Micklem Newsletter

Welcome to your child's learning!

Happy Summer!

2025/26 has been another incredible year of learning and experiences. We are sorry to say goodbye to our Year 6 cohort, but are so excited for what the future holds for them moving forward. We hope that all of our children have enjoyed the last year ayt Micklem, and are looking forward to more excitement in September.

Please ensure that you all have a wonderful break, and give your children time to relax! We cannot wait to here about your summer adventures when you return!

Have a wonderful summer and stay safe!

Mr. Swift

Learning in Classrooms

Nursery

We have loved watching you all grow and explore through our many learning adventures.

Nursery's Favourite memories; "I love playing with my friends", "I liked going to the farm", "I loved our rocket ship in the kitchen", "Going in the garden", "When we were doctors", "Aliens pants on my head", "Watching the butterflies", "I love having a party and dancing in the garden".

Thank you for an amazing year! Have a lovely summer!

Reception

What a fantastic year in Reception. We went out with a bang! A brilliant Teddy Bear's picnic and a wonderful 'Moving Up to Year 1 Party'. The children have worked so hard and their attainment is a testament to their perseverance and willingness to challenge themselves and aim high. We are so proud of them and can't wait for September as we continue our learning journey together at Micklem. Thank you for all your gifts and kind words. 😀

Year 1

Well done to a brilliant year of learning in Year 1. We have had a fantastic end to the term. We have designed and made houses for DT and really concentrated on the interior and making acessories. We read 'A Party in Every Tree' for English showing what we've learnt about writing sentences using punctuation. We have really enjoyed Maths this year and finished off by consolidating maths with some fun practical activities to deepen our understanding. We have been History Detectives, Scientists and Artists. A great year finished off with a Teddy Bear's Picnic! You should be proud of yourselves! Have a lovely summer 😎

Year 2

We have had a lovely last few weeks in year 2 we have finished off our adventure stories.

We have also finished of our puppets which have all looked amazing.

Thank you for a brilliant year! Have a lovely summer!

Sunshine Learning Community

Over the last two weeks we have designed our own dream classrooms, learnt about time and statistics and continued to support each other as we move up to the next year group. We have been to the local park, Gadebridge park and participated in other exciting activities at school as we celebrate our learning journey this year.

It has been amazing to see each of you grow in confidence and resilience, always aiming high in everything you do. It has been a pleasure to teach you all and we look forward to seeing you after the summer holidays. Enjoy the break and keep safe!

Year 3

Wow, what a year! It has been an absolute delight to teach in Year 3 this year. I am proud of how hard they have all tried and supported each other. This week we have been finishing our greenhouses in DT and evaluating them. The children have really enjoyed this unit and it's been a great activity to finish the year on!

Have an amazing summer everyone!

Year 4

Year 4 have had a wonderful end to the term. They have been learning about translation and coordinates in maths. We have been whizzing through our book, who let the gods out, desperately trying to finish it before the end of term!

Year 4 had a Wonderful Wet Wednesday with year 3 organised by Miss Fahy! Everyone had a great afternoon, getting a bit wet through different games and activities.

Have a lovely summer and thanks for a great year!

Year 5

What a year we have had! It has been my absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to teach year 5 and I am extremely proud of the progress they have made. They have all worked really hard and have enjoyed the different experiences that they have had; they topped off the year with a notable performance supporting year 6 last week, and completed their cushions in DT (this took patience!) Now, I will work hard to complete the book 'Stormbreaker' before we all go home for 6 weeks-otherwise I may never hear the end of it!

Enjoy your holiday, you all deserve it!

Year 6

What a wonderful last couple of weeks! We have had leavers disco, bbq, waterfight, a trip to Gadebridge Park, performed our production and completed leavers assembly! I am so proud of you, class of 2026 and everyone at Micklem wishes you all the luck for the future. Goodbye!

Experiences and Opportunities

Forest School

We've been carrying on with our pizza base taste testing, and structure building at Forest School this fortnight. We tried pitta bread, then used food colouring to 'paint' pizza toppings onto wraps.

Children asked if they could make them for each other, which was a really lovely way to demonstrate how effective team building activities are.

We used mini marshmallows and dried spaghetti to build structures. This was tricky because the spaghetti kept breaking, but with perseverance, the children produced some fantastic work!

I'd personally like to thank the Forest School helpers and a big shout out to those children who built, lit and cared for the fire. They followed our safety rules perfectly and their sense of achievement was wonderful to see.

Alfie, George and Harry...thank you!

Gadebridge Park

KS2 had a wonderful day at Gadebridge park to celebrate the end of a very busy and successful year. They all had the opportunity to use all of the equipment, get soaking wet in the splash park and also paddled (or sat down in) the river!

A wonderful time was had by all and the behaviour and courtesy of all of our children towards others was top class. Members of the public reported that our children were 'kind and helpful' towards younger children- this makes us swell with pride.

