The Cathedral School of St. Saviour and St. Mary Overie

Today the children and staff at Cathedral School dressed up as their favourite book characters and authors. The effort and creativity that went into the costumes was incredible. Photos will follow shortly.

At Cathedral School we feel that one of the best things about World Book Day is discovering new authors and remembering forgotten favourites A very exciting part of the day was the ‘Choose a story session’. Children were able to choose a story from a selection before finding out which teacher would read it to them.

Which story did you choose and why?

Every child will receive a £1 book token today. This is valid from the 2nd to the 29th March and entitles your child to a free £1 World Book Day Book or £1 off a book or audio book worth £2.99 or more from any participating bookshop. Please visit the World Book Day website for more information.

Congratulations to Year 5 who took part in a drama project with the Menier Theatre on Union Street. As part of the project they worked with staff from the theatre including a musical director and movement coach to write and perform their own creation called “We’re What’s Happening”. The show was inspired by Sondheim’s The Assassins which is currently on at The Menier. Class 5’s performance was based around people who are positive influences in their lives and included songs from the show. The performance was stunning and the director from The Menier said afterwards, “I have to say, after years of working in primary schools, that is was a pleasure to come into Cathedral Primary every week. It does feel like a special place to be, and your pupils are a testament to that.” If you would like to see photos and video clips from the show please visit the Class 5 blog.

Well done to the Cathedral School Basketball Team who won 4-0 in their first game of the season. We are so proud of them and wish them well for the rest of their games.

Last Friday Class 3 led our Candlemas worship at Southwark Cathedral. They read a passage from the Bible which describes Simeon’s role in the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Next they reflected thoughtfully on the importance of light in our lives and how Jesus is the light of the world.

Everybody thought that Class 3 were so poised and spoke with such clear voices. They impressed the congregation with their mature reflections and prayers.

Here are some of Class 3′s reflections on Luke 2: 22-36:

In November Cathedral School was visited by Pauline Roberts, as assessor from the Inclusion Quality Mark. As a school community we are so pleased with the report especially because it vividly reflects Cathedral School’s values and ethos.

Here are just some of the things Mrs Roberts said about our school.

“All pupils’ behaviour is impeccable and the caring, supportive lead from older pupils further emphasizes the strong sense of a big family atmosphere.”

“The central focus is on the children, for whom the school has very high ambitions and they are encouraged to do their best in everything they do.”

“Pupils achieve extremely well at the school and the school works very hard to ensure they are continually improving.”

“Teaching and support staff in the school work extremely hard and strive to do their very best for all pupils… Staff are positive and energetic and are fully committed to the pupils and to the school.”

“Lessons are interesting and challenging and there are many imaginative and exciting activities planned for pupils.”

“All staff, parents, governors and pupils spoken to were extremely positive about the school’s work and there is a very genuine sense of team effort, of mutual support, of listening and of including everyone, whether they are adults or children.”

“The governing body is also fully committed to the school’s vision and they play a very positive, active and supportive role in the school.”

“I am of the opinion that the school fully meets the standard required by the Inclusion Quality Mark. I also recommend that the school considers becoming a Centre of Excellence for the IQM so that its excellent work on inclusion can be shared with other schools.”

If you would like to read the full Inclusion Quality Mark Reportplease click on the link.

Many thanks to the Parent Forum for organising such a wonderful Christmas Fair. It was such a good idea to hold it in the marquee at the Cathedral as it meant that not only was there more room for stalls but there was also more floor space to allow for socialising, which was a very important part of the event.

Everybody was impressed with the number of stalls from independent retailers and parents. Lots of people mentioned that they liked the fact that there were lot of things to buy and doif you only had a small amount to spend although there were also some more higher price items for people doing a bit of Christmas shopping!

The choir enjoyed performing.

The range of games was astounding  and children, parents and staff all enjoyed competing to guess the number of sweets in the jar etc. and everybody was impressed with the raffle prizes and amazed that the tickets sold out!

There were lots of free activities too, which meant that the whole school community could enjoy the fair. Activities included decorating Christmas biscuits and decorations.

Everyone in the school community really appreciates the hard work and dedication that went into organising the event. We are so thankful to have such a pro-active and supportive group of parents.

Thank you for raising £2000 for the school; it will be put towards the refurbishment of the peace garden in the spring term.

The results for the National KS2 tests, which were taken earlier this year, were last week published for all primary schools in the country.

The average score achieved by Cathedral School pupils in the examinations (Maths, Writing, Reading and Grammar) was the highest in the borough.

This news is excellent for the school and was on the back of being included in the Sunday Times ‘Top 600 Schools’ report published in November and which used 2013’s results.

Obviously, these tests of the ‘core’ curriculum are one part of the school’s success and we are very aware there are countless other ways to measure children’s successes in the school’s broad and balanced curriculum.

Nevertheless, these results are a testament to the hard work, dedication and talents of the pupils and staff of the school. Well done!

Today we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas lunch, complete with all the trimmings; sprouts, parsnips, yorkshire pudding etc. Many thanks to our chef Henrietta and her fantastic team for making such a special meal. We also had fun dancing to Christmas music, pulling crackers and sharing funny jokes with friends.