our major plan for extending the school! But while we wait for Government funds to be available, at least we have one new building to be proud of. The Reception children have a lovely new role-play house in their outdoor learning area. Provided by the PTA, it was kindly erected by Mr Mowatt, who appears in this picture with his children and his colleague.

'We've been to the zoo!"

The Reception Class enjoyed a visit to the animal enclosures at Chessington World of Adventures. Here are two reports and a picture from the children:

We went to the zoo on a bus. I saw a lion. I saw a leopard. I saw a ferret. I saw a goat. I saw a monkey. By Lara

We went to the zoo on a bus. We saw some penguins. They walk funny.We saw tigers.They were playing. By Rachel S.

Animals at the zoo, by Olivia E.

Great news from the Green Gang

Our all-age environmental group is proud to announce that it has gained the Silver Award in the Eco-Schools Award Scheme. This is the result of the projects it has launched in recycling and composting, growing plants and feeding birds, curriculum enrichment and school-business partnership. Congratulations! For more details of the Gang and its activities, please click here.

Talking drums

In the last week of the Spring Term, we held an Arts Week with an African theme, building on an idea started at a staff training day in January. To give it authentic flavour, the Junior classes enjoyed a workshop led by 'Me-We', who specialise in traditional drumming and storytelling from Africa.

In a lively end-of-term Assembly, classes and music groups shared songs, dances and percussion with an African feel, helped by a set of giant drums and some spectacular masks.

Tea with the Mayor

To say thank you for our involvement with the project to build a cancer centre at Kingston Hospital, we were invited to send one pupil to tea with the Mayor. Becky (Y5) was the first to return the family quiz organised by the appeal, so we asked if she would like to represent us. She reports:

The place I went to was Guildhall in Kingston. First we were introduced to the Mayor, then we had tea. There were biscuits and sandwiches, cakes and crisps. It was yummy! We had a tour of some of the rooms, and the first was the Hall of Memories. It had pictures of all the mayors from the first ever to last year's. Then we went to the award room to see the mace, and then we went to the Council Chamber. The Mayor has a message for me to pass to everyone who helped the charity in any way. It's from him and all the people from 'Kingston Can': THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND EFFORT!

In the Mayor's Parlour

‘High Fliers’ exhibition

On March 10th we joined in a lovely exhibition of work from the schools of Kingston and Merton on the theme of birds.We displayed a wide range - paintings and masks, stories and dance, bird cake and decorated eggs. Thank you to the families who came to the event, and to Mrs Vaz and Miss Blake for co-ordinating the display.To reward us for our efforts, the children received a prize from the Mayor of a new bird table and food to carry our project into the future. To see a photograph of our display and prizewinners, please click here.

Year 6 at Sayers Croft

Flying the team flag, climbing the wall and playing giant games - three of the activities at Sayers Croft

Here are some of the things Year 6 say they liked and learned on their three-day visit to Sayers Croft activity centre:

• I liked shelter building, even though you got soaked when they were tested
• I learned that if I really want to do something then I can
• It was funny when Miss Rainbow and Tom were speaking Italian
• The happiest memory was when all the girls woke up and started talking
• I learned that I can work well in a group, and how to shoot an arrow
• I enjoyed watching a video of us when we were little
• I learned that I get on better with other people when I’m chilled
• I liked the ropes course, especially when you swung like Tarzan into a net
• My scariest moment was when I got to the top of the wall climb and accidentally looked down. It was way, way high!
• I think it has made me more responsible and independent
• I found out that the teachers were having fun too!

Dedication of altar frontal

Thank you very much to the children and families who came to church for Mothering Sunday. The congregation really appreciated the singing and drama, and it was good to have children present for the dedication of our beautiful new altar frontal.  Each child in the school contributed their own fish design in fabric, and most of them have been worked by members of the church congregation into a spectacular design symbolising Christian people at the foot of the cross.  Later in the week we had a visit from Mr Holbird, the Director of Education for the Diocese of Guildford, and he admired it too:

Skipping workshop

27 children joined in fitness and fun after school one day in March with Charlotte, the instructor from Skipping Workshops. She commented on how skilful our youngest skippers are – even those in Reception.

Music Festival

Congratulations to our 20 performers in a brilliant concert at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, on March 3rd. 600 children from around the Borough sang with tuneful enthusiasm and expression, and brought real joy to the large audience of families and friends. This was the result of a great deal of hard work over recent weeks by the children and their teachers. Thank you especially to Miss Brown for all the time and energy she gave, and to the parents who helped with transport.

