Upcoming Diary Dates
| This week | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Wednesday 5th July (9am and 2pm) |
Junior School production of The Wind in the Willows musical |
Kindergarten will be watching the musical at 9am in the Hall (parents can attend if unable to make the afternoon performance, please inform the office). Parents are welcome to a performance at 2pm in the Hall. The production will also be recorded.
Shhh! Keep it a surprise: fruit ice lollies will be given to the whole school following the Kindergarten performance. Don’t forget to bring 50p for a cup of popcorn at our 2pm Parent performance, all proceeds go towards our new school charity, Farms for City Children. |
|
Wednesday 5th July (3:15pm) |
Lost Property Treasure Hunt! |
Come to the back garden after school to check for any of your child’s lost property before items are donated to charity shops. |
|
Thursday 6th July (all-day event) |
Hobbledown and Chessington End of Term Trips |
Willow Class and Hazel Class will be spending the day at Hobbledown. Oak Class will be spending the day at Chessington. For more information, please check the forms previously sent: |
|
Thursday 6th July (9am) |
Shadow Puppet Show for Kindergarten |
Karin Jashapara will be treating Kindergarten students to a shadow puppet show at school. An in-school event. |
|
Friday 7th July (11:50am) |
Oak Class Leaver’s Symposium | It’s the time of year when we prepare to bid farewell to our Year 6 students. Oak Class parents, we look forward to this celebration with you. |
|
Friday 7th July (12:30pm) |
Kindergarten Leaver’s Ceremony | It’s time to also bid our older Kindergarten children bon voyage as they prepare to journey to the realm of Junior School. An email was sent to all Kindergarten parents last week with further details. |
| Friday 7th July
(12:15pm for Kindergarten, 1pm for Juniors) |
End of Summer Term | There will be no afterschool clubs on the last day of term, as previously requested by parents.
Have a wonderful Summer Holiday and we will see you again on Wednesday 6th September! |
Welcome from our Headteacher
Welcome to the last week of the summer term and, as ever, the emphasis on our final week of the year is on our community. We celebrate working in community with our Wind in the Willows performances on Wednesday, and on Friday we support children through the transition into another academic year.
For children, with the summer holidays before them, the autumn seems lightyears away. They will become excited and inspired, and sometimes even anxious, about summer holidays, trips away to new destinations and free time with friends. Calm assurance of a return to school when clear signs appear, for example ‘when the apples are on the trees’ can reassure younger children. Older ones can become apprehensive about new challenges and responsibilities so reminding them of times in their lives when they have overcome obstacles can support them, as can your own memories of childhood transitions – all children love hearing about the mysterious worlds of adults’ childhoods from oh, so long ago.
For junior children bound for secondary school, or for family moves overseas, we can all help with the transition out of The London Acorn School on Friday. If you are picking up at 1 o’clock please arrive promptly and join our supportive community arch through which juniors leaving the front door of Morden Cottage officially for the last time can walk, holding a flower given to them in love, friendship and remembrance of the gift of their presence to our school community.
Kindergarten children graduating to juniors will be supported to leave separately from Bridge Door just after this, following their special end of year ceremony in the hall.
For all children, I highly recommend that they spend Friday afternoon quietly, so that they can digest this special transition time before entering the boisterous and lively fun of summer holiday.
All of your teachers and myself look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Wednesday 6th September.
With warmest wishes for a restful and enjoyable summer,
Sarah
Announcements, Reminders and Important Information
Farewells:
At this time of year, unfortunately we must bid farewell to some families, staff and governors who have given so much to The London Acorn School.
Firstly, in Kindergarten we wish Ellorah, Tabitha, Izabella and Zachariya all the best in their new school settings.
In Willow Class we say goodbye to George, Gabriel and Lucas as they all venture abroad.
In Hazel Class we say goodbye to Layla, Lucas, Akira and Vasu as they head to other schools, both in the UK and abroad.
We bid farewell to our Year 6 Leavers in Oak Class: Kenshiro, Elohi, Eliya, Cleo and Zakariya. We wish you all the best at your secondary schools.
Thank you to Trevor and Myrto for teaching our students samba percussion and singing this year; the children have really excelled under your guidance.
