 We are extremely concerned about the state of some of our families' temporary accommodation, and this prompted us to take action.
This month, working alongside South London Citizens, Lewisham Refugee & Migrant Network and other local schools including Grinling Gibbons, we met with Lewisham Mayor Damien Egan and Councillor Sophie Davies to discuss some of the key issues facing residents in temporary accommodation. We also held a Community Conversations meeting in our Community Hub, where parents and carers were invited to come and share their stories, for example if their accommodation is covered in mould, they have repairs that are not being dealt with, or they have been bidding for a property for a long time without success. All these stories enable us to feed back to the decision makers in a bid to effect some positive change. A huge thank you to Projectfivek who have provided food vouchers to many of our families, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. The charity has also provided funds for our breakfast club to enable extra items to be purchased to ensure the children have a hot breakfast when they come in. Acts of generosity like this are a wonderful example of how important it is to support those who are in need or struggling at this time. If you need help with food or any other basic necessities please contact Mrs Tildesley via the school office or have a chat with her at the school gate.   Year 6 visited four of the Elderly Care units at Lewisham Hospital to sing carols and bring Christmas cheer! St. Mary’s also donated 30 Christmas gift bags and handmade cards for patients to have on Christmas Day. The patients and staff were delighted to hear the children sing - many sang along and remembered Christmases past. Well done to all the children and especially to Mr. Sandman who accompanied the children on his guitar in true style! A big thank you to our parents who came to wrap 100s of presents for Santa’s grotto. If Santa’s elves go on strike St. Mary’s parents could cover it no problem!  Here are our fabulous School Council 2022-23! We have two representatives from each class Year 1-6 and we meet a couple of times each half term. The School Council are a really important part of our school community as they share their views about aspects of school life and help with lots of projects! Watch this space for more developments! There was a lovely turnout of parents for an event to launch our Making it REAL project in the Nursery. This project aims to raise early literacy levels by encouraging families to do simple low cost activities at home like mark making, reading, talking and looking at everyday objects around them. Every conversation with your child matters - whether on the bus or in the bath - so seize every opportunity! Our Year 6 class developed their understanding of communities and their role as citizens both locally, nationally and globally. The event was held at Lee Fire Station and the children explored themes including transport, fire safety, the role of the police, road safety and healthy lifestyles. Congratulations to all of our parents, governors and volunteers who joined us for a fantastic training session. The focus of the training was supporting young children to make progress with their Reading. We are very grateful that our Reading Champions have all committed to volunteering at St Mary’s to regularly listen to children read. We would love for more of our parents to become Reading Champions - please ask your child’s teacher if you are interested or speak to the school office. We were honoured to be chosen to host our local Assembly meeting, attended by all three of our local councillors and many local residents. It provided an opportunity to share local updates, focusing on housing, transport and community events.  We were pleased to welcome back 'Engage' to lead a well-attended workshop focusing on Secondary Transitions. As well as offering some valuable practical advice, it was also an opportunity for parents to share their feelings at a time of change for their children. |
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St Mary's Lewisham CE Primary School - 329 Lewisham High Street - London - SE13 6NX
Tel: 020 8690 2613 email: admin@st-marys.lewisham.sch.uk |
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