Headteacher

It is lovely to be back after the summer holiday and it has been a happy, positive start to the new school year at Bowmansgreen.  Pupils have settled quickly into their new classes and have been working hard, demonstrating a calm, purposeful attitude. The focus for the first week has been about setting and reinforcing standards and expectations – of uniform, attendance, learning and behaviour – and pupils are already aiming high. Pupils have been reminded of our three school rules – be kind, be safe, be respectful – and the expectation that they are demonstrated by every member of our school community, at all times.

We have welcomed lots of new families to Bowmansgreen this week, with new pupils joining classes across the school. I know that they are being made to feel very welcome and helped to settle in by their peers and I hope that they have enjoyed their first few days as part of our school community.

Our new reception pupils have made a confident, settled start to school life at Bowmansgreen. They spent their first full day at school yesterday yet looked like they have been attending for weeks! They have been busy learning and playing well together, forming new friendships, having fun and becoming familiar with their new environment. I am sure that some will sleep very well this weekend…

I am sure that you are aware of the recent media headlines about RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) and that some schools have been affected by the presence of RAAC in their buildings. RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete which was used in schools and other building construction from the 1950s until the mid-1990s. After some time and in some circumstances, this concrete can collapse. I can reassure you that Hertfordshire County Council had the school surveyed by appropriately qualified building surveyors in the last few years and I can confirm that there is no RAAC at Bowmansgreen and therefore no risk to pupils or staff. I can only begin to imagine the disruption, upset and stress experienced by the many school communities who are affected by RAAC and feel so sorry for those who have been denied a settled start to their school year.

Mrs May, our new school SENCO has been busy getting to know pupils, during her first week at Bowmansgreen. I look forward to working closely with Mrs May during the coming weeks, to ensure a smooth handover of information and to support her getting to know families and the needs of pupils with SEND across the school.

This half-term’s school value is kindness. Staff will be looking out for examples of pupils going over and above to demonstrate kindness towards each other, acknowledging and reinforcing the importance of kindness within our school community, both as a value and one of our non-negotiable, three school rules. Some pupils have already been mentioned frequently during the first week, regarding their excellent attitude and kindness towards others. Some early contenders for class recognition boards, I am sure.

Yesterday’s celebration assembly started with our new Bowmansgreen school song and finished with three excellent piano solos, performed by Isla, Reef and Zara. Mr Bronstein expressed how proud he was of all three musicians who recently passed their Grade 1 piano exams with flying colours! Congratulations to all three and I look forward to their next performances.

Parents and carers are once again welcome to attend Friday celebration assemblies whether or not your child is receiving an award. Pre-covid, Friday assemblies were a lovely community occasion, well attended by families across the school. Please feel free to join us, 9am every Friday. We do have limits and regulations to follow regarding the number of people allowed into the school hall at once so we may have to cap numbers if attendance is high. Celebration assembly usually lasts between twenty and thirty minutes. Please enter via the breakfast club/dining room door, where you will be able to wait from 8.35am.

Family adults are also again invited to join their children at our breakfast club each morning. Breakfast costs £3.00 per person (£3.00 for the first child and £2.00 for each sibling) and is served between 7.30am – 8.15am. Mrs Stanley and her team offer a range of breakfast items and a tasty, hot breakfast, every Friday. Come and join us – Mrs Stanley would love to see you there!

Congratulations to the pupils in Year 5 who completed their first aid course with St John’s Ambulance, at the end of last term. Yesterday, they received their hard earned and well deserved certificates. Their course included learning about CPR, choking, treating burns and stemming bleeding – invaluable knowledge and skills that could one day be used to help others, even prevent a death. Thank you very much to Miss Russell who organised and led the course and has helped train many Bowmansgreen pupils in first aid, over the last few years.

During the next two weeks, all classes will take part in Forest School. You will receive a letter notifying you of when your child’s session takes place and what they will need to bring.

Please be reminded to park safely and respectfully on the roads around school, at all times. Neighbours have been upset and inconvenienced during our first week back, with driveways having been blocked and some inconsiderate parking, ignoring the parking restrictions.

Pupils in Y4, Y5 and Y6 can enter and exit school grounds via the back gate, as independent travellers. Please collect a form from the office if you would like your child to become an independent traveller for the first time.

We have a vacancy on our governing board for a parent governor. If you are a parent or carer of a pupil currently on roll at Bowmansgreen, with a keen interest in supporting the school’s leadership, school policy, financial matters and educational outcomes, you might be interested in joining the school’s governing body as a parent governor. Look out for next week’s letter detailing the nomination and election process and procedures.

Upcoming key dates: KS1/KS2 Meet the Teacher events – during week beginning September 25th 2023; Open Morning – Saturday September 30th, 2023; Family Consultation Meetings – October 3rd and 5th, 2023;

Enjoy your weekend.

Thank you for making this week’s sports days so much fun! Thankfully the weather held out for each sports day (almost, for EYFS!) and pupils across the school had fun competing with and against their classmates, in a range of events. Pupils had a great time and participated well. They were very well supported and cheered on  – thank you families! The house points have been carefully counted and added to the totals so far. The grand house point totals and winning house will be announced next week.

Parenting When Separated Programme
The Parenting When Separated Programme is for parents who are preparing for, going through, or have gone through a separation or divorce. It is a six-week course that highlights practical steps parents can take to help their children cope and thrive, as well as coping successfully themselves. The course is free to attend and you can be referred by a professional or parents can self-refer.

