November
21st - Literacy Morning - 9-10am in your child's class. All YR, Y1 & Y2 parents welcome
21st - Nursery Reading Morning - 8.30-9am & 12.30-1pm 
 28th - PTA Non-Uniform Day for Christmas Fair (more details to follow)

December
5th - PTA Non-Uniform Day (more details to follow) 
5th - PTA Christmas Fair 4-7pm
9th - Nursery Christmas Concert 9am & 2.45pm **(Blue, Green & Yellow only)**
10th - Year 1 Toy Museum 8.50-9.30am (more details to follow)
11th - Foxes Class Christmas Nativity 9.15am
11th - Rabbits Class Christmas Nativity 2.45pm
12th - Hedgehogs Class Christmas Nativity 9.15am 
12th - Squirrels Class Christmas Nativity 2.45pm
15th - Jupiter Class Christmas Performance 9.15am 
15th - Saturn Class Christmas Performance 10am 
15th - Venus Class Christmas Performance 11am 
15th - Mercury Class Christmas Performance 2.40pm
16th - Diamonds Christmas Performance 9.15am
16th - Sapphires Christmas Performance 10am
16th - Rubies Christmas Performance 11am
16th - Emeralds Christmas Performance 2.30pm
16th - Nursery Party Day
16th - Reception Party Day
16th - Saturn & Venus Class Party Day
16th - Mercury & Jupiter class trip to New Malden Baptist Church 
17th - Year 1 Party Day
17th - Jupiter & Mercury Class Party Day
17th - Saturn & Venus class trip to New Malden Baptist Church 
18th - Christmas Lunch Day - wear a Christmas jumper
19th - SCHOOL CLOSES EARLY AT 1.45PM FOR THE CHRISTMAS BREAK (NO YELLOW OR PURPLE NURSERY)

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

We look forward to welcoming parents into class on Friday 21st November for our literacy morning. This will be an opportunity to see the children learning in class and to get tips on how you can support you child further at home. 

Reception, Year 1 & Year 2
9-10am 

Nursery Reading Morning 
8.30-9am & 12.30-1pm 

Please check your child's bookbag this weekend for the proof copy of their recent school photograph.

Orders are placed directly with the photographer - YEP - as per the instructions on the proof. Please note, for free delivery to school, orders must be placed by Monday 24th November.  Orders after this date will be charged a delivery fee.

Christmas Lunch Day – Thursday 18 December

On Thursday 18 December, we will have our annual Christmas Lunch. It is always a lovely occasion, with special food and a festive atmosphere. On this day, children may come to school in festive jumpers instead of their school sweatshirt / cardigan. 

Please remember to complete the google form link to give us your child’s menu choice for the Christmas Lunch.

https://forms.gle/Kg4QBJFw4Rrmf2kM6

The deadline for responses is 9am on Friday 21 November. 

Fussy Eating

When my youngest was a child, he was that fussy eater and I was that parent who was fixated on the fact that all he would eat was chicken nuggets, cucumber, yoghurt and of course chocolate. That was all I ever used to talk about because I was so worried about him. All my son would ever hear, was me saying that he only ever ate those foods, so guess what he did? He only ever ate those foods! I was the parent who would say 'he will never try anything new', he would hear me saying it so guess what he did? He never tried anything new! 

I was really at my wits end having had 2 children previously that would eat everything. I was so worried that it was the sole topic of my conversation wherever I went. When my son was about 5 years old, someone said to me 'stop talking about it'. This was a completely new concept to me but I gave it a go, after all, everything else that I had tried didn't work. Fussy eating was officially not given any more air space and the most unbelievable thing happened, my son actually started asking me if he could see what a carrot tasted like. I casually chopped a small carrot up for him to taste and as if by magic, he wanted carrots with his chicken nuggets and cucumber. From then onwards, I never looked back and within a year, he was eating a full roast dinner. I have to say that I did stop offering chocolate as an alternative when he hadn't eaten and we drastically cut down on the amount of milk he was allowed to drink every day. He also helped with the menu planning and the preperation of the meals. As a busy Mum, it was all that I had ever wanted, for every one to be eating the same meals.

I look back on the mistakes that I had made earlier in his life with his eating and wish that I knew what I know now. It all points to my most used saying when I support parents and that is 'what you pay attention to, you get more of'. As soon as I stopped talking about his fussy eating, everything changed.

If you have concerns about your child's eating, believe me, you are not the only one. Please reach out to me for support as I speak from experience and things really can get better.

Our thought for the week is:

Maintain a calm and positive demeanour even when frustrated. Your anxiety can make the situation worse.

If you have a parenting concern, you can contact Mrs Easty via the school office - admin@burlingtoni.org.uk

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

Well done to the children who did the science homework this week. Why not give it a go - details below. Send us pictures of your brilliant bridges!

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

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:

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 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

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

At Burlington, we are very proud of our diverse community. This Autumn term there will be many families celebrating special religious festivals such as Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Diwali, St Andrew's Day, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah and Christmas just to name a few.

We would love the children to share their news and personal experiences with their class. This could be anything from artefacts such as special story books, photos, special clothes, a piece of music/food and some helpful written notes of information about the artefacts/festival. Remember: Photos and videos can also be uploaded to share via Tapestry of which can then be shared in class or in my special festival assemblies. Don't forget to sign up for culture cat. Please talk to your class teacher to arrange a particular date.

*Diwali Celebration/Multicultural morning is on Friday 17th October from 9am-10am (Nursery times are 8.30-9.30am and 12.30-1.30pm). There are limited number of spaces per class so if you would like to do a multicultural activity with a small group of children, please sign up on sheet by the door. Thank you.

Miss Braithwaite, Religious Education (RE) Lead

Each Eco Council member has their own watering can. They are now responsible for watering their class plant pot. They are doing a great job!

Eco Council went litter picking in the local area. They collected 11 bags of rubbish! They worked hard to keep the environment clean!

Most pharmacies in England are now providing the Pharmacy First service. This free NHS service allows you or your child to get quick access to healthcare advice for the following seven conditions:

Earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
Impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
Infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
Shingles (aged 18 years and over)
Sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
Sore throats (aged 5 years and over)
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women (aged 16 to 64 years)

If you or your child has symptoms that suggest you may have one of these conditions, you can walk into a pharmacy and be offered a consultation with a pharmacist in a private consultation room.

The pharmacist will provide advice and, if clinically necessary, a prescription medicine to treat the condition (the normal NHS prescription charge rules apply to people aged 16 and over).

Find out more by visiting nhs.uk/thinkpharmacyfirst

Thank you to everyone who attended the 'welcome to reception' workshop today. We hope you found it useful. Click below to see a copy of the presentation slides. 

Reception Parent Talk - Tapestry, Phonics and Reading in Reception

The children have been learning that everyone’s voice matters and that everyone has the right to be treated fairly. This includes having a say in things they like and don’t like – even when it comes to school lunches!

This week, School Council gathered the views of their classmates, finding out which school lunch meals were popular and which ones were less liked. They then shared this feedback with Nourish, our school caterers.

The School Council also had the exciting job of tasting some new food items from the upcoming menu. After trying them, they voted for their favourites – broccoli tots and cheese and carrot swirls were the winners! Look out for these tasty additions on the new menu soon!

To thank them for their hard work and thoughtful feedback, Nourish gave each School Council member a small gift.

Well done, School Council! Thank you for making sure everyone’s voice was heard!

As part of our continued efforts to support our school community, we are looking to once again offer ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes for parents and carers.

These classes would be designed to help improve English speaking, reading, and writing skills in a welcoming and supportive environment. Whether you're a beginner or looking to strengthen your English, we want to hear from you!

If you are interested in ESOL classes, please complete the following Google Form:

https://forms.gle/7yhwi3zDLMG8Bm7r5

HENRY’s free Healthy Families: Growing Up online programme is for parents and carers of primary-school age children – it will help you develop a healthier, happier lifestyle that the whole family can enjoy. For more information click here.

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 with appointments available between 9:15 and 11:30 am. For more information and to book an appointment, click here. 

