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23rd October 2026 Newsletter – PE and Forest School days, Book Fair, Harvest, Prayer Space and more

A few notes from Mr Applegate

Thank you for your harvest donations on Monday. Foodbank were so grateful.
And the children loved visiting the prayer space – thank you Mrs Rosso for co-ordinating.
We introduced our refreshed behaviour system today – ask your child about Recognition Points and Concern Points! We’ll be sharing details with parents next week.

Have a great half-term, Charles

Reminders:

Have you done our parent survey yet?. The first 3 classes to get 100% responses will win 5 class stars – your child will agree, that’s worth winning!
Children must not wear smart watches to school. Our school policy states: Whilst electronic watches are allowed, smart watches or watches with a camera are not allowed. Children must not be able to access the internet or a mobile network through their watches.
New PE and Forest School Days are in the yellow section below.
With half-term coming up, could you cover a farm slot? Book here.

Agents of Change

Helpful Information

Year Group Key Information Slides and Videos
Autumn Term - what is my child learning?
Year 1 - Sensational Senses - Autumn 1.pdf

Year 2 - Beauty on my Doorstep - Autumn 1.pdf

Year 3 - Dig and Discover - Autumn 1.pdf

Year 4 - Anglo Saxons - Autumn 1.pdf

Year 5 - Supersonic Space - Autumn 1.pdf

Year 6 - Ola Brazil - Autumn 1.pdf

Year R - It's good to be me - Autumn 1.pdf
Autumn 2 PE Days
PE Uniform details can be found here. Remember, football shirts, hoodies, or general day-to-day clothing are not acceptable as PE kit.

Year R – Monday (indoor), Friday (indoor)

Year 1 – Monday (outdoor), Friday (outdoor)

Year 2 –

2M – Tuesday (indoor)

2P – Wednesday (indoor)

2R – Wednesday (indoor)

Year 2 – Thursday (outdoor)

Year 3 – Wednesday (outdoor)

Year 4 – Monday (outdoor), Friday (outdoor)

Year 5 –

5M – Monday (indoor)

5F – Tuesday (indoor)

5SG – Tuesday (indoor)

Year 6 – Tuesday (outdoor), Thursday (indoor)
Autumn 2 Forest School/Outdoor Learning Days
Forest School/Outdoor Learning starts W/B 2nd November and lasts for 5 weeks. What do children need to wear? See here.

Year 3 – 3EC Mondays 3AC Tuesdays 3PR Thursdays

Year 5 – 5F Mondays 5M Tuesdays 5SG Fridays

Bridge & Orchard – Thursdays
Autumn After School Clubs
Clubs Finish Time: 4:10pm

Please see your confirmation email and Arbor App to confirm which clubs your child has been registered for. If there is a charge, you must pay in order for the registration process to complete.

School Access:  COLLECTION IS VIA KS1 GATE – orange star in the photo below 👇🏻

Exceptions:

Forest School – finishes at 5pm and collection is at Dandelions Gate.

Dance Live – see emails from Mrs Boyle for details and contact her here for enquiries – dancelive@stmarksce.org.uk

Young Voices – contact the team here for enquiries – youngvoices@stmarksce.org.uk
Arbor
Wraparound Care: Lions and Breakfast Club
Childcare Tax-Free Payments -further information
For parents who have been making payments for wraparound care (Breakfast Club & Lions) using the Government scheme or a similar company scheme we would like to help you to understand the process a little more now that we are getting to grips with it as well.

You pay in money to your scheme choosing St Mark’s C of E Primary School as the childcare provider (on the Government site, search by our postcode – RG22 4US).

The scheme will send the money to Hampshire County Council.

We receive the money onto our banking system.

We manually add the money onto your Arbor account.

Your Arbor balance adjusts accordingly.

As you can see, the process is much longer than before. As long as you tell us in advance that you want to pay in this way (tell us here) we can set up Arbor to accept your bookings for Lions regardless. The negative balance on Arbor will remain until such time as we have received and actioned the funds. This will be happening on a regular basis from next week.

If you use both Wraparound provisions, please email us to tell us how much you want us to credit your Breakfast Club account and how much to credit your Lions account. That would be very helpful.
How to contact your child's teacher

For matters requiring same day/urgent responses (e.g. pick up arrangements) we would prefer a telephone call please: 01256 346111 as year group emails can be missed and may not be looked at in the evenings or during the day.

Year R – yearr@stmarksce.org.uk Year R parents should no longer use the NewYearR email address as this is no longer monitored.

Year 1 – year1@stmarksce.org.uk

Year 2- year2@stmarksce.org.uk

Year 3 – year3@stmarksce.org.uk

Year 4 – year4@stmarksce.org.uk

Year 5 – year5@stmarksce.org.uk

Year 6 – year6@stmarksce.org.uk
Foodbank Friday

Many local supermarkets host a permanent donation point where people can leave the donations they purchase during their visit but we would also like to set up a station in school where children can feel that they are making a difference to help others.

