Wednesday Word
Adapted from Matthew 18:21-35
The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Peter went up to Jesus and said, “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” Then Jesus told them this story: “There was a king with many servants. One of them owed the king an enormous amount of money. The servant could not pay so he begged for more time to pay his debt. The king felt so sorry for him that he let him go and even cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him a very small amount of money; but he would not give him time to pay and instead had him thrown into prison. When the news reached the king, he sent for the unforgiving servant. ‘You wicked servant,’ the king said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?’ Then the king sent the unforgiving servant to prison to be punished.”
Attendance Award – Year R – 100% – Well done!
Whole School Attendance – 96%
Superstars of the Week!
Y1 – Sophia for settling so well into Year 1 and being an excellent role model to her friends.
Y2 -Joselle for always being ready to learn
Y3 – Leo for staying focused and working more independently.
Y4 – Mariana for being helpful, resourceful, reliable and sensible
Y5 – Nicholas for his excellent attitude to learning this week. He is engaged in everything
Y6 – Mimi for settling into Year 6 so brilliantly! Adam for your polite and helpful attitude around the school this week.
Proud Work: 11/09/2026
Y1 – Jonah, Oliver, Rafael and Deon for working so well together to sort objects into different categories in Maths this week!
Y2 – Kilian in RE for his detailed recount of the ‘Story of Noah’
Y3 – Joshua for working really hard during Maths this week, he scored really high on his baseline assessment. Super work!
Y4 – Jacob M for doing the most spelling practise this week – 31 games over 4 days
Y5 – Aaron for completing a much improved second draft of his letter
Y6 – David for thoughtful responses in our RE lessons this week using prior learning to support his answers and using the scripture to give reasons.
Spelling Shed Certificate of Achievement
Y5– Aurora
Y4 – Jacob M
Numbots
Copper : Y2 Sophia S
Rust: Julia L Y3
Iron: Richard S
Times Tables Rockstars
Breakthrough Artist:
Support Act : Connie R
Gone Green : Joshual A
2026/27 Term Dates!
Autumn Term
Monday 14 – 18 September: Y6 Residential
Monday 21 September 7:30 – 9:30pm PTA Annual General Meeting
Monday 28 September: Individual and Sibling School Photos (full, smart uniform)
Thursday 1 October: Flu Vaccinations 1-3pm (please see MCAS message to provide consent)
Sunday 4 October: PTA refreshments sale after the 9:15am Mass at church
Friday 9 October: INSET day
Monday 26 – Friday 30 October: Half-term
Thursday 17 December: Advent Service at church 2pm
Friday 18 December: end of term
To keep up to date with future school events, please visit the school calendar which can be found on the parents page on our website.
Welcome back — September at St John’s
A very warm welcome to the new term. The children have settled back brilliantly and are already showing their new teachers how ready they are to learn and play. It is a joy to see the school full of noise, friendship and purposeful learning again.
Class meetings for parents
We will hold short class meetings at the end of the school day over the coming weeks. These will explain how the class runs, what your child needs to bring and our expectations for the year.
- Year 5 — Tuesday 15 September, 3.25 pm
- Year 3 — Wednesday 16 September, 3.25 pm
- Year 4 — Thursday 17 September, 3.25 pm
- Year 2 — Thursday 24 September, 3.25 pm
- Year 1 — Monday 21 September, 3.25 pm
- Year 6 — Friday 25 September, 3.25 pm
If you cannot make the meeting, please don’t worry — teachers will share a PowerPoint of the key information.
Uniform, PE and practicalities
- Please send a coat to school every day regardless of the weather — we aim to get children outside as much as possible.
- PE shorts must be maroon and loose fitting.
- Hair should be tied back where possible so it is out of children’s faces.
- Every child should bring a named water bottle each day; these can be refilled at school as needed.
Breaktime snacks and lunches
- KS2 children should bring a healthy snack for breaktime.
- Reception and KS1 receive fruit or vegetables from the Healthy Schools team; they may bring their own healthy snack if they prefer.
- Please be diligent with lunchbox contents: hazelnut spreads (for example Nutella) are strictly banned and many cereal bars contain nuts or traces of nuts. We have children with serious allergies — check labels carefully before sending food in.
Safeguarding and medical updates
Safeguarding remains at the heart of everything we do at St John’s. During our September inset day all staff and several governors completed full safeguarding training and we refresh this throughout the year.
