From the Head

From the Head of Pre-Prep

Dear Parents,

Christmas is well underway now. Our Nursery, Kindergarten and Reception have all performed their Christmas Nativities. They have all exceeded our expectations and their singing has been lovely. It has been good to see so many of you at these performances with grandparents too.

Next week is our final week of term. On Tuesday 9^th December, Year 1 will be performing their Nativity at 9am. Year 2 will perform their Nativity on Wednesday 10^th December at 9am. Coffee will be served before both performances in the Pre-Prep Dining Room from 8.30am.

Could I please ask that you stay in the Dining Room if you arrive before the performance rather than in the corridor outside the Hall. I know you are keen to grab the best seats but for our Year 1 children working in the classrooms at that end of the corridor, it is quite intimidating to walk through all the adults. The doors to the Hall open at 8.50am, not before.

We will be having our school Christmas lunch on Wednesday 10^th December and this has now become the traditional day to all wear our Christmas jumpers for the day rather than the school jumper or cardigan.

On Thursday, we will be holding our Christmas parties for Reception, Year 1 and 2. Please send your child to school with a named paper plate containing some party food. We cannot refrigerate these, so please don’t send in any food that needs to be kept cool. Please remember we are a nut-free school so don’t send anything in containing nuts.

We break up on Friday 12^th December at 12.00. If you have children in Prep, they will come down to Pre-Prep to be collected at the same time as their younger siblings. Please park your car and walk down to Pre-Prep.

As you may have seen in Mr Pears’ video, I have announced my retirement next summer. With my third grandchild on the way, I will be kept busy! I love St Michael’s and know leaving will be tough but the time is right to hand over to someone else.

Overheard in Pre-Prep:

Teacher: "Does your dad’s age begin with a 2 or a 3?"

Child: "I think it begins with an 8."

Have a lovely weekend.

Zerrin Leech

Zerrin Leech - Head of Pre-Prep

Following over a decade of exceptional leadership of our Pre-Prep, Mrs Zerrin Leech will be retiring from her role as Head of Pre-Prep at the end of this academic year, July 2026. Zerrin has made an invaluable contribution to St Michael’s throughout her time at the school and will be greatly missed. 

As we look to the future of St Michael’s Pre-Prep, we begin our search for a new Head of Pre-Prep to join us from September 2026, with the recruitment process in motion and the role opening for applications from today.

Honor Wines - Early Years Practitioner

We will also be saying goodbye to our Early Years Practitioner in Kindergarten, Honor, at the end of this term. 

We would like to thank Honor for all of her support and contribution in Kindergarten this year. Obtaining her Level 3 Early Years qualification earlier this year was a huge achievement and Honor has shown a lovely rapport with the children in delivering this. Honor has also supported the Prep Music Department over the year. We wish Honor all the best in her new role nearer to home. 

Kâren Stibbons, Head of Pre-School

Carol Service - Wednesday 10th December 2025

We look forward to welcoming parents of children in Prep choirs, readers and the brass ensemble to our Carol Service in St Peter and St Paul's Church in Shoreham next Wednesday 10th December at 6:30pm. 

All the details, including those of rehearsals at the Church on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, were in our letter sent out via message/email on Friday 28^th November from our Involve Education music system. The sender should appear in your emails as “St Michael's Prep School notifications@involveeducation.com”). 

If anyone didn’t receive that letter or has any questions, please email music@stmichaels.kent.sch.uk.

Tracey Scott, Music Administrator

St Michael's Health and Wellness Week 

19^th – 23^rd January 2026

St Michael’s are proud to be partnering with award-winning Sevenoaks-based personal training and rehab centre, The Better Body Group (BBG) to run an exciting Health and Wellness Week for our children in January.

Tailored to our pupils, the week will feature a series of fun and engaging wellness sessions, with the opportunity for parents to join their children in beginning healthy new year habits as a family.

Pupils will be informed and inspired throughout the week with age-appropriate assemblies covering: healthy eating and exercise habits, confidence, resilience and the importance of movement for long-term health.

