Issue 7 - 18th October 2024

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week, Almond Hill were the host to a county wide initiative which aims to give children with a disability, hidden disability or a lived experience of one, a chance to share their views with a wide audience. The children involved were great at sharing their opinions and showed maturity when they were asked to contribute in front of others.

The next meeting will be at a different Stevenage school in November (date to be confirmed) and we will be working towards developing ideas of how to provide social media content for #SENDtakeover2024. This is when Voices of Hertfordshire have been given the chance to be in charge of Hertfordshire County Council, Voices of Hertfordshire, Services for young people and Health social media channels for the day on the Tuesday 3rd December 2024 as part of World Disability Day. Well done to our school representatives!

Next Friday, our Year 6 children will set off for their residential trip to Grafham. I am sure they will have a fantastic time and will come back with lots of stories to share with you all! Please keep a look out on Seesaw for updates. A huge thank you to the staff who have given up their weekend to accompany the children too (although, they love it nearly as much as the children do!) and Mrs Patterson for all her hard work organising the trip. I would also like to thank Loraine Rossati, (one of the councillors for Symonds Green) for kindly donating to help one of our families to attend.

Have a good weekend.

Emma Fordham,
Headteacher

Key Messages

Reminder: the deadline for secondary school applications is Thursday 31st October 2024.

Maths games for children in Years 3-5

Children in Years 3-5 will be bringing home a maths game today. These have been kindly donated by another local headteacher and are excellent for learning times tables. All children are expected to know their times tables by the end of Year 4 so this is a great way to help your child learn at home in a fun way. It will also be really helpful for the upper school maths curriculum too as times tables knowledge is crucial for many topics such as fractions and ratios.

Early Arrivals – Neighbour Complaints

I am disappointed to report we have had complaints from our neighbours about how early parents are arriving for collection at the end of the school day which results in engines idling, streets blocked and long queues of traffic outside of school. This poses a huge safety risk too as people are overtaking the queue of cars to continue their journey. I would urge families to avoid driving if at all possible or car share and certainly not queue for long periods of time outside school. Please be mindful of access to homes and local streets - if tempers flare there is more likely to be an accident.

Swimming Forms – Year 5 and 6

Thank you to the majority of parents who have completed the swimming ability form. We will phone anyone who has not responded by the end of the day today in order to ascertain any barriers and to plan swimming groups after half term. Families can expect to hear about swimming groups before half term.

Cinema Trips

Thank you to the Year 4 parents who have already completed the collection arrangements form for the cinema trip. If you haven’t already done so please do ASAP. Please note, if a form is not completed by Friday 25th October, your children will be expected to walk back to school after the film.

https://forms.office.com/e/SpYXKX6ueW

School Photos -Tuesday 22nd October

Our photographers will be in school on Tuesday 22nd October to take individual photos of the children. The photos taken of Year 6 will be used in the yearbook so please do your best to be here on the day. Almond Hill siblings will also have their photos taken on this day.

Asda Cashpot for Schools

Don’t forget to sign up! So far, our cashpot is on £230.73 and continues to rise! A big thank you to everyone who has shopped at Asda and selected Almond Hill as their school! Please spread the word to your friends and family.

43 days left!

Headlice

Unfortunately, headline is a recurring issue. We do urge all parents to check their children’s hair regularly and treat any cases immediately. More information on what to look out for and how to treat headline can be found on the NHS website http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Please ensure you check your child’s hair routinely. For further information on head lice and how to treat, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

Diary Dates

Did you know, you can subscribe to our calendar to keep up to date with the events going on within the school?

Follow the link below, select 'subscribe' and follow the instructions for your device.