We are encouraging children to occasionally bring in an item of food, which they can put in a box in our School Office.

We will update the list each week or you may prefer to download the Bank the Food App. This will update it weekly on the items we’re running low on. It’s a great app and you only need to download it and select Basingstoke Foodbank as preferred. You can also activate notifications which means you’ll get a reminder when you visit the supermarket, so you never forget to donate. It lets you know the items they most need.
Illness - should I keep my child off school?

Harvest Worship

Thank you for your generous donations which have now been sent to Basingstoke Foodbank.

Clubs

Clubs continue after half term and restart in the first week.

Autumn Parents’ Evening

Parents’ Evening Dates:

Wednesday 4th November Appointments from 3:40pm–6:50pm

Booking closes: 2nd November

Half term Uniform Hunt and Name Check

Several families are looking for named jumpers and cardigans that have gone missing. Over half term, please could you check any uniform items at home and see whether they belong to another child.

We had planned to lay out all the Lost Property at home time today for parents to look through but due to the weather it was decided to postpone this. We will ask you to come to look through items on the Friday in the first week back. Anything that is not collected will then be donated to FOSM or binned.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind all parents to clearly name all clothing, shoes and belongings so that any misplaced items can be returned quickly. Thank you for your support.

Applying for a place at Secondary School

Please see here for information regarding applications for secondary school. The national notification date for on-time applicants is 1 March 2027.

Christmas….it’s coming!🎄🎅🎄

Watch this space for details of our Christmas Events!

We’ll be adding lots of information about performances and other events after half term.

For a heads up of all our upcoming dates and useful reminders please log into our school Google Calendar.

Book Fair

In the first week back after half term, we have the Scholastic Book Fair visiting. This is a great way to get children excited about books and to help raise money for books in school.

Each class will visit the book fair stall. If you’d like your child to buy some books, please send them in with an amount between £5 and £12 in cash in a named envelope on the day below. For Year R, the book fair is after school on the Key Stage 1 playground – please can parents/carers attend with your child.

If you would prefer to buy a voucher to use at the bookfair, you can do so here.

When is my child visiting the book fair?

Tuesday 3rd November

Year R classes– after school with parents (on the KS1 playground weather permitting). Please allow a few minutes for us to set up.

Wednesday 4th November

Year 6 classes – during the school day

Thursday 5th November

Year 1 & 2 classes – during the school day.

Friday 6th November

Year 3 & 4 classes – during the school day.

Children of any year group may visit after school with parents (on the KS1 playground weather permitting). If you are visiting the book fair after school with your child, there will be a QR code which links to a website for you to pay electronically.

Monday 9th November

Year 5 classes– during the school day

Thank you for your support!

Odd Socks Day and Anti-Bullying Week

During the week beginning Monday 16th November, we will be celebrating Anti-Bullying Week at St Mark’s! The theme this year is ‘Break the Silence’. On Monday 16th November, we will celebrate Odd Socks Day.

WHAT IS ODD SOCKS DAY?

Odd Socks Day is a key part of Anti-Bullying Week! To celebrate that we are all unique, we ask that children wear odd socks to school on Monday 10th November. Last year over 13,000 schools took part in Odd Socks Day and again this year, we are joining them!

WHY IS ODD SOCKS DAY IMPORTANT?

The day sends an important message to pupils that they should be allowed to be themselves, free from bullying and helps us celebrate Anti-Bullying Week in a fun and positive way. We will be completing fun activities during the day and the rest of the week, which will help us celebrate both our differences and our unity within our St Mark’s community.

WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU?

*Please just make sure your child wears odd socks to school on Monday 16th November!*

This week in worship…

Music of the Week

⭐Weekly Achievements and Attendance ⭐

What’s all the building works at KS1 end?

We’re converting unused space into additional learning zones, thanks to funding from FOSM!

⭐St Mark’s Shout Outs ⭐

We held a colouring competition to celebrate Fairtrade fortnight. Our winners’ entries are displayed below.

Well done to: Bogdan, Isla C, Prathika, Gwen, Kylara and Ayla!

Prayer Space: Thank You

This week, our children have enjoyed a wonderful prayer space experience, giving them opportunities to reflect, wonder, pray and respond in creative ways.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the volunteers from Immanuel Church who generously gave their time to help run the prayer space and support our children throughout the week. Their enthusiasm, care and encouragement helped make the experience so special.

We would also like to thank our newly appointed Christian Voice Ambassadors, who have been fantastic role models. They played an important part in planning and designing many of the prayer space activities and supported younger pupils as they engaged with the different stations. We are incredibly proud of the responsibility, creativity and leadership they have shown.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this meaningful and inspiring week possible. It has been wonderful to see our vision of Living Life in All Its Fullness come to life through reflection, kindness and community.