Dear families,
I hope you had a lovely weekend. After a busy week last week with the P Factor and the start of Aspiration Fortnight, we continue with another exciting week this week. We are welcoming more aspiration speakers (don’t forget Dress as Your Aspiration this Thursday!) into school and it’s also Anti-Bullying Week – thank you for sending your child into school on Tuesday with odd socks on just like Ri Ri Respect. This reminds us that we are all unique and should celebrate our differences. A very important message for us all!
Last Thursday was the P Factor – the performances were of such high quality with powerful identity themes that brought a tear to the eye of lots of us watching. We were very proud of all the children.
On Friday it is Children In Need. The children are invited to wear their own clothes or something spotty and donate £1 to this important charity. Burgess Sports (who hold regular holiday camps at SSQ) is one organisation that has benefited from Children in Need in the past. Future Men who work with us also benefit from contributions raised by Children In Need. Thanks as always for your support with this.
I am finishing with some sad news to share. At the end of this term, Sue Lia will be leaving SSQ. She will be retiring, taking a well-earned rest after giving 35 years of her working life to SSQ. We are hugely grateful to ALL that Sue has done for all the families, staff and children during her time at SSQ and we will all miss her hugely. We will be sending Sue off in style with a special assembly and making sure that she feels all the love from the whole SSQ community.
This does mean that we are looking for someone to fill Sue’s shoes! Please see below for our job advert and description if you or anyone you know might be interested in applying.
Have a great week ahead!
Matt
I am available in school from Monday to Wednesday – do get in touch ([email protected]) if you have any questions in the meantime.
Southwark Council are now responsible for issuing Free School Meals vouchers during school holidays, and we’re aware that several of our families didn’t receive them over half term. Please email Maxx on [email protected] if this applies to you.
Time Out for Parents – The Teenage Years: This course consists of six sessions designed to help parents stay connected with their teenagers through understanding their world and developing good communication skills. We look at a variety of subjects including handling conflict, parenting styles and supporting our teenagers with their emotional needs.The workshops are informative and fun and there are lots of opportunities to chat with other parents experiencing similar joys and challenges! We learn from each other. Parents that attend, receive a certificate and workbook.
When– Thursday mornings 9.30am- 11.30am from 14th November- 12th December
Where– Tigers Clubhouse- next to 1st Place SE50RN
Contact [email protected] with name and mobile number for more details or to register.
A couple of weeks ago I met the Programme Manager for Children and Young People from an organisation that supports families with a Latin-American background, IRMO (Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation). They run several services for children and young people – I’ve included the flyers in the ‘Community Notices’ section later in the newsletter.
If you replied to the survey I sent out in the summer term about the offer of freshly-cooked meals for our families to collect once a week, please look out for further information as we hope to have the meals available very soon.
One of our partner organisations, Pecan (based in Peckham) offers employment preparation support, CV writing and other programmes to help people get back into work. Please go to this website for more information https://www.pecan.org.uk/employment-support/
If you are interested in training courses, the Thomas Calton Centre in Peckham run a wide range, including academic subjects like maths, English and IT, but also practical courses like fashion, pottery mindfulness and textiles. Lots of the courses have already started, but there are some that begin this week. They will probably have a new range of courses starting in January as well, so keep an eye on their website https://www.southwark.gov.uk/education-and-training/adult-learning/southwark-adult-learning-service
Don’t forget the Citizens Day of Action on 5th December – all the information is in the ‘Community Notices’ section of the newsletter below.
Please keep an eye on my information page outlining advice from me about various issues that may concern you.
Fi
Core Value Champions for last week:
Last week all the adults at SSq were on the look out for children who showed this half term’s Core Value: Perseverance. Using Percy Perseverance as their inspiration, let’s see which children have been standing out last week.
NEWS – Job Opportunity arises at SSq
After the sad news that Sue is leaving us after 35 years of devoted service, we are looking for a new Receptionist/Administrator here at SSq. Please follow this link to apply yourself or please do share with anyone who you think would be interested. Closing date for applications is Monday 25th November. If you have any further questions about the role then email [email protected]
NEWS – P Factor Puts Poetry in Prime Position!
The P Factor 2024 was a roaring success last week with classes from Reception to Year 6 performing excellently on stage. With the broad topic of Identity as the theme, each class and teacher brought their own unique touch of originality and creativity to the show. It was great to see the children perform so eloquently and confidently on stage. Well done to overall winners Yee Class with their catchy composition ‘Identity – what does that even mean?’. Certificates were also awarded to: John-Baptiste Class (Most Powerful Message) Tams Class (Best Annunciation) Breen Class (Best Staging) and Bellos Class (Originality). Well done to all the performers and adults who helped prepare for such an amazing event – all organised brilliantly by Leila.
NEWS – Dress Up as your Aspiration This Thursday!
Aspiration Fortnight kicked off last week and will finish on Friday. We’ve had visits from: a lawyer, a T.V presenter, occupational therapists, charity workers, a software architect, a local councillor and archivist. Ask your child about which professions have visited their classrooms. We are excited to welcome even more visitors this week!
Don’t forget that on Thursday 14th November it’s Dress As Your Aspiration Day where children (and adults!) can come in dressed as their current future aspiration. Please do not go to any extra expense for this – be creative with what you have – the more creative the better !
NEWS – We wore odd socks for Anti-Bullying Week
As part of Anti-Bullying Week we invited all children and adults to wear odd socks today. Respect is one of our core-values and it’s no coincidence that Ri Ri wears odd socks herself; Ri-Ri feels sad if people show disrespect. It makes her wings sag and her spotty sock fall down! It is even worse if this disrespect is persistent or comes with an imbalance of power…this is bullying and we have Odd Socks Day to raise awareness and make a commitment that we won’t let it happen in our school AND community! Well done to everyone who showed their support on Tuesday – look out for some photos next week!
NEWS – Children in Need day THIS FRIDAY!
Friday is Children in Need day! As always at SSQ, we invite children to wear their own clothes (preferably something spotty if possible but NOT essential!) this Friday, 15th November. We suggest a donation of £1, with all funds going to the Children in Need charity. The children will learn about some of the projects and children who have benefited from this great charity and hear about projects funded by the donations. Thanks for your support!
NEWS – New Parent Groups launch!
King's College London and South London Citizens have created two groups aimed at empowering parents to guide their children’s academic journey effectively and campaign for their access to university and other educational opportunities:
South London Parent Power: Open to all parents, providing comprehensive resources and tools to help foster their children’s educational development and college admissions journey.
Empoderando Familias: Tailored to assist Hispanic parents with resources and strategies that align with their unique needs in supporting their children’s academic success.
NEWS – Introducing The Hive @SSq
You may not know, but just beside our main school building is The Hive. This space has been developed over the last 2 years to enable children to access the curriculum and flourish in an environment that meets their needs. The dedicated team of adults who work in The Hive have thought lots about its new name and its significance. See below for more information:
NEWS – Year 4 launch Project at Wetlands Centre
Year 4 launched their Community Project this week with a brilliant and informative trip to the Wetlands Centre. They became Guardians of the Earth and completed nature activities that they learnt would support creatures in the Wetlands. Year 4 can't wait to explore how they can use these activities in our school, parks and homes to support biodiversity in the area.
Stay tuned for more news about all our Community Projects at Ssq in the coming weeks.
NEWS – Book FREE tickets to see SSq Exhibition in North Greenwich!
We are all excited and looking forward to the launch of Socks: The Art Of Care And Repair at The Now Gallery in December.
This exciting exhibition will celebrate the everyday act of mending through darning. Central to the exhibition will be a vibrant, colourful installation of 488 socks, each stitched and darned by our own school community using industry ‘warehouse’ waste socks.
Children, staff and families of Ssq, learnt and practised their darning and stitching skills on socks, during a series of 26 workshops facilitated by one of our aspirational class names – artist Celia Pym – last year.
