St. John’s Catholic Primary School Newsletter 31 – 15th June 2026

Adapted from Matthew 9:36-10:8, The 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to
his twelve disciples, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” He then gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: “Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.”

Attendance Award – Year  6 – 100% – Well done!

Whole School Attendance – 96.8%

 Superstars of the Week!

YR – Daisy for her enthusiastic participation in all areas of learning this week! Daisy has completed all of her learning challenges to a high standard and has remained focused and on task!

Y1 – Lydia for working hard to create her ‘Top tips for sadness guide’ in English this week!

Y2 – Hemashi for her ‘Participation’ in maths this week showing her confidence and resilience.

Y3 –  Annie for representing our school beautifully at a sports event this week, she made an effort to talk to the other schools and participated well in all the events.

Y4 – Elisa for all the times she’s worked hard and made good progress recently. Keep up th effort!

Y5 –

Y6 – Vincent for participating more in lessons this week with a positive attitiude.

 

 

Proud Work: 15/06/2026

YR – Rafael & Leo for their fantastic independent writing this week!

Y1 –Year 1 for all doing so well in their phonics screening test this week! Im super proud!

Y2 – Erin for her poster in R.E showing The Common Good and solidarity- caring and loving our neighbours.

Y3 –  Elsa for having a great understanding of how the Eucharist is linked with the Jewish celebration of Passover.

Y4 – All year 4 who have over the weeks and months been working hard to master their times tables. This meant they could all do their best in the MTC check this week and they will be better prepared for maths in year 5,6 and beyond.

Y5 – For all of year 5 for their enthusiasm in learning ‘Mandarin’ numbers. Miss Dawson from Bohunt said what a lovely class they were.

Y6 –  Oliver for writing a fantastic gothic narrative that showcased Year 6 skills and his ‘author’ voice! Well Done!

Silver Reader – 100 reads

Y1 – Kilian

Y3 – Kieran

Y6 – Aria C, Salvo G

Magnificent Reading Award – 250 Reads

Y3 – Wilfred

Y5 – Antoni, Ross

Y3 –

Y4 –

Y6 – Maximus G

Spelling Shed Certificate of Achievement

Y2 – Sophia

Y3 – Ameerah

Y4 – Evelyn

Y6- Rosie

Times Tables Rockstars

Rock Legend: Connie H

Unsigned Act : Florence

Headliner : 

Summer Term Chartwells Order Deadline Dates

Please order by the dates below to ensure your child has a hot lunch in the Spring/Summer Term.

2026 Term Dates!

Summer Term

Thursday 16 June: Y4 school trip

Friday 19 June: International Food Festival day, and Y3 and Y4 Quadkids

Tuesday 23 June: Y5 school trip

Thursday 25 June: Sports Day: KS1 – AM, KS2 – PM

Saturday 27 June 11am – 2pm: Summer Fair

Sunday 5 July: Horsham Children’s Parade. Years 2 & 4 to participate.

Monday 13 July: Teacher led After School Clubs finish this week.

Tuesday 14 July: Y6 school trip

Thursday 16 July: YR school trip

Monday 20 July at 2pm: Leavers Mass at Church

Wednesday 22 July: children break up for Summer holidays

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.

Parents – St John’s Catholic Primary School

 Update from ISS (catering company taking over from Chartwells)

Roadshow Update – A Fantastic First Week!
We’re thrilled to report that the first week of our Roadshows has been a real success. It’s been a brilliant opportunity to connect with colleagues, showcase what’s coming in September, and most importantly, let the food do the talking.

Feedback from both parents and stakeholders has been really encouraging. Parents were particularly pleased to hear that meals can be ordered on the day, and the food itself made a fantastic impression. The Veg Tikka Masala drew real praise for being hot, flavoursome and full of colour, and the mac n cheese was equally well received.

The children were just as enthusiastic. The chicken goujons were a particular hit, with pupils loving the crispy texture and noting just how much of an improvement it was on what they’re used to. Always great to hear!

A special mention has to go to Chef Gonk and Super Gonk, who were an absolutely enormous hit at every stop. Children came running out of classrooms and across playgrounds to greet our much loved mascots, with pupils, parents and teachers all getting involved and grabbing selfies along the way. It’s safe to say Chef Gonk and Super Gonk have already won some very devoted fans across West Sussex!