A big thank you must also go out to all of our staff who worked so hard to make this happen and ensure that everyone had a good time. They have also said that they would do it again- you heard it here first! Please enjoy some of the pictures from the day.

Celebrating Success

Class Dojo

This year, we have introduced Class Dojo. A way of celebrating individuals and classes that are following our school rules of:

Be Kind. Show Respect. Aim High.

Children will be able to receive one or two points for these core values from any member of staff. We will keep an eye on which individuals, classes and house groups are being the kindest, most respectful and ambitious over the year.

Blue House

Green House

Red House

Yellow House

HIGHEST NUMBER OF LEVELS PASSED:

1st) Angel - Year 2

2nd) Jake- Year 2

3rd) Theo D- Year 2

BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT IN STUDIO SPEED:

1st) Samar- Year 5

2nd) Mya- Year 3

3rd) Sebastian- Year 5

Herts Shining Communication Award

We are delighted to share that we have received the Herts Shining Communication Award for the second year running, recognising our school’s strong commitment to developing children’s communication, language and interaction skills.

This award celebrates the daily work taking place across our school to help children express themselves confidently, listen respectfully, and communicate clearly with one another. From high‑quality classroom talk and purposeful vocabulary teaching, to communication‑rich play and targeted support, this recognition reflects the dedication of our staff and the enthusiasm of our pupils.

Inclusion Quality Mark

We are also delighted to announce that we have successfully retained our Inclusion Quality Mark 'Flagship School' status! This prestigious award is a testament to our school’s deeply held belief that every child matters, every child belongs, and every child deserves the chance to thrive.

Holding 'Flagship' status means we are recognized as a leading school for inclusive education, actively sharing our best practices with other educators. From tailored learning support to nurturing our children's emotional well-being, this award celebrates the hard work of our staff, the enthusiasm of our pupils, and the vital support of our families. Thank you for helping us remain a beautifully inclusive community where every voice is heard!

The full report will be available on our website soon, but these are a few highlights:

"On entering the school early in the morning, there is a buzz of activity with pupils at the breakfast club playing happily and staff welcoming each other and the pupils at the start of the day."

"The school building is small, but every single space has been purposed in a creative way. Every single space, corridor, understairs cupboard has been creatively made into a learning, calming, or information area for the pupils."

"The classrooms are set up with an understanding of the need to manage cognitive overload. They have Maths and English learning walls, modelling outcomes and supporting the current learning in class. Zone of regulation boards were evident in all classrooms and are being used by the pupils. Pupils spoke about the practical resources available for them to support their learning and the use of colourful semantic, widget strategies and visuals including visual timetables were observed throughout the school. Individuals had access to movement breaks, wobble cushions, workstations or standing desks if these supported them."

"Micklem Primary School has invested greatly in ensuring their curriculum is systematic and reinforced throughout the primary years. There is a clear, cyclical thread as the curriculum progresses."

"The pupils talked about the trips they access to support the curriculum and the sporting events they compete in."

"The ‘No-Outsiders’ assemblies clearly impact the pupils understanding of respect for others and empathy."

"Parents feel supported and know who they can go to for support. They highly praise the school’s Pastoral Team who are ‘fabulous.’ "

"Micklem Primary School provides evidence of continuing to meet the standards for the Inclusion Quality Mark in all the elements. There is a continuous and evolving culture of critical reflection and action which is evident at every level of the school. This ensures that Micklem Primary School remains inclusive, highly effective, and progressive."

Attendance for the Year

Nursery

87.9%

Reception

93.4%

Year 1

94.6%

Year 2

92.2%

Year 3

93.8%

Year 4

90.1%

Year 5

94%

Year 6

95.5%

Congratulations to Year 6 for aiming high with their attendance this academic year.

Learning of the Week

Every week, we celebrate extraordinary learning that has taken place in classes. It may be that they have pushed passed an obstacle in their learning; worked on their presentation; thought about how to help others amongst other things.

Our Learning of the Week from Friday, 6th and 13th February goes to:

Reception

Well done to Rayn and Casey , for co-operating together to finish a complicated puzzle.
Well done to the whole class for a brilliant first year at Micklem Primary School!

Year 1

Hollie for working really hard on her writing and has written some lovely sentences working on her letter formation.
Aria for creating resources for the interior of a house at home and bringing them in to show us.
Well done Year 1 for a fantastic year. We are so proud of you!

Year 2

Everyone in year 2- for working extremely hard on their puppets in D&T.

Year 3

Well done to Charlotte who scored full marks on her arithmetic score this week! She was able to use the correct operations when needed and this is great to see.
Emily’s effort, concentration and attention to detail when making her DT greenhouses this week has been fantastic! She was a great role model!

