Latest News
For latest news, please check our Newsletter page. We also share regular updates through our main Facebook page and class Facebook pages. Please follow us on Facebook and request to join the private Facebook Page for your class to stay up to date.
On this page you will find our archived newsletters from previous years.
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Newsletter - w/c 30/03/2020
Thu 26 Mar 2020Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope you and your child/ren have found a routine for your first week together during this period of school closure. I know many of you are juggling working from home with educating and caring for your child/ren and that's no easy task so please know we are here for you .
On-line Learning
Starting Monday 30th March 2020, your children's teachers will be posting videos via their class pages on Facebook. Each day they will post one video relating to maths and one video relating to reading which will include tasks for the children to complete. If you have any questions, you may use the Facebook messenger app to communicate directly with your child's class teacher.
If you are happy to share photos of your child/ren on-line, please tag your child's class page on Facebook so all us teachers may see how they're getting on with their learning or morning workouts. It really does help to put a smile on our faces to see how hard our families are working at home schooling their children so please, don't be shy!
Next week, members of our administration team (i.e. the ladies who work in the School Office) will be telephoning any parent/carer who we suspect may not be on Facebook to see if we can get you on-line to avoid your child missing out on learning opportunities. If you receive a call from a private number, it is likely someone from school so please answer the call.
Free School Meals
For those children eligible for free school meals, we are continuing to offer packed lunches for collection, Monday-Friday, 12:00-12:15. If you would like to request a packed lunch for your child, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with the subject: Free School Meals. If you are unsure whether your child qualifies for free school meals, please feel free to e-mail to ask.
We know many of our families with children eligible for free school meals are waiting for further information regarding supermarket vouchers. You can read the guidance given to schools here. You will read that the Department for Education have stated they plan to set up a national approach to providing these families with supermarket vouchers. Once that system is up and running, we will e-mail and telephone those parents/carers who qualify to share more information. In the meantime, the offer of collecting a packed lunch from school is available.
Easter Holidays - w/c 06/04/20 & 13/04/20
For the children of key workers and vulnerable children, our school continues to be open next week (w/c 30/03/20) and in the weeks of the Easter Holidays (w/c 06/04/20 & w/c 13/04/20) from 8:30am to 3:15pm. In line with guidance from Hertfordshire County Council, school will not be open on Friday 10th April 2020 (Good Friday) or Monday 13th April 2020 (Easter Monday).
Please remember, despite schools being open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, the government advice remains the same, parents/carers should keep their child/ren at home, particularly if they are working from home, and only send their child/ren to school if there is no other alternative for childcare. This helps to stop the spread of infection.
Allocation Day - Thursday 16th April 2020
Thursday 16th April 2020 is Allocation Day - this is when parents/carers of children due to start Reception in September 2020 will find out which school their child has been given. Of course, we hope that all parents/carers get their first choice. If you (or a friend) want Hurst Drive Primary School but are given a different primary school, please follow the instructions to place yourself on the waiting list. We are a state maintained primary school; this means we do not decide our admission rules. If you have a question about school admissions, please click here and contact Hertfordshire County Council directly.
We still do not know how long schools will be closed. However, we will still make arrangements to support the children's transition from home or nursery school to primary school. Please be patient and bear with us as we will contact those parents/carers who accept their child's place with more information in May and June.
Coronavirus
It is hard to escape news stories about coronavirus and these are just as frightening for us adults as they are for the children.
The government advice regarding stopping the spread of infection remains the same and is listed below:
- wash your hands often – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or an alcohol-based sanitiser if soap and water aren’t available;
- avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
- avoid close contact with people who are sick;
- if you feel unwell, stay at home and don’t attend work or school;
- cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin;
- clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home; and,
- if you’re worried about your symptoms, please call NHS 111 – don’t go directly to your GP.
We very much hope you are all safe and well. Please feel free to e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk if you need any support and we will try our best to support you and your children.
Emergency School Provision
If you are a key worker and may need Emergency School Provision, please ensure you book your child's place/s via the SchoolGateway app. Please note, if no child is booked to attend on a day, the school will be closed. For this reason it is vital you book to avoid you turning up to school, only to find it is closed with no member/s of staff present.
Kind regards,
Mr D Short
Headteacher
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School Closure
Sun 22 Mar 2020Please click here to read the latest newsletter sent out by the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher on Friday 20 March 2020. It includes information about home learning during this period of school closure.
Please note: at this time, we do not know when school will re-open but we will continue to contact you weekly with any news, information and advice.
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School Closure
Wed 18 Mar 2020The Prime Minister has announced that schools will be closed at the end of the school day this Friday to almost all children.
If your child is identified to be vulnerable, please expect a telephone call from us before the weekend to discuss arrangements for next week and beyond.
