From the Head

From the Head of Pre-Prep

Dear Parents,

Thank you for the massive amount of food and toiletries donated for Swanley's Trussell Trust foodbank via our Harvest tables. This year we kept our Harvest food display in the corridor as well as filling the Hall with a wonderful display. Thank you to Mrs Crane for organising and leading our Harvest assembly. Miss Usher and Miss Brennan have taken lots of photos and video clips so I am sure by the time you are reading this, you will be able to scroll down and see our Harvest celebration.

We had lots of families to show around on Wednesday for Open Morning. They couldn’t fail to be impressed with the high standards of work and behaviour from your children.

Thank you to those who were able to join Mrs Stibbons for an Introduction to Phonics Workshop on Thursday. Anyone wanting to brush up on their phonetic sounds should have a look at Read Write Inc. on YouTube.

Weekly parking advice: Please turn your engines off when parked. Children are walking next to cars in the drop-off zone breathing in the car exhaust fumes. Thank you for your co-operation.

Next week we have three Maths workshops taking place in our Dining Room. They are all starting at 8.45am and will be finished at 9.30am to enable teaching to start. Year 2 parents are invited in on Monday 9^th October, Year 1 parents on Tuesday 10^th October and Reception on Wednesday 11^th October. Coffee will be available in the Dining Room from 8.30am.

Reception have their first ever school trip on Thursday to Godstone Farm. There will be great excitement on the coach I am sure. The coach will be leaving school at around 9am once your cars have left the site and will return to school hopefully before you come onto site at the end of the school day.

Overheard in Prep:

Child: "Mrs Stibbons, I have got some wine for you and you can have it for breakfast!"

Have a lovely weekend,

Zerrin Leech

Players of the Match - week commencing 2nd October

St Michael's Fireworks Display 2023

Our annual fireworks display is being held on Friday 10^th November 2023 for St Michael’s families. The evening starts at 6.30pm with the display starting at 7.15pm.

This event has been extremely popular in recent years and often sells out quickly.  Our ticket sales are restricted by the limited parking at the school, as we have a maximum capacity for parking cars safely to maintain a route for the emergency services across the site.

We know there were many disappointed families in previous years, so to try to allow as many families as possible in the St Michael’s community to attend, we ask that tickets are booked for your immediate family only in the first instance. We also ask that you please car share or walk wherever possible.

Tickets are priced at £15 for adults and £12 for children and include a hot dog and either hot chocolate or mulled wine. A vegetarian option is available. Food and drinks are only available before the start of the display.

All parents will receive an email to the link for the purchase of tickets via TicketSource. Tickets will go on sale on Monday 9^th October from 7pm. There will be no ticket sales on the night.

When purchasing tickets, could you please indicate using the options in TicketSource if you plan to walk, bring your car or car share, as this will enable us to gauge the expected parking requirements on the night, and may enable us to release more tickets if the event sells out.

National Black History Month Poetry Competition 2023

We are pleased to share details of the 2023 National Black History Month Poetry Competition below:

This competition is a way to honour the amazing achievements and contributions of black women in various fields – from literature, music, science, politics, and social care to campaigners, nurses, and everyday heroes who have made a difference. They want you to learn about and celebrate black women who have made significant contributions in various fields. You can submit a poem about a pioneering black woman who has made an impact in their chosen field, explaining why she is an inspiration to you. The poems don’t have to be about famous people; they can be about members of your family, women who have inspired you in your community, or even about you. All poems will be judged by a panel made up of experts from the world of poetry and literature, who will consider creativity, originality, and relevance to the competition theme. The judges will be looking for poems that capture the spirit of Black History Month and celebrate the achievements and contributions of black women. The competition is open to primary, secondary, college, and university students across the UK, and there will be separate categories for each level.

The competition will be judged by a panel of experts in literature and poetry, with winners announced on World Poetry Day which is celebrated on 21st March 2024.  To enter the competition, all you have to do is submit your poem here by the deadline of Wednesday 15th November 2023.

Harvest Festival 2023 

Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green!

An array of autumn colours filled the Pre-Prep Hall this morning as Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 gathered to celebrate Harvest Festival with a vibrant assembly. The children danced, acted and recited poems about Harvest time, as well as singing songs with Mrs Crane which had been well-rehearsed in their Music lessons.

Mrs Crane opened the assembly with an explanation of Harvest Festival and why it is a time to celebrate. She spoke about the important work that farmers do as well as the delicious food that we are lucky to enjoy every day.

