As I write this blog, preparations are well underway on the school field for our annual St Peter’s Fest. This would not happen without the valuable time of a range of volunteers, and also support from families in the form of raffle prizes, ticket sales and event purchases. We are lucky at St Peter’s to have a budget secure enough to fund the school effectively, but the money raised by The Friends of St Peter’s means that we can then afford the extras that add so much to your children’s education. As you know, a lot of the fundraising in recent years has gone into our new building, the opening of which moves ever closer as, following a handover meeting today, we have taken ownership of the building from Portakabin. The next school project will be to enhance the outdoor learning space for our Year 1 classes, so as you can see the fundraising never stops and every penny goes towards making St Peter’s a better place in which your children can play, learn and grow together.

Next week sees the start of the transition process, with pupils preparing for their classes in September 2019. We do still have 2 spaces in Year R available for new entrants in September, and 1 space in the future Year 3 group due to our usual step-up in class size between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. We are also now taking names to add to our waiting lists in other year groups from families interested in a St Peter’s education for their children. If you have friends or family who would like to visit the school with a view to applying for a vacant place or to join our waiting lists, please contact our Admissions Secretary Mrs Pope on 023 9226 2599.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

It would be impossible for me to put into this week’s blog all of the recent work that has been going on at St Peter’s. Suffice to say that we hit a real high point on Friday with St Peter’s Countries of the World Carnival. It was a wonderful spectacle, and the result of huge amounts of cross-curricular work in every year group from all members of staff. A massive thanks goes out to all colleagues in every area of the school for leading such wonderful learning and adding to a very special day, and to you the families for helping to prepare the children in many different and colourful ways for the carnival. And of course, a colossal well done to the pupils, as it is no mean feat to parade and perform in front of so many adults. Please look at the individual year group and curriculum blogs to see a selection of photos from the carnival, and images of other recent learning across the school.

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher

We are not exactly enjoying the same sort of June weather that saw heat waves at this time of year in 2017 and 2018. We left it as long as we possibly could before deciding to postpone sports day, and though it is not raining as I write on Friday morning, being out on a soggy field in a cold wind would have tested even the most ardent of athletics fans. We are looking at the school calendar for the rest of term, and working with our PE coaches from CM Sports, to find a new date for sports day to share with families at the earliest opportunity.

Let’s instead look ahead, weather permitting. On Friday 21 June we have our Countries of the World Carnival on the school field, starting at 1:30pm, to which all families are warmly invited. This is a non-uniform day as well, so children may well enjoy dressing up in clothes to match the colours or themes of the country they have been learning about this term: Year R Mexico, Year 1 the Arctic, Year 2 Kenya, Year 3 China, Year 4 Australia, Year 5 India and Year 6 Brazil! We ask that on the day, for the non-uniform contribution, families provide a full bottle of something (soft, soapy or grown-up!) to go towards the Summer Fest bottle tombola.

Speaking of which, don’t forget the annual St Peter’s Fest from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on Friday 28 June on the school field – a Country and Western theme bringing fun for all. Tickets are on sale in the school office.

Do please take a few minutes to click on the Curriculum tab above to see pictures of the wonderful art family learning morning that Mrs Pearson hosted – an amazing feat in a busy school.

And finally, some key dates for Year 6 families are listed below.

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher

• Year 6 Performance ‘Joseph’ at Oaklands Catholic School, Tuesday 16 July at 6:30pm.
  All families throughout the school are welcome to the show, ticket information to follow.

• Year 6 Leavers’ Mass at St Peter’s in the school hall, Friday 19 July at 1:30pm followed by afternoon tea.  Year 6 families welcome.

• Year 6 Celebration fun day, Monday 22 July.  Strictly pupils only – because they’ve earned it! (Sorry parents!!) 

• Final day of the school year for all pupils – Tuesday 23 July.

We all know that little projects around the house never stay little, or cheap!, once we’ve embarked on a bit of DIY. The other option, of course, is to get a professional in to do the job. Typically these never run to time as the handyman or woman also has ‘a couple of other jobs on at the moment’, usually in some obscure place far away that leaves our job half done. Well, the same applies here, and many children and families have been asking when the new building will be opened. We are in the process of sorting out a power supply issue that arose long after all of our pre-build checks were completed and signed off. A key factor in this lies off our site, and involves equipment that needs to be imported from abroad. Once we have the power connected, contractors will be able to complete and address any points arising from a snag list, and then the finishing touches should fall into place. So, for now, we just have to have another cup of tea and a couple of biscuits, in the spirit of all good DIY projects and builders everywhere.

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher