St Mary's Catholic Primary Schools Trust

Headteacher

Newsletter no. 10

^{14 th} November 2025

Dear Parents / Carers,

I have had the pleasure of showing prospective parents around the school over the last two weeks. With every group I accompanied, the children consistently demonstrated positive attitudes towards their learning. They showed independence, collaborated beautifully with one another, and welcomed every opportunity to talk confidently about what they were working on. Each classroom had a calm, purposeful atmosphere, and I couldn’t be prouder of our pupils. It has been wonderful to share with so many visitors what a truly special place St Mary’s is.

Anti-Bullying week

As you have been aware this week has been Anti-Bullying week and on Monday we celebrated by wearing ‘Odd Socks Day’

Odd Socks Day is a fun and easy way to celebrate individuality and raise awareness of bullying. Thank you for joining in the fun and raising awareness.

During my Prayer and Liturgy this week we were talking about how we can use our Power For Good. The children said they can use their powers for being kind, helpful, respectful and peaceful to everyone. They said they would stand up to bullying and tell people when they thought it was wrong and they know to go to an adult when they think bullying is happening.

We do not tolerate bullying here- we want everyone to live and learn in the St Mary’s Way

Remembrance Assembly

I want to thank Year 2 for leading such a reflective and poignant Remembrance Assembly. It gave us all time to reflect on all those soldiers who have fought to keep us safe and to think about how we can bring peace into the world.

Jamaican Hurricane Appeal

In partnership with the Croydon BME Forum, we are going to take part in a borough-wide mufti day / non-uniform day on Friday 21^st November 2025 to raise funds for the relief effort.

We are encouraging each child and staff member to donate £1 and dress in the colours of the Jamaican flag (Yellow, Black, Green).

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to come together with the whole education community in Croydon and show solidarity and support for those in need.

Workshops for parents

Wednesday 26th November 9.15am - Maths Workshop - find out how Maths Mastery is taught in our school and how you can support your child with their numeracy skills at home.

Wednesday 17th December 9.15am- Keeping your child safe and online safety - We have an experienced safeguarding specialist coming in to talk about online safety, how to keep your child safe online and new apps and parental controls that you can use.

Wednesday 28th January 9,15am- Reading Workshop-find out the best way to support your child in learning to read.

School Trips

A reminder that Reception and Year 1 have school visits coming up.

Reception are going to the unicorn Theatre on Tuesday 18^th November to see ‘How does Santa do down the Chimney?’

Year 1 are going to Crystal Palace Park to see the seasonal changes in the environment.

Please ensure you have completed the permission forms and expressed whether your child will be having a school packed lunch or you will be providing them with a packed lunch from home. We need to inform the kitchen of numbers so that they can cater accordingly.

Friends Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended our Friends meeting today. We’re delighted to confirm the dates for our upcoming Christmas events!

🎄 Christmas Discos

Reception: Tuesday 2nd December
Key Stage 1: Wednesday 3rd December

Tickets for the Christmas Discos will be on sale soon, priced at £5 per child. The ticket includes a snack and a drink.

Time: 3:30 – 4:30pm
Children may come to school in their disco clothes on the day of their event.

🎅 Christmas Fair - Friday 5th December

Our Friends of St Mary’s team worked hard today to begin planning the Christmas Fair. They’ll need plenty of support over the next few weeks to prepare everything and to help run stalls on the day. Please do consider offering your help — it really makes a difference!

Starting Friday 14th November, the Friends team will be in school every Monday and Friday morning preparing stalls and prizes. Everyone is welcome to join in — the more the merrier!

🎟️ Fair Tokens
From next week, you’ll be able to purchase tokens to spend at the Fair.
Take advantage of our special early-bird offer:

£5 worth of tokens for £4
£10 worth of tokens for £8
Hurry — this offer is available for two weeks only! After that, tokens will be full price.

You’ll also receive a letter soon from the Friends of St Mary’s with more details about the Fair.

Golden Table

The children have been trying hard with their table manners during lunch times. It is definitely much quieter when they are eating and many are trying hard to use a knife and fork to eat.

Today I had another 6 wonderful children to have lunch with- I have been spoilt this week!

Today on the Golden Table was:

Reginacoeli - St George

Sonny– St Andrew

Asaiah – St Therese

Navadheeran - St Bernadette

Efeosa – St Francis

Melody– St Martin

Wednesday Word

Faithfulness

“God is faithful and if we serve Him faithfully he will provide for our needs”

St Richard of Chichester

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for being our faithful friend. Please help us to keep growing in faithfulness to you and to one another.
Amen

God Bless and have a wonderful weekend