Issue 21 - 28th February 2025
Dear Families,
Welcome back. I hope you all had a lovely half term and enjoyed the sunshine when it appeared!
We have started off with a quieter week this week. On Wednesday, Mrs Hukin hosted our monthly book sale. It is always lovely to see so many children there. We are so grateful to the parents who donate to our sale and those who are willing to buy books. It really helps us to encourage a love for reading. Some children in Year 4 took part in a rapid fire cricket event on Thursday and our football team had a match against Woolenwick. Keep reading to find out how they got on...
Next week, we will be celebrating World Book Day with the wonderful event planned by FOAH (please read the information further down for more information). As well as this exciting FOAH event, children are invited to dress up on Thursday 6th March. Please note this is not a non-school uniform/pyjama day. If they wish to dress up, children should dress up as their favourite book character. Some children have been invited to join Mrs Fordham visiting Letchmore Infants to read with the younger children too.
Emma Fordham,
Headteacher
Key Messages
World Book Day - Thursday 6th Match
Please remember, the preordering for the CLIMB BARS will close on Saturday 1st March. It would be a big help to FOAH, if you want to buy the chocolate bars, they are preordered as it will help them to know how many to buy.
Each Climb Bar costs £1 - allergy alternatives (Dairy Free) will be available. There are two separate payments open on Gateway so please check carefully and select the one/s you wish your child to have. There is no limit to the number of chocolate bars you can order.
Buying Climb bars on the day
We will have a stall run by FOAH volunteers in the quadrant after school, so parents/carers/children have the opportunity to buy chocolate bars on the day too!
Sparkly Tickets - Collecting Prizes
Physical prizes will be available at the Quadrant stall so those with a winning sparkly ticket can come along straight away (after school) to collect their prizes. This will really add to the atmosphere on the day.
Those unclaimed on the day - winners can contact the school office to arrange collection. We want the children to be able to keep their golden ticket as a memento, therefore we will mark the back of the ticket once a prize has been collected to avoid tickets being re-used.
Author Visit and Book Sale
Our World Book Day events continue! Year 3 will have a special visit from an author who happens to be a parent of a child at Almond Hill! Katie Budge will host an assembly after lunch and she will tell the children about being an author and read some of her stories to the children.
Her books are available to order! If you would like to purchase any of her books, you can do this on School Gateway from today. This will close on Friday 7th March. Anyone who buys a book can leave the child's name (and any special message) and Katie will include this and sign the purchased copy. Please add this to the comments section on Gateway when placing your orders.
About the author
Katie Budge is an award winning children's book author. So far she has eleven books and she has many more to come. Katie lives in Stevenage and has children who attend Almond Hill. As well as writing, she has now illustrated a few of her own stories including, My Friend Dave and Hug.
Katie can also be found on social media and she has a website;
www.Instagram.com/kt_budge_books
https://ktbudge.wixsite.com/author
Parent Survey
We asked families what they think are the best things about Almond Hill so we know what you value and we can keep it going.
Governor Day – Thursday 27th March
On Thursday, the school governors spent a day in school. It was a great opportunity to see the school in action, interact with the children and some valuable time talking to teachers who are subject leads in different areas of the curriculum. The children were delightful and eager to answer any questions we had. We spent some time in the dining room enjoying the school dinners, played games in the friendship room and watched them enjoy some time in the sunshine at lunch time.
As governors, we are committed to help drive the continuous improvement of the school and a day in school allowed us to further support the school objectives. It was also a great opportunity to meet as a team amid our busy schedules. Taking time out to dedicate and focus on the school is both rewarding and invaluable.
To find out more about the governing board members see the school website @governorspage
We are always on the lookout for new governors to join our friendly team. If this is something you are interested in feel free to grab one of us for a chat, you can usually find us on the school run! Or alternatively, send an email to the school.
Grafham Information Meeting for Parents
Miss Simmons will be hosting an information meeting for parents of children who will be going to Grafham next year. Here you will have the opportunity to find out more about the trip and ask any questions you may have. Year 5 children are welcome to attend with parents/carers. Thursday 20th March 6pm via Microsoft Teams.
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.
Upcoming Events
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03/03/2025 - 6:00pm – 6:30pmFOAH Meeting
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04/03/2025 - All DayCold lunch option only
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04/03/2025 - 1:30pm – 3:00pmY6 Height and Weight (mop up)
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04/03/2025 - 4:00pmParents' Evening Booking System Closes
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06/03/2025 - All DayWorld Book Day
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06/03/2025 - 3:00pm – 3:30pmUniform Sale
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07/03/2025 – 16/03/2025 - All DayScience Week
Book Sale Dates
All sales will take place during the school day. Books cost just 50p each.
