Nash Mills CofE Primary School

School News

Friday 6th March 2026

World Book Day!

We had a truly wonderful World Book Day. The sun was shining and the children looked absolutely fantastic in their costumes. It was such a joy to see how excited and enthusiastic they all were about books and reading.

A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for the creativity, time and effort that went into the children’s outfits. Your support helps make occasions like this so special for everyone.

Reading is something our school is deeply passionate about. We work hard to ensure that every child experiences a wide range of rich, engaging and carefully chosen books. Some are selected to be enjoyed together as class reads, some are used to inspire exciting writing units, and others are chosen for children to take home and share with you. Every book has a purpose and plays a part in building a love of reading. Thank you once again for helping to make World Book Day such a memorable and joyful event.

On the day, our wonderful PTA ran a fantastic book sale, where every child had the opportunity to choose a book to take home. Some classes even enjoyed reading their new books in the sunshine — a perfect way to celebrate the joy of reading! The PTA have said a huge thank you to everyone who participated - £152 was raised which will go towards helping the school for the 'Great Big Nash Mills Chapter Challenge'.

Thank you so much for your generous donations and continued support. The money raised helps our school provide valuable enhancements to our environment and enrich the children’s learning experiences.

Miss Brewer

As part of World Book Day, Year 4 have also been supporting reading in the local community. Yesterday, the class visited the Nash Mills Book Stop to have a look at what can be borrowed from here. The class had also entered a competition to design a bookmark for the community; the winning design was done by Eshaal!

To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we were delighted to launch...

The Great Big Nash Mills Chapter Challenge...

on World Book Day! This is an exciting brand‑new reading competition created especially for our children, and we cannot wait to see everyone getting involved.

Each class now has a list of 12 fantastic books to explore over the year. These titles have been carefully chosen to give children a rich, enjoyable and varied reading experience. Your child will find their list stuck inside their reading record so it can travel between school and home.

Throughout the year, children are encouraged to read as many of the books as they can. After finishing each one, they will answer a few simple questions to show what they remember about the story. Please don’t worry — these questions are designed to be fun and accessible for all readers.

We know that reading is even more powerful when it is shared. That is why some titles on the list are meant to be enjoyed with a grown‑up. Others can be read together or independently depending on your child's interest and ability. There is new research sharing the importance of 'relational reading', which means sharing a story with someone else. Even our oldest pupils will hopefully still be reading with an adult each night; it is really important. The main aim is just for them to enjoy a different range of stories and texts.

As part of our commitment to making reading magical, we are thrilled to share that new Book Nooks will soon be appearing around the school. These cosy, calm corners will give children a special place to curl up with a book and lose themselves in a story. Keep an eye out for these inviting spaces over the coming months.

Finally, we want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to our wonderful PTA. They have helped to fund some of The Great Big Nash Mills Chapter Challenge — including the books, award badges, and the beautiful Book Nook furniture. And that’s not all… the PTA is also looking to fund a brand‑new Reading Lodge for our Anniversary Garden. Watch this space!

Thank you, PTA, for helping us nurture passionate, joyful readers.
And thank you, parents and carers, for supporting your children as they dive into this exciting challenge!

Miss Brewer

Science Week

Science Week started today, and we’re off to a brilliant start! Mrs Nicholls visited each class to share their theme for their new garden beds. The beds are really taking shape and will be ready next week.

Monday – Non-Uniform Day
To kick off the week, Monday will be a non-uniform day. In return, we’re asking for a donation of plants to be brought into school on Monday (thank you in advance for any contributions!) for our garden. Pupils will begin planting early next week, but their first job will be to fill their beds with soil and get them ready for planting. Classes will be thinking about how to best lay out their beds and consider which areas will get more sunlight and shade.

Wednesday

This year, we have been working with an organisation called 'Learning through Landscapes' to explore ways in which we can further develop our outdoor learning offer. This work will be coming to an end soon and, on Wednesday, our coach, Cindy, will be coming into school to see what we have been up to. We will have a short reflection in the garden from 2.45pm to consider all this work. If you would like to join us for this, please come to the East Gate (off the staff car park).

After the assembly, the children will return to their classrooms and be dismissed in the usual way.

