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Newsletter 6 - 5th December 2025

Key Dates

Saturday 6th December
PSA Merry Mingle at 2:30 - 4:30 pm

PSA Christmas Tree Sale

Monday 8th December
Year 3 visit to the London Eye Southbank

Tuesday 9th December
Year 2 Bracken visit to Cornerstone Church

Nursery Phonics Workshop at 9:00 am

Wednesday 10th December
Year 2 Heather & Clover visit to Cornerstone Church

Thursday 11th December
Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day

Friday 12th December
Home Learning Showcase for Years 1 - 6

Monday 15th December
Nursery & Reception Festive Concert at 9:00 am in the Large Hall

Year 1 & 2 Festive Concert at 2:30 pm at The Kingston Academy

Tuesday 16th December
Year 3 & 4 Festive Concert at 9:15 am at The Kingston Academy

Year 5 & 6 Festive Concert at 2:30 pm at The Kingston Academy

Wednesday 17th December
PGL Briefing for Year 5 Parents at 9:00 am

Whole school Christmas Lunch

Thursday 18th December
Class Christmas parties (mufti/party dress up day) and pantomime performances

Friday 19th December
Last day of term & mufti day - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1:30 PM

Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January
Christmas Break

Monday 5th January
INSET Day - children are not in school

Tuesday 6th January
Children return to school

Click here for term dates for the current and 2026/2027 school years, including INSET days.

Key dates for families for the autumn term are published here. Some of these dates are provisional, and all dates are subject to change — please refer to this newsletter and communications via ParentPay for the latest information.

Reminders

Home Learning
This half-term's Home Learning activities are posted on your Home Learning Google Classroom. Work should be completed in time for the class Home Learning Showcases in school on Friday 12th December.

School Lunches
Please don't forget to place your child's order for lunch through ParentPay by 8:00 am on the day. To avoid missing the deadline, we recommend that you order your child’s lunches well in advance - you can cancel or amend your orders up until 8:00 am on the day too.

Absent or late for school?
If your child is ill or absent from school for any other reason, or if they are going to be late, please let the school office know by 8:30 am at the latest. You can send us an email to office@fernhillprimary.org or call us on 020 8247 0300. Please leave a message on the answerphone if no one answers your call – the office team are there, but busy, and your message will be picked up.

A change to pick-up arrangements?
If there is a change to your child's collection arrangements, please ensure that you inform the school office as early as possible in the day and by 2:00 pm at the latest. You can do this by email to office@fernhillprimary.org or by phone on 020 8247 0300.

End of Term

Friday 19th December is the last day of term. It is a mufti day and the children may wear their own clothes to school - but no football kits please! School will close early on this day, and we are staggering dismissal to ensure the children can be collected promptly. Nursery & Reception will be dismissed at 1:20 pm; Years 1 & 2 at 1:25 pm, and Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 at 1:30 pm. Tree Tops will run just one full session from 1:30– 4:30 pm and this can be booked through ParentPay as normal.

Festive Fern Hill!

Our festive celebrations begin next week with a Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 11th December in support of Save the Children. This is not a mufti day - children should still wear their school uniform but may replace their school jumper or cardigan with a Christmas jumper, if they wish. It will be a fundraising day and we will be setting up a JustGiving page for your donations. Please look out for more information next week.

Our Festive Concerts will be held on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th December and further information on the timings can be found below. A letter will be sent home next week with the detailed arrangements for those being held at The Kingston Academy.

Wednesday 17th December is the day of our whole school Christmas Lunch for children and staff. The meal is available to order through ParentPay now and orders can be placed anytime up to 8:00 am on the day as usual.

The children will have their class Christmas parties on Thursday 18th December. It is a mufti day and the children may wear party clothes to school. Thank you so much to all the Class Reps who will be co-ordinating food donations and parent helpers for the parties. Please may we remind you that we are a nut-free school and to be mindful of any food allergies or dietary requirements in your class. There will be NO school lunches served on this day – the kitchen will be providing sandwiches and buffet food and the children will have a party lunch together in their classrooms. During the day, Nursery and Reception will enjoy a magic show while children in Year 1 through to Year 6 will watch a special performance of the pantomime Sleeping Beauty. Thank you so much to the PSA for funding this. Don't forget, if your child would like to give Christmas cards to their friends, please send them to school by Monday 15th December.

Festive Concerts

Please make a note of the dates of our EYFS, KS1 and KS2 Festive Concerts - they will be performed at either Fern Hill or The Kingston Academy.

Nursery & Reception - Monday 15th December from 9:00 - 9:45 am at Fern Hill

Years 1 & 2 - Monday 15th December from 2:15 - 3:15 pm at The Kingston Academy (performance will start at 2:30 pm)

Years 3 & 4 - Tuesday 16th December from 9:00 - 10:00 am at The Kingston Academy (performance will start at 9:15 am)

Years 5 & 6 - Tuesday 16th December from 2:15 - 3:15 pm at The Kingston Academy (performance will start at 2:30 pm)

Further information about the concerts will be sent home next week.

Christmas Lunch

Our whole school Christmas Lunch for children and staff will be held on Wednesday 17th December. If you would like your child to have lunch on that day, please order in the usual way through ParentPay where you will be able to make a choice from the menu. The festive menu has replaced any previous meal orders for that day, so please log into ParentPay to reorder if necessary. The menu is available to view here.