The massed choir at the Borough Music Festival at Fairfield Halls (and the video cameraman!)

January - February 2005

Fun in the snow - briefly!

For most of the first week after half-term, the snow came down in odd flurries and showers of sleet. Then for one morning, there was enough to get the wellies out. And then it all melted again! But we captured the fun with a few photos:

Live music in London

On Monday 7th February, the recorder and guitar groups went to the Festival Hall in London. It was very exciting. We saw some jazz players, drum players, and many more. I loved the experience, and I would like to go again.We didn’t just see other people performing. We also learned some songs and played fun games with them. The journey back to school was really fun too. We ate some sweets, played games, and Mr Taylor received a message from Mrs Costard on his phone. I think everyone should have the experience we did. They would enjoy themselves ever so much. By Bre (Year 5)

Footnotes:

1. We would have liked to invite more people, but we only had 20 tickets!

2. You may like to know about the contribution of South West Trains to this trip. Jack is a member of the recorder group and a wheelchair user. He couldn’t access the local stations which have stairs, so the company ensured he could take part by paying for a taxi ride to and from Wimbledon. Thank you to them.

Brooklands Museum

On Wednesday 2^nd February Class 1 and Class 2 went to Brooklands Museum. We went there because our topic is transport. These are things you can see at Brooklands: a robot, a bone-shaker, cars, aeroplanes, bikes, a scooter, a penny farthing and an old racing prize. By Tom and Jake (Year 2)

Junior Citizen

On Wednesday 2nd February, Year 6 went to Chessington World of Adventures to learn about safety. We did some activities in teams and we were given scores on every task There was fire safety, road safety, electricity safety, etc At the beginning we were warned to look out for helpers with an orange T-shirt, but lots of us went off with a stranger instead! We learnt not to trust people we don’t know. Report by Hannah M and Chloe B-M (Y6)

Year 6 learning about safety - on the road, near the water, and with harmful substances.

Going to church

Year 1 went to visit St Mary's Church and meet the vicar there. Niamh said, "I liked the staute of baby Jesus, and the statue of the donkey which I played in our school play." Kloe said, "I saw the font where babies are baptised, and Reverend Flynn pours water over their heads. I liked the kneeler which Class 6 made."

Feed the birds

Year 1 have also been busy making bird-cake to hang on the tree in the playground. They also regularly put food out on the bird table, and they spot the birds who come to eat it - usually as soon as playtime has finished!

The bird cake being made and then hung in the tree.

Fire safety

Hollie (Year 2) reports: "A lady firefighter came to show us a video. In it some children lit a match and there was a fire. They thought they would be beig kids if they lit matches. We decided they were silly and dangerous. We learnt not to use matches until we are older."

Talents

Our first Assembly theme of the term has been about talents - finding them, developing them, using them and sharing them. We started with a talent show, which took two Assemblies to complete and demonstrated a variety of skill and dexterity in juggling, hula-hooping, music, dance and joking!

Hula-hooping to music!

Open Evening

It was good to welcome families who are interested in their children joining our Reception Class next September. One of our guests wrote, "The evening gave us a true insight into school life in today's modern world... Our guide was very helpful and informative... The most important thing was to hear that she enjoys being at St Mary's and is very happy there." The guides were volunteers from our Year 6 class. Two of them said afterwards, "We enjoyed being guides because it made us feel responsible people, showing visitors round and explaining what goes on in our school and how much we enjoy being here."

November - December 2004

Old and young share Christmas goodwill

Twenty musicians from Years 5 and 6 visited Southborough Nursing Home in Surbiton to sing and play. Their short concert was appreciated, and the children chatted to the elderly residents. The staff were very generous in their hospitality, and the children came away with sweets and the satisfaction of sharing their Christmas goodwill with some very senior citizens.

Party time

Years 3 and 4 celebrated the end of their Tudor topic with a banquet each! King Henry VIII presided at the feasts, and there were knights and ladies dressed in fine attire. The children kept the king in a good mood, and no-one lost their head! Lots of fun was also had at the class Christmas parties and the PTA end-of-term discos. With decorations, music, games, crackers and food, all the ingredients of a good party were there.

