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- 12/04/21

  Thu 25 Mar 2021
  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  Please find below some important notices about the school:

   

  Last Day of Term - Friday 26 March 2021

   

  Tomorrow is the last day of the spring term.  Children must be collected from 1:45-2:15pm from their classroom, unless they have permission to exit the classroom alone.  Remember, there are no after-school clubs on the last day of term, including Wraparound Care.  

   

  The school will be closed for two weeks for the Easter Holidays and will reopen on Monday 12 April 2021 from 8:30am.  On the first day back, Mrs Lloyd (Safeguarding Coordinator) has organised a den-building day so we hope to have 100% attendance so no child misses out on this fun activity.    

   

  Pupil Vacancies

   

  Do you know any families who are looking for a new school for their children?  If so, we currently have a few spaces in Years 2, 3, 4 and 5.  Please direct them to make an in-year admission via Hertfordshire County Council. 

   

  Local History Day

   

  We are celebrating Local History Day on Friday 7 May 2021.  Each year group will learn about the history of Waltham Cross, particularly about Edward the First and the Eleanor Cross.    

   

  Miss Tyler (Beech Class Teacher & Subject Leader for History) would like to arrange for every year group to have a visitor - someone who has lived in Waltham Cross for some time and who may be able to share their knowledge or experiences of the area.  For example, showing the children photographs or even just speaking about the changes to the local area (e.g. Did you know there used to be a...? etc.) 

   

  If you or someone you know would be able to visit the school in person or remotely (e.g. via Zoom) then please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk or speak to Miss Tyler (Beech Class Teacher).  

   

  Missing Earring

   

  A parent/carer lost an earring on the playground that holds sentimental value.  If you or your child picked up an earring - a hoop with precious stones - please bring it to the School Office.  

   

  Incident

   

  A parent/carer wants to make others aware that her teenage son was approached by four males in a vehicle who tried to encourage him to get into their vehicle.  Thankfully, the teenage son is safe and well, and the incident is being dealt with by the Police but this parent/carer is mindful some older children walk home alone and so wanted to make you all aware.  Our teachers will talk to the children about staying safe so it is important parents/carers do this as well.    

   

  School Meals

   

  Please remember to use SchoolGrid to book your child's meals for the next term.

   

  Please also note that the cost of a school meal is increasing from £2.60 to £2.65 after the Easter Holidays.  Of course, if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, or if your child is eligible for Free School Meals, there is no charge for your child to have a school meal.      

   

  School Uniform

   

  School uniform is important for two reasons: it makes all the children look and feel smart and it prepares them for adulthood where how you dress and present yourself for work is an important part of success.  Over the Easter Holidays, please make sure you purchase the correct school uniform for your child.  If you are having financial troubles, we may be able to help so please speak to a member of staff you trust and we will see what we can do.

  
   You may also find their website by clicking here.   

   

  KS2 Outdoor Club

   

  Due to the popularity of the KS1 Outdoor Club, Mrs Hudson (Midday Supervisory Assistant) is going to run a KS2 Outdoor Club after the Easter Holidays.  If you would like your child to attend, you should book their place via the SchoolGateway app.  Please note, if your child has been booked onto a club but has not attended, we will be removing them from the register after the Easter Holidays to let those children on the waiting list attend.  

   

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  We wish all our families a restful two-week break and we look forward to welcoming you back to school on Monday 12 April 2021.

   

   

  Yours sincerely,

   

   

  The Administration Team

   

  admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

   

  01992 624099

   

• Newsletter - w/c - 22/03/21

  Wed 17 Mar 2021

   

  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  Please see below for a few notices about school life:

   

  Breakfast Club & Wraparound Care (Summer Term)

   

  From Monday at 4:00pm via the SchoolGateway app, parents/carers will be able to book their child's place at Breakfast Club and/or Wraparound Care for the summer term.  Of course, if you cannot afford to pay for the whole term in advance, you may book and pay for some of the sessions now, and then book and pay for the remaining sessions in the coming weeks and months.  

   

  Please note, if you have a credit on your account from this term, it will appear on your SchoolGateway app on Monday.  Parents/carers may then use this credit to go towards the cost of bookings in the summer term.  

   

  Coffee Morning

   

  Mrs Bye (Family Support Worker) will continue to hold the weekly Coffee Morning on a Wednesday morning on the front playground.  Any parent/carer may join once they have dropped off their child/ren.  

