Micklem Newsletter

Welcome to your child's learning!

Summer has well and truly arrived! The sun is shining and incredible learning continues to take place. We are all looking forward to a (hopefully) sunny break before we enter the last half term of the year. There is so much to look forward to including: Sports Day; trips; transitions to new classrooms; Leavers' events.

We will look to continue from where we have let off this half term and see some amazing progress being made across the school.

Have a wonderful break and we will see you when we return on Tuesday 2nd June.

Learning in Classrooms

Reception

We have enjoyed being out in the sunshine and exploring our own Jurassic Park! We have also been learning about bees and how important they are for the environment. For National Numeracy Day, we wrote numbers with magic pens on our desks and composed teen numbers. In Forest School, we used old socks and sticks to make hobby horses.

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been learning about the concept of inclusion, empathy and how words and actions affect the feelings of others through the book 'Brother Swan' by Emil Romer. In English, we have explored the vocabulary of feelings, used adjectives and acted out the story. We have thought about how the swan feels and how we could make him feel better. In Maths we have had fun exploring position and direction. This linked nicely to our Geography where we used positional and geographical language to guide the swan back to his nest using a grid to represent the pond with obstacles. We also thought about the swan in Science by learning why their feathers are waterproof and conducting an experiment to see how that is. We further explored the concept of waterproof vs absorbent by testing different materials. In 'Explore and Learn' time we have been building structures and creating spaces using shapes for avariety or purposes and seeing how things fitted together.

Year 2

In Year 2 in Maths we have been continuing looking time. The children also had the task of building their own park, they all worked amazingly in their groups to complete this task.

In English we have been writing setting descriptions of the basement where the Dark is hiding.

Have a lovely half term!

Sunshine Learning Community

The children in the Sunshine Learning Community have thoroughly enjoyed learning about David Attenborough, to celebrate his 100th birthday. We have learnt so many interesting facts about his life and all the amazing things that he has done.

In ‘Growing Minds’, we have been exploring all about ourselves, learning what our favourite things are, who are important to us, what we like to eat and much more. Continuing to explore our emotions and feelings using the Zones of Regulation.

Year 3

What a fantastic last 2 weeks it has been in Year 3! We have designed different printing patterns inspired by William Morris, and decorated the room with them. We have begun our new Maths unit on 'shape' and finished our descriptive piece of writing. Last but not least...we made our delicious pizzas!! Big shout to Miss Evans for the support throughout this process, the children have loved every second of it!

Have a great half term everyone!

Year 4

This week in Science, Year 4 have been tasked with the job of making a solid block of chocolate into a liquid in the quickest way. They tried massaging in their hands, putting in water and microwaving. The chocolate was left over night and they noticed that something had happened to it...

Year 5

Year 5 have had a busy two weeks! We have been revisiting our knowledge of decimals in maths, have started to write our own advertisements for our own football boots, we have enjoyed continuing with our class novel and we also went to the zoo! Although the weather wasn't the best, we had a great time seeing the animals and enjoyed our workshop on adaptations and evolution. We all moaned about the walking though! We are now looking forward to a restful break to prepare for the final stretch in year 5!

Year 6

SATs might be over, but the work is not done! Year 6 have continued to work hard over the last fortnite with their writing. They have produced amazing dual narratives about Alma, newspaper reports about the highwayman and persuasive letters to try and encourage support for enterprise week! Well done year 6 - you are amazing!

Experiences and Opportunities

Forest School

Year 5 enjoyed four mornings of Forest School last week, followed by a celebratory fire with marshmallows for both year 5 and 6.

The class have spent all week building dens, amongst other fun activities. These came in very handy when the rain came!

Year 3 continued trying different breads for their pizza bases. This week it was toasted muffins!

Year 4 have carried on finding natural materials for their structures! Can't wait to see what they make!

Art club

After exploring lines and colours, the children created striking composition in black and white.

Year 1, 2 and 3 have now begun working on a larger scale and we are excited to see where their creativity takes them next.

Year 4, 5 and 6 discussed a painting by Jackson Pollock that recently sold at auction for an astonishing $181Million. The artwork created a fascinating conversation: some children thought it looked as though paint had simply been splashed onto paper ( therefore not worth the money!) while others argued that every mark and colour had been carefully considered by the artist. Some children thought Pollock was expressing his sadness , others agreed he was definitely trying to tell us something.

It was absolutely wonderful to see your children so engaged in a conversation about abstract art.

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

BIGGEST INCREASE IN LEVELS PASSED in the last 14 days:

1st) Adrian- Year 1

2nd) Rosa- Year 2

3rd) Angel- Year 2

BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT IN ACCURACY OVER THE LAST 14 DAYS:

1st) Riley- Year 4

2nd) Emma- Year 4

3rd) Emily- Year 3

Attendance

Nursery

90.9%

Reception

93.2%

Year 1

95.7%

Year 2

95.6%

Year 3

93.7%

Year 4

90.8%

Year 5

96.2%

Year 6

98.2%

Congratulations to Year 6 for aiming high with their attendance this week. The class will receive bonus Class Dojo points for Aiming High!

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 Edwin for some great writing with his non-broken arm!
Well done to Rayan for some great writing in our Morning Task activity.

Year 1

Riley for working really hard in Maths. He understood the concept of multiplication and division and has been writing independent number sentences using the times and division symbols.
Leia for working hard in Phonics. She has been taking time to focus and use her sound knowledge to sound out and blend words.
Natalia for working really hard in Maths. She has really listened and tried to work out the answers when learning about position and direction.
Luca for his knowledge in Science. He was able to predict which materials were waterproof or absorbent and give good explanations for why.

