From the Head

From the Head of Pre-Prep

Dear Parents,

What an exciting week we have all had in Pre-Prep. We started the week with dress rehearsals and moved to the proper productions on Tuesday and Wednesday for Year 1 and Year 2’s showing of It’s Chri-i-istmas.

I was so proud of the children in both year groups for their fabulous performances. For the Year 2 audience on Wednesday, many of you felt as emotional as I did at the end. They certainly excelled! For my last St Michael’s Nativity, it couldn’t have been better and it was a performance I will remember for a long time!

For those of you with older children in Prep, the Carol Service on Wednesday evening in Shoreham Church was spectacular. We are so lucky at St Michael’s to have the most incredible Music Department. Well done to all the children who sang and read (without a script) to make the service top notch.

Parent Reps from each class will be coming into a Q & A session with me from the week beginning Monday 12^th January so let your reps know if there is anything you would like explained.

School starts again on Wednesday 7^th January. Hopefully everyone will be over their coughs and colds and ready to start the hard work of the Lent Term.

Lastly, thank you for so many lovely gifts, cards and kind words. You really are very generous and everything has been appreciated.

Overheard in Pre-Prep:

Teacher: "How did Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem?"

Child: "A rocket!"            

Happy Christmas and best wishes for the new year,

Zerrin Leech

Michaelmas Term highlights

Professional netball player coming to St Michael's!

In January, professional netball player and Old Michaelian, Jess Haynes is coming to St Michael's to run some netball sessions for the girls in their Games lessons. Jess has recently played for the Leeds Rhinos in the televised national netball superleague in the UK and is currently in Australia playing for the Casey Demons in Melbourne Australia.

This will be such an invaluable experience for the girls to have a training session with a professional player, we can't wait!

Prep Times Tables Rock Stars Competition

A big thank you to Darenth Valley Golf Club!

We would like to thank the Darenth for the use of their car park during the rehearsals for and the final Carol Service this week. Without their support, we would not have been able to move the children into and out of Shoreham Church safely and efficiently. It also allowed the large numbers of parents coming to watch to park safely. Thank you!

St Michael's Family Wellbeing Reading for Pleasure Challenge

We are inviting St Michael’s families to challenge themselves to find as many times as possible during the Christmas holidays to read for pleasure for 10 minutes. Reading for pleasure has been shown to be hugely beneficial for wellbeing as well as attainment, and children can find it very inspiring to see the adults in their home picking up a book for fun! The challenge is optional but everyone is warmly encouraged to take part.  

You can record your progress on the challenge here. 

Flora Citron, Librarian

St Michael's Welly Walks- launching January 2026

Join us for a fun and friendly outdoor adventure around our beautiful school grounds! Guided by a member of staff, little explorers (and their carers) can splash, stomp and discover the wonders of nature on our woodland Welly Walks. 

What to expect:

• A gentle guided walk perfect for under 4s
• Fresh air, chatter and lots of exploring
• Natural pathways with some steep inclines
• Please note: The walk is not pram-friendly; babies can be carried in a papoose
• This is a dog-free event. 

Come along, get muddy, meet new friends, make memories and enjoy the great outdoors with us! 

The meeting point is at Novell’s Coffee Cart outside St Michael's Pre-Prep at 9am, Fridays during term time. First walk: Friday 16th January 2026 9-10am. 

You must register your interest to attend; please click here to sign-up. 

We are looking forward to welcoming the following individual to St Michael's in January: 

Victoria Davies-O'Malley- Intervention Support Assistant in Pre-Prep

Victoria has worked in education for 10 years and has spent over 8 years working in a local primary school as a Teaching Assistant in Key Stage 1 and Forest School. She finds supporting young people with their learning rewarding and fulfilling.

Victoria is married and a proud mum of two children. She has lived in Kent since a young age and loves rural living, enjoying walks and spending time at home with family. 

She is thrilled to be joining the St Michael's team and looks forward to meeting everyone and working alongside the children.

St Michael's Carol Service

Prep children performed a breathtaking Carol Service at The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul in Shoreham on Wednesday.

Congratulations to all of our choirs, musicians and speakers for their beautiful performances and thank you to Reverend McCall for leading our service.

The Carol Service was a wonderful end to our Christmas celebrations at St Michael's and a wonderful reminder of the togetherness and magic that this season brings.

It's Chri-i-i-i-stmas!

This week, it was time for Year 1 and Year 2 to take to the stage to perform their productions of It's Chri-i-i-i-stmas!

Both performances were amazing and every single one of our pupils was a shining star. Our Year 2 Nativity, which was also the Nativity finale for 2025, was a particularly emotional show for our Year 2 families, with it being their last Nativity before they head up to Prep next year. Well done Year 1 and Year 2, we are so proud of you all!

