Published July 23rd, 2021
Well, what a year that has been! I don’t think any of us could have predicted quite what a roller coaster of a ride it was going to be; on site testing, bubble closures, remote learning for all, no exams, positive cases, and more remote learning!
It is testament to all in our community, pupils, parents, and staff that we have pulled through together and tackled all the challenges with resilience, dedication, commitment, and a smile on our faces.
A sincere and heartfelt thank you for all of your support and patience over the last academic year. Your understanding and kind messages have certainly been a source of encouragement even in the darkest times!
Fun Friday
Today has been themed ‘Fun Friday’ with the children encouraged to partake in the Wellbeing tasks shared on Teams and also having year group assemblies, form awards meetings (certificates to be distributed in September), an end of term quiz and the final weekly raffle, happiest moments of the year and Wheel of Prizes where, thanks to the charity Alabare, we were fortunate enough to be able to offer a prize of abseiling down the Spinnaker in Portsmouth for those pupils over 14 years old who have exemplary behaviour and excellent attendance!
We feel it was a fitting send off for the pupils and a nice way to end a challenging year for them.
Reports
Reports have been distributed via email this week. Please do check your junk email folders as some parents have reported that they arrived in their junk email rather than their inbox.
We have an online consultation page up and running so that any questions or queries you have on the back of the reports can be directed to the relevant member of staff; https://sjcs.org.uk/virtual-consultation/
Farewells
At the end of this term, we bid farewell to 4 members of staff:
Mrs Cullis, after many years of service to our school and community, will be beginning her well-earned and well-deserved retirement – we wish her well and thank her for all her fabulous efforts and dedication and for all she has done for the school over the years.
Miss Rees will be heading off to a new educational adventure in China, Mrs Bradbury will be taking up a teaching post much closer to her home in Somerset, and Mrs Le Ray will be returning to Northern Ireland.
We’d like to thank all of them for their dedication and commitment to the school and the pupils who have had the good fortune to be in their classes! They will all be missed, but also all very welcome to return in the future!
There are 9 new members of staff who we will be welcoming in September and we will introduce you to them in the first weekly update next academic year.
September Reminders
Return Date:
All pupils will be coming back to school on Thursday 2nd September at the normal time of 8:55 (a letter will be forthcoming regarding lateral flow testing in September for pupils as this is in the latest guidance from the DfE)
Uniform:
Deadline for uniform orders is 1st August for arrival in time for September; Please select home delivery as there will be no further deliveries into school before the start date. https://sjcs.org.uk/uniform-orders/
Pupils will be expected to be wearing full school uniform on the first day of term.
NEW: Stud earring will be permitted in ears.
Extra TD Day:
There is an extra TD Day due to the Queens Jubilee – this is scheduled for Mon 23rd May.
The Achievement Points Race
The final standings are in! It’s been a very competitive race this year with 3 houses having occupied the top spot at different times throughout the year; Teresa House were top for most of the year, but, in a sprint finish Margaret House have stormed in to claim the win! Congratulations to Margaret House!
Final standings:
- 1st: Margaret House – 30,272 points
- 2nd: Teresa House – 29,862 points
- 3rd: Vincent House – 29,663 points
- 4th: Francis House – 27,666 points
Have a lovely summer and let’s hope that September brings a more settled and predictable academic year!
Thank you once again for all of your support, patience and understanding this year. We couldn’t have done it without you.