Category: Reception
Sign2Sing – Transforming the Lives of Deaf People
5th February 18
After a very busy week of practising ‘Friends Forever’ in Sign Language, our pupils finally got the chance to perform it in the playground and at Trinity Road Chapel to an excited audience which included Sign2Sing Chief Executive James Watson-O’Neill and members of the Sign2Sing fundraising team.
Sign2sing is in its 8th year, helping fund projects that improve the lives of vulnerable deaf children and adults by helping them access help and advice on the things that matter to them in Sign Language. Imagine living in a world where you cannot communicate with the people around you, from your doctor to someone in a shop. That’s what the world is like for many deaf people. Deaf people can often feel isolated, unable to access information and advice that can help them live happy and healthy lives. Something hearing people take for granted.
Fintonia Christmas Fair
5th December 17
What a success! Finton House was once again transformed into a magical winter wonderland inspired by the all-time favourite tales of Harry Potter.
Fintonia featured festive Christmas shopping, wizardly games and of course a magically beautiful Santa’s grotto for the little ones. Indeed it seemed hard not to get into the Christmas spirit when you saw the stunning Christmas trees and lights, smelled the aroma of the mulled wine and heard children singing festive carols. The children particularly enjoyed the event and parents found it hard to convince them to go home after an afternoon of laughter and sugary treats. The children seemed to be in an all-time high state of happiness as if they were under a magical spell. They surely must have had a good night sleep!
And of course it would not have been a true Christmas Fair if we had not had Father Christmas visiting our children with some lovely presents and festive cheer. The excitement in the Grotto was evident as the children enthusiastically jumped up and down impatiently waiting to meet Father Christmas in real life! It was also a great opportunity for the whole school community to get together celebrating the end of a very successful term here at Finton.
We were delighted that so many Old Fintonians and pupils soon to join the school were able to come to our Fair, with many staying until the very end! It was a wonderful event and we would like to thank all mummies, daddies, Year 6 elves and staff members who helped to make this event such a roaring success. Of course special thanks must go to Miss Lucy and the parents in the Christmas Committee for a very well organised event and some of the most beautiful decorations we have seen at Finton!
Harvest Festival
26th September 17
A celebration of the crops, fruit and vegetables grown on our land
This year the harvest festival assemblies for the Upper and Lower School were held by Pastor Stuart from Trinity Chapel. The celebration commenced with a harvest song, followed by Pastor Stuart’s engaging stories about Jesus and the importance of appreciating the quality of our food, and thanking all those who provide it and bring it to us.
He referred to a passage from the Bible where Jesus said: “I am the bread of life – Those who come to me will never be hungry.” Pastor Stuart went on to tell the children that Jesus only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed thousands of people, but he thanked God for the food and made a lot out of a little and was able to feed everyone. The moral of the story is that at harvest time, when we have an array of food, we should share with our community to give to the less fortunate.
And that’s exactly what we did at Finton House!
Thank you to all the families who brought in produce. This will be delivered to the Wandsworth Food Bank on Thursday.
At the end of the Upper School Assembly, Emilia S. shared her family’s story and explained why the Harvest Festival is so important to her family and other farmers:
“Harvest is important to farmers because it is when their crop becomes ripe. This means it is ready to eat.Harvest is important to my parents and grandparents because together they own a farm in Hampshire and all year work hard to plan what to grow, when to plant it and hope that the weather is good.Harvest is important to everyone in the world as it can mean the difference between people having food on the table and going hungry.”
What a beautiful speech by such a young girl who truly understood the value of celebrating the Harvest Festival.