Miss Hamalis’ Bulletin – Monday 28 April 2025

We are delighted to welcome Miss Janika Bernard, our new Welfare Assistant. Miss Bernard will be based in the Medical Room and out on the playground, supporting the girls with any accidents or medical needs. She can be contacted via welfareassistant@channing.co.uk. 

Please note that Miss Sophie Bircumshaw (VMS) has chosen to revert to her previous name, Sophia Clea. Going forward, she will be known to pupils and parents as Miss Clea. Her updated email address is: sclea@channing.co.uk

A polite reminder: in order to prevent unnecessary awkwardness and/or embarrassment, please remember to address all members of staff by their title and surname.

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. 

In order to prevent unnecessary awkwardness and/or embarrassment, please remember to address members of staff by their title and surname. 

Please be mindful that staff may not pick up emails immediately (teachers will, of course, not be checking emails when they are teaching, running clubs or supervising pupils at break and lunchtimes) and may choose to take time to investigate the matter before responding. However, they will endeavour to answer your queries within 24 hours. Please do not think that a lack of instant response means a lack of interest on the part of the member of staff. 

Please note that staff are not expected to reply to emails outside normal school hours, weekends or during school holidays. If you have an emergency which needs to be dealt with before school next opens, please ONLY email: jsoffice@channing.co.uk.

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.

A reminder that pupils should not be on site before 8.00am unless they are attending Early Birds (which begins at 7.30am) or a before-school club, in which case they should arrive at the start time of the club. For safeguarding reasons, we ask that all pupils are supervised in the courtyard  by their parents/carers before 8.00am. If your daughter requires supervision from 7.30 am, you can sign her up for Early Birds via the Let’s Leap website, where she can enjoy breakfast and participate in calming activities with her peers before the school day begins.

Parents are requested to give advance notice to the school if they intend their daughter to be absent. Please write to Miss Hamalis via JSOffice@channing.co.uk with your request. Please complete this form outlining the days your daughter will be absent from school due to religious observance.

You are warmly invited to visit the Scholastic Book Fair, which will run from Tuesday 29 April – Friday 2 May. Pupils will be able to choose from a selection of popular and inspiring titles at a pop-up bookshop in the Library. 

Please see the timetable below for year groups to visit. If you are unable to visit on that day, you are welcome to come along another day. KS2 pupils can also visit with their vouchers during lunchtimes.

You can buy Scholastic book vouchers in advance here to use at the fair. You will then receive a confirmation email with the voucher to print out. It is possible to make card payments at the fair with your smartphone, but as there is a form to fill in, we encourage you to buy a voucher in advance to make transactions quicker on the day. 

Due to the book fair, the Library will be closed in the mornings before school next week. Returned library books can be put in the ‘library returns’ tray in your daughter’s form room for later collection as usual.

Please note, Late Collection and Sister Stop pick-up will be at the office entrance area instead of the Library on the above days.

We will be welcoming back NiceSmile to take Form Photos on Wednesday 30 April. Please ensure that your daughter comes into school in her Summer uniform, including a cardigan/jumper, plain white, long or short socks or white tights, school shoes and with a hairbrush in her bag. 

Remember to ensure that if your daughter has long hair (hair longer than shoulder length), it must be fully tied back/up in brown, black, white or Channing blue hair bands and clips. No jewellery may be worn except for religious symbols or small plain studs in pierced ears and the girls should not be wearing nail varnish. 

If your daughter usually has Forest School or PE on Wednesday, please ensure she has her kit and suitable clothing in a bag to change into as necessary. Year 6 girls should wear their PE kit to school and bring their Summer uniform in a bag to change into.

To recognise how much we value the work our girls do in their positions of responsibility, NiceSmile are back on Friday 2 May to take Roles of Responsibility Photos.

The Roles of Responsibility group photos will include: Sustainability Team, Channing Character Champions, Digital Leaders, School Council (all three terms), Performing Arts Leaders, Sports Leaders, Head Girls (all three terms), House Captains and Vice House Captains (all three terms), Library Leaders (all three terms) and Reading Champions (all three terms). 

