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Friday 21st November 2025

Dear Families,

I have had the pleasure of teaching Year 6 on several occasions this week, and each time I was struck by their overwhelmingly positive attitude toward learning. This was especially evident as they marked their homework collaboratively—confidently challenging each other’s ideas, explaining their reasoning, and justifying their solutions.

A particular highlight was listening to a lively and thoughtful debate about what constitutes a simile and how it differs from a metaphor. Their enthusiasm and curiosity is inspiring.

Schönes Wochenende!

Patrick 

Key messages:

Clubs Payment Deadline: Please note that all accounts must be paid in full by 5 December 2025. Kindly log in to your account and navigate to Outstanding Payments to review your balance and make your payment.

SEND Coffee Morning: please note, there will be an SEND Coffee morning at 9:00am - 9:45am on Tuesday, 2nd December. This will be an opportunity for those who have not yet met Ms Beverley in person, to meet her. During the meeting, Beverley will also discuss some of the SEND procedures at JKPS. 

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National Tree Week

To celebrate National Tree Week (24th November) Eco Council and Wellbeing Warriors teamed up for a tree walk to Sunray Gardens​.  We met Paul and Jeff who are local tree experts helping look after the trees around Herne Hill.

We learnt lots about different trees such as the differences between London Plane Trees, Ash trees, conifer trees and many more!

Here's some fun tree facts we learnt from Paul and Jeff. 

  • London Plane trees had magic bark, it sucks up all the pollution in the air and then the bark falls off and the tree grows fresh bark, WOW!

  • We measured around a tree to find out how old it was.​ Some trees can grow 2cm wide each year​. Take the total cm and divide by two to find how old it is, this tree was 245 years. old!!

  • Conifer trees are an example of evergreen trees.

A big shout out to Celeste who introduced us to Paul and Jeff. Happy National Tree Week!

In other Eco-related news: 

Following on from last week’s fantastic appearance by the school’s Eco Council at Southwark Council and more than five years of concerted effort by the school community, this week finally saw some good news! The Council has launched a consultation for changes to the zebra crossing and pavement outside the school on Half Moon Lane. The proposals include widening the pavement on the school side and raising the zebra crossing to slow traffic down. Please have a look and respond to the consultation and let’s make the journey to school safer for everyone. Respond by 9th December here: https://engage.southwark.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/half-moon-crossing

Year 1 visit to London Transport Museum

Year 1 travelled to the London Transport Museum (by bus of course!) to learn about how buses have changed over time. We had an interactive workshop where we met Joe Clough, the first Caribbean bus driver in London who helped transport the soldiers to hospital during World War One. He told us how he

helped change history for the better. He also told us about how women fought to be bus drivers and were only allowed in 1974!​ We also got to explore the history of London tubes! 

A big shout out to the wonderful parents and carers who volunteered on the trip!

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Year 6 visit to Black Cultural Archives

Y6 enjoyed an inspiring trip to the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton as part of our Windrush Journeys workshop. We took part in a range of comprehension activities and explored fascinating artefacts and timelines that brought the history to life. Through discussion and discovery, they learnt about the remarkable contributions of influential individuals such as Claudia Jones, who was responsible for creating the West Indian gazette (the first recorded black newspaper in the UK) which was sold in cultural hub of Brixton. It was a powerful and engaging day that deepened our understanding of Windrush history and its lasting impact on our community.

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What's happening in school 

A massive thank you to Django and Bodhi's mum Anita, and Kiaan's mum Anita, who treated Years 2 and 4 today, telling them all about the festival of Diwali. They listened to the stories, learnt how other religions and areas celebrate, and even took part in a dance!  

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Enjoy these beautiful Year 3 poems inspired by their Literacy Tree text - The Tear Thief. Well done to all the Year 3's for their wonderful creative writing this week. 

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This week Year 2, 3 and 4 welcomed Susannah Lloyd to talk about her Badgers Are Go books. She told us all about where badgers might be lurking in real life and how to spot an adult who may be secretly badger operated. The children even had the chance to dress up as clever secret agent badgers or dastardly devious moles. If you didn't get a chance to buy a copy please contact Paper Cat Bookshop. 

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Attendance

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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.  

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Friends Corner

Friends of JKPS – Festive News & Updates!

We hope everyone who was able to join us had a wonderful time at last Friday’s St Martin celebration—despite the less-than-ideal weather! A big thank you to Paula and the team for organising such a lovely event and all families who contributed to the coat drive—your generosity makes a real difference.

