St Mary's Weekly
Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing;
together shining a light
Friendship
As a school, we embrace making mistakes as opportunities for growth. We understand that each child's journey involves learning, development and missteps that pave the way for valuable lessons. We strive to create an environment where children feel supported and inspired to learn from their experiences, be it triumphs or challenges.
This week in Collective Worship we have been thinking about how we talk to our friends. We have been exploring the idea that our words are a lot like squirty cream. It’s easy to say a whole load of words, but it’s more difficult to take them back once they've been said. We have been encouraging our children to think before speaking, therefore making good choices in how we communicate.
The bible verse highlights the transformative influence of our words and the immense impact they can have on those around us. Let us empower our youngsters to harness the power of their words for good; to spread joy, encouragement and empathy within our community. By doing this, we can collectively continue to build a nurturing space where every voice is heard and valued.
Shining a light on...
House Points for this week
House Points so far this term
Effort & Progress in Learning Certificates
Congratulations to the children below who received a special certificate on Friday for 'Effort and Progress in Learning'.
Reception - Caleb
Year 1 - Lola Rose
Year 2 - Arina
Year 3 -
Year 4 - Austin
Year 5 - Charlie
Year 6 - Rowan
All the children that received certificates will be celebrating with Mrs Maxwell over a hot chocolate and marshmallows on Tuesday this week.
Headteacher's Award
Mary Lyons, in Year 4, has been awarded this special certificate for her amazing perseverance in swimming this term!
Above & Beyond
The children below will attend Above and Beyond time on Monday as Mrs Maxwell wasn't in school last week.
This week's children that attended Above and Beyond time -
Orla, Jagger, Sylvie, Lois, Gianna, Cianna, Ava, Lola- Rose, Lily, Florence, Kaiden, Issy, Jules, Esmee, Willow, Darcie, Coralie, Ava, Linden, Heidi, Aaryan, Ben, Mary, Amber, Kezia, Gianna, Lottie, Lilly, Rosie, Henning, Mackenzie, Thomas and Bobby
Times Tables Rockstar
Children in Years 3, 4 and 5 use the TTRockstars programme to support their learning of multiplication tables. Congratulations to the children below that received a TTRockstars certificate on Friday for the most effort.
Year 3 - Minnie
Year 4 - Josh
Year 5 - Sam
Year Five
Year 5 became Vikings for a day! On Thursday, the children participated in a Viking workshop where they took part in a Viking quiz and a Viking game. They also fought like Vikings! They saw real life Viking weapons, artefacts and clothing. Everyone looked amazing in their costumes and learnt many new Viking facts.
Did you know that longhouses only had one bedroom and that during the Winter Vikings had to share the room with their farm animals?
Black and Mixed Heritage at St Mary’s
As part of our Black History Month celebration during Collective Worship this week, Miss Devlin introduced the theme of Black History Month. This year's theme is ‘Saluting Our Sisters’. Each class has started a project based on a Black or Mixed Heritage female figure.
As part of our Black History Month celebration, we would love for our community to share their Black and Mixed Heritage with us. Please send in photos and some information of your heritage if you would like to share as we would like to celebrate the heritage of the children and families at St Mary’s.
Arthur, in Year 2, was proud to share his heritage with the school during Collective Worship, it was a really special moment. He spoke about his mixed heritage of Jamaican, English and Cuban with a huge smile on his face. We would love to continue this celebration with your support. Please help us to shine a light on Black and Mixed Heritage at St Mary’s!
We will be showcasing our projects and celebrations throughout Black History Month after half-term in the hall. More details about this event will be released after- half term.
This week we welcome Watford School's Trust through ExploRE. Thank you to all parents for the contributions - we raised £237.50. The school will make up the balance.
ExploRE gives pupils an opportunity to explore and think deeply about some big R.E. concepts. It is a week-long event that includes a variety of activities set up in our hall that are designed to help children ExploRE faith and spirituality from a broadly Christian perspective in a safe, creative and interactive way.
ExploRE is accessible to everyone whether they have a faith background or not.
What kind of activities are included in ExploRE?
There is a wide variety of activities and themes. These are divided in 3 groups:
ExploRE ideas about ‘me’,
ExploRE ideas
about ‘the world’
ExploRE ideas about ‘God’.
Some activities are fun (i.e. thankful ducks – hook a duck and think about what we can be thankful for), others are creative (i.e. peace flowers – create a flower garden as a statement of peace) and other activities are more interactive (i.e. the homeless man – sit in a cardboard box to think about what it’s like to live on the street).