We are aware that the parking around Bowmansgreen has again become an issue for drivers, pedestrians and neighbours. Please ensure that you park safely and considerately on the roads around school, following the parking restrictions. There have been several accidents in recent weeks, including crashes into parked cars. The parking restrictions have been put in place to help keep our school community safe and they do make a difference when they are followed.

Tomorrow, your child will find out their new class for next year. They will meet their new class staff and spend some time in the new classroom. We appreciate that it will be a very daunting time for some pupils and they will worry about what next year will be like for them. We will try our best to reassure and prepare all pupils for this transition and know that some will take longer to accept the change and settle into their new classes. Parents and carers, you will also receive confirmation of your child’s new class, tomorrow. Year 6 pupils will spend tomorrow at their new secondary schools. Very exciting!

As is often the case at the end of a school year, we have a number of staff leaving Bowmansgreen this term. We will be saying goodbye to Miss Roux, Miss Choudhry and Mr Regan, who will be  leaving us at the end of term. I am sure that you will join me in thanking all three for their hard work and commitment to the children, staff and Bowmansgreen school community and wishing Miss Roux, Miss Choudhry and Mr Regan the very best of luck and happiness for the future.

Our final curriculum evening of the year takes place tomorrow, 3 – 4pm and 6 – 7pm. Pupils have been busy creating art, design and technology masterpieces, to share with you. It would be lovely to see you there!

We expect pupils to wear full uniform every day, including footwear and PE kit. Our school uniform policy gives the flexibility of logo and non-logo items but with clear expectations about types of items and colours. Footwear is expected to be plain black shoes or trainers – any visible logos are also expected to be black. Pupils are regularly reminded about appropriate uniform but we rely on parent and carer support and reinforcement to ensure that our policy is adhered to.

At the end of May, we will be holding nearly new uniform ‘sales’ to enable families to stock up on uniform items for free. Dates to follow.

Please ensure that your child does not use the playground equipment before or after school. As staff are not on hand to supervise this play, we ask that you do not allow your child on any of the equipment pieces. This request is to avoid any accidents before or after the school day, when the playgrounds are not monitored or supervised in the same was as during the school day, when your children are in our care. It can be awkward for staff to intervene and speak directly to pupils they see whilst they are in your care but they are following our policies and health and safety guidance so please do not be offended if a member of staff asks your child to come off the equipment.

Next Friday is our Coronation celebration, with pupils encouraged to wear red, white and blue or dress as a king or queen for the day. We look forward to families joining us between 2 – 4pm to get the Coronation bank holiday weekend off to a great start.

Harrison (Y6) was acknowledged in yesterday’s celebration assembly by Mr Sanders, for his contributions to the Bowmansgreen football team and also for his participation and success in his footballing achievements outside of school. To learn that Harrison is one of only 24 players across the district to be part of the St Albans Primary Schools Representative Squad, is certainly something to celebrate. Congratulations, Harrison – what a fantastic achievement! You should be very proud of yourself as we all are of you.

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend.

Eid Mubarak!

Many families within our school community are celebrating Eid. We hope that you enjoy your festivities and family celebrations, during the next few days.

Thank you, if you have kindly responded to Mrs Stanley’s recent request for donations of plants or seeds. Any donations of the following would be much appreciated, to help pupils restore the beds and planters around school and learn to grow their own flowers, fruit and vegetables:
-bags of compost/grow bags
-strawberry plants
-seeds (lettuce, radish, tomato, runner bean, beetroot, rainbow chard, carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, courgette, sunflower, cornflower, meadow/country wild flower… or any other favourite flowers!)

This half-term’s school values are truth and honesty. Monday’s assembly explored the importance of these values and throughout the half-term, staff will be looking out for pupils who are excellent role models in demonstrating these values.

On Wednesday, photographers were at Bowmansgreen to take class photos. They will return later this term to take photos of our school teams and House Captains.

Thank you to the many families who helped create an enormous pile of donations as part of yesterday’s FOBS Bag2School fundraiser. Thank you for supporting this event and joining Mrs Stanley for a cup of coffee, to help raise money for our school.

Recent FOBS fundraising has helped purchase new playground equipment for each Key Stage. The static gym equipment is proving very popular and great fun for pupils across the school. We were able to add some FOBS fundraising to a generous donation from a local resident and former pupil. Thank you everyone!

The FOBS committee are hard at it again today, busy setting up for today’s Circus Sensible at Bowmansgreen. We hope to see lots of families at the workshops and/or shows, joining in the fun and helping to raise more valuable funds to benefit our pupils.

Throughout the week, pupils in Year 5 took part in Bikeability training, learning how to ride their bikes safely on the road. Miss Allen was very proud to have received some extremely positive feedback from the instructors about how supportive and caring pupils were towards each other, especially when individual pupils lacked confidence when facing a new challenge. Well done, children. You should be very proud of yourselves.

After seven and a half-years at Bowmansgreen, yesterday Mrs Rea worked her final day at Bowmansgreen. She will be taking up a new job locally and therefore expects to still see lots of families around in the local community. Pupils said goodbye to Mrs Rea in yesterday’s celebration assembly and she received a steady stream of cards and flowers throughout the day. I am sure that you will join me in thanking her for her hard work and commitment to Bowmansgreen over the years and wish her the best of luck for the future.

Good luck to the Year 5 boys football team, currently taking part in the six-a-side finals this morning!

Enjoy your weekend.