PE lessons that week will be led by coaches from BBG and incorporate fun fitness activities designed to improve coordination and strength, build confidence through movement and encourage a lifelong love of exercise.

Exclusive offers for St Michael’s families

 BBG is also delighted to share exclusive offers for the St Michael’s community as part of our Heath and Wellness Week.

For Parents and Staff (Non-Members): a FREE 1:1 Personal Training Session at BBG’s Sevenoaks facility.

For Pupils: a FREE 30-Minute PT Session: fun, confidence-building and fully coached.

To claim your free PT session, email: enquiries@betterbodygroup.co.uk or call: 01732 451979

Better Body Group is Sevenoaks’ premium training facility offering:

-Personal Training

-Youth Athletic Development

-Gym Memberships

-Small Group Training

-Health & Longevity Services

We look forward to sharing more details with you soon and experiencing this brilliant opportunity together as a school community in the new year.

Open Library next term

Open Library will start again next term from January, every Wednesday between 4 and 5pm. Children need to be accompanied by an adult but they are welcome to come and read, borrow books and enjoy some tea and cake. Pre-Prep siblings are very welcome too.

Sue Davies, Year 3 Teacher

Year 5 Christmas Candy Cane Experiment

Year 5 will be bringing home some candy canes for an experiment which they might like to carry out over the Christmas holiday. This is an optional activity but we'd love to see some photos or videos of our festive scientists in action, if they decide to give it a go. All instructions are included in the gift bag.

Merry Christmas!

Mrs Lodge, Mrs Medd and Mrs Neylan

Parent swimming sessions at St Michael's 

Free trial in the new year

All St Michael's parents are invited to join our Parent Swimming Sessions which run on Monday mornings during term time 8:30-9.30am. 

With space available for the Lent Term beginning in January 2026, now is the perfect time to factor these weekly sessions into your new year routine. Those who attend the first session on Monday 12th January will enjoy a free trial session. 

Pupil illness reminder

If your child is unwell before school, please do not send them in with medication that may wear off during the day.

• Any child with a temperature must remain at home until they have been symptom-free for a full 24 hours, without the use of paracetamol or Nurofen
• Any child who has experienced vomiting or diarrhoea must stay at home until 48 hours after their last symptoms

These measures are essential to protect the health of all pupils and staff, particularly those who are more vulnerable due to being immunocompromised.

Abby Carlton, School Nurse

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 or hard copies will be available in the Prep Library for the rest of the term. 

Flora Citron, Librarian

St Michael's Hygiene Bank Collection

We are welcoming St Michael's families to donate to our annual Hygiene Bank collection which this year will be supporting the Salvation Army and Sevenoaks Hygiene Bank. We have been pleased to receive many donations so far and our collection continues until the end of term for anyone wishing to donate more. 

How to donate

Tubs have been placed on the various landings in Prep for children to place any items brought in by the end of term. The Hygiene Bank website is requesting ‘new, unused, personal care and household cleaning essentials - including deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, make-up, nappies, toilet roll, laundry detergent and surface cleaner. If you need them and use them, then it is likely someone else needs and uses them too.’

We are already off to a great start and it would be wonderful if we can have another bumper collection this year to donate to a worthy cause.

Thank you, 

Mrs Baisch, Head of Years 5 and 6

Christmas Holiday Programme

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. 

Kemsing Christmas Tree Festival 

Please come and support Kemsing Church's Christmas Tree Festival this year. From 30th November to 7th December, you can visit the Church to see 16 trees representing a number of local groups and societies. You will be given a warm welcome, a drink and snack - and you will have the opportunity to vote for your favourite Christmas Tree (yes, St Michael's has entered the competition, but please do vote as you wish!).

Mrs Shield, Head of Religious Studies 

Christmas arrives at St Michael's

Our sparkling Christmas trees have brought festive magic to St Michael’s across Pre-Prep and Prep.

A huge thank you to Polhill Garden Centre and Ruxley Manor Garden Centre for donating our four wonderful trees which have provided the perfect backdrop for our Christmas activities.

Our thanks also goes to the Parents and Friends Association for organising this and our Estates Team for putting the trees up and decorating them so beautifully.

