Eid Mubarak to all Cypress families celebrating! We have been learning about Eid at the Lower School this week and thank Mrs Ebrahim for her wonderful assembly on Monday. Our School Council met with our chef Emma this week to talk about school dinners, giving their feedback on what they enjoyed most and what they’d like to see more of. Emma has already taken some of their suggestions on board and we’ve seen carrot batons added to the salad bar. Reception have continued learning about their topic ‘To the Rescue!’ and we welcomed PC Nawol to Cypress to talk to the children about his role keeping the community safe. On Thursday our after school ballet club performed in a stunning recital to parents, led by the amazing Miss Rachael.
At the Upper School last week, we enjoyed a wonderful assembly led by Miss Ahmed alongside some of our children, who confidently shared how and why Eid is celebrated by members of our Cypress community. It was a meaningful opportunity to learn about different traditions and celebrate the diversity within our school.
This week, our Year 6 children have completed their mock SATs, and we would like to congratulate them all for their focus, sensible attitude, and for trying their very best; we are incredibly proud of each and every one of them. It was also lovely to come together beforehand for the SATs breakfast. We strongly encourage all children to attend during the actual week, even if they do not wish to eat, as it is a valuable time to see friends, feel supported, and settle nerves in a calm, friendly environment alongside others going through the same experience. Special thanks to the Year 6 team, who made sure breakfast went off without a hitch each morning.
Green Class Assembly
Green Class assembly was a triumph this week! They led us on a journey through Africa, sharing facts about their new thematic topic. The audience was amazed by the children’s confident speaking, wonderful singing and a very energetic dance to ‘Waka Waka’. At times their assembly felt like a West End performance, with African animals appearing as if we were in the Lion King. Huge thanks to Ms Hunt and a special shout out to Ms T for her efforts providing African costumes, jewellery, props, food and treating the audience to tasty plantain chips, paw paw, hibiscus juice, shea butter and even animal themed glasses! Well done, Green Class!
London Mozart Players
This morning, at the Upper School, we were delighted to welcome the London Mozart Players, who led a truly inspiring and memorable assembly. They introduced the children to different types of music, explored how music can make us feel, and demonstrated a range of musical techniques, all while giving us the special opportunity to experience live classical music; what a treat – it was exceptional! They also led workshops with our Year 5 children, teaching them routines to support classroom transitions using their bodies as percussive instruments, and guiding them as they composed their own piece of music together as a class. Many thanks to the London Mozart Players and to Miss Barker for making this fantastic experience possible; if only every Friday could start like that!
CSMA Music Festival
Our Cypress School choirs were part of the most amazing experience this week, representing our school at the CSMA Infant and Junior Music Festivals.
On Tuesday evening, our brilliant Upper School Choir took part in the CSMA Junior Festival at Fairfield Halls. It was a magical evening built around the theme ‘Sing, Shine and Celebrate’ and the children rose to the occasion with impressive verve. Their repertoire included a range of uplifting songs, which included a Coldplay medley that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. A special mention must go to our talented soloist, Dora, who sang beautifully and represented Cypress with great confidence. Thank you to Miss Barker for all her hard work in preparing the choir, leading rehearsals, and supporting the children on what was a late evening, and to Ms Wayman for her help on the night.
The Infant Choir took the stage on Wednesday evening for a selection of songs featuring ‘Animals on the Ark’. Mrs Sorensen fondly remembers performing in the CSMA Choir when she was a Croydon Primary School pupil, so it was an absolute joy to accompany the choir. Favourite songs included ‘Alice the Camel’ and the ‘Tiger Tango’ and we were very proud of Orla and Mabel who were ants in ‘The Animals went in Two by Two’, Sofia who represented Cypress in the ‘Dolphin Song’ and Ophelia who performed the most beautiful solo during ‘The Honey Bee’.
The atmosphere was nothing short of magical during both evenings and we are all very proud of our choir members, who represented Cypress wonderfully. We have some true performers in our midst and it was a joy to see everyone sing so beautifully. Again, a huge thanks to the amazing Miss Barker for her dedication throughout, so the choirs could enjoy a truly unforgettable experience.
Parents’ Evening and Annual Parent/Carer Survey
Thank you for attending Parents’ Evening recently at Cypress. We really hope you found your meeting useful and enjoyed hearing about your child’s progress in school. If you have not yet met your child’s class teacher, please contact them to arrange an appointment. Our annual Parent/ Carer Survey is now live! Please click here as we would be very keen to receive your feedback.
Family Hubs Coffee morning
This week we hosted a coffee morning with Family Hubs Croydon, who can offer support and advice to families around many areas including housing, parenting support, debt and welfare advice, Children’s Centre activities, Health Visitors etc. Please visit their website to find out more, or speak to member of the Leadership team if you’d like more details: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/family-hubs.
Cypress Superstars
Well done to Kelisse in Birch Class who came to see me with her blackbird made from card! They were so impressive they’ve been commandeered as props for the Y3 performance! David in Cedar Class has been impressing his teacher with his phonic knowledge! Keep up the focus and perseverance, David; it’s paying off! Tyler and Elias in Hazel Class have written narratives based on the poem the Highwayman by Alfred Noyes – very impressive use of powerful vocabulary to evoke emotion and strong imagery! Caitlin in Hazel Class cam e to see me and share her timeline work. I was taken aback by your intricate knowledge of the familial lines of kings and queens of England and your detailed knowledge of punishment through out the ages – although, I’d rather not have known abut the realities of being ‘hung, drawn and quartered’ – yikes! Ms Wayman was pleased to see Akram, Jason, Bonnie, Mateo and Ray in Hawthorn with their embroidered Easter eggs. They have been practising decorative stitches – your stitching was very effective. Well done! Well done to our amazing Infant Choir for their wonderful performance at the CSMA festival this week. We were so proud of our Ballet Club who stunned staff and families during their repertoire on Thursday – well done!
Comic Relief
Everyone looked incredible today showing their support for Comic Relief by wearing red to school. We’re still tallying up the amount raised and have to add on donations from our cake sales but we’re confident Team Cypress has raised over £500 (so far!) for this very worthwhile charity! Thank you for everyone’s donations.
We wish all our children and families a good weekend.
Mrs Sorensen, Mrs Carpenter and the Cypress Team
