Our week started with an exciting assembly in Mairlot Hall, with the Senior girls, listening to the prospective Head Girl speeches from eleven of our Year 10 pupils. It was lovely to see some of the pupils I taught in 2023 confidently delivering their reasons for why we should vote for them. From Mairlot, we returned to class to cast our votes.
Throughout the week we have been reflecting on places and spaces where we feel we truly belong, following the theme of Children’s Mental Health Week: ‘This Is My Place’. We have completed colourful road maps of those special places.
On Tuesday, we reflected on the use of AI during Safer Internet Day, considering what helpful ways AI can support us in our everyday lives, but also raising awareness to the ways it is currently being used to create fake news, images and the like. Girls were encouraged to renew their vigilance and always check further sources when confronted with information online.
A massive thank you to all of you and to my staff for the evenings spent discussing your daughter’s progress so far this year in our online and in-person parents’ evenings.
On Wednesday morning, Year 5 had a fun time at their Trust Partnership French Breakfast. My thanks to Mrs. Kearley and Miss Lane for organising and running this event.
While I have been out of school these past two days on an IAPS Head’s Conference, my thanks go to Mrs. Gibson for overseeing Prep in my absence. I also missed my opportunity to rock up to school in my PJ’s as part of our charitable work to raise money for Children’s Cancer Research. Thank you to Mr. Jakubowski and the Chaplaincy Team for organising this event with the Hug-In-A-Mug hot chocolate at morning break too.
As we head into the February half-term break, remember:
Have a superb half term break,
Gareth Tindall
Pastoral Pause
Heading into the half term break, it is ‘Random Acts Of Kindness Week’ 15th – 21st February 2026, do have a look at the challenges laid at in the calendar at the bottom of the page.
I particularly like the sound of Tuesday’s challenge to complete three acts of kindness that day: one for a friend, one for a family member and one for a stranger!
Dare you take your daughter to the local library on Thursday and drop a surprise note in a book for someone to find.
And I love the challenge for Friday, in an impatient world, taking a step back, giving others priority in traffic, at the supermarket or coffee shop, could make all the difference to someone’s day.
As I sign off, here are a couple of meaningful challenges – or, as I like to say, choices:
God Bless You, Gareth
SpringTerm, 2026 Key Diary Dates:
Prep School Spring Concert, Thursday 12th March
Mr Tindall and Mrs G would like to invite Prep School Parents to our Spring Concert in the Mairlot Hall on Thursday 12th March 2025 at 6.30pm Refreshments will be served from 6.00pm
This week you have received the following communications on SchoolPost:
Year 5 Year 5 Science – Living Things and Their Habitats Year 6 From the Year 6 Class Reps: Names for leavers hoodies
6MK Class Assembly - Wednesday 25th February
Whole School: Reminder: Mufti Day, Friday 13th February
Book Week 2026: Prep Author Visits and Book Purchases Faith Discussion Evening, Wednesday 18 March
If you have any questions please email prepinfo@st-teresas.com Mon 23rd Feb
Please remember to check your inbox, including your junk/spam, as the email may go to your junk box the first time it is sent.
Golden Book
Well done to all of the girls in our Golden Books this week:
5AB Flossie H for her well-considered and effective watercolour painting, representing one of the seven petitions from the Lord's Prayer.
Lulu DDOT for her bold and well-executed watercolour painting, representing one of the seven petitions from the Lord's Prayer.
Kimberley C for always being kind, polite and helpful to everyone!
5HT Kitty N and Olivia H for their creative, Tudor inspired, advert they designed in English this week. From catchy slogans to rhetorical questions. The Tudors will be jostling to buy their dresses.
6RG Isla S for her excellent research on Anderson shelters organised and presented clearly.
Jemima H for her super work on ratio and algebra over the last two weeks, carefully considering what she is learning and approaching her work with a positive attitude.
6MK Cecily P and Thea S for their wonderfully creative designs for Place2Be's, helping to celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week.
Carys D for her expert help in managing the PowerPoint and backing tracks for our class assembly.
Drama Stars
Year 5: Ottilie H for her increased participation in Drama this week and her willingness to perform as part of a group.
Year 6: Olivia L and Isla M for their creativity in using a coat puppet.
