Friday 23 October 2015


I know I have said this before but I cannot believe it is a whole week since I was writing my last blog. It has been so busy this week that I am really glad it is half term. As well as the parent consultations a lot of the teachers have been out on training courses and we have had Sharing Assembly and the Year 5 Assembly.

I have had only positive comments about the consultations. During the autumn consultations I am involved with Year 6 meetings so it means that I do not get out and about to talk to parents as I have to remain in my office. Hopefully you are all happy with how your child has settled into their new school year and with how their learning is progressing but if you do have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher or myself.

Unfortunately, due to a meeting I had to attend, I was not present for our first Sharing assembly of the year but Mr Spring informed me that it went very well. I do hate missing these because they are totally organised by the pupils which I think is a great thing for them to do and I also like to know which aspects of their learning that the pupils feel proud of. I hope I do not have to miss the next one which will be near Christmas.

Luckily, I did get to see the Year 5 Assembly which was an assembly totally written by the children based on some of the activities they covered during ‘Maths Week’. I found it very informative as well as entertaining and I would like to thank all of Year 5 as well as Miss Kenwell and Miss Davison for all their efforts in putting it together. Mrs Fordham also helped out a little bit and we have been glad to have her back in school as she has been absent for half a term. After the holiday she will be returning to Year 5 as the class teaching assistant and Miss Davies will be moving to Year 1 due to Mrs Holden’s departure which I mentioned in my newsletter.

After the half term break we will again be selling poppies in school for the Royal British Legion charity. This is something that we always support as we think it is a most worthwhile cause and this year as well as the usual poppies they have provided us with items more suited to children such as wristbands, slap rulers and reflectors. These items have all been priced between 50p and £1 so if you would like your child to purchase any you will need to provide them with money from Tuesday onwards in the first week back. The children will be able to see what is available to purchase on the first Monday back.

All that is left for me to do now is to wish you all a lovely half term and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, November 2nd. As I have to attend a meeting out of school on that morning I will not be at the gate to greet you all on your return but I will catch up with you all later. We have lots to look forward to when we get back starting with the Bonfire Night on Saturday, November 7th.

Friday 16 October 2015


It has been an exciting week in school as we have been holding a ‘Maths Week’. All the children appeared to love the maths show that we brought in for them which was called ‘Cap’n’ Half-Inch’, and those that attended the after school maths events loved carrying out the different activities with their parents. In school the children have all enjoyed the maths related tasks and certainly seem excited and enthused by maths which was the aim of the week. I would like to thank Miss Kenwell for co-ordinating the event and Mrs Hopkins for organising the after school maths activities.

Unfortunately in school this week we have been joined by a sickness bug. A lot of the children have had to be sent home after being sick which is not pleasant for either them or you. Thankfully most children seem to be recovering quite quickly which is good but may I remind you that if a child is sick they should not return to school until 48 hours after they were last sick. So, for example, if your child vomits on a Monday and they are sick no more they should not return to school until Wednesday.

As you will know we are holding our ‘Bonfire Night’ with the Rotary Club on Saturday, November 7th. There is a letter coming out from the PTA for you to order your ticket and to see if you are able to volunteer to help run the event. To help advertise the ‘Bonfire Night’ to the whole of Potters Bar we always put up posters around the town which have been designed by a child in the school. This morning the Rotary Club came into the school to present a framed copy of the winning poster to the child who designed it and this year the winner was a Year 1 child who created his design on the computer. I am sure you will join me in offering congratulations to him on his winning design.

Next week we are holding our parent consultations. This is an opportunity for all the parents to look at the learning their child has completed in this half-term and to discuss with the class teacher how their child has settled into the new academic year. I know all parents look forward to this event and are eager to get as much information as possible about their child but can I gently remind you that each appointment lasts ten minutes and that if everyone goes over by just a couple of minutes it can cause long delays as the consultations progress. Rather than delay the teacher if you feel that there is something you would like to discuss in detail please contact the school to make another appointment at a later date.

That is all for now. I cannot believe that at this time next week we will be breaking up for the half term holiday. That has to be a good sign because they do say that times only flies when you are having fun.

Friday 9 October 2015


As I informed you last week in my blog I have had to attend a lot of training out of school this week so I feel a little distanced from school life.  Next week I am in school all week so it will be good to feel ‘back in the loop’ again.

Next week in school is a special one because we are holding a ‘Maths Week’. The theme for the week is ‘Record  Breakers’ and we are beginning the week with a maths show called ‘Cap’n  Half-Inch’ which all the children in KS1 and KS2 children will watch. Throughout the week Mrs Hopkins will also be holding maths sessions for parents and children to carry out maths activities together. KS1 will be on Tuesday afternoon from 3.10pm – 4.30pm and KS2 will be on Thursday from 3.20pm – 4.30pm.

Many of you attended our ‘Harvest Festival’ which we held last Friday. I am pleased to announce that we raised an amazing £537 which we are donating to 'Hand to Hand for Syria'. Thank you once again for the generosity of your donations.

We also sent out the slips this week for our parent consultations which commence the week beginning October 19th. If you have not done so make sure you return your slip to the school by Monday  because the appointment times are going fast. The staff will do their best to give you a time as close to your selected one as possible but if a lot of people want the same time slot it is very difficult to please everyone. If you cannot make your allocated time you may have to make an appointment to see the teacher at another time.

Have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again next week.

Friday 2 October 2015


I am typing this blog after a very busy morning. As most of you will know because you were there, it was our Harvest Festival this morning. As usual it was quite hectic but very enjoyable and the children do love to share experiences with you in school. The main reason that it always is such a success is down to your kind generosity as you send in so many cakes and donate so much money. I would also like to give huge thanks to the PTA for serving all the refreshments at the Harvest Festival and to Mr Taylor for working with the children on their songs. As yet I do not know how much money has been raised because the leftover cakes are being sold this afternoon but all the money raised is being donated to ‘Hand to Hand for Syria’, which we believe to be a very worthy cause. I will let you know next week how much money was raised.

Another area where the school has benefitted from your generosity has been with the ‘Book Fair’. We raised an amazing £920 which means that we can purchase many books for the school. Having a huge selection of reading materials in good condition really encourages children to want to read and once children can read it benefits all other areas of their learning - so thank you all again.

Next week I have a lot of meetings and training to attend out of school so it means that I will not be around a great deal. If you need to see me for any reason and I am not around you can make an appointment to see me at another time but if you feel there is something that you need to discuss urgently my deputy, Mrs Zegallo will be able to speak to you.

Our ‘Indian Summer’ appears to be lasting so I am sure we will all have a pleasant weekend. I look forward to seeing you all again next week.