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 04/05/2020
Thu 30 Apr 2020Dear Parent/Carer,
As always, we hope you and your family are safe and well at this difficult time.
We continue to be impressed by the efforts many of our children's parents/carers are making with home learning - it really means a lot to us that so many of you recognise how important it is for your child to do some schoolwork every day so that when schools reopen, they won't find it difficult to be back in class. Thank you for your continued hard work and thank you too to your children for practising self-control and doing the right thing (i.e. their schoolwork) even when their class teacher is not there!
Please see below for a few important notices regarding school life:
Facebook - Weekly Celebration
Starting this Friday, each week, the teachers will nominate a child from their year group who has demonstrated our school values through their home learning.
If you would like your child to be recognised, please ensure they complete the work set, along with any additional project work, to the very best of their ability, and send photos of your child's efforts to their teacher either by tagging them in a post on your wall or by messaging them via Facebook Messenger.
We will share the teachers' posts via our Hurst Drive Primary School page each Friday. If you would prefer your child not to be selected for this public praise, please contact your child's class teacher via Facebook Messenger to let them know.
Free School Meals - Supermarket Vouchers
If your child is eligible for free school meals, you should receive another e-mail from a company named Edenred on Monday 4th May 2020. This e-mail will include a code that you exchange for a supermarket voucher at www.freeschoolmeals.co.uk. Please note, the value of your e-code will last you two weeks; for example, if you have one child eligible for free school meals, you will receive an e-code worth £30 instead of £15.
Starting next week, you may also exchange your e-code for a voucher to be used at the supermarket Aldi, as well as at local McColls and Martin's stores.
If you don't receive your e-mail on Monday, it will likely be that the company are being slow in completing their orders due to the high volume of orders they are having to process. Please be patient and continue to check your inbox, junk mail and clutter mail on Monday and Tuesday for an e-mail from noreply@edenred.co.uk before contacting the School Office via admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk or 01992 624099 for help.
Emergency School Provision
Please note, if you are a key worker or your family is classed as vulnerable, you will be able to access our Emergency School Provision run by our teachers and teaching assistants every weekday apart from bank holidays - therefore, please note, there will be no Emergency School Provision on Friday 8th May 2020 or Monday 25th May 2020.
So that we may ensure adequate staffing numbers, please use the SchoolGateway app to book your child's place. If you have key worker status, and require our services but cannot see Emergency School Provision on your SchoolGateway app, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with evidence of your key worker status (e.g. a letter from your employer) and we will arrange for you to book your child/ren's place/s.
May we also take this opportunity to remind you that unless you are classed as a vulnerable family, you should only be sending your child/ren to Emergency School Provision if there is not an adult in the home to care for them. For example, if the child/ren's mother is at work but their father is at home, the child/ren should remain at home and not come to school as per the guidance from the government regarding social distancing.
Yours sincerely,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099
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Newsletter - w/c 27/04/20
Thu 23 Apr 2020Dear Parent/Carer,
We hope you and your family are safe and well. We thank you for keeping your children at home and playing your part in helping the NHS and the government in their effort to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Please see below for a few key notices:
Latest Government Advice for Parents/Carers
Just as we do, the government recognises how hard parents and carers are working to support children's learning in the home. They have lots of advice and information for parents/carers which you may read by clicking here. We are aware that many of our families are staying indoors all day, every day. However, please note, you and your family are allowed to leave your house once a day to exercise. You can click here to read the rules from the National Police Chiefs' Council, but, in short, so long as you are moving (e.g. walking and not sitting on a park bench) and practising social distancing (e.g. keeping 2 metres apart from others) then you can walk around the streets and/or local parks once a day.
Home Learning
Thank you to those parents/carers who are helping their children to access the work being set by teachers on their class Facebook pages. It's so important that your children complete these daily maths and reading exercises, otherwise lots of what they've learnt will be forgotten and it will mean they find school very hard when it reopens.
If your child is refusing to complete the work, please message your child's class teacher so they may offer advice and possibly send a message to your child themselves. Remember, we're not expecting your child to engage in 5+ hours of schoolwork each day; the maths and reading work we've set will take an hour maximum and anything else (e.g. creative tasks) are optional.
During this period of school closure, it would be fantastic if you could teach your child other skills such as, tying their shoelaces, sewing on a button, cooking a meal, learning to ride a bike etc. We can make the most of these difficult times by ensuring this young generation have time with their parent/s and carer/s to develop skills they wouldn't otherwise be learning. If you do teach your child a new skill, send a picture/video to your child's class Facebook page so that we may all celebrate yours and your child's achievement!
Free Schools Meals - Supermarket Vouchers
We are pleased to see that many of our eligible families have followed the instructions in the e-mail received on Monday 20th April 2020 to redeem their supermarket voucher. Remember, you were given an allocation for this week and next week so you won't receive your next e-mail with a voucher code till Monday 4th May 2020.
If you believe your circumstances have changed and you may now qualify for your child to receive free school meals, please click here and follow the link to apply. If you are approved, we will add you to the circulation list to receive a supermarket voucher.
If you believe you are eligible and have not received an e-mail with a code to redeem for a supermarket voucher, please look in your e-mail inbox for an e-mail from noreply@edenred.co.uk and check your junk/clutter box as well. If you still cannot find the e-mail, it may mean the e-mail was sent to the address we have on file for you so if you have changed e-mail addresses, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with your updated contact details.
