HabsWeekly JuniorSchool
edition
Friday 29 September
AutumnTerm
HeadofJuniorSchool’s Message
One of the many highlights for me since the start of term has been to see the girls take part in Forest School and Outdoor Learning. In today’s fast paced world, where technology plays a significant role in our daily lives, it is increasingly important to strike a balance between the digital and natural world. The opportunity for the girls to be curious whilst having fun always brings a smile to everyone’s faces.
In assembly this week, Miss Sultana shared traditional stories from around the world and we celebrated that, as a community, we can share our own traditions and cultures. The older children also had the opportunity to meet Katherine Rundell and hear about her new book ‘Impossible Creatures’. We are looking forward to welcoming the author Korky Paul, who is well known for the series ‘Winnie Wilbur’, to Habs later this term when everyone in the Junior School will have the opportunity to meet him.
Wishing you a lovely weekend
Mrs Claire Brown Head of Junior SchoolCornflower Assembly
Friday 22 September
Friday afternoon assemblies are always a time of joy and celebration in the Junior School. Our weekly Cornflower Assembly celebrates individuals who have particularly demonstrated ways in which they have embodied our school values: Courage Curiosity Community and Ambition. We cherish our cornflower assemblies and hope that you enjoy celebrating with us too.
Ambition
Lenora (Rainbow Blue)
Misha (1 Purple)
Amia (2A)
Haymi (2A)
Roshni (2 Alpha)
Moon (2 Ansuz)
Sybil (2 Ansuz)
Keria (3A)
Lucy (4 Aesc)
Annabel (4 Aleph)
Community
Ziva (Rainbow Blue)
Elizabeth (Rainbow Red)
Lara (1 Purple)
Ava (3 Alpha)
Aarya (4 Aleph)
Leila (5 Aesc)
Lia (5 Aesc)
Anika (5 Aleph)
Sienna (5 Aleph)
Kathleen (6 Aesc)
Curiosity
Lera (Rainbow Red)
Aria (3 Alpha)
Ella (6 Aleph)
Courage
Amalia (1 Orange)
Suzie (1 Orange)
Adeyeni (2 Aleph)
Sophie (4 Aesc)
Sylvie (6 Aleph)
Rainbow toYear 6 Information
Lunch Menus
WEEK COMMENCING 2 OCTOBER
Please click here to view our Rainbow and KS1 lunch menu.
Please click here to view our KS2 lunch menu.
Wraparound Care
BOOKING LINK
Please click here to book your daughter into Wraparound Care.
Uniform
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please click here to view information on the new phasing in plans.
Parent Handbook
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please click here to review the Parent Information Booklet for 2023/24.
Snacks
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please kindly remember that, in line with government guidance, grapes or olives should be cut in half and cherries should be de-stoned if these foods are brought in for snacks. A full list of permitted breaktime snacks can be found in the Parent Information Booklet.
Harvest Festival
MONDAY 9 OCTOBER
We are looking forward to our whole school assembly on Monday 9 October, where we will gather together for our Harvest Festival. Collections for both Akshaya Patra and Islington Migrant Centre will be displayed, and we are welcoming a speaker from Akshaya Patra. Many thanks for all the donations that have been brought in already. Please click here for further information, and a reminder that any remaining donations should still be brought to Mrs Walsh's desk in the Junior School Reception. We are looking forward to this opportunity to gather together and reflect on the ways in which we are able to share our good fortune in practical ways.
Junior School Playground
The Junior School playground is staffed and open to students from 8am. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our students, no Junior School child should be on the playground before this time, even if they are accompanied by an adult. If students arrive before 8am, we ask that they wait outside the playground with an adult or remain in their vehicle until the playground is staffed.
Breakfast Club is available for families who would like to drop their children at school before 8am.Breakfast Club is available for families who would like to drop their children at school before 8am. Pupils need to be booked in by the Friday of the previous week to be included in the register for the following week. If parents need to make an emergency booking, an email must be sent to Mrs Walsh so that the register can be updated.
Please book via the Wraparound Care link on page 5. If any Junior School students are found to be unaccompanied by an adult before 8am, they will be taken to Breakfast Club for their safety, and a charge will be applied.
Please can all parents and guardians be reminded that once you have collected your children you should return to your vehicle and leave the school site as soon as possible. This will help ease traffic flow in the car park for other parents collecting their children.
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED
Family Fridays
We will be once again inviting parents into school for our Family Friday events, which will take place on the following dates:
Key dates:
Friday 13 October 2023 (8am to 8.30am)
Friday 10 November 2023 (3pm to 3.30pm)
Friday 8 December 2023 (8am to 8.30am)
Rainbow Years 1, Year 3 and Year 5
Rainbow only
Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 and Year 6
Classrooms will be open from 8am and you are welcome to pop in any time up until 8.30am, when we will revert to normal registration and lessons. This term Family Fridays will take place in the classrooms; there will be opportunities to see the wider school with your daughter in the Spring and Summer terms.