Scientists of the Week
Year 5: Liel G, Sara W and Kimberley C for their stunning science test results!
Maddie J for her helpfulness and always giving her very best effort in Science
Year 6: Cara and Harper A-S for their laser-focus and engagement with our current Light topic!
FOST 2nd HAND UNIFORM SHOP
Submission forms are under FOST 2nd hand uniform on the St Ts website: Second-hand Uniform Shop
REMINDER: CASH or CHEQUE only please for the foreseeable future.
Open Fridays 8.30am-9am and First Saturday of every month 10:30am 11.00am by appointment only:
Please contact Wendy or Camilla: Fostuniform@gmail.com
Key Dates 2025 - 26
As outlined in the Parent Handbook, and reiterated at the Parent Welcome Reception, there are four key dates in the school calendar that are compulsory for all the girls to attend. This is to help them understand the importance of team work and collaborative responsibility as these are events where they are all involved and need to support each other.
These dates are as follows:
Spring Concert, Thursday 12th March, 18.30 to 19.30
School Production, Thursday & Friday 25th & 26th June , 18. 00 to 19.00
Prep School Prize Giving, Thursday 2nd July, 19.00 to 20.00
We would be grateful if you could keep these dates free so that all girls can be present at these important community events.
Class Assembly Dates 2025 - 26
25/02/26 - 6MK
25/03/26 - 5AB
29/04/26 - 5HT
At 8.30am in the Library Refreshments will be served from 8.15am
As part of Children's Mental Health week, Art club spent some time discussing and researching positive affirmations to use to make our 'positive pebbles'. We then used acrylic paint pens to create images and slogans to spread positivity.
Yr. 5 French Breakfast
On Wednesday morning, St Teresa's welcomed the Year 5 boys from Cranmore and the Year 5 girls from Manor House, to enjoy a wonderful breakfast and some French conversation. All the children embraced this special event, and some fantastic French could be heard, whilst some yummy croissants enjoyed.
Safer Internet Day – Assembly on Artificial Intelligence
To mark Safer Internet Day, Mrs Gibson led an assembly all about Artificial Intelligence (AI). The girls learned that AI refers to computer systems that can perform tasks which usually require human thinking, such as recognising images, answering questions, or translating languages.
During the assembly, the girls explored a range of familiar AI examples, including voice assistants, translation tools, adaptive learning platforms, and even games that learn from how you play. They discussed how AI can be incredibly helpful, supporting learning, keeping people safe online, and making difficult tasks easier and faster.
The children also considered the challenges that come with AI. They learned that while AI is powerful, it can sometimes make mistakes, rely on huge amounts of data, and must always be used responsibly. Mrs Gibson encouraged the pupils to think critically, stay curious, and always check with a trusted adult when using new technologies or sharing information online.
The girls showed greater awareness by recognising the AI content and were much more ready to look for it through the rest of the day.
Year 6 Open Book
We were delighted to welcome parents to the Year 6 Open Book. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to share their learning, reflect on their progress, and celebrate their achievements with their family members.
Pyjama Mufti Day for Charity—ThankYou!
A huge thank you to everyone who donated and took part in our mufti day. Thanks to your generosity, we raised £190 for our chosen charities. We truly appreciate your support and enthusiasm!
Poetry Performance Challenge
After the half term break, pupils will begin preparing for our Performance Poetry Competition. Please read the information below carefully:
• Choose a poem that takes approximately one minute to perform.
• Learn your poem by heart – no scripts or prompts may be used.
• Use your drama skills to bring the poem to life, including body language, facial expression and expressive use of voice.
• In the first week back, each pupil will perform their poem in class.
• Prizes will be awarded for the best performance in each class.
We look forward to seeing the pupils’ creativity and confidence shine through their performances!
Book Week 2026 – Key Information
Book Week is nearly here, and we have an exciting programme of activities planned for the pupils.
Performance Poetry
Pupils are invited to learn a poem over Half Term for our Performance Poetry Competition. Class finalists will perform in the Celebration Assembly, with winners receiving an Amazon voucher.
Author Visit – Ally Sherrick (Monday 2nd March)
We look forward to welcoming award winning author Ally Sherrick (Allysherrick.com).
Signed copies of RebelHearts can be purchased here: Prep School: Rebel Heart, Ally Sherrick Deadline: Wednesday 25th February.
