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Issue 5 - 4th October 2024

 

Dear Parents/Carers,  

We have an exciting month ahead! We're looking forward to welcoming our Year 3 parents for lunch on the 9th, 16th and 23rd. Parents are also invited to meet their child's class teacher during parents' evenings on the 8th and 10th. Plus, the children can look forward to the FOAH Halloween (silent) disco on Tuesday, 22nd October! If you haven’t already, be sure to book your child’s ticket on School Gateway by Tuesday 15th October, as we absolutely won’t be able to add any more children afterward as health and safety risk assessments have to be written. We'll also be hosting our monthly book sale on Wednesday 23rd October, just before half-term from 28th October to 1st November. 

Please note, some clubs are cancelled in the coming weeks due to parents' evening and/or the Halloween Disco.

Tuesday 8th October (parents' evening) - cooking, French and netball 
Thursday 10th October (parents' evening) - Outdoor activities
Tuesday 22nd October (Halloween disco) - cooking, French and netball 

Have a good weekend.

Emma Fordham
Headteacher

Key Messages

Responding to feedback about the pop-up pool

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter regarding the pop-up swimming pool. I am really pleased to see that parents have taken the time to ask questions and give feedback and it is fantastic to see all the positive comments about the pool. As previously mentioned, we will answer questions via the newsletter so that all parents can be informed and information can be shared with everyone at the same time. Please see below for answers to the comments raised so far. Please feel free to submit the form if you have any other questions.  

When will lessons take place? 
There will be 12 children in a group and 10 half an hour lessons across the school day. 

Will there be an option to pay the swimming fee over the term/year? 
Yes. Payments will be made via School Gateway and you will have the option to pay over a number of months with a deadline being around February/March 2025. 

Does my child have to take part? 
We would like every child in Years 5 and 6 (even if they are competent swimmers) to get at least one chance to have a go and also be assessed but we appreciate some children already have lessons outside of school and can swim the 25 metres required. We will be asking for consent for children to use the pool so you are able to decline this opportunity if you would prefer.  

Where will children get changed? 
Children will be separated into boys and girls for changing in the same way they are when they go to the pool. We do not want any children to feel uncomfortable getting changed for lessons so will of course accommodate a space to change privately where we can. You can help with this by allowing your child to wear their swimming costume under their uniform to make getting ready for lessons quicker.  

How deep is the pool? 
It is a 10m x 5m x 1.4m heated pool with an average temperature of 30° C. 

What year groups is this for? 
For this year, we will be offering this opportunity to Years 5 and 6. I thought it would be very tough for the Year 6 pupils to miss out on such an exciting chance and in this way all the children in the school currently will get a turn this year or next. 

If the trial is successful, we will book this provision annually and it will be offered to the children in Years 4 and 5 meaning that children who need it will get two sustained periods to secure this skill.  

Please can you clarify the cost? 
We have calculated that each lesson costs £4.50 which means if your child swims for the whole month (20 lessons in total), this will cost £90. The lessons take place daily and last for 30 minutes. 

We appreciate that this will be very difficult for some families. No child will be denied the chance to swim if their family cannot or does not pay. However, we would not be able to fund a huge shortfall each year so if we were not able to cover the costs with voluntary contributions and possible fund-raising activities, we would not be able to make this an annual feature of our school offer. 

Please can I ask parents in Years 5 and 6 to complete the form below as soon as possible.  

Can your child swim?*
Are you able to provide proof of any swimming certificates your child has?*
No file chosen
Do you give consent for your child to use the pop up pool (assessment or lessons)?*

 

School open events and key dates for secondary transfer 

Moving on 2025 leaflet Information for parents with children in year 6 at primary/junior school. Further information about moving to secondary school in September 2025 will be available at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions 

The timetable below gives you an idea of what will happen over the next few months. 

July, September and October 2024 

Schools hold their open events 

Thursday 31 October 2024 

Closing date for applications (online and paper) 

Cinema Trips 

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, these are the dates for the cinema trips. 

Year 4 - Kung Fu Panda 4 - 13th November 1:00 - 2:40  
Year 3 - Garfield - 27th November - 10:00 - 11:45 
Year 5 - Asterix and the secret of the magic potion - 19th November 10:00 - 11:40 
Year 6 - Despicable me 4 - 28th November 10:00 - 11:45 

Year 4 parents, as the Year 4 film is in the afternoon, we wanted to give you the option of collecting children from the cinema or from school. We will need to know before the day so we can plan for the correct number of staff waiting at the cinema as well as those walking back with the children.  Please complete the form (linked below) to let us know your plans as soon as possible. Parents will need to collect from the cinema at 2.45pm. We will not be in a position to wait so anyone who has not been collected at this time, will be brought back to school. We anticipate we will be back at school by 3.30pm. The time of arrival is approximate. 

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

Voices in Hertfordshire

Earlier this week, I sent a letter to parents about the Voices in Hertfordshire Project. This is a great opportunity for the right children and would urge parents to read the information and complete the form attached if your child would like to participate.  

School Photos 

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

Parents’ Evening 

We are planning Parents’ Evenings for the Autumn Term on Tuesday 8th and Thursday 10th October.  

Booking is now closed - please contact the school office if you need to make any changes or you have not yet booked an appointment. For those classes with a shared teacher, your appointment will be with one or both of the teachers. 

You will receive a paper copy of the parents’ evening information today to give you an opportunity to digest the information and ask questions during the appointment.

