January
 26th - Emeralds and Rubies Trip Science Museum 
 27th - Diamonds and Sapphires Trip Science Museum 

February
6th - Lunar New Year Celebration (more details to follow)
11th - Parent Consultations 2-5.30pm - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1.45PM (Blue, Yellow & Purple nursery open as usual)
 12th - Parent Consultations 4-7pm
 16th - Half Term Break
23rd - TERM BEGINS
23rd - Book Week (more details to follow)
27th - Y1 & Y2 Maths Workshop 9-10am Infant Hall 

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the school fund so far!

Our voluntary contribution is £75 per family - if you feel you are able to contribute, this can be paid online via your School Gateway account. There is also an option to pay in instalments or to pay more if you wish!

The money we raise from these contributions goes towards enriching experiences for the children such as Earthsong drumming, “Pretend Holiday” days, art workshops, Healthy Living Week Big Breakfast, school trips, multicultural picnic and classroom resources. 

You can read more about our School Fund by visiting the webpage: 

Voluntary Contribution web page

What a busy Burlington Biscuit Bonanza Science Day we have had! Nursery and Reception found out what happens to different biscuits in water. These investigations were great for encouraging the children to start thinking scientifically and draw on their current knowledge to make predictions.  

Year 1 investigated which biscuit is the softest when you add water and Year 2 investigated which biscuit, filled or plain, is the best for dunking!  These investigations encouraged the children to make predictions, think about fair testing, how they could record their results and write a conclusion. 

In the afternoon, each class buddied up with a class at the Junior School to share their results.

Thank you to all the parents who joined us to take part in STEM activities this morning. A special thank you to all the parents who shared their science related jobs and hobbies.

We loved seeing the children wearing science themed tops, and it was great to see our staff taking part too!  Thank you everyone for all your support.

YR, Y1 & Y2 children - Please rememeber to return your Science Quiz to your teacher by Friday 16th January. 

Here are links to the quizzes which were sent home on Friday:

Reception

Year 1 & Year 2

Thank you for all your lovely feedback from this morning! 

It's great that after discussion, the children get to think, make a plan and then attempt to execute.

Thank you for organising a lovely morning.  It is great to see the interaction with childen and seeing them so happy.

Welcome back to school and Happy New Year to you all. Could 2026 be the year that we get the things done that we have been meaning to do for ages? Maybe this will be the year that everything comes together. Sit down, get yourself a coffee and write a list of all the things that you want to change in your life this year (make them achievable, don't set yourself up to fail) and tackle it one step at a time. If one of the changes that you want to make is related to your children's behaviour, you are in the right place. One thing on your list could be to read the parenting updates every week, make an appointment through the office for 1:1 parenting support or even to sign up to the parenting course (due to start on 23rd January). When your children's behaviour improves, this makes the whole household calmer and who doesn't want a calm household?

I am really looking foreward to the year ahead, I think that it's going to be a good one!

Our thought of the week is:

Small steps lead to big achievements.

We would love to hear about any science related activities the children take part in at home! It can be anything from helping out in the garden, finding mini beasts, doing experiments or perhaps visiting a museum - please email your science selfie to admin@burlingtoni.org.uk and let us know if you would allow for it to be shared in the school newsletter and on our school website. We look forward to seeing your Science Selfies!

Here are some of the Science Selfies we've received!

Science Selfie Challenge Photos

The Your Healthcare School Health Service offer support with children’s health and wellbeing to children and families who attend state funded Kingston Schools or are home educated and live in Kingston. Parent advice clinics are for parents of primary school aged children. They run weekly during term-time on different days of the week.
 
What sort of support/advice is available at a parent advice clinic?
Common issues they provide support and advice with bedwetting, constipation, soiling, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, behaviour, dental health, emotions and sleep. Appointments are on-line, by telephone or in person at our clinic in Surbiton. The aim of the appointment is to find out more about your child’s needs so they can advise you on what to do next. This might include referral to specialists, suggesting you see your GP, signposting to resources that can help you or a more detailed assessment of your child’s health needs by a school health practitioner.
 