Year 5 enjoying their Christmas party

Christingle thanks

Mrs Murant from St Mary's Church writes: Many thanks to all the children and parents who supported the St Mary's Christingle Service. All the readers were excellent and the choir sang beautifully. The collection amounted to a very generous £224, which will help to fund the Children's Scoiety 'Safe and sound' campaign.

Hosanna, it's a baby! - and what a gigantic star!

Appreciative audiences were generous in their applause and donations at our three nativity plays this year. The Key Stage 2 classes put verve into Hosanna Rock, the Foundation Stage brought charm to It's a baby, and Key Stage 1 told the story of The gigantic star with great enthusiasm. Apart from the pleasure they brought to their families, the children were learning lots of poetry, singing a wide range of music, retelling the Christmas story, and discovering just what can be achieved with effort and teamwork.

PTA breaks records at Christmas Fair

About 500 people began their Christmas season at St Mary's, tempted along by the valuable raffle prizes, the mouth-watering chocolate tombola, the chance to see Santa, and the friendly atmosphere of this popular family event. Lots and lots of people contributed in many ways, but the PTA committee had the organising skill, and they were really delighted with the record proceeds of over £1800. This will enable us to improve the outdoor play and learning areas for the Foundation Stage, to provide extra literacy resources for Junior children, and to purchase a DVD player. Thank you very much!

PTA helpers were joined by Santa himself to make the Fair a success

Neatest classroom competition

Chloe and Daniel (Year 6 representatives on the School Council) report: Congratulations to Year 2 and Year 5 for winning the competition which we organised. Everyone tried their best, but the second time we inspected, Classes 2 and 5 were spotless!

An Advent adventure

On 26th November, Captain Keith from the Church Army invited all the classes into a trailer in the staff. car park. Ben and Tammi (Year 1) report: "We sat down inside and we did a big blow to blow Captain Keith all the way to Bethlehem. He told us the story about Jesus at Christmas. There were some lights on the wall. One was an angel and the other was a star. We saw some statues of the angels and the wise men. There was one of baby Jesus. He was lying where the animals eat. We enjoyed it. It was a big white trailer pulled along by a car."

Christmas Angel (by Bre, Y5)

Visiting the palace

On Tuesday 16th November, Classes 3 and 4 went to Hampton Court Palace. We went to the Great Hall, and we all had jobs. James was the Lord, some of us were gentlemen, and some of us had nasty jobs. Charlotte had the worst - cleaning out the toilets! Each side of the Hall had expensive tapestries hanging on the wall. We went in the Watching Chamber, where the guards protected the jewels. The most interesting place was the Haunted Gallery. When we went in, the cold swooped onto our faces, and we felt scared in case there were ghosts. We saw the Chapel, where King Henry VIII used to sit on his royal pew. We had a lovely day learning more about the Tudors. Report by Eloise B. and Harry P. (Year 4)

Dogworthy's road show

Our Reception Class joined Years 1 and 2 for a professional puppet show with a message. Poor Dogworthy was hurt when he tried to cross the road, and the children helped tot each him how to stay safe in future. The Borough Road Safety Officer had arranged the show, and we were pleased to welcome him and a local councillor to share the performance.

"We like reading."

Year 1 enjoyed their visit to Hook Library - the bus journey, the librarian's talk, a chance to look at the books, and a story. It has also been a pleasure to see some of the certificates and medals gained by children who took part in the library's Reading Rollercoaster Challenge over the summer holiday.

Year 1 at Hook Library

September - October 2004

Sponsored waddle

Children from the Nursery donned duck headgear and held a sponsored waddle round the playground on 22nd October in aid of charity. The children thoroughly enjoyed their time as ducklings, and the event was supported by many Mum and Dad ducks as well.

Nursery children and younger siblings toddle on the Waddle!

Poet in residence - very briefly!

Years 5 and 6 enjoyed a morning's visit from Bob Devereux, a Cornish poet, who visited Kingston in connection with the local Muybridge Festival of the arts. Bob worked with the children on word play of various sorts and they made some excellent poems together. We would like to invite him again when he is in the area.

JRSOs at the Guildhall

Each Primary school in the Borough wants to promote road safety, and to do it members of Year 6 elect two children to be Junior Road Safety Officers in school for the year. This year, Rhianna and Jake D were elected at St Mary's, and they attended a reception for all the JRSOs in the Mayor's Parlour. They have started a web page to share their work. To find out more, please click here.