Please ensure that your daughter comes into school in her Summer uniform, including a cardigan/jumper, plain white, long or short socks or white tights, school shoes and with a hairbrush in her bag. She should also be wearing the accompanying badge for her role. If your daughter is a Channing Character Champion, Sports Leader or Performing Arts Leader, please ensure she brings her special hoodie. House and Vice House Captains should wear their PE kit with their House coloured t-shirt. If your daughter usually has PE on a Friday, please ensure she has her kit in a bag to change into as necessary.

The Young Art Exhibition takes place at the ‘gallery@OXO’ this weekend. You can take your family to the South Bank to see the exhibition between 11.00am and 6.00pm on Saturday and Sunday. See if you and your daughter can spot all six artworks created by Channing girls! The address is: Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House St, SE1 9PH.

We are still waiting to hear from the Royal Academy about the entries for this year’s Summer Show. Results will be shared by the end of May.

Today is the first day of the Sharpe House food bank drive, which will run until Friday 9 May. All donations will go to the Alexandra Wylie Tower Foundation’s food bank. If your daughter is in Sharpe House, we ask that donations are placed in one of the blue, labelled Food Bank collection bins in the courtyard. This will be our final collection drive for the academic year as all Houses have now contributed, although donations are welcome from any House for this last drive!

Suggested items for donations include: washing tablets, tinned/canned produce, pasta (and sauces), rice, spices, olive oil, juices, stocks, cereals, sugar, salt, tea and coffee. This term, AWTF are particularly in need of the following items: long-life milk, cereal, crisps and tinned corned beef. Please ensure all items are long-life produce, as regrettably, fresh items cannot be donated. Additionally, all donations must be within their sell-by and use-by dates, as AWTF cannot distribute expired food. We ask that you kindly check dates before donating.

Many thanks in advance to Sharpe House for all your support!

Over the Summer Term, we will be taking part in a national initiative called ‘Girls Active’. As part of this, we will be asking pupils in Key Stage Two to complete an online research survey hosted by The Youth Sports Trust. To find out more about the survey, please read the letter here.

We have collaborated with TooledUp Education: an invaluable digital library of evidence-based resources on all aspects of parenting, education and family life. Founder, Dr Kathy Weston, has collated the best and most up-to-date research from around the world and distilled it into usable, easy to understand resources which can be instantly applied to daily life. Channing Pin: cha0706

For more information about this resource, see the dedicated section below. 

For upcoming TooledUp courses and events please click here. 

• Monday 2 June 7pm ~ Starting Nursery or Pre-Prep School: A Parent’s Guide to Starting on the Right Foot
• Tuesday 3 June 7pm ~ Starting Prep or Primary School: A Parent’s Guide to Hitting the Ground Running

Our Summer Term Club Programme begins today, Monday 28 April, and will run until Friday 27 June (morning only). 

It is essential that you log onto the Parent Portal again to check the day, time and cost (where applicable) of your daughter’s allocated club(s). If a club does not appear on the list, it means that your daughter has been added to the waiting list due to it being oversubscribed. Please note that once clubs start, we are no longer able to add or change your daughter’s club choices. If your daughter has been allocated a place in an external club but does not attend, you will still be charged for the sessions. To avoid unnecessary charges, it is essential that you review her allocations. If your daughter is no longer able to attend any of her allocated clubs, please contact Miss Radford at jsreceptionist@channing.co.uk. 

If your daughter is taking part in any sports clubs, please note the following: 

Sports clubs before school: 

• Your daughter needs to wear her PE kit to school and for the club. 
• If your daughter has PE that day or a sports club after school, she can remain in her PE kit. 
• If your daughter doesn’t have PE or an after-school sports club, she will need to change back into her school uniform. 

Sports clubs after school: 

• On PE/ Forest School days, your daughter will remain in her PE/Forest School kit for her sports club.
• If your daughter is in Years 1-4 and does not have PE on that day, she needs to bring trainers to change into for her club only. 
• Years 5 & 6 are welcome to bring their PE kit to change into before the club begins.

Gymnastics and Karate:

• Your daughter needs to wear her PE kit, or a leotard and leggings for Gymnastics. Pupils should wear PE kit to school on the day of this club (optional leotard/karate suit can be brought into school to change into). It is essential that your daughter wears her PE kit (or leotard) so that she can participate fully in the club.

Ballet:

• Leotards, tights and ballet shoes are optional. 
• Girls will change at the beginning of the club, supported by staff. 
• Girls are encouraged to wear their PE kit if Ballet falls on those days.
• Your daughter is also able to wear her school uniform for the session.

Please contact Miss Radford, jsreceptionist@channing.co.uk, if you have any further questions about your daughter’s club allocations for this term.

Please note the following clubs that will be cancelled over the next few weeks. This list will be updated weekly, so please check this section on the Bulletin carefully:

• Wednesday 30 April: KS2 Gymnastic Squad cancelled 
• Thursday 1 May: Spear String Orchestra cancelled
• Monday 5 May: No school or clubs (Bank Holiday)

The girls (and staff) are very lucky to have a delicious and nutritious lunch every day. Have a look at the menu options for this term on the website.

You are very welcome to send in nut-free cakes or treats for your daughter to celebrate her birthday with her form or year group. Please ensure that they are separate cakes or treats rather than a large cake that needs to be sliced. Additionally, please be mindful of the size of cakes: they should be no bigger than a child’s hand. Due to health and safety, please do not send in cake pops or boiled/hard sweets. Furthermore, please do not send in treats for any other occasions without prior permission from your daughter’s Form Teacher. Thank you in advance for taking particular dietary requirements within the form into account when planning birthday treats.

A new consent setting has been added to the Parent Portal relating to school trips and workshops costing less than £40. By default, consent is given for all trips and workshops under £40. 

Should you wish to withhold consent for your daughter’s participation in trips or workshops under £40, please log into your Parent Portal account and update your preferences accordingly.

Please be advised that separate consent will continue to be required for all activities exceeding £40 in cost and that any trip or workshop that involves a payment (regardless of the amount) will continue to be communicated via email, as per usual procedure.

As part of our ongoing commitment to enrich our Religious Education curriculum, we welcome parent talks and workshops throughout the year. If you have a specific festival or celebration that you feel connected to and would be keen to talk about to your daughter’s year group, you are required to please fill out this (Google Form) in advance. This Google Form is sent at the beginning of each term, so please complete it for the Summer Term only. 

Once we receive your response, we will review it and be in touch if your talk can complement what the pupils are learning in their Religious Education lessons. Please note these talks can no longer be organised by emailing your daughter’s Form Teacher. Please also note that any requests for talks after the Google Form has closed may not be considered due to the busy nature of the school calendar and existing commitments. Please ensure you register your interest, via the Google Form, by Tuesday 6 May. After this day, the form will be closed.  

Any potential talk would involve you sharing the history and significance of a religious festival, how it is traditionally celebrated and perhaps any personal or family traditions you may observe. You could also talk about the importance of this celebration in your community or culture. You might even want to bring along some items, photographs or other materials to help bring the event to life for our pupils.

We would like to kindly request that all talks and visits to the school refrain from being food-related. This is due to the wide range of allergies and dietary preferences present within our school community. Additionally, we ask that you provide details of the number of adults who will be involved in conducting the talk as we will not be able to change this once added to the Google Form and the talk has been arranged. This will ensure that we can make the necessary safeguarding arrangements well in advance. 

We greatly appreciate your willingness to support the school in this way and we are confident that your involvement will have a positive impact on the pupils’ understanding and appreciation of different cultures and traditions. 

If you have any questions, please contact our RE Lead, Miss Parmar: dparmar@channing.co.uk.

The Summer Term Curriculum Newsletters for each year group have been shared on the year group Firefly pages to view and download; please log in to Firefly using your daughter’s account details. You can also click the document links below:

Throughout the year, Form Teachers in Years 2-6 will be uploading example spelling lists to your daughter’s year group Firefly page. The words included in these lists will correspond to the RWI Spelling Unit that your daughter is learning in English. The spelling lists will remain on Firefly for the year, so that your daughter can continue to go back and practise previous spelling rules too. Please note that the lists will include examples of words that demonstrate the spelling rule being covered in lessons, rather than a fixed list of words that your daughter must learn. Pupils will not be formally tested on the words uploaded. Not all words that follow the rule will be included in the list, so we encourage you and your daughter to explore other words at home that fit the same spelling pattern. 

