1. education
2. school

‘In all things love.’
Newsletter No. 7
19th December 2014
Reminders!
House points!
St
Augustine’s
913
Diary dates
Please check the monthly
calendars now available on
the school website under the
“Events” tab for details of
future dates!
Calendars are on for the rest
of the academic year—but
are subject to change.
Fri, 19th Dec—End of Term 2
Sat, 20th Dec—Carol Concert
at 2pm at Our Lady of Good
Counsel—all welcome
Monday, 5th January 2015—
INSET Day—school closed to
pupils
Tuesday, 6th January 2015—
First Day of Term 3
Friday, 9th January 2015—
Mass at 9am—all welcome
St
Ethelbert's
1036
St
Mildred’s
972
St Thomas
Becket’s
818
Dear Parents/Carers,
And breathe…….! This is always the busiest time of year but also the most special in many ways. Thank you for
coming along to our many events which I hope you’ve enjoyed as much as we have. The children have been a
real credit to you in their Christmas performances with everything from solo singing to kazoos. After all their
hard work I think they are very tired now and so it is over to you until Tuesday 6 th January.
We really appreciate your generosity in the collections we’ve had over the last couple of weeks. We raised over
£500 pound for the Pilgrim’s Hospice, and well over £100 for the CAFOD Ebola appeal. A great achievement all
round so thank you very much. Thanks as ever to the ladies and gents from FoSA who spent quite a few evenings
in December wrapping presents for the Christmas Fair. Father Christmas took a break from his toy making
schedule to attend in person. Thank you Father Christmas – you are a REAL hero!
Thank you to all the parents and children who came along to take part in the Christmas mass last Sunday. The
congregation were really thrilled to see the children looking so smart in the uniforms.
Communications—We do try hard to take on board your views and whilst we normally have lots of positive
feedback there are always niggles as no school is ever perfect. One thing that we are trying hard to improve is
our ability to communicate effectively with you. Many of you asked if it would be possible for us to email messages and letters so that we don’t have to rely on the school bag route, which
is often found wanting. You may be aware that we have commissioned a system that enables us to send emails to all parents at a few clicks of a button
(once the email addresses have been typed into it). Both Mrs Knight and I have
undergone a day’s training for this system and we hope very much you will
find that it really improves your view of school communications. All we need
from you is your UP TO DATE email addresses. We received quite a few after
last week’s request but we are still missing a good number. If you are not sure
whether or not you’ve given it to us then there is an easy way of checking. If
you haven’t had an email of this letter, either we haven’t got your email address or your spam filter has been working very efficiently! So, our communications now involve all of the following; letters sent by paper copy and email,
texts alerting you that letters have been sent, letters also put on the website,
diary dates all in the ‘events’ / ‘diary’ section of the website. The website is
updated weekly. Hopefully, one or all of these methods will suit you.
Have a lovely, peaceful Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.
The Holy Child was born among us in great
poverty. He must inspire us to love poor people
more and more, because He called them first to
be near Him. The shepherds were poor people.
Saint Luigi Orione
Yours faithfully,
Mr McConnell and all the staff at St. Augustine’s.
Congratulations! Platinums
Don't miss the M&S Your School Uniform January Sale !
30% off everything on the M&S Your School Uniform website!*
Starts January 2nd 2015. Ends January 15th 2015.
Please pass this on to all your parents to ensure everyone benefits from this fantastic promotion! Simply go on to www.mandsyourschooluniform.com
from January 2nd and the 30% discount will be automatically applied to all
shopping.
Happy Christmas and a Smart New Year !
The M&S Your School Uniform Team
Year R—Florence H, Ethan E, Viola M, Ella A, Oliver N
Year 1—Rosie D, Dylan L, Poppy B, Suki L, Liam B, Alex H, George
G,
Year 2—Louis B, Bethany H(2), Ayla T, Henry W, Isaac B (2), Klara S
(2), Ourania T, Chloe M,
Year 3—Daniel G, Norman B(3), Finn M(2), Poppy D, Orla T, Jasmine A, Max T (2), Connor A (2), Leo C, Grace H, Ella H, Ellen B,
Lily B, Ella G(2), Piers H, Oscar L, Gracie B (2), Amelie H, Roisin K,
Year 4—Isla C, Rhett G, Mya E, Joshua S,
Year 5— Daniel C(3), Lucy B (3), Sofia H, Marley H(2) Fay B (2),
Wiktoria B, Lola G, Louis B, Olivia C, Ellen S, Matthew H, Joe A,
Kieran L, Kiera M, Jake S, Jack P
Year 6—Louis B, Poppy M, Maddie S, Joshua B, Max L, Ollie W,
Phoebe C, Thomas C,
St Augu stin e's RC P Schoo l, S t John ’s Road, Hythe , Ken t, CT21 4 BE
T el : 01303 266578 Fax : 01303 237 706
E ma il : head teach er@ st -augu stin es -hy the. kent .sch .uk
Reading
Do keep up the home reading please folks. As I have often said
this is the single most important thing you can do to ensure your
child makes good progress at school. Some children are reluctant to read to their parents, but if this is the case you can still
read to them and enjoy a really nice book before bedtime. Arguably they benefit just as much. It’s all about enjoying the experience of reading, in order to promote good reading habits.
Christmas Dinner
The children had a lovely Christmas dinner on Wednesday;
school roast potatoes, stuffing, turkey, carrots, peas, chippolata’s. As our friend Greg Wallace would say, ‘A great big hug on a
plate’.
We had 205 Christmas crackers courtesy of our friends from
FoSA – the best joke was…
Question : What do you call a train filled with toffee?
Answer: A chew chew.
Attendance.
We have sent an envelope in your child’s book bag which contains
their attendance record. There has been a fair amount of sickness
this term which sometimes happens. We often explain and
demonstrate to the children the importance of regular hand washing, especially after they have used the toilet and before they eat.
Any encouragement you could give them would be a real help .
Thank you
I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you
to all the dedicated staff and governors at St. Augustine’s who
always go the extra mile for the good of your children. I always
feel very lucky to be part of such a great team.
FoSA
Please check the FoSA tab on the school website for details of lots of events and forthcoming
activities
The Friends made approximately £800 at the
Christmas Fair and so a big thank you to everyone for making the day a big success.
Final details to follow in the New Year.
School Uniform
You will notice that we have included a reference to Marks and
Spencers sale - 30% off school clothing until the middle of January.
Christmas is such an expensive time that I doubt school uniform is
top of most parents shopping list but we thought it was worth a
mention. One thing that many parents say is that they feel school
uniform and the smartness of the children is really important. If
you could help in this regard by making sure the children have
their shirts tucked in, their top buttons done up and their ties
neatly pulled up it would be a great help. I do appreciate that this
can be difficult at 7.30 in the morning with all the pressures of
modern life but anything you could do would be appreciated.
SEPTEMBER 2015 ADMISSIONS
If you have a child, or know of someone who is due to
start Primary School in September 2015, please remind
them that all applications need to be made online by
Thursday, 15th January 2015. A school Supplementary
Information Form must also be completed by that date.
You must submit one application per child, even if they
already have a sibling at that school.
FluSCGIK