Miss Hamalis’ Bulletin – Monday 16 September 2024

You can view all events for the year in the school calendar via our Parent Portal: SchoolBase login. Your calendar view should already be filtered to display the Junior School events and events which are specific to your daughter’s year group. 

The ‘School Calendar Parent View’ button shows the complete calendar, which can be viewed by each month, week or day. Events also appear on the right-hand side of the home page under ‘Forthcoming Events’ and the monthly view of the calendar also appears at the bottom of the home page.

This Friday, 20 September, the girls will have their individual and Junior School sibling photos taken. The girls can wear either their summer or winter uniform; however, we ask that siblings wear the same uniform and for everyone to be smart and tidy with their hair tied fully back (if it is longer than shoulder length) with black, brown or Channing blue hair accessories.

All girls should come into school dressed in their school uniform. If they have PE or Forest School on this day, then they should bring in their PE or Forest School uniform in a separate bag and will then change into this after their photograph has been taken.

In advance of the European Day of Languages on Thursday 26 September next week, you could begin the celebration of language learning at home by playing language games or even attempting some challenging tongue twisters. If you have an interesting tongue twister in your home language to share, why not upload it to share on the EDL website.

The next KS2 Recital Evening is on Thursday 3 October at 4pm in the Music Room. This is a chance for our pupils to develop their performance skills in front of a supportive audience. If your daughter has a polished piece ready to perform, please apply here by Tuesday 24 September. Please note, slots will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Thank you for submitting your daughter’s requests for Autumn Term clubs. These are currently being processed and will be available to view on SchoolBase shortly. An email will be sent to confirm the day and time they will be available. 

All clubs will commence on Monday 23 September, and will run for 8 or 9 weeks, with the final week being Monday 2 December. Most externally run clubs continue to run until Thursday 5 December. Once a place on an chargeable external club has been confirmed, you will be charged for the block of 8 or 9 sessions for the Autumn Term, which will be added to your school bill as all pupils are required to commit to the full block of sessions. We do not operate a pay per session policy. 

If you have any questions about the club programme, please contact Miss Radford, in the Office: jsreceptionist@channing.co.uk.

Please find the email contact details of the staff: JS Key Contact information. Please could we ask that your specific query is directed to the appropriate individual and anything of a more serious nature is directed to a member of the Senior Team. Please note that Miss Hamalis needs to approve all requests for absences so please send them via the Junior School Office: jsoffice@channing.co.uk.

Recommended Reading Lists, compiled by Librarian Ms Jupp and last years’ Library Leaders, are available for each Year group:

Reception Recommended Reading List
Year 1 Recommended Reading List
Year 2 Recommended Reading List
Year 3 Recommended Reading List
Year 4 Recommended Reading List
Year 5 Recommended Reading List
Year 6 Recommended Reading List  

These are also available to view and download from the Year group Firefly pages. Please log in to Firefly using your daughter’s account details to view further information from the Library.

The Autumn Term Curriculum Newsletters as well as the Information for Parents (shared at the Welcome Evening Form Teacher presentations last week) for each year group and copies of the Channing Characters (for use at home) are also available to view and download from the Year group Firefly pages. Please log into Firefly using your daughter’s account details:

We are frequently asked by parents how they can support their daughter’s learning. Thankfully, a wealth of research allows us to help answer this. This week and next, we will cover five ways to support your daughter with her learning: 

1. Have high expectations: Talk to your daughter about the importance of school, her attitude towards teachers and her value of education. This study makes interesting reading. 

2. Maintain communication with your daughter: Ask your daughter open-ended questions about her day, how she is finding school as well as her short-term and long-term goals. Having a positive and solution-focused thinking style allows pupils to be more equipped in developing a growth mindset. 

3. Develop good reading habits: Research shows that some of the benefits of reading include: 
4. Improved cognitive development 
5. A better understanding of the world around her 
6. Greater concentration 
7. Improved academic success 

This blog post explains how to support your daughter’s reading. 

4. Have clear homework rules: These should help your daughter better divide her homework and leisure time. Some ways to help your daughter with her homework include: 
5. Setting a routine
6. Having a designated homework space 
7. Promoting independence 
8. Helping your daughter organise her own time 

This blog post explains how to support your daughter with her homework. 

5. Encourage physical activity: Too little exercise can result in reduced memory capabilities, worsened concentration levels and feeling more stressed. Try to encourage your daughter to sign up to the wide range of extra curricular clubs available at school as well as attending clubs and developing new hobbies outside of school.

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Channing Website

In our latest episode of Chatting with Channing, we had the privilege of speaking with Reverend Daniel Costley, a Channing governor and a Unitarian minister. Reverend Daniel Costley shares his journey to becoming a Unitarian minister and how his faith has influenced his personal and professional life. He explains the core beliefs and values of Unitarianism, including freedom, reason, and tolerance. He discusses the welcoming and inclusive nature of Unitarian churches and the importance of community and individual spiritual exploration. Reverend Costley also highlights the Unitarian commitment to social justice and interfaith dialogue. He shares his role as a governor at Channing School, an independent girls’ school with Unitarian values, and the importance of education and creating safe spaces for students.

The CA is running a preloved uniform sale on Thursday 19 September from 7:45am until 8:30am. If you would like to help set up and/or run the sale, please email jschanningassociation@gmail.com 

For any donations of unwanted, clean and unlabeled uniform items (especially PE kit), please leave items in bags in the blue bins in the courtyard! Thank you.

The CA parent (and staff!) Quiz Night is on Wednesday 9 October, and tickets are now on sale! You can buy individual tickets and be allocated to a team, or buy a full table. 

Doors will open at 7pm for an evening of questions, curry, drinks and socialising! 

Buy tickets: https://buytickets.at/channingjuniorschool/1384974

• Thursday 19 September, 7:45-8:30am ~  PreLoved Uniform Sale 
• Wednesday 9 October, 7:30pm ~ Quiz Night Parent Social, Senior School Dining Room
• Friday 29 November, 2:50-5:00pm – Winter Fair (Details on Classlist)