St William of York Parent Newsletter - Friday 19th September 2025

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Check out our website: 

www.swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

This week's letter from Mrs Mayers...

Dear Parents and Carers

We have had a lovely afternoon welcoming our new children and families to our school with our Welcome Assembly. I would like to say a special thank you to our fantastic Yr6 children who led our assembly and singing so beautifully, and to all of the families who joined us for the special celebration. We hope to see many of you at the Welcome BBQ from 5pm this evening. Let's hope this sunshine stays!

It was good to see lots of parents attending the 'Meet the Teacher' sessions earlier this week for Yr1 - Yr6. We will be planning Parent Workshops over the course of the year with a particular focus on: Reading and Maths. We will give you plenty of notice of the dates of these so that you can make arrangements to attend if you would like to. 

Warm regards 

Hayley Mayers (Headteacher) 

School Information / Reminders

Choir 

Music Note Clipart Stock Illustrations ...

Choir will restart on Tuesday 23rd September 2025 

Yr2 Meet the Teacher

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to cancel the Yr2 Meet the Teacher session this week. This has been rearranged for: 

Tuesday 23rd September 2025 at 3.30pm

Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL)

We're excited to introduce OPAL, our new program that will bring fresh opportunities for creativity, play and exploration to our children. We are looking forward to working with the children and our play leaders to redevelop our school playgrounds and approaches to play! In the weeks ahead, we will share more about how this will look in our community and how families can support this important work.

Teacher's Email Addresses: 

Nursery: cdempsey@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Reception: gmeara@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 1: nrolt@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk or kjones@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 2: nogston@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 3: vhazelton@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 4: lperry@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 5: dmayers@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

Year 6: swebster@swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

This week's Friday Club was... Khalif, Chiemerie, Esme, Bryanna and Lewis.

Well done to all of you! You have been recognised for being ACE and for consistently going 'over and above'.

Arbor logoArbor

Parent Login: All primary guardians will have received an email with their login information. If you have not received it, please contact the office.

In-App Notifications: If you are not receiving In-App notifications, please follow these instructions to ensure you do not miss important messages & reminders: https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002598038-Parents-not-receiving-push-notifications

Payments, we are now using Arbor Payments this includes school trips, clubs - small group music lessons, nursery lunches and nursery additional hours. 

  • School trips: https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008180414-Signing-my-child-up-for-a-Trip-on-the-Parent-Portal-or-the-Parent-App
  • Clubs (includes choir & small group music lessons): https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008179494-Signing-my-child-up-for-a-Club-on-the-Parent-Portal-or-Parent-App
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Please can you return any school phonics resources your child may have used last year e.g. phonics books etc. We will have a phonics box outside of Yr1 all of next week so please pop in any school resources you may find at home. 

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Late Collection

We understand that, from time to time, unforeseen circumstances can result in occasional lateness. Please telephone the school office if you are running late so we can let your child and their class teacher know. We must also ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children, and this includes managing the impact of late collections. Please see our Late Collection policy here. 

School Uniform - please ensure your child's clothes have their name on.

Please do make sure that you check the school uniform list before you buy or replace any items of clothing.

Key things to remember: 

  • Trainers are NOT uniform 
  • Polo t-shirt: white
  • School shoes: black 
  • Trousers: grey 
  • Skirts: navy 
  • Hairbands: plain black or navy
  • Summer dress: light blue gingham 
  • Tights/socks: plan grey or white

Absence Requests

In August 2024, the DfE published new statutory guidance for improving attendance; this is reflected in our school attendance policy, which you can find here.

Section 5 details guidance on requests for authorised absences. There is limited scope for requests that can be approved so please read this section carefully when submitting a request.

You can submit a request for an authorised absence via the form on our website, which is linked here.

Medical / dental appointments during school hours

Where possible, please organise for appointments to take place outside of school hours.

We understand that this is sometimes unavoidable. If this is the case, please let the school office know asap, and please provide a copy of the letter / email received confirming your child's appointment. 

Jpg of cartoon childrenRainbow Breakfast and After School       Club at SWOY

  • Drop off from 7.30am for Breakfast Club
  • Collect at either 4.15pm or 6pm for After-School Club

Book your place in advance! Our school office is unable to book spaces.

Email: Rainbow.ASC@hotmail.co.uk Text or Whatsapp: 0785 477 4096

Dates for your diary

LAMDA Drama Classes Start
All Day
22
September
Choir restarts
All Day
23
September
SWOYSA AGM
6:00pm – 7:00pm
25
September
Brass & Recorder Class Lessons Start
All Day
26
September
Guitar & Ukulele (Group Lessons Start)
All Day
26
September
Tottenham Next Generation Football Sessions (Yr1 - Yr6)
All Day
01
October
Prospective Parent Tours (Reception 2026)
9:45am
03
October
Prospective Parent Tours (Reception 2026)
9:45am
10
October
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Please join us this Friday for our Welcome BBQ as we celebrate the start of a new school year and warmly welcome our new Reception class, along with all of the new children and families who have joined our school community. This is a cherished school tradition and wonderful chance to connect with past and present pupils and families, enjoy some delicious food, and begin the year together. We can't wait to see you there! #schoolBBQ #Welcomeevent #schoolcommunity #Lewisham
3 days ago
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Local News / Events

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MacMillan Coffee Morning in

Cafe York

Located in St William of York Catholic Church

Friday 26th September 2025 

9am - 2pm 

The Honor Oak WI is proud to support people living with cancer. We'll have plenty of homemade cakes, jam, marmalades and more! 

Join us and bringing friends for a worthy cause.