What a great start to my week, witnessing about 40 of our Year 10 girls succeed at their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. The girls were a real testament to the resilience, humour and good-natured spirit that encapsulates St. Teresa’s. Well done everyone.
Throughout the week the staff and girls have been busy completing baseline assessments for the year ahead. Conducted in this second week of term before fixtures commence enables the testing to be focused and disruption free.
Now we need to strap in tight as the term starts to break into a run. Coming up next week are our first fixtures and tournaments of the season in Netball, Hockey, Swimming and an Aquathlon.
Next Friday, sees the return of our FOST-organised ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ in aid of Macmillan, all are most warmly invited to attend a morning of coffee and cake.
The following Monday we join Senior English Department colleagues and pupils for National Poetry Day with a visit from Kimba; we celebrate the Mass of St Therese together with Senior School (for the 1st October – already); Year 6 parents are invited to attend the parent talk and tour of Senior School on the Thursday 2 nd October; and on the Friday we celebrate St. Francis with our Pet Blessing. Not to mention our preparations for our Harvest Celebration on October 10th and a reminder of individual photographs the day before on Thursday 9th October – see Mrs. Johnson’s helpful ‘Diary Dates’ section below.
I leave you with some reflections on resilience and being good-natured throughout:
“Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.” –Hugh Sidey
“Since my barn burned down I now own a better view of the rising moon.” – Mizuta Masahide
Best wishes, Gareth Tindall
Changes to Bus Schedules or End of Day Plans
To make things smoother and safer, we've introduced theVectareTravel App. If you haven't registered yet, please sign up at this link: VectareTravel using your email address from iSAMS. You can make all the necessary changes on the website.
If you need further help, please reach out to the transport team at effinghamschoolstrust@vectare.co.uk or transport@effinghamschools.org / 01372 750255.
Any end of day changes, please email your class teacher and copy in the school office prepinfo@st-teresas.com
Absence Notification & Evidence Form
A reminder to complete this form if your child will be absent from Prep due to illness or other valid reasons. To ensure accurate attendance records, please upload evidence (e.g. appointment text, letter, or email) if the absence is due to a medical appointment. Wherever possible, appointments should be made outside school hours. A full letter will follow next week.
Pastoral Pause
As well as Action for Happiness (see calendar below), I also receive a daily dose of Random Acts of Kindness images via email. This week, this one landed in my inbox and given how relevant it is to our ‘Year of Compassion’, I felt compelled to share.
‘Leave trails of love where fade your footsteps.’ – everywhere you walk; everywhere you have been present; every conversation you had; every interaction with your children, spouse, family, friends, colleagues, or complete strangers – every one of those places and spaces, have you left a trail of love. Do our lives leave a loving resonance and impact on the lives of those around us.
This coming week (22nd September): take your time; let go of expectations; accept yourself; stop on at least one day from saying ‘I should’; find a new way to use your strengths and talents; choose to see your mistakes as steps to help you learn (First Attempt In Learning) AND model all these things to your children.
God Bless your weekend and week ahead,
Gareth Tindall
Autumn
Term, Key
Mon 29th Sept National Poetry Day: Poet visit, Kimba, Mairlot Hall 11:15 - 12:15
Wed 1st Oct Mass of the Feast of St Teresa, Mairlot Hall 14:30
Thurs 2nd Oct Yr. 6 Parent talk and tour of Senior School 09:00
Fri 3rd Oct St Francis’ Pet Blessing, Mairlot Lawn 08:30
Tue 7th Oct Yr. 6 Mock Entrance Examinations 09:00
Thurs 9th Oct Prep School Individual & Sibling Photos 09:00 - 12:15
Fri 10th Oct Harvest Celebration, Chapel 08:30 - 09:15
Mon 13th Oct Year 5 Shang Dynasty Workshop, Mairlot Hall 09:00 - 12:15
Wed 15th Oct Prep School Council Meeting 12:15 Parents Evening (Online) 17:00 - 20:00
Thurs 16th Oct Parents Evening (In Person) 16:15 - 19:00
Fri 17th Oct Half Term begins 18:00
Mon 3rd Nov Term Resumes
Tue 11th Nov 11+ Prep Entrance Exams 08:30
Dates 2025-26: This week you have received the following communications on SchoolPost: Year 6: Year 6 Residential Trip to France,18-22/05/26 Year 5: Year 5 Shang Dynasty Workshop, 13/10/25 Whole School: Key Dates for 2025-26 St Francis Feast Day Pet Blessing, 03/10/25 Harvest Festival, 10/10/25
Please remember to check your inbox, including your junk/spam, as the email may go to your junk box the first time it is sent. If you have any questions please email prepinfo@st-teresas.com
Golden Book
Well done to all of the girls in our Golden Books this week:
5AB Lulu for her effective use of fun inspired poem.