Creative Writing Day (Tuesday 3rd March)
Workshops and a Book Week assembly will focus on heroes and villains. Pupils will write a hero themed story, with winning entries announced on Friday 6th March.
Quizzes & Activities (Wednesday 4th March)
Fun book themed quizzes and competitions will take place throughout the day.
World Book Day (Thursday 5th March)
Pupils may come dressed as their favourite literary hero or villain. There will be an Alice in Wonderland themed lunch and World Book Day vouchers will be distributed.
Celebration Assembly (Friday 6th March)
Finalists will perform in the Performance Poetry Competition, and prizes for the best hero stories will be awarded.
Author Visit – Joel Arcanjo (Monday 9th March)
We are delighted to welcome Joel Arcanjo, author of the Crookhaven series.
Signed copies can be purchased here: Crookhaven, The School for Thieves Deadline: Wednesday 25th February.
This competition aims to 'encourage students globally to creatively embed their Maths learning in a meaningful and engaging context through creating short maths story picture books'.
Winners will receive a cash prize of £100, and their school will also receive £100.
More information can be found here: https://www.mathsthroughstories.org/competitions.html
Past winning and shortlisted entries for 2025 can be found using the link below. Further examples can be found on the website.
https://www.mathsthroughstories.org/ymsa2025.html
The deadline for entry is 13th March to allow entries to be submitted by the closing date and entries should be sent to c.ridulfa@st-teresas.com
Please check the submission guidelines as there are clear rules about how the story should be presented. Support documents to aid planning are also available on the website.
Good luck!
Mrs Ridulfa
Music News
Orchestra
With almost full attendance at the orchestra this week we were able to fine tune our performance of Waltzing Matilda including dynamic variations and tempo changes. Electra tried her hand at conducting.
Music-Makers Club
Cups at the ready, we achieved a full run-through of our rhythm cups song, complete with two verses! And Mrs G. only dropped her cup twice!
Chamber Choir
Our song for the Spring Concert is really beginning to take shape as we identified our spotlight singers and put all the parts together.
Musician of the Week
Year 5 Vivienne W-S, Isabelle C, Florence D, Arabella N, Maddie J, Ava B, Eloise K for singing spontaneously, a capella in three part harmony; what a joy to hear you!
Year 6 Cara A-S and Sofia A for super partner work and collaboration in our keyboard lesson.
Year 5
On Monday, Year 5 enjoyed watching one of the Year 6 auditions for the Wizard of Oz. We then spent time refining the whole school and Year 5 song choices ready for the Spring Concert.
Year 6
In addition to some concert practice, Year 6 learned about music in three-time, listening to and dancing a waltz to Ravel’s Bolero. We then watched a recording of Torvil and Dean’s Olympic routine and noticed how the slow build of texture and dynamics creates an intensity within the music and the illusion that it
Spring Concert Performances - preparation!
Year 5, Year 6, Whole School Choir, Chamber Choir, Young Voices Choir and Music-Makers will be performing in the Spring Concert on 12 March 2026. The words for all the songs are available on Teams - over the half term break, please could all girls make sure they have memorised the words for the songs they will be performing!
Sport News
U11 NetballV Downsend and Danes Hill
It didn't rain enough for us on Tuesday to cancel the netball matches!! YAY! We were able to play a triangular with Downsend and Danes Hill. The A,B & C teams all won against Downsend but we unfortunately couldn’t get the win against Danes Hill, although the B team were close and only lost by 1 goal! Well done to Eden May, Esther, Zoe and Olivia who was voted player of the match by the other team.
Pupil News, Ivy Murrell,Year 6
Last weekend Ivy won the British Novice and came 10th in the Discovery at Merrist Wood Junior British Showjumping with her new pony Teddy.
They have had a great start to the year qualifying for Blue Chip Championships in April.
If your daughter has completed any sporting achievements outside of school, the PE department would love to hear about them. Please email Mrs Hitchman with a short description and photo to a.hitchman@st-teresas.com
• Tuesday 24th Feb U10&U11 Cross Country @ St Cats
• Thursday 26th Feb– U10-U11 Swim Gala V Notre Dame (A) 3-6pm
You will be able to access fixtures for the day, alongside the Sports Calendar which can provide you with all the sports fixtures weeks and months in advance.