If you are a key worker (e.g. NHS staff, police staff, teacher, delivery driver) and intend to keep sending your child to school to allow you to work and help the community, please could you email us by tomorrow lunchtime via admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with the subject 'KEY WORKER' and in the e-mail, please state your child/ren's full name/s, your full name, your job title and the industry you work in. For example:
Subject: KEY WORKER
My children are CHILD A and CHILD B.
My name is PARENT C.
I work as a nurse for the NHS.
If you are not a key worker, we would like to thank you for helping to fight the virus by keeping your children at home. We will be providing a pack of work for children to complete next week and beyond that we will be supporting your children's learning on-line. We will e-mail more guidance relating to on-line learning this Friday.
We thank you in advance for your patience and support.
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Newsletter - w/c 16/03/2020
Thu 12 Mar 2020Dear parent/carer,
Please find below the weekly newsletter containing important information.
Coronavirus - Latest Update
Please click here to read our latest advice and information regarding coronavirus and how it affects our school. Currently, no child or staff member has been diagnosed with coronavirus. The main thing parents and carers can do to help the children is encourage good hygiene by teaching them to do the following:
- hand washing (for which you can show them this video);
- coughing into their inner elbow (instead of their hand);
- sneezing into a tissue before binning the tissue and washing their hands; and,
- avoiding touching their face (or other people's faces) with their hands.
Of course, we want to keep the children safe and healthy but we don't want to worry them too much, particularly as children make up the smallest group of those diagnosed with coronavirus globally and those children who have contracted it appear mostly to have mild symptoms that are not life threatening - this is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sex and Relationships Education - Reception, Year 1 and Birch Class Meeting
This is just a reminder to parents/carers of children in Reception, Year 1 and Birch Class (who will follow the Year 1 curriculum) that Mr Short is holding a meeting for parents/carers on Wednesday 18th March from 9:00am in the main hall to explain what the children will learn in the summer term (i.e. June 2020) relating to Sex and Relationships Education.
To be clear, it is only children in Year 6 who learn about reproduction (i.e. sex) - the term Sex and Relationships Education is used from Reception up to Sixth Form (i.e. college) regardless of what elements are taught to the children.
If you cannot make the meeting, Mr Short will e-mail out information to all the parents/carers of children in Reception, Year 1 and Birch Class at the end of the week so you may see what your child will be learning.
Friends of Hurst Drive - Mothers' Day Sale - Friday 20th March 2020
On Friday 20th March 2020, during the school day, the Friends of Hurst Drive will be holding their annual Mothers' Day Sale where children may buy gifts for their mother and/or any other important women in their lives. We recommend you give your child £5-£10 to spend but you are welcome to give your child more or less depending on what you can spare.
If you are interested in joining the Friends of Hurst Drive to help organise school events, please speak to Mrs Lloyd (Safeguarding Coordinator) or one of the mothers who you know form the Friends of Hurst Drive. They are always looking for extra pairs of helping hands!
Thank you in advance to the Friends of Hurst Drive for planning and leading this event - the children always enjoy it and I'm sure lots of our mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, aunts, big sisters and any other important women in the children's lives enjoy receiving their gifts on Mothers' Day (which, as a reminder, is on Sunday 22nd March 2020!).
Attendance - week commencing 09/03/2020
The whole-school attendance for the week beginning 9th March is 95.8 % which is below the national average of 96%.
1st Hawthorn 98.9%
2nd Sycamore 98.3%
3rd Beech 98.1%
4th Birch 98.0%
5th Walnut 98.0%
6th Elm 97.3%
7th Cedar 97.1%
8th Ash 97.0%
9th Oak 95.9%
10th Pear 95.8%
11th Apple 95.7%
12th Mulberry 94.4 %
13th Cherry 93.8%
14th Willow 91.4%
15th Chestnut 89.0%
Congratulations to Hawthorn class for having the best attendance in the school. The class from Reception to Year 2 to have the most children in school every day this week was Beech Class and the class from Years 3 to Year 6 to have the most children in school every day this week was Hawthorn Class. Those classes will get to decide (with their teacher) a special treat to celebrate their win!
End of Day Collection
Parents and carers, please note the following regarding the end of the school day:
- During break- and lunchtime, the children know that only 2 children are allowed on the trampoline at a time. This is to avoid overloading the trampoline and breaking it but also to avoid children accidentally bouncing into one another and causing an injury. At home time, please avoid encouraging your children to use the trampolines as there won't always be a member of staff present to check their safety. If your children are using the trampoline, check that only 2 children are using it at any time and take action (i.e. tell them to get off) if this is not the case.
- Please also note that parents/carers and their children need to leave the school premises by 3:35pm as we want to be able to lock the large pedestrian gate on the front playground so that our after-school clubs can use the front playground safely (i.e. no child can get out onto the road and no stranger can get onto our premises). Thank you
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
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Newsletter - w/c 09/03/2020
Fri 06 Mar 2020Dear 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