School News

Friday 25th April 2025

Nash Mills CofE Primary School

DT Week

The children have begun the summer term with textiles projects in Design and Technology. Across the school, different year groups undertook different activities such as making puppets, pouches, cushions, book covers, stuffed toys and waistcoats. This project encouraged the children to express themselves through their designs and creations.

Each child had the opportunity to showcase their unique ideas and artistic flair, resulting in a variety of beautiful and imaginative outcomes. They showed remarkable resilience in overcoming challenges. Whether it was mastering a difficult stitch or perfecting their designs, they persevered and enjoyed the process of making something with their own hands.

Football Tournaments

Year 5 and 6 Tournament

We took two teams to the Year 5 and 6 tournament on Wednesday, both teams gave their all in their 4 games and showed tremendous team spirit and support for each other throughout the day.

Key Stage 2 Girls' Tournament

On Thursday, a group of 14 girls went to Longdean School to play in a football tournament. During the day, our Year 3&4 team played against several other schools and our Year 5 and 6 team played against 6 different schools. The matches were all 12 minutes long, which meant that we got tired towards the end of the day and the games got harder! We were all ready for a rest! It was brilliant to play against other schools and to work as a team together. We had a great day!

Amber and Ffion

Bubble Run Reminder

Our PTA sponsored Bubble Run is only a few weeks away! We are very excited for what should be a great afternoon on Friday the 23rd of May, Children were sent home with a sponsorship form and details before the Easter break and it would be great to raise as much money as we can for the event.

We hope to raise money towards further changes to our outdoor areas and adding more exciting resources for our learning in class.

Please keep hold of your forms whilst you collect sponsors over the coming weeks. Following the event, once you have collected any donations, we will ask for you to return the form and monies collected together.

Thank you for your support.

St. George's Day

It was fantastic to see so many Beaver, Cub, Rainbow and Brownie uniforms in school on Wednesday to mark St. George's Day.

St George is often attributed to the values of selflessness, courage and faithfulness; all values that we have learnt about in school this year and deem to be important if we are all to be active parts of our communities. These 'ubuntu' values are those which we could not be a community without, and the day is a good time to remember this.

Seeing so many children who are part of local community groups is always brilliant to see and we love to hear when they achieve things related to this outside of school.

Take a Peek, Buy a Book, — Help Our School!

We are excited to let you know that a Book Fair is coming to our school! This is a great opportunity for children to explore new books and support our school at the same time. Every purchase helps raise money for more books in our classrooms and library.

The Book Fair will be open on the morning of Friday 2nd May and finish the morning of Thursday 8th May.

Before school: 8:40 – 9:00 AM
After school: 3:15 – 4:00 PM

Please come to the Gate at front of the school during the above times and the fair will be in the library.

Please remember to bring your phone, as all payments will be made by scanning a QR code at the fair.

We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for supporting our school’s reading journey!

Miss Brewer

PE Day Changes

Each term, there are adjustments made to class timetables to ensure that all pupils get a broad offer through the curriculum we offer. For the summer term, please see the information below:

Nursery - PE on a Tuesday, Forest School on a Thursday

Reception - PE on a Wednesday

Year 1 - PE on Mondays and Wednesdays

Year 2 - PE on Thursdays and Fridays, Forest School on Thursdays

Year 3 - Music on a Wednesday, PE on Tuesdays and Fridays

Year 4 - Music on a Wednesday, PE on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Forest School on Thursdays

Year 5 - PE on Mondays and Fridays

Year 6 - PE on Mondays and Thursdays

Forest School sessions will be outdoors every week. Although we expect the weather to improve this term, please consider sending your child with appropriate clothing, including wellies if we have a particularly wet spell!

Attendance

In the first week of the summer term, our pupils have made an incredible start! Despite the shorter week, Year 5 and Year 1 both achieved a perfect 100%, setting a high bar for the rest of the term. Year 4 and Year 6 also performed exceptionally well, each with an impressive 98%. Year 3 followed closely with 96.8%, and Nursery showed strong attendance at 96%. Year 2 came in at 95.8%, and Reception maintained a solid 95%.

