Newsletter - w/c 09/03/2020
Dear parent/carer,
Please find below the weekly newsletter containing important information.
British Science Week
British Science Week takes place across the UK between the 6th and 15th of March this year. Here at Hurst Drive we are looking forward to celebrating British Science Week next week (Monday 9th March to Friday 13th March).
All of our pupils (in Reception to Year 6) will be designing and making a model car. The children are competing to design the fastest car that can safely transport an egg. Please feel free to research further ideas with your child - prizes will be available for the winning cars from Reception, Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, and Years 5 & 6
We have purchased some of the resources that pupils need to build their cars but need you to help us by collecting other resources for the children in your child's class to use. As soon as possible next week, please send into school the following items:
- Egg boxes
- Pringle tubes
- Plastic water bottles
- Polystyrene fruit trays
- Bubble wrap
- Small yoghurt pots
- Cereal boxes and cardboard boxes
- Cotton Wool
The grand finals will take place next Friday and we will let you know who are winners from each phase are!
Parents and Carers' Evening - Thursday 12th March 2020, 3:30-9:00pm
Please click here to book an appointment to meet with your child's class teacher on Thursday 12th March 2020. It is very important that an adult attends for every child so teachers may share children's successes as well as express any concerns about learning or behaviour so we may work together to get the best out of every child in our school.
If you have difficulty making an appointment, the administrative assistants in the school office can help you. Please be aware that the early appointments (i.e. 3:30-4:30pm) tend to get booked up fast!
The appointments for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are held in the children's classrooms. The appointments for Years 3-6 are held in the main hall. You will find your child's English and maths books outside their classroom or in the dining hall for children in Years 3-6.
Please note that if your child is in Birch Class you will not need to book online; Ms Buck will arrange these appointments with you.
Please also note that it is not necessary to bring your child to Parents and Carers' Evening. If you do make the choice to bring your child/ren and any younger
brothers/sisters, please ensure they behave well and do not disturb the other appointments taking place.
After-school Clubs
Due to parents and carers' evening taking place on Thursday 12th March 2020, those clubs which would usually be on a Thursday have been reorganised for next week only:
-Year 1 After-school Tuition with Mrs Thomson – Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th March during the children’s lunch break
-Box 2 B Fit with Mrs Georgiou - Tuesday 10th March
-Hockey with Mrs Ryan-Roberts - Friday 13th March
-KS2 Book Club with Mrs Chanter - Friday 13th March
-Reception After-school Tuition with Miss Benson & Miss Ertac - Friday 13th March
Mrs Geggus's Last Day
Please note, Mrs Geggus (Assistant Headteacher) will be starting her maternity leave the week after next so her last day teaching Elm Class will be Friday 13th March 2020. Then, Miss Bracken (Deputy Headteacher) will teach Elm Class for the rest of this half term and the next. Mrs Geggus will return in the new school year, having spent quality time with the new addition to her family. I am sure all the parents/carers of Elm Class will make time to thank Mrs Geggus for all her hard work with the children in the autumn and spring terms.
School Trips
We have some school trips planned over the next four weeks. The advice given to schools by the Department for Education is to continue as normal in light of the coronavirus outbreak. We plan for all school trips to go ahead unless the advice from Hertfordshire County Council or the Department for Education changes. Please note, if a parent/carer makes the decision not to send their child on a school trip that is perfectly acceptable; however, your child must be in school on the day of the trip otherwise it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence which puts a parent/carer at risk of receiving a fixed penalty notice (i.e. a fine).
Year 4 - Multiplication Tables Check
In June, the children in Year 4 will be the first to sit the new Multiplication Tables Check, testing them on how well they know their times tables. Please click here to read information written by the Department for Education for parents and carers.
If you want to help your child to pass, encourage them to log onto Times Tables Rockstars at home using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. If your child doesn't know their login - which is unlikely given how often they log onto this website at school - you should speak to their class teacher to get their login details.
Weekly Attendance
The whole-school attendance for the week beginning 2nd March is 97.4% which is above the national average of 96%.
1st - Mulberry 100 %
2nd - Cedar 99.3%
2nd - Sycamore 99.3%
3rd - Cherry 99.1%
4th - Pear 98.8%
5th - Oak 98.7%
6th - Hawthorn 98.3%
7th - Elm 97.1%
8th - Beech 96.9%
9th - Birch 96.8%
10th - Walnut 95.9%
11th - Chestnut 95.7%
12th - Willow 95.6%
13th - Ash 94.9%
14th - Apple 94.0%
Thank you to those parents/carers who bring their children to school every day, and who avoid taking term-time holidays. Please note, if your child has 15 unauthorised absences, which includes arriving late to school, you are likely to receive a fixed penalty notice from the local authority.
Dinner Money
Just a quick reminder that dinner money needs to be paid in advance on a Monday. Our preferred method of payment is on School Gateway. There are two options you can either pay £2.60 for a single meal or a weekly cost of £13.00 for five meals. If you are unable to pay on the School Gateway, please come into the office with the correct money in an envelope.
If you receive a dinner debt letter, please make sure this is cleared straight away to avoid your child having to bring in a packed lunch until the debt is cleared. Unpaid dinner debts could result in the cost of the school dinner charge being increased in the future which would be unfair for those parents/carers who always pay on time.
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Yours sincerely,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
01992 624099