Friday 24 May 2013


I t has been a bit of a manic week for me this week which is why you have not seen me at the school gate much as I have had to attend lots of early morning meetings – thank goodness I have the half term to recover. Of course the big event in school for us this week has been Mrs Byrne’s retirement –it is still hard to believe that when we come back after the holiday she will not be in the office. She has had a great last week and with the money we collected from staff and parents we gave her an iPad. She was delighted with the gift and would like to thank everyone for their kindness and generosity.  As you already know Mrs Pepper is taking over her role and I know you will all treat her with kindness and patience as she settles into her new position.

As we have had so much on this week we were unable to hold our half termly open evening for parents to look at pupils’ books so we will be holding that the first week back after half term on Wednesday, 5th June from 3.00pm – 4.30pm. Although the Year 6 will be in Kingswood their trays will be left out so parents can look at their work if they so wish. ‘Parent Consultation Week’ will be in the week commencing June 24th which will give you another opportunity to see their work then. More details about this will follow after half-term.

Let us hope for better weather over the half term. I have just returned from the ‘Oakmere Mini Marathon’ which the children ran in sunshine last year and this year they ran in the rain.  I would like to thank all the parents who braved the weather to support their children and I look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday June 3rd - let us hope the sun is shining then! Have a great holiday everyone.

Friday 17 May 2013


As I discussed in my blog last week we have had quite a quiet week in school because of the Key stage 2 SATs tests. The Year 6 children appeared to cope with them very well and although the tests are never as bad as they imagine they are going to be, they are certainly all very happy now they are over. However, as we keep reminding them, there are still quite a few weeks of the school year left.

I would like to thank all the parents who have contributed towards Mrs Byrne’s leaving present. As you know she will be leaving us next week after working at the school for 27 years. We are all going to miss her terribly and although I am sure she will pop in from time to time to see us it will take some time to get used to not seeing her every week. We have organised the gift and once she has been presented with it we will let you know what it is (this is to ensure that it stays a surprise for her).

We have a fabulous reception assembly this morning which was a presentation of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The hall was packed out with lots of families and friends and everyone agreed that it was a magnificent performance – some of those young children had an incredible amount of lines to remember and they all presented them beautifully. I would also like to thank Miss Jaeger, Mrs Beadle and Miss Sofjan for all their hard work in preparing the children for the assembly.

Just a quick reminder that half term is the week after next . I cannot believe how quickly this term is going – it will be the summer holidays very soon and then the start of a new academic year all over again. How time flies!

Friday 10 May 2013


There has been a real buzz in school this week as the pupils have been taking part in lots of extra activities outside of the normal school day. As I mentioned last week some of the pupils were Maypole dancing last week at the Brookmans Park May Day event on Saturday and they put on an excellent performance.  Those of us that were watching them were all very proud and I would like to thank Mrs Richardson and the pupils themselves for all their hard work in preparing for the event.

Yesterday we had pupils scattered far and wide. Some pupils from Year 4 took part in a technology challenge at Oakmere School against other local primary schools and although they did not win they all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At the same time some Year 5 girls were taking part in an enrichment day at Queenswood School and by all accounts everyone had a great time.

Then, after school, both our ‘A’ and ‘B’ netball teams took part in the ‘Le Gros Primary Netball Tournament’ at Mount Grace School. I am delighted to say that the ‘A’ team won the tournament after a very close final against Brookmans Park in which the girls had to come from behind twice to win 4-3. I am also pleased to say that they were the winners of their league. The ‘B’ team did well by winning two out of four of their games in the tournament and they finished 2nd in their league. All of these good results would not be achieved without the hours of practice that the girls do and the brilliant coaching of Georgina Parkinson and Joanne Munn who give up their own time to run the netball teams. Without their dedication and commitment none of the above success would be possible.

Today we had one of our ‘Sharing’ assemblies which I always love because I think it is really good for children to share learning that they are proud of. It also pleases me that so many parents take the time to attend these events as it means a lot to the children that they are there to celebrate their learning with them.

Next week will be a slightly more formal one in school as the Year 6 are taking their SATs tests and we have a quieter atmosphere in school to help them concentrate. Although the tests are only one form of the assessment that we do with the children I would like to remind the parents of the Year 6 children to ensure that the children are relaxed outside of school and have no late nights to ensure that they perform to their full potential in the tests. School clubs will be running as normal during the SATs week.

Friday 3 May 2013


I have had a couple of late evenings this week so I am certainly glad that it is the weekend – I am pleased that it is a long one. I had the school improvement committee on Wednesday evening and last night I was at the E-safety evening which was presented by Mrs Zegallo who is our ICT co-ordinator.  The intention of the evening was to inform parents of the best way to make the most of all the wonderful aspects of the internet whilst keeping their children safe from unwanted sites or people and I certainly think that everyone who attended found it very useful and informative. I am sure that all those who attended would join me in thanking Mrs Zegallo for all her efforts.

It has come to my attention that a pupil has had their scooter taken from our bike shed. This has happened in the past and when someone has got home they have realised that they have taken the wrong scooter and then returned it to its rightful owner the next day. However this time it has been quite a few days since the scooter has disappeared and it has not been returned. May I ask everyone to check that their child has the correct scooter and also to ensure that their child’s name is on the scooter so it makes them easier to identify as a lot of scooters do look the same.

I hope to see many of you at the May Day event at Brookmans Park on Saturday 4th May which has been organised by the Rotary Club. Some of our pupils are taking part in Maypole dancing and it is always a lovely thing to watch. Other schools are also dancing and there will be lots of stalls as well so if you are free this weekend pop along. Let us hope the good weather lasts because it had to be cancelled last year because of the rain – the forecast is certainly very hopeful. Our school will be dancing at approximately 2.45pm and 3.30pm. I look forward to seeing you there.