Newsletters

Congratulations

Congratulations to Teddy in Year 6, who has been performing at The Royal Opera House in the production of Semele. What an extraordinary opportunity and achievement. All of us at St Paul's are immensely proud of her dedication and talent. Teddy is the middle child in the photo below. 

Celebrating Cultures Week

Over the past two weeks, the children have participated in our 'Celebrating Cultures Week', engaging in meaningful activities that have broadened their understanding of different cultural traditions, customs, and perspectives. The children have approached this learning with remarkable enthusiasm and curiosity.

These experiences have enriched their knowledge whilst reinforcing the importance of celebrating our differences and recognising our shared humanity. Through various activities and discussions, the children have gained valuable insights into the diverse world around them, developing a deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry of cultures that make up our community.

Thank you to those parents whose help was invaluable in bringing these learning experiences to life.

We have used this opportunity to reinforce our school's clear position that there is zero tolerance of racism at St Paul's. This message is fundamental to our Christian values.

As we move forward, I ask that you continue to reinforce this important message at home. The conversations and values we promote in school are most effective when they are supported and echoed in the home environment. By working together, we can ensure that our children develop into respectful, tolerant, and compassionate individuals who celebrate diversity and stand against discrimination in all its forms. We will be including this message in our home school agreement for the next academic year alongside a statement of zero tolerance of racism.

Year 5 - Celebrating Cultures Week 

As part of Celebrating Cultures Week, Year 5 explored the vibrant country of Brazil and the diverse continent of South America. We also researched the life and work of Henri Rousseau, a French post-impressionist painter best known for his imaginative jungle scenes. Amazingly, Rousseau never visited a real jungle, yet he created paintings full of life, colour, and wonder. Inspired by his work, we created our own jungle-themed artwork using rich colours and bold designs.

To further celebrate cultural diversity, we held a Cultural Picnic, where children wore traditional clothing and brought in food from different cultures. They shared the origin of their dishes, described the flavours and ingredients, and then we enjoyed tasting them together. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about each other’s cultures, traditions, and stories—a celebration of the rich diversity within our school community.

Year 2 - Celebrating Cultures Week

In Year 2, the children enjoyed a visit from a parent volunteer who taught them some Irish dancing. They also learnt a few Irish words and listened to traditional Irish music.

Year 1 - Celebrating Cultures Week

As part of Celebrating Cultures Week, the children in 1T learnt about Lapland. A parent came in to give the children a very informative presentation. They learnt about the midnight sun and polar night, Sami people, reindeer herding, different foods and ice fishing. They also heard about the Northern Lights, an ice hotel and, of course, Father Christmas. Thank you to Leyla Guler for a wonderful presentation! The children then enjoyed making their own wooden fish.

1NS – we learnt about carnivals in different countries. We made masks and decorated them.

We had three parents talk to us about celebrations and traditions in India, Cyprus and Argentina. 

Collective Worship

At Saint Paul’s, we see our daily acts of collective worship as a time for children and staff to come together and reflect on their own values and beliefs, as well as respecting those of others. It is important to us that children feel comfortable expressing themselves, while also recognising the diversity of perspectives within our school community.

Clergy led worship currently follow the theme of Spirituality, while other worships are drawn from the London Diocesan Board of Schools cycle of Collective worship based around the Bible readings in Church each week. These are developed further throughout the week. We encourage you to discuss the themes we explore with your child at home. Here are some suggested questions and prayers you may wish to use.

This week

Themes drawn from 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 and Luke 9:51-62

• Serving God comes at a cost
• Sacrificing yourself for others

Questions:

What is the most precious thing in your life? Is there anything or anyone you would give that up for? Why/why not?

Would you be willing to give up something to obey/follow God?

Challenge:

Give up your seat on the bus (or something else) for someone this week

Prayer:

Father God, help me to see that all I have has come from you. Help me to be generous with all you have given me. Amen.

Next Week

Themes drawn from Psalm 66:1-9 and Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

• The challenge of sharing the Good News of Jesus
• Relying on God
• Overcoming challenging situations

Questions:

What challenges have you experienced?

What difference does it make to know God is compassionate and faithful?

Challenge:

Think about the biggest challenge you have ever faced. What were the things you did and needed to get through? Remember this next time you face a challenge.

Prayer:

Lord God, thank you for your loving kindness towards me. Amen

Some upcoming religious festivals and holy days

July 6 – Buddhist – Birth of the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India.

July 6 – Zoroastrian – Fravardigan/Muktad

The Fravardigan festival (the festival of the fravashis), popularly known as Muktad (All Souls), commences ten days before NoRuz and is the last festival of the old year. 

June 6 - Muslim – Ashura (10^th Muharram)

For Sunni Muslims, this is one of the two days of a minor fast that the Prophet kept in his lifetime. For Shi‘a Muslims, this is a day when they recall a great tragedy that took place on Muharram 10, AH 61 (680 CE). The Imam Husayn (son of Ali and Fatimah and therefore grandson of the Prophet), travelling with his family and many followers, was attacked by the troops of the Caliph Yazid.

July 9 – Bahai – Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Bab

Baha’is commemorate the death of the Bab, who was executed by firing squad in Persia with readings and prayers from the Baha’i Scriptures. It has become a holy day of rest when Baha’is should refrain from work.

New Entrance Hall Display

You may have noticed our beautiful new entrance hall display which has been commented on by a number of visitors.

As part of our Spring Vision day, we learnt about the Bible’s core concepts and how they tell ‘The Bible’s Big Story’ - a narrative of God’s love for creation, culminating in the arrival of Jesus and a call for humanity to be reconciled with God. Children in each year group then designed an image to represent a different Core Concept – Creation, The Fall, People of God, Incarnation, Gospel, Salvation and Kingdom of God.

The final images were chosen from these designs by the Clergy from a selection voted for by the children. These were then transferred to canvasses by a number of children in each year. We intend to use the images to illustrate our knowledge organisers to highlight the core concepts being studied throughout the school in our RE curriculum.

The timeline starts with an image created by the collective worship committee working with Poppy Hughes to represent God as the Trinity.