Welcome...

... to two members of the teaching staff who are joining us for part of this year. Mrs Bahia will be working in Year 5 and Miss Williams will be working in Year 4 and later in Year 6. They will both be covering periods when the regular teachers need to take leave.

Scootathon and Harvest Fair

We have raised £950 for our harvest project this year, to provide goats for families in African villages who struggle to survive. with £450 from the church congregation, the money we have raised will buy 52 goats! Thank you to everyone for your generosity! To find out what difference the goats will make, please click here.

To raise money for our harvest project, Classes 1 and 2 held a 'scootathon' - like a marathon, but on scooters. They raced up and down the playground, counting a lap each time. Many of the children were sponsored by family and friends for their efforts, to help buy goats for needy families in Africa.

The Junior classes combined several of their fund-raising plans in a Harvest Fair. They made cakes and biscuits for sale, organised bring-and-buy stalls for toys and books, held a guess-the-teacher competition using baby photos, and other ideas.

Infants ready to scoot, and Juniors buying and selling at the Harvest Fair

Premises improvements

The Summer holidays were again an opportunity for some building work, although as often happens there was some finishing off at the beginning of the new term. Now this has been completed, we are pleased with:

• the complete refurbishment of the Infant toilets, which completes our programme to update facilities throughout the school

• the new fenced area which gives the Reception class much better access to outdoor learning and play, and all the younger children an area for quieter lunchtime activities

• the new ramp giving wheelchair access to the hall

• the exciting new interactive whiteboards in all classrooms - see below

Interactivity

We are pleased to be one of the first Primary schools in Kingston with interactive whiteboards throughout the school. These are the next generation of ICT equipment for teaching and learning. They are effectively large, touch-sensitive computer screens. With them computer programs can be used with the whole class, still pictures and video can be projected large enough for all to see, stories and poems can be shared with everyone, writing can be composed and edited together, and many other things. Within their first week, all the boards were in use, and teachers are swapping ideas and resources, and looking forward to further training. We are very grateful to the PTA for helping us with this investment, to the Borough for advancing money to support it, and to our ICT Co-ordinator Mrs Muat for her dedication to managing this major project.

May - July 2004

Leavers' Service

The Summer Term ended with a service led by Year 6. They shared some of their memories of the past and their hopes for the future, and performed a thoughtful drama about the meaning of friendship. Although they will be going on to different schools and new opportunities, we hope that their St Mary's friendships will not be forgotten. They have given a lot to the school in their final year, and we will miss them.

Year 6 after the Leavers' Service

Musical afternoon

Many parents, relatives and friends enjoyed a warm welcome on the last afternoon of term. The weather was hot, and so was the tea served by waiters and waitresses from Year 5. The choir sang three sets of songs, all from memory, with great enthusiasm. In between, Year 2 sang two songs, and there were solos and group items on a range of string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. So many children were keen to share their talents that it was difficult to keep the concert from over-running. Thank you to Mrs Usher, our music co-ordinator and choir director, and to the teachers who teach the various instruments.

Recorder group at the musical afternoon

Quality Mark gained

It was good to hear near the end of term that the school had been awarded the Quality Mark of the Basic Skills Agency - awarded to schools which can demonstrate that their teaching and assessment strategies are improving standards, and helping children to achieve their potential.

For more details, click on the picture!

Community rallies round

We were very disappointed that our new 7-a-side goalposts were stolen at half-term. One turned up locally and was retrieved, but the other is still missing. However, the story has a happy ending. At our request, the Surrey Comet publicised the theft under headline 'Goalpost heartbreak for school's budding Rooneys'. The short article was spotted by one of the management team at Asda in Kingston, who were looking for a good home for one goalpost which had been used for a promotion. We said yes please, and were delighted when the new post proved to be exactly the same size as the stolen one. We shared the good news with the Comet and Asda, and arranged a thank-you photograph with some of the budding Rooneys.

Sports Days

It was good to welcome families to our three Summer Sports events for different ages - the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In the younger stages, there was maximum participation in a 'circus' of activities, and for the older children more acent on friendly competition. Congratulations to St Mark, the Green team, for winning this year - taking the shield from the Blues.