Izzy E-N for working so hard in Maths and answering questions with enthusiasm.
5HT Hollie G and Olivia H the Yinxu Dig.
6MK Maggie M, Rosalind D and Thea S many features of figurative language.
6RG Jessica A for her fabulous work and attitude, particularly her descriptive work and Topic fact file. effort and an excellent start to Year 6.
Layla B for her positivity, effort to improve her work and desire to succeed.
Drama Stars
Year 5: Ivy H for her performance as a robot to show the characteristics of the genre of science fiction.
Year 6: Jessica A for working so well on a scripted performance and sustaining a believable and appropriate character.
Attention all gardeners!
Last term, the girls in Gardening Club were given sunflower seeds to take part in a competition to grow the tallest sunflower. If you planted your seeds, it is time to get your tape measures out! Hopefully, you have enjoyed seeing your splendid sunflowers and now it is time to get measuring! Please send in a picture of your daughter with her sunflower and a measurement of how tall the sunflower grew, to enter the competition and be in the running for a prize: Prepinfo@st-teresas.com
FOST 2nd HAND UNIFORM SHOP
Submission forms are under FOST 2nd hand uniform on the St Ts website: Second-hand Uniform Shop
REMINDER: CASH or CHEQUE only please for the foreseeable future.
Open Fridays 8.30am-9am and First Saturday of every month 10:30am 11.00am by appointment only:
Please contact Wendy or Camilla: Fostuniform@gmail.com
Prep News
Special Guest Visit – Rap Poet Kimba
We are thrilled to announce that Kimba, the acclaimed rap poet behind Write the Wrongs, will be visiting St Teresa’s on Monday 29 September to present to pupils in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8. His engaging and thought-provoking performances blend poetry and rap to explore themes of identity, creativity, and social awareness.
If pupils would like to purchase a copy of Kimba’s book, it must be ordered in advance via the Microsoft Form
Want a preview? Watch Kimba in action
We’re really looking forward to welcoming Kimba – we think he’s going to be a hit!
Lego Club
This week in Lego Club, the girls enjoyed the challenge of creating an animal in just 20 minutes. The builds were very impressive, showcasing their creativity and imagination.
Prep News
Green Thumbs in Action!
Following on from last week's story, we’re delighted to share another wonderful example of our pupils getting hands-on with nature. We have been sent in this lovely photo of Sofia and Leila proudly displaying some of the fruit and vegetables they’ve been growing in their garden. Their harvest includes rhubarb, beans, tomatoes, and Cucumbers, a colourful and impressive spread!
Also making an appearance is their towering sunflower, which the girls affectionately describe as looking like a “shower head” due to its size and shape. It’s fantastic to see such enthusiasm for gardening and sustainability, well done, Sofia and Leila!
Creativity in Full Bloom
Some of the St Teresa’s girls took park in an Art workshop at Manor House in the summer holidays. They were super-creative, embraced all challenges and achieved some stunning results. From clock design to treehouse construction, this art gallery shows a little of what they created.
