School News
Friday 16th May 2025
School News
Friday 16th May 2025
Computing Workshops
On Monday, children from Years 3 and 4 spent part of their learning coding through the game of Minecraft. Year 3 had a unique experience of seeing Ancient Rome through the game. Meeting their Emperor - Julius Caesar - the children were instructed to work together and find key landmarks and hidden treasures throughout Rome. This engaging way of learning has allowed the children to not only brush up on their history knowledge but also help develop their teamwork and computer skills!
Daniel commented, "It was great as we got to do coding we wouldn't usually be able to do and access in Minecraft."
Zach said, "It was a good challenge - not too easy but not too complicated either!"
A huge 'thank you' to our PTA who helped to fund this exciting day!
Football Update
On Thursday, in the friendly league, we had a game against St Thomas Moore school. It was a tougher match than we were expecting but the team battled to the end. The second half was much stronger with good play from all of the children and although the score wasn't what we wanted, they never gave up. Next match is Thursday 22nd May.
Year 3 and 4 Tag Rugby Event
On Wednesday, Years 3 and 4 had a sweaty day out to their tag rugby event at Camelot Rugby Club. It was a fast-paced morning/afternoon with three groups competing in fourteen rounds. The children showed off their rugby skills as well as their teamworking skills and exuded great sportsmanship. They represented themselves and their school with the highest dignity! Well done everyone!
Jack commented "It was a fun day! We were able to practice our skills in friendly-games!"
Emine noted, "It was an exciting day!"
Sophie liked, "That we all shook hands with our opponents at the end instead of boasting about winning."
Edward said, "I liked that everyone played fair."
The tribulations of SATs Week!
We are incredibly proud of our Year 6 pupils for completing their SATs tests this week! Their hard work and determination have truly shone through, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the way they approached the week.
"I felt worried at the beginning, but I realised it was based on what we had learned in class. I am really proud of myself." - James
"I felt quite relieved after I finished the paper. I thought I was going to do pretty bad but when I was done, I thought good about myself and realised the SATS are just like any other test." - Theo
"It was a bit straightforward and easy to concentrate because it was manageable. Overall, I have enjoyed it." - Melissa
"At first, you might feel completely terrified but as soon as you begin the test, it's honestly not bad at all. After I completed it, I felt fine. It was such a breeze!" -Aria
Well done Year 6! We have been very proud of you this week!
In a strong showing this week, our pupils have continued to impress with their attendance! Year 6 takes the top spot with a fantastic 99.3%, showing a brilliant boost from last week’s 96.7%. Year 5 follows closely with 98.6%, continuing their consistent streak, and Year 4 isn’t far behind with a solid 98.3%. Year 1 maintained a strong 96.3%, while Year 3 posted a steady 95.9%.
Reception saw a slight improvement to 94.8%, and Year 2 came in at 93%. Nursery, while a little lower this week at 90%, still brought great energy and enthusiasm to the classroom.
Well done to all our pupils for their continued efforts—every day in school counts!
This week, our TTRS leader board reflects the most correct answers over the last 7 days and it's a clean sweep for Year 4! In fact, the top 5 were all Year 4, our top 3 amassed 5,814 correct answers between them.
Our Numbots leader board is based on story mode and the number of coins earned over the last 7 days and we have some children from our Reception class starting to appear near the top of our leader boards - keep it up!
Mr Shane
Leader board this week
1st - Ottilie (Y2)
2nd - Hallie (Reception)
3rd - Joshua (Y2)
Leader board this week
1st - Emel (Y4)
2nd - Edward (Y4)
3rd - Oliver (Y4)
Nursery
Preston
For adapting to Nursery very well and joining in with lots of activities. Well done Preston!
Reception
Bobbi
For showing a love for learning, for listening to and appreciating the view of others and for being a helpful member of the class. Your positive attitude and kind nature make you a joy to have in the classroom!
