Welcome to Reception

Welcome

We extend the warmest welcome to St. Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School. We are very pleased that you have chosen to be part of our church school community and that your child will begin their education with us in the Michaelmas Term (Autumn).  St. Jérôme is proud to form part of the family of church schools working in close partnership with the London Diocesan Board for Schools.

Among the many challenges we have experienced this year is the method of communicating to our new parents with information they would ordinarily receive in a Welcome Pack when they attend a Welcome Meeting.  Under the current restrictions we are unable to hold a Welcome Meeting to invite all parents to come along to meet the Senior Leadership and Early Years Teams.  It is unlikely this will change over the coming months.  We have produced a video for you to view. You can view it here.

In more normal times before you child starts school we would come and visit you and them in your own home. This would give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about your child starting school. Due to Covid-19 we can’t come and visit you in your home. As an alternative one of our office team will phone you during week beginning 29 June to book an appointment with you for a member of our Reception team to contact you by phone and talk about starting school, at a mutually convenient time.
The Government are due to announce plans this week about how school will look in September, schools have not seen these plans so do bear with us if we can’t answer some specific questions.

Mrs Smith, Our School Business Manager has also put together a video packed with lots of information.
This video really gives you a flavour of how our school works. You can view it here. 

Starting School

Ensuring a smooth transition into school is an extremely high priority for us at St Jérôme School. We want all children to feel comfortable and confident on their first day and we want to do everything possible to be ready to make their first day at school a happy and productive one. We are currently having to review our usual transition arrangements due to health and safety restrictions in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We will write to you shortly to explain the arrangements in more detail.

We are currently envisaging that there will be the opportunity for:

  • Individual conversations with our staff team for each family (by phone or online) to help us plan and to begin to get to know you and your children
  • The opportunity for you to visit the EYFS setting and familiarise your child with the school in September
  • A phased entry into school over several days so that children can be welcomed individually on their first day
  • A meeting for parents as soon as it is safe to do this

When children join St Jérôme School they usually begin by attending for mornings for a few days and this is then extended to staying for lunch and then for the full school day.

We encourage you to share the school website with your child, to visit the school building over the summer and to read books about starting school. You can find some books here: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/starting-school/books-about-starting-school/ It is important to practice the skills of independence that will be expected at school including using the toilet, washing hands, putting on coats and other clothing items and eating with a knife and fork. If your child has any specific needs or you have any concerns about them starting school please make sure you raise these when we speak with you.

We are always extremely impressed with how quickly children settle to life in our school and we will be working hard to make sure your child is happy and enjoying their learning.

For more information on being ‘school ready’ click here: https://www.pacey.org.uk/working-in-childcare/spotlight-on/being-school-ready/

You can ‘meet’ many of our staff via our Storytime page. Each school day when our school has not been fully ope with have added a story to this page. You’ll find the page here. The password is Storytime.
Some of our Reception staff have also recorded stories about starting school. We’ve put these below the password is Storytime for each story.

 

Our Information Booklet

Our information booklet is packed with all you need to know about our school. It’s a great place to start if you have any questions.
Download your copy here

Our Before and After School Club

We appreciate that many parents/carers need to access before and after school care, sometimes called wraparound care. St. Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School run a breakfast club from 7.45am and an after school club from the end of school until 6pm. Both of these clubs are chargeable.
Reception children will not be able to access these clubs until they start doing full school days.
Discover more about our breakfast club here.
Discover more about our after school club here.

Our Term Dates

You can discover our term dates via the link below. Why not print it out and put it on your kitchen notice board. You’ll see the dates when school holidays are and be able to ensure you book your holiday away during school holidays.
Our Term Dates

Free School Meals

The Government provides additional funding to schools to support children whose families are in receipt of UK Benefits.  Apart from providing Free School Meals throughout a child’s time at primary school, our school is able to support the child and their family in a number of different ways including uniform subsidy, help with paying for trips and other activities.

If think your family maybe entitled to free school meals please contact our school office in the strictest confidence. Ring us on 020 3019 6363 or email [email protected]
Discover more about free school meals here.

Attendance and Punctuality

You’ll need to know what to do if your child is unwell and what the impact is if your child is late.
Take a look at our policy to find out more.

Our Uniform

We are very proud of our uniform. It marks us out when we are away from the school site and makes us look smart at all times. Branded items are available from Pullens on Stanmore High Street. Non-branded items are available from most high street stores and some supermarkets.

Discover more in our Uniform Booklet
Uniform Pricelist
Message from our uniform supplier.

Our Parent, Teacher, Friends Association – PTFA

Our PTFA is very important to us and we would like all new parents to get involved. You can find out more about our PTFA on their webpage  here.

Social Media

You can also ‘like’ us on social media. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stjeromebilingual/

 

Early years foundation stage statutory framework (EYFS)

(sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well)

3 prime areas

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Physical Development
  • Communication and Language

4 specific areas

  • Mathematics
  • Literacy
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

 

Michaelmas Term

Starting school. Here’s a great set of games from the BBC to help your child.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znc9vk7

 Our Morning Prayer

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving this new day to me,
help me to make it one that pleases You,
by doing my best in everything.
Amen

Our Lunchtime Prayer

Our End of Day Prayer

We close our eyes and softly say,
Thank you God for school today.
Amen.

Months of the Year – English

Months of the Year – French

Days of the Week – English

Days of the Week – French

Friends Song

Tidy Up Song – French

Numbers Song 1 – 20 – English

Numbers Song 1 – 20 – French

Colours Song – French

There are many Reception children songs that you can find here: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/s_jrme/2018-2019-reception-songs/ .This board is constantly updated with the new songs we are learning.

Please create a free Pinterest account and follow our constantly updated St Jérôme Pinterest Page, which has a wealth of resources to view with your children. Note that some of the links take you directly onto YouTube, which should not be used without adult supervision at all times. If you access videos through our Pinterest, the Youtube adverts won’t appear and your child will benefit from the link between school and home learning and from the repetition.

Don’t forget to like us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/stjeromebilingual/

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