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.

• Newsletter- w/c 13/07/20

  Thu 09 Jul 2020
   

  Dear all,

   

  End-of-year Message

   

  This is the final e-mailed newsletter of this academic year.  You will receive an e-mail next week specific to your child and the arrangements for their return to school in September, and this e-mail will include a link to a video from all the teachers, introducing themselves so your child knows who the teachers will be in school from September.

   

  The 2019-20 academic year has certainly been a challenging one.  We thank our parents/carers, children and staff for working together to ensure Hurst Drive Primary School ran smoothly during those difficult spring and summer terms.  We understand we cannot please all the people, all of the time, but we have been grateful to those parents/carers who have recognised how hard the staff have worked to keep school open to as many children as possible, and we too have been thankful to the many parents/carers who have worked incredibly hard at home with educating their child/ren - something you certainly didn't expect to be doing at the start of 2020!  

   

  There will be a lot of work for the children to do in the autumn term and parents/carers must brace themselves for some children finding the high expectations of staff challenging, recognising that we will be working hard to address some of the lost learning caused by school closure in our aim to ensure success for all.  We need you to support our staff and encourage your children, reminding them they have had many months at home and in a few months time, being at school will feel normal again, so they should persevere with work they find challenging and work to the very best of their ability.

   

  All being well, we cannot wait to welcome you all back in September.  We wish you all a wonderful Summer Holiday break and we hope you parents/carers find time for yourselves as well as time for fun, safe family adventures!  

   

  Goodbyes

   

  There comes a time when all members of staff leave a school to take the next step in their career, and with that in mind, we will be bidding a fond farewell to three teachers next week: Miss Bracken, Deputy Headteacher; Miss Peffers, Year 4 Teacher; and, Mr Davies, Year 5 Teacher.  

   

  Miss Bracken (Deputy Headteacher) has worked at the school since September 2017.  Parents/carers should know that Miss Bracken has played a vital role in improving the quality of education in our school, as well as building many strong relationships with children, parents/carers and colleagues to make our school a happier place to learn and work in.  Miss Bracken and her fiance are returning to the south west of England to be closer to family, and Miss Bracken will be working as a Deputy Headteacher at a 4-form entry primary school so she will certainly have her work cut out for her!  Our loss is the new school's gain but I know the children, parents/carers and colleagues will wish Miss Bracken well on the next step in her journey towards headship.  Thank you for all your hard work Miss Bracken and best of luck at your new school! 

   

  Miss Peffers has worked at the school for many years.  Miss Peffers is best known for her kindness and warm nature, and her excellent impression of Dawn French in the Vicar of Dibley!  Miss Peffers has taught many children in the school, including some who are now at secondary school, and we know there will be many children, parents/carers and colleagues who will be wishing her well in the next chapter of her career.  Goodbye Miss Peffers!

   

  Mr Davies has worked at the school for over a year now.  He slotted into school life wonderfully, always willing to lend a hand and get involved, and I know the children he has taught in current Years 4 and 5 will be sad to hear the news that he is leaving.  Thankfully, he will be working at a school nearby so we will hopefully see Mr Davies around when we take part in football and netball matches, and other such cross-school events.  Thank you for being part of our school Mr Davies and best of luck with the future!

   

  Breakfast Club & Wraparound Care

   

  We aim to reopen Breakfast Club and Wraparound Care from the week commencing Monday 21 September 2020.  You will be able to make bookings using the SchoolGateway app from noon on Friday 17 July 2020.  Please note the following:

  • We are only able to offer this provision if the groups of children are consistent.  Therefore, in order to secure your booking, you will be expected to book and pay in advance for every session from 21/09/2020 to 23/10/2020 which are the dates available for before the October half term break to help us ensure it is the same children accessing our services.  We apologise if this is inconvenient for you but it is the only way we can offer this provision in line with the guidelines for reopening schools in September.
  • We have 30 spaces available for Breakfast Club and we have 15 spaces available for Wraparound Care.  Breakfast Club runs from 7:45am - 8:45am and costs £1.00 per child per session and Wraparound Care runs from the end of the school day till 6:00pm and costs £8.00 per session for your first child, £2.00 per session for your second child attending with your first and any other siblings attend for free.  We accept childcare vouchers as payment - anyone wishing to use childcare vouchers for payment who has not done so previously should telephone the school and ask to speak to Mrs Chamberlain so she may set this up. 
  • If you have not used Wraparound Care before but wish to make a booking, please e-mail or telephone the school FAO Mrs Chamberlain as you will only be able to see the Wraparound Care provision on your SchoolGateway app if we grant you permission.  Those of you who have paid for Wraparound Care in the spring term (i.e. before lockdown) do not need to contact Mrs Chamberlain as you will be able to see the provision on your SchoolGateway app from noon on Friday 17 July 2020.  
  • As always, if you wish to seek more definite childcare where you may look to agree the drop off and collection times, we recommend seeking a registered local childminder.

   

  Last Day of the School Year

   

  The last day of the school year is Friday 17 July 2020.  On both Thursday 16 July 2020 and Friday 17 July 2020, children attending school are invited to wear non-school uniform.

