St William of York Catholic Primary School Parent Portal - St William of York Primary School Newsletter

St William of York Parent Newsletter - Friday 26th September 2025

@swoyschoolse23 and @swoyeyfs

Check out our website:

www.swoy.lewisham.sch.uk

This week's letter from Mrs Mayers...

Dear Parents and Carers

The children have been busy immersing themselves in their topics, and the school has been alive with the sound of music this week with our music lessons all starting up. We've had djembe, violins, brass, recorder, guitar, ukulele, and Rock Steady sessions!

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the SWOYSA AGM. We’re proud to look back on a successful year of building community and raising funds for the school. Special thanks go to the committee and all who contributed their time and support. This year, we’re turning our fundraising efforts towards playground improvements, with one exciting goal being the installation of a sandpit.

There are still a few vacancies on the SWOYSA Committee – please speak to me or SWOYSA if you are interested in taking on a role to support our school this year.

Warm regards

Hayley Mayers (Headteacher)

School Information / Reminders

Congratulations to... Cyd, who received her Brownie Gold Award, which is the highest award a Brownie can earn in the UK girl guiding program. This is achieved by collecting 6 theme awards and completing a final challenge to lead a session for her Brownie friends. Well done Cyd.

Congratulations to... Gabriella, who recently took her Grade 1 Ballet exam and she passed with distinction!

What an incredible achievement! Well done Gabriella, we are so proud of you!

This week's Friday Club was... Rebecca, Larissa, Ruth, Laniya, Piper and Khadija

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

Credit Union Young Savers

Wednesday 1st October 8.45am

In the school hall

Would you like to start a young savers account for your child?

Credit Union Young Saver accounts are savings accounts for individuals under 16, designed to promote early financial literacy and regular saving habits by allowing parents or guardians to open and manage accounts for the child.

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.

To find out more about OPAL visit our website here.

Parents' Evenings

Walmsley C.E. Primary School

Autumn Term Parents' Evenings will be held on:

Wednesday 15th October

Wednesday 22nd October

Meetings will take place in your child's classroom with the class teacher between 4.00 - 6.30pm.

Please book your Parents' Evening Appointment using the booking links below:

Nursery Parents' Evening Booking Link

Reception Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr1 Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr2 Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr3 Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr4 Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr5 Parents' Evening Booking Link

Yr6 Parents' Evening Booking Link

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

Arbor

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

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.

Rainbow 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

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)

Yr2 St Paul's Cathedral - Great Fire of London

All Day

13
October

Christmas Artwork - Deadline

All Day

16
October

Yr3 Horniman Museum - Bones & Teeth workshop

All Day

17
October

Last day of half term

All Day

24
October

Thumbnail for Instagram post created 2 days ago

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Join SWOYSA & Make a Difference! SWOYSA is at the heart of our school communityorganizing discos, fairs, and raising funds to support our students! Their work helps bring so much more to our school life. We're holding elections for new membersget involved and help us keep the fun going and the support strong! #school #lewisham #stwilliamofyork

2 days ago

Local News / Events

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Dance Ability for disabled dancers 5-8yr Book Now for Autumn Term 2025!

Experience the joy of dance in Dance Ability; a fun and creative weekly dance class, specifically designed for young dancers with cognitive and/or physical disabilities, or who identify as neuro-divergent.

Dance Ability uses props, music and movement to boost confidence, physicality and social interaction skills.

Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity for your child to explore their creativity and express themselves in a safe and supportive environment. Book Now!

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Free Trial Session and £40 discount at Perform

Popular children's drama and dance school Perform is offering a Free Trial Session and a special introductory discount of £40 for members of St William of York RC Primary School if they sign up by Monday 22nd September 2025. Parents should quote YWSI92025 when they book their free session by going to perform.org.uk/try or calling 020 7255 9120.

You can find out more about the classes at perform.org.uk/try. Alternatively, pdf flyers can be downloaded from here.

Click to find your nearest classes or view a list of all areas.