July 2010

Celebration Assembly

Celebration Assembly will be on Thursday July 22nd at 9.30. This is an opportunity to celebrate some of the children’s achievements during this term. All parents are invited. Children in the Foundation Stage do not come into the assembly and children in KS1 usually stay for the first part of the assembly. We hope you are able to join us.

Open Afternoon

Thank you for your support for Open Afternoon.  It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to see our new food technology area, our vegetables in the quadrangles and our wildlife area. We are excited about the new developments this year and appreciate the support of the Friends of Yorke Mead and the Parish Council for their help.

Lost Property

Lost property will be put out on the grass outside the office this week unless it is raining. Anything not claimed by the end of the week will be binned on Friday.

Yorke Mead Explorer

Last week a group of children, from KS1 and KS2, worked together to produce the Yorke Mead Explorer. This describes a few key events that the children particularly enjoyed during the last year. The newspaper has been put together by the children (with just a little adult support when requested). Copies are being given to families rather than individual children to reduce copying costs. You should receive a copy during this week; it will also be on the school website. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Congratulations and Thank You

Congratulations and thank you to all the children and staff who worked so hard for our production of “Alice – the musical”. I’m sure you will all agree it was a great success.
Summer holidays

School finishes at 2.15 on Friday July 23rd.
The new term starts on Monday September 6th. 

We hope you all enjoy the summer holidays.

M. J. Moss

 

June 2 2010

Staffing in September

In September Mrs. Stoll will be on maternity leave and Mrs. Morris will be starting her new job at the Royal Masonic School. We have appointed two new members of teaching staff who will meet their new classes in July and join us in September.

Nursery Mrs. Alnutt
Reception Miss Vettese
Year 1 Miss Boundy
Year 2 Miss Winter
Year 3 Ms Pollard and Mrs. Seabrook
Year 4 Mrs. Holleyman
Year 5 Miss Bird
Year 6 Mr. Rees

Mr. Rees joins us from another school in Hertfordshire and Miss Boundy will be starting her first year of teaching.

Ms Pollard and Mrs. Seabrook will be Assistant Head teachers next year.

Classroom changes

In September year 4 and 6 will be in the mobile classrooms. Year 4 will be in the right hand classroom and year 6 in the left. Year 5 will stay in the main building in their present classroom.

Sports Week
Thank you for your support for Sports Week. The children have had an active week and have had the opportunity to try out different activities.

Congratulations and Thank you
Thank you to the parents of year 6 children for all their hard work on the Yorke Mead float for the Revels; and to the Friends of Yorke Mead for organising our stall.

Congratulations to all involved for winning the John Hedges Memorial cup and to Rianna from year 4 for being the Revels’ Princess.

M. J. Moss

 

 

June 2010

Encouraging the children to be independent
Please could you try and make sure your child brings his/her belongings into the classroom or cloakroom in the morning. You should not need to take your child’s belongings into the school office during the morning.

We are finding that a lot of items such as scooters, clothes and shoes are not named and are sometimes taken by mistake. To help your child be independent please could you make sure anything he/she brings into school is named.

Children’s Centre
Work on the Children’s Centre will start during the summer holidays. As part of the work the path from the pedestrian entrance will be widened and resurfaced once some of the trees have been cut down.

Sports week
The children have taken home letters about sports week and sports day. The information is also available on the school website www.yorkemead.herts.sch.uk

Lunch time
We are looking to employ an additional MSA for lunchtimes. This could be for 5 days or 2/3 days a week. Please contact the school office if you are interested.

Ellie
If you sent an envelope into the school office labelled Ellie please could you contact the office because we have several Ellie’s in school.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Ben M, Georgina, Charlie R and Aleksandr for representing the school at the maths challenge.

Thank you
Thank you for collecting the Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s vouchers. We collected 24000 Tesco vouchers and are buying things for our wildlife area including a nesting box with a webcam. We collected 11000 Sainsbury’s vouchers which we are spending on outdoor learning resources and PE equipment.

Calendar
Dates for the summer term (Issue 6) are on the back of this letter.  There is a parents’ meeting for year 4 children going to PGL in September on July 7th, followed by a meeting about secondary transfer for parents in years 4 and 5 at 6.30. Year 3 Wider Opportunities concert is on June 30th at 9.40

M. J. Moss

 

May 2010 

Walk to school week
Next week is walk to school week. The children will be completing diaries and charts during the week. If you have to drive to school perhaps next week you could park in the car park by the Parish Council offices and walk across the field to school so that your child can collect stickers for walking to school.

Wildlife area

Our wildlife area still needs planting and we hope this will be done before half term. We have started to use the seating area when the weather is fine. Thank you to the Friends of Yorke Mead for providing the funding for the wild life area; we are planning an official opening later this term.
 