We were also delighted to present to the Primary Heads Executive group last week, where the session and the food were both very well received. The overwhelming feeling in the room was one of excitement and confidence in what’s coming in September, which is exactly what we’d hoped for.

We still have plenty of Roadshow dates ahead and we’re looking forward to seeing more of you. For details of upcoming dates, please visit www.feedwestsussex.co.uk.

On Wednesday the 10th of June a group of children from Year 3 and 4 attended a Striking and Fielding sports event at The Bridge.

They were able to try a range of sports including rounders and cricket.

All children participated well and enjoyed the morning.

Well done children for representing our school.

Thank you to Brad and Mrs Burke for accompanying the children to this event.

Mrs Clough

🌞 St John’s Summer Fair – Saturday 27th June (11am–2pm)

We’re excited to invite you to our annual St John’s Summer Fair

Join us for a fun-filled day with:
🎪 Inflatables
🎟️ Raffle
🎯 Games & stalls
🍔 Food & drinks

Can you help?
We’re looking for volunteers to support with stalls, refreshments, and setup/clear down. If you’re able to lend a hand, please contact the school office or email friends@stjohnshorsham.school.

Your support helps make events like this possible while raising funds to replace our outdoor hut.

We look forward to welcoming you and your families!

A big THANK YOU to JR Print for generously donating the gorgeous banner displayed outside advertising our upcoming Summer Fair – we love it! 

St John’s International Festival on Friday 19th June!

This year’s International Festival is on Friday 19th June. If you can help on that morning, please keep the date free. There is a board outside to sign. Please choose a country and say if you can stay to help all/part of the morning, or send food in.

8.30 am: please come into the hall to set up for food tasting, with tables representing different countries, parents grouping together. Decorate your table with flags, photos, souvenirs and wear traditional costumes if you can. Each class will have a 30 min slot to come into the hall to try the different foods. Last session ends by 11.30 am.

Children can wear clothes from different countries too, e.g. traditional clothes, or a T-shirt from holiday abroad or football shirt, or Hawaiian style summer clothes! If you are at a table, your children can stay with you for some of the time but may be needed in class too. And they will get their slot with their class for food tasting too! Year 6 can stay at tables on their own.

Please could you make or provide finger food (nut free) that does not need cutting up, refrigerating or heating. You do not have to be the same nationality as the table. You can also bring in ready-made food (e.g. cheese, olives, croissants) or regional foods from the UK (e.g. Cornish pasties, Welsh cakes). Please list ingredients of any home-made food. Please also have food ready to serve in individual portions.

If your child has allergies, you may send separate food in (please inform your class teacher, and send a message to Mrs Curtis, many thanks).

We regret, we cannot accommodate babies or toddlers in school.

Without your help, we would not be able to hold this festival. Thank you so much!

Mrs Curtis

RESPECT Assembly: Water Safety

This week’s RESPECT Assembly, led by Miss Miles, talked to the children about Water Safety, in light of Drowning Prevention Week which runs June 13-20th this year. Drowning Prevention Week is led by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK), and is aimed at teaching children and young adults crucial lifesaving skills ahead of the summer holidays. Miss Miles talked to the children about how to identify safer swimming spots: is a lifeguard there? And also talked to children about how the cold temperate of some open water spots (rivers, lakes) can shock the body and cause breathing issues. 

If you would like to discuss this further with your children, we encourage you to visit: Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week for more resources and information.

Free School Meals – Update

The Department for Education (DfE) is significantly expanding Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility in England from the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, making all pupils in households receiving Universal Credit entitled to a free school meal, regardless of their annual income. This means that any family currently in receipt of a FSM will need to reapply to gain eligibility for next academic year, and it is expected that many more families will also be eligible for the first time for FSM if parents are in receipt of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

A pupil is only eligible to receive a free school meal where both:

• a claim for this support has been made
• their eligibility has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority.

If you think you may be eligible (and if you are on Univeral Credit, you most likely are eligible), please contact the School Office for a Registration Form for Free School Meals and we will be happy to help you apply. 

We will be in touch with more updates shortly.