Wild City Competition
A huge congratulations to SJB as our winning entry photo has secured us a place in the final stage of the Wild City competition....
01 December, 2023
Dear St John the Baptist Families,
Firstly, some brilliant news… we have been awarded the Music Mark!
We are very proud to be a Music Mark school for a second year running. Children in our school love music and we are glad that it is being recognised in the wider community. Be sure to look out for musical performances throughout the year.
Also a huge thanks for the many donations today as part of the non-uniform day. We will be using these for prizes at our Christmas Fayre on the 12th of December. Watch this space for more information!
We are looking forward to seeing families for the Children’s Progress Meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday. It is always a favourite time for us to be able to celebrate your child’s progress and then discuss how we can continue to work together to support their continued achievements.
Please read below for some important information including a call for cake stall donations (are you a great baker?) and please watch out for the book fair in the playground and at Children’s progress meetings (a Christmas present or two?)
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes, Toni Mason
Reception Admissions 
If your child is aged 3 and 4 (born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020) they will be eligible to start reception class at primary school in September 2024.
All parents need to apply by 15 January 2024, even if your child is already in the nursery class.
For more information here is the link to Hackney’s Reception place application page – Click here This is the link for the eAdmissions application form: To apply please click here
If you would like any help please ask!
Christmas Fayre
Cake Stall donations needed!
Are you a keen baker?
We are looking for donations for the cake stall for the Christmas Fayre. Yummy cakes, cupcakes and slices – especially brownies – are welcome. Please send in donations on Monday 11th December, or at the latest Tuesday 12th December by 10am. Please label any containers with your child’s name and class so we can return them later in the week.
Please also write down the ingredients and include in with the cakes so we can share allergies as needed.
Scholastic Book Fair
Great news! The book fair is back. There is an excellent selection of books for all ages and abilities at great prices.
The fair will be running every evening between 3:30-4:00pm on the playground (or dining room if the weather is poor) and at the Children’s Progress Meetings from 3:30-6:00pm in the dining hall. The last day for the book fair is Wednesday 6th December.
It is a great opportunity to grab some Christmas presents or just some new reads. Every book you buy allows SJB to claim free books for our children.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Children’s Progress Evenings
(formerly called Parents Evening)
Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th December 2023 are Children’s Progress Meetings from 3.40pm. This is a great opportunity for you to catch up with your child’s class teacher, hear and see what your child has been learning in class and discuss your child’s next steps. You will need to book a time slot to meet your child’s teacher.
Please call the school office to make an appointment if you have not already. We look forward to seeing you there.
Christmas Raffle 2023
Don’t miss out!
Please bring back the tickets you have sold.
We will be drawing out winners at the Christmas Fayre.
They are £1 a strip (5 tickets).
Your child will have brought home some for you to buy, please do ask for more if needed at the office.
We are also selling them at the office so do pop in.
Next week’s Coffee Mornings & Afternoon Teas:
5th December 2:45pm Supporting your child: Engaging your child through coversations Afternoon Tea
8th December 8:45am Staying Safe Online Coffee Morning
Tackling Race Inequality
Evidence shows us there are historic, systemic inequalities in the education system – not just in London but across the UK. We are actively ensuring that we are addressing areas to evaluate our practices and if needed make the right changes. So far we have continued to develop our curriculum to ensure diversity, celebrated Black History Month but with the understanding that Black History is celebrated all year round across our curriculum, and our Local Advisory Body (LAB) and developing leadership team have representation from the global majority. We track how well different ethnic groups are represented on each student leadership body and track progress and attainment. We are also drafting our anti-racism commitment for St John the Baptist and will shortly sending this out for all of families to read and review. We will then welcome all to a coffee morning to further develop all the feedback.
St John the Baptist Nearly New Uniform Shop
We now operate an a nearly new uniform shop. Please visit the school office and have a look at the many items we have available.
Can you please help us?
To make this a success we will be dependent on the generosity of parents and carers donating their children’s uniforms when they have finished with them. All funds raised go straight to our various fundraising projects and therefore benefit all the children in the school. Donations of uniform and PE kit can be left at Reception, in school hours, all year round.
Thank you for supporting the school.
