St Mary's Weekly
Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing;
together shining a light
Embedded Files
“Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive others.”
Colossians 3:13
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Over the last couple of weeks in Collective Worship, we have been reflecting on the value of forgiveness – a powerful way to shine light into the lives of others and ourselves.
Words of Wisdom
"Without forgiveness there is no future... If you can forgive, then you can move on and even help the person you are forgiving to become a better person."
Desmond Tutu
As human beings, we all make mistakes. Sometimes our actions hurt others, and we need the courage to say sorry. At other times, we may be the ones who are hurt, and we face the challenge of forgiving. Forgiveness isn’t always easy, it can take strength and love but without it, it’s hard to move forward. Forgiveness gives everyone the chance for a fresh start.
Why not talk about these questions together at home?
Can you remember a time when you needed to say sorry?
Was there ever a time you didn’t say sorry, but now wish you had?
Have you ever needed to forgive someone who upset you?
How did it feel to be forgiven and offered a new start?
Key Dates
Key Dates
There are lots more dates to add to the calendar but we wanted to get these to you as soon as possible to put into your dairies...
Spring Term...
Week 11
Tuesday 25th March - Year 3 - Life in Ancient Egypt day - in school
Tuesday 25th March - Parent consultations
Wednesday 26th March - Parent consultations
Thursday 27th March - 16:00 - 18:00 - Gymnastics Team competition at Rickmansworth School
Week 12
Monday 31st March - Class Photos - smart uniform - white shirt (no poloshirt) and school tie
Monday 31st March - afterschool - Bake Sale
Tuesday 1st April - afternoon - Easter Egg Hunt
Wednesday 1st April - 15:00 - 15:15 - Reception class performing Spring songs to parents - hall
Wednesday 2nd April - 15:15 - 16:40 - Matilda cast After Show Party
Thursday 3rd April - Years 1 to 6 - Easter service at St Mary's Church at 18:00 (smart uniform)
Friday 4th April - Easter Bonnets parade and Easter activities; term finishes at 13:15 - No JD Club
Summer Term...
Week 1
Thursday 24th April - Back to school
Thursday 24th April - Year 5 - Life in Viking Britain at school
Friday 25th April - Morning - Reception, Years 1 & 2 - Perform Workshop
Friday 25th April - 14:00 - 15:00 - St George's House celebration
Week 2
Tuesday 29th April - Year 4 trip - Farmer Gows
Tuesday 29th April - Year 5 - Mini Policing 6 week course starts
Tuesday 29th April - Year 2 trip - Royal Academy of Arts
Thursday 1st May - Polling Station at school - School will be open but there will be no Breakfast and Afterschool club
Week 3
Monday 5th May - Bank Holiday
Thursday 8th May - 09:00 - 10:00 - Parent workshop on Good Sleeping Habits and Routines with Danielle
Week 4 Year 6 - SATs Week
Friday 16th May - 13:45 - Parent Rep meeting
Friday 16th May - afternoon - Year 6 - pizza and movie afternoon
Week 5 STEM Week
Monday 19th May - Nite Owls assembly
HALF TERM
Week 6
Monday 2nd June - INSET Day - no school
Tuesday 3rd June - Children back to school
Week 7 - Year 6 residential, Year 1 Phonics Screening, Year 4 Multiplication Check
Friday 13th June - 09:00 / 18:00 - Parent Coffee and Chat with Mrs Maxwell
Week 8
Thursday 19th June - evening - Music Concert - Years 1 to 6
Week 9
Monday 23rd June - Neurodiversity Day
Tuesday 24th June - 14:30 - Year 5 - Mini Police assembly for parents
Week 10
Saturday 28th June - Summer Fair
Week 11 Sports Week
Monday 7th July - afternoon - Mini Class Marathon event at the Aquadrome
Thursday 10th July - Transition Day
Friday 11th July - Sports Day
Friday 11th July - 15:15 - 17:00 - Year 6 Leavers activities
Week 12
Monday 14th July - Reports to parents
Monday 14th July - evening - Year 6 performance for parents
Tuesday 15th July - afternoon - Year 6 performance to parents
Thursday 17th July - afternoon - Year 6 Leaver's Assembly
Friday 18th July - 09:00 - Year 6 Leavers Service at St Mary's Church - all children in Years 1 to 6 to be dropped off at 08:50
Friday 18th July - term finishes at 13:15 - No JD Club
2025-2026 Academic Year
INSET Days and Trust Development Days
INSET and Trust Development Days (in red, blue and purple) are days children are not in school. These are important training days for staff to enhance their skills, knowledge, and collaboration across the school and Trust. They ensure we deliver the best possible education for our children.
Information
Information
X is for eXcellent attendance: this week in our A to Z of Attendance, we're shining a light on X for eXcellent attendance because being in school every day really does make a difference.