   

  On Friday 17 July 2020, please collect your child at the normal time (i.e. the time you collected them last Friday).   

   

  Reading Books for the Summer Holidays

   

  Reading is the most important thing parents and carers can do with their child to help them achieve well in school and beyond.  To help you with this, we are organising for all families of children in Reception to Year 5 to visit school to collect reading books for over the summer holidays.  

   

  If you have a child in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, you are welcome onto the front playground on Monday 13 July 2020 from 9:15-10:00am, and if you have a child in Year 3, Year 4 or Year 5, you are welcome onto the front playground on Tuesday 14 July 2020 from 9:15-10:00am.  Mrs Holliday and Miss Rowe (Higher-level Teaching Assistants) will be there and they will know which book-banded level your child was last assessed at and they will provide you with books to take home.  You may need to queue depending on how many families turn up on site.  Please note, if your child is currently in school, you do not need to attend as the adult leading their 'bubble' will provide books for them to take home from the classroom on Friday 17 July 2020.

   

  Of course, we expect all books to be returned to school in September.  There will be house points for self-control for those children who do the right thing and return the books on their first day back.

   

  Free School Meals - Supermarket Voucher

   

  As detailed in last week's newsletter, parents and carers should receive an e-mail from Edenred on Monday 13 July 2020 with a code to redeem for a supermarket voucher to help feed your child over the Summer Holidays.  The value of this voucher is £90 per eligible child.  If you have not received an e-mail from Edenred by Thursday 16 July 2020, please e-mail or telephone the school and we will try our best to help.  

   

  Educational Websites

   

  We hope parents and carers will continue to promote learning at home over the Summer Holidays.  We recommend you use the Oak National Academy, and, for those children in Years 2-5, we recommend you use Times Tables Rockstars daily, as well as reading the books you have borrowed from school.  Otherwise, please click here to read the letter sent to families in March that includes lots of links to educational websites.  

   

   

  Yours sincerely,

   

   

  Mr D Short

  Headteacher

• Newsletter - w/c 06/07/20

  Thu 02 Jul 2020
  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  We have two more weeks to go until the start of the Summer Holidays.  Usually at this point in the year, the Friends of Hurst Drive would be gearing up for a Summer Fair, children would be training for Sports Day, Year 6 would be rehearsing their end-of-year production, and we would be welcoming into school some of the children from surrounding nursery schools to help ready them for starting 'big school' in September.  

   

  It is a terrible shame that all these events have been cancelled, especially as they tend to be the lasting memories for children and parents/carers.  

   

  Hopefully September will bring a fresh start, and a chance for us all to be back together again, running the school as would want it to be: a school filled with children and parents/carers able to come and go as they please.  

   

  We thank you for your continued patience and support at such a strange time and we hope you and your family are keeping well, particularly those of you who we've not seen in person since schools first closed.  

   

  Please see below for a few key notices:      

   

  Annual Reports

   

  Next week, we will e-mail you your child's annual report along with a letter from the Headteacher detailing who will be teaching your child next year.  Please be aware that the teachers wrote these reports in the spring term, making predictions as to where your child would be at the end of the year, and also be aware that the attendance reported is based on your child's attendance up to the period of school closure.

   

  If you would like a paper copy of your child's report, you may visit the school between 10:00am - 2:00pm, Monday-Friday, and a member of the School Office will gladly print one for you.

   

  Years 2 & 5 - Returning to School

   

  If you have a child in Years 2 or 5 returning to school next week, you will receive an e-mail today with all the details you need (e.g. drop off and collection times).  

   

  Sadly, we have had to turn away some Year 5 children as more than 45 wish to return but we can only accommodate 30 as a group of 15 in the morning and 15 in the afternoon because we have only one classroom and one teacher available.  We thank those parents/carers for entrusting us with your child's education and well-being; hopefully in September the restrictions will be lifted and we will be able to welcome back all the children, every day and all week long.  

   

  Free School Meals - Supermarket Vouchers for the Summer Holidays

   

  The government are allowing schools to provide supermarket vouchers for the Summer Holidays to families with children eligible for free school meals.  

   

  Parents/carers with eligible children will receive an e-mail from Edenred in the week commencing Monday 13 July 2020 with an e-code valued at 6 weeks' worth of vouchers.  For example, if you have one child eligible for free school meals, you will receive an e-code worth £90 (£15 x 6 weeks) for you to redeem at www.freeschoolmeals.co.uk for a supermarket voucher of your choosing.   

   

  We know parents/carers have, at times, been frustrated with the government's Edenred system.  Please note that the technical difficulties you have experienced have not been the fault of our school at any time.  If you have not received your e-code by Thursday 16 July 2020, please telephone or e-mail the school and we will aim to assist, otherwise you may e-mail freeschoolmealsparentscarers@edenred.com with your enquiry.  

   

      

  Yours sincerely,

   

   

  The School Office Team

  Hurst Drive Primary School

  admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk    

  01992 624099

   

  http://www.hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk