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 - 07/06/21
Wed 26 May 2021Dear Parent/Carer,
Please find below some important notices about school life, remembering that school is closed next week for the half term break and reopens on Monday 7 June 2021:
Monday 7 June 2021 - Dress-up as an Animal Day for the Wood Green Animal Charity
Every child in our school is placed into a House Team: Eagle House, Falcon House, Hawk House or Kestrel House. Each of these House Teams has a local charity it supports, and for Falcon House, this charity is the Wood Green Animal Charity
On Monday 7 June 2021, we are inviting all children to come to school dressed as an animal. There will be prizes for those children whose costumes show the most creativity!
We are asking for a donation of £1 per child, or whatever you can spare.
Curriculum E-mails
You will have received an e-mail this week from your child's teacher, detailing what your child will learn next half term. Remember, we introduced these e-mails in response to the Parent and Carer Survey to ensure parents/carers received information about the curriculum six times each year.
Attendance E-mails
Parents/Carers will receive an e-mail this week detailing their child's attendance at this point in the year. It will state whether your child's attendance is rated red, amber or green with green signifying attendance that is in line or above the national average for a child in England.
Please note, arriving late reduces your child's attendance, and so affects their learning and confidence - after all, no child enjoys walking into the classroom when the lesson has already begun without them. If you are someone who brings their child late to school, please make a special effort in the final half term to wake a little earlier so your child may arrive to school on time ready to learn and socialise with their classmates.
Kickboxing/Self-Defence Classes for Parents/Carers
Mrs Bye (Family Support Worker) has listened to ideas from parents/carers at the weekly coffee morning and found an instructor, Glenn, who will lead kickboxing and self-defence classes for parents/carers in school.
We want to begin these classes in September so we have listed the details below and we would appreciate it if you could let Mrs Bye know in person or via e-mail to admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk if you would attend these classes. Of course, they may only go ahead if enough people are willing to attend.
What? Kickboxing & Self-defence Classes.
Why? To build fitness and build confidence in keeping safe.
When? Tuesdays, 7:00-8:00pm.
Where? Hurst Drive Primary School in the Main Hall.
How much? £8 per session paid monthly in advance (i.e. £32 on average each month).
How many? There are spaces for 26 adults.
After-School Clubs for Children
Since the last Parent and Carer Survey, we have listened to parents/carers to introduce as many after-school clubs as possible - this hasn't been easy during the pandemic! You may click here to see what we currently have on offer for June and July, and you will note that most clubs are free. Parents/carers must use the SchoolGateway app to book (and pay for) their child's space at an after-school club.
Please be aware that if you book a space for your child, but your child does not attend, we will remove them from the register and allow a child on the waiting list to attend in their place.
Breakfast Club - Charge Increase
Due to the running cost increasing, from Monday 28 June 2021, the daily charge per child will be £2. This is £2 for an hour's childcare, including a breakfast, so we hope you will agree that it remains good value for money. We are providing one month's notice of this change in line with our Wraparound Childcare Policy.
If you have already booked places up to the Summer Holidays, these will appear as a credit on your account when you go to book your child/ren's spaces for the w/c 28/06/21 - w/c 19/07/21.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
The Administration Team
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099
-
Newsletter - w/c - 24/05/21
Thu 20 May 2021Dear Parent/Carer,
Please find below some important notices about school life:
Proposal to Change the School Day in September 2021
Thank you to the parents/carers who took the time to e-mail their thoughts about changing the school day. We can confirm that starting in September, the school day will be as follows:
- Drop off will be 8:40-8:55am - this is called a 'soft start'
- Collection will be at 3:30pm
By ending the school day 15 minutes later than pre-pandemic times, we allow the children in Years 3-6 to have two 1-hour lessons in the afternoon, and we allow the children in Years R-2 to always have an afternoon playtime that does not reduce their learning time but does allow them to practise socialising and playing - something the pandemic has greatly hindered for them.
To be clear, this arrangement starts on Monday 6 September 2021 which is the children's first day back to school after the Summer Holidays.