26th March
Uniform Sales
Dates for Spring term uniform sales.
All sales will take place from 3.00pm in the hall.
6th March
Grafham Information Meeting
Thursday 20th March 6pm via Microsoft Teams.
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 338 104 527 711
Passcode: wP7sE3bm
SEND/Pastoral Afternoon Tea
This event will take place between 2:30pm and 3:15pm on Thursday 20th March
Club Collection Points
| After School Clubs | ||||
| Club | Day | Times | Collection Point | Year |
| Football | Monday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Gate | 3 & 4 |
| Netball | Monday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Gate | 5 &6 |
| Football | Tuesday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Gate | 3 & 4 |
| French | Tuesday | 3.15-4.15 | Computer Room | 3 & 4 |
| Outdoor Activities | Tuesday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Classrooms | 5 & 6 |
| Badminton | Tuesday | 3.15-4.15 | Hall | 5 & 6 |
| Street Dance | Wednesday | 3.15-4.15 | Hall | all |
| Cheerleading | Wednesday | 8.00–8:45 | N/A | all |
| Football Year 6 (squad only) | Wednesday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Gate | 6 |
| Outdoor Activities | Thursday | 3.15-4.15 | Year 5 Classrooms | 3 & 4 |
| Card Games | Thursday | 3.15-4.15 | 3B | all |
| Multi Sports | Friday | 3.15-4.15 | Hall | 3 & 4 |
| Booster Classes (invitation only) | ||||
| Club | Day | Times | Collection Point | Year |
| Year 6 Maths Booster | Monday | 3.15-4.30 | Acorn House | 6 |
| Year 6 SPaG Booster | Wednesday | 3.15-4.30 | Acorn House | 6 |
| Year 6 Reading Booster | Thursday | 3.15-4.30 | Acorn House | 6 |
Attendance
Year 3 95.54%
Year 4 96.02%
Year 5 96.09%
Year 6 97.7%
All Students 96.35%
Class winners
6C 98.93%
4W 97.24%
Almond Hill Achievements
Click the button below to see all the wonderful things our children have achieved outside of school.
House Points
FOAH Update
Next Meeting Monday 3rd March at 6.00pm
Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 341 658 310 38
Passcode: ff76Uw7Q
Mother’s Day Present Room is here!
The Present Room is now live on School Gateway for this year’s Mother’s Day Present Room, organised by Friends of Almond Hill (FOAH).
The present room will take place during the school day on Wednesday 26th March. On that day, the children can choose a secret present for the important ladies in their life (Mums, Step-mums, Grandmas, Aunties, Carers, and so on - there’s no limit to the number of gifts you can buy per child). Each gift is then brought home at collection time in an individual sealed bag that can be hidden at home, ready to give on Mother’s Day! Please make sure you tell your child whom they are choosing for before the day itself, so they can pick suitable presents.
Cash payments will be accepted on the day of the present room if needs be, but we would be grateful if payments could be made in advance on School Gateway, as this enables us to plan ahead and ensure there are enough gifts for every child taking part.
The closing date for purchasing tickets on School Gateway is Thursday 20th March.
And don’t worry Dads, you won’t miss out – we plan to run a Father’s Day Present Room in June!
All funds raised will go towards equipment and events that enhance the children’s school experience. If you have any questions, please reach out to the FOAH team. Our email is: foah@almondhill.herts.sch.uk
Best wishes
Friends of Almond Hill
In Other News...
Miss Simmons – Sponsored Swim
Hello! I’m challenging myself to swim 8km this March to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity). Please support me by giving whatever you can; no amount is too small to make a difference. Thank you! https://fundraise.gosh.org/s/26443/30475/w
Stevenage Underpass Competition
Many of you submitted entries for the underpass competition and we have now had the results back. There were a total of 950 entries from a number of schools in Stevenage. Of these 950, 268 were chosen as winners and 32 of those came from Almond Hill! The artwork will be featured in the underpasses in Martins Way and the Hitchin Road…
Y6 boys remain undefeated! Football Match – Almond Hill vs Woolenwick
On Thursday, we hosted a match against the excellent Woolenwick - whose players many of the Almond Hill boys play with on teams out of school. Woolenwick are the only team not to have been beaten by us this season (they held us to a 2:2 in a recent friendly) so we knew it would be a tight game. Both teams battled hard but in the end,…
Year 4 Rapid Fire Cricket
Our Year 4 cricketers played beautifully as a team and all showed great sportsmanship. They all did Almond Hill proud! They behaved wonderfully - a member of the Sporting Futures staff even commented on their behaviour. Well done!