All-time favourite Harvest anthem Cauliflowers Fluffy was the first song to be sang by all of the children, followed by Reception's beautiful rendition of Sunflowers where they bloomed into tall plants.

Next was Year 2's drama performance of the story The Enormous Turnip where they demonstrated the importance of teamwork and unity. This theme continued into Year 2's song The Seeds of Friendship, led by soloist Ella F which was very touching. Year 1 followed soon after with an informative performance of their Harvest poem.

The Harvest Rock n Roll and Harvest Time were also on the running order and performed with gusto by all of the children.

Performed against a backdrop of food and toiletry donations for the Trussell Trust and Fishes and Loaves foodbanks, Pre-Prep's assembly was the perfect celebration of all things Harvest and giving.

Thank you for your generous donations

We have been overwhelmed by the volume of donations received by St Michael's families for our collection for Swanley's Trussell Trust foodbank and Sevenoaks' Loaves and Fishes foodbank. In total, we filled four vehicles to the brim of food and toiletries including a large trailer truck.

We are so grateful for your kindness and generosity which will allow the charities to continue to support families in need this autumn and winter. Speaking to members of the Trussell Trust when they arrived to collect our donations this morning, our Office Team learnt that the foodbank has already helped 800 adults and 600 children this year and our donations will help them to contribute their much-needed work.

    St Michael's U11s win Sutton Valence Hockey Tournament

Congratulations to the U11A girls' hockey team who won the Sutton Valence Hockey Tournament on Wednesday accompanied by their coach, Mrs Bingham.

U11s crowned IAPS Regional Hockey Champions

Congratulations to the U11A girls' hockey team who were crowned IAPS Regional Hockey Champions today. They played 8 games in which they were undefeated and only conceded 1 goal. An amazing day and team play! Full report to follow next week.

Open Morning Highlights

Author inspires Olanna to showcase her work and ideas

Year 5 pupil Olanna shared her inspiration for Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with the Prep school this week.

Speaking to pupils in Years 3 to 8 in assembly on Monday, Olanna told her peers about Chimamanda's hugely successful writing career and education journey whilst presenting a poster that she had created in her own time.

Olanna explained how Chimamanda's career has influenced her creativity and re-ignited her ambition to become a writer herself. She said "I love writing and my research about Chimamanda has inspired me to be an author when I am older. Chimamanda is also a strong feminist and celebrates all the things that women do and achieve, as well as men."

Chimamanda has written over 20 powerful books throughout her career and when she is older, Olanna plans on reading her Auntie Ifu's favourite, Half of a Yellow Sun.

Cross country success for St Michael's runners

A great afternoon was had by all at the IAPs Cross Country Competition at Somerhill School on Thursday 5^th October. All girls and boys ran brilliantly in their races and we had some great results. Top finishing girls and boys were as follows: Sophia E (28^th), Zach R (4^th), Elizabeth A (12^th), Hugo M (7^th), Evie S (13^th) and Charlie W (4^th).

The U11 boys' team also came 3^rd overall; well done boys. The team comprised of Hugo M, George W, Cole D, Herbie F, Taran Singh M and Finlay S.

Fabulous running from everyone, well done!

Mrs Denton, Head of Girls' Games

Word Searches and card games have been enjoyed in the Breakfast Club this week, whilst in The Hive children have been busy painting books along with themed characters and props for our new bookcase wall display.

Evie joins Kent Netball Academy

Congratulations to Year 8 pupil Evie who has been reselected for the Kent U13 Netball squad and joined their Potential Academy, the top tier in the U13 County Pathway. Receiving the news last weekend, Evie said: "I was so excited when I found out I'd got onto the Potential Academy and my family were really proud. I've been working really hard on my fitness and netball technique so it was a relief to know the effort has paid off. I'm really looking forward to the opportunities that being in the Academy brings." Evie, who plays in Centre position, competes in matches every Saturday and trains 2 to 3 times a week after school. At club level, Evie is also playing for Kent Club Juniors 2 in the Sevenoaks division 1 league and is also in their Under 14A team for County and Regional leagues.

Evie also expressed how being a St Michael's Sports Scholar has contributed to her netball success as it allows her to maintain her fitness and sports discipline.

Send us your stories!  

Has your child won an award, passed an extra-curricular exam or accomplished something exciting recently? We love celebrating our pupils’ amazing achievements and want to showcase them in our weekly newsletter. Email tusher@stmichaels.kent.sch.uk to submit your child’s achievement.

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