Summer time

During the summer the children are outside for PE, playtime, lunch time and some after school activities. Please could you provide the following for your child so that he/she is protected from the sun:

1. A named sunhat
2. A small named bottle of suntan lotion that will remain in school so that your child can apply the lotion him/herself when necessary.
3. A named bottle for water which can be refilled at school.

The children will only be allowed to use their own sun cream. In very hot weather children without a hat will have to remain inside at lunch time.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Sophie in year 6 who completed a 3k charity run for Mencap

Calendar
Dates for the summer term (Issue 5) are on the back of this letter. We are holding a reading workshop for parents on June 17th. We have changed the dates for the Y5 PGL visit in September to 8th - 10th September and the meeting for new Reception parents is now on June 10th. 

M. J. Moss

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April  2010

Welcome
Welcome to Maria who has joined year 6; Hagan and Shravan who have joined year 4; and Emily and James who have joined the Reception class.

Staffing
Mrs. Stoll will be taking maternity leave at the end of the summer term.

Herts catering
Hertfordshire catering are inviting parents to a tasting session on Thursday April 22nd.  The session starts at 2.30 in the Infant dining area and is an opportunity to taste some of the food on the new menu.

Internet safety
We have become aware that several children in year 6 have Facebook accounts. The terms and conditions of face book state clearly that the minimum age for a face book account is 13.
The local secondary schools work closely with the police when there any concerns about when there are suspicious profiles on Facebook. As a primary school we do not receive these alerts because none of our children should have an account.
If you think it is appropriate for your child to have a Facebook account
I am sure you monitor it closely on a regular basis and that you and your child are aware of the terms and conditions. It is important that neither children’s full names nor the name of the school are posted on your child’s account because this could put other children at risk. You may want to check whether your child has a Facebook account without your knowledge.
The  website www.ceop.gov.uk has information about internet safety for parents and  www.thinkuknow.co.uk has information for children about using the internet safely.

Dogs
Pleas do not bring dogs onto the school site when you are dropping off or collecting your child.

Thank you
Thank you to Mr. Trafford for all his work for as site manager over the past 4 years. He is leaving to work at another school nearer to his home and we hope to appoint another site manager during this half term.

Calendar
Dates for the summer term are on the back of this letter.

M. J. Moss

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March 2 2010

NSPCC

Thank you for your support for the NSPCC sponsored work out. We raise £3260..

Mobile phones

Children should not have mobile phones with them during the school day. If you feel your child needs to have a mobile phone with him/her after school please could you make sure the phone is handed in to the school office at the beginning of the day.

Sending money into school

When you leave money in the school office please could you make sure that you put the money in an envelope labelled with your child’s name and class. If would be helpful is you could use a separate envelope for each payment.

Congratulations

Congratulations to year 6 who took part in the Rugby Festival this week. All three teams did well. There were 33 teams and one of our teams reached the semi-finals. Hannah, Isobel, Sophie and Leanne have been invited to attend the district team trials.

Congratulations to Ellie, Shannon, Grace P and Ciera from year 5 who are playing basketball for Ricky Raiders and won their latest match.

Congratulations to year 4 for their performance at the Dance Festival.

Calendar

We will add other dates at the beginning of next term. Please note that we are taking an occasional day’s holiday on July 9th.

Please note the change of date for the Mufti Day.

Celebration Assembly is at 9.30 on Thursday April 1st. School finishes at 2.15.

 

M. J. Moss

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March 2010

Path into school

The paving stones on the path into school are uneven. As part of the work on the Children’s Centre the three trees by the path will be removed and the path re-laid. This should take place in the autumn term; until then please take care when walking into school.

Thank you

Thank you for your support for World Book Day. As well as dressing up the children also made story boxes, an idea which was introduced to us by Heather Butler on Dragon Day. The children were inspired to write by Dragon day and by the story boxes. They will be able to share their writing with you when they bring their work home.

Thank you to those parents who attended our maths evening. We hope you found the evening useful.

Parent consultations

Thank you to the parents who came to parent consultations. If you were unable to come into school to discuss your child’s progress last week we will be contacting you so that we can arrange an appointment with your child’s class teacher.

Parent questionnaire

Thank you for filling in the parent questionnaire which was available during parent consultation week. If you have not had the opportunity to fill in the questionnaire please contact the school office and we will send you a copy.

Our draft behaviour policy and anti-bullying policy are on our school website. Copies are also available from the school office. If you would like to make any comments about either of the policies please send them to the school office or e-mail head.yorkemead@herts.sch.uk 

Congratulations

Congratulations to all the staff, volunteers and outside providers who help with our out of school hours activities. We have been awarded a Quality in Study Support (QiSS) award for our provision. We are the first school in this area to receive the award.