Once you have collected your child from the classroom after school, you are warmly invited to have a look around our newly-planted garden where efreshments will be provided. Please also take a look in the School Hall at the Science Fair which will showcase the work the children have been doing over the past couple of weeks. The children are also very excited to exhibit their English work based on ‘Don’t Trust Fish’. And last but not least, please don't forget your parent consultation if you've booked it on the Wednesday afternoon!

British Science Week STEMpoint Challenge
Nash Mills has entered the British Science Week STEMpoint Challenge: ‘Create-a-Plant’. Each class will attempt to design and make a plant using only four sheets of plain or coloured A4 paper. Winning creations will then be submitted as our entries.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic week of learning, creativity and growing!

Star of the Week!

Nursery

Adam

For making a fantastic start in our Nursery class. Adam has started to make lots of friends in the classroom and become confident at trying lots of different activities.

Nursery

Connor

For settling in so well to our Nursery class. Connor is already following the classroom routines so well and trying lots of new activities with confidence.

Reception

Ember

For starting to make better choices during adult-directed lessons. Your focus has improved and we love it when you share your ideas!

Year 1

Eddie

For being so brave in your learning and for the fantastic confidence you are beginning to show. Keep shining Eddie!

Year 2

Beau

For using feedback to edit and improve his work with increasing confidence.

Year 3

Tommy

For his resilience and determination to complete his work. We are so proud of you!

Year 4

Lachlan

For his phenomenal writing during our whole-school unit. His ability to grasp the humour and put it into his writing has been brilliant!

Year 5

Ethan

For his valuable contributions in class and his constant enthusiasm to do his best in everything.

Year 6

Jeremiah

For showing a positive mindset in his learning and for working hard to grow in independence, particularly in maths.

Times Tables Rockstars and Numbots!

This week's TTRS leader board is for studio speed, our top 3 are all under a second per question, which is phenomenal. Well done to our top 3! Special shout out to Arthur in Y3 who has improved his time by 0.47 seconds this week, meaning he is answering a question every second.

Our Numbots leader board reflects how many minutes children are playing over the course of the week, our top 3 ammased 220 minutes this week, this equates to 31 minutes per day - brilliant for those fluency skills!

Well done to all of our leaders this week.

Mr Shane

Leader board this week

1st - Eddie (Y1)

2nd - Visakan (Y2)

3rd - Romeesa (Y2)

Leader board this week

1st - Ivy (Y6)

2nd - Freddie (Y4)

3rd - Fatima (Y6)

Attendance

This week has been another excellent week for attendance, with almost every class scoring over 96%, which is a fantastic achievement and shows how hard families have been working to keep attendance high. Thank you for your continued support—these improvements make a real difference to pupils’ learning and confidence.

This week, Year 5 and Year 6 shared the top spot with an outstanding 98.7% each. Year 1 was close behind with 98%, showing huge improvement. Reception recorded a strong 97.1%, while Year 4 matched the momentum with 97%. Year 2 also performed very well, reaching 96.5%. Year 3 just missed the 96% mark with 95.9%, and Nursery finished the week at 93%.

Let’s keep this positive streak going!

Nursery Admissions - September 2026

Please share with friends and family that applications to come and join our wonderful Nursery for the next academic year are now open! Our Nursery pupils love coming into school each day to enjoy all of our fantastic facilities and benefit from the care of our dedicated Nursery staff who create a friendly, safe and stimulating learning environment.

In September 2026, we shall be admitting children born between 1st September 2022 and 31st August 2023 and are pleased to share that we offer either:

15-hour morning provision from 8.50am-11.50am

For working families in receipt of 30-hours government funding, daily provision from 8.50am-2.50pm, with the option to extend the day to 3.15pm for an additional cost of £12.50 per week.

Please do encourage family and friends with Nursery-aged pupils to come and see us - Click here for upcoming tour dates.

Best Bedtime Reads!

As you know, reading regularly at home with your children is incredibly important. A good bedtime story is not only helpful in maintaining a strong routine in the evening, it also helps children to develop their imagination and vocabulary.

Each week, we will ask our staff what their current recommendations are for the best bedtime reads. We hope that it provides you with some ideas!

Mr Maher is currently reading...

I, Spy by Rhian Tracey

I, Spy is a great book, set at Bletchey Park during World War 2. It centres around Robyn, whose parents both work as spies. During the story, Robyn is pulled into a world of secrets, codes and hidden identity as she tries to solve a mystery. Robyn is a brave and courageous heroin, who challenges many stereotypes during the story and overcomes different barriers.