School Calendar

Upcoming Events

After School Club End Dates and Collection Points

^Club	^Day	^Time	^{Club Leader}	^{Collection point}	^Year
^{Football 3&4 Booked half termly (paid) 9th Sept – 21st Oct}	^Monday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{WB Coaching}	^{Year 5 gate (by the church)}	^3&4
^{Football 5&6 Booked half termly (paid) 10th Sept – 22nd Oct}	^Tuesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{WB Coaching}	^{Year 5 gate (by the church)}	^5&6
^{Netball 17th Sept – 26th Nov} ^{Cancelled on 8th and 22nd}	^Tuesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Mrs Small/Miss Wase}	^{Year 5 gate} ^{(by the church)}	^{5&6 Boys and girls}
^{French 17th Sept – 26th Nov} ^{Cancelled on 8th and 22nd}	^Tuesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Mrs Pridmore}	^4W	^3&4
^{Cooking – 8 weeks 24th Sept -19th Nov Cancelled on 8th and 22nd}	^Tuesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Mrs Bond, Mrs Hukin, Mrs Lamacraft}	^{Computer room}	⁴
^{Dance (paid) 18th Sept – 11th Dec}	^Wednesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Lynsey Pollard}	^Hall	^All
^{Football Year 6 only 18th Sept – 23rd Oct}	^Wednesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Miss Simmons/Miss Harris}	^{Year 5 gate} ^{(by the church)}	⁶
^{Mad Science (paid) 18th Sept – 27th Nov}	^Wednesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Mad Science}	^3W	^3&4
^{Stop Frame Animation 25th Sept – 20th Nov}	^Wednesday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Mrs Lyons}	^3L	⁴
^{Basketball 19th Sept – 17th Oct}	^Thursday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^Premier	^{Year 5 gate} ^{(by the church)}	^5&6
^{Gymnastics 24th Oct – 28th Nov}	^Thursday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^Premier	^Hall	^5&6
^{Outdoor Activities 19th Sept – 28th Nov} ^{Cancelled on 10th}	^Thursday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Miss Harris}	^{Year 5 classrooms}	^3&4
^{Basketball 20th Sept – 18th October}	^Friday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^Premier	^{Year 5 gate} ^{(by the church)}	^3&4
^{Gymnastics 25th Oct – 29th Nov}	^Friday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^Premier	^Hall	^3&4
^{Outdoor Activities 20th Sept – 29th Nov}	^Friday	^{3:15 – 4:15pm}	^{Miss Harris}	^{Year 5 classrooms}	5&6

Pre-Loved Uniform Sale

Pre-loved uniform sales take place monthly in the hall 3.00-3.30pm.

Thursday 7th November
Thursday 5th December

50p Book Sale

If your child would like to purchase a book, please can they bring their money to school with them (exact money is preferred where possible). Books cost just 50p each!

Wednesday 23rd October Wednesday 27th November
No book sale in December

SEND/Pastoral Parent Meetings

Thursday 21st November 2.30-3.15pm.

Attendance Matters

Year 3 94.27%
Year 4 96.71%
Year 5 94.88%
Year 6 93.91%
All Students 95.79%

Class Winners 5P 98.52% and 3W 98%

Almond Hill Achievements

Click the button below to see all the wonderful things our children have achieved outside of school.

ACHIEVEMENTS

FOAH News...

Silent Halloween Disco 22nd October

Details of the discos are as follows – please only attend if you have bought a ticket. We will not be able to let anyone in who is not on our risk assessment.

Year 3 – 3.15 to 4.15 (Class teachers will drop them off after school)
Year 4 – 4.00 to 5.00
Year 5 – 4.45 to 5.45
Year 6 – 5.30 to 6.30

Please drop your children off at the hall door in the quadrant and pick them up from the central cloakroom – this will be sign posted.

Halloween Sweet Jars – Guess the number of treats (no tricks)

If you are looking to stock up on your sweetie stash ahead of Halloween, simply guess the number of spooky treats in our Halloween sweet jars to win them! It’s 50p per guess, and money can be bought into class week commencing 14th October. The correct guess wins the sweets and don’t worry if you have any dietary requirements, we will provide you with something you can enjoy. Last guess 22nd October.

Next meeting date: between 6:00pm and 6:30pm on 25th November.

In Other News….

Bloomsbury Author Visit

Year 3 and 4 were incredibly lucky to meet with real author Colm Field on Wednesday. He told us all about how he writes his books (on his phone!) and what inspires him to write his stories. We even got to start writing our own story in another dimension that included a large set of teeth!

"I enjoyed hearing about being an author. It could help us write a book in the Future." Benjamin

"I really enjoyed the afternoon and it has inspired me to start writing." Ava M

Art Club

This week in art club we made 'nature frames'.

We used card and Sellotape to create a sticky frame and arranged leaves, berries and flowers to build a picture. You can pre-make one of these frames before going for a walk and collect items to display on the way.

Hertfordshire’s Families First

Hertfordshire’s Families First website provides valuable information, advice, and support for families. It covers a wide range of topics, including parenting advice, childcare, emotional and mental health, relationship support, and services for young people.

If you need more help beyond your usual support network (such as health visitors, schools, or family centres), Families First can work with you to create a personalised package of support. It’s available to all Hertfordshire families with children under 18 (or up to 25 if they have a learning need or disability).

Visit the Families First website for resources and assistance: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/familiesfirst"

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Visit

A volunteer from The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will be visiting Year 5 and 6 in November to tell them all about the wonderful things they do. As with the visit from the Blue Cross, the assembly is free of charge but we would love to make a donation to the RNLI as a thank you for their visit. This will be available on School Gateway the week before the assembly.

https://rnli.org/