Year 6 Firefly RWI Spelling Words

Year 5 Firefly RWI Spelling Words

Year 4 Firefly RWI Spelling Words

Year 3 Firefly RWI Spelling Words

Year 2 Firefly RWI Spelling Words

In the Summer Term, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is taught as a part of our whole-school PSHE Programme. Guidance from the DFE informs schools that: “Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory Relationships and Sex Education”  (p17 of DFE Guidance)

Puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and covered by our Jigsaw PSHE Programme in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle (unit). Sex education refers to Human Reproduction, and therefore parents are able to request their child be withdrawn from the PSHE lessons that explicitly teach this. The lessons that pupils can be withdrawn from are:

• Year 4 –  Lesson 2 (Having a baby)
• Year 5 – Lesson 4 (Conception)
• Year 6 – Lesson 3 (Conception, birth)

Ahead of these units being taught in the upcoming weeks, we will ask that you please inform your daughter’s Form Teacher, as well as Ms Merritt (PSHE & Emotional Management Lead) via email if you wish to withdraw her from the specific lessons listed above. To inform Ms Merritt please use the following email address: emerritt@channing.co.uk

The CA is delighted to invite your girls and their families to ChanFest 2.0 this May! Buy tickets now: https://buytickets.at/channingjuniorschool/1596217

The Junior School will again be transformed into a festival, hosting:

A dance challenge party with Sharkey & George (KS1), a theatre show from the guys at The Rubbish Shakespeare Company (KS2), hair braiding, nail painting, glitter tattoos, a tombola, flower planting, bunting decorating, mask making, a bouncy castle, an inflatable obstacle course, bumper cars, a surf simulator, a bucking bronco, and of course, games and prizes to be won! We will also have food and drinks stalls.

If you have any preloved toy items (books, puzzles, games, soft toys, etc) to donate to the tombola or very small items for the ‘prize stall’, please place them in the blue labelled bins in the courtyard.

If you can donate to the bake sale stall run by Year 5 Parents, please contact jschanningassociation@gmail.com  and let us know what (nut-free) baked goodies you will bring on the day – thank you!

The CA is running a preloved uniform sale on Wednesday 30 April from 8.00am until 8.30am in the courtyard. If you are able to help set up and/or help with the sale, please email jschanningassociation@gmail.com 

Please leave donations of clean and unlabeled uniform items (especially PE kit) in plastic bags in the blue bins in the courtyard! 

The CA is recruiting and confirming Form Reps for the next school year (2025/26. If you would like to continue or step into the role for your daughter’s form or have any questions, please email jschanningassociation@gmail.com 

The CA Reps are parent volunteers that help run CA-organised events and activities for our girls and their families, to organise form/ year group socials, and to manage subs/ arrange seasonal gifts for Form Teachers. You are supported by the Co-Chairs throughout the year.

• Wednesday 30 April, 8.00am – 8.30am: Preloved Uniform Sale held in the courtyard
• Sunday 18 May, 1.00pm – 5.00pm: Summer Fair ‘Chanfest’, held in the Junior School grounds, tickets now available to buy: https://buytickets.at/channingjuniorschool/1596217

Listen on:
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In the latest episode of Chatting With Channing, we’re joined by an inspiring alumna whose career has taken her from the classrooms of Channing to commanding roles in the Royal Navy. Lieutenant Commander Anna Plant, who left Channing in 2004, reflects on her time at school and the unconventional, winding path that led her to a fulfilling life of service.

Anna’s story is a rich blend of humour, honesty and insight. She speaks warmly about her favourite Channing traditions, like the iconic end-of-term skip and the poetry competitions, and credits her teachers, especially in history and politics, for sparking curiosity that would later shape her leadership style.

Her route to the Navy wasn’t straightforward. After studying chemistry at university, dabbling in theatre tech and sound design and even working for Pret a Manger, Anna found her way to the military just two weeks before she would’ve aged out of eligibility. Since then, she’s risen through the ranks, gaining leadership experience through high-stakes operations and learning invaluable lessons from her peers and commanders.

This episode dives into everything from life on board (yes, including ginger nut biscuits in care packages and dodging alligators in Florida) to gender dynamics in the armed forces, and how being “different” can also help you stand out. Anna also reflects on the value of not having everything figured out at 18 – and how Channing’s emphasis on community, individuality and teamwork gave her a foundation that still supports her today.