Charity Book Sale
Prep Events
Prep Events
Music News
Orchestra
A super rehearsal of the orchestra on Monday as we explored the different instrumental parts of Autumn from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. There was lots of focussed listening and some smashing collaboration to find the best violin finger positions. Please remember to bring your instruments on Monday!
Chamber Choir
A smaller group at Chamber Choir this week, and we took the opportunity to identify finding our soloist, duet pair and listening carefully to discover whose voices blended together especially well. A reminder, please, to come along to our Friday rehearsals as we prepare for our first performance of the year.
Musician of the Week
Year 5 Millie G, well done for modelling excellent behaviour and super listening in our ukelele class. You worked really hard to master those tricky chord changes.
Year 6 Thea B, thank you for showing some super leadership skills this week: helping your friend in our keyboard class, taking the lead in your rhythm group in Year 6 Music and teaching me your cups rhythm pattern.
Year 5
Year 5 continued our project linking musical performance with our local community. After refreshing our memory of the song Tour through time (including conducting, dancing and the ostinato accompaniment) we worked in small groups to create lyrics, choosing words that would fit rhythmically within four beats.
In our Ukelele classes, we revised the names of the parts of the instrument and added Am to our list of chords which enabled us to play Thunder by Imagine Dragons.
Year 6
Year 6 continued our World Unite project, exploring the physical embodiment of rhythm. We revised the song World Unite including maintaining a steady beat using body percussion. As a class, we learned a rhythmic cup passing game which required co-ordination and collaboration. The girls then worked together in small groups to create their own rhythm patterns, displaying some lovely creativity and imagination. Each group performed to the rest of their class and we discussed the musical features of each performance, considering why we each might have different musical preferences.
In our keyboard skills classes all the girls bravely had a go at improvising with a rhythmic accompaniment and with a partner.
First week of the AutumTerm at STE
This week has been the first week of the Autumn Term for the Equestrian Centre and it has got off to a lively start with the horses raring to go and the weather continuing to add an element of surprise. There was a beautiful rainbow on Monday just as the lessons began…
If it is your child’s first week with us, we hope they have enjoyed meeting the ponies and their lessons. It’s lovely to see our regular riders again as well. Well done on a super first week!
If you need to cancel a lesson, please always email equestrian@st-teresas.com. Please don’t cancel it on the booking system as it can cause issues for the Yard staff.
Equestrian Lunch Club
Thursdays 1.30pm2.25pm
The Equestrian Lunch Club is proving to be extremely popular, with 12 girls attending in the first week. Tess, the Centre Manager, spent time with the girls teaching them how to safely approach and interact with the horses.
The girls will work towards their ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Resilience’ segments for their Pursuit Award.
This Week
Bible Reading
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.
Reflection
This week we reflect on the understanding that all of us are called by God. Each of us is important, special, unique and each of us has something to offer the world. We may not find ourselves walking along the sea of Galilee this week. Yet each of us will be called by God, God is always calling us into greater love. We must learn to listen to his voice, hear his voice and like Simon and Andrew leave what is unimportant.
Prayer
Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away: God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.
-- St. Teresa of Avila
“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
Mother Teresa
Christmas Shoebox Appeal 2025
Donate a shoebox gift for marginalised and needy families in Romania. Refer to leaflet section titled “How to pack your Christmas Gift SHOEBOX”
Drop-off in the chapel, from Monday 6th October to Friday 17th October.