We’re encouraging each child to be HERO when it comes to attendance:
🦸♀️ H – Here
📅 E – Every day
🎒 R – Ready to learn
⏰ O – On time
Class Photographs
Change of date for class photographs - Monday 31st March
All children in Years 1 to 6 must be in smart uniform with a white shirt (not a poloshirt) and the school tie.
🕤 9:30 – Reception
🕘 9:45 – Year 1
🕙 10:00 – Year 3
🕥 10:15 – Year 2
🕦 10:45 – Year 4
🕚 11:00 – Year 5
🕦 11:15 – Year 6
Personal Development Blog
Personal Development Blog
Shining a Light on Healthy Habits: Why Sleep Matters
At St Mary’s, we are proud to use a fantastic programme called YouHQ to support our children’s wellbeing and mental health. Currently, children in Years 4 to 6 use the programme weekly, and we’re excited to be extending this to Years 2 and 3 in the summer term.
Each week, children reflect on how they’re feeling by answering five simple wellbeing questions:
I have felt cheerful and in good spirits.
I have felt calm and relaxed.
I have felt active and vigorous.
I woke up feeling fresh and rested.
My daily life has been filled with things that interest me.
We carefully monitor these responses to ensure our children feel supported, safe, and well. Our data has shown a pattern that we’d like to explore further as a whole-school community.
We are concerned that a significant number of children in Years 4 to 6 are not feeling refreshed when they wake:
21% say they only sometimes wake up feeling fresh and rested
13% say they never feel this way
That’s a combined 34% – a much higher percentage than any of the other wellbeing questions.
Find Out More
Take a moment to read the poster below, which highlights just how important sleep is for children’s wellbeing, learning, and behaviour.
Parent Workshop – Supporting Healthy Sleep
We’re also delighted to be hosting a Sleep Workshop on Thursday 8th May at 9:00am, led by Danielle from the South West Herts Families Partnership.
This is a fantastic opportunity to learn practical tips and ask questions about how to support your child in developing healthy sleep habits.
Online Safety – Parental Controls
Shining a light on...
Shining a light on...
House Points
This year, children will continue to earn House Points to fill their house team's bucket. Each week, the house with the most points will be awarded four points, the second place will receive three points, and so on. At the end of each term, the winning house will enjoy a non-uniform day as a special reward for their efforts.
Effort & Progress in Learning Certificates
Congratulations to the children below who received a special certificate on Friday for 'Effort and Progress in Learning'.
Week 7
Reception - Rosie
Year 1 - Sylvie
Year 2 - Dylan
Year 3 - Jaiden
Year 4 - Nicole
Year 5 - Tilly
Year 6 - Lottie
Week 8
Reception - Louis
Year 1 - Alex
Year 2 - Bella
Year 3 - Dillon
Year 4 - Marly
Year 5 - Victor
Year 6 - Henry
Week 9
Reception - Korina
Year 1 - Savannah
Year 2 - Spencer
Year 3 - Tilly
Year 4 - Francesco
Year 5 - Anna
Year 6 - Nic
Week 10
Reception - Rosie
Year 1 - Caleb
Year 2 - Avaani
Year 3 - Harry H
Year 4 - Illia
Year 5 - not in school
Year 6 - Alessandro
Above and Beyond
A massive congratulations to the children below who achieved Above and Beyond!
Week 7 -
Jay, Judah, Sophia, Maeve, Sylvie, Reggie, Apostolos, Daisy, Niven, Angelos, Bella, Lennon, Harper , Orla, Sylvie, Mariam, Florence, Lily, Jemimah, Charlie, Francesco, Olivia, Anna, Darcie, Coralie, Sheumi, Ella, Amber, Reggie, Zainub, Dolly, Sebastian, Saskia, Makensie
Week 8 -
Korina, George, Judah, Gigi, Angelo, Kaia, Savanna, Albie, Erin, Giana, Ilan, Jagger, Lola-Rose, Sylvie, Tom, Toby, Max, Arthur, Iris, Sadie, Lily, Kathryn, Jaiden, Kaiden, Tilly, Sadie, Tom, Jaiden, Roman , Charlie, Marly, Poppy, Lilly G, Carter, Paul John, Marly, Fletcher, Scarlett, Dolly, Ava, Miles, Aaryan, Amelie, Darcie, Reggie, Sheumi, Issy, Heidi, Ella, Anna, Amber, Rosie, Henning, Lottie, Saskia, Tilly
Week 9 -
Maggie, Ilas, Theodore, Sophia, Judah, Fox, Angelo, Betty, Sylvie, Nina, Albie, Jagger, Ilan, Giana, Sylvie, Noah, Ava-Rose, Eliza, Darcie, Max, Roman, Lily, Suri, Henry, Dillon, Illia, Carter, Scarlett, Olivia, Anabelle, Ava, Oscar, Tom, Lilly D, Amber, Austin, Coralie, Linden, Victor, Zoya, Sebastian, Lilly, Nic, Harvey, Makensie
Week 10 -
Fox, Sophia, Niamh, Casper, Maggie, Noah, Amelia, Jenson, Mia, Daisy , Eliza , Darcie , Giana , Jacob , Louis , Dylan , Henry, Sadie, Florence, Arina, Mariam, Iris, Harry B, Minnie, Duke , Oscar , Poppy, Nancy, Olivia, Lilly G, Ava, Sasha, Gianna, Alessandro, Lottie, Henning, Saskia
Book Week
A huge thank you to everyone who made Book Week such a fantastic celebration of reading! It was wonderful to see so many of you joining in with Library Book Buddies, sharing stories together, and of course, the incredible costumes brought so much joy to the week.