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February 2010 Number 2

Maths evening
Our maths evening for parents starts at 7.00pm on Wednesday March 3rd.

Sainsburys tokens
We are collecting Sainsbury’s vouchers in school. Last year we were able to provide additional resources for cooking and gardening from the vouchers. We are also collecting tokens from Flora margarine to use to purchase cookery equipment..

Reminder -Behaviour policy and Anti-bullying policy
We review these policies annually. We have already consulted the children about the policies and the draft policies reflect some of their contributions. The draft policies will be on the web site after half term; copies will be available from the school office and if you would like a copy via e-mail please contact admin@yorkemead.herts.sch.uk.  We would welcome your comments on the policies. Please send any comments to the school office or e-mail them to head@yorkemead.herts.sch.uk . by March 31st .

Quadrangle areas.
During half term the Parish Rangers have built vegetable beds in the junior quadrangle. KS2 children will be using them later on in the term. We are hoping they will also be able to make us compost bins.

Parent consultations
In October we invited year 6 children to attend parent consultations. The response from parents and children was positive and this time we would like to invite children in years 5 and 6 to attend parent consultations with their parents. Feedback from year 6 parents suggests that if you have something you want to discuss with the class teacher without your child then your child could attend the first part of the consultation.

Further details about parent consultations are on the back of this letter.

Parking
Please could you make sure you do not block the drives of  the people who live in Dulwich Way if you need to park your car outside the school. Several residents have also complained about the abuse they receive from parents when they are asked to move their cars. I have apologised on those parents’ behalf and hope that in future the parents concerned will respect the rights of our neighbours. I will be asking the local PCSO to look at parking outside the school at the beginning and end of the school day.

Thank you
Thank you to the Parish Rangers for all the work they have done in the two quadrangles.
Thank you to the children who contributed £183 towards a school in Zambia through mufti day.

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February 2010

Dragon Day
Thank you for supplying junk modelling materials for our Dragon Day; most of them have been turned into dragons or homes for dragons. The day has inspired lots of writing across the school. Photographs of the dragons will be on the web site and in the classrooms.

RNLI
The total amount raised for the RNLI was £848.79 in memory of Mrs. Gray. Thank you for your contributions.

Science morning
Thank you to those parents who came to watch the children doing science activities on Thursday.
 
Children’s Centre
The consultation for the children’s centre will be on Thursday February 25th; one session will start at 3.30 and the second sessions will start at 6.00. Plans for the building will be displayed. To replace the trees that will need to be cut down we are hoping to plant fruit trees on another part of the school grounds.

Behaviour policy and Anti-bullying policy
We review these policies annually. We have already consulted the children about the policies and the draft policies reflect some of their contributions. The draft policies will be on the web site after half term; copies will be available from the school office and if you would like a copy via e-mail please contact admin@yorkemead.herts.sch.uk.  We would welcome your comments on the policies. Please send any comments to the school office or e-mail them to head@yorkemead.herts.sch.uk . by March 31st.

Click here to view the Draft anti-bullying policy.

Click here to view the Draft Behaviour policy.

Children who are late for school
If your child is late for school (after 8.50) please could you bring your child in through the main entrance and fill in the late book for your child.

School gates
After half term the school gates will be shut during the school day. This is to protect the children during the school day.

Lost property
All the items in our lost property will be binned at the end of the first week back after half term. Please check the box before then if you think your child has lost something.

Reminder: Thinking Day
Children in Rainbows, Beavers, Brownies, Cubs, Scouts and Guides may wear their uniform to school on Monday February 22nd.

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January 2010

Happy New Year

Snow
Thank you for your support over the past week. 

During severe weather or other kinds of emergencies we may need to close the school, sometimes at short notice. We will let you know through group call so please could you make sure your contact numbers are up to date. We will also put messages on our website, on the school gate and if necessary, on local radio stations. Information for all schools will be linked to the home page of www.hertsdirect.org
The children have been given work to do at home in case of further closure.  Where possible the work has also been put on the school web site.

After school activities
After school activities will start the week beginning January 18th, weather permitting.