   

  Half-termly Curriculum E-mail

   

  At the end of next week, parents/carers will receive an e-mail from their child's class teacher setting out what children will be taught after the Easter Holidays, and this e-mail will include a list of assemblies and other important events (e.g. workshops).   

   

  Last Day of the Spring Term

   

  The last day of the spring term is Friday 26 March 2021.  You must collect your children from 1:45-2:15pm from their classroom as normal, unless your child has permission to walk home alone.  

   

  School will be closed for the Easter Holidays from Saturday 27 March 2021 till Sunday 11 April 2021 and so the first day back to school will be Monday 12 April 2021 from 8:30am.  We will be doing a den-building day on that day, so your child won't want to miss it!       

   

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Yours sincerely

   

  The Administration Team

  admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

  01992 624099

• Newsletter - w/c 15/03/21

  Thu 11 Mar 2021
  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  Thank you for returning your children to school.  Our whole-school attendance has been over 97% which is a tremendous achievement, particularly as we know some parents/carers remain anxious about the pandemic and would very much like to have their child/ren at home with them.  You should feel proud of yourselves for doing what's best for your children - letting them learn and play with children their own age in school.  Thank you.  

   

  Please see below for some important notices about school life:

   

  Learning with Parents - A mathematics website to use at home

   

  For the remainder of this academic year, we are going to be setting maths homework through a website called Learning with Parents.  Your child's class teacher may set additional homework alongside this too. 

   

  We know that some parents and carers feel anxious about helping their children with maths homework because they feel they were taught in a different way when they were younger. This website has 2-minute videos that aim to teach adults and children before suggesting fun games or tasks to complete using resources you would have in the home. You can then leave feedback to let the teacher know how you (and the child/ren) got on.

   

  Please click here to sign up to Learning with Parents.

        

  Your child/ren's homework will begin to be set on there from next week, starting Friday 19 March 2021.

   

  Thank you for your support.

   

  Mrs Ryan-Roberts (Subject Leader for Mathematics)

   

  British Science Week

   

  Next week, we will be celebrating British Science Week.  As part of this, all children will be taking part in a challenge to build a parachute that may safely transport an egg.  There will be prizes in each year group for those children whose parachute stays airborne the longest and keeps the egg intact.  

   

  On Monday, if you could donate any junk modelling materials to help the children with their creation that would be great.  We need items such as:

   

  • Small cardboard boxes (e.g. cereal boxes)
  • Material (e.g. fabric)
  • Plastic (e.g. plastic bags, plastic tubs, plastic straws)

   

  You may give the items to your child to hand to their teacher.  We thank you in advance for your donations. 

   

  Miss Prescott-Webb (Subject Leader for Science) 

   

  Children's Reward

   

  On Thursday 25 March 2021, the children who worked hard in school or at home during the third national lockdown, following the school rules always, will have time to use the inflatable bouncy castles and/or assault course as a fun, fit way to celebrate their hard work and excellent behaviour.  

   

  Some children will not be accessing this reward, and it will be because they did not work to the very best of their ability at home or in school.  For example, if you told us on the weekly telephone call that your child was ignoring your instructions and not completing the work set remotely, he or she may not be invited to take part in this activity.    

   

  It is important that every child learns that by following the rules at home, in school, and then in the future by meeting the expectations of their employer, they will be rewarded.  

   

  We thank you for your support, and if your child does complain to you about not being able to access this treat, you should remind them of our five school rules, and let them know there will be other opportunities for rewards - for example, if your child's House Team achieve the most house points across the summer term, they will get a reward in July.  If you do not know, our five schools rules are taken from our School Behaviour Policy and you can find the rules listed below:

   

  School Rules

  1. We work to the very best of our ability.
  2. We listen to learn, achieve and stay safe.
  3. We tell the truth.
  4. We use kind words and actions.
  5. We look after school and personal property.

   

  School Meals - SchoolGrid

   

  If your child has a school meal, please make sure you have booked these via SchoolGrid, otherwise your child is forced to take the default option - a jacket potato with cheese and/or beans - and you will be charged for it if your child is not entitled to free school meals.  

   

  ----------------------------------------------------

   

   

  Yours sincerely,

   

  The Administration Team

  admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

  01992 624099

   

• Newsletter - w/c- 08/03/21

  Thu 04 Mar 2021
  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  We are very excited to be welcoming back all children from Monday 8 March 2021.  Please see below for some important notices about school life:

   

  School Reopening - Monday 8 March 2021

   

  Parents/Carers, please click here to read about the school's response to COVID-19 and keep in mind the following for Monday:-

   

  • Drop off your child between 8:30am and 9:00am
  • Collect your child between 3:00pm and 3:30pm (unless they have permission to exit the classroom alone)
  • Dress your child in full school uniform
  • Book your child's school meals via SchoolGrid or provide them with a healthy packed lunch
  • Make sure your child brings to school the home learning pack, any borrowed reading books, a water bottle and their PE kit

   

  The PE kit is particularly important as the children have two PE lessons a week and knowing some children have been indoors for the past two months unable to exercise, we are making the children's fitness a priority.