Year 1

Year 2

Christmas Lunch

Pupils and staff were treated to a delicious Christmas Lunch on Wednesday prepared by our talented Catering Team.

From festive table games to cracker jokes, much joy and laughter was shared.

A magical Christmas Concert

Over the past few weeks, Prep musicians have been filming a virtual Christmas Concert for their parents and family to enjoy.

Featuring a range of instrumental groups, the filmed concert is a joyful celebration of the children’s hard work in their Music groups this term and really captured the Christmas spirit felt at St Michael’s.

The Concert video was sent on Friday morning to the parents of the Prep instrumental groups via Involve; highlights will follow on social media. 

Design Technology House Competition results

This year’s Design Technology House Competition was to design a cracking invention which makes completing an everyday task easier, in the style of some of the wacky creations seen in Wallace and Gromit. This could be any task such as making your bed, washing up dishes, laundry, washing the car, walking the dog, doing your homework… the list of chores is endless!

We had some amazing creative inventions, for example, catapulting pencil cases, K9 robot dog walkers and even a self-joke-writing pencil.

Once all entries were in, the staff gathered together to vote for the winners. There was one winner from lower school - Years 3, 4 and 5 and one from upper school - Years 6, 7 and 8.

Runners-Up:

Lower school:

-Arlo S from Windsor with his ‘Plaster-o-tron’ to safely and swiftly remove plasters, pain free!

-Max Z from Leeds with his ‘School-Run Car’ with features such as a zip-line to avoid traffic on Row Dow!

Upper school:

-Adam J from Dover with his teleporting car

Winners

Lower school:

-Elise A from Windsor with her ‘Two At Once’ helping hand – an extra hand to help with all other pesky jobs when two hands just aren’t enough!

Upper school:

-Abi L and Araya J from Windsor for their ‘Nanny-Bot McCare’ – a robotic nanny to help look after the children, equipped with milk for the baby, Calpol and wine (for the adults)!

Well done to everyone who entered and congratulations to our winners!

Ms Gilbrook, Teacher of Art and Design Technology

Big Litter Pick

St Michael's Eco Club invites members of the St Michael's community to take part in our Big Litter Pick this year. Don't forget, you can borrow litter pickers from the Pre-Prep and Prep Offices during term time!

Please visit our Learning Development Parent Guides page for a collection of valuable resources for parents, focusing on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Here you'll find a variety of courses and information designed to support you and your child. Whether you're looking for educational materials, support groups or expert advice, these resources aim to provide the guidance and assistance that you need. We will update the resources each week so please keep checking this page. 

Film Night- book now!

P&F May Ball- Tickets now available!

Coffee Cart Opening Hours

House Point Certificates

Leeds: Zac B

Rochester:  Molly F and Maia B

Swim England Awards

Discovery Duckling Level 4: Finlay S, Lois F, Michael G, Harper H, Aslan P and Logan S

Learn to Swim Awards:

Level 1: Emma U, Michael S, Kiaan P, Talia N, Alexander L, Alexander K, Kai I, Rory D, Leya D, Eliza C, Ben C, Rudhi C, Jonathan C and Caspar B

Level 2: Sasha Z, Stefania M, Aria L, Ernie L, Juliet E and Peter C

Level 3: Thea L, Helena H, Sofia B and Ethan G

Recent ABRSM exam successes

We are delighted to share the following results from the exams taken on Friday 28^th November at school. For many of these pupils, this was the first Music exam they have taken. We would like to congratulate the children on their hard work and thank their teachers for preparing them so well.

This term has been brimming with creativity and festive fun! The children mastered the art of macramé, crafting colourful wool and cord into beautiful Christmas gifts, which were proudly sold at the Christmas Fair.

They also enjoyed hammering nails into circular wooden slices to create adorable hedgehogs and worked together to decorate a couple of large garden pallets with wooden discs, transforming them both into a stunning Christmas tree and bauble display.

Pom-pom making has truly taken centre stage, with a flurry of fluffy creations coming together to form our spectacular giant Christmas tree. Adding to the festive artistry, the children melted vibrant crayons to craft a striking, silhouetted scene of Santa gliding across the night sky in his sleigh. Paper plate crafts have also been enjoyed along with hand printing and lolly stick creations.

In the kitchen, the children whipped up delicious dairy-free sprinkle cakes and pasta dishes, alongside spooky Halloween treats like mummy frankfurters and witches’ fingers. Festive delights followed, including marshmallow snowmen and breadstick Christmas trees- perfect for getting into the holiday spirit!

Nicky Smith, Wrap Around Care Manager 

Christmas Netball Camp

Otford Methodist Church Toast Club

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