Year 2

Jake for writing a brilliant descriptive poem using expanded noun phrases.
Vinnie is a super maths whizz. He has been challenging himself and is always up for trying new things including sudoku and times table grids
Theo A for contributing some brilliant ideas in English discussions.
Christopher for writing a brilliant description of the Dark and what is hiding in the basement

Year 3

Ava’s attitude learning her new spellings this week has been fantastic. She has tried her best and it’s great to see!
Harry’s really impressed his adults this week in Maths. Yesterday, Harry G was able to work out the ‘duration’ of how long different journeys took.
Arison’s started our new Maths unit on ‘shape’ in the best way possible. He has shown a fantastic attitude towards his new learning and we are all very impressed!
Stefan V did amazing during his spelling test this week, scoring an improved score from last time. You can see all his hard work is paying off!

Year 4

Tyler has made a fantastic start to his story. He has a wild imagination and an even better flair for making his story interesting. Tyler even used brackets to add additional information!
Riley has made huge efforts to plan his own story. He has started writing the beginning of his story with great confidence and has regularly been picking up his green pen to edit it and make it even better!
Darius was a star in science this week. He was able to use scientific language when talking about our chocolate experiment!
Johann has written an excellent story using interesting vocabulary, lots of year 4 writing devices and has spent a long time editing his work to make it even better! Great attitude Johann!

Year 5

Eliza was an excellent role-model and leader during forest school sessions.
Leo K contributed to class discussions about or novel 'Kick' with some amazing and insightful ideas.
Sofia O has been working very hard on her writing and has made a fantastic start to her advertisement.
Samar has made so much progress in her writing this half-term and is challenging herself to use higher-level vocabulary and is editing her work independently with more confidence.

Year 6

All of year 6 for their continued hardwork for SATs.
Amelia for a great newspaper report!
Elsa for a great start to her role in the school production.

Sunshine Learning Community

Well done to all children in the Sunshine Learning Community for taking the changes to the morning timetable in their stride with Miss Hammond helping the Year 6 children with their SATS this week. You have aimed high and shown such interest in learning about David Attenborough. Thank you!
James S for working really hard with his spellings this week, trying his best, it was great to see.
Emberly for her attitude to learning, always trying her best and aiming high. Keep it up Emberly!

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

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

1st June - Inset Day

2nd June - Children return to school

5th June - Sports Day

8th June - French Day

19th June - Marvellous Men Gift Sale

23rd - 26th June - Year 6 Residential Trip to Ferny Crofts

3rd July - Sponsored Bounce

3rd July - Summer Fayre

PTA

Hopefully you will have seen the email that was sent out this week regarding our exciting Sponsored Summer Bounce which is taking place during the school day on Friday 3rd July. As well as this being a fun filled afternoon, we are hoping to raise as much money as we can to go towards purchasing new playground equipment for the children.

Also on the afternoon of the 3rd July, we will be holding our Summer Fayre. There will be lots of fun games, bouncy castles, BBQ and refreshments. Everyone is welcome to attend and token bundles can now be purchased on Arbor - School Shop - Summer Fayre Token Bundle.

Our Marvellous Men Gift Sale is taking place in school on Friday 19th June where children may purchase gifts for their loved ones. Gifts range in price from £1 to £6 and payment can be made in advance by going to Arbor-School Shop- Marvellous Men Gift Sale and then selecting the amount you wish your child to spend.

If you feel that you are able to help in any way on the day of the fayre then please contact the school office.

pta@micklem.herts.sch.uk

SEND and Family Support

Looking for ways to keep the kids entertained without breaking the bank this half term? HCC have pulled together 50 budget-friendly activities for families to enjoy across Hertfordshire. Click on the poster to find out more.

Join Whipsnade Zoo this half term and help make history!

You get to be a part of a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title attempt to create the biggest paint-by-numbers ever – included with your Zoo ticket.

Running for a limited time only, don’t miss out:

📅 23-31 May 2026

https://www.whipsnadezoo.org/may-half-term

DSPL8's Summer 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 the summer term. These are some that stood out to us:

SEND Provision Consultation

The Hertfordshire SEND Local Area Partnership has developed a SEND Provision Plan 2026-29 which supports the delivery of the new SEND Strategy for 2026–2029. The strategy sets out their shared ambitions to improve outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

More children and young people in Hertfordshire are requiring additional support at school, many presenting with increasingly more complex needs than in the past. Families have consistently told them they want clearer pathways and better local options. In response, this Special Education, Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Provision Plan outlines how they will strengthen support in local schools, increase specialist provision where it is needed, and ensure every child receives the right help, in the right place, at the right time.

Feedback gathered so far has helped identify key priorities and has informed the five core elements of the draft SEND Provision Plan:

Strengthen capacity in mainstream schools
Expand specialist capacity in mainstream schools
Create more special school places
Update special school designations
Child centred placements

As part of the SEND Provision Consultation running from 23 March to 15 June 2026, they are seeking your views on whether the plan reflects your priorities, and how it can be further strengthened before it is finalised.

You can share your feedback by completing a short survey or by attending one of their consultation events. All details on how to get involved are available on the Local Offer: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/SENDProvisionPlan

Thank you for your time, your views are important to them. All responses will be carefully considered and will directly influence the final SEND Provision Plan for 2026–2029.

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