Year 3 and 6 trip to Chesham Mosque

To enrich their understanding of the Islamic religion, Years 3 and 6 had a morning trip to Chesham mosque. On arrival, we were greeted by Imran who asked us all to remove our shoes and hang our coats up. He then showed us the area where everyone washes their face, hands and feet. This was so that the mosque is kept clean. We then entered the main hall on which the floor was covered in a beautiful soft carpet.  The pattern had separate praying areas. The walls had beautiful Arabic calligraphy in gold. Imran explained that the words were a prayer.

Behind the main preacher's mat were a number of clocks. These showed the times prayer would be held today. These change daily throughout the year depending on sunrise and sunset. Depending on the day, there are between one hundred and five hundred people who attend the mosque.  There is a call to prayer at these times which is broadcast by the radio for people who are not able to be there in person. Imran said that they also now have an APP which tells a Muslim daily when they should pray. This helps everyone to know when it is.

We then went upstairs to the women's prayer room. It had a stunning gold chandelier which was donated by a family. The mosque is quite new being built only twenty years ago. It took several years to raise the money and then build it. You could tell how proud Imran was of his place to pray.

We all found the visit very interesting and brought to life the lessons we have had.

As we go through the year, there are occasional staffing changes to inform you of.  We are fortunate that we do not have too many of these changes, however next week sadly Miss Bolton will be leaving us.  Miss Bolton will be starting a new career with the Metropolitan Police and we wish her the very best of luck!  

We are delighted to share that Mrs Armitage and Mrs Levy, who both work in Key Stage 1, will be moving into Reception.  We are currently looking to appoint a new member of staff for Key Stage 1 and will hope to have news about this soon.

Thank you to all who attended parents evenings this week to get an update on your child's progress and to find our what they will be working on moving forwards.  Thank you too to those who took the time to complete our annual school survey.  This information is highly useful in being able to identify any area in which we can further develop over the coming year.

The feedback this year was highly positive.  When asked about the 'best bits' of Nash Mills, responses included "the concern given to the children", "It feels like being part of a big family", "the caring staff and the general quality of teaching is outstanding", "The strong, warm sense of community" and "how happy my children are at school" amongst many, many other points.  

The percentage ratings of each question asked are also shown below:

The Christmas Events Letter was emailed to all parents and carers this week - please note the various deadlines, including ordering your child's Christmas lunch by Tuesday of next week via this link. Payment is now open on Arbor for the Save the Children Christmas Jumper day on Thursday, 19th December when children can wear their Christmas jumper with their uniform. Please see the Upcoming Dates section of the newsletter below for a summary of all events.