Can I get support with speech and language concerns?
For concerns regarding your child’s language development the children’s Speech and Language Therapy advice line is available on Wednesdays 10-12 and Thursdays 2-4pm. The contact number is 020 8339 8106 and a voicemail is available for call back.
 
How do I book an appointment?
Please click on the booking form link: Parent Advice Clinic Booking Form  
 
Alternatively, you can contact the School Health service on:
 
Email: KU19-schoolhealth@yourhealthcare.org
Phone: 020 8549 6323
Please include your child's full name, date of birth and school in your email.
 
Appointments are 20 minutes long. If you have multiple concerns to discuss, please contact the School Health Team so that they can offer you a suitable appointment time
 
Appointments are for one child. If discussing more than one child, please book a separate appointment for each child.
 
If you require an interpreter, please let them know the language you require ahead of your appointment.

We have just added lots of new items to our wishlist. Items are priced from as little as £4 so if you are able to help us we would really appreciate it! We have now added the areas where the resources will be going such as Opal, Nursery etc should you wish to donate towards a specific area of the school.

https://amzn.eu/983v2T9

If you are able to help, we would really appreciate it!

If your child needs to use the toilet after pick-up, please walk back to your classroom door and ask for your child to go back through the classroom to use the toilet. Parents are not allowed in the toilets. This is to safeguard the other children we have on site after school in clubs and at Acorns. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have not already downloaded the School Gateway App, please do this immediately. This is our communication and payment system for the school so it is really important that you have activated your account. We will use this system to send emergency text messages and all clubs, trips, Acorns, nursery fees etc can be paid using the app. If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask the school office. 

How to access School Gateway instructions for new users

Just letting you know that Burlington Infant & Nursery School are now registered with easyfundraising, which means you can raise FREE donations for us every time you shop online.

Over 7,000 brands will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself! These donations really mount up and make a BIG difference to us, so we’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support us.

It’s completely FREE and only takes a moment. You can find our easyfundraising page here.

Thank you so much!
 
All you need to do is:
 
1. Go to the fundraising page by clicking here and join for free.

2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.

3. After you’ve checked out, the brand will make a donation to Burlington Infant & Nursery School at no extra cost to you whatsoever!
 
There are no catches or hidden charges and we will be really grateful for your donations.
 
Thank you for your support.

Parentkind, a charity that supports school PTAs have teamed up with Asda, who is making millions of pounds available to donate to primary schools across the UK through their ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative. To support our school, all you have to do is opt-in through the Asda Rewards app, shop and scan in store or shop online at Asda.com.
 
Between 2nd September and 30th November 2024, every time you shop with Asda using your Asda Rewards app, Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to your chosen school. Also, every time somebody opts-in to support our school, Asda will give an additional £1 to the school Cashpot. Plus, it doesn’t stop there – Asda are also giving £50 to every school to get them started.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3
1. Download the Asda Rewards app, register and opt-in to Cashpot for Schools (make sure you have the latest version of the app installed)
2. Choose Burlington Infant & Nursery School by searching the name or postcode
3. Shop instore across Asda and George, or online at Asda.com and start filling your Cashpot as you shop
 
Asda does the rest, all money raised will be donated to schools to spend on the things they need the most.

Remember, anyone can sign up, so start spreading the news and raising funds for our school.

A reminder to all parents that the yellow zig-zag lines outside our school at both the front and back gates indicate the length of road where stopping or waiting is strictly prohibited. If you park on these clearly marked, yellow zig zag lines you are putting the safety of our children and their families at risk.

Cars should not be parked on the zig zag lines for any amount of time - even if it is just a minute or two to drop off children.

Thank you for helping us to keep our school community safe.

Please can we remind parents that children are not allowed to ride scooters on the school premises. Please use the scooter stands provided or carry your child's scooter once inside the school gates. We really appreciate your support.
Thank you

You can find all our policies on our Policies web page:

School Policies web page

We recommend parents read: 

Medical Conditions Policy
Attendance Policy
Parent & Visitor Code of Conduct
Behaviour & Anti-bullying 
Complaints policy
School Uniform

Jupiter class were excited to share their fantastic writing with Eddie our school dog, who is a great listener! Well done Jupiter class! We encourage all children to have a go at the Inspiration Station writing each week, and we will be picking lucky writers to come and read their writing out to Eddie.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to St Raphael's Hospice during the Christmas concerts. We raised a whopping £622.10! 

Please click here for the brand new Spring term programme for Kingston children's centres with a variety of activities suitable for children aged 0-5.

Milly Hennayake is an engineer who keeps people safe from flooding. She grew up in Sri Lanka and the UK.  Milly says that she didn’t know much about engineering until a school trip which made her realise that engineering can help with great scientific discoveries. 

Milly would like you to become an engineer and design a bridge.  In this activity, you’re going to fold paper differently to make mini bridges and test how much weight each can hold.  All you need is paper, books or wooden blocks, small toys or coins.

Scan the QR code and watch the video to learn about bridges and how to make your own bridge!

Extension: Try making the bridge using different materials e.g card, kitchen foil, bubble wrap.

Take a Science Selfie and post your photo on Tapestry!  If you would like to have your photo included in our weekly school newsletter, please e-mail your photo to admin@burlingtoni.org.uk

Thank you very much for the kind and generous donations of mince pies to the School Office - we are grateful that we now have enough mince pies.

The Eco-Council children want to remind people to put litter in the bin and to not drop it on the floor. They designed and made posters to put up around the school.

The Eco-Council children put their posters up around the school, on the playground and at the Blagdon Road gate. They hope that this will remind people to put litter in the bin.

Every month we will be sending home an exciting picture to discuss and share at home which will hopefully inspire your child to write and draw.

Children can write and draw anything which comes to mind after looking at the picture. Please hand your entries to your class teacher by the deadline date. Winning entries will be shared in assembly and stickers/certificates will be awarded.

Please encourage your child to participate in this monthly challenge. We hope that the pictures will inspire us all!

This month's Inspiration Station:

Dear Parents/Carers,

Please find attached a letter from Mrs Leech, our OPAL leader with some exciting updates. 

OPAL Update Autumn 2025

Thank you and best wishes, Burlington Infant & Nursery School

The Eco-Council worked so hard last year to achieve Eco-Schools Green Flag Status. Their hard work paid off and Burlington has now received the certificate and the flag! This year, Eco-Council will be working hard to retain the Green Flag!

We would like to wish Mrs Docwra and Mrs McEvoy lots of luck with their fundraising efforts for DONS Local Action Group. As you know we recently gave all your harvest festival donations to this wonderful organisation who help so many people in our local community. Mrs Docwra and Mrs McEvoy will be sleeping outside for a night in November to raise awareness and funds for those facing homelessness and hardship. Find out more here.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 'Welcome to Nursery' workshop last week.  Please click below to see a copy of the presentation.

Welcome to Nursery workshop - presentation to parents

A huge thank you for all the donations for the Harvest Festival on Wednesday. We were overwhelmed by your generosity and DONS Local Action Group were incredibly grateful to receive so many donations for their foodbanks. 

We would also like to thank the parents who came to help pack up all the items - we really appreciate it. 

Our School Council has been working hard to represent the voices of their classmates and their efforts have really paid off!

After meeting with Nourish this week to share everyone’s feedback, they were thrilled to hear that several of their suggestions will be added to the new school menu.

Here’s what’s coming soon to our lunches: 

Sausages added to the menu
Pesto pasta now available without chicken
Broccoli tots (a big hit from the food tasting!)
Cheese, tomato and carrot swirls (another tasty favourite from the tasting)
Extra cheese on the cheesy pasta!

A big well done to our School Council for listening, sharing, and helping to make lunchtime even better for everyone!

A big thank you to all the parents who came in to school today to do activities for our Diwali celebration and Multicultural Morning. The children enjoyed a wonderful morning of hands-on activities, stories, and crafts that helped them explore the rich traditions of Diwali and celebrate the many cultures that make up our school community.

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As part of their ‘Happy Homes’ topic, Year 2 have been making ‘bird pud’ to feed birds around our school site through the winter. It’s a simple recipe that you can make at home so Year 2 wanted to share the ingredients and instructions with you. Perhaps you can make it at home and hang it in your garden or from a balcony to look after hungry birds.