St Mary's Weekly


Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing;  

together shining a light

'One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.'(Proverbs 22:11)

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.

Hertfordshire Flu Consent 28092023.pdf

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



Monday 16th to Friday 20th October - ExploRE in all week - all classes will take part in workshops  between Tuesday and Thursday

























Community

FoSMS News Update 131023.doc.docx

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!

Facebook

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. 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550863361303

Facebook