For photos please click here to visit our Sports Page

All the fun of the Fair

The PTA committee organised an enjoyable and profitable Summer Fair on Saturday 3rd July. There were displays of folk and modern dance, and the chance for people of all ages to participate in novelty races. Generous donations from parents and local sponsors kept the tombolas and cake stall busy, and provided worthwhile prizes for the raffle. The odd light showers blew over quickly, and the PTA were pleased to have raised a record amount of over £1500 to support the next stage of the school's ICT development plan - to provide interactive whiteboards in the classrooms.

Bouncing, sliding and dancing at the Summer Fair

Birdworld

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had a lovely time at Birdworld, near Farnham. When they returned, they made beautiful pictures and writing about the birds they saw - and also the crocodiles, and even Nemo the angel fish!

Sing aloud!

Year 5 had the opportunity of going (free of charge) to an orchestral concert in the Royal Festival Hall. They were impressed by the size of the hall, the orchestra and the opera singer's voice! They also listened to excerpts from Scheherezade by Rimsky-Korsakov - music linked with the Arabian Nights stories which they had been hearing in the classroom.

Year 2 took part in the Borough's Infant Music Festival, singing with great enthusiasm alongside lots of other local children. They joined in a selection of songs on the theme of moving, a lot of which involved moving and actions as well as singing.

The Mermaid's Tale

Jack and Ellie-Mai (Year 2) report on a visit from a theatre company: We watched a play about a mermaid. There was girl called Alana, a man called Prince Trajan, and a seahorse named Gem. The story was about a mermaid who wanted to be free out in the water. Her enemy was an evil witch, who took her tune away, but by the end she had her tune back, and she became Queen of the Sea. We liked the talking shark, and it was quite funny and a bit scary too!

The Mermaid who became Queen - by Ruth (Y2)

Year 4 visit the Mosque

Elizabete reports: We went to the Mosque in Kingston. We enjoyed it. Inside the mosque, a man showed us around. He showed us where the people pray. When you pray you need to take your shoes off and wash your feet. The man gave us juice and biscuits to eat. He was very kind.

Folk Dance Festival

Areport from Rachel and Georgia (Y2): There were lots of other schools at the Festival. We did five dances, like Cornish Quickstep and Pat-a-cake Polka. The Junior Schools did some more too. We had to go indoors because it was raining. It didn't spoil it, but we were a bit squashed up. All the Mums and Dads came and joined in with the last dance.

Folk Dancing by Laura W (Year 1)

Year 5 in Kent

Year 5 visited Canterbury, Margate and Broadstairs on their school journey, enjoying the sunshine and working hard! Reports from Kent say they had a fantastic time.

For more photos and captions in the children's own words, click here.

Cycle training

Meanwhile, children in Year 6 were involved in cycling proficiency training. This is an excellent opportunity for the children to develop cycling skills and good road sense. It helps to prepare them for cycling on the roads when they transfer to secondary school. Those children who reached the standards required were awarded a cycling proficiency certificate.

Visitors from India

Years 3 and 4 have been studying life in India, and they enjoyed an interesting visit from a family who live there. The children listened well, asked lots of questions and then tried on some Indian clothes and tasted some food. Some of the children commented, "I liked the saris, especially the purple one.... It was good seeing some pictures, tasting some food and learning some letters.... Ever since the visit, I've been reading about India in my Round the World book."

Our Indian visitors helped pupils and staff to try on Indian clothing

Minibeasts Morning

On 9th June, Year 1 children from three local schools - Buckland, St Paul's and St Mary's - joined forces for a morning's creative work on a theme. The schools hosted different minibeast activities - stories, maps, models and dances. The children worked and played well with their new friends, and the staff enjoyed working together too.

Speaking and Listening Week

At St Mary's, we believe that speaking and listening plays a vital role in learning and teaching. It helps children think and write and provides them with skills they will need for their everyday lives. So at the end of May we held a week with special events. Here are some of the children's reactions:

On Wednesday, we had our Speaking and Listening Day. We started in Class 4, where we did our French lesson with Mrs Wilson. We learnt how to say our names, how to say hello, and how to count up to 10. In Class 3 we played some games. In one of them you had to ask people questions, and they couldn't say yes or no. Then we went to Class 2. We were detectives and each group had a bag of objects. We had to figure out what sort of person they belonged to. In Class 6, we were given three questions to answer, such as "What would be nicer if it went backwards?" In Reception, we were given a story beginning, and we had to create the rest using puppets. Finally, in the hall our visitor Mr Eagle told us true stories about World War 2. Our favourite part was the puppet shows, and we thought the day was good because we were learning as well as having fun. Thank you to Miss Rainbow for organising it. (Report by Lauren and Bekky, Y4)

Year 1 learning French and Year 3 making puppet plays

On Tuesday and Thursday, Year 6 performed their own plays to the younger classes:

In Year 6, we looked at some favourite Infant stories and turned them into plays. We practised them and made the props. We brought costumes from home or made them out of material. We performed them in the hall to the Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2. We got a good response and we think they enjoyed the plays. They sent us some cards to say how thankful they were. (Report by Michael, Arnie and Dean, Y6)

Year 6 performed stories for us. We liked The Hungry Caterpillar, The Bear Hunt and Goldilocks. We thought it was funny when Goldilocks ran away from the three bears. We enjoyed the plays. They were excellent. (Report by Nicholas, Thomas and Marcus, Reception and Y1)

Goldilocks likes porridge!

Investing in literacy

We invest as much as we can afford in books, but just recently we have put a little money into making the books inviting and accessible. Each class has had £50 to spend on improving the literacy areas in the classroom. Some have bought cushions or rugs, others colourful drapes, and others posters. Some have given a theme to the book corner, while others have decorated it with their own work. The aim was to really encourage the reading of fiction and the study of non-fiction. here are examples of the super results:

Snakes alive!

The PTA organised an unusual after-school event for children and their parents who were not afraid of snakes and spiders. Chris, of Reptile Razzmatazz, brought a variety of reptiles and insects of various sizes to introduce to the audience. He provided factual information, advice not to keep them as pets, and the chance to touch or hold some of them - including one very large python. Charlie (Year 2) reports: On Tuesday, a man called Chris brought a tarantula spider, a scorpion, a lizard and some snakes. I liked the little snake because it had special colours to tell you whether it was poisonous or not. The longest snake was a python. It felt heavy. It wasn't slimy, but it felt hard and dry. I liked the Reptile Razzmatazz. Thank you to the PTA committee for inviting Chris to come.

Snakes aren't slimy!

For more pictures click here

Take care of yourself

Three Key Stage 2 classes had the chance to learn about personal safety by watching drama:

Classes 3 and 4 went to Moor Lane School to see a play based on Red Riding Hood. It was performed by students from Kingston University. Rebecca was called Red because it was her favourite colour. One day she didn't go straight to her Gran's. She went to her friend's instead, and nearly got eaten by a wolf which had escaped from the zoo. We learnt the No Go Tell rule. If a stranger worries you, you shout "No!", you Go to the nearest safe place, and Tell what has happened. (Report by Lauren and Christopher, Year 4)

Class 6 went to Lovelace Primary School to see a play performed by professional actors. There were several Year 6 groups from the Borough there. The story was about a girl called Dorothy whose friend Slam Dunk was being bullied. Lots of strange characters helped them to decide what to do - including a rapping cat, two biker mice and a talking dog. In the end Slam decided to tell Dorothy's Dad. We learnt to stick by your friends, and always tell someone if you have a problem. (Report by Laura and Nicole, Year 6)

Live music

We enjoyed a visit from the lower school band of St Peter's High School, Guildford, directed by Mrs Slaughter (who taught music at St Mary's last year). Chancel (Year 5) reports: I thought the concert was really good. There was a guitar, drums, a clarinet, violins, trumpets, a saxophone and the piano. I liked the song 'Yesterday'. All the instruments were playing slightly different tunes, but they all mixed together well.

Celebrating friendship

For many years, St Mary's has been welcoming student teachers from Baylor University, Texas, to experience life in a British school while they are visiting Europe. This link has been much appreciated by both sides. The American students share their culture and their skills with us, and they take home greater knowledge of our education system, and often happy memories of friendships made in the UK.

Baylor University makes a donation to thank St Mary's for hosting a student, and on this occasion we decided to use the money to buy a new bench for the Infant playground. The bench is known as a Friendship Bench. The main reason is because the School Council introduced it as a good place to find a friend to play with. Now, however, there is a second reason - because it marks the trans-Atlantic friendship between Chessington and Baylor.

The presentation was made by Mr Talbot, education professor at Baylor, and this term's student Kelly Carter. To receive the gift, we gathered the School Council, together with Mrs Baulch (joint Chairman of the PTA, which is funding playground improvement), Mrs Jefferys (who has organised it), and Mr Duffy (who co-ordinates the local link with the United States).

