St James E-News

10th March 2023

Welcome to the St James Primary School's E-News, a weekly roundup of the latest news and events at the school

School Notices

Possible Strike Action on Wednesday and Thursday, 15th and 16th March - as with the previous strike days, we cannot yet advise whether this will affect our school or not. However, we will notify you when we have definite news at the beginning of next week. To help us prepare for a possible closure, please click here and complete the online form if you are a Critical Worker and think you may need childcare on one or both of these days. As before, please only request this if absolutely necessary. Please refer to Mrs Elliott's letter dated 27th January which remains on the Parent Portal.
St James Primary Bake Off - congratulations to our finalists;

Jacob in Robins,
Josh E and Gabriel in Kingfishers
Raia, Grace, and Amber P in Woodpeckers
Austin in Kestrels
Emily, Annabel, Isabelle, Hazel, and Noah in Eagles

Red Nose Day, Friday 17th March - we will be having a fundraising day for Comic Relief on this day and will be 'Dressing Up for Joy'. There are many options, pick a theme, don the best home-made costume, go red from head to toe or simply dig out your brightest socks. Wear something that makes you and your school smile. We have set up a St James Primary fundraising page for you to make donations if you wish.
World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) takes place on 21st March; the 21st day of the 3rd month, which is a nod to the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which leads to Down Syndrome. Children are encouraged to wear LotsOfSocks socks; brightly coloured socks, long socks, printed socks, odd socks, 1 sock, or even 3 socks for 3 chromosomes. Why LotsOfSocks? . . . well chromosomes under a microscope look like pairs of socks. People with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome; in fact, they have three of the 21st chromosome rather than just a pair.

SAVE THE DATE - Anxiety Talk for Parents Tuesday 28th March 9am - we have invited NHS Primary Mental Health Worker, Nikki Brunton Smith, to St James Primary School to talk to parents. She will talk about understanding anxiety, how it presents and the solutions/strategies that can be used to support an anxious child. She will also offer a follow up session during which parents can drop in to ask specific questions about their child. Please see the letter on the Parent Portal. Please help us plan how much space we need to allocate for this meeting by completing the online form here if you plan to attend.
Open Classrooms - Open classrooms provide an opportunity for parents or carers to view their children's work in the classroom. They will take place for the following classes from 3.10 to 3.30pm on the following dates;

Monday 13th March - Little Ducks Nursery

Broadwater School Parental Tours - Parental tours for Year 5 Parents are now bookable. To book a tour, please telephone Mrs Sonya Turpin 01483 520622 (or email: s.turpin@broadwater.surrey.sch.uk) They currently have the following available:

Monday 13th March, 9am-11am
Monday 27th March 9am-11am
Wednesday 19th April 9am-11am

Drop in sessions with our Home School Link Worker, Helen Owen - The role of the Home School Link Worker (HSLW) is to support families with a range of issues at home or at school. 1:1 sessions are available on Wednesdays. To book an appointment, email Helen on hslw@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk or ring the school office to request a call back.