Justice

Effort & Progress in Learning Certificates

Above & Beyond 

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting Linda Hardman, our School Effectiveness Advisor, for an insightful exploration of our Phonics and Reading programs.

Linda embarked on learning walks, observing phonics provision and interventions from Reception to Year 2. She took time to listen to our youngest learners reading to familiar adults and observed whole class reading in action in Year 4 and 6. Linda engaged in a meaningful KS2 reading pupil voice activities and sat down with Mrs Crilly, Miss Paxton, and Mrs Maxwell to discuss our phonics and reading curriculum with a focus on the intent, implementation, and impact.

We are thrilled to share that Linda was thoroughly impressed by the quality of provision and learning evident across our entire school. Kudos to our dedicated team for their hard work and commitment! 

Here are some key quotes from the report:

Wellbeing Week

Last week was about  Children's Mental Health Week!  From Mindfulness Monday to Walking Wednesday, we embraced daily activities to boost mental well-being. Due to the weather, we postponed a couple of activities: we are looking forward to these this week.

💚 We encouraged our children to follow the "5 Ways to Wellbeing"💚:

1. Connect with others for positive relationships.

2. Be active for overall well-being.

3. Learn new skills for personal growth.

4. Give to others for a sense of purpose.

5. Pay attention to the present moment through mindfulness.

Year 6: Educate and Empower your School Workshop at Watersmeet

On Wednesday, Year 6 attended the ‘Educate and Empower your school’ event at Watersmeet Theatre, organised by Three Rivers District Council. We joined many other year 6 classes to hear from speakers representing a range of organisations. 

We heard from Alison Cope, an anti-violence campaigner who spoke to us about knife crime and why some people feel they need to carry knives. An educator from Herts Young Homeless explained to us the importance of conflict resolution and helped us to identify what type of arguer we are! The charity MIND explained to us why looking after our mental health is important and what it can look/feel like if we have poor mental health. We explored stressors we might have in our lives and, most importantly, discussed the strategies we can use to help cope with these stressors. These included getting out in nature, talking to friends, listening to music and losing ourselves in a good book. Our final speaker of the day was a PCSO from Hertfordshire who showed us why it is so important that we don’t engage with strangers, and that we carefully consider who we share our personal information with. 

Our key take-away from the day was to Speak Up, and Speak Out whenever we are in a situation that makes us feel uncomfortable, upset or concerned. 

🌟 Club of the Week: KS2 Lego Club Extravaganza! 🎉

This week in our fantastic KS2 Lego Club, the creativity soared to new heights! Our budding builders split into several groups, each embarking on exciting projects. Some opted for the "freestyle" approach, crafting imaginative models in their groups. Meanwhile, two groups eagerly embraced the bridge building challenge, showcasing their architectural prowess to determine whose bridge could withstand the most weight. IThere are definitely some budding architects in the making!

It was truly heartwarming to observe them collaborating and relishing the creative process.

School Development Plan

We invite you to explore our School Development Plan (SDP) through the provided link. This living document serves as our roadmap for continuous improvement, guiding our efforts to enhance the learning experience for our pupils and our community.

Within the SDP,  you'll find specific areas earmarked for expansion. These aspects are dynamic and will be consistently refined to align with our commitment to ongoing progress. Regular updates will be made, complete with evidence of the strides we've taken and reflections on our objectives.

2024 - 2025 Term Dates

Attendance at school is key to a child's future success and happiness. Over the coming weeks, we will be taking a letter from the alphabet, in turn, in order to highlight the importance of being at school and advice for parents and carers.

A is for Appointments - Medical (and other) appointments should be made for non-school days wherever possible. If not, try to arrange them for the afternoon and ensure your child attends school in the morning as this reduces the number of lessons your child misses and also helps keep their attendance healthy. If you get an appointment at an awkward time, it is always worth asking for it to be moved as often cancellations or other appointments are available at the end of the school day.

Please provide school with evidence of the medical appointment in order for us to authorise the missed mark. Without this evidence, the absence might be unauthorised.

Showcase & Celebration on Thursday from 14:30 to 15:30 

From 14:30 to 15:30 on Thursday 15th February , you are invited into your child's classroom. This is not an extra parent consultation but an opportunity to look at the books and to look around at the classroom displays so you are up to date with what your child has been learning and have the opportunity to see how they are doing.

Please ensure you follow book look etiquette as written below:

1. Ask your child to talk you through their learning if they are with you

2. Praise your child for effort, presentation and working hard

3. Remember that some work may be independent work and other work will be supported

4. Look at the presentation, handwriting and any comments from teachers

5. Has your child been responding to the feedback sheets in their green pen? It is positive if they have done so, as this is part of their learning progression.

6. Leave books as you found them please - in classroom

7. Please only look at your child’s books that have been left out for you ·

We thank you for your support. We appreciate your feedback - we will send out a link to the google form on Friday.

Reading in School

Please keep Wednesday 13th March - 09:00 - 10:00 free to find out why reading fluency is an important aspect for all children to master.

Reading is at the core of our curriculum, and to further support the reading experience, we are actively working on having more adults in school to listen to our children read. To facilitate this, we require children to have their reading book and reading record in their bags daily. While book changes will continue as before, this ensures flexibility for adults to hear children read in school. 

If you have any spare time to listen to our children reading, we would love to hear from you.  Please email Mrs Palmer to let us know your availability.

Wellbeing Week Resources for Parents

Community News

We would love to hear and share news regarding the activities and accomplishments of our children outside of the school environment, as well as updates on noteworthy contributions or events within our parent body and the broader local community.

Please submit all relevant information to Mrs Palmer at admin@stmarys698.herts.sch.uk. Your contributions will not only serve to highlight the diverse talents within our community but will also contribute to the collective narrative that shapes the identity of St Mary's.

St Mary's Church

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