Headteacher

I hope everyone is safe and well.

Today was officially the last day of the spring term. It certainly hasn’t felt that way to staff and I’m sure it hasn’t to parents and carers at home!

The school closure has meant that many trips, events and activities planned for this half of the spring and next summer term, have had to be cancelled or postponed. This includes our family consultation meetings – which would have taken place last week – and our latest curriculum evening, which would have been yesterday. Teachers have prepared short summary reports, giving key information about your child’s achievement, progress and next steps. You will receive these in the post, next week.

I have received a request for families from the school community to be part of a photographic project, creating an Arc of Hope which will be included in this year’s Young Artists’ Summer Show at the Royal Academy of Arts.  If you are interested in taking part, the deadline is 10th April.

Challenge yourself and the family to a game of Countdown – the letters round or Countdown – the numbers round.

The BBC Sounds website has a wide range of audio content suitable for children of all ages and interests, available to listen for free.

Learn how to make Easter nests.

Don’t forget to take a look at the English and Maths pages on our school website for more resources to keep your child busy during the Easter holiday and school closure. Listen to Mr Wilson read My Father is a Polar Bear; read our shared stories from World Book Day; and learn how to do short division!

If your child enjoys Harry Potter, learning through a Harry Potter inspired curriculum will motivate and interest them.

Online educational publisher Twinkl is providing free access to some resources during the school closures. The site is regularly updated and includes age and year-group specific curriculum activities, book readings, interactive games and live lessons.

White Rose Maths is also helping parents to support their children’s learning at home by publishing weekly maths lessons and providing access to online textbooks.

Oxford Owl has published a free eBook collection.

The Book Trust has also launched a website to help keep children busy and engaged with books during school closures. BookTrust Home Time contains free books, videos, games, recipes, competitions, activity sheets and live drawalongs, created by children’s authors and illustrators.

Life as we know it seems to be rapidly changing! Who would have thought at the beginning of the school year, that six months later, we would be encouraged not to visit museums, cinemas or restaurants; told not to spend time with our friends and family; and that toilet paper would be such a sought after treasure! And now we have the closure of schools across the country.

But here we are…

Today is the strangest of days! During celebration assembly, I did not know whether to laugh, cry, say ‘goodbye’ or say ‘see you Monday.’  All slightly surreal. As usual, however, the best of Bowmansgreen was standing tall and proud at the front (and in the case of Y6, at the back!) of the hall, being celebrated as the fantastic children they are.

We are currently collating the information about our critical key worker parents so that we can organise our provision from next week. Later this afternoon, we will be contacting the families of all pupils who will be able to attend school from next week. It is all a bit of a minefield, with new information and guidance being delivered to schools, at very short notice. Please bear with us so that we can gather the information we need and get these decisions right. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

In the midst of the turbulence, we have some very happy school news to share. Miss Golding is expecting a baby later this summer! She is currently working from home, supporting staff from afar, in preparation for our school closure later today. Mrs De’ath is also expecting a baby next term and will start her maternity leave very shortly. I know that you will wish them both well for the remainder of their pregnancies and look forward to seeing them again in the not too distant future, with their new additions.

Sadly, we also have a couple of goodbyes to announce. Miss Hicks will be leaving us this term, after five years of teaching at Bowmansgreen. It has been a difficult decision for Miss Hicks to leave the school that she attended as a child and where she has so many fond memories. Miss Minardi will also be leaving us this term, in her role as reception teacher and EYFS Leader. Both Miss Hicks and Miss Minardi are leaving Bowmansgreen to work closer to home and in the best interests of their families. I would like to thank them both for their hard work and commitment to the children of Bowmansgreen and I know that you will join me in wishing them much luck and happiness for the future.

School is very much still in operation after today – until we are told otherwise – and we will ensure that we maintain steady communication with you, to support you and your children during the next few weeks and months. We will be sending home additional curriculum activities and resources with your children today – packs are ready to collect from the school office if your child is not at school today. The year group pages on our school website will be developed to publish curriculum content and resources to continue to support your child’s education and wellbeing whilst they are at home. We will also, of course, keep you fully up to date with relevant news and information as we receive it.

The FOBS Mothers’ Day sale is currently in full swing in the school hall and I have already seen some very proud children waving their secret gifts excitedly through my door. Thank you to Nicola for organising this event which has brought some school normality to a very unusual day.

What has remained a constant throughout these last couple of weeks, is how fantastic our school community  is. Everyone has pulled together to react quickly and positively to such significant change.  Pupils continue to be our best asset, adapting to changes in routine and showing resilience, thought and care for each other. They have amