Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, on behalf of the staff and governors, I would like to wish all of our families a Happy New Year.

Despite the very cold weather, it has been a lovely first week back at Great Gaddesden. 

On Monday, the staff had a training/INSET day which included externally provided First Aid and Basic Life Saving Training in the morning and in the afternoon, we had sessions on SEND, updating provision maps based on the assessments completed at the end of the Autumn Term.  We also revisited our school vision statement which is driven by our well established mission statement and the 3Be's introduced last academic year. To capture our overarching identity of our school, we are pleased to share our tagline 'Small School - Big Heart - Great Start'. We hope you agree that this captures our mission statement, our unique identity as a small school, our Christian ethos, heart for others and aim to provide a diverse and enriching curriculum that prepares our children for a great start in life. Below you can see the display that captures this in our Reception area.

On Tuesday, we had a whole school welcome back assembly where we introduced our value of the month 'Thankfulness'. We linked this into Epiphany, which was marked on the same day. Epiphany is celebrated 12 days after Christmas because this period marks the journey of the Wise Men from their arrival, guided by a star, to their meeting with baby Jesus, culminating in the celebration of Jesus's birth as God's revelation to the world.

In other news, we are trialling our Sports Coaches that come in on a Tuesday and Thursday to run provision at lunch times and the children seem to have really enjoyed these sessions. 

On Monday 12th 2-3:00pm we have our Parent Forum meeting where I look forward discussing some more updates and plans moving forwards. If you are able to attend, please sign in at the school office just before and this is open to all parents/carers to attend.

Have a good weekend.

With best wishes,

Mr M. Beach

Headteacher

Whole school attendance this week: 94.5%

Overall attendance so far this year: 95%

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

Well done to Year 1&2 for the highest attendance this week (97.6%)

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.

Applications (including those for siblings) must be made online at  www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions  by 15th January.

As a Voluntary Aided School, we manage our own determined admissions arrangements. Therefore, you will also need to complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) which is available on our website here or from the school office. This must please be returned to the school office by 15th January.

In Collective Worship, we explored different traditions around the world to celebrate Epiphany on 6th January 2026.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." 

Matthew 2:1-12

Our Big Question this week was: What are you thankful for?

"I am thankful for my family." - Bea

"I am thankful for being brought into this world and having a wonderful life to live." - Kiera

"I am thankful for my black kitten because she gives the best cuddles and looks cute." - Amorie

"I am thankful for my friends, family and our school." Ophelia

Awards we are working towards

House Points

Please click here for a new published guide from the Children's Commissioner (Dame Rachel de Souza) on Managing Children's Digital Lives.

We have recently reviewed and updated our Online Safety Policy which can be accessed on our website here.

On 10th February we will be taking part in national Safer Internet Day.

Rotary Shoe Box Appeal Thank you

Just a note to say a belated thank you for your support with the shoebox appeal this year. Overall we collected 82 shoeboxes and these will join shoebox collections from across the UK to be sent to Rumania and Moldova, where they will be given to local children as well as refugees from the Ukraine.