on Tuesday was most enjoyable and a great success!  The delegate of 20 Chinese Headteachers and other Senior Educationalists came from eighteen different schools within the Guandongprovince of China.  The delegates spent time visiting the classrooms and discussing the similarities and differences between the two Early Years education systems.

 The visitors were particularly impressed with the creative way in which the curriculum at St. Anne’s is presented and with the extent to which the children’s independence and autonomy is encouraged.

 At the end of the visit, the group presented us with some beautiful gifts including a beautiful Chinese dragon and a wall hanging and invited a reciprocal visit.

With my best wishes,

 Joyce

Visitors from China

 As part of our regular International Training Remit, highly valued by our visitors, we will be welcoming a delegation of 24 Senior Early Years Educators from China on Tuesday 13^th December.

Due to industrial action the school will be closed on Wednesday 30th November. This is in reponse to the Government’s proposed changes to public sector pensions.

School will re- open as usual on Thursday 1st December at 9.15 a.m.

Danish Student visit

 On Wednesday 9^th November, as part of our International Training          Programme it was our pleasure to host a visit for a small group of Danish students who wished to learn about the Early Years Foundation Stage.

 The group spent time observing in the classrooms and outside area and also learnt about our curriculum, the assessment and planning process, working with outside agencies and our partnership with parents.

 The students reported that they found the visit extremely interesting and their research would be useful in their on-going studies.

………last week by The Worshipful The Mayor of The Royal Borough, Cllr. Julie Mills, and His Excellency The High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Garvin Nicholas, was a wonderful affair – enjoyed by all!

Our visitors were greeted on their arrival by musicians from the Ebony Steel Band, reflecting the traditional musical heritage of the Caribbean.  The Mayor and the High Commissioner then spent time discussing the importance and advantages of high quality Early Years education before touring the school to see our exciting and creative curriculum in action.  They spent time in each of our classrooms, talking at length to staff and children.

At the end of their visit, our special visitors were presented with flowers by the children with an invite to come and visit again soon!

A short article about the visit has been posted on the local newspaper’s website www.kensington.londoninformer.co.uk and a full length article should appear in this week’s copy of the Kensington & Chelsea Chronicle.

If your child was born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, you will need to apply for a primary school (reception) place by 15^th January 2012.

This year there has been a change in the way the Admissions department is promoting the primary transfer process to parents. The change is in response to the drive to encourage parents to apply online. The application form and information can be found at www.rbkc.gov.uk/schools/admissions. The site opened on September 1^st 2011.

If you would prefer paper forms these are available in the main school office.  We also have copies of the guidance leaflet “Hints and tips – applying for a primary school” which contains some useful information.

If you have any queries or would like to talk anything through please come to the office.   We are happy to talk you through the process!

 Welcome back after the long summer break.  We hope that you all had a lovely summer and that you are feeling rested and relaxed in preparation for the busy term ahead.

 A special welcome to all the children and families who are joining us this September.  We are a very caring and friendly nursery and we hope that your time with us will be happy and enjoyable.  We appreciate that, despite the Induction meetings held last term, things may seem a little unfamiliar!  If you have any queries or are unsure about anything, please do not hesitate to talk to a member of your class team during the settling-in period. 

In addition, St.Anne’s has a strong and supportive Governing Body.  There are five governors who represent parents and carers.  If you would like to talk to them, they can be contacted via the main school office.

It is very important that you are aware of the significant school dates throughout the year – including term start and finish dates, holidays and training days.   For a list of our term dates please ensure that you collect a calendar from the main office.

Our curriculum focus this term is Knowledge & Understanding of the World  and Ginny, our teacher with responsibility for this area of learning, will shortly be sending out our termly plan with further information of the exciting learning opportunities we have in store for the children.

 This term will see the celebration of a number of cultural and religious festivals which are important to us at St.Anne’s.  These include Harvest Festival, Black History Month, Diwali and Christmas.  Our Eid parties which traditionally mark the end of Ramadan will be taking place on 15^th September.

Information relating to the other celebrations will be sent out nearer the time. 

This term also sees the start of our Family Learning programme.  We will be holding a Coffee Morning on Wednesday 28^th September (from 9.30-10.30 in the hall) to provide you with more information about our Share family learning sessions. These will be taking place each Wed morning from 12^th Oct to 16^th Nov (excluding half-term). 