Each activity allows children to respond. Children can choose what activities they want to engage with.
Parents are welcome to visit on Wednesday between 3:30 - 4:30.
Information
Daryl - JD Club on Friday
Friday 20th October is Daryl's last day in school. We would like his last JD Club to be a memorable and fun occassion, therefore, we will be holding a celebration party for him between 3:45 - 4:45. Please book into this session as normal if your child would like to attend.
Flu Immunisation
Please note this is NOT the Covid vaccination.
We will soon be visiting your child’s school to deliver the Flu Vaccination Nasal Spray or IM Non porcine alternative Children who have the flu vaccine are less likely to pass the virus on to friends and family, especially those who may be at greater risk from flu, such as young babies, elderly people or friends and relatives with a serious health condition.
This is the final chance to complete a consent for your child online. The Portal link will close on: 18th October 2023. Please click HERE to give consent, or to decline the vaccine, if you have not done so already.
If you have already submitted a consent form - please do not submit another one. Please check your emails including your junk box for consent confirmation.
500 Word Story
We are excited to introduce the BBC 500 word story competition. This year, we are linking this to our own internal writing competition.
The categories for our internal writing competition are - KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2.
We will introduce this during our Celebration assembly on Friday. We would love as many children as possible to get involved. House points to all entries!
Please use the link to find out more about the competition - www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500-words
Reception Admissions - 2024
The primary application process for 2024/25 opens on 1 November 2023 and closes on 15th January 2024. Hertfordshire County Council’s Admissions & Transport Team will be accepting all applications for children born between 01/04/2019 and 31/08/2019.
You must apply online at: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.
Secondary School Admissions - 2024
Please be aware that the deadline for applications to secondary schools is fast approaching. Parents will need to make an application online or on paper by the closing date of Tuesday 31st October 2023. We recommend that parents complete it by Friday 27th October, so that if there are any queries, they can be dealt with by the Admissions Team ahead of the deadline. You should apply online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.
Please contact Mrs Palmer if you require support with this.
Play Equipment
Reminder that children, including younger siblings, should not be using the school equipment without a member of staff present. This includes at drop off and pick up times. Thank you for your support on this.
Football Trained Referees
As we prepare for Daryl to leave the school, please will football referee trained parents contact Mrs Palmer. She will set up a list of potential referees to call on if needed for matches. There will be no obligation to ref if your name is on the list. We realise that volunteering will depend on availability.
Key Dates
There are more dates to add but we wanted to get as many to you as possible.
Monday 16th to Friday 20th October - ExploRE in all week - all classes will take part in workshops between Tuesday and Thursday
Tuesday 17th October - Year 2 - Pirate day (simple pirates costume)
Wednesday 18th October - 3:30 - 4:30pm - opportunity for parents and children to come and find out more about ExploRE
Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th October - Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 parent consultations
Monday 23rd to Friday 27th October - Half Term
Tuesday 31st October - Year 6 trip to Imperial War Museum
Tuesday 7th November - Reception trip to Odds Farm
Friday 10th November - Year 1 trip to Brooklands museum
Wednesday 15th November - Y6 Holocaust workshop in school
Tuesday 21st & Wednesday 22nd November - Key Stage Two parent consultations
Friday 1st December - 3:10 - 4:00pm - Key Stage One Disco
Monday 4th December - afternoon - Reception Nativity Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday 5th December - 9:15am - Reception Nativity Performance
Wednesday 6th December - Christmas Jumper Day
Wednesday 6th December - morning - KS1 Nativity Dress Rehearsal
Thursday 7th December - 2:00pm - KS1 Nativity Performance
Friday 8th December - 9:15am - KS1 Nativity Performance
Friday 8th December - 3:10 - 4:00pm - Key Stage Two Disco
Wednesday 13th December - 2:00 - 4:30pm- Sleeping Beauty Panto at Watersmeet
Thursday 14th December - afternoon - Years 3 to 6 dress reherasal for Christmas Service at the church
Thursday 14th December - evening - All children from Yars 3 to 6 performing at our Christmas service at the chruch
Tuesday 19th December - 1:35pm - End of Term
Community
Miss Devlin takes on the London Marathon 2024
Miss Devlin has taken on the challenge of running the London Marathon 2024. She is supporting the charity Cardiomyopathy UK. She is aiming to not only raise money but raise awareness of the symptoms of this disease.
Please click here to find out more about why this is such an important charity to her. Thank you in advance for your support!
We have such an amazing school and are looking at ways to promote ourselves in the wider community. To do this, we will be developing our use of social media. Please like our new Facebook page and any posts that you enjoy.