Whole School Newsletter Week 7 2025

This week ask your child about…

- Their favourite thing about a trip or residential they’ve been on

- A time they have been brave and shown courage like the amazing changemakers of the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963.

EP Highlights

At EP, we are always looking for ways to improve and enrich children’s experiences at school and in learning. This year we have made a change to our Year 5 residential trip, with a three day visit to Gilwell Park in Waltham Abbey. It has been a trip full of exploration, co-operation and adventure, and as children return home today they will bring back wonderful stories and memories to share. Do take a look at the website to see everything they have been up to!

Thank you for supporting the Book Fair this week - every book you bought for your child helps towards more books for our library. Special thanks to EP Year 6 librarians Nuriya, Ada, Makeda, Bilan Maya, Weijia, Maia and Rafa for their persuasive bookselling!

We were delighted that so many of your gave your time, feedback and input at the EP School Association AGM yesterday. We shared the school’s financial position and the increasing importance of fundraising to keep our provision exceptional.

We outlined our projected deficit for this year. In order to address this, we have the PTA Committee’s fundraising events - such as the forthcoming Disco - and the Development Committee, which complements the PTA Committee by planning longer term strategic fundraising, including Keep it EP- a way to show support by setting up a regular direct debit, however small. Please sign up to Keep it EP here More details from the AGM later in this newsletter

Coming up Next Week

Monday

8-8:50 Year 5 & 6 Dodgeball Club
3:30-4:30 Junior Football Development Club

Tuesday

8-8:50 Y1 & 2 Multi-Sports Club
3:30-4:30 Football Squad training

Wednesday

8-8:50 Dawn Chorus Junior Choir
Year 1 Mad about Maps Workshop on the Heath
Platform Cricket working with a group from Year 3 and 4

Thursday

8-8:45 Year 3 and 4 Dodgeball Club

Disco 6-8pm!

Friday

Harvest Collection at drop-off
8-8:50 Junior Girls’ Multi-Sports Club
3:30-4:30 Y2-6 Gymnastics

Autumn Term Reminders and Notes:

EP Disco - next Thursday 23rd October

Take to the dancefloor next Thursday at the Disco from 6-8pm. Entry is adults £2/children £1. There will be a paying bar, food, photobooth and spooky glamour! Please contact your class reps to get involved. Help need to set-up and tidy at the end too.

Children need to be collected from Club EP before joining the Disco. A reminder that children should not have phones in school (including siblings/ex-pupils) and that parents or accompanying adults are responsible for their children whilst enjoying the fun.

Parents Evening Bookings though Arbor

We have our first Parent and Carer Meetings after half-term on Wednesday 5th* and Thursday 6th November. Bookings will be available on Arbor from Monday afternoon. These are important meetings with your child’s teacher to discuss how they have settled into the new school year and next steps for progress.

Parent meetings will show on the Arbor homepage as Guardian Consultations on Monday. Click to access the booking page and select the meeting to book. Booking guidance linked. Please make a note of your meeting time and arrive in advance, as we run strictly to time.

(*Year 3 Tuesday 4th)

Harvest Collection for Kentish Town Foodbank - next Friday 24th October

On the last day before half-term we have our harvest collection in aid of the Kentish Town Foodbank, a local charity supporting adults and children in food crisis. Please only bring in donations at drop-off on Friday, as we will be unable to store ahead of time. Whilst any non-perishable donations are welcomed, they particularly need the following tinned items: fish/meat, vegetables, soup, fruit and tomatoes. They have also requested cooking oil, rice, UHT/powdered milk, jam/honey, soap/shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste. Thank you!

Litte Village Baby Banks

Several of our families are active in supporting Little Village - a charity network of baby banks sharing young children’s clothes and equipment with families who need them. As the weather is turning colder that are asking for donations of pre-loved, washed winter warmers for children aged 0-6 years. They particularly need great quality blankets, bedding, pyjamas, pramsuits (0-6 months), coats (3-5 years) and weatherproof shoes/boots.They also need nappies, wipes, nappy cream, bath wash and larger items such as cots and buggies.

If you are having a sort-out over half term, and your children have out-grown any clothing items (0-6 years), please bring donations in on Monday 3 or Tuesday 4 November only.

More about the Eleanor Palmer School Association AGM

At our AGM on Thursay we thanked you all for raising an incredible £29,980 and explained how we had spent last year’s money on the valuable things that support all your children, and also maintain a culture which one supply teacher recently described as ‘the best school to work at in London!’ Looking after small things creates a culture of care for our staff, our curriculum and our children.

New officers elected to these committees were:

Development Committee: Marie-Laure (Elsie and Max) and Kirsty (Sid and Rafa) shadowed by Abi (Finlay), plus two parent governors Aoife (Fiadh) and Michelle (Lexie)

PTA Chairs: Ben (Elsie), Francis (Ariella & Rosie), Andrea (Helena)

Treasurer to shadow current treasurer Lucy: Marta (Lucjan) and Desmond (Arya and Iskandar)

Matt Eaton (Joshua and Annabel) to take over as Independent Examiner from David Cunningham Green

Secretary: Astrid (Martin-James)

We know so many of you are interested and willing to keep our school excellent, but perhaps feel unsure of the time commitment and responsibilities. Please do talk to us, or any of the parents mentioned above if you would like to shadow them in their role. We need everyone’s support!

If another 50 families donated £10 a month, it would raise an additional £6,000!

In recognition of the need for additional support for some families, all London primary school children from Reception to Year 6 are entitled to free lunches again this year - a welcome cost saving for many. Across the year this saving amounts to over £480. For those families who are able, we would gratefully ask that some of this is redirected towards our Keep it EP fund.

Class Trips

As we move towards the end of this half-term most classes have enjoyed at least one trip or workshop activity, with many more planned for the year ahead! We have a one-off cost for all day trips across the whole year and ask for a voluntary contribution, which we hope most families will be able to make. Your contributions help us keep the core school budget for essentials.

The payment option is unfortunately tucked away within Arbor, please navigate to Trips and then Class Trips 2025-26 to make payment. Thank you

PTA Events

You are all part of the PTA community! Please get involved in the events below:

Thursday 23rd October - EP Disco!
Friday 5 December 3-5pm - Winter Fair

Autumn Term Dates

Friday 24th October Harvest Collection for Kentish Town Foodbank

27th October - 31st October - Half Term

Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd - Baby Bank donations (children 0-6yrs)
Wed 5th November 4 - 7:30pm and Thurs 6th November, 4-6:30pm - Parent and Carer Progress Meetings (time variations for Nursery, Year 2 and 3 - see class newsletters)
Friday 5th December - Winter Fair (No Gym Club or Club EP)
Winter Concert date tbc
Friday 19th December - Winter Variety Show and last day of term. School ends at
3:30pm with no Club EP.
Christmas Holidays - Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January inclusive
(Monday 5th Jan is an INSET day - Children back Tuesday 6th January).

Snack Sales on Fridays

7th November - Year 2
14th November - Year 1
21st November - Reception
28rd November - Nursery