{item_alt_tag}

 

Friday 12th September 2025

Dear Families,

We escaped the rain this afternoon and managed to gather the whole school to welcome our new Reception children with our annual Schultüte Parade—and they looked fabulous! Willkommen!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Curriculum Overview meetings this week. In case you weren't able to attend, the slides for each of the meetings are available here.

Picking up from my newsletter at the end of last term, I am pleased to announce some of the work we will be doing as a school to strengthen our stand against racism, in collaboration with Embrace. Over the coming months and into the new year, we will be offering workshops, assemblies, and focus groups for children, families, and staff to help us build a confident anti-racist culture across our school and community. Please see some of the initial dates and activities at the end of this newsletter.

Schönes Wochenende!

Patrick 

Key messages:

Reception Curriculum meeting will be at 9am on Monday, 15th September.

Punctuality: our school gates open at 8:35am. Please aim to ensure that your child is in school by 8:50am. After this time, we will close the side doors and they will need to come in through the office. After 9am, they will be registered as late. 

Lost property: ensure all personal items that the children bring into school are clearly labelled so that we can return them in case they get lost. Lost property items are currently being left on the shelves to the left of the office.

Snacks: children in KS1 and KS2 are encouraged to bring in a snack for breaktime. Ensure that all snacks are healthy, use minimal packaging and don't contain nuts or sesame seeds.  

{item_alt_tag}

What's happening in school 

Year 4 have started their new exciting unit into the history of Brixton. They looked at maps of Brixton from 1745 to modern day and discussed how much had changed in that time, especially after the railway came. 

{item_alt_tag}

Maths Fluency

This week's teacher training was focused on Maths Fluency. Over the next weeks, we will be adopting a new scheme to run parallel with WhiteRose maths, purely focused on fluency in maths. Fluency is an essential component of maths mastery and holds the key to becoming a confident and efficient mathematician.  

Learn more about maths fluency here.

{item_alt_tag}

Attendance

{item_alt_tag}

School attendance is mandatory for all students of compulsory school age. Whilst we understand that it isn't always possible to reach 100% attendance, we are fully committed to ensuring the highest levels of attendance to ensure we enable every student to meet their potential.  

{item_alt_tag}

Screen-time, screens and devices

Mobile Phones

Please note: we do not allow children to use mobile phones or smartwatches (connected to the internet) in school, or to bring them into the classroom.

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils are permitted to bring a mobile phone to school on certain occasions, such as when they are travelling to school independently. However, all mobile phones and smartwatch devices must be handed into the Office upon arrival, where they will be placed in a secure box. They must be switched off and clearly labelled. You can view further details about our mobile phone policy here.

For families whose children are using smart devices at home, we strongly recommend regularly updating parental controls. Children are increasingly tech-savvy, so please do seek guidance if you are unsure. Useful resources can be found here: Use Parental Controls to Keep Your Child Safe | NSPCC

Safe internet access is also a regular and embedded aspect of our school curriculum, and it is covered specifically within the PSHE and Computing programmes.

If you’re concerned about children’s use of smartphones, you can join the JKPS parents' Smartphone Cautious WhatsApp group here. Many JKPS parents/carers have also signed the Smartphone Free Childhood parent pact, committing to delaying getting a smartphone for their child until they are least 14. We are looking to engage with this topic further this year, more details on a parent talk coming soon. 

Screen Time

While screens and multimedia can be valuable resources for learning, we are very conscious of limiting the use of videos in lessons and at other times during the school day. Some parents have also expressed concerns about children’s exposure to adverts shown before learning clips. We would like to reassure you that we are in discussion with our IT team to ensure that this does not occur during learning time or at any other point in the school day.

Friends Corner

🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪 🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪 🌳
This week’s Friends’ Corner is Oktoberfest central. The preparations are going well as we head into the final week.
  • Pre-sales - get your tokens in advanced pay £5 and get £6 and avoid the queues. Either at drop off every morning next week or online: https://www.fojkps.org/shop/p/oktoberfest2024-tokens-25xz4
  • Frühstück (breakfast) - a way to relax the morning after the big event. Traditional Weißwurst and veggie options available, order here (limited meals available on the day, pre-order to avoid disappointment): https://www.fojkps.org/shop/p/oktoberfest-weisswurstfruhstuck
  • Share the event - please share information about Oktoberfest and Weißwurstfrühstück on your local groups, including any nursery groups and street groups. Also follow and share on instagram @hernehill_oktoberfest 
  • Volunteers - a massive thank you to everyone who has signed up. There are still gaps on the cash desk and food stall. We ask every family to do something to contribute to the biggest fundraiser of the year, either baking, making a salad or doing a shift: https://legacy.signup.zone/F8udMHsBYkRHWKk7g
🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪 🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪🌳🥨🌭🍻🇩🇪 🌳
Forward Look:
  • 🏮 Friday 14th November - St Martin's Lantern Festival
  • 🎄Friday 5th December - Wreath Making
  • 🧑‍🎄Saturday 6th December - Christmas Trees and St Nikolas Tag Winter Fair

Key Dates

Key dates coming up:

Reception Currciulum Meeting                                      9am Monday 15th September

Reception Schultüte Parade                                              3pm Friday 12th September

Oktoberfest!                                                                             Saturday 20th September

Year 6 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                     Thursday 25th October

Black History Month: 1st - 31st October

Parent/Carer Teacher Meetings             1:30pm - 7pm Wednesday, 1st October

Year 2 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                      Thursday 2nd October

Anti-Racism: Understanding our differences (whole school assembly led by Embrace) - Tuesday 7th October 

Year 5 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                   Wednesday 8th October

Anti-Racism: Amplifying Voices Focus Group 1     Thursday 9th October (invites to be shared next week)

Anti-Racism: Amplifying Voices Focus Group 2 - date TBC

Year 1 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                      Thursday 9th October

Year 3 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                     Thursday 15th October

Year 4 Trips to Dulwich Picture Gallery                                    Thursday 22nd October

Half Term   Monday 27th October - Friday 31st October                                             

Year 6 Bikeability - KH Class                                                             w/c 3rd November  

Anti-Racism: Self Esteem & Belonging Workshop for Years 3 & 4  - date TBC

Anti-Racism: The Power of Unity & Solidarity for Years 5 & 6 - date TBC

Anti-Racism: Racial Identity Awareness - workshops for parents/carers, staff and children - dates TBC

Sankt Martin Parade                                                      4:30pm Friday 14th November

Year 6 Trip To Black Cultural Archives                                   Monday 17th November

Year 1 visit to London Transport Museum                      Wednesday 19th November

EYFS Christmas Performance                                                    Tuesday 9th December

KS1 Christmas Production                                                        Tuesday 16th December

Winter Wonderland Morning                                                      Friday 19th December 

Autumn Term ends                                                          2pm Friday 19th December

{item_alt_tag}