Prep Clubs Autumn Term 2025
MORNING
MON
TUE
WED
Years 5 & 6, Netball Club (7.50 - 8.20, Sp. H)
(12.45—13.15)
Years 5, Forest School
Years 6, Forest School
Orchestra, by invitation Grade 1+ standard)
Years 5 & 6, Prep GK Club (Astro)
Chaplaincy Team meeting
Years 5 & 6, Lego Club
Years 5 & 6, Netball Shooting Club
Years 5 & 6, Swim Squad (7:45 - 8.30)
Years 5 & 6, Prayer Group (10.55 – 11.15)
Wind Group (10.5511:15)
THU Years 5 & 6, Hockey Club (7.50 - 8.20, Sp. H)
Years 5 & 6, Chess Club
Years 5 & 6, Recreational Netball
Schola Cantorum (by invitation)
Years 5 & 6, Football Club
String Group
Years 5 & 6, Running Club (Astro)
(16.15 – 17.00)
Equestrian Riding (16.00 –17.00)
Year 6, ESTA Tennis Coaching (16.15 - 17.15)
Young Voices Choir (16.15 - 17.00, until January)
Years 5 & 6, Art Club (16.15 - 17.00)
Years 5 & 6, LAMDA Lessons (30-minute lesson between 16.15 - 16.45)
Equestrian Riding (16.00 –17.00)
Pony Stars (16.30 – 17.30)
Years 5 & 6, Drama Club (16.15 - 17.00)
Years 5 & 6, Hockey Club (16.15 - 17.30)
Equestrian Riding (16.00 –17.00)
Years 5 & 6, Ballet Dance (16.15 - 17.15)
Year 5, ESTA Tennis Coaching (16.15 - 17.15)
Years 5 & 6, Art Club (16.15 - 17.00)
Year 5, Swim Squad (15.45 - 16.45)
Year 6, Swim Squad (16.45 - 17.30)
Equestrian Riding (16.00 –17.00)
Years 5 & 6 Frisbee Club (16.15 - 17.00)
Chamber Choir
FRI
(17.00-18.00)
Year 5 & 6, LAMDA Lessons (30 -minute lesson between 16.45 - 17.45)
Years 5 & 6, Street Dance (17.15 - 18.15)
Touch Typing
Years 5 & 6, Netball Club (16.15 - 17.30)
Equestrian Riding (16.00 –17.00)
Pony Stars (16.00 – 17.00)
Schola Cantorum (16:30 –17:30, by invitation)
Menu—w/c Monday 22nd September 2025
Hot lunches include a selection of family favourites and suitable alternatives for children with allergies and intolerances.
European Languages Week
Soup Soup of the day
Pulled Pork
Main
Vegetarian
Mexican Tacos with a selection of Dips and Cheese
Soup of the day Soup of the day Soup of the day Soup of the day
Freshly
Pasta Bar
Sides
Additional
Frankfurter or Grilled Jumbo
Sausage Hot Dog Prawn, Chicken and Chorizo Paella Coq au Vin
Smokey Bean Chimichangas Vegan frankfurter
Pasta with Tomato & Basil or Bolognaise Sauce
Steamed
Vegetable Rice
Corn on the Cob
Jacket Potato & Baked
Beans
Freshly Baked
Bread
Salad bar
Dessert Chewy Flapjack
Pasta with Tomato & Basil or Carbonara Sauce
Mixed Potato Wedges
Creamy Slaw
Jacket Potato & Baked
Beans
Freshly
Baked Bread
Salad bar
Smokey Butterbean Paella Ratatouille
Battered Fish or Jumbo Fish Finger with Ketchup and Tartare Sauce
Onion Bhaji Burger with Mango Chutney
Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
Homemade
Crusty
Bread
Broccoli
Jacket Potato & Baked
Beans Freshly
Baked Bread
Salad bar
Pasta with Tomato & Basil or Cheesy Pesto Sauce
Mashed
Potatoes
Panache of Mixed Vegetables
Jacket Potato & Baked
Beans
Freshly Baked
Bread
Salad bar
Pasta with Tomato & Basil or Four Cheese Sauce
Skinny Chips Garden Peas
Jacket Potato & Baked
Beans
Freshly
Baked Bread
Salad bar
Old School Cake
Bramley Apple
Crumble with Custard
White Chocolate Cookie Tray Bake
Oreo Cheesecake
Items in Italic - Sourced from F Conisbee’s, our local butcher