This week, it’s all about the countdown to Christmas! The Friends are busy preparing for St Nikolaus and the festive season—but as always, we’d love your help to make it extra special.

St Nikolaus Fair

🗓 Saturday 6th December 2025, 1–5pm

For the latest details of the day’s programme, please check the FoJKPS notice board.

Volunteers

Events like this don’t run themselves! Whether it’s serving mulled wine, making waffles, or preparing batter the day before the fair if you can’t attend, we still need your help. Sign up here: https://legacy.signup.zone/7nLxzwbToB8JADEWx

Pedder Boards

🎉 A huge thank you to our amazing parent community! We’re delighted to share that we’ve reached—and may even have exceeded—our target of 66 boards.

Raffle

🎁 One last call for raffle prizes! If you—or anyone you know—can contribute, please get in touch at fojkps@gmail.com.

🎟 Ticket sales go live next week, and we already have some fantastic prizes to be won. A huge thank you to the local businesses who have supported the Friends so far!

Market Stalls

We’re excited to welcome external stall holders this year! If you, your friends, or your children would like to have a stall, please get in touch at fojkps@gmail.com.

Music

🎶 2:30–3:00pm – Carol Sing-Along: Join our adult singers for a festive sing-along with a warming glass of mulled wine—everyone’s welcome!

🎶 3:15–3:45pm –Come and cheer on our Choir Club children as they sing the festive songs they’ve been working on this term. If your child is in Choir Club, please confirm their availability by signing up here:https://legacy.signup.zone/7nLxzwbToB8JADEWx

🎶 4:00–5:00pm – Special Performance by Pete Savizon, Y6 parent 

Christmas Trees, Wreath Workshop & Tea Towels

🎄 Christmas Trees: Order by 29 November 10pm.  Our trees are great value—e.g., a 5ft tree from FoJKPS is £45 vs £68 at Pines & Needles in Brockwell Park.

Don’t miss out - Order here: https://www.fojkps.org/shop/p/christmas-trees-2025-ssafn

🌿 Christmas Wreath Workshop: Step into the festive season with our Christmas Wreath-Making Workshop. Enjoy festive drinks and snacks  mince pies and classic Christmas tunes as you create your own beautiful wreath and soak up the festive spirit. Only 10 spots left and feel free to share with your frineds and neighbours. —book now: https://www.fojkps.org/shop/p/christmas-wreath-workshop

🖼 JKPS Year Group Tea Towels: Pre-order your festive keepsake for £7! Perfect as a Christmas gift. Buy 3+ and get 15% off with code TTSAVE15%. Order by 27th Nov: https://www.fojkps.org/shop

🎄 Donate Your Christmas Jumpers & Pick Up a New One!

Bring your pre-loved Christmas jumpers to our Christmas Jumper Stall at the St Nikolaus Fair and find a festive new favourite! Please leave donations of school uniform and jumpers with Jodie at the reception desk.

Forward Look

• w/c 17th Nov: Tea towel sales open

• Fri 28th Nov: Gingerbread House Workshop (sold out)

• Sat 29th Nov: Gingerbread House Workshop (sold out)

• Sat 29th Nov: Gardening Day

• Fri 5th Dec: Wreath Making

• Sat 6th Dec, 1–5pm: Christmas Trees & Sankt Nikolaus Tag Winter Fair

• Date TBD (after Christmas): Secondhand Ski Clothes Sale

• 19–24 Jan: German Week

• 23 Jan: Kaffee & Kuchen Pop-up

📅 Dates & Events: Check out all upcoming events here: https://www.fojkps.org/events

Key Dates

Key dates coming up:

Y1 Anthem Writing Moderations                                            Monday 24th November

Y2 Anthem Writing Moderations                                      Wednesday 26th November

Anti-Racism: The Power of Unity & Solidarity for Years 5 & 6 - 26th/27th November

Anti-Racism: Racial Identity Awareness workshops for parents/carers - 9:15am 3rd December 

Rock Steady Concerts   Wednesday 10th (am/pm), Thursday 11th December (am)

NEST Parent coffee morning - Mental Health Toolkits: Everday habits for your and your child - 9am Monday 8th December

The NEST pupil workshops - Growing healthy relationships through conflict and connection - Monday 8th December 

EYFS Christmas Performances -

9:30am Reception/ 2:30pm Nursery                                         Tuesday 9th December

KS1 Christmas Production                                                        Tuesday 16th December

Winter Wonderland Morning                                                      Friday 19th December 

Autumn Term ends                                                        2pm Friday 19th December

More term dates are on our website. 

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