Absences
Please let us know by 10.00am if your child is unable to attend school. Absences for January 8th will only be authorised if parents have contacted us to give a reason for absence and the reason can be authorised

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December 2009

Christmas Café
Thank you for your support for the Christmas café. It was a very successful event. The children made £103.25 profit which will be donated to the RNLI. As well as the maths, English and IT skills the children were able to use; they also learnt a lot about working together. It was also a good opportunity to use our new food technology area for the first time.
Investors in People
We are pleased to have received “Investors in People” recognition for the third time.
Pupil numbers
The local authority is responsible for making sure there are enough school places for the number of children in an area. They are forecasting that in September 2011 there will not be enough places in Croxley Green for the children staring Reception in 2011/12. They are proposing that we take an additional class for that year so that our admission number for 2011/12 would be 60 places. This will be part of a consultation on school admission arrangements for 2011/12 from January 4th 2010 until February 26th 2010. Further information will be available from www.herts.org/csfconsultations
Home access
The government will be introducing a home access grant in January 2010. The grant will make funding available for some families to purchase a computer package, through approved suppliers; further details of the package are in the leaflet carousel outside the office. The eligibility criteria are likely to include families that have children eligible for free school meals and families that receive some other benefits.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Isobel, Jack, Matty, Ross and Sophie who attended a gifted and talented PE day.
Congratulations to year 4 boys who won the local indoor athletics competition. They will be taking part in the final next term.
Severe Weather

During severe weather or other kinds of emergencies we may need to close the school, sometimes at short notice. We will let you know through group call so please could you make sure your contact numbers are up to date. We will also put messages on our website, on the school gate and if necessary, on local radio stations.
School finishes at 2.15 on Friday December 18th.
Next term starts on Tuesday January 5th.

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Christmas at Yorke Mead

School post-box
The school post box will be in the entrance hall from Monday December 7th Please make sure all envelopes are clearly labelled with children’s first names, initial letter of last names and class.

Purcell School
Year 6 are going to the Purcell school on Tuesday. They will be composing a song which they will be performing at our carol service.

KS1 and Foundation Stage performances
Tickets for these performances are available from the school office.

Christmas café
KS2 are organising a Christmas café in school next Thursday morning. This is an opportunity for them to use maths in a practical way. We will also be using our new food technology area to bake cakes and biscuits for the café.  KS1 and class R will be invited to the café. The children are still working out the cost of the food and drinks. We will let the children know how much money to bring on Monday.

KS2 Carol service
There will be a rehearsal at All Saints Church for KS2 children on December 15th. The carol service will start at 2.15pm on Wednesday December 16th. After the service all children will walk back to school and be dismissed as usual at 3.15.

Parties and pantomime
Information about Christmas parties for FS and KS1 has been sent out by class teachers. Details about the pantomime on Monday December 14th will be sent out next week.

Other activities
Our school Christmas dinner is on Friday December 11th.
Year 3 will be visiting the Christmas labyrinth at the Baptist church on Thursday December 17th
Year 4 will be taking part in an athletics competition at William Penn on December 10th in the afternoon.

Celebration Assembly
Celebration Assembly will be on Friday December 18th at 9.30. All parents are welcome to attend. The Reception class will not be attending celebration assembly this term.

School finishes on Friday December 18th at 2.15pm

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Autumn term 2009

Date	Time	Activity	Year group
December 2nd	7.15	Carol concert at the Colosseum	Choir
December 3rd	9.30 – 11.30	Tania Dean (Family Support Worker) in school	All
December 8th	2.15	KS1 performance	Years 1 and 2
December 9th	11.00	Foundation stage performance	Nursery and reception
December 9th	All day	Gifted and talented (sport) training day	Year 6
December 9th	6.15	KS1 performance	Years 1 and 2
December 10th	11.00	Foundation Stage performance	Nursery and Reception
December 10th	afternoon	Indoor athletics (William Penn)	Year 4
December 11th	12.00	School Christmas Lunch	All
December 14th		Pantomime trip (Palace theatre, Watford)	KS2
December 16th	afternoon	Carol service (All Saints church)	KS2
December 17th	morning	Christmas Labyrinth (Baptist Church)	Year 3
December 18th	2.15	End of term	All

 

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November 2009

Multi use room
The work on our multi use room is now completed and we are starting to set up the cooking area. Breakfast Club are now using the room in the mornings. The room will also be used for group teaching for children in years 5 and 6. We are looking forward to starting cookery with the children next term.
Wild Life Area
We are planning to develop a wild life area on the top field. This will include a bog garden and an outdoor classroom. The FYM are providing the money for this from the funds they have raised. We are hoping that work on this project will start next term.
Gardening
We are planting a tree in memory of Mrs. Gray. The Parish Council have given us a lot of daffodil bulbs and every child has planted near where the tree will be planted.
Class Teachers
If you need to see your child’s class teacher please could you arrange to see them after school rather than first thing in the morning. When the children are coming into the classroom in the morning class teachers need to be able to start the children working on their registration tasks. If you need to talk to your child’s class teacher urgently please come to the school office and we will make arrangements for the class teacher to see you.
Information for parents
If you would like information on the childcare options and children's services available in your local area information is available from  the Family Information Service. They can be contacted on 01438 737502 or 01923 471502  Their website address is: http://www.hertsdirect.org/comdirectory/childservdir/parentcarer/childcare/cis/ (link also available from: www.hertsextendedschools.org.uk/riversmeet)".
If you are responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may qualify for child tax credits. In particular if you work but earn low wages you may qualify for working tax credits, visit www.direct .gov.uk.'
Congratulations
Congratulations to Rebecca and Shannon who took part in the county final of the “Fun Run”. Rebecca came 6th and Shannon came 10th.
Congratulations to the High Fives (netball) team who beat Little Green School.

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October 09

Tyre Park
We have had a tyre park installed on the school field and all the children have had the opportunity to use it with adult supervision during the school day. The children know the rules for playing on the tyres. They must be wearing shoes with a good grip and no more than three children should be on a tyre at the same time. They should also not push or pull other children on the tyres. Out of school time children use the tyre park at their own risk and young children should be supervised.
Children’s Centre
The dates for the Children’s Centre consultation have been changed. The consultation will now take place on October 21st from 3.00pm to 4.00pm and 6.30pm to 8.00pm. During parent consultations Delia Morris and Helen Taunt will be in school to talk to parent and carers about what a Children’s Centre can provide for the community.
School Office
I know organising children and their belongings in the mornings can be challenging. However we are finding that a lot of parents are delivering items such as lunch bags, reading books, musical instruments and PE kits to the school office throughout the day. Please could you try and encourage your child to organise their own belongings in the mornings so that you do not need to drop forgotten items into the office. In future anything left at the school office will only be taken to classrooms at 12.00..Drinks of water are available in school during the day so there is no need to bring in your child’s water bottle. Children in year 6 should not have anything brought in for them.
“Bounced” Cheques
The school has to pay bank charges for any cheque that can not be paid. The finance committee have agreed that the school may pass this charge onto parents and in some cases may ask parents to pay by cash.
School Council
Congratulations to the following children who have been elected as School Council representatives for this school year.
Year 3 Charlotte and James D
Year 4 Abigail and George
Year 5 Emily and Ben M
Year 6 Tallulah and Ross
Congratulations
Congratulations to Miss Wright who is getting married on October 20th. Her married name will be Mrs. Vishnick.

 

Dates for the Autumn Term

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September 09

Welcome back
Welcome back for the new school year. Mrs. Feldman, Mrs. Stoll and Mrs. Wilson have returned from maternity leave. Miss Bird and Mrs. Holleyman have joined the teaching staff and Mrs. Corbett and Mrs. Baldwin have joined us as lunchtime supervisors.
The new children in Nursery are joining us over the next few weeks and 15 children have joined the Reception class. Welcome to Anshul who has joined  class 4 and Amelia who is joining class 2.
Multi use area.
The classroom opposite the toilets in the main school building is being converted into a multi-use area. Part of the room will be used for group teaching during the school day and the other part of the room will be used for food technology both during the school day and after school.
The small quiet room off the classroom will be used as a meeting room for meetings between school staff, parents and other professionals.
The contractors are starting work on Monday September 14th. There will be some days when we will be unable to use the double doors into the junior playground during the next three or four weeks.
Thank you to Mr. Gregory for his help in planning this project.
Children’s Centre
There is a possibility that the Croxley Green Children’s Centre will be built on the school site. There will be a consultation with parents in Croxley and with local residents before any final decision is taken. Our plans to develop the entrance to the school so that pedestrians and vehicles do not use the same entrance will need to wait until a final decision about the Children’s Centre is made.
 Safer Routes to School
Thank you to those parents who returned the questionnaire last term.. We have been selected to be part of a Small Works Project through the safer routes to school initiative. The planning for this project will take place this term with work being completed next summer or autumn..
Fruit in the afternoon
Children in KS2 may order fruit to have in the afternoon through the school office. The letter for ordering fruit for this term was sent out in July. If you did not order fruit for your child you may send a piece of fruit into school for your child to eat during the afternoon. Children in KS1 have fruit through the free fruit scheme.
Dates for this term

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July 09

Dates for this term
                                               
July
Tuesday July 14th 6.30 Leavers’ Evening Year 6.
Wednesday July 15th 9.30 Wider Opportunities concert Year 3
Friday July 17th 9.30 Celebration Assembly
Last day of term. School will finish at 2.15.

Wider Opportunities concert
The concert is for parents of children in year 3. The year 2 children will also attend the concert and any parents of year 2 children who would like to know more about Wider Opportunities are also welcome.
Celebration Assembly
Celebration Assembly is an opportunity for us to celebrate what the children have achieved this year. All parents are welcome to attend. The certificates for children in KS1 will be given out in the first part of the assembly.
Goodbye and good luck
At the end of term Mrs. Moles, Miss Todd and Mr. Young will be leaving Yorke Mead. Mr. Young will be leaving on Tuesday July 14th because of other commitments.
Staffing in September
On Wednesday July 15th the children will be going to their new classroom to meet their class teacher for September.  

