Justice

House Points this week...

Effort & Progress in Learning Certificates

Above & Beyond 

It's been another busy week in Year 6...

In Science this week, we learnt about the job of the heart and carried out an investigation to explore how exercise affects our heart rate. We had to find our pulse (which requires being very calm and still) and then observed how it changed after exercise. We found that our heart rate almost returned to our resting heart rate 4 minutes after exercise. We discovered that, because the heart is a muscle, it needs exercising to remain strong and healthy. The healthier the heart, the less often it needs to pump blood, meaning a lower heart rate.  

In Maths, we have been learning to solve algebraic problems. This has included a range of missing number problems where the unknown value is a shape, letter or word. We have shown our working through bar models to show that both sides of an equation are equal. 

Battle of the Bands

Miles Dives into the Fast Lane!

Miles was over the moon to be selected and starts with his first session on Friday 12th. He’ll then be swimming 4 times a week including one session a week before school at 6.30 am!  

We can't wait to hear more about your journey, Miles!

Environmental Stewards: Young Advocates Taking Action

Last week Florence, in Year Two, noticed how much litter there was down Stockers Farm Road so she decided to bring her litter picker to school. She spent fifteen minutes before school and fifty minutes after school picking up litter from Harefield Road end up to the end of the staff car park. She collected so much, including many snack wrappers, a pair of old neon green trouser braces and broken glass. We are really proud of Florence for wanting to make our local environment better for everyone and better for the planet. 

Charlie, in Year Five, has a New Year's Resolution to pick up litter regularly around the Aquadrome.

Let's continue to inspire our children to notice ways to look after our local environment. Please share any ideas or actions, so we can feature them in our newsletter and shine a light on the importance of supporting our environment.

Parent Workshop - our School Development Plan

Tuesday 16th January - 18:00 and Wednesday 17th January - 09:00. 

We are delighted to invite you to a parent workshop where we will explore our three-year development strategy, focusing specifically on this year's plan for our school. To accommodate as many parents as possible, we have scheduled two sessions. Please inform us of your preferred session so that we can provide refreshments. Your participation and insights are highly valued, and we look forward to sharing our exciting plans with you.

Afterschool Enrichment Clubs

Everyone should have received an email on Friday evening regarding afterschool clubs for your child's year group. Below is the overview timetable to help you see the rationale behind the structurewe have put in place.  

We have increased the number of clubs as children move up the year groups. This has been done deliberately as the structure of the school day can be tiring for our younger children.  JD Club is the perfect place for children to have more freedom in their choice of activities along with downtime that replicates home time.

To ensure a fair distribution of opportunities, you will be sent a google form, indicating the clubs your child would like to participate in. By completing the form, you are confirming your agreement to the associated costs for each club. Kindly submit your preferences by this Wednesday at midday. We will then notify you of the clubs your child has been offered so that you can pay the provider.

Attendance

A reminder that the government expects your child to attend every day that the school is open, unless: 

• your child is too ill to attend

• you have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on a specific day due to exceptional circumstances

As a parent it is difficult to know when / when not to keep your child off school due to illness. Please have a read of the documents below to give you some guidance.

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.

Have you heard about 'Junior Park Run'?

Junior parkrun is a free, fun, and friendly weekly 2km event for juniors (4 to 14 year olds) held every Sunday at 9:00am at King George V Playing Field, Shepherds Lane, Mill End (opposite William Penn Leisure Centre). It's free to take part but you do need to register before you first come along at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register.

 You only ever register with parkrun once so no need to book each week. Just turn up with a scannable copy of your barcode. The aim is to have fun and enjoy being outdoors and active so everyone is welcome. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!

Parents we need you too! Junior parkrun is entirely organised by volunteers. If you could help out marshalling, handing out finish tokens or scanning barcodes then please email kinggeorgevplayingfieldjuniors@parkrun.com to help.

Facebook