Primary Admissions - Reception 2020
Thank you to those parents/carers who have already accepted their child's school place to start Reception in September 2020. If you haven't done so already, please make sure you follow the instructions in the e-mail you would have received on 16 April 2020 to accept your child's place. In the next few weeks we will post our starter forms to families and this package includes a very special gift for your child.
Yours sincerely,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099
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Newsletter - w/c 06/04/2020
Thu 02 Apr 2020Dear Parent/Carer,
We hope you and your family are safe and well during this difficult time.
Please find below the weekly newsletter containing important information.
Goodbye to Miss Benson (Assistant Headteacher)
For those of you who don't know, Miss Benson - one of our Assistant Headteachers and current Sycamore Class Teacher - is leaving us this Friday to start her Deputy Headship at a primary school in Stevenage.
Miss Benson has worked incredibly hard during her time at Hurst Drive Primary School, particularly in improving our Early Years Foundation Stage and making sure our children's start to primary school is a successful one.
The current school closure certainly does not lend itself well to saying a proper goodbye to a member of staff but I'm sure all the parents/carers, children and school staff will join me in wishing Miss Benson the very best in the next phase of her career.
Given that many parents/carers will have wanted to speak to Miss Benson in person to pass on their thanks and well wishes, if any parents/carers wish to send Miss Benson an e-mail, you are welcome to e-mail nbenson@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk while her school e-mail account is still active.
Good luck Miss Benson! We will all miss you.
Mr Short
Headteacher
Refunds for School Trips
We know some parents/carers are understandably concerned that they've paid for school trips (e.g. Year 6 Gilwell Park, Reception Paradise Wildlife Park etc.) and so need a refund given that these trips have been cancelled due to school closure.
Please rest assured that we know exactly who has paid - be it through the SchoolGateway app or by handing in cash at the School Office - and the administrative assistants are currently in the process of organising your refunds.
If you paid on SchoolGateway, your refund will be returned to the debit or credit card from which you paid. If you paid using cash, we will be contacting you to arrange for you to collect the cash from school, to have a cheque posted to your home address or to have the money transferred by BACS to a bank account in your name.
Please give us a couple of weeks to have this completed. If you do not hear from us and you believe you are owed money, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with your full name, your child/ren's full names, what you paid for, how you paid for it, and how much you paid.
Home Learning
Lots of parents/carers are already using Facebook to support their child's learning at home. We have thoroughly enjoyed viewing your photos and videos of your children hard at work. Many of you are doing a fantastic job working from home, doing your household chores and keeping your children occupied - we know it can't be easy so please take the time to recognise what a great job you're doing.
If you, or someone you know, isn't accessing the learning for the children on Facebook, please follow the steps below:
1) Go to www.facebook.com and either register to open a new account or login if you already have an account.
2) Search 'Hurst Drive Primary School' and like and follow our page.
3) Search for your child/ren's class page - for example, if your child is in Year 4 and in Cherry Class, search 'Cherry Class' and look for the profile picture that is a white background with green trees in it as well as containing our school logo. Send the teacher a friend request.
4) Once you are Facebook friends with the teacher, you will be able to view the work they post daily and instruct your child/ren to complete it.
5) If you have any questions, or need any help, please use the Facebook Messenger app to contact your child's teacher directly. Remember, they will only respond during their working hours (i.e. 8:30am - 3:30pm) and if they do not reply, it may be because they are unwell, someone they live with is unwell or they are in school teaching because school is still open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
We would like to offer some advice around on-line safety. If you post a photograph of your child, do not include their name in your post. Remember, you cannot be sure who is seeing that information which is why when we post on-line during the school day, we never reveal children's names alongside any photographs of them.
Next week and the week after are the Easter Holidays. The teachers will post work again in the week commencing Monday 20th April 2020. Please still encourage your child to read during this time!
Free School Meals - Supermarket Vouchers
On Wednesday, the government released the details to school leaders of their national scheme for providing eligible families with supermarket vouchers.
Starting next week, we will be providing those families whose children are entitled to free school meals with vouchers for Sainsbury's. This will replace the packed lunches for collection.
Each week, families will be entitled to £15 per child. For example, if you have three children and each of them is entitled to free school meals, you will receive 3 x £15 = £45 in Sainsbury's vouchers.
Mrs Chamberlain from the School Office will contact eligible families to arrange us sharing the voucher with you. Either we will forward you the e-mail with the voucher, which you can print or show the cashier on your phone, or we will print the vouchers for families and you will be given a time slot and a day on which to collect the voucher.
If you believe your children may be eligible for free school meals, particularly if you've lost your job due to the effects of coronavirus, please click here to check your eligibility and to apply for free school meals. We always recommend families apply as there are probably some families who are entitled to free school meals who haven't applied so it's better for you and us if you try to apply - there is no penalty for applying if your family is not eligible!
Telephone Calls
If you get a telephone call from a number withheld, it may be a member of staff from school telephoning to check on you and to check on your child/ren. Please make sure you answer this telephone call as we want to check you and your child/ren are well and to see if there's anything we can do to help you during this period of school closure.
Emergency School Provision
If you are a key worker, or, if your child is classed as vulnerable, you are able to send your child to school. You should book their place using the SchoolGateway app. If you believe your child is eligible but you cannot see 'Emergency School Provision' on your app, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk with your full name, your child/ren's full names and whether you qualify as a key worker or a vulnerable family.
Please remember that the government advice remains that if it's possible for your child to remain at home, they should stay at home as opposed to coming to school where they may spread the infection or catch the infection.
Please also note that school is closed on Good Friday (10th April) and Easter Monday (13th April).
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Yours sincerely,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
01992 624099