I am starting my blog this week with more good news because we have won another sporting tournament. On Monday our ‘A’ team won the ‘Potters Bars Schools Rounders Tournament’ . In the final they had to beat our ’B’ team so we definitely can say that we rule supreme as far as rounders in Potters Bar is concerned.

It has also been a very busy week in school because of all the parent consultations. Everyone I have spoken to has appeared happy and I have had lots of positive comments back from all the teachers. As Ms Davis only joined us at Christmas, Year 4 received their annual reports this week instead of a consultation but they can arrange an appointment to see Ms Davis if there is something they would like to discuss in detail.

As you already know it is our Summer Fayre tomorrow and there are lots of preparations taking place in school in readiness for it. The weather looks like it is going to be quite kind to us (although it will not be as hot as last week) and there is going to be lots to do. As it is the official opening of our foundation unit we are also keeping that open so people can have a look inside and see the wonderful facilities we now have available for our younger children. The PTA, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, have purchased all the new resources in the unit and they are also going to pay for the refurbishment of a new technology room in the main building. This will not be happening though until some renovations that we are due to have on our water pipes and heating system are complete.

Next week is a big one for the Year 6 because they are going to the Isle of Wight for their school journey. We will be only one class down but the school does feel very empty when they are away. Unfortunately I will not be around to wave them off this year as have to attend a meeting but I will be keeping in contact with the staff who accompany them throughout the week to make sure that everything is okay. They always have a good time on the school journey and I am sure it will be no different this year.

I normally sign off by wishing you all well for the weekend but hopefully I will see you all at the fayre so I will be able to see for myself how your weekend is going. Let us all hope for sunshine as that always makes the fayre more enjoyable.

 

The weeks are starting to fly by as we approach the end of term. I know all the children are starting to feel a little ‘demob’ happy but I am not feeling that way at all because there is so much still to do before the holiday. I think the children are feeling in the holiday mood because of the hot weather but I am going to remind them that we still have a month to go and plenty of learning still to cover.

This week got off to a very active start with the Year 5 and 6 building our new computers. This is the second time that we have done this and is a great experience for the children involved. The computers are now complete and waiting to be installed in the computer suite. As it is towards the end of term we think we will keep them for the new term although as we are having our whole water system replaced we may wait until that work is all complete so they do not get scratched or damaged by dust. I would like to thank Mrs Zegallo for organising this self –build project and all the children who took part for their hard work in putting the computers together. I would also like to thank the PTA for donating the money so that we could purchase new computers.

Yesterday was our ’Sports Day’ and earlier in the week I actually thought that we may have to cancel the event because it was too hot – that certainly would have been a first. On the day itself though, after all the worry about the sun, I thought that it may actually rain but the weather was good to us. It was ten degrees cooler that the day before so it was actually perfect for the activities the children were carrying out. It was a hard fought contest but Grangewood were the winners. I would like to thank the PTA for providing refreshments throughout the day.    I would like to congratulate them on their victory and I would like to thank the PTA for providing refreshments throughout the day.   I would like to thank all my staff for their hard work in making the day a success – especially Mr Mills who organised the whole event.

Next week will be focused on the parent consultations so I will see many of you in school. This is a good opportunity for you all to see how your child has progressed since you received their report in March. The teachers are delighted to meet up with you so they can discuss your child with you but I would like to ask you all to try and stick to your time slots. If only one person overruns it can have a knock on effect for everyone else.  If you feel you have something to discuss with your teacher that will take longer than your allocated time please make an appointment to see your child’s teacher at a later date.

Preparations are also well underway for our Summer Fayre which is on Saturday, July 1^st from 12 noon to 3.00pm. I know that the PTA are still looking for some help so if you can give them some of your  time please let your class rep know or inform the school office who will contact the PTA for you. As well as being a really great day this is a big fundraiser for the school and the funds are now quite depleted after the completion of the foundation block and the build of our new computers. Our next big project is to convert a classroom into a tech room which will be used for science, D&T and food technology. This will be a great addition to the school. I hope to see many of you at the fayre.

Have a lovely weekend  -  apparently the temperature is going to be a little cooler which the British seem to prefer although I do not mind the heat. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

Although it can be difficult to return to school after a holiday we had some good news this week that helped to lift our spirits. Our girls’ football B team (which consists of the year 4 & 5 girls) won the Potters Bar ‘Girls Football Tournament’ which is a great thing for them and the school. We also had an ‘A’ team taking part and even though they did not win the tournament they did themselves and the school proud – only losing one of their matches. I would like to congratulate both teams on their performance and I would like to thank Mr Mills for all his work in training and preparing the girls for the tournament.

Something that was brought to my attention before the break was the size of some of the pencil cases that the children are bringing into school. We do provide the children with the equipment they need for their work but I do appreciate that some children like to have their own things. However, if they do bring in pencil cases they should be small enough so they can put them in their desk drawers. They should also have their names on all of their items because some children have the same equipment and it is difficult to know which item belongs to whom if it does not have a name. If children do bring in their own stationery items from home they are going to have to take responsibility for looking after it themselves as this is something that the teachers cannot oversee. We also cannot be responsible for replacing lost items.

Next week we have a lot going on in school again. On Monday the photographers are coming back into the school to take pictures of the sports team . On Thursday we should be having the railway safety talk that we should have had before half term. Apparently they did not come to us because they were involved with some follow-up work related to the Manchester bombing. We are going to have the auditions for ‘Talent Night’ next Friday so if your children need any props or musical instruments for their act they will need to have them on that day. We are also taking part in the Primary School Athletics next week so let us hope that I have lots of successes to talk about in my blog next week.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all again next week.