Friday 21 December 2012

With the excitement for Christmas at fever point the end of term has finally arrived! It has been an extremely busy week in school and I am sure that the children (and you) are all very tired. The children do appear to have had a good time though and we are all very proud of how well they did in their shows and carol service. I know you can all also appreciate how hard the staff had to work in putting on these shows and parties and I am sure you would like to join me in thanking all my staff for their efforts at this busy time of year. I made a little error on Monday in the Carol Service when I thanked all the KS2 staff for their work in putting on the Carol service and I forgot to thank the KS1 staff who also helped out i.e. Mrs Costi, Mr Spring and Mrs Holden so I am doing that now. I have blamed that oversight on being overworked and my advancing years but I have not received much sympathy from the staff.


It has been nice seeing all the parents and relatives at these events and I would like to thank all of you for supporting your children and the school in such a positive way. You have been very generous in your donations for the ‘Shelter Emergency Christmas fund’ and we raised £298 to donate to this very worthy cause. I would also like to thank everyone who has sent me Christmas cards and gifts – they are very much appreciated

All that is left for me to do now is to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2013 when we return to school on Tuesday, 8th January.

Friday 14 December 2012

The Christmas season is certainly in full swing and there is an excitable buzz in school as the great day draws ever closer. It is great being a child at this time of year when wonderful things happen around you but we adults know that wonderful things unfortunately do not happen by magic and I am sure, like the staff, a couple of you are feeling the pace at the moment. However it is a time of year that I enjoy and the cold and frosty weather we have experienced this week has definitely made it feel more like Christmas - the view from my office this week has been quite breath-taking at times even if I have had to wear extra socks to keep my feet warm.


Next week is a busy one in school and I am sure that I will see you all at least once during the festivities. On Monday we have the KS2 Carol service and the on Tuesday and Wednesday it is the turn of the Foundation Stage and KS1 to perform their shows for their parents. On Thursday we have the Christmas parties and on Friday we have a theatre company coming into school to put on a Christmas show for the children (parents do not attend that). Hopefully after all that the children will be exhausted and will rest quietly at home until Christmas Day.

As I said earlier I will probably see you all at least once next week because I know how you all enjoy seeing your children perform. However I would like to ask that you all turn up for the events at the requested times and do not arrive earlier. If people turn up at the church on Monday before 6.45pm it means that the children have to sit around for a long time before they start the service and they become rather unsettled and will not perform as well as they should. If people wait in the church it also means that the children are left unsupervised in the hall which is unsafe. On the Wednesday for the KS1 performance we often have people arrive before 1pm and then they ask if they can be let in earlier because they are cold. Unfortunately we cannot do this as the children are having their lunch in the hall and we cannot let people in before it is emptied and cleared for health and safety reasons. I do not want to sound like the ‘Christmas Grinch’ but if you could follow our timetable it would make a hectic week run much more efficiently.

Friday 7 December 2012

There has been a lot of hustle and bustle in school this week with all the preparations for the Christmas Fayre. I know the PTA were absolutely delighted with the amount of contributions that they received last week and they were telling me that it was the most they had ever received. Everything is almost ready for the big day but the last thing that we need to make it a big success is your attendance. There is going to be lots to do and buy so please come along, spend some money and make all the hard work worthwhile. Remember all the money raised goes towards enhancing the learning of children at Little Heath.


Unfortunately I am going to have a little moan now because parents dropping off in front of the school is becoming a bit of a problem again. More and more people are pulling up on the zig- zag yellow lines to either drop off or pick up children. Then they try and manoeuvre a three point turn to get out and end up going onto the pavement that people are walking on. I mentioned a few weeks ago that there had been a car accident outside the school but this does not appear to have deterred people. I hope we do not have to wait for a child to be run over before people actually stop doing this. I have been talking to the Hertfordshire police and they have told me that they will be sending someone down to check on the parking.

Winter certainly arrived this week and I know that I was not the only person to be amazed when they opened their curtains on Wednesday morning to see the snow. Of course no matter how much inconvenience it causes on the road the children still love it and they love to be outside to play in it. Unfortunately it was not quite deep enough to build snowmen this time but the children still love being out in it so can you please ensure that on snow days you do send the children in with suitable footwear to go outside in – even if it means they bring their school shoes to change into . You may also want to send them in with a spare set of socks in case the ones they are wearing get wet.

I look forward to seeing lots of you at the fayre on Saturday – I will be working on the picture key ring stand with Mrs Zegallo. She will be the photographer and I am her glamorous assistant.