Churchtown Chatter
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What an exciting penultimate week of the Autumn term we have had from Buttercups Nursery singing Christmas songs, to Reception performing their Christmas story in St Cuthbert’s, to Year 5 enjoying their Victorian Day today in full Victorian outfits and holding a traditional Christmas Carol service at St Cuthbert’s as well.
Staff and children enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner yesterday. The food was beautiful restaurant standard and you would be super impressed that most children tried at least one Brussels sprout in our Brussels Sprout Challenge! A big thank you to the kitchen team and midday supervisors for making a truly festive Christmas lunch.
Next week is party week, with further information in the newsletter below. The festive spirit will be in full swing with parties, and we will end our Christmas term with assemblies in St Cuthbert’s on Friday. A massive thank you to the PTA for everything they have done over Christmas. Santa’s Grotto looked beautiful, and the children will cherish these moments in their memory bank of Churchtown Primary.
Have a good weekend, Mrs Payne
ATTENDANCE
This week’s attendance champions are: Hedgehogs for having 100% attendance!
The year group with the highest attendance this week is: Year 4!
Please can we remind parents that we are a nut-aware school. We have many children with severe allergies, and the presence of nuts can cause serious harm. We have seen a rise in Nutella and Kinder Bueno bars, which both contain nuts. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Churchtown Primary School Open Mornings
We would like to invite prospective pupils and their families to our Open Morning. This is a great opportunity to take a look around Churchtown Primary, meet our staff and current pupils. The Open Mornings will start at 9.30am prompt at the main school entrance (school office).
Booking for this event is essential as we have limited spaces for each Open Morning. To reserve your space, please visit our website: https://churchtown.org.uk/
or contact our school office on 01704 508500 or email us at office@churchtown.org.uk
Available dates are:
Thursday 8th January 2026
Admission to Reception: September 2026
Please click here to access further information in relation to this on our school letters page on our website titled ‘Arrangements for Admission to Reception – September 2026’.
Christmas Party Days – Lunchtime Menu
We’re excited to share that for this year’s Christmas Party Days (dates at the bottom of the newsletter), our wonderful catering team will be providing a special party buffet lunch for children. This means, unlike in previous years, no food needs to be brought in from home for party days.
Children in Reception–Year 2 can enjoy the meal as part of the Universal Free School Meal offer. For pupils in Key Stage 2 who are not eligible for Free School Meals, the cost of the party lunch is £2.80, payable via Arbor.
The menu can be seen below: A choice of wrap swirls – tuna/ham/cheese (including vegan cheese option)
Pizza Fingers
Sausage Rolls/Vegan Sausage Rolls
Chicken Nuggets
Crisps
Vegetable Selection
Ice Cream
All allergen information can be found on our website: https://churchtown.org.uk/parent-and-carers/lunchtime-menu
Please note, the menu (week 3) will alter slightly during the WC 15th December to accommodate the party days, with KS2 having the Chicken Korma Curry on Monday 15th and EYFS/KS1 having this on Tuesday 16th . We’re looking forward to a fantastically festive celebration!
https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/
A big thankyou to our incredible kitchen team and midday supervisors for serving us up the most delicious Christmas dinner on Thursday! All of the staff and children are very grateful The food was delicious and the festive atmosphere was amazing, thank you!
Last week, an impressive 92 shoeboxes were collected by the Rotary Club, with a big thank you to Beech Class for their help loading them into cars. These thoughtfully filled boxes are now on their way to Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine, Romania and Moldova. We are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity and dedication in supporting this initiative. During the collection process, an additional £395 was raised to help cover transport costs, ensuring the shoeboxes reach the children who need them the most.
The Southport Christmas Card Competition 2025: Finalist
from Churchtown Primary!
Jessica from Year 6 Beech class was a finalist in The Southport Christmas Card Competition 2025. The competition was for all schools in the area so Jessica did so well to be shortlisted! Her design was based on the theme ‘Christmas on the Coast’ (see above) and it is absolutely beautiful. Well done Jessica!
Managing infectious illnesses
Here is some guidance to help manage seasonal illnesses and keep children well during the winter months:
• Education Hub Blog: Reducing the spread of illness this winter: Seven steps to healthier schools and higher school attendance – a helpful blog for parents and staff.
• NHS Guidance for Parents: Is my child too ill for school? – a useful resource to help parents decide when children should stay at home.
• Preventing and Controlling Infections Guidance: Includes advice on vaccination, ventilation, and good respiratory hygiene.
• A–Z of managing Infectious Diseases: Practical guidance on managing specific illnesses.
Tuesday was a very busy day for Melody Makers. The wonderful children visited a local care home and sung and spread festive cheer to the residents and then in the evening raised money for Bebe's Hive and Alice's WonderDance by singing at Tesco. The children were amazing and we all thoroughly enjoyed singing in the community.
We raised £254.91 and we are donating half to Bebe's Hive and Half to Alice's Wonderdance. Well done Churchtown Melody Makers!
SCHOOL CROSSING PATROL VACANCY
Sefton Borough Council's excellent School Crossing Service is currently looking to recruit people to become School Crossing Patrols.