Our pupils' dedication to being in school every day is fantastic. High levels of attendance mean more time with friends and more opportunities for learning. Let's keep up the good work and aim for even higher scores next week! 🎉

Times Tables Rockstars and Numbots!

This week's leader board for TTRS is based on accuracy of answer, well done to our top 3 who all answered over 90% of their questions correctly.

Our Numbots leader board reflects the number of coins earned over the last week. Well done to our top 3.

Mr Shane

Leader board this week

1st - Alex (Y2)

2nd Josh (Y2)

3rd - Jasmine (Y1)

Leader board this week

1st - Mya (Y3)

2nd - Jacob (Y4)

3rd - Melissa (Y6)

Star of the Week!

Nursery

Whole Class

For settling so well into the Summer Term. Well done everybody!

Reception

Ali

For trying hard to be more independent, showing greater maturity and commitment to learning. We are also really pleased with the significant improvement in your writing skills. Well done Ali - keep striving for excellence!

Year 1

Edith

For working hard at listening in class and following instructions. Keep it up!

Year 2

Ruby

For showing enthusiasm, hard work, and a positive attitude towards your return to school. Keep shining and continue to inspire everyone around you!

Year 3

Whole Class

For all settling back in extremely well, and beaming with maturity and determination. Keep it up!

Year 4

Enoch

For being a great role model to all of his peers and always striving to improve in all areas of learning.

Year 5

Amani

For her 'can do' attitude to all aspects of school, including working hard and succeeding.

Year 6

Aidan

For showing great care, patience and creativity in his sewing project.

Summer Term Clubs

Clubs start next week and will run for whole term up to and including Tuesday, 1st July. To assist with smooth clubs registration at the end of the school day, if your child is going to be absent from a club on a particular afternoon, please advise the school office, rather than the class teacher, so that we can ensure that the message is communicated to all relevant staff within school. With thanks for your support.

School Class Photos

These will take place in school on Tuesday, 29th April. Please send your child into school in their school uniform, including their jumper/cardigan.

Please can children in Years 3 and 4 bring their PE kit in a bag so they can change in the afternoon. Children in Nursery can wear uniform and don't need to bring PE kit in that day.

School Milk - New Supplier

Parents and Carers have been emailed an information letter this week confirming that "Cool Milk" will be supplying our milk after the Easter break.

Please note that even if your child is entitled to free milk, you will still need to register an account if you would like your child to receive milk in school. To do this, you can use the QR code on the adjacent flyer, or see the letter for instructions.

If you have any questions or need help regarding this, please visit www.coolmilk.com or contact Cool Milk directly on 0800 321 3248.

Upcoming Dates

28th April - Electric Umbrella Workshops

28th April - Nursery Parent Catch Up (9am)

29th April - Y4 Parent Catch Up (9am)

29th April - Whole School Class Photos

30th April - Y1 Parent Catch Up (9am)

30th April - Y3/4 District Football Tournament (selected pupils)

1st May - Y5 Parent Catch Up (9am)

2nd May - Reception Parent Catch Up (9am)

2nd-7th May - Book Fair

5th May - School Closed - Bank Holiday

6th May - Y6 Parent Catch Up (9am)

7th May - Y2 Parent Catch Up (9am)

8th May - Y3 Parent Catch Up (9am)

12th-15th May - Y6 SATS Week

14th May - Y3&4 Tag Rugby Event

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)

Good Shepherd Booking

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

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

Logging Same-Day 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

Happy Easter!

As many of you will know, Easter Sunday marked the start of Eastertide, a period in which Christians will reflect on the themes of rebirth and change. It is the perfect time to do this as we look at the world around us and can see so much change happening. It is also a time to embrace change within our lives, looking forward to the things that are to come and we see spring setting in and the occasional glimpse of summer! As we move forward, let us carry the messages of Easter with us, looking forward to making positive changes and supporting each other along the way.

There is a lot to look forward to!

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