Currently, you may drop off your child/ren at 8:40-8:55am and collect your child/ren at 3:15-3:30pm.
Making everyone feel happy and safe at our school:
At Hurst Drive, one of our core values is 'Kindness' - making other people feel happy and safe. We are proud of the kindness that our children show to each other most of the time but sadly there are very occasionally some reported instances where children are not using kind language to others including language that is discriminatory and at times, racist. We want to reassure all parents and children that everyone is welcome in our school and any behaviour that is deemed to be racist will not be tolerated. We ask you to partner with us in this by always letting us know of any concerns you have regarding racist behaviour and by talking to your own children about racism. You may find the video below from UNICEF a helpful resource.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfbRqY1GWXw
How to talk to your child about racism | UNICEF
Subscribe to UNICEF here: http://bit.ly/1ltTE3m The official UNICEF YouTube channel is your primary destination for the latest news updates from the frontline, documentaries, celebrity appeals, and more about our work to realize the rights of every child.
Phonics and Reading Webinars
Miss Savage (Key Stage 1 Phase Leader) and Miss Griffiths (Subject Leader for English) have each produced a webinar about phonics and reading at home respectively, giving parents/carers information about how we teach early reading skills in school and what our expectations are for reading in the home. You may click here to watch the webinars.
After-school Clubs
Currently, Mrs Thomson (Subject Leader for PE) is in touch with a few agencies who may be able to provide after-school clubs to further add to our list of available clubs - where possible, we will look to part-fund or fully fund these clubs to avoid placing a financial burden on parents and carers.
In the meantime, you may use the SchoolGateway app to book after-school club places for June and July. Please know that we have taken feedback from the parents/carers who attend the weekly Coffee Morning in our effort to organise as many clubs as possible and you may click here to find the full list.
Friends of Hurst Drive - Summer Fair - Friday 16 July 2021
Mrs Lloyd (Safeguarding Coordinator) and the Friends of Hurst Drive are beginning to plan this year's Summer Fair which will take place after school on Friday 16 July 2021.
If you or someone you know may be able to run a stall, please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk for the attention of Mrs Lloyd and she will contact you or the person/company to discuss logistics.
If we consider the government's current roadmap to ease us out of lockdown, we should be able to run this event as normal in July, but we will of course let you know if the plans change.
Year 6 Prom - Friday 9 July 2021
We are looking to host a prom for the Year 6 children on Friday 9 July 2021. Our prom will be from 6:00-8:30pm. However, if a group of parents/carers of children in Year 6 would prefer to organise the event privately, we are happy to contribute (e.g. hire a DJ) and leave the arrangements for you to make offsite.
If we do not hear from a group of parents/carers, we will take that as a sign that you are happy for school staff to organise and host the event and we will send out a letter with more details in June.
Years 3 & 4 - Painting a Mural - Monday 24 May 2021
If you have a child in Oak Class, Pear Class, Cherry Class or Hawthorn Class, please send them to school on Monday with a bag containing a change of clothes - these should be old clothes that you don't mind them getting a bit of paint on. We are making this request because the artist Sholee Parry is returning on Monday and the children in Years 3 and 4 will help continue the mural that Years 5 and 6 started this week. Please see our Facebook page to keep track of the progress of the children's creativity.
----------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
The Administration Team
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099
-
Newsletter - w/c - 17/05/21
Thu 13 May 2021Dear Parent/Carer,
Please find below some important notices about school life:
Term Dates
Knowing many families will be planning holidays for the next couple of years, please click here to see the term dates for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.
Remember, if you choose to take your child/ren on a term-time holiday, this will be an unauthorised absence which will likely lead to you receiving a fixed penalty notice from the local authority.
Attendance
We have had a few parents/carers complain that we carry out home visits when a child is absent. This is something new we decided to do and it's one of the reasons our attendance has improved so greatly in the past two years. We have included a table below to show you the difference:
Hurst Drive Primary School National Average 2018-19 95% 96% 2019-20 96% 96% 2020-21 97% 96% We do not aim to upset parents/carers, but it is our job to make sure as many children as possible are in school to learn, and we are pleased with our success in this regard. As you can see, our attendance has improved from being below the national average to being above the national average.