On arrival at school, please use the car park as opposed to the drop off lanes and walk to the Junior School. The middle doors will be open from 8am and from there you will head to your child’s classroom, where you will sign in. If you have more than one child involved in the event, older siblings will collect their work and meet you in the classroom of the younger sibling.
Should you be unable to join your child, they will have the opportunity to bring home some of the work to share with you the evening before. If you would like your child to bring work home because you are unable to attend, please contact their class teacher.
Parent Talks
Additionally, we are offering a range of short parent talks for parents to attend. These will take place between 8.30am and 9am, straight after Family Friday, and will consist of a short talk followed by an opportunity to ask related questions. The talks will be repeated in both halves of the term, and you may attend even if your daughter’s year group do not have Family Friday. The programme for this academic year is shown below:
• Benefits of ‘Outdoor Learning’
Autumn Term
(Friday 13 October and Friday 8 December)
Spring Term
(Friday 9 February and Friday 22 March)
Summer Term
(Friday 24 May and Friday 21 June)
• Building Resilience and Learning Through Failure
• Supporting Spelling
• Developing Independence
• Using devices to complement learning
• Developing a Curious Mind
• Negotiating Friendships
• Building strong mental health and coping strategies
• Written Methods in Maths
• Oracy in the Junior School
Please use this form to indicate if you wish to attend this term. The form will remain open until Monday 9 October at 12pm.
St Catherine Parents' Guild Fireworks Extravaganza
YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED
RAINBOW TO
Year 1 toYear 6
Parents’Evenings
Parents of girls in Years 1 to 6 are invited to make an appointment to meet with their daughter’s class teacher to discuss progress and how they have settled into their new year groups on Thursday 2 November or Wednesday 8 November, between 4pm and 8pm. Class Teacher appointments are available for everyone and will be 10 minutes long. If your daughter is in Years 3, 5 or 6, you will also have the opportunity to make a 5 minute appointment with her specialist subjects teachers, with the exception of languages teachers for Years 5 and 6. Instead, appointments for these teachers will be available during the parents’ evenings in the Summer Term. All appointments will take place in person in the Dining Hall.
Booking appointments
We will be using an online booking system, which allows parents to select their own appointment time. This can be accessed via this link or through the parent portal on Firefly, clicking the ‘Parents’ Evening System’ button. When logging in you will need to provide your full name as per our records, your child’s full name (no nicknames or shortened names) and their class. When you type in your child’s class you must leave a space between the number and words (1 Purple or 5 Aesc). The online booking system will open at 8pm on Monday 2 October and will close at midday on Monday 9 October. After this deadline you will not be able to create or amend appointments online.
If you have any queries, please contact Mrs Karaolou in the Junior School office on 0208 266 2425.
Appointments with Mrs Summers
Additionally Mrs Summers, who leads our Individual Needs department, will be available for face to face appointments during the parents' evening on Wednesday 8 November or during the school day on Monday 6 November or Tuesday 7 November. Mrs Summers is a teacher with specialist qualifications in supporting pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties and is happy to meet parents of students in all year groups who have any concerns or questions about strategies for supporting their children. If you would like to make an appointment with Mrs Summers, please call Mrs Karaolou in the Junior School office on 0208 266 2425.
Rainbow
Rainbow Parent Meetings
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We are looking forward to welcoming Rainbow parents into school next week for the appointments with your daughter’s class teacher to discuss how they have settled in. Each appointment will be 10 minutes long and these will take place in Year 1 classrooms and your child’s Rainbow classroom will also be open for you to view.
Please arrive via the Junior School reception, where you will be signed in by a member of staff. Please make childcare arrangements so that parents attend without their children. There will be no supervision facilities for pupils outside the Wraparound Care provision.
The online booking system is now closed so if you need to make any amendment or have any queries, please contact Mrs Karaolou in the Junior School office on 0208 266 2425.
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
Important Reminder
To help us with our lunchtimes here at school, we ask that you encourage your child to use a knife and fork during mealtimes at home.
Mrs Prendergast has also asked us to remind all parents/guardians to remove their child’s earrings prior to coming to school on P.E days. This is for health and safety reasons. If the earrings are caught by accident during a P.E lesson, they could cause significant damage to your child and others around them.
Rainbow
RainbowAutumn Term Family Friday
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We would like to invite you to join your child in their classroom for our ‘Family Friday’. This will be an opportunity for you to spend some time with your child when they can share some of their work with you and show you around their classroom. You may choose to attend for the full half hour or for just part of this time and we please ask for only one parent to attend per pupil.
We will be running ‘Family Friday’ for Rainbow twice every half-term, creating an opportunity for you to attend at your convenience.