This books is a great read for KS2 pupils who know a little about World War 2 and, perhaps for some of our Year 6 pupils who will soon be visiting Bletchley Park to find out more about its role in World War 2.

Families in receipt of certain benefits should have recently received the booking code for free activity camps during the upcoming Easter holidays.

This Easter, one of these camps is being held at Nash Mills. We hope that this helps support a good take up from our families!

Upcoming Dates

9th March - Bring-a-plant Non-uniform day

10th&11th March - Parents' Evenings

11th March - Science Week Fayre - 3.30pm

12th March - Y3 Trip to Hudnall Park

13th March - Reception Coffee Morning

13th March - PTA 'Thank You' Sale

16th March - Nursery Coffee Morning

17th March - Reception class Worship

17th March - Y6 trip to Bletchley Park

18th March - Y4 River Study Trip

19th March - Reception & Nursery Trip - Hertfordshire Zoo

19th March - Last clubs of term

20th March - Red Nose Day Non-uniform

23rd March - Art Week - Sculpture

24th&25th March - Y3&4 Production

25th March - Y5 Trip to Kew Gardens

25th March - Y2 trip to Frogmore Paper Mill

26th March - Whole School Church Service

27th March - End of the Spring Term 1.30pm

Good Shepherd Booking

Good Shepherd Club—to book spaces at Breakfast or After School Club, please visit

http://www.goodshepherdclubs.co.uk/

Logging Absences

Thank you to those who have now managed to log child absences on Arbor. It has really helped the office, meaning that we know where all of the children are more quickly in the morning. If The instructions on how to do this are set out below.

If your child is unwell, Hertfordshire Attendance team require that the nature of the illness is recorded, so please include this in your message (cough, cold, temperature, vomiting etc.). Please note that any absence requests for future dates will still need to made through the school office. In line with our attendance and safeguarding policies, a reminder to report your child's absence every morning, by 8.30am, until your child is well enough to return to school.

Step 1 -Click on Quick Actions button and then click Attendance followed by the green Log Absence button (top right).

Step 2 - Enter the absence details. If your child will be absent all day, there is no need to edit the start and end times that will automatically appear. If your child is ill, please ensure that you enter the nature of the illness and then press the green Log Absence button.

Step 3 - Once you have logged the absence, the school office will 'accept' it. Approved absences then appear in the Attendance tab of the Arbor App. It is not possible to edit an absence once it has been approved, so if you have any queries, please email the school office who will be able to help.

Pupil Premium

Did you know that your child may be able to receive additional support in school in addition to free school meals, if you qualify for certain benefits?

If you receive any of the following, your child may well be eligible for the Pupil Premium. This provides them with free school meals throughout their time at school, but also a range of additional things in school to help with their learning and engagement. If your child might be eligible, please visit the following site (https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/ufs/HCWH.eb?ebd=0&ebz=1_1717745705707) or speak to the school office who will be happy to help.

Income Support
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (as long as you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and you don't get more than £16,190 a year)
Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Universal Credit (with annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax and not including any benefits you get).

The application process only takes a few minutes and we are more than happy to provide support if it is needed.

Clothing Bank

Thank you for your donations towards our clothing bank. If you have any old clothes following clear-outs, please drop things in. The clothing bank is emptied regularly so should be ready for more donations.

The school carpark is open between 7am and 6pm on weekdays. Members of the local community are more than welcome to use it too so please spread the word!

Final Thought

This week, we kicked off our Science Week which will focus on the world around us; looking at the amazing animals and plants that we share the Earth with. In worship, we thought about what was incredible about our planet.

The following prayer was shared.

God saw all that he had made, and it was good

Dear God,

Thank you for our wonderful world—for every plant, every creature, every tiny miracle we might discover.

As we begin Science Week, help us to be curious and excited about learning.

Open our eyes to the amazing things around us and teach us to care for the world you have given us: to protect habitats, to look after living things, and to make choices that help our planet thrive.

Help us to make our school, our community, and our world a kinder and greener place.

Amen.

The Parish Council are looking for new recruits; people who may be able to join the council to help shape the future plans of the local area.

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