You should note that if you have a child eligible for free school meals, this is a group whose attendance is a concern as it's below the national average. For that reason, we will carry out a home visit for every absence for these children, and we will escalate our concerns quickly to the local authority if the situation worsens. Also, this is a group who achieve the lowest results - it is difficult to achieve well in school or at work if you are frequently absent, so we hope to address these bad habits at a young age to give every child the best chance to succeed.
After all, our school motto is 'Success for All' so we will work hard to do the best for every child.
Drop Off and Collection Times
From Monday 17 May 2021, as restrictions ease, the gate will open at 8:35am for you to drop off your child between 8:40am and 8:55am. In the afternoon, the gate will open at 3:10pm for you to collect your child between 3:15pm and 3:30pm.
We recommend you continue to wear a face covering on site, and we politely request you drop off and collect your child/ren quickly.
Artist - Painting a Mural
Next week, we have the artist Sholee Parry returning to school. She will be working with every year group to create a mural on a wall on the back playground. Years 5 and 6 will start the mural on Monday 17 May 2021. If you have a child in Years 5 or 6, please send them to school with a bag of clothes to change into. These should be clothes you don't mind them getting oil-based paint on. Of course, we will encourage the children to paint carefully, but accidents may still happen. Gloves will be provided to protect children's hands.
The same requirement for a change of clothes will be expected of children in Years 3 and 4 on 24/05/21, and then Years 1 and 2 on 07/06/21, and finally Reception, Birch and Pine on 14/06/21.
Photo Day - Thursday 20 May 2021
The photographer is due into school next Thursday to take children's portrait photographs along with photographing each class. Please make sure your child is dressed in full school uniform and looking their very best.
----------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
The Administration Team
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099
-
Newsletter - w/c 10/05/21
Thu 06 May 2021Dear Parent/Carer,
Please see below for some important notices about school life:
PE Kits
Sadly, we have some children who do not bring a PE kit to school. This makes them feel different to other children and it can make them feel uncomfortable during physical education lessons, which, given how much time children have been stuck indoors, have become more important than ever before.
Please make sure your child has a PE kit and that they bring it into school on a Monday and take it home on a Friday for washing (if it needs washing). Please click here to remind yourself of what PE kit a child must have.
If you are having financial difficulty, we may be able to provide a PE kit for your child/ren. Please speak to a member of staff you trust about this.
Toys
Some children, particularly those in Years 3-6, are bringing pop fidget toys to school. The difficulty with this is that children lose toys, and mistakenly take toys (as lots of them have the same ones) and this causes upset and arguments. Unless it is a special day where we have told children to bring toys to school, please keep all toys at home. The teachers have told the children about this in class as well.
The items your child should be bringing to school are as follows:
- Their reading book/s
- Their reading record
- Their homework (by Wednesday each week)
- A PE kit (which you can bring to school on a Monday and take home on a Friday for washing, if needed)
- A waterproof jacket or coat that is labelled with their name
- A water bottle that is labelled with their name
- A healthy packed lunch (if they do not have a school meal)
Free Books - Wednesday 12 May 2021
After school on the front playground on Wednesday 12 May 2021, you will be able to take home lots of free books - everything from storybooks to educational textbooks. Please bring a bag to help you carry the books home.
Drop off and Collection - Starting Monday 17 May 2021
From Monday 17 May 2021, as restrictions ease, the gate will open at 8:35am for you to drop off your child between 8:40am and 8:55am. In the afternoon, the gate will open at 3:10pm for you to collect your child between 3:15pm and 3:30pm.
We recommend you continue to wear a face covering on site, and we politely request you drop off and collect your child/ren quickly.
The NHS are providing regular rapid COVID-19 tests to all citizens, which you may read about and order here.
Photo Day - Thursday 20 May 2021
This is a reminder that the photographer will be in school on Thursday 20 May 2021 to take individual and class photographs. We know many parents/carers are eager to have these photographs, particularly as we were unable to organise them last school year.
---------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
The Administration Team
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099