Micklem Newsletter

Welcome to your child's learning!

I can't believe that we have nearly completed our first half term. However, the designing of Christmas Cards and the occasional melody of a song from our Nativities is an indication of the time of year that we are approaching. This is not, however, a sign of learning slowing down. There have been so many wonderful learning experiences across the school this half term, and these will continue after the break. For those of you who have been with us for a few years, you may be wondering where the swimming pool is (as it normally makes an appearance around this time). I am very excited to share that we will be having our swimming lessons in summer this academic year, so that will be something for everyone to look forward to later on.

Remember to use the information in this newsletter to start a conversation with your child regarding their learning - they may be able to add further information!

Thank you for your continued support in your children's attendance and learning.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!

Mr. Swift

Learning in Classrooms

Nursery

Nursery have been welcoming Autumn and exploring all the autumnal objects found in our environment, particularly giant fallen leaves. We carried out a 'Windy Leaves' science experiment with different materials to see what would happen. The children shared lots of different ideas and found it very funny to see the leaves blow away in the classroom.

'Pumpkin Soup' was our topic book this week, we have been exploring pumpkins and the children have enjoyed getting stuck in using all of their senses. They have been recreating the story in their Explore and Learn and have loved the new pumpkin additions in the mud kitchen.

Reception

This fortnight we have been learning about Autumn through the books "The Leaf Thief" and "The Pumpkin Thief". We have explored what happens to leaves by experimenting with a fan to represent the wind blowing. This week we have been looking at pumpkins, using our senses to touch them comparing size and weight as well as feeling the middle by scooping out the seeds and pulp to 'rescue' the seeds. We have designed posters of the pumpkin thief and have been practicing our phonic sounds by matching the sound on a seed to its sound on the pumpkin and writing the sounds we know outside. We made storehouses for the squirrel to store his winter food.

Year 1

Another fun packed couple of weeks in Year One. We have been busy being Animal Detectives and classifying creatures into reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish and mammals. The children have enjoyed making their own little animal fact books and watching short clips about different species.

We have been exploring Purple Mash and drew some animals on 2Paint.

In Geography, the children learnt about the differences between an urban and rural area and the different countries that make up the United Kingdom.

We have also been drawing self portraits and experimenting with mixing colours.

Year 2

This week, we continued exploring exciting adjectives to describe the North Pole and began writing our final setting descriptions independently in our English books. We have been so proud of the children's fantastic efforts!

In Maths, we began counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and loved learning songs to help us remember the number patterns. In Science, we investigated different materials, exploring whether they could bend, twist or squash.

In Geography, we continued exploring our local area by creating our own maps. We also compared our local area to the Atlas Mountains and learnt about what life is like for the people who live there.

Sunshine Learning Community

Over the last two weeks, the children in the Sunshine Learning Community have continued to be authors and have finished adapting their own version of The Sheep and The Goat. We have explored the feeling of pride: what we can see when we are proud, what we can hear, and what we feel inside our bodies. Alongside our literacy work, the children have been working hard on their 2, 5, and 10 times tables in maths, and they have explored the UK in geography by creating colorful, informative posters of each country. In art, we have also designed our own pumpkins in exciting preparation for Halloween!

Year 3

Another very busy couple of weeks in Year 3! The highlight for me was attending the Year 3 Target Games competition. This involved the children rotating around a carousel of target based activities, with their scores being counted by a sports leader from Ashley Cooper Secondary School. We are now waiting for the results to see how we got on...

Keep up the great work Year 3 !

Year 4

Over the last few weeks in year 4 we have been busy creating our own giants using gemini to turn our decriptions into images. All of the childrens ideas have come out brilliantly.

In Maths we have started looking at addition of two digit numbers, with exchanges or no exachange and will be looking at subtraction next week.

We also had a lovely session with Ruby our schools Nourish lead where children explored a variety of fruits with all of their senses.

Year 5

Year 5 have had a busy few week! In Science, we have completed our sun dials and moved onto the movements of the moon!

In Maths, we have started looking at multiplication and division; next week we are moving on to square numbers.

In English we have started to look at the poem 'The Malfeasance' and have started writing our own version (with new monsters).

Year 6

Year 6 have been busy over the last two weeks. Not only have we been continuing working hard on our balanced arguments in English, but we have also tackled long division and the order of operations in maths. Science has been exciting when experimenting with gummy bears and different liquids. We were looking at diffusion and osmosis and the experiment gave us some giant sweets at the end; some had increased in length by almost 2 cm! We are now planning our next experiment which will be looking at our heart rate.

Experiences and Opportunities

Girls' Football

Some girls from KS2 went to Longden school for a girls football session morning . We all got a bit wet, but had lots of fun.

Forest School

It's been another busy fortnight in Forest School. The children have loved using tools, last week they used palm drills to make holes in conkers, and this week we created some wonderful woodland creatures.

We looked at the life cycle of trees and enjoyed investigating why pine cones open and close. (I wonder who can remember the word 'hygrometer'?)

Art Club

Inspired by the work of artists before us and the nature around us, we explored the beautiful colours of Autumn. After looking at and discussing Autumn-inspired paintings, we created our own vibrant background using paint. We then added black paper silhouettes of trees.

Hemel Hempstead Brass Band

We were absolutely delighted to welcome the Hemel Hempstead Brass Band into school for a special assembly performance! The children were treated to a wonderful showcase of live music, experiencing up close the rich sounds of the different brass instruments. It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to engage with live music, and the energy in the assembly was truly electric. The children participated in singing, clapping and marching to the beat and were inspired by the musicians' talent—it was an unforgettable highlight of our week!

Celebrating Success

Golden Points

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

Be Kind. Show Respect. Aim High.