To book FREE tickets to see this wonderful exhibition at the Now Gallery in North Greenwich (near the 02 Arena) then click here. We also hope to arrange trips for all the children throughout the exhibition. The exhibition runs from December until March 2025.
NEWS – Inspirational Class Names Focus – Reception!
Each year our teachers think carefully about an inspiring person to name their class after. This year we have artists, activists, athletes, Paralympians, musicians, mathematicians and TV presenters.
Throughout this term, we are going to find out a little more about why teachers chose these inspirational people. This week, we find out why Ella and Emily in Reception chose Tayshan Hayden-Smith and Jonnie Peacock as their aspirational class names in Reception. Watch their videos below!
NEWS – New Photo Permission Form for This Year!
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted this information via our online form.
We are looking to update our records for photo permissions. At SSq we use media in a variety of ways to promote our values, our practices and our excellence in and out of the classroom. This may include images of your child here at school or on trips therefore we would like the most up-to-date permissions from our families so please take your time to read this form and respond accordingly.
We will need one response for each of the children you have here at SSq.
We will also resend this out by Parentmail. If you have any questions then please email [email protected]
Music Lessons Update
There are some changes to music lessons this week.
Please ask your child to check the daily timetables that come around to classes each day.
Do email Maxx ([email protected]) or Chris ([email protected]) if you have any question or queries.
PE Kit Update
Attendance Last Week – well done Pym Class!
Well done to Year 4 Pym Class who had 99.3 % attendance last week!
Well done folks and keep it up!
Please contact us daily if your child is off ill or for another reason.
Email [email protected] or phone 0207 7033049 (option 1)
This Week’s Menu and Update!
Thank you to all the parents that responded to the lunch survey before the Summer, apologies we haven't let you know sooner about the steps we have taken to improve the dining experience. The current menu is under review and we are looking at making sure this reflects our community, we will be collecting daily feedback from the children and tweaking the menu in terms of their responses. We will update in a couple of weeks on what further steps we have taken to improve this service. If you have any questions or comments please come to the office and speak to Kelly or email [email protected]
Please ensure that you never send your child in with any foods that may contain nuts. Click here for more details.
Key Dates for this academic year!
We know that some of you like to plan ahead for the year. Please see our summary of key dates for 2024-25. Please note that some dates may change so keep checking this website or our social media channels (X formally Twitter and Instagram).
International Mens Day is next week! See below for how you can get involved with local celebrations.
South London Citizens are arranging a day of events to celebrate another year of campaigning. Please see the flyer below and do let Fi know if you intend to attend ([email protected])
Below are the flyers that Fi mentioned earlier from IRMO (Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation). Scroll for your language of choice!
Southwark Food Action Alliance Food Map
Southwark Food Action Alliance have launched their new food map which you can access using this link. This map shows food banks and pantries, community fridges, community meals and more. They have also produced a leaflet that is split into four sections: Places to go for free food, Places to go for low-cost food, Places to go for meals, cafes and takeaways, and Foodbanks where you need a referral or voucher from an agency. You can view and download the leaflet here.
Footballers in Years 3,4 and 5 wanted!
As you may or may not be aware, Southwark Jaguars launched their first ever girls football team in August 2023. Since that first sunny day they have grown from strength to strength and currently have 60 girls registered across our U9’s, U10’s, U11’s & U12’s teams. We can guarantee that most of you will have at least one girl at our school that is a Southwark Jaguar. With that in mind they are keen to offer the opportunity of playing competitive weekend football to more girls. Unlike most football teams they do not offer trials. If you are girl and want to play, then this is the club for you. Please note they are looking for girls that are currently in year three, four and five.
Parents/carers will need to follow the link below or scan the QR CODE on the attached flyer to register their interest.
Southwark Jaguars Register of Interest – The PE & School Sports Network (lpessn.org.uk)
The SEND Saturday Sports Club returns!
This amazing opportunity reopens again on Saturday 21st September! Please see the below info or find our more from the LPESSN website.