Year 1
Azalea
For settling back into school confidently and making lots of strong friendships. Well done Azalea!
Year 2
King
For showing amazing improvement, dedication, and enthusiasm in reading and writing. Your hard work is certainly paying off.
Well done King!
Year 3
Zachary
For consistently pushing himself and shining brighter each day! Keep it up!
Year 4
Jacob
For showing excellent consideration of others and always offering to help others. Keep it up Jacob!
Year 5
Omiebi
For her infectious enthusiasm in all lessons - always willing to have a go with well thought out answers. Keep it up Omiebi!
Year 6
Jenson
For his thoughtfulness and kindness towards his peers during a challenging week. Well done Jenson!
Birthday Celebrations
Due to a number of incidents of allergic reactions across Hertfordshire, the council have recently changed their guidance in that schools should not be allowing children to hand out sweets for birthdays and other special events. Staff and parents are obviously unaware of what is being provided and so it presents a risk to certain members of our school population.
We still think that it is important that the children have some way of celebrating their birthdays in school and so moving forward we can share that, on their birthday (or the day closest to it), children are welcome to come to school wearing their own clothes. This will help them to feel special on their birthday and to help them celebrate with their friends for the whole day.
Please note that, from next week, teachers will not be able to support the children in handing out sweets at the end of the day.
Thank you for your understanding with this change.
Water Bottles!
Just a reminder, please, to send your child into school each day with a full water bottle. Especially as the weather gets warmer, it is vital that the children have access to water throughout the day.
If bottles need filling up, they can do this in each classroom and water is available in the dining room and on the playground at lunchtimes for any refills. Please do encourage your children to ask for help with this if they need it; the adults are more than happy to support.
Walk to School Week!
We are excited to be taking part in Walk to School Week next week Monday19th- Friday 23rd May 2025.
We all know the health benefits of walking so please help us to reduce congestion by encouraging children to be more active and help reduce carbon emissions during this Walk to School Week. We would like to encourage all our pupils to try and walk, cycle or scoot to school next week. If it’s not possible to walk all the way, then it would be great if you could park 10 minutes away from school and walk or scoot for the last part of your journey.
Thank you for your support, as always. Mrs Wilson
Electric Vehicle Charging
You may have noticed that the school has recently had some Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers fitted in the car park.
As of this weekend, these chargers are available for use by the general public through the Monta Charge app. The use of these chargers is at a greatly reduced cost compared with other local public charging points and will help to raise further funds for the school. Public Charging is available from 5pm to 8am weekdays and during weekends and school holidays, subject to terms displayed in the car park.
Please share this information with family and neighbours. We hope that it is a useful addition for the local community!
We have signed up with Easy Fundraising's latest promotion! If you shop at Tesco online, please add us through the Easy Fundraising website to help up have a chance to win £1000. In addition, everyone who adds Tesco and shops before the end of May will raise additional funds. If it is the first time you have shopped with Tesco online, we will recieve £10 in addition to going into the prize draw!
19th May - Y6 Residential Meeting (2.45pm)
20th May - Y3 Trip to Verulamium
21st May - Y4-6 Skateboard Workshops
23rd May - Whole School Sponsored Bubble Run!
26th-30th May - Half Term (school closed)
2nd-20th June - Whole School Swimming!
2nd-6th June - Year 6 Residential
2nd-6th June - Y4 Multiplication Check week
2nd June - Weekly music workshop sessions for Nursery to Year 2 begin
10th June - Y2 Class Assembly
11th June - Y4 Trip to Hampton Court Palace
17th June - Y3 Class Assembly
18th June - Y2 Trip to London
20th June - Reception Trip to Ruislip Lido
Good Shepherd Club—to book spaces at Breakfast or After School Club, please visit
http://www.goodshepherdclubs.co.uk/
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.
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.
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!
As part of our focus on fairness this half term, we have spent time looking at this picture and this quote.
What do you think they mean?