6th October 2023
Well done to everyone who took part in Race for the Kids this morning and for your generous donations to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.
It was wonderful to see so many parents and children enjoy running together, and lovely to see all the blue clothing and accessories in memory of Susannah Boddie. Mrs Newman and I are attending her memorial service this afternoon on behalf of the school.
Henley Literary Festival
From drawing bugs with author & illustrator Matty Long, to celebrating happiness with author and teacher Jenny Pearson, all the children, from Reception to Year 6, have visited the Henley Literary Festival this week. I particularly enjoyed hearing David Baddiel speak to the Year 6 children about how he constructs his stories and the children's answers as to who their celebrity parents would be if they could choose! The Literary Festival is always a fun experience and we are so lucky to have it on our doorstep. You can read all about the various visits in the news section of the website.
Charity
Thank you to Mrs Eccles and the parent reps who held the second-hand uniform sale on Monday this week, and to all those who attended. I believe they took just over £1,100 which is incredible. On a similar note, thank you to the Year 6 reps who organised the Macmillan cake sale on Friday last week. As always, it was a huge success and very popular with the children, with £323 being raised for Macmillan.
In the whole school assembly on Thursday, we welcomed Debbie from NOMAD who spoke to the children about the work of the charity and the importance of the local foodbank. She explained to them where the produce goes and the kind of items they are looking for in order to create food parcels for those in the community who need support. Please remember to bring in any donations to either Courtneys or the front hallway by Thursday at drop-off next week, in time for the Year 6 pupils to take them to the D2 Centre that morning.
Centenary
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with our Centenary plans. We spent some time finalising dates this week so should be able to share a calendar of events shortly.
Staying healthy
It is that time of year again when the bugs start to do the rounds. I would like to remind all parents that if your child has sickness or diarrhoea, the school policy is that you must wait 48 hours from their last episode, please, before bringing them back to school.
In school, we are very conscious of asking the children to wash their hands often, especially after using the toilet and before eating, and would advise you to encourage the same practise at home.
The week ahead
It is hard to believe we are just one week away from half term! Next week we have parents' evenings for Reception to Year 3 and the flu immunisations on 11th October. Please make sure you have completed the form below for your child indicating whether or not you would like your child to receive it. Also, do sign up to meet the new Head of The Oratory on Wednesday at the next in our series of Meet the Head Coffee Mornings, using this form, if you would like to attend. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Harvest Festival on Friday which the children are hard at work rehearsing for at present.
Please don't forget to order your Christmas cards this weekend. The deadline for doing so is Tuesday 10th October.
Good luck to all those representing Rupert House at the Chiltern Edge cross country tomorrow morning and to any parents running the Henley 10km or Half Marathon on Sunday.
Best wishes,
Nick Armitage