January 2025 Newsletter

This month, ask your child:

• What is your new spring topic? Is it science, history or geography-led? What do you already know and what do you want to find out?
• What have you learnt about in assemblies? What do you know about the New Year, clean air and our theme this term: what type of community do we want to be part of?
• Which Life Skills are you learning about this month? What do you know about self-belief, honesty, courage and resilience?
• What can we spot in nature this January? Some starting points are deciduous trees, fallen leaves that shelter animals, and the first signs of spring including snowdrops, blossom and crocuses.
• Which birds might we spot in the Big Garden Bird Watch? Why not take part for 1 hour between 24th and 26th January, spotting birds in your local area. You don’t even need a garden!
• Can you challenge yourself to learn a poem by heart? Which poems are your favourite? Poetry by Heart launches for the Juniors this month.

Message from the Heads

Dear Parents and Carers,

The children have made such a positive start to this cold but (as of tomorrow) bright week! Every class has eagerly dived into their new topics, and the school feels busy, happy, and full of energy. Please take time to read the Curriculum Letters from your children’s teachers, which will be published on Friday, as they provide valuable information about what each class will be learning, along with advance notice of trips and visitors. We always welcome parent involvement on trips and love to have visitors with special skills to share—do let your child’s class teacher know if you can support our learning in this way.

Our Spring Topics

• Nursery - Traditional Tales and Colour, Light & Pattern 
• Reception - Traditional Tales and Kings & Queens
• Year 1 - Changes and Changemakers
• Year 2 - The Victorians
• Year 3 - Forces of Nature
• Year 4 - Robots and Inventions
• Year 5 - The Human Body
• Year 6 - World War II

If you were able to come to our wonderful Winter Concert, you will have heard us share the astonishing news that we were able to raise over £8,500 at the Winter Fair, and this was down to every single contribution of time, energy and money you gave, led by our wonderful PTA Chairs and Treasurer. Please know that without the continuation of school fundraising events like this, experiences such as our residentials, trips and participation in the arts and sport above and beyond the National Curriculum, and continuing to develop our school environment, will soon become impossible. Knowing that our whole community values this for every child drives us on! Bingo is our next event so make sure 30th January is in your diaries!

Sports Clubs before and after school start for Year 1-6 starting next week. Please sign up your child/children using the google forms shared at the end of term, or contact the office if you would like to receive these again. As outlined in the letter shared with these forms, we are asking for a contribution of £10 towards the cost of these clubs each half term paid in advance.

This term is shorter than the autumn term, however it’s a crucial time when children build on their learning, gain confidence, and can make huge progress. Our teachers are already preparing for Parent Meetings at the end of March, when they will share your child’s Progress Report. We hope you will support us in celebrating how far your children have come and in working on their next steps, together.

One of the best ways to support your child’s progress is by ensuring they are ready for school each day—arriving on time and making the most of the 8:45am soft start for extra learning. Attendance remains a key national focus, with growing evidence of the life-changing impact regular attendance has on children’s education. We’re also reinforcing hand hygiene at school to help keep everyone safe and healthy, especially with seasonal bugs circulating—please continue this at home too! While attendance at EP is excellent for most children, we’re always looking for ways to support families in improving it further. We’ve attached information about the importance of attendance, punctuality, and their positive impact on your child’s learning. Don’t forget to celebrate your child’s success if they earn one of our weekly 100% attendance stickers!

Looking further ahead, the annual EP Egg Race on 4th April is something to look forward to! This much-loved tradition encourages children to work together or independently to create an Egg-mobile that can carry a boiled egg across the hall. It’s a great opportunity for them to be creative and collaborative. More details and rules will follow soon!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support in ensuring EP remains a place where children are ready, respectful, and safe, and where they can thrive in their learning.

Best wishes,
Natalie Stevenson and Sally Hill.

Key Information and dates for your diary

Free meals extension and funding

This year children in Reception to Year 6 continue to receive a free school lunch until the middle of 2025, ensuring that children can have a free nutritious meal in school every day. Even though your child is receiving free meals automatically, if you receive certain benefits it is still vitally important that you register for Free School Meals, as the Government provides additional funding to schools for all eligible children. This means additional funding for us to support extracurricular activities, to subsidise trips for your child, including 50% off your cost for residential trips. It will also ensure that you have access to other benefits such as food vouchers and free childcare and activities through HAF schemes. https://youngcamdenfoundation.org.uk/haf

Please apply through this link for Free School Meal funding

https://accountforms.camden.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals/

Reminder to apply for Nursery 2025

We are welcoming applications to our Nursery for September 2025. The deadline for application is the end of February. Please don't forget to apply - we need you to fill in the form, even as a sibling! Please also spread the word locally to apply to our Ofsted Outstanding Nursery - the intake is for children born between 1/9/21-31/8/22. Ask any interested friends and family to contact Tania@eleanorpalmer.camden.sch.uk for more information.

Spring Term Friday Snack Sales

Thank you for your support in Friday Snack Sales. These little events contribute over £2000 a year to vital fundraising! Dates for your class to host this term are:

• Year 6 - 17 January
• Year 5 - 24 January
• Year 4 - 31 January
• Year 3 - 7 February
• Year 2 - 28 February
• Year 1 - 7 March
• Reception - 14 March
• Nursery - 28 March

Term Dates

Term dates for 2025-2026 are at the end of this newsletter. A reminder that there is no authorised holiday outside of term time and that, in line with national guidance, fixed penalty fines may be issued for unauthorised absence.

Spring Term

• Thursday Jan 30 - Bingo Night!
• Friday 31 January - Stay & Play
• 17 - 21 February - Half Term
• Monday 24 February - Staff INSET day
• Friday 28 February - Stay & Play
• Thursday 6 March - World Book Day - children can dress up as their favourite book character
• Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March - Parent Progress Meetings
• Friday 4 April - Egg Race and last day of term ending 3:30pm
• Spring Holiday - Monday 7 - 18 April plus Bank Holiday Monday 21 April

Summer Term

• Monday 5 May - Bank Holiday
• May 12-15 Year 6 SATs tests
• Half term Monday 26 May - Friday 30 May
• Monday 2 June - INSET day
• Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 July Parent Progress Meetings
• Friday 4 July - Nursery Sports Day
• Tuesday 8 July Sports Day Rec -Year 6
• Friday 18th July - Last day of term ending 1:30pm

ELEANOR PALMER PRIMARY SCHOOL

             TERM DATES 2025-26

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