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Happy New Year
Happy New Year
Happy New Year! We hope you had a restful and joyful Christmas break. As we welcome the new year, we're excited about the new beginnings and opportunities that 2025 will bring to our school community.
You may have noticed a definite drop in temperature this week. While Mr. Franklin is busy spreading salt and we are doing everything we can to prepare our site, we want to remind everyone to take extra care when walking across the school grounds. Please ensure that your children dress appropriately for the cold weather to stay warm and safe.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding
At Belswains Primary School, safeguarding is our top priority. We are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all our pupils. To strengthen our safeguarding efforts, we have appointed four dedicated safeguarding leads who are available to address any concerns you may have regarding your child's safety and wellbeing.
Our Safeguarding Leads:
Mrs Claridge- Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Mrs Attanasio - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Mrs Jones - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Mrs Raffety - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Our pupils are well-acquainted with our safeguarding leads, and we want to ensure parents are equally informed. If you ever have a concern or require assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our safeguarding leads. They are here to support both you and your child.
Mrs Claridge
Mrs Attanasio
Mrs Jones
Mrs Raffety
Attendance
Attendance
As a school we have been working on improving our overall attendance. Well done to Owls, Eagles, Firecrests, Redwings , Hawks and Starlings for achieving over 96% this week!
PACKED LUNCHES
PACKED LUNCHES
As we welcome everyone back for the new term, many of us are also setting new resolutions. It's the perfect time to remind you of our school's expectations regarding packed lunches.
Our Allergy Awareness Commitment
Our Allergy Awareness Commitment
At Belswains Primary School, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all our students. We recognise that some children have severe allergies and cannot be near certain foods. Therefore, we kindly ask that no nuts or nut-based products are included in packed lunches.
Encouraging Healthy Eating
Encouraging Healthy Eating
In line with promoting a healthy lifestyle, we encourage swapping treats like chocolate and sweets for healthier options. The NHS provides a wealth of ideas for healthy lunches, which you can explore here.
Consider School Dinners
Consider School Dinners
For our younger students in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2, school dinners are a fantastic option, especially as they are provided free of charge under the Universal Infant Free School Meals program. If your child hasn't tried them recently, this might be a great opportunity to start.
TTRS
TTRS
At Belswains Primary School, we are committed to enhancing our pupils' maths skills and confidence. We're excited to share that our use of Time Table Rock Stars (TTRS) is making a significant impact by boosting maths confidence and increasing fluency and recall in multiplication and division. This, in turn, delivers better maths outcomes for our children.
While we have reduced the amount of traditional homework, we believe that regular practice of number facts is essential. TTRS offers a fun and interactive way for children to engage with maths outside the classroom. All pupils in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have been provided with a personal login code to access TTRS.
We encourage you to support your child in logging in and 'playing' to compete with their classmates and improve their personal best scores! This regular practice will not only help them with their maths fluency but also foster a love for learning through engaging and competitive activities.
Here's how you can support your child:
Access the TTRS Website/App: Ensure your child knows how to log in using their unique code.
Set Regular Practice Times: Encourage your child to play regularly, aiming for consistency rather than duration.
Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge improvements and personal best scores to keep motivation high.
Belswains Website
Belswains Website
At Belswains, we believe that homework offers a valuable opportunity for parents to become active partners in their child's learning journey. It helps foster a positive attitude toward learning at home while reinforcing the partnership between home and school.
We strive to make homework an enjoyable experience that sparks creativity and imagination, reinforces classroom lessons, and provides opportunities to apply learned skills in meaningful ways.
Visit our class webpage/Google Classroom to explore the Spring Homework Challenge Grid filled with fun and engaging tasks!
Our Spring Curriculum Overviews are now available for you to access.
We look forward to supporting your child’s learning both at school and at home!
Halal School Lunch Options
Halal School Lunch Options
We are excited to share some news regarding our school menu. Two years ago, we introduced a Halal option on Wednesdays, allowing pupils to enjoy a Halal chicken roast. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we're pleased to announce that we will be expanding our Halal offerings.
Starting January 2025, in addition to our existing vegetarian, jacket potato, and baguette options, we will be introducing a Halal meal choice on a second day each week. Here’s what you can expect:
Week 1 Monday: Halal Chicken Grill
Wednesday: Halal Chicken Roast
Week 2 - Wednesday: Halal Chicken Roast
Thursday: Halal Beef Burger
Week 3 - Monday: Halal Chicken Sausage
Wednesday: Halal Chicken Roast
Pupils will order in the morning in their class. We believe that offering a diverse menu is important to meet the needs of our pupils and ensure that everyone has access to meals that align with their dietary preferences and cultural practices. We hope these new options will continue to make lunchtime enjoyable for all our students.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to welcoming these new additions to our school menu!
Reminders
Reminders
Nursery Applications for September 2025
Nursery Applications for September 2025
The deadline for Nursery applications to start September 2025 is Wednesday 12th March 2025. Please contact the office on admin@belswains.herts.sch.uk if you would like to come and see all the amazing things we do at Belswains Primary school.
Reception Applications
Reception Applications
Please be reminded the deadline for Reception applications to start September 2025 is 15th January 2025. Please apply via the link below:
Hertfordshire School Admissions
Arbor
Arbor
It is extremely important that you keep your child's details up to date on Arbor, this includes any medical conditions, contact numbers and addresses. Please could we ask that you log in and check if all the information you have provided is still up to date. Any changes can be made directly on Arbor.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding
We wanted to remind you about our pedestrian gates opening policy for pick-up times at Belswains Primary School. The pedestrian gates will be opened at 15:10. This timing is deliberate and allows parents and carers a full 5 minutes to walk to their child's classroom. The reasons for keeping our gates closed until this time are as follows:
Site Security We prioritise the safety and security of our pupils and staff.
Uninterrupted Learning Lessons and educational activities are conducted outside until 15:10. As you can imagine, the presence of parents and younger siblings can be exciting and potentially distracting during lesson time.
We sincerely appreciate your ongoing cooperation and understanding in helping us maintain a secure and conducive learning environment.
Dates
Dates
Thursday 23rd January
Football Match against Hobletts Manor (Away)
Friday 24th January
Year 6 Class Assembly (14.45)
Thursday 30th January
Year 5 Science Museum trip
Tuesday 4th February
KS2 VR Workshop
Friday 7th February
Year 5 Eagles Class Assembly (14.45)
Monday 17th February
Half Term
Monday 24th February
Pupils return
Wednesday 5th March
Reception Screening
Thursday 6th March
World Book Day
Belswains Bar Sale (PTA)
Thursday 13th March
Year 4 Owls Rivers trip
Friday 14th March
Year 4 Nightingales Class Assembly (14.45)
Thursday 20th March
Year 4 Nightingales Rivers Trip
Friday 21st March
Year 4 Owls Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 28th March
Mothers Day Sale (PTA)
Friday 4th April
End of term (school ends 1.30pm)
Friday 2nd May
Year 2 Swifts Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 9th May
Year 5 Hawks Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 16th May
Year 1 Firecrests Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 23rd May
Year 3 Redwings Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 13th June
Year 2 Starlings Class Assembly (14.45)
Fathers Day Sale (PTA)
Friday 20th June
Year 1 Goldcrests Class Assembly (14.45)
Colour Run (PTA) TBC
Friday 27th June
Year 3 Jays Class Assembly (14.45)
Friday 4th July
Reception Robins Class Assembly (14.45)
Break the Rules Day (PTA)
Friday 11th July
Reception Sparrows Class Assembly (14.45)
Thursday 17th July
Ice-cream Treat (PTA)
Information For Families
Information For Families
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