Friday 3rd^th October 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week has been another joyful and faith-filled one in school. On Thursday, Class 5C led a beautiful liturgy on their Patron Saint, St Catherine of Siena. Their prayers, readings and reflections showed real thought and reverence and it was a privilege to join with their parents and peers in celebrating the life and example of such an inspirational saint.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the parents and teachers of Year 4 and Year 6 who attended the curriculum workshops this week. These sessions are an important opportunity for us to work together in supporting the children’s learning and progress and your engagement makes a real difference.

As we look ahead to Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 17:5–10), we are reminded of Jesus’ teaching that even faith the size of a mustard seed can work wonders. Just as the apostles were urged to trust in the strength of faith, we too are called to put our trust in God and to recognise the extraordinary growth that can come from small but genuine acts of belief. This message sits at the heart of our work in school—encouraging children to nurture their gifts, grow in confidence and place their trust in God.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Praying the Rosary in October

During the month of October, we will be honouring Our Lady by praying a decade of the Rosary together every Friday morning, straight after assembly.

We warmly invite all children to bring their rosaries into school on Fridays throughout October so that they can join us in this special time of prayer.

Harvest Festival Liturgy Invitation

I am delighted to invite you to join us for our school Harvest Festival Liturgy on Thursday 17th October at 3:00pm in the school hall. This is always a special occasion in our school calendar, where we come together as a community to give thanks for God’s blessings and to share with those in need.

As part of our celebration, we will be collecting donations for our Harvest appeal. If you are able to contribute, we would be most grateful. Items that are especially useful include:

• Tinned goods (soup, vegetables, beans, fruit)
• Dried food (pasta, rice, lentils)
• Long-life items (UHT milk, juice, teabags, coffee, cereal)
• Toiletries and household essentials

Your generosity will support those in our local community who are facing hardship.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink” (Matthew 25:35). Our Harvest celebration is a chance to live out this call to love and service, showing kindness and compassion to our neighbours.

We look forward to welcoming you at our Harvest Festival

Wear it Pink Day & Macmillan Coffee Morning

On Friday 24th October 2025, our school will be supporting two wonderful causes.

We will be taking part in Wear it Pink Day, raising money for Breast Cancer. Children are invited to come to school dressed in pink and donate £1 towards this important charity.

On the same day, we will also be hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning in the Infant School Hall. This will be a lovely opportunity to come together as a community while raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

We would be very grateful for donations of cakes, biscuits or treats to serve on the day. Please bring these into school on Thursday 23rd October 2025 so that we can prepare for the event.

Your kindness and generosity will help us support these two charities who do such vital work. We look forward to seeing the children bright and cheerful in pink and to welcoming many of you to the Coffee Morning.

Rags2Riches4Schools Clothes Collection

We’re holding a clothes collection in support of Rags2Riches4Schools. If your child has outgrown school uniforms, everyday clothes, or accessories you’d otherwise throw out, please bring them in!

What to donate:

• Reusable clothes
• Items kids have grown out of
• Any clothes in good condition

What we can’t accept:
Unfortunately, worn-out items or anything damaged beyond repair won’t be collected.

Please bring in any items to between Monday 6^th October 2025 and Friday 10^th October 2025.

Every bag helps raise funds and keeps textiles out of landfill. Your support makes a difference!

St Mary’s Catholic High School Open Mornings & Evenings

We are delighted to invite the parents of our Year 6 pupils to attend one of the Open Mornings or Evenings at St Mary’s Catholic High School. This is your chance to:

• Tour the school
• Meet key staff including the Headteacher and senior leadership
• Speak with current students and teachers
• Experience first-hand the ethos, curriculum and facilities

Please see the school’s admissions page for dates and times, and plan to attend whichever session suits you best. Dates and times of open events can be found on: https://www.stmaryscroydon.co.uk/

 Key admissions note:
Applications for entry into Year 7 in September 2026 must be submitted by 31st October 2025. If you’re unable to make a scheduled event, St Mary’s is happy to arrange a guided tour by appointment.

National Poetry Day – Theme: Play

To celebrate National Poetry Day on 2nd October, our KS2 children are invited to write their own poem at home on the theme of Play. Poems can take any form – from acrostics to haikus – and should be handed in by Friday 16th October.

Selected children will also have the chance to perform their poems during our lunchtime Open Mic sessions in the week beginning Monday 20th October.

We look forward to seeing the children’s creativity shine!

Achievement Certificates

The achievement certificates this week are awarded to:

• Seteminire in 3A
• Zara in 3E
• Franchiszka in 4D
• Ruairi in 4T
• Anushik in 5B
• Jeno in 5C
• Julen in 6G
• Amelia in 6P

 The Headteacher’s award goes to Jaden in 5B

 The Kindness Award goes to Ian in 6P

 The Swimming Award goes to Ann in 3E

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Sarah Fizul

Acting Headteacher