 Our Coffee Mornings are also a lovely opportunity to meet other parents, get to know some of the staff and to spend time with the Headteacher – not to be missed! 

 I do hope that this information has been useful.  Here’s wishing you all a very happy and successful autumn term.

With my very best wishes,

 Joyce

You may have heard that Andrew Lamont has resigned from his position as a councillor for Norland Ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.  Mr. Lamont has decided to step aside from his role as a councillor due to criminal charges being laid against him.

Mr. Lamont was previously a governor at St. Anne’s.  His term of office ended over three years ago, in 2008. Whilst in post Mr. Lamont did not have any direct contact with the children.  However, we wish to stress that the recent allegations are not in any way connected with Mr. Lamont’s role as a governor. 

At St. Anne’s we have well-established, high standards of practice in relation to safeguarding and child protection, including robust systems for safer recruitment and CRB checks.  The priority for the school is safeguarding all of our children.  This was validated by Ofsted when, in 2010, the effectiveness of leadership and management, governors and safeguarding were all judged to be “outstanding”.  “Child protection procedures are particularly robust and all arrangements to ensure that children are safeguarded from harm are highly effective”. (Ofsted 2010)

We place great importance on our excellent relationships with parents and carers and we, therefore, wish to reassure you that all relevant procedures with regard to this matter are being strictly adhered to.  Whilst there are issues of confidentiality, we will ensure that you are kept informed as appropriate.

………….

I am sure you will agree that our Summer Fair was, once again, a wonderfully joyous and happy community event! It was lovely to see so many of you there and to welcome back lots of our former children and their parents. Being serenaded by our steel pan band and our violin, flute and coronet trio was a real delight! Tristan, the coronet player, was a former pupil at St. Anne’s – and will be taking his Grade 3 exam next week!

Shirley has now had the opportunity to total the proceeds and I am delighted to tell you that we raised an amazing £1118.82p! Wow – for a small school, that is truly fantastic!

Most of the money raised will be used to provide the children with additional “treats” throughout the year – for example, purchasing leavers’ presents, funding external storytellers at the end of term etc.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those parents who gave of their time to help organise the Fair beforehand and to those who helped by baking and cooking and by helping on the day. Thanks also to our Adam who spent the most part of the day preparing for the event and clearing up long after we had all gone home!

And finally, special thanks has to go, of course, to our lovely Shirley who rises to the event every year and organises and co-ordinates the event with enthusiasm, grace and serenity. Thank you, Shirley – once again, you gave us an afternoon to remember and we think you’re a star!

With my very best wishes,

……….is swiftly drawing to a close and I would like  to inform you of some of the exciting end-of-year events we have planned:

Tuesday 5^th July:   St. Anne’s summer fair.  Please make sure that this very important date is in your diaries – come along and help us celebrate in true community style.  Our fair will start after school on Tuesday – the sun will shine and we will have lots of fun!

Tuesday 19^th July:  Frank, the inimitable storyteller will be with us all day – entertaining children and staff alike!

 Wednesday 20^th & Thursday 21^st July :  Our Leavers’ parties for those children who are transferring to primary school will take place between 10-11 a.m.  The parties will be hosted by Joyce and Farah.  Individual invitations will be sent out to the children shortly.

 Friday 22^nd July:  Whole school assembly.

 In addition, we will be hosting our Induction Meetings for parents and carers who will be joining us in September.

 Term finishes on Friday 22^nd July at the usual time.  For those parents and carers who use Out of School Club and Play Scheme, please see Carol for details of opening times and venues.

 For those families who will be leaving us as their children transfer to primary school, we wish you every happiness and success for the future.  We will  miss you all and hope that you will come back and visit us to let us know how the children are getting on.

For those families remaining with us and returning in September, term starts on Tuesday 6^th September at 9.15 a.m.  Staffing in September will be as follows:

Oak Room – Mary, Val and Shirley

Eucalyptus Room – Ginny, Caroline and Lin

Willow Room – Duncan, Gloria and Mehry

 I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all, on behalf of the whole staff team, a very enjoyable, relaxing and, above all, safe holiday.

 With my very best wishes,

Joyce