Dotty Day and Charity Stalls

We are raising money to support the work of the R.N.I.B. It is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille and the children will be learning about his life and about the use of Braille. On Thursday July 16th  the children may wear clothes with dots on and bring in £1.00 for the RNIB.

The children in KS2 will be organising charity stalls in the afternoon of July 16th; the money raised will also go to support the RNIB. The children can bring up to £1.00 in silver coins to spend at the charity stalls. The maximum cost for a “go” will be 20p.

 

Thank you
Thank you to Emma Royal, chair of governors, Russell Carpenter and Cath Garibaldi for all their work as governors of the school.

Governor elections
We have two vacancies for parent governors and will be organising elections at the beginning of the autumn term. If you would like more information about becoming a governor please contact the school office.

Congratulations
Congratulations to the year 6 athletics teams. At the area final the girls’ team came second and the boys’ team came third.

 

M. J. Moss

 

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June 09

Welcome
Welcome to Katherine who has joined the Nursery class, Mehr who has joined year 1 and Eni who has joined year 6.

Year 6 parents
Please note that the Leavers’ Evening has been moved to Tuesday July 14th
Safer routes to school
We have been selected for a “short list” to join the Safer Routes to School Programme. This could provide funding to improve the safety of children and parents  and encourage walking and cycling to school. We are already planning to improve the entrance to the school by separating pedestrians and vehicles. During this half term you will receive a questionnaire which will be analysed by the Safer Routes to School team so that travel issues affecting children and parents can be identified

 

Lost property
Please could you check the Lost Property box for any items your child may have lost. We will be disposing of all lost property at the end of term.
Free School Meals - are you eligible?
If you currently receive one of the following benefits:

• Income support or
• Income-based jobseeker's allowance or
• Income-related employment and support allowance or
• Pension credit (guarantee credit) or
• Child Tax Credit with a taxable income of no more than £16,040 and not in receipt of Working Tax Credit.

You may also be eligible to receive Free School Meals and other educational benefits such as:

• Help with music fees
• Help with cycle training fees
• Help with transport

The system for applying for Free School Meals has changed and it is now much easier to apply.  All you need to do is fill in your application form online (www.hertsdirect.org ) or phone the Customer Service Centre and the rest will be done for you .  Your application will be processed within 7 days.
School crossing patrol
The Road Safety Unit are looking for some-one who would be interested in becoming a relief crossing patrol for the school. If you are interested please contact the school office for further details.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Ellie in year 4 who represented Three Rivers in athletics in the Herts. Youth games and came 5th out of 10.
Congratulations to Michael in year 6 who was selected by the Sports Partnership to attend a County Elite Play leaders day.

 

M. J. Moss

 

April 09 (2)

Dates for this term

April
Thursday April 30th Whole school photograph

May
May 4th Bank Holiday
May 6th to May 8th Year 5 PGL visit
May 11th to May 15th  SATs week for year 6.
May 25th to May 29th half term
                                                
June

June 1st to June 5th  Bikeability level 2 for Year 5.
Thursday June 11th Secondary transfer evening (Y4 and Y5)
Thursday June 11th Year 6 visit to Hazard Alley
Thursday June 18th Sports Day
June 22nd to June 26th Baby and Toddler week
Thursday June 25th Year 1 and 2 visit to Littlehampton
Friday June 26th Year 4 Pedestrian training
June 29th to July 3rd Year 6 PGL visit

July
Friday July 3rd Open Afternoon
Monday July 6th Governors’ Thank you lunch
July 6th to July 8th Bikeability level 3 for Year 6
Tuesday July 7th Reserve Sports Day
Friday July 10th Reports sent home to parents
Thursday July 16th Leavers’ Evening Year 6.
Friday July 17th 9.30 Celebration Assembly
Last day of term. School will finish at 2.15.

 

 

April 09 (1)

School finishes at 2.15 on Friday April 3rd.

The summer term starts on Tuesday April 21st

Reminder that we have an inset day on Monday 20th April

Celebration Assembly
All parents are invited to celebration assembly at 9.30 on Thursday April 2nd. Children in the foundation stage do not come to celebration assembly. Celebration Assembly is an opportunity for us to celebrate some of the children’s achievements this term.

Drop In Sessions
Tania Dean, our Parent Support Worker, is in school on Thursday April 2nd from 9 - 11.  She can also be contacted on:
Tel: 07531 787732
Email: Tdean@Rickmansworth,herts,sch.uk

Class teachers
If you need to see your child’s class teacher please could you arrange to see them at the end of the school day by making an appointment through the school office. Class teachers are not able to see parents at the beginning of the school day because they need to be with the children for registration. Any urgent messages can be left with the office staff or a teaching assistant.