This will then be rewarded with Golden TIme activities on a Friday afternoon.

Blue House

532

Green House

513

Red House

479

Yellow House

532

HIGHEST NUMBER OF LEVELS PASSED in the last 14 days:

1st) Adrian- Year 2

2nd) AJ Year 1

3rd) Rayn- Year 1

BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT IN ACCURACY OVER THE LAST 14 DAYS:

1st) Jamie- Year 6

2nd) Savannah- Year 6

3rd) Scarlett- Year 4

Attendance

Nursery

95.5%

Reception

89.6%

Year 1

95.4%

Year 2

97.6%

Year 3

94%

Year 4

97.7%

Year 5

93.4%

Year 6

95.6%

Congratulations to Year 4 for aiming high with their attendance this week.

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 goes to:

Reception

Lily and Harper for knowing 1 more than a number within 10 without needing to count.
Tecla for fantastic concentration, listening and participation in learning our phonic sounds.
Tobias for reading his book every night at home.

Year 1

Well done to Casey for his fantastic knowledge about animals.
Well done to Cody for some great Animal Detective writing.
Well done to Ollie for working on his reading fluency in our phonics lessons.

Year 2

Ada has tried very hard in maths this week, producing excellent work and always aiming high. Well done, Ada, for your fantastic effort and determination!
Hollie has used excellent adjectives in her North Pole setting description to create a clear picture for the reader. Well done Hollie!
Ellie has shown a wonderful passion for reading and has been reading beautifully and confidently independently. Well done Ellie!

Year 3

Iqhra’s behaviour and attitude throughout the Year 3 Target Games competition was fantastic! She tried her best throughout every activity and showed great encouragement towards her friends. Amazing Iqhra, well done!
Theo D has tried really hard in English over the last couple of days when writing a character description. He has been able to use the correct punctuation consistently and include a range of adjectives. Well done, Theo!
Well done Evie for showing a great attitude to reading when reading at home and at school. Keep it up!

Year 4

Charlotte has worked brilliantly in Maths on her presentation and accuracy.
Ayla has generated some brilliant ideas for her giant in English
Leia's attitude towards reading has been brilliant as always. Her fluency and understanding is fantastic.

Year 5

Jason has tried extremely hard in Maths over the past two weeks and scored an amazing 20/20 on his end of unit assessment. Keep up the good work Jason!
Holly has really impressed her adults with her formal letter over the last few weeks. She edited independently and ensured all the edits were visible in her final piece. Well done Holly!
Well done this week Harleigh! We have been really impressed with the amount of reading you have completed at home. Keep up the good work!

Year 6

Well done to Fernando for having an excellent attitude to learning for the past two weeks. He has shown focus, enthusiasm and has produced some good work. Well done Fernando- Keep it up!
Ellis worked really hard on his writing and has started to draft his balanced argument. He has taken care with his presentation, checked that his sentences are punctuated correctly and has edited with his green pen. Well done Ellis- Keep it up!
Pwamori has read consistently at home this week and is making great progress in her reading. Well done Pwamori- Keep it up.

Sunshine Learning Community

Jayden for showing his excellent handwriting when writing his own version of The Sheep and The Goat.
SJ for being a super reader this week, asking questions about the text and showing great interest in reading - Well done, SJ!
Isla for confidently sharing her ideas and thoughts in all lessons; well done for aiming high - Keep up the good work!

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

Fundraising

Pupil Leadership

Food Ambassadors

Our Food schools ambassadors the Lemondades had their last session with our nourish project lead Ruby. The children all got certificates for their hard work and contributions to the project. The children are looking forward to continuing working as school food ambasadors for the rest of the school year.

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.

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

21st October - KS2 Cross Country

21st October - PTA Spooks & Sparkles Disco

23rd October - Non-Uniform Day

2nd November - Individual School Photos

3rd and 4th November - Parents Evenings

4th November - Art Club Trip to The National Gallery

10th November - KS2 Can DO Festival

13th November - Children in Need

PTA

We have limited spaces left at the Spooks & Sparkles Disco. If you haven't already done so, please go to Arbor-School Shop-Spooks and Sparkles Disco to book you child's place today.

The ticket price includes entry to the disco, a drink and a snack. Please note that there will be no pop up shop at the disco so children do not need to bring in any extra spending money.

Reception and KS1 children are permitted to bring their party clothes with them to school on the day of the disco to get changed into at the end of the day.

We are hoping to do a Christmas Raffle again this year so if you have any unwanted gift items that you are willing to donate we would be most appreciative.

We are always looking for new volunteers to help out at these events in order to make them a success. If you are able to spare any of your time then please let us know.

pta@micklem.herts.sch.uk

SEND and Family Support

50 Thrifty Half-term Activities from HCC

Gade Family Services SEND Coffee Mornings

Herts Parent Carers Involvement

Herts Parent Carer Involvement (HPCI) want to hear from Hertfordshire families of children and young people with SEND. Whether those experiences have been positive, difficult or somewhere in between, HPCI want to hear them. They run this survey every year so they can see what's improving, staying the same or getting worse. Please complete the survey thinking of ONE child or young person only. If you have more than one child with additional needs, please complete a survey for each of them if you can.

There are 2 surveys:

HPCI Short Annual SEND Survey (2026) - there is only 10 questions to this one

HPCI 5th Annual SEND Survey (2026) - this will take between 15-30 minutes to complete depending on the needs of your child.

Both close on Sunday 1st November 2026 at 11pm.

There is an opportunity to be entered into a Simmons voucher prize draw.

Your responses will be used in the key work HPCI do with Herts County Council and Herts NHS Services to help improve services for children and young people with SEND.

SEND MHST

Children's Wellbeing Practitioners

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