Year 4

All of you! For showing such great kindness, determination and respect to one another. I'm so proud of how far you've come this year and I can't wait to hear all about your adventures in Year 5!

Year 5

Everyone in year 5 for the determination, resilience and progress that you have all made. I am proud of each and every one of you!

Year 6

All of year 6 for a brilliant final year at primary schol.

Sunshine Learning Community

Everyone in the Sunshine Learning Community for showing resilience throughout the year, aiming high and making progress across all areas of school life.

Well done to everyone who worked so hard this fortnight, it is fantastic to see so many positive learning experiences!

Pupil Leadership

School Council

Each class has now chosen two school councillors to represent them on the School Council. These pupils will share their classmates’ ideas, help make decisions, and take part in projects to improve our school. We’re proud of everyone who put themselves forward and look forward to seeing the great work our new councillors will do this year!

Reception - Rayn and Jules

Year 1 - Maya and Johnny

Year 2 - Finlay and Alessya

Year 3 - Bella and Scarlett

Year 4 - Harleigh and Poppi

Year 5 - Harry and Char

Year 6 - Liam and Xiamara

Notices and Reminders

Please may we take this opportunity to remind parents/carers of our uniform expectations. Children should wear:

● Navy sweatshirt or cardigan

● White polo shirt

● Black trousers, shorts, skirt or pinafore (No jogging bottoms, leggings or cycling/fitted shorts)

● Black shoes or entirely black trainers. (no boots or colourful trainers)

Pe kit:

Navy pe top
Navy shorts or jogging bottoms (no fitted or branded shorts please)
Trainers

Children should also have a named pair of wellies in school.

All items should be clearly named to help identify lost property. Items of uniform can be purchased through our supplier Mapac. We thank you in advance for your support in promoting pride in our school community.

Toys and Fidgets

I would also like to remind parents and carers that children should not be bringing toys (including fidgets) from home into school. This is for a number of reasons, not least that your children get very upset if their toy gets misplaced or broken.

We will always facilitate fidgets where they will support a child's learning, but will go through proper procedures first.

Letters

Please find all of our latest letters here: https://www.micklem.herts.sch.uk/letters/

If you have any questions regarding anything coming up, do not hesitate to ask.

Upcoming Dates

3rd September - Children back to school

16th - 18th September - Year 5 Residential Trip to Phasels Wood

25th September - Macmillan Coffee Morning

1st October - PTA AGM

PTA

We would like to take this opportunity to say a massive 'Thank you' to all of our wonderful parents and carers for your continued support of the PTA. With your help we have managed to raise significant funds towards some much needed playground equipment for our children.

We are very sad to be saying goodbye to our secretary, Sarah Samuels, as her daughter embarks on her next journey to secondary school in September. Thank you Sarah for all of your hard work. We wish you all the best and hope to see you again soon.

Susan Gibson will be stepping down from her role as Co-Chair this year. We would like to thank Susan for all of her support this year and we hope that she will continue to be an active member of the PTA.

If you are interested in becoming a PTA committee member or would just like to find out more about the PTA, please join us at our AGM on Thursday 1st October at 2.30pm.

pta@micklem.herts.sch.uk

Summer Opportunities and SEND and Family Support

Summer Reading Challenge

The 2026 Summer Reading Challenge is 'Read to the Beat'. The theme inspires children to explore the connection between stories and songs, discovering how reading and music both ignite imagination and creativity. This year's Challenge is brought to life with illustrations by award-winning author and illustrator, Harry Woodgate.

Fifty Thrifty Adventures!

Dive into Hertfordshire's Fifty Thrifty Adventures and enjoy hours of fun and discovery - whether you prefer walking, cycling, scooting, or hopping on a bus.

Click on the image to visit their website and explore some of the low or no cost activities to do with your little ones during the summer months.

Families can find more links to low-cost activities and support this summer at: Help for families in Hertfordshire this summer

SEND Mental Health Support Team (MHST)

If you think your child may be a young carer, or they are already registered as one, please speak to Miss Evans or Miss Palmer.

Young Carers

A young carer is someone under 18 who cares for a friend or family member who cannot cope without their support. A young carer might help with:

practical tasks like cooking, housework and shopping
physical care, such as helping someone out of bed
emotional support, including talking to someone who is distressed
personal care, such as helping someone dress
managing the family budget
collecting prescriptions and helping to give medicine
helping someone communicate, such as using sign language or interpreting
looking after brothers and sisters

Those are just examples – every young carer and their situation is unique.

If you think your child may be a young carer, getting support starts by completing HCC's Day in the Life form, to share what their day looks like. Further support for young carers in Hertfordshire is also available on HCC's website here.

DSPL8

DSPL8's Summer 2 2026 Parents/Carers Newsletter is available to view on their new website here. It includes lots of information about FREE workshops, courses and events coming up in July, August and the beginning of the Autumn term. These are some that stood out to us:

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