Congratulations to the following children who were voted in to represent their class in our councils: 

School Council 
Sapphires - Gledis & Leana 
Rubies - Daisy & Arthur 
Diamonds - Lauren & Donovan 
Emeralds - Mateo & Faith 
Venus - Savannah & Ben
Mercury - Amelia & Keira 
Jupiter - Hattie & Hazel 
Saturn - Aline & Mina

Learning Council 
Sapphires - Rayan & Tolani 
Rubies - Jesse & Zohra
Diamonds - Albert & Kaiden 
Emeralds - Stevie & Caleb
Venus - Adam & Shreesha
Mercury - Madison & Clemencie
Jupiter - Maisie & Sally 
Saturn - Sasha & Hammad 

Eco Council
Sapphires - Servando & Yoora
Rubies - Josephine & Lily
Diamonds - Hazel & Robin  
Emeralds - Airah & Melita 
Venus - Celin & Pradhyun
Mercury - Robin & Saja
Jupiter - Florence & Noah 
Saturn - Isabella & Aylin

Please can we remind you that we are a ‘healthy school’ and we do not give out cakes and sweet treats for birthdays. Furthermore we have lots of children with allergies or food restrictions which makes it tricky for some when handing out cakes etc. If your child’s birthday is coming up, please speak to the office where you can purchase a ‘birthday book’ for £3 which will be presented to the class on your child’s birthday and read out on the day as a special story time. You can write a message inside the book so that children can keep enjoying the book throughout the year, and will remember that the book was given to the class on your child’s birthday. 

Alternatively you may bring in a fruit platter for your child's class to enjoy at snack time. Please make sure that fruit is in bite size pieces and grapes are cut in half. Thank you.  

Thank you to all the year 1 parents who attended the workshop last week. Please click below to see a copy of the slides.

Welcome to Year 1 presentation for parents 

Dear Year 1 Parents/Carers, 

Please find attached instructions on how to access Busy Things and J2E via your child's LGFL logins. 

Busy Things and J2E access for Year 1 parents

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team

The Mental Health Support Team recommends the Parentalk Podcast which covers various topics on parenting primary aged children. You can find out more by clicking here. 

The CoolMilk scheme at Burlington Infant & Nursery allows children to receive free milk until the age of 5. 
 
If you wish for your child to continue receiving milk after they turn 5, you can register and pay for milk at http://www.coolmilk.com/register.  CoolMilk offer yearly, termly and half termly payment periods and a recurring payment option to give you one less thing to remember.

You can read more on our web page.

Thank you to everyone who attended the parent information morning on Friday 12 September. It was so lovely to see so many new faces and we hope you found it useful. 

If you were unable to attend, please click on the links below to see a copy of the slides. 

Everything You Need to Know about Burlington 
Supporting Children in the Digital Age - Online Safety

Thank you to all the year 2 parents who attended the talk last week. Click below for a copy of the slides from the presentation.

Welcome to Year 2 presentation to parents - Sept 2025

If you would like a copy of the 'common exception words' and 'handwriting' handouts, please speak to your class teacher.  

Do you have a little time to spare? We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to support our children as they grow into confident readers!

Whether you can commit weekly or just occasionally, we welcome your help. Training will be provided, so no prior experience is necessary. Best of all, timings are flexible to suit your schedule.

Please email the school office to express your interest. 

Dear Nursery and Reception Parents/Carers, 

Please find attached a letter from Mrs Yay-Walker regarding Eddie, our therapy/school dog.  Also attached is a list of rules which children will need to follow when Eddie is in school but please read the letter first which will explain more.

Eddie the Therapy Dog - letter to Parents Sept 2025

Eddie Rules

Thank you and best wishes, 

Burlington Infant & Nursery School

Welcome back to the new autumn term! We hope all the children had a relaxing summer break. We have loved seeing the children again and we look forward to a fun term ahead. 

A huge welcome to all our new reception and nursery families! We look forward to meeting you all over the coming weeks. Our weekly newsletter, featuring news, school information and important dates to remember goes out every Friday afternoon. 

If you would like to volunteer to read one to one with the children in our school, please come along to a training session on Monday 8th September at 2pm. Sign in at the school office.

Many thanks,

Mrs Davies, Reading Leader

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