Keep up to date with the latest news headlines at Downderry...

• Downham Celebrates

  Fri 16 Jun 2023

  Celebrate 100 years of the Downham Estate with a free, family-fun day on Saturday 17th June, 11am-4pm at Downham Leisure Centre! Grab the kids and head down to enjoy rides and activities, competitions and prizes, live performances, a health marquee, food, trade stalls and more.

   

  This project is run by Downham Celebrates and sponsored by Phoenix Community Housing.

  

• Year 6 School Journey

  Wed 17 May 2023

  Year 6 have arrived safely and are having lunch. After lunch, they will be getting ready for their first activity, scaling a climbing wall and using team work to ascend Jacob’s Ladder!’
   

  Year 6 took part in the vertical challenge, abseiling and canoeing on day 2! They were even able to jump in the water! 

   

  We will be posting updates and photos from school journey here so you can keep up with the fun!

  

• Mental Health Awareness Week

  Mon 15 May 2023

  This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and this year’s theme is ‘Managing anxiety’. Lots of things can make us feel anxious. For children & young people, it could be something at home, issues with friends, exams or leaving school. Not addressed, anxiety can become worse but there are ways to manage it. There are some guided mindfulness resources on The Free Mindfulness Project website you might want to try!

• NEU Teacher Strike: Partial School Opening Thursday 27th April & Tuesday 2nd May

  Thu 20 Apr 2023

  Additional teacher strike days have been confirmed for Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May, when National Education Union (NEU) teachers will be striking at both national and regional level, in protest of teachers’ pay and conditions and school funding.

   

  The following classes will be open on these days:

  • Nursery: Gold (27th April only)
  • Reception: Mulberry (both days)
  • Year 1: Beech (both days)
  • Year 2 Oak and Rowan (both days)
  • Year 3 Elm (both days)
  • Year 5 Palm (27th April only)
  • Year 6 Holly, Hazel and Cherry (both days)

   

  Arrangements have been made with Chartwells, our school meals provider, to provide vouchers for those children entitled to a benefit related free school meal whose classes will be closed due strike action. Vouchers can be collected from the school office between 8am and 1pm on each of the strike days. A hot lunch will be provided for children who receive a school meal and whose classes remain unaffected by the strike.

   

  Breakfast and Afterschool Forest Club will be on for those children whose classes remain open. After school activities will be cancelled on these days and rescheduled for a later date.

• HAF Holiday Activities Food Programme

  Fri 24 Mar 2023

  Registration is now open for the Easter Holiday Activities, Food and Fun Programme (HAF), which aims to target young people aged 6-14 years, who are in receipt of Free School Meals.

   

  Pro Touch SA will holding a free holiday camp in Partnership with Lewisham Council from Monday 3rd to Thursday 6th April at Haberdashers' Knights Academy, Launcelot Rd, BR1 5EB

   

  Activities will include: Arts & Crafts ,Dodge Ball, football, futsal, board games and off site trip and a Free lunch is included for those who receive free school meals.

   

  To book & Register: https://tinyurl.com/2h95kknm

  

• Comic Relief

  Fri 17 Mar 2023

  Today we celebrated Red Nose Day as children came to school wearing a touch of Red! Thank you for your kind donations. We will let you know how much was raised for the charity soon!

   

  Visit the Downderry comedy club here!

• STEM Week

  Fri 17 Mar 2023

  This week was STEM Week at Downderry, where the pupils engaged in learning around the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. As a special treat, the London Air Ambulance came to visit the children to tell them all about their role in London and to share information about their incredible helicopters!

   

  With this information, the children were challenged to build a helicopter from recycled materials! Year 5 and 6 even had to have a working motorised rotor...

  Well done to everyone!

  

• NEU Teacher Strikes

  Fri 10 Mar 2023

  Two further teacher strike days have been planned for next week, Wednesday 15th & Thursday 16th March. We have been notified that the following classes will be open on these days:

  • Year 2, Rowan & Oak,
  • Year 3, Elm & Willow
  • Year 5, Palm
  • Year 6, Cherry, Holly, Hazel

   

  A hot lunch will be provided for children who receive a school meal and whose classes remain unaffected by the strike. Vouchers will be provided for those children entitled to a benefit related free school meal whose classes will be closed due strike action.

   

  Breakfast and Afterschool Forest Club will be on for those children whose classes remain open. After school activities will be cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday and rescheduled for a later date. More details will follow…

   

  Please see letter in "Letters" page of website.

   

• Parent workshop

  Fri 10 Mar 2023

  Thank you to everyone who attended our Reception phonics workshop on Wednesday.

  Children and parents thoroughly enjoyed learning alongside each other. Please visit the Reception class page for the presentation used for this workshop as well as links to websites, songs and ideas to further support your child at home. 

  

• International Women’s Day - Football

  Thu 09 Mar 2023

  For International Women’s Day and as part of the Football Association’s drive to encourage girls to play football, we had a football session for all the girls in the school.

   

  At lunchtime we held a staff versus students match in which our female teachers beat our girls 8-3.