Watford Fun Run
The Watford 10k run on Monday May 4th includes a 1k run for under 10s and a 3k run for under 15s. If your child is interested in taking part application forms are available from the school office.

School grounds and “spare” classroom
Thank you for your comments about the use of our “spare” classroom and how we could develop the school grounds. Over the Easter holiday Croxley Parish Council Rangers will be constructing raised vegetable beds in the small quadrangle by the infant dining area.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Michael, Raymond, Toby, Emily and Ellie who have attended 2 training sessions for children who are gifted and talented in sport.
Congratulations to Emily who has been selected to represent Three Rivers in rugby at the Youth Games.

 

 

 

M. J. Moss

 

March 09

Dates for this term

Parent consultations
During parent consultations we will be asking parents to think about future plans for the school grounds and the spare classroom. The response to the governors’ questionnaire showed that a lot of parents are keen to develop the school grounds and we would like to develop a long term plan for the grounds.

In September 09 we will have a spare classroom which we hope to use for a variety of activities. So far suggestions include an kitchen area for children and adults, space for group teaching and a meeting room. We would welcome your ideas and comments.

Drop In Sessions
Tania Dean, our Parent Support Worker, is in school tomorrow (March 5th ) from 9 - 11.  She is happy to discuss secondary transfer and other issues with individual parents. She can also be contacted on:
Tel: 07531 787732
Email: Tdean@Rickmansworth,herts,sch.uk

World Book Day
World Book Day is on Thursday. We are asking all the children to dress up as a book character for the day. Your child has already received a £1 voucher to spend on a book.
KS2 will be taking part in a wheelbarrow workshop on the same day.

Money into school
Please could you make sure that all money you send into school is in an envelop labelled with your child’s name and what the money is for.
Please could Miss D. N. Waldron contact the school office.

Congratulations
We have been awarded the activemark for exceptional delivery within the PE and sport strategy for 2008. Thank you to Mrs. Feldman, Miss Mercado and Mrs Cook organising the Sports Partnership work and making sure all children get the opportunity to participate in sports activities

M. J. Moss

 

February 09

Date	Activity
Week beginning March 23rd	Parent consultations
Thursday March 26th	Dance afternoon.
Monday March 30th and Tuesday March 31st	Level 1 cycle training for year 4.
Tuesday March 31st	Rickmansworth Music Festival (Choir)
Thursday April 2nd	Celebration Assembly
Friday April 3rd	Term ends at 2.15pm.

 

Drug Education Week
The week after half term is our Drug Education week. All year groups will be learning about aspects of drug education from learning about how to keep healthy in class R to resisting peer pressure in year 6. Some year groups will be looking at the effects of alcohol and tobacco on health. The focus is on keeping healthy and making sensible choices about behaviour.

School Travel Award.
We have been awarded a gold school travel plan award by Hertfordshire County Council. This is because we have had a travel plan in place for more than three years. We have met the targets we set out in our travel plan and are now looking to update it.

Walking bus
The walking bus organised by Mrs. Burke and Ms Murtagh has been running for 2 years now. If any other parents are interested in helping them or organising another walking bus from other parts of Croxley please contact the school office.

Congratulations
Congratulations to the school netball teams who won their matches against Little Green and Rickmansworth Park.

 

M. J. Moss

January 09

Happy New Year

Welcome
Mr. Young is now teaching 6D and they will now be known as 6W. Mrs. D’Moirah has joined the lunchtime staff and will be working on Mondays and Thursdays.

Drop in sessions
Tania Dean, our Parent support Worker, will be running drop in sessions on the first Thursday of the month, starting on February 5th. She will offer confidential friendly help and advice on:

1. changing schools
2. communicating with your child
3. general routines (bedtime, eating)
4. managing challenging behaviour
5. bullying
6. internet safety
7. smoking, drugs & alcohol
8. finding time for yourself

After school activities
You should have received a letter about this term’s after school activities. We will let you know if an activity is cancelled through Groupcall. This term football and netball will be cancelled if it is too cold or wet to be outside. Please make sure your contact number for Groupcall is kept up to date. If your child is unable to attend an activity please let the member of staff running the activity know.

Purcell School
Children in years 4 and 5 have been offered the opportunity to work with students from the Purcell School. They will be working on compositions which will be performed at the North London Music Festival. We hope there will be an opportunity for the children to perform their compositions to the school and parents next term.

