Miss Hamalis’ Bulletin – Monday 30 October 2023

This half term, we warmly welcome Miss Pala as a permanent member of the team. She will continue working as a teaching assistant across both Reception Forms. 

Additionally, we welcome back Mrs Khan (nee Clancy) following her maternity leave. The plan was for her to take over as a Year 4 Form Teacher for the rest of the academic year. As she has recently shared the exciting news that she is pregnant with her second child, Miss Parmar has agreed to continue as Form Teacher for the entirety of Year 4 in order to ensure that the girls have consistency. To reflect this change, the form will now be called Y4P (rather than Y4K). We did, of course, share this news with the parents and girls in this Form before half term. 

Please find the email contact details of the staff: JS Key Contact information. Please could we ask that your specific query is directed to the appropriate individual and anything of a more serious nature is directed to a member of the Senior Team. Please note that Miss Hamalis needs to approve all requests for absences so please send them via The Junior School office: jsoffice@channing.co.uk.

In order to prevent unnecessary awkwardness and/or embarrassment, please remember to address members of staff by their title and surname. 

Please be mindful that staff may not pick up emails immediately (teachers will, of course, not be checking emails when they are teaching, running clubs or supervising pupils at break and lunchtimes) and may choose to take time to investigate the matter before responding. However, they will endeavour to answer your queries within 24 hours. Please do not think that a lack of instant response means a lack of interest on the part of the member of staff. 

Please note that staff are not expected to reply to emails outside normal school hours, weekends or during school holidays.  If you have an emergency which needs to be dealt with before school next opens, please email: jsoffice@channing.co.uk. Please do not send communications or information to communication@channing.co.uk or info@channing.co.uk.

You can view all events for the year in the school calendar via our Parent Portal: SchoolBase login. Your calendar view should already be filtered to display the Junior School events and events which are specific to your daughter’s year group. 

The ‘School Calendar Parent View’ button shows the complete calendar, which can be viewed by each month, week or day. Events also appear on the right-hand side of the home page under ‘Forthcoming Events’ and the monthly view of the calendar also appears at the bottom of the home page. 

To launch our subscription to Tooled Up Education, an invaluable digital library of evidence-based resources on all aspects of parenting, education and family life, we are holding a webinar including a live Q&A session with Dr Weston on Tuesday 31 October 7-8pm. Founder, Dr Kathy Weston, has collated the best and most up-to-date research from around the world and distilled it into usable, easy to understand resources which can be instantly applied to daily life. 

Please note that the webinar will be recorded for you to watch at a later date. We are aware that many of you will be out trick-or-treating with your children that evening. 

During the webinar, you will receive instructions on how to create your account on Tooled Up Education along with our unique School PIN code that is required to register. 

Once registered you will have immediate access to the entire library of articles, videos, tips to try, worksheets and podcasts, specifically curated for parents.  

Please attend this talk if you are able to and make sure you register for access to this unique library of resources. We hope to see you there.

Webinar link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Hj1zuW4mSUazXQ9so2QoAA

Due to the Key Stage 2 Specialist Parents’ Evening, the following clubs will be cancelled on Wednesday 1 November: 

• Key Stage 1 Arts & Crafts 
• Years 3 & 4 Hockey
• Years 3 & 4 Partnership Choir 

To sign your daughter(s) up for Mini Owls and/or Late Owls instead, please contact the Office at jsreceptionist@channing.co.uk.

Please also note, that all after-school clubs will be cancelled on Friday 1 December due to the Winter Fair (before school clubs will run as usual): 

• Key Stage 1 Multisports
• Years 3&4 Football 
• Key Stage 2 Karate

The first food bank collection of the academic year, for the Alexandra Wylie Tower Foundation, will be running from Wednesday 1 November – Thursday 30 November. If your daughter is in Waterlow House, please ask her to place donations in one of the blue, labelled Food Bank collection bins in the courtyard. 

Suggested items for donations include: washing tablets, tinned/canned produce, pasta (and sauces), rice, spices, olive oil, juices, stocks, cereals, tea and coffee. Please ensure all items are long-life produce, as regrettably,  fresh items cannot be donated. Clean sauce pots (from your favourite takeaway), egg cartons and tupperware are also helpful donations as it helps the food bank volunteers to share out items.

The girls (and staff) are very lucky to have a delicious and nutritious lunch every day. Have a look at the menu options for this term on the website. 

Measles cases are rising across the country, with over 102,000 children starting primary school in England being at risk of catching the disease. Measles is highly infectious and, if left unvaccinated, nine out of ten children in a classroom can catch the disease if just one child is infectious. Please see more information in the Back to school MMR Guidance from the NHS, as well as example social media posts which can be found here: NHS Vaccine Poster and NHS MMR Poster.

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Channing Website

This episode features an insightful conversation with Jennifer Barnaby, the Lead Counsellor at the Senior School. We delve into understanding her role, the range of services available to the students, and the significance of her position. Furthermore, Jennifer graciously shares her top recommendations for enhancing mental well-being, offering valuable insights for everyone. Stay tuned as Arabella engages in an enriching discussion with Jennifer Barnaby, the Lead Counsellor at the Senior School.

Narnia is coming to the Junior School and tickets are now on sale! After school on Friday 1 December (no clubs or Mini/Late Owls), the girls with their families are invited to venture through the wardrobe to explore an enchanted Narnia Wonderland, where the children will discover Santa’s Grotto and themes from the beloved story ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’.

We encourage you to enjoy the book or the film with your children prior to the Winter Fair, and look forward to welcoming you for a magical Christmassy afternoon.

Buy tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/channingjuniorschool/1030649

Pre-order a 2023 Channing Winter Fair tea towel or tote bag, hand-illustrated by Y3 mum Mrs Nicole Mitchell: https://buytickets.at/channingjuniorschool/store 

Event details on Classlist here: https://app.classlist.com/parent/#/events/view/1002541174

There will be a fundraising raffle (in aid of Great Ormond St Hospital) drawn at the close of the Winter Fair.  If you have a product, service or experience you could donate as a prize, we would be most grateful – please email jschanningassociation@gmail.com with any donation offers.

Raffle tickets will go on sale this Friday 3 November via Classlist.

Funds raised by the CA are allocated to three core pillars: supporting the girls, fostering a sense of community amongst Channing families, and raising money for charitable causes.

The CA Fireworks Night is this Saturday 4 November.  See information here: bit.ly/channingfireworks2023.

Whilst tickets have sold out there is a waiting list you can sign up to.