School Uniform Reminder  

Please be reminded that school uniform is a white polo shirt or shirt and red t shirt for PE. Red polo shirts are not part of the school uniform. We like the children to look really smart and to differentiate between the two uniforms. Please help us by supporting our uniform policy. We appreciate that cost can be a barrier so invite parents to attend our uniform sales which are held monthly. We wouldn’t want anyone to purchase unnecessary uniform so if you are reusing an older siblings uniform or have already purchased for this year, please don’t worry I would just ask that when you replace the uniform, you replace with the correct items. 

 https://www.almondhill.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=School+Uniform&pid=48  

Umbrellas  

We know the weather has been pretty awful recently but can I please ask that children do not bring umbrellas to use at break/lunchtime as they can be dangerous when children are running around. If the weather/rain is too bad, children will be inside. 

Donation request 

Following my letter regarding the pop-up pool, I would like to ask parents for any donations of old swimming costumes/trunks, swim hats or towels. I want to remove barriers where I can and I think kit is something we can certainly support with. Please bring donations to the office – thank you. 

Clubs 

Can I ask parents to please be mindful when signing up for clubs and ensure your child wants to attend as parents and children are disappointed when they are full and it is a shame when then they have spaces due to people regularly not attending. The idea of these after school clubs is to provide additional enrichment opportunities outside of the curriculum – they are not intended as childcare so please make sure your child wants to join the club you have selected.  

If your child is part of a club that they don’t want to attend, please contact the school office so we can remove them from our register. Not only does it take a lot of ‘admin time’ to follow up on attendance to clubs, but we also have a waiting list of children who we could offer these spaces to. 

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

Cost of Events - Please Read

We understand that with the current cost of living crisis, many of our parents are facing challenges or finding things more difficult than usual. We are committed to ensuring that no child misses out on school experiences due to financial difficulties. To help ease the burden, we offer preloved uniform sales, book sales and we also fund or subsidise events ourselves.

We thought it would be helpful to provide parents with advance notice of some of the planned events for the year to assist with budgeting and planning. Below, you’ll find a table of events organised by year group. Additional fundraising events may be arranged throughout the year by our school government (once elected), FOAH, or charities, but participation in these will always be optional.

If cost ever becomes a barrier for your child to take part in school events, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Burgess, who will be happy to explore available support in strict confidence.

 
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Whole School
Fundraising 
September Pirate Writing Day
(funded by school)
         
October       Grafham Residential 
£253pp
FOAH Halloween Disco 
£5 per ticket
Blue Cross
November     Trip to The Space Centre 
£33pp
Christmas Carol
Writing Day
(funded by school)
  RNLI
December         FOAH Christmas Present Room 
£2.50 per gift
 
January

 

 

         
February Trip to the museum 
£7pp
Courageous Castle Writing Day 
(funded by school)
Beowolf Writing Day
(funded by school)
     
March   Trip to Krishnate Temple 
£25pp
    FOAH Mother's Day Present Room (TBC)
£2.50 per gift
 
April

 

 

         
May

 

 

         
June 'Wise up'
£16pp
      FOAH Father's Day Present Room (TBC)
£2.50 per gift
 
July   Trip to Shuttleworth
£6.50pp
  Proposed trip to Legoland
approx £27pp
   

 

Club Collection Points and End Dates

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 3rd October 
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

We want any parent who feels these sessions may benefit them to have the chance to attend so welcome feedback about the time/dates that these are planned. 

Attendance Matters

Year 3 98.33% 
Year 4 96.59% 
Year 5 94.72% 
Year 6 94.02% 
All Students 95.87% 
Class Winners 
Lower School 3B 99.2% 
Upper School 5S 98.8% 

Almond Hill Achievements

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

ACHIEVEMENTS

House Points

FOAH News...

Silent Halloween Disco 22nd October 

Can you floss like Frankenstein, dance like Dracula or waltz like a Witch? 

Friends of Almond Hill will be hosting silent discos for each year group on Tuesday 22nd October.  Tickets are £5 each, include a drink and a snack and can be purchased on School Gateway until 15th October. Please note we are unable to accept cash on the day or bookings after this date. 

Details of the discos are as follows 
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. 

We hope to see you there and can’t wait to see your dance moves. 

FOAH Christmas Cards 

Please ensure your child's finished artwork is returned to their class teacher by Monday 7th October.  

All artwork must be clearly labelled. 

Next Meeting Monday 14th October at 6.00pm

Microsoft Teams 
Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 353 847 555 630
Passcode: MR2xuQ

In Other News...

Bloomsbury Author Visit 

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we have an exciting visitor planned for Years 3 and 4. Colm Field will be hosting an assembly on 16th October and will hold a book sale after so children will have the opportunity to purchase one of his books. You can take a look at the books by following the links below:  

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/kyan-green-and-the-infinity-racers-9781526641748/  

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/kyan-green-battles-the-multiverse-9781526641786/ 

If you would like to pre-order one of his books, you can do this on School Gateway or you can wait and purchase on the day. 

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/  

Blue Cross Visit

Blue Cross Visit This week in Year 5, we had a visit from Blue Cross. An animal welfare charity that provides veterinary care and expert behavioural help as well as helps finding homes for pets in need. During their visit, we had an interactive presentation with lots of interesting information about the importance of keeping our pets safe, espec…

Cross Country

Cross Country The Almond Hill cross country team did us proud! Last week, they took part in an event at Fairlands competing against other Stevenage schools. The Year 5 boys and girls team came 3rd overall earning themselves BRONZE! We also had two individual medallists. Jack in Year 5 and Hetty in Year 6 were both awarded GOLD. All…

Art Club 

This week at art club we painted our ornaments. We used acrylic paints and gold to highlight the leaf design.