St Mary's Weekly
Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing;
together shining a light
Justice
During last week's Collective Worship, our theme centered around "making wise decisions." We engaged in meaningful discussions exploring the spectrum of decisions, ranging from the straightforward to the more intricate.
For our younger children, we delved into the fairytale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We explored the decisions made by Goldilocks and pondered whether they were wise choices.
As a school, we reflected on the following questions:
1) Have you ever had to make a decision with no easy answer? What did you do?
2) What steps do you need to take to make wise and sensible decisions?
On Wednesday, Gary continued this theme by exploring a Bible story where Jesus explained why we need to be careful in our response to others' mistakes. Gary encouraged us to make wise decisions in our responses: pause before we speak, weigh up the truth carefully. Since every one of us makes mistakes, he explained we should think before we act, think about how to best help the person instead of judging them.
Key Dates
This week...
Monday 22nd January - Year 2 - Healthy Hero workshop
Tuesday 23rd January - Year 3 - DT cooking day in school - making bread rolls
This half term...
Tuesday 30th January - Year 2 - class trip to the Tower of London
Friday 2nd February - Young Voices
Monday 5th to Friday 9th February - Wellbeing Week - the children will be immersed in a variety of activities each day
Wednesday 7th February - Year 6 - 'Education & Empower your School' at Watersmeet
Thursday 8th February - 14:00 - 15:00 - Class Rep meeting
Friday 9th February - 13:30 - 15:00 - Year 4 - Dance Festival Rehearsal at Rickmansworth School
Monday 12th February - Year 1 trip to Hertfordshire Zoo
Monday 12th February - evening - FoSMS AGM
Monday 12th February - 18:00 - 20:00 - Year 4 - Dance Festival Performance at Rickmansworth School
Thursday 15th February - 14:30 - 16:00 - parents invited in for each class' 'Showcase and Celebration' event
Week beginning Monday 19th February - Half Term
Next half term...
Friday 1st March - morning - M & M Theatrical Productions of Oliver Twist
Friday 1st March - 14:00 - 14:45 - St David's Day celebration
Monday 4th to Friday 8th March - Book Week - the children will be immersed in a variety of activities each day
Monday 4th March - Year 3 - class trip to Celtic Harmony - Stone Age
Thursday 7th March - World Book Day - Dress up
Wednesday 13th March - 09:00 - 10:00 - Parent workshop on Reading Fluency
Thursday 14th March - all day - Year 4 - Sound workshop at school
Friday 15th March - 14:00 - 14:45 - St Patrick's House celebration
Tuesday 18th & Wednesday 19th March - Parent Consultations
Thursday 21st March - all day - Year 6 - Greek day in school
Tuesday 26th March - Easter Egg hunt
Wednesday 27th March - 18:00 - 19:00 - Easter Service at St Mary's Church - Years 1 to 6
Thursday 28th March - Easter activities. Last day of term - finish at 13:15. NO JD Club
Shining a light on...
House Points this week...
House Points this 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 - Fletcher
Year 1 - Isabella
Year 2 - Jemimah
Year 3 - Sasha
Year 4 - Ava
Year 5 - Henning
Year 6 - William
All the children that received certificates will be celebrating with Mrs Maxwell over a hot chocolate and marshmallows on Tuesday this week.
Above & Beyond
Apologies, Mrs Maxwell will catch-up with the children from week 2 and 3 on Tuesday.
Week 3 -
Jay, Giana, Ava, Orla, Sylvie, Eryk, Lilly D, Matei, Duke, Nancy, Simran, Tom, Anabelle, Minnie, Heidi, Zoya, Victor, Nic, Louie, Jaimie, James, Albert
Last week's Parent Workshop
Thank you to everyone who attended the parent workshops last week on our School Development Plan. We delved into significant developments for the next couple of years, highlighted specific goals for this year, and celebrated areas where we've already made significant progress.
I aim to record the presentation this week so that parents who were unable to attend can access the information.
Growing Dreams: Sneak Peek into 'St Mary's Secret Garden' Development!
We are thrilled to give you a sneak preview of the new developments of our garden area, replacing the old outdoor swimming pool space. This space will become a key part of our outdoor curriculum, offering endless opportunities for our children. Keep your eyes on future newsletters for further developments!
Each year group will have an opportunity to have a walk around the garden this week. We can't wait to see their faces!
A massive thank you to -
JJ, Dad of Reggie, designed the ‘Secret Garden’ and is overseeing the build.
Brian, Dad of Tom, is working on the build.
James, Dad of Jamieson and Darcie, who demolished the pool and changing rooms.
Our Chosen Charity for the Term - Supporting Playskill
Last week, our children participated in a charity vote to decide which cause to support this term. The options were Playskill and Watford Schools Trust, both fantastic local charities. The Ethos council presented to their respective classes before the vote.
We are delighted to announce that this term, our chosen charity to support is PlaySkill.
Playskill supports children with physical disabilities and delays in Hertfordshire to develop their communication, movement and key life skills. They do this through free therapeutic play sessions, alongside training, advice and support for families.
At their weekly specialist playgroups in Watford & Hemel Hempstead, they provide tailored physiotherapy, occupational and speech & language therapy.
Playskill also offers specialist training and one to one advice to support parents as they navigate health, education & financial services. Plus an all-important network of parents and carers, including social events.
All their services are free to families. The Charity receives no Government funding and relies wholly on donations to provide its vital service.
Stepping into Success: Isabelle's Dance Achievements
We are thrilled to share the outstanding achievements of Isabelle in Year 4. Isabelle's dedication and passion for dance shone through as she not only achieved distinctions in both her Graded Ballet (86%) and Modern Dance (87%) examinations but also passed her first Tap dance exam.
Her remarkable performance highlights not only her technical proficiency but also her commitment to mastering various dance forms. Isabelle's accomplishments are a testament to her hard work and love for the art of dance. We applaud her achievements and look forward to witnessing her continued success.
Congratulations, Isabelle! 🩰🌟
Information
Afterschool Enrichment Clubs
All afterschool clubs start this week. You will have received an email if you have been offered a place in a club. If you no longer would like this place, please let us know via email so that we can offer a place to someone on the waiting list.
A reminder that for your child to remain onsite after school hours, they must be booked into an enrichment club or JD club. Bookings are finalised by 2:30 each day, so that we can distribute the registers to our staff.
In the event that your child has not been booked into a club and hasn't been collected, staff will bring them to the reception area and we will promptly contact you. We understand that emergencies can arise, so please call us as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation in making sure the end of the school day is smooth.
Community
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.
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.