   

  Your child may feel anxious about returning to school, having spent lots of time with you at home.  Remind them they were happy and confident at school in December and that nothing has changed in school since then so they will be learning and playing just like they did before.  Similarly, if you are feeling anxious about your child/ren's return to school, remind yourself how beneficial it is for the children to be in school, surrounded by children their own age who they may learn alongside and socialise with.  

   

  Please click here to read our expectations around school attendance.  Remember, if you bring your child late to school, this counts as an unauthorised absence and may lead to the local authority awarding you a fixed penalty notice.   

   

  School Office

   

  At the moment, we have a couple of staff members absent or working from home.  For that reason, we still need parents/carers to e-mail their queries to admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk instead of telephoning.  If you do call, you may need to leave a voicemail.  We check the voicemail at 8:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm.  Please be sure to leave your name, your child's name and the reason for your call so a member of staff may return your call or e-mail you a response.  

   

  Parent/Carer Prize Draw - Winners Announced

   

  The teachers provided the Headteacher with the names of parents/carers who, over the past two months, either worked incredibly hard with home learning or brought their child to school every day as a vulnerable child or child of a critical worker.  We placed all these names into a prize draw and the winners are:-

   

  1st Place - Kezia G (YR) - Winner of a £150 Sainsbury's Voucher

  2nd Place - Maryam A (Y2 & Y4) - Winner of a £75 Sainsbury's Voucher

  3rd Place - Felicity K (Y2) - Winner of a £50 Sainsbury's Voucher

   

  Congratulations to those parents/carers; your vouchers will be sent to you in the next week by e-mail.  Thank you to all the parents/carers who have supported their child/ren's education during this third national lockdown, either at home or by bringing them into school.  We really do appreciate your efforts.    

   

  Mrs Geggus (Assistant Headteacher for KS2) has met with the School Council to discuss ideas for a treat to reward those children who worked hard in school or at home during this time.  The most popular idea was to book sets of inflatable assault courses or bouncy castles so we are looking into the feasibility of this with the aim to organise it before the Easter Holidays.  We will keep you and the children informed.  Remember, the children who will access this reward are the children who completed all their work at home or in school, following our school rules always.    

   

  World Book Day - Wednesday 10 March 2021

   

  We decided to postpone World Book Day to Wednesday 10 March 2021 so all the children could celebrate together in school.  Our dress-up theme is 'Bedtime Stories' so your child may come to school wearing pyjamas or a onesie - of course, if it is cold, please ensure your child is wearing suitable extra clothing to keep them warm (e.g. leggings under their pyjamas, a vest etc.).

   

  Keep an eye on your child's Facebook page to see what the children get up to on the day!   

   

  Coffee Morning

   

  Mrs Bye is aiming to restart her Coffee Mornings on the front playground on Wednesdays, starting Wednesday 10 March 2021.  

   

  Parent and Carers' Consultation Evening for Years 1-6 - Thursday 11 March 2021

   

  If you haven't done so already, please make an appointment to meet with your child's class teacher via the telephone or Google Meet.  These appointments are very important for your child's teacher to let you know how your child is progressing and behaving in school so you may ask questions about how you can support them at home to give them the best possible chance of success in school and beyond.  

   

  If you did not receive an e-mail invitation to make an appointment, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk, giving the name of your child/ren and requesting the link be sent to you.

   

  Friends of Hurst Drive's Mothers' Day Sale - Friday 12 March 2021

   

  Each year, the Friends of Hurst Drive run a Mothers' Day Sale during the school day for children to purchase gifts for mums and any other important women in their lives.  Gifts start at £1 and we recommend you give your child £5-£10 to purchase gifts.  All money raised will help go towards repairing our adventure playground which we share with Greenfield Nursery.

   

  On the day, Friday 12 March 2021, we recommend placing your child's money in a named envelope and handing it to their class teacher to avoid it going missing. 

   

  Thank you in advance to the Friends of Hurst Drive for organising this event.      

   

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   

  Yours sincerely,

  The Administration Team

  admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

  01992 624099