P & F Christmas Fair 2025

We were delighted to see so many families at our Christmas Fair on Saturday. Thank you to our Parents and Friends Association, stall holders and visitors for making this event such a brilliant start to our festivities at St Michael's.

With Santa's Grotto, our Parent Choir, many stalls and lots of games, it was a great atmosphere and we already can't wait for next year!

A magical celebration of Christingle

It was lovely to see our Chapel lit by candles and the smiles of our confident, excited and happy Year 3 pupils as they presented their Christingle services to their parents on Tuesday 2^nd December. This annual event is a joyful way for us to mark the start of our Christmas celebrations at school. The children were very proud to invite their parents in to hear their beautiful singing and to listen to the meaning of the Christingle. This year we rose £190.37 for the Children's Society - thank you for your donations.

We would also like to thank Year 2 for joining us on Monday morning to create our Christingle oranges together; it was lovely to see them in Prep before they join us here next year. 

Kate Perkins, Head of Year 3

Sparkle and shine!

Our pupils in Nursery, Kindergarten and Reception took to the stage this week to perform their Nativities. Each performance was filled with joy and beautiful singing which we were delighted to welcome parents and grandparents to see. We are so proud of each and every one of you and look forward to Years 1 and 2's Nativities next week!

Nursery

Kindergarten

Reception

St Michael's donate winter warmers to those in need

Over the past few weeks, St Michael's families have donated winter warmers such as coats, hats, scarves, gloves and wellington boots to provide for those in need.

Working in collaboration with Sevenoaks School, the project will help over 250 families this year by providing them with warm clothes and other resources. 

We have been overwhelmed by the volume of generous donations and would like to say a big thank you for your support with this collection. 

Year 7 experience A Christmas Carol

On Wednesday 3^rd December, the whole of Year 7 went to see the theatre show of A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic theatre. The day was brilliant! Throughout lessons in the morning, it was mainly all I could think about (sorry teachers!). We had lunch at 11:50am (a bit early but it was worth it) and then set out to Otford Station in the minibuses.

We waited for our train and when it arrived we bundled into the carriage (apologies to anyone on that carriage too, although we were very good, even if I say so myself). Around half an hour later, we arrived at Waterloo East and started the three minute walk to The Old Vic. In the theatre, the mood was electric, full of Christmas cheer and fun. When we got into the auditorium, the cast were playing Christmas music. We settled into our seats and soon the show began.

The cast in the show had this feel to them, like they really enjoyed performing and that just added to the mood. The actor who played Scrooge was good and all of a sudden, A Christmas  Carol came to life. The only fault I’d have to take with the show is how the ghosts are portrayed (I won’t say anymore as it might spoil things). The show ended with audience participation as oranges and potatoes cascaded down long sheets from the upper gallery to the ground floor. Add parachuting sprouts (which the audience got to throw) and a massive ziplining turkey to complete the special performance.

After the show we hopped back on the train to Otford Station, where we were collected by our parents/carers. I was exhausted by the end but brimming with happiness; it was a spectacular day!

Words by Year 7 pupil

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

Players of the Match - week commencing 1st December 2025

Gymnastics Gold for Gwyneth!

Congratulations to Gwyneth and her gymnastics partner who took gold at the South East Acrobatics Regionals last Saturday. It was only the second competition Gwyneth and her new partner had competed in together after winning bronze in the East Surrey Acrobatics Competition on Wednesday 15th November.  

This is the first regional championship title that Gwyneth has ever won and we are so proud of her for balancing her time between gymnastics training and rehearsals for the School Play. 

Amazing work, Gwyneth!

Lottie and Pascale prepare for Hockey World Cup!

Congratulations to Old Michaelians Lottie and Pascale who are heading to Chile to play in the Junior Hockey World Cup. Lottie is playing for England and Pascale is playing for Canada as a goalkeeper.

We are so proud of you both; good luck!

Christmas Netball Camp

Otford Methodist Church Toast Club

Follow us on social media!

Make sure you are following St Michael’s social media channels for important updates and content throughout the year.