Newsletter - w/c - 24/05/21

Dear 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

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.    

 

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Yours sincerely,

 

 

The Administration Team

 

admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

 

01992 624099