One of the highlights was the staff’s hilarious performance of Mr Wolf’s Pancakes by Jan Fearnley—a brilliant retelling that had the children captivated! The Booky Cake Sale was also a tremendous success, raising [insert amount] towards new books for our school.
The excitement didn’t stop there! The Scholastic Book Fair in the previous week helped us raise over £500 towards new books for our library. Throughout the week, children took part in breaktime book quizzes and the ever-popular Masked Reader challenge, sparking plenty of book-themed fun.
Thank you for making Book Week so special—we can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Matilda
Last week, we proudly staged Matilda Jr. the Musical, bringing together pupils from Years 3 to 6 for a joyful celebration of confidence, creativity, and teamwork. The cast of 40 children rehearsed weekly after school as part of our new drama enrichment club, leading to five fantastic performances that wowed us all.
Mrs. Maxwell said, “Matilda Jr. has reminded us that ‘even if you're little, you can do a lot!’ – and our children certainly proved that this week.”
A huge thank you to all of the staff who gave their time, talent, and energy to bring the production to life – it was a true team effort.
The photographs below were kindly taken and shared by Shanice, a Reception parent and professional photographer – thank you, Shanice!
Well done to everyone involved – you truly shone on stage!
Here area variety of other photographs taken by Mrs Maxwell at different points in the shows.
Years 5 & 6 Knex Challenge
Last Friday, our Year 5 and 6 pupils had an amazing afternoon taking part in the K’NEX Challenge! Their task was to design and build a funfair ride that could move on its own, remain sturdy, and be safe for children to ride.
We were blown away by their creativity and teamwork as they brought their imaginative designs to life! 💡🛠️ They built some truly incredible structures that didn’t just look great but met all the design criteria too! 🙌
A huge well done to everyone who took part – you all did an amazing job!
Year 4 trip to Batchworth Canal
The Year 4 were blessed with beautiful sunshine on their trip to the Batchworth Education Centre! The visit was packed with exciting activities and divided into three sections: learning about the history of the lock, the process of opening and closing it, and enjoying a boat ride. The children had an amazing time trying on traditional clothing, exploring the inside of a working barge to see the living quarters, and even giving old-fashioned clothes washing a try! A big thank you to the wonderful volunteers who helped make the day so special. What a fantastic experience for everyone!
First Class Fun at the Postal Museum for Reception
Last week, our Reception class had an exciting adventure in London as they visited the Postal Museum! 🚂✉️ The children had a wonderful time learning about the history of mail and even got to experience what it’s like to be a postal worker by taking a ride on the museum’s tiny underground trains. It was an unforgettable trip, filled with fun and learning! 📮 We’re so proud of our little postal workers!
Year 3 Walk Like Egyptians Day
Last week, Year 3 stepped back in time as they arrived at school dressed as Ancient Egyptians, ready for a day of exciting discovery. Their fabulous costumes set the scene for a brilliant workshop all about life in Ancient Egypt.
The children took part in a range of hands-on activities, from performing dramatic scenes to exploring artefacts, decoding hieroglyphs, and learning about life along the River Nile. They even had the chance to take part in creative crafts and storytelling, all designed to deepen their understanding of this fascinating period in history.
It was a fantastic day full of fun and learning, and we were so proud of the enthusiasm and curiosity shown by all our budding historians. Well done, Year 3!
St Mary’s Highlights: Don’t Miss a Moment!
Stay connected and dive into the excitement at St Mary’s! Our social media pages are buzzing with all the amazing activities our children have been involved in over the past couple of weeks. From vibrant class projects and special assemblies to heartwarming community events, there’s so much to see and celebrate!
Click on our social media links to catch up on all the fun, unforgettable moments, and proud achievements. Don’t miss out—follow us and be part of the joy that makes our school community shine!
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