The dates for the Autumn Term are as follows:
•Friday 13 October 2023 - 8am to 8.30am
•Friday 10 November 2023 - 3pm to 3.30pm
•Friday 8 December 2023 - 8am to 8.30am
Please note that on Friday 10 November, you will be able to take your child home from the classroom. On Friday 13 October and Friday 8 December, there will be the opportunity for you to sign up to a variety of teacher-led workshops that will run from 8.30am to 9am. Please use the form on Page 7 to express your intention to attend.
In line with our safeguarding policy, taking of photos or filming is not be permitted during the ‘Family Friday’ sessions.
We hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to spend some time with your child and enjoy their learning environment.
Year 1
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service
Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
Year 2
Rainbow to Year 2 Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read important communication about the Little Habs Chaperoned Minibus Service Trial.
Year 2 Joint Choir
It has been wonderful to see the girls and boys singing together on Mondays after school and they have been learning Kye Kye Kule, a West African folk song. The Year 2 Joint Choir have been invited to sing at the Prep School Harvest Festival on Tuesday 10 October between 3pm and 4pm. As the event ends outside of the school day for our Year 2 girls, please use this form to indicate whether you would be happy for your daughter to attend, together with her pick up arrangements for this day. If your child is part of the choir and you would like to attend, you may book tickets via this link
Please complete this form by 12pm on Wednesday 4 October.
Year 3
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
No Morning Chess – Wednesday 4 October
REMINDER
Further to the information in the Year 3 ACE brochure, parents are reminded that there is no Year 3 morning chess next week, Wednesday 4 October. Please be reminded that pupils should not arrive at school before 8am unless they are attending breakfast club.
Habs Library Online
The Junior School library has some exciting and valuable online resources to help pupils with their learning and encourage their reading for pleasure. Click this link to read more.
Year 4
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
Habs Library Online
The Junior School library has some exciting and valuable online resources to help pupils with their learning and encourage their reading for pleasure. Click this link to read more.
Year 5
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
Habs Library Online
The Junior School library has some exciting and valuable online resources to help pupils with their learning and encourage their reading for pleasure. Click this link to read more.
Shirt request for D.T. lessons
After half term, in D.T., the girls will be completing an upcycling project - making a bag from a man’s button down shirt (short or long sleeved). Please could you supply your daughter with a shirt that is no longer required and send it to school in a named bag by Wednesday 1 November or sooner. If you are unable to get hold of anything suitable, please email Miss Galvin (egalvin@habsgirls.org.uk).
Swim Squad
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Swim Squad will not be taking place on Thursday 5 October, Thursday 9 November and Thursday 23 November. Some members of swim squad may be required for swimming galas on those dates. If your daughter is invited to participate in these galas, you will be contacted via Evolve.
Year 6
Transport Update
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please click here to read a letter regarding important updates for this academic year.
Habs Library Online
The Junior School library has some exciting and valuable online resources to help pupils with their learning and encourage their reading for pleasure. Click this link to read more.
Swim Squad
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Swim Squad will not be taking place on Thursday 5 October, Thursday 9 November and Thursday 23 November. Some members of swim squad may be required for swimming galas on those dates. If your daughter is invited to participate in these galas, you will be contacted via Evolve.
Scholarships for Lower 4 entry in September 2024
The Admissions Department would like to let you know about the range of scholarships that we offer those pupils entering Lower 4 from our Junior School; these are also offered to those externally applying at 11+. The Habs Scholarship programme embodies our spirit of ambition, challenge and achievement. Habs scholars are an innate part of our senior school community embodying, demonstrating and championing our school values of Ambition, Courage, Curiosity and Community. Please click here for more information.
JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS FIXTURES
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER Year 6 Netball Match vs Berkhamsted (Away) 1.30pm to 4.30pm
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER
Division 10 Swimming Gala (Home at Habs Boys) (Years 4, 5 and 6) 3.30pm to 5.45pm
SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER Year 6 Netball Tournament (Away, NLCS) 8.30am to 2pm (approximate times)
WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER Year 6 Netball Match vs STAHS (Home at Habs Girls) 3.30pm to 4.30pm
JUNIOR CALENDAR DATES
TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER
Rainbow Parents Evening 1
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER
Rainbow Parents Evening 2 No Swim Squad
FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER
Family Friday Parent Talks
Family Friday - Rainbow, Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5
MONDAY 16 OCTOBER TO FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER
Half Term
WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER
Year 2 Great Fire of London Workshop
THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER
Year 1 to Year 6 Parents’ Evening 1
FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER
Year 5 River Study Visit
SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER Parents’ Guild Fireworks
WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER
Year 1 to Year 6 Parents’ Evening 2
THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER Outgrown Uniform Sale No Swim Squad
The dates above cover the next four school weeks, if you require further information beyond this time frame, please refer to the school calendar on Firefly.