Admission consultation

The local authority is consulting parents about its admission policies for 2010/11. The proposals include:

1. Changing the way the continuing interest list works Introducing a single under 11s allocation day and moving the allocation day to later in the year
2. Allocating reception places to twins and multiple births, so that where the last child to be admitted would result in twins being split, these children would be allocated places together
3. Move the King’s Walden and St Paul’s Walden parishes into the Co-educational Priority Area 1 Hitchin from Priority Area 7
4. Introduce local oversubscription arrangements for the Bovingdon parish

Further information can be found at:
http://www.hertsdirect.org/havesay/consultation
The foundation and voluntary aided schools also consult parents about their admission policies. Details of the proposed criteria for 2010/11 will be on the individual school web sites.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Miss King who had a baby boy just before Christmas.
And to Mrs Feldman, Mrs. Stoll and Mrs Wilson who all had baby boys in October.

Back to top

 

 

December 08

Dates for December

Date	Activity
Wednesday December 3rd	Carol concert (choir) at the Collessuem
Saturday December 6th	Christmas Fair
Tuesday December 9th	2.15  KS1 performance
Wednesday December 10th	9.30 Foundation Stage performance 6.30 KS1 performance
Thursday December 11th	9.30 Foundation Stage performance
Monday December 15th	FS and KS1 parties Pantomime for KS2
Thursday December 18th	1.45 KS2 carol concert at All Saints church.
Friday December 19th	9.30 Celebration Assembly School finishes at 2.30pm

Thank you. In April 2008 Nicky Betteley, David Thomson and Sue Milligan were elected as Parent Governor Representatives (PGR) on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) at Hertfordshire County Council. The role of the OSC is to examine how the council operates and to ask questions on how decisions have been made. The committee comprises 10 county councillors and when education matters are being considered 6 added members, 4 parent governors and 2 church representatives join the group. The work programme for 2008/09 includes: Behavioural Support Services Primary School Placement Planning Effectiveness of School Reorganisations One  off Scrutiny meetings include: Autism Hertfordshire Children's Trust Partnership (HCTP) Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children's Board (HSCB) One of the roles of a PGR is to keep in touch with the general views of parents so if you would like to comment on any of the above topics or have any suggestions for education related scrutinies then please contact your local PGR.  He/she will ensure the committee are made aware of your comments/suggestions and advise you of the outcomes. East 1 (North Hertfordshire and Stevenage) Nicky Betteley (Parent Governor at Weston Primary School, Hitchin and The Knights Templar School, Baldock) nicky.betteley@btopenworld.com East 2 (Welwyn and Hatfield, Broxbourne and East Hertfordshire) David Thomson (Parent Governor, St Mary?s Junior School, Ware) david1406@ntlworld.com West 1 (Dacorum, Watford and Three Rivers) Sue Milligan (Parent Governor, St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Berkhamsted) sue.milligan@ntlworld.com West 2 (Hertsmere and St Albans) (Vacant; until this post is filled please contact any of the above PGRs) If you would like to know more about the Overview and Scrutiny Committee please visit www.hertsdirect.org/havesay/scrutiny/ Back to top

Dates for this term

September

October
Friday October 17th     9.30 KS1 ad year 3; 2.15 KS2 Harvest celebrations.
Monday October 20th Parent consultations (afternoon)
Tuesday October 21st Parent consultations (afternoon)
Wednesday October 22nd Parent consultations (evening)
Week beginning October 27th Half term.

November
Friday November 7th Fireworks night (FYM)

December
Monday December 3rd            Carol concert (Choir)  at the Colesseum.
Tuesday December 9th       Afternoon KS1 performance
Wednesday December 10th Morning Foundation Stage performance
                                       Evening KS1 performance
Thursday December 11th Morning Foundation Stage performance
Monday December 15th     Pantomime for KS2
                                    KS1 and FS parties
Thursday December 18th KS2 Carol concert at All Saints church.
Friday December 19th     Celebration Assembly.
                                    Last day of term

Dates for this term

July
Wednesday July 9th Sports Day
Friday July 11th Open Afternoon from 2.00pm.
Thursday July 17th Reserve sports day.
Monday July 14th Leavers’ Evening Year 6.
Friday July 18th Reports home to parents.
Wednesday July 23rd Last day of term. School will finish at 2.15.

Dates for this term

May
Thursday May 1st Team and class photographs
May 5th Bank Holiday
Week beginning May 19th Baby and toddler week
May 26th to May 30th Half term
                                                
June
Wednesday June 11th 2.00pm Concert for Y2 and Y3 parents and parents of children who play violin, viola, ‘cello or a woodwind instrument.
Thursday June 12th Secondary transfer evening (Y4 and Y5
June 20th to June 22nd Y5 PGL
June 23rd Occasional Day
June 24th Staff training Holiday for the children.
June 30th – July 4th Y6 PGL

July
Monday July 7th Governors’ Thank you lunch
Wednesday July 9th Sports Day
Friday July 11th Open Afternoon
Thursday July 17th Reserve sports day.
Monday July 14th Leavers’ Evening Year 6.
Wednesday July 23rd Last day of term. School will finish at 2.15.