If you ever have safeguarding concerns, please speak to a member of staff. Our safeguarding team is:
- Mrs Farr — Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs Clough, Miss Miles and Mrs Muller — Deputy Safeguarding Leads
All staff also completed allergy awareness training during inset. To meet new legal requirements, we now hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors (epi‑pens) in school for both children and adults where needed. This builds on our long-standing allergy-aware practice and helps us keep everyone safe.
Special Educational Needs training
Staff received renewed training on aspects of SEND including ASD, ADHD, SPD and the use of sensory breaks. This helps us to continue improving classroom provision so that all pupils can access the full curriculum.
SATs — congratulations to Year 6
We are delighted to share that Year 6 produced excellent SATs results this year. Their outcomes reflect sustained hard work, focus and the support of families and staff. We are particularly proud of our writing results, which are significantly above the national average — a clear sign that our targeted work here is making a difference.
How parents can support learning at home
Parents are the primary educators of their children and what happens at home matters. Simple, regular routines have a powerful impact:
- Read 4–5 times each week with your child.
- Practise times tables, Numbots and spellings regularly.
These small, consistent actions make classroom learning stick and build strong foundations.
School priorities this year
Following our evaluation of last year, our main areas of focus are:
- Multiplication: we will introduce times‑table practice earlier so pupils are secure with tables up to 12 by the end of Year 3. This will strengthen mental maths, calculations and problem solving.
- Writing across the curriculum: children will be given more choice in how they structure and publish their work so they can demonstrate a wider range of skills; this will be developed in foundation subjects such as Science, History and RE.
- Attendance and vulnerability: in line with updated DfE guidance we will work to raise attendance for all pupils, particularly those who are most vulnerable, because being in school keeps pupils safe and learning.
- Meeting SEND need: we will carefully target the small additional government funding to meet increasing SEND needs within school so pupils receive appropriate support in class.
Working together
We value close partnership with parents and carers. If there is anything you would like to discuss or share, please talk to your child’s class teacher — it is always better to raise things directly than to worry. Mrs Burke and I are on the gates each morning, so please feel free to stop us for a brief chat.
Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to a joyful, aspirational and productive term together.
With best wishes,
Mrs Farr (Headteacher) and the St John’s staff
Namaskarum!
This half term our focus language is Malayalam, as we have many children from Kerala in India, where this language is spoken. The children will be learning a few words and phrases, greetings and numbers, in Malayalam, as well as a little about the culture. Thank you to all our Malayalam speakers for helping your class teachers. If any children or parents from India would like to bring in information, items to show, or traditional clothes, we would love to see them!
West Sussex County Council- Staying safe online and fraud prevention
As our children spend more time online, it is important that we help them understand how to stay safe and recognise potential risks. West Sussex County Council has a range of useful advice and resources for parents and carers, covering topics such as online privacy, gaming and apps, scams, fraud and keeping children safe from online harm. We encourage families to take a look at these resources and have regular conversations with children about staying safe, being respectful and knowing what to do if something online makes them feel uncomfortable or worried.
Staying safe online and fraud prevention – West Sussex County Council
Horsham Parent/Carer Support Group for families with children with SEND from Reaching Families – Wednesday 16th September at The Horsham Family Hub – 10am until 11.30am
If you are a parent or carer of a child or young person who has, or you think may have, special educational needs and disabilities in West Sussex, please join Reaching Families at theWorthing Umbrellas parent/carer support group! Umbrella’s provides an informative, supportive, relaxed and non-judgmental environment within which parents can swap life experiences, share hints and tips, seek advice and share information and resources.
You are warmly invited to join on Wednesday 16th September 10-11.30am at The Horsham Family Hub, RH12 1RS.
Please do join anytime between 10am and 11.30am for a warm welcome and a chance to connect with other local parent carers in a safe and supportive space – there is no need to book, just pop in for a drink, biscuit and a chat! We look forward to seeing you there!
If you are unable to make a group in person the online Umbrellas support groups via Zoom are also a great way to connect and receive support and these run once a month on a Thursday in the evening from 7.30-9pm. If you would like to attend any in person support group simply show up and they will look after you. Alternatively if you would prefer to attend the online support group via zoom, please email outreach-training@reachingfamilies.org.uk and they will send the link to you. It’s a very safe place to talk and be supported. The next online support group is this evening Thursday 10th September from 7.30-9pm.
Please note, your child does not need a diagnosis to access their services. Further details about their work can be found on our website: Reaching Families