After the ceremony - trying out the new bench

March - April 2004

Miniature Gardens

The PTA was busy before Easter. As well as organising end-of-term discos and an Easter egg tombola, they held a competition for making a miniature garden. There was a bumper crop of entries, 65 in all, from children of all ages. Many had a Springtime or Easter theme, although there was even one Christmas garden. There were ponds and swings, patios and fountains, and lots of flowers, artificial and real. We were grateful to Mr Jolyon Martin from Chessington Garden Centre for taking on the difficult job of judging. In addition to the main prizes, a certificate was presented to all the entrants for creating such a lovely display which brought the new life of the Easter season into the school.

Jolyon Martin admiring the entries

Playing the gamelan

Year 4 children made a visit to Kingston University to finish off the term's music lessons. They have been finding out about the traditional orchestra of Indonesia, known as a gamelan. This consists of percussion instruments, mostly tuned and mostly made of metal. They include gongs, large and small, and instruments with rows of keys (like a glockenspiel). Drums are used to keep the beat and add rhythm. The university's music department is the proud owner of a complete gamelan, and the children spent two hours learning about and playing the instruments under the expert tuition of Mr Malcolm Milner, who has studied in Java. As well as playing several different instruments during the morning, the children also operated shadow puppets, for which the music is a traditional accompaniment. For pictures of the day, please click here.

Nursery staff handcuffed

Children in the Foundation Stage classes were excited to meet the police officers who kindly visited to show them their uniforms, their equipment and their car. The children tried on high-visibility coats, sat in the car and saw their teacher handcuffed! It is good to welcome visitors from the wider community, and such visits are an important opportunity to build understanding and trust.

Seeing the inside of a police car

Highlights of Sayers Croft

Early in March, most of Year 6 spent three days at Sayers Croft activity centre, near Ewhurst. Natalie and Lauren report on the highlights:

Archery was really cool. Sue, our instructor, showed us how to use the bow and arrow. After a practice, we had a competition. You had to pull the bow really hard, but most people hit the target - or the ceiling! The Night Walk was spectacular. We found a mole's hole with name-plate and a door-bell (honest!). We made up a story about the patterns in the stars. The rope course was hard. Although we were secured with a harness, we still had to face our fears of heights and drops. Some of us screamed, but we all stayed safe and gave it ten out of ten! The food was great, the instructors were encouraging and Russell led enjoyable games. It was Mrs Usher's birthday on Tuesday, so we celebrated with a cake and a home-made card. We give the whole visit eleven out of ten, and we want to thank Mrs Costard for organising it and taking us on this lovely trip.

Shelter-building in the woods

Fire-fighters at St Mary's

Year 2 children have been meeting lots of people who help the community. Jack reports on some exciting visitors: One Friday morning, a fire engine was parked in the school car park. We all went inside it. I sat on the seats. I relaised there were hats on top of a shelf, and I put one on my head. It was a bit big for me! At the front was a plastic visor which you could pull down in case something falls on your face. Outside the fire engine we saw the big equipment, like bags, axes and hose reels. When the fire-fighters went, they put on the sirens to say goodbye.

The fire-fighters and some excited children!

Crocus Challenge

Along with 24 other schools from the Boroughs of Kingston and Merton, St Mary's entered the Crocus Challenge set by Chessington Garden Centre. The Centre donated thousands of crocus bulbs to the local schools, and our children successfully grew a good number. The bulbs, leaves and flowers inspired a variety of work from all year groups - art, craft, science, maths, writing and even dance. Examples were displayed at a splendid, colourful exhibition at the Garden Centre, and all the schools involved were awarded £100 tokens to spend on more gardening. This prize will support the work of our Green Gang.

The display of our work, and our representatives receiving the certificate and prize from the Mayoress

Roman Warriors

Years 3 and 4 enjoyed an exciting day learning about the Roman army from history expert Mr Eagles. Eloise and Ryan report: First we were taught how to march. The commands were Left Turn, Right Turn and About Turn. Later, some of us dressed up in Roman clothes and armour. Mr Eagles showed us his dagger in his pocket, his sword, his shield and a whip. We pretended to have a battle, and the Roman soldiers won because they were better prepared and equipped.

Before and after the battle!

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