If a team sheet has been published for a particular fixture, the blue ‘person’ symbol will be available to click on. simply click on the blue symbol next to the fixture to access the team sheet. St Teresa's Effingham | Sports Home
for 7 – 16s, St Joseph’s Primary School, Kingston KT1 2UP
Monday 16 – Thursday 19 February 2026
Monday 30 March – Thursday 2 April
Sessions run 10:10 – 12:15 pm daily (Full day care/ sports camp available)
Learn how to touch type 40+ words per minute with 95% accuracy. Using correct fingers and posture, touch typing is far more productive for schoolwork and exams.
Beginners, improvers and advanced typists are warmly welcome. We mix formal technique with the latest app games to make learning to type fast, fun and effective.
Flip crazy skate ramps, zap aliens and collect superhero movie rewards while learning an amazing skill. Typing proficiency will significantly boost your child’s academic attainment in today’s digital world.
Prior to setting up Typing’s Cool, Sarah Holt worked as a teacher at Weston Green School and Nick Holt was a secondary school Head of English.
Cost: £176.00 per place OFSTED registered - childcare vouchers accepted 10% discount for siblings/ bring a friend Duke of Edinburgh skills assessor
Apply at www.typingscool.co.uk or contact sarah.holt@typingscool.co.uk
Advanced skills touch-typing club
Friday lunchtimes 12:45 – 1:15 pm
Typing’s Cool teaches touch typing to 40+ words per minute with 95% accuracy, using correct fingers and posture. Typing proficiency significantly boosts school and exam attainment in today's digital world.
Beginners, improvers and advanced typists are warmly welcome. We mix formal technique with the latest app games to make learning to type effective and fun.
Flip flying skateboards, zap aliens and collect cool movie outfits while learning an amazing skill.
Club fee: £146.00 per term.
Save 25% by paying with childcare vouchers or tax-free childcare. Contact us for details.
To book a place email: sarah.holt@typingscool.co.uk
Prior to setting up Typing’s Cool, Sarah Holt worked as a teacher at Weston Green School and Nick Holt was a secondary Head of English. We are both passionate about helping all pupils fulfil their learning potential.
Nick and Sarah Holt, Typing’s Cool Ltd, School House, St Joseph’s Primary School, Kingston KT1 2UP 07812 632238; sarah.holt@typingscool.co.uk; OFSTED reg no. EY473171; www.typingscool.co.uk
On Thursday, our pupils and staff enjoyed a wonderfully vibrant celebration of the Lunar New Year, thanks to the delicious themed menu created by Harrison’s Catering. Serving a selection of beautifully prepared dishes that introduced our pupils to flavours and traditions from across East and Southeast Asia.
We are incredibly grateful to the Harrison’s team for their creativity, enthusiasm, and hard work in making the day so memorable.
A big thank you to everyone involved for helping us mark the occasion in such a delicious way!
A Sweet End to the Week
We would also like to extend our warm thanks to Harrison’s Catering for the delightful sweet treats served with Friday’s lunches. The pupils were thrilled with the special end of week surprise, and the treats added a lovely touch of fun to the day.
As always, we are grateful for the care and attention the Harrison’s team put into preparing our meals.
Thank you once again to Harrison’s for their continued creativity and support.
Menu—w/c Monday 9th February 2026
Hot lunches include a selection of family favourites and suitable alternatives for children with allergies and intolerances.
Week 1
Soup
Main
Vegetarian
Soup of the day Soup of the day Soup of the day Soup of the day Soup of the day
Hong Kong
Style Sweet & Sour Chicken
Pasta Bar
Sweet & Sour
Slow Cooked Beef Lasagne
Quorn & Pepper Roasted Vegetable Lasagne
Pasta with Tomato & Basil or Cheesy Pesto Sauce
Sides
Egg Fried Rice
Broccoli
Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
Garlic Bread
Roquette& Balsamic
Tomato Salad
Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling, Yorkshire
Pudding, Apple Sauce & Gravy
Loaded Mexican Chicken Nachos with Sour Cream, Salsa & Cheese
Braised Lentil Cottage Pie with a Sweet Potato Top Cajun
Aubergine & Bean Taco with Sour Cream, Salsa & Cheese