We are appealing to Schools, Parents and Grandparents of our children that have a few hours to spare each week.
We offer £13 per hour plus travelling expenses where applicable. You would also be entitled to holiday pay plus a retainer fee when the Schools are closed. There is no upper age limit.
If you, or anyone you know would be interested in becoming a Patrol please telephone the School Crossing Office on 0151 288 6154 in the first instance.
A message from Mr. Cocks (Year 2 teacher and Forest School leader):
For those families who choose to have a real Christmas tree, we would like your help for our Forest Schools firewood.
We DON’T require the actual tree but the wooden base/stump that the tree stands on, would be really useful. Once you’re finished with your tree after Christmas, please can you drop the wooden base/ stump of by the bike sheds at the front of school.
Thankyou for your support and wishing you all a wonderful festive season.
Natural Christmas Trees
Playgroup has now finished for the year and I would like to wish all the playgroup families a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have had so much fun this year in group, we have ended our year making Christmas cards for our families and reindeer food. I look forward to seeing you all again on the 12th January 2026, from Miss Cornish
After School Clubs- Spring Term
Please see below for information regarding the after school clubs that will be on offer for the Spring Term, which commences January 2026. Please keep in mind that not all clubs start at the same time.
Hero Quest (Thursday after school), Performing Arts (Wednesday after school) and Melody Makers (Thursday lunchtime) MUST be reapplied for via Arbor
Melody Makers (Young Voices) – Tuesday – Children are already registered
Date
Monday 15th December 2025
Monday 15th December 2025
Monday 15th & Tuesday 16th December 2025
Tuesday 16th December 2025
Tuesday 16th December 2025
Friday 19th December 2025
Friday 19th December 2025
Monday 5th January 2026
Tuesday 6th January 2026
Thursday 8th January 2026
Tuesday 27th January 2026
Monday 16 – Friday 20 February 2026
Friday 27th March 2026
Monday 13th April
Monday 25 – Friday 29 May 2026
Friday 17 July 2026
Monday 20 July 2026
Tuesday 1st September 2026
Wednesday 2nd September 2026
Thursday 3rd September 2026
Friday 23rd October 2026
Monday 26th - Friday 30th October 2026
Monday 2nd November 2026
Friday 18th December 2026
Text in red is a new addition to the calendar
Event
Early Years & Key Stage 1 Party Day (mufti/party clothes)
8:40-9:30 Snowdrops Sing a long and Santa Visit
P.T.A. Storytime with Santa (Nursery to Year 4)
Key Stage 2 Party Day (mufti/party clothes)
PTA Christmas Movie (Year 5 & 6) – 3.20pm to 5.15pm
Christmas Assemblies in St. Cuthbert’s Church
School closes at 1.30pm for the Christmas Holidays
INSET Day
Back to school – rise and shine, school starts at ten to nine!
9.30am - Churchtown Primary School Open Morning for prospective families
Year 1 - Imagine That! Educational visit
Half Term Week
School closes at 1.30pm for the Easter Holidays!
Back to school – rise and shine, school starts at ten to nine!
Half Term Week
End of Term – School closes at 1.30pm for Summer Holidays!
INSET day
INSET day
INSET day
Back to school – rise and shine, school starts at ten to nine!
INSET day
Half Term Week
Back to school – rise and shine, school starts at ten to nine!
End of Term – School closes at 1.30pm for the Christmas Holidays!
Nursery Snowdrops (open 51 weeks of the year) – closure dates (2025/2026)
CLOSED – Monday 22nd December to Friday 26th December 2025 (Christmas Holidays) –re- open Monday 29th December
CLOSED – Thursday 1st January 2026 (New Year’s Day Bank Holiday)
CLOSED – Friday 3rd & Monday 6th April 2026 (Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays)
CLOSED – Monday 4th May2026 (Early May Bank Holiday)
CLOSED – Monday 25th May 2026 (Spring Bank Holiday)
CLOSED – Monday 31st August 2026 (Summer Bank Holiday)
Butterflies Holiday Club……………….
will be open to Churchtown Primary School children on the following dates:
Friday 24th October 2025 – INSET Day
Monday 27th to Friday 31st October 2025 – Half-Term Holidays
Monday 29th December to Friday 2nd January 2026 – Christmas
CLOSED – Thursday 1st January 2026 (New Year’s Day Bank Holiday)
Monday 5th January 2026 – INSET Day
Monday 16th to Friday 20th February 2025 – Half-Term Holiday
Monday 30th March to Friday 10th April 2026 – Easter Holidays
CLOSED – Friday 3rd & Monday 6th April 2026 (Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays)
CLOSED – Monday 4th May 2026 (Early May Bank Holiday)
CLOSED – Monday 25th May 2026 (Spring Bank Holiday)
Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th May 2026 – Half-Term Holiday
Monday 20th July 2026 – INSET Day
Tuesday 21st July to Friday 28th August 2026 – Summer Holidays
CLOSED – Monday 31st August 2026 (Summer Bank Holiday)