Upcoming Diary Dates

This week	Event	Details
Monday 6th November	Start of Half Term Autumn 2	We look forward to welcoming children back to school for a new half term.
Wednesday 8th November (4:30pm, after school community event)	Lantern Festival	Come and celebrate the light within us at this dark time of year. Join in singing our lantern songs and admire the beautiful lanterns the children have made. Children will be dismissed as normal, afterschool clubs will run as normal. Parents will supervise their own children.
Thursday 9th November (Chestnut and Oak children, all day)	Chatsworth Friendly Football Tournament	Ready, set, go! We’re off to join the other Chatsworth schools for a football tournament. Parents will be sent a consent form today.
Friday 10th November (11:30am – 1pm)	Open Day	Please share with friends the booking form our latest Open Day to come and see our school in action. We can’t wait for our students to show them around! Open Day – The London Acorn School
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th November (10am – 5pm)	TLAS at Independent School Show	For the first time, The London Acorn School are heading to the Independent School Show alongside Hall School Wimbledon. If you will be there, do come and say hello!
Next week	Event	Details
Wednesday 15th November (by appointment)	Juniors and Kinde Parents’ Evening	Your child’s Class Teacher will be in touch with booking information, so you can book an in-person or Zoom parents’ evening session. (Please note: some Chestnut sessions will take place on Tuesday 14th November instead)
Thursday 16th November (by appointment)	Juniors and Kinde Parents’ Evening	Your child’s Class Teach will be in touch with booking information, so you can book an in-person or Zoom parents’ evening session.
Friday 17th November (1pm)	Parent Workshop: Nourishing Family with Advent Gardens	An in-person parent workshop hosted by Sarah Thorne on creating your own family Advent Garden at home this festive season. Booking form to be sent shortly.

Welcome from our Headteacher

Welcome everyone, to Autumn term second half 🙂

The second stretch of Autumn term is time to step down into the darkness and depths of winter. And so all the festivals this term are about light. On Wednesday our lantern festival revolves around an idea of taking our own light out into the world to others, whilst at our later winter spiral festival the focus is on the light within.

Festivals create positive community and sensory experiences that bring so much to the children – they are ‘living pictures’ that will rest long in their memories if we do our jobs right. One part of the picture is that children see their adults from home and school working together which is deeply settling. As our cycle of seasonal festivals repeats annually children develop a multilayered confidence with the rhythm of the seasons that will stay with them into adulthood.

To be interested in the

changing seasons is a

happier state of mind

than to be hopelessly in

love with Spring

George Santayana (Spanish philosopher and writer, early 20^thcentury)

At school a ‘happier state of mind’ or lasting mental wellbeing is the ultimate object, as without it little learning can take place. Our ‘living pictures’ of festivals frequently contain strategies to deal with difficulties, and are all the more powerful if children absorb these for themselves. We strive to avoid verbal moralising or explanation, but trust the children to form their own conclusions from which their actions later in life will flow. The idea is to simply enjoy the picture, and let it sink in.

Over the next few weeks we are working with stories that reflect social conscience and sharing. If you would like to explore and share some of these with your children, please follow this link here: lantern festival stories.

As we are in this wonderful season of cold, damp and wetness please, please can you ensure that your children have suitable wellies and waterproofs for woodland craft. We will need to keep children in school if they do not have the correct equipment and so cannot access the wonderful activities planned for them.

Many thanks,

Sarah

Announcements, Reminders and Important Information

Updated Autumn Calendar 2023:

Please see an updated Autumn Calendar below for a few addition events, such as a theatre performance from Hall School Wimbledon for Chestnut and Oak children, and a Junior singing performance for parents at the end of term.

Warm weather gear:

As we head towards winter, please remember to provide your children with appropriate warm weather clothing for playtimes, outdoor lessons and Woodland Craft. Please can we ask you to label hat, scarf, gloves, and coats. What’s more, warm socks can make all the difference to a child’s enjoyment of an outdoor lesson. We look forward to enjoying Morden Hall Park throughout the changing seasons.

School marketing update:

This week is a big one for school marketing – we will have an Open Day on Friday morning and on Saturday and Sunday we will be at the Independent Schools Show at Battersea. Let the office know if you would like to volunteer to talk with prospective families and guide them out of the school on Friday at our Open Day from noon to one.

Football Festival Update:

Our older students will be spending the day at Broughton Manor School in Milton Keynes on Thursday as they take part in Chatsworth Schools Football Festival. It’s a fun day out with a focus on friendly matches. If you see students from Chestnut or Oak before that day please do wish them luck on their first multi-school sports meet!

Call out for grow space volunteers:

Please let Sarah know if you are interested in joining sessions where we will be preparing our school growing spaces for class cultivation in 2024. All levels of gardening skills welcome!

Pokemon cards:

Please can we remind parents and children that Pokemon cards and other personal items should be kept at home for safe keeping and also to ensure positive, inclusive play at break and lunchtimes. Thank you for your cooperation.