Friday 16th December 2022

This week we have had a wonderful time enjoying our Christmas celebrations. We have enjoyed a lovely festive atmosphere as we celebrated Advent and Christmas with our KS2 Christmas Carol Service and our Reception and Key Stage 1 Nativity.  The children spoke clearly with confidence and they sang beautifully. I am very proud of our children, Well done children! I would like to thank all the staff who worked so hard to prepare the children for this event.

Today we finish for the Christmas holidays and I would like to wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas with your families. I will look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday  4th January in 2023 for an exciting year.

This year the Saint Ambrose Parish Children’s Christmas Mass will be at 5.00pm on Christmas Eve.

The parish would like to invite all the children to come to the Mass. During the Mass, there will be an opportunity for all the children to gather round the Christmas tree and hang their Christmas decoration that they made in school. We hope that as many children as possible will take part.

This half term, we have been growing to be faith-filled in our beliefs and hopeful for the future. The following pupils were nominated as having demonstrated these virtues by their peers and by their teachers. They all received a certificate this morning in our end of term assembly. Congratulations.

Yesterday, our Choir, made up of singers in Years 2-6, were invited to sing at Nightingale Care Home in Kidderminster. The residents were so impressed with our choir and thanked them for bringing Christmas Joy to everyone. The children sang their hearts out and I was very proud of them all.

Thank you for all the gifts we received, we are very proud of our Minnie Vinnies for co-ordinating this charitable event. It has been wonderful seeing us all working together for the common good - part of our Catholic Social Teaching and the Food Bank were very grateful for our donations.

An additional bank holiday in honour of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Monday 8th May 2023. As this date had previously been announced as the first day of the 2023 key stage 2 (KS2) test week in England, a change to the KS2 test schedule next year will be necessary.

Ministers have considered the situation carefully and have decided that KS2 tests will take place in the same week with tests following the usual order but each taking place one day later than originally planned. As such, the new schedule will be:

• Tuesday 9 May: English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) papers 1 (questions) and 2 (spelling)
• Wednesday 10 May: English reading paper
• Thursday 11 May: mathematics papers 1 (arithmetic) and 2 (reasoning)
• Friday 12 May: mathematics paper 3 (reasoning)

There will be no changes to arrangements for our other assessments, including KS2 teacher assessments, key stage 1 tests and teacher assessments, the phonics screening check and the multiplication tables check.

On Thursday we had a very special day as all children visited Santa in the morning and had a Christmas party in the afternoon. This year classes planned their parties and had lots of festive fun. I would like to thank TAPP for funding the parties and contacting Santa to organise his visit. 

Ten Ten Resources is producing a special prayer resource for schools and families to use throughout Advent in preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

We would like to encourage your family to join the whole school community on this journey. We will be following the prayer each day in school, and we would like to encourage you to also open a Bible story on the Jesse Tree calendar at home each morning/evening, at weekends and during the school holidays.

The Jesse Tree: From Creation to Christmas is a daily prayer resource, starting on Monday 28 November, the first week of Advent, and running all the way through to Christmas Day.  A Jesse Tree is a bit like an Advent calendar, but using a daily video Bible story about someone in Jesus’ family tree to help us prepare spiritually as we move towards Christmas.

We would like to encourage your family to join the whole school community on this journey. We will be following the prayer each day in school, and we would like to encourage you to also open a Bible story on the Jesse Tree calendar at home each morning/evening, at weekends and during the school holidays.

To access the resource, please visit the Ten Ten Resources’ Collective Worship Parent Portal:

Website: tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal

Username: st-ambrose-dy10

Password:  custard-111 

Regular attendance at school means that your child will make the most of their education and improve their chances later on in life. At St Ambrose, good attendance is of high importance and we strive to have at least 96% attendance. Please help us with this target. If you need any support, then school is here to help so that your child can get the very best out of the education we provide. 

In January, we will begin sending out regular push notifications again about attendance so that you are aware if you child falls below our 96% target.

Please can we remind parents to return their child's consent form for swimming. Thank you to those that have already done so.

Please follow the link below to access this week's Wednesday Word.

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their correct P.E. kit. The P.E. uniform is as follows:

• Black shorts, black leggings, black track suit bottoms (unbranded if possible)
• Maroon round neck T-shirt with embroidered badge
• P.E pumps or black trainer

PLEASE NOTE: P.E. HOODIES CAN ONLY BE WORN ON P.E. DAYS

Children are to come to school wearing their P.E. kit on the day(s) listed above. Thank you.

Please read the following tips to share with your son or daughter about staying safe online:

• Never give out personal information. This includes online people you know as well. Keep them private!
• Never send pictures of yourself because once it’s online, it’s there forever, and it could get into the wrong hands.
• Don’t make friends with people you don’t know. People are not always who they say they are.
• Tell your parents/carers what you’re doing online so they can act fast if there are any issues and can vet whether the website is safe for use
• Leave the website and tell a trusted adult immediately if you see something that concerns you or makes you feel unsafe
• Never show your real name, age or where you live in your username
• Use strong passwords which have a mix of numbers, letters and symbols
• Do not share passwords with others
• Don’t open an attachment unless you’re 100% sure it’s safe
• Don’t let strangers into your video calls. Blur your background so you don’t give away any information about where you are.
• Be careful who you webcam with
• Don’t meet up with someone you’ve only met online
• Be nice online
• Think before your post! This applies to when you send or forward content.

Please see the confirmed term dates below for 2022/23. 

Kind Regards,

Mrs Brocklesby