Also this week, the teachers have been exploring new handwriting schemes for us to trial. Writing is one of our whole school development areas and we look forward to sharing some more updates with you on which scheme we are going to use moving forwards shortly.

Today, we enjoyed our annual Grandparents Afternoon. It was delightful to see the children working alongside their grandparents and seeing lots of smiles and joy. Please see further down in the newsletter for some photos.

Next week is a busy week so please ensure to check the reminders things happening listed below. 

With best wishes,

Mr M. Beach

Headteacher

Whole school attendance this week: 95%

Overall attendance so far this year: 95%

Every day counts! All classes begin learning activities as soon as the children arrive at 8:40am. 

All absences must be reported to the school either by leaving an absence message (Option 1) or emailing Mrs Redman (Pastoral Support/Attendance Lead) via absence@greatgaddesden.herts.sch.uk

Please note: in line with the statutory guidance from the Department for Education which is reflected in our attendance policy, we are unable to authorise term time holiday.

Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance 

Thank you for your support and understanding.

On November 14th, our school will be taking part in “Wear It Blue” Day to raise awareness for World Diabetes Day. On this special day, the children and staff are encouraged to wear something blue to show their support for people living with diabetes and to help spread awareness about the condition. 

The blue circle and ribbon on the poster are international symbols for diabetes awareness, representing unity and hope in the global effort to understand and manage diabetes.

By wearing blue, we are joining millions of people around the world in learning more about diabetes and showing that we care about the health and wellbeing of others.

Please click here to make a donation.

It has been an extremely busy time since returning after the half term break. In English, we have started an exciting new unit of work based on one of Shakespeare’s great plays - The Tempest. As part of this unit, we have been exploring character and language through role play and even written play scripts inspired by the play.

In Maths, our fluency continues to improve with regular practice of the times tables and we have been using cubes to explore squared and cubed numbers. We have also been exploring the properties of prime numbers.

Our unit of work on Monet continues as we explore the medium of chalk pastels. We will be linking our Geography learning about rivers to a finished piece of art inspired by Monet's series of paintings of the River Thames.

In Science last half term, our topic was Properties of Materials. We conducted some different experiments including electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. The children also designed some amazing ski suits for Mrs Slater using all their knowledge of materials and their properties to make sure she stayed nice and warm.

This term we have started looking at Forces. On Monday we tested different surfaces using toy cars to determine which surfaces had the greatest resistance and therefore the highest friction.

In computing we have started working on a 3D modelling project using Tinkercad. The children have started familiarising themselves with the programme and we will be designing and making a desk tidy over the next few weeks. Very exciting! 

House Points