Myrto has also led our pre-school Musical Maestros this year. Myrto has hosted a fabulous group, who have really enjoyed her sessions. This week will be our final session of Musical Maestros. Musical Maestros will not continue in the autumn term.
Finally, thank you Belinda, who is stepping down as Chair of Governors; you have provided invaluable support and encouragement to the school. Thank you also to Marc, who is stepping down as a Parent Governor and from the Finance Committee. Marc and Mara and their family are leaving for Australia this summer. They have been a really strong part of the community for many years, serving in many different capacities. We will miss them greatly and send both of them and their children the very best of love, luck and good wishes for the future. Keep in touch!
We look forward to welcoming new families, staff members and governors into our community in September.
Community involvement going forwards – thanks to everyone who has lent a hand so far
In the next academic year we will be looking for ways to involve families both in formal governance and less formal advisory roles. Please consider if you have any special qualifications or skills that you think the school could benefit from and send through a note to Tamara.
From useful feedback, to involvement in the school governance council and finance committee, to organising festival resources to expert advice on nutrition and volunteering as class representatives, I would like to thank all parents who have made great contributions to our community life in 2022/2023. Your involvement is what makes our school so special, and you are so numerous that I cannot name you all, but you know who you are and wherever possible I am sending personal thanks.
Thank you so much on behalf of the school,
Sarah and the faculty
Lovely feedback:
A while ago, we sent letters and drawings to Oslo City Steiner School who treated us to an impressive concert in May. Here is a snippet of their response:
‘Wow! How incredibly touching this was to read. I was very moved and started crying when I saw what you and all the kids at your school had written. To get this feedback from you means the world! I can’t wait to pass it on to the students in my class. I really hope we can see you again next year.’
Autumn Calendar will be released later this week
Please look out for our Autumn 2023 Calendar sent later this week. There are loads of events taking place for children, parents and children, and just parents! Make a note in your diaries of any events that interest you now and we will be in touch with more details when term starts again in September.
Please bear in mind that we make every effort not to change calendar dates once they are released. However, sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances, we may need to make alterations, and sometimes we are only able to schedule events nearer the time. Thank you for your understanding.
Kindergarten News
Junior School News
Willow Class have been painting scarecrows, creating costumes and writing goodbye messages. They have also been practising mixed maths problems in small groups to revise what they have learnt this year.
Hazel Class completed their Science topic on Solids, Liquids and Gases with a lemonade experiment measuring how much gases weigh. This culminated in a lovely shared moment in the back garden of toasting Science (with lemonade, of course). Hazel Class are also walking the tightrope to finishing the end of Rooftoppers – let’s keep our balance and hope we get there!
Oak Class have had a week of writing haiku’s, learning about safe travel from TfL and painting grand Halls and grim Jails. It’s all preparation for this coming week of celebrations.
Woodland Craft
Willow Class
Last week sailing boats were built, inspired by the dry-rotted wood fragments on the forest floor that were perfect for mast-holes and floating. Launches and races followed, with excellent self-care by the children, none of whom got at all wet. (Two boat rescuers did help: a student with a long stick and an adult in wellies!). Others made up their own language when ‘cooking’ in the field kitchen. Some found cottonwood poplar fluff, shells and twigs for the mandala that we made together. Nice comment at the end: ‘ we enjoyed being Nature (Girls) team and forgave the nettles for stinging us!’
Hazel Class
A wealth of land invertebrates transported from a suburban garden got the children observing and identifying, astonished at the animals’ brightness and energy – the lively centipedes, the many woodlice, the snails, slugs, worms and beetles. Sailboats were also made in this class, who were independently using the bradawl, tying knots and adding layers until they could float well. Others chose to make drawings – of trees and the shadows of plants – or find a leafy spot for quiet chatting.
Oak and Chestnut Classes
This was the final session for Oak, so we had a relaxed session, with just a little leaf ID practice in making a celebratory mandala. The sad discovery of two invertebrates that had died, forgotten in observation pots, led to a small funeral, each throwing in a little handful of earth into their graves. The mood, however, was calm and cheerful, as the students have so loved their time in the woodland and they enjoyed this last visit equally well.