Tree Tops

If you plan to use Childcare Vouchers or Taxfree Childcare (TFC) payments to pay for Tree Tops sessions next term, please ensure that you arrange for their transfer before Friday 12th December to ensure that they reach us and can be processed before the end of term. The school is closed over the holiday period and any vouchers or payments received during this time will not be processed until January, when school reopens.

School Clubs

Film Academy and Athletics have now finished for the term; all other clubs will end next week. There will be catch-up clubs for Keyboards and Start to Sing on Tuesday 16th December, and Year 3 & 4 Basketball on Thursday 18th December. As previously advised, Year 3 & 4 Basketball will not run on Thursday 11th December. You can find the autumn term dates for clubs on the website here.

Booking for clubs for next term is now open. Of the school-run clubs which are booked through ParentPay, Athletics, Start to Sing for Years 1 & 2, and Basketball for Years 3 & 4 are now full. If you would like your child to be added to the waiting list, please email clubs@fernhillprimary.org. Clubs run by external providers manage their own bookings, so please contact them directly regarding availability and payment. The full club timetable and provider contact information is published on our website here.

ROAR

We are delighted that ROAR Kids Academy will be running a holiday camps at Fern Hill over the Christmas break for children aged 4-11 on 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th December from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For booking, please see their website or contact them directly on 07969 959754. ROAR are part of the FUEL programme so if you child is in receipt of FSM, you may be entitled to a free place with your FUEL code.

Hello Fern Hill families,

We’re thrilled to introduce Roar Kids Academy, now running holiday camps every school holiday right here at Fern Hill Primary School! Our camps are all-inclusive and holistic, designed to ensure that every child feels welcome, supported, and engaged. We offer a wide variety of exciting activities to suit all interests.

Roar Kids Academy is a teacher-led organisation with a team of experienced and trusted staff, ensuring your children are always in the safest hands while having an unforgettable time.

We can’t wait to welcome your child to join the pride and experience the magic of Roar!

Warm regards,

Roar Kids Academy Team

Flu Immunisations

If your child missed their flu vaccination at school on Thursday, the School Health Team are running catch-up clinics in Kingston over the next two months. Click here for further information.

Parent Advice Clinics

The Your Healthcare School Health Service offer support with children’s health and wellbeing to children and families who attend state funded Kingston Schools or are home educated and live in Kingston. Parent Advice Clinics are for parents of primary school aged children and they run weekly during term-time to offer support with bedwetting, constipation, soiling, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, behaviour, dental health, emotions and sleep. Appointments can be on-line, by telephone or in person and are aimed at finding out more about your child’s needs in order to provide guidance on what to do next.

Appointments can be booked via this Parent Advice Clinic Booking Form. You can also contact the School Health Service directly by email to: KU19-schoolhealth@yourhealthcare.org or by phone on 020 8549 6323.

For concerns regarding your child’s language development, the children’s Speech and Language Therapy advice line is available on Wednesdays from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm and Thursdays 2:00 - 4:00 pm. The contact number is 020 8339 8106 and a voicemail is available for call back.

Book of the Week

Dont Trust Fish ‘Don’t Trust Fish’ by Neil Sharpson & Dan Santat

Mammals are easy to identify, reptiles lay eggs and birds have feathers but fish don’t follow the rules - don’t trust fish! Some fish lay eggs but some have lungs, some eat seaweed but some would like to eat you - don’t trust fish! Some fish might even be spying on us from aquariums in our own homes - whatever you do…don’t trust fish!

There are a lot of worthy picture books out there these days, but children always enjoy a story that is a bit silly, and this one is extremely silly. It does, however, sneak in some educational information about different types of animals in a wonderfully funny and engaging manner. I loved this book…(but I definitely don’t trust fish!)

Team Points Update

The overall House winner this week is RICHMOND

KINGSTON

357

COOMBE

372

RICHMOND

429

HAMPTON

366

Attendance Update

Weekly Attendance Well done to Year 5 who had the highest year group attendance this week with 96.6%.	Year	Attendance %	Star Year ★
	Reception	90.6%
	Year 1	96.4%
	Year 2	94.6%
	Year 3	96.0%
	Year 4	92.0%
	Year 5	96.6%	★
	Year 6	96.2%

PSA News & Events

Click here for a downloadable copy of Fern Hill PSA's latest newsletter.

Merry Mingle - Saturday 6th December

Tickets are on sale now for our very special festive event, the Fern Hill Merry Mingle! The event will be held at school from 2:30 - 4:30 pm. There will be festive games and crafts, hot chocolate, mulled wine, seasonal songs, a lights switch-on, kids' lucky dip, photo booth, Christmas tree sales plus a Christmas Jumper Competition. Tickets are priced at £2 per person with under-2s free. Capacity is limited and tickets are selling fast so book yours soon!

Merry Mingle Tickets

Christmas Tree Sales

Our annual Christmas tree sale will run over the next two weekends - 6th/7th & 13th/14th December.

Information about pre-ordering and home delivery can be found here.

Christmas Raffle

Our Christmas Raffle will be drawn on 11th December. We have some great prizes lined up this year so to be in with a chance to win buy your tickets now!

Raffle

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