Embedded Files
Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing;
together shining a light
‘Let us run with perseverance the race that lies before us.'Hebrews 12:1
Perseverance
Perseverance
On Wednesday Gary led an extended time of Collective Worship with a focus on repentance and moving forwards. He explained the message of John the Baptist and encouraged the school community to write down any mistakes or areas of our life that we personally found difficult. The whole school then gave Gary these pieces of paper which out on the school playground, he then burnt in a metal drum as a sign of letting go and releasing them to God. There was an audible silence! It was a very memorable act.
Key Dates
Key Dates
This week...
This week...
Week 11 - Monday 1st July to Friday 5th July - Sports Week (Children can wear sports kit all week)
Monday 1st July - afternoon - Year 5 at the Aquadrome with Canoe Sports Trust - Katacanoes (6 to a boat) & Open Canoes (3 to a boat)
Wednesday 3rd July - St Mary's Children's Polling Day experience
Wednesday 3rd July - afternoon - Year 6 at the Aquadrome with Canoe Sports Trust - Stand Up Paddle boards & Sit on Top Kayaks
Wednesday 3rd July - afternoon - Reception, Years 1 & 2 - Multisports activities
Thursday 4th July - Sports Day - KS1 - morning followed by picnic lunch; KS2 - picnic lunch followed by sports afternoon - please wear PE kit into school
Thursday 4th July - 15:30 - 17:00 - Year 6 leavers party
Saturday 6th July - 08:00 - 12:00 - Parent Painting day - come along and paint your child's classroom for next academic year
This half term...
This half term...
Week 12
Tuesday 9th July - children visiting the church in classes throughout the day
Thursday 11th July 9.30 - 11.45 - Transition morning
Week 13
Monday 15th July - Year 6 production - evening performance for parents
Tuesday 16th July - Year 6 productions - afternoon performance for parents
Thursday 18th July - Year 6 Leavers Assembly 2pm
Thursday 18th July - afternoon - school disco and end of term activities
Friday 19th July - Year 6 Leavers Service at St Mary’s Church - Reception to Year Six children to be dropped off at the church at the start of the day. Parents welcvome to attend.
Friday 19th July - 13:15 - End of term - No JD Club
Shining a light on...
Shining a light on...
House Points this week
Total House Points for the 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 - Savannah
Year 1 - Millie
Year 2 - Lily
Year 3 - Sasha
Year 4 - Sheumi
Year 5 - Harvey
Year 6 - Peer Mediators
All the children that received certificates will be celebrating with Mrs Maxwell over a hot chocolate and marshmallows this week.
Above & Beyond
Juliusz, Sylvie, Ilan, Harper, Kaiden, Jeremy, Lily, Florence, Wito, Oscar, Nancy, Jamie, Tilly, Louie, Gianna
Weekly Class Attendance
Highlights from Our Summer Fair!
What an amazing day we had at our Summer Fair last week! The event was a lively celebration with fantastic performances by our talented clubs, delightful stalls offering treats and treasures, pony rides adding to the excitement, insightful first aid demonstrations, a mouth-watering BBQ, and the thrilling Mums and Dads Challenge.
A huge thank you goes out to our FoSMS (Friends of St. Mary's School) for their tireless efforts in organising, supporting, and ensuring the success of the fair. Their hard work before, during, and after the event was truly commendable. Thank you to all of our parents, staff and Governors for their time and effort. Together, with the community's support, we raised over £2000 to help us achieve our school's fundraising goals.
Summer Fair-3.mp4
STEM Week Highlights: Enclosures, Experiments, and Exploration!
We have been busy with STEM Week! Albert in Year 6 kicked things off with his amazing knowledge about Colchester Zoo, inspiring our STEM challenge to design a new enclosure for the zoo. All classes worked hard on their designs and presented their work during assembly on Friday afternoon.
Year 6 also put in tremendous effort for our Science Fair on Friday. Each class visited the hall to engage with various experiments. Year 6 did a fabulous job promoting their experiment and even created a leaflet for every child to take home. Mr. Nolepa supported this with his fantastic experiment using a metal coat hanger.
Additionally, we had Mr. Budd and Mrs. Arora lead mini-assemblies in classrooms, and parents participated in interviews about their careers in STEM. Year 5 visited Cassiobury Zoo, which supported their science curriculum for this half term, while Years 3 and 4 had an amazing time at the Aquadrome. During break times, the children were given a variety of STEM challenges to complete.
It’s been an exciting and educational week for everyone!
Science Fair led by Year 6
Break time challenges
Years 3 & 4 at the Aquadrome
Year 5 trip to Cassiobury Farm
Zoo Enclosure STEM Challenge
Year 6 Residential
What a fantastic residential trip our Year 6 students had! There were so many highlights. Take a look at the photographs to see the amazing experiences they enjoyed, including obstacle courses, seal watching, and mud walks.
A massive thank you to Miss Paxton, Mr Torrano and Mrs Latimer for their time and commitment to take these youngsters to Aylmerton.
Dillon's Artistic Journey Shines at the OXO Tower Exhibition
Dillon attends Art-k in Croxley Green on Fridays after school, where he learns various skills in drawing, painting, and 3D modeling. Dillon thoroughly enjoys being creative, and his confidence has grown tremendously. He now aspires to pursue a career in art. Dillon created an impressive 3D drawing of a car driving through the countryside, which will be on display at the OXO Tower. This year's exhibition, themed "Blended Journeys," is open to the public for free from 18th July to 28th July, 11am-6pm.
Lottie's Star Performance at Watford Palace Theatre
Lottie, along with a couple of friends from St. Mary's, is part of a theatre group called Rise. On 23 June, they participated in a show at Watford Palace Theatre. After practicing on Friday evenings and rehearsing all day, they performed both a matinee and an evening show. Lottie shone in several song and dance routines and even had a solo in the ABBA section, singing "I Have a Dream".
Information
Information
2024 - 2025 Term Dates
Autumn Term
Autumn Term
Thursday 5th September 2024 - Autumn term starts
Monday 28th October to Friday 3rd November - Half Term
Friday 20th December 2024 - Autumn term finishes
Spring Term
Wednesday 8th January 2025 - Spring term starts
Monday 17th to Friday 21st February - Half Term
Friday 4th April - Spring term finishes
Summer Term
Thursday 24th April - Summer term starts
Monday 26th to Friday 30th May - Half Term
Friday 18th July - Summer term finishes
Sports Day
Please see below Sports Day information sent out a week or so ago. Because Sports Day falls on a General Election day, we are required to make changes to the way we access and leave the school site. Voters will be using the School Hall from 7.00 to 22.00.
This year, Sports Day clashes with the General Election, 4th July 2024. Rather than close the school entirely or alter the published Sports Day, we have made changes to our arrangements in school to accommodate both.
The school kitchen will be closed, keeping movement across the school to a minimum. The general public will enter the school through the main gate and into the School Hall via the main office door to vote (only). The general public will not have access to the KS1 or KS2 areas of the school, nor the playing field. All parents and children will enter and exit the school via the KS1 gates. There will be NO JD club running at either end of the day. No after school clubs will be running.
MC Rizzo will be on hand to move us all to where we need to be and lead the racing!
Children are to come to school in their normal PE shorts and trainers wearing a t-shirt in their house colour –
St Patrick – Green
St George – Red
St David – Yellow
St Andrew – Blue
All children will need their own water bottle, packed lunch, sun hat and have sun lotion already applied prior to arriving at school.
Reception / KS1 Children
Reception and KS1 children will be in school for the morning only, leaving at 12.30 after their picnic lunch.
08.45 – Reception and KS1 children to be dropped to the classrooms as normal for registration.
Parents to either leave the playground, returning for 09.15 and heading round to the field, or going straight to field prior to the event starting.
09.30 – 10.30 Reception and KS1 field events
10.30 – 11.30 Reception and KS1 track races / Parents and carers race
11.30 – 12.15 Picnic Lunch with parents on the field.
12.15 – Reception and KS1 children return to the classrooms ahead of going home.
12.30 – Children collected by parents from the classrooms. The school closes to KS1. NO children to remain in the classrooms.
KS2 children
KS2 children will be in school all day, arriving via the KS1 playground.
08.40 – KS2 children are dropped to the KS1 playground. They will walk to the back doors of the KS2 classrooms via the courtyard by the Dining Hall.
11.25 – KS2 Parents arrive to go on the field for a picnic via the KS1 gate.
11.30 – 12.15 – School picnic with parents. (There will be no school meals provided.)
12.30 – 13.30 – KS2 Field events
13.30 – 14.30 – KS2 Track races
14.30 – 14.40 – House Captain and St Mary’s staff race
14.40 – 14.50 – Parents and Carers races
15.00 – Wining house announced
15.15 – Parents to wait on the field in their classes
By 15.30 – KS2 children will be escorted from the classroom doors to the field to meet parent groups. Families and children with permission to walk without parents to leave school via the KS1 gate.
Housekeeping
The KS1 gate will be shut at 9.45 and not re-opened until 11.15. The KS1 gate will be closed again at 11.35 and not re-opened until 12.30 when Reception and KS1 are released. The gate will be shut at 12.45 and re-opened at 15.15.
Staff will take the children to the Annex for toilet runs. Adults will use the staff toilet in the Annex only.
If you are unable to join your child(ren) at Sports Day, please alert the school via the school gateway, as to who will be collecting your child at either 12.30 for Reception and KS1 or 15.15 for KS2.
Siblings of KS2 children
Siblings of KS2 children can remain onsite in the care of their parents. Over the years, we have noticed that they get bored, too hot and disappear away from their parents as soon as they start looking at the KS2 events. If you are able, please get them on a playdate with a family going home at 12.15!
Community Painting Party
Come and help us paint your child's classroom in preparation for next academic year! You are welcome to bring children who will be looked after and can have a play. Bring along if you have any paint brushes, rollers, paint trays and dust sheets.
Please complete the google docs if you are able to help so that we know whow e are expecting and numbers for drinks and snacks.
Upgraded Breakfast Club
Important Reminders
Fingers crossed this beautiful weather is here to stay. Please remember to suncream your child before coming into school and a hat is packed for playtimes. Children without a hat on sunny days will need to stay in the shade.
Summer Library Challenge
Get ready for a summer of imagination and creativity at your local Hertfordshire Library! The Marvellous Makers Summer Reading Challenge is here to spark the joy of reading and creative arts, while addressing the dip in reading levels that can often occur during the summer holidays. In collaboration with The Reading Agency and Create, a leading arts charity, we’re celebrating creativity and storytelling for our young readers.
This year’s Challenge is an open invitation for children to explore books and stories, while taking part in free activities. From poetry and music to arts and crafts, there’s something for every young creator. The Challenge begins at all Hertfordshire Libraries from Saturday 6 July, and continues until Saturday 7 September. Children are encouraged to read six library books and collect exclusive stickers along the way. And that’s not all—finishers of the Challenge will receive a medal and certificate, and a chance to win tickets to an interactive poetry workshop with the celebrated poet, Joshua Seigal.
Keep an eye out for pop-up Maker Stations at select libraries during the summer holidays, offering simple, engaging, and free activities designed to unleash the creative spirit in every child. Curious to learn more? Visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/SummerReadingChallenge for all the details on the Challenge and discover some marvellous makes to create at home.
2024-school-assembly-presentation-hertfordshire.pdf
Attendance at school is the foundation 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.
M is for Medical. This code is used to indicate that a student is absent due to a medical appointment or illness. Proper documentation may be required to verify the medical reason for the absence. We encourage you to organise any medical appointments after the afternoon registration, if possible, to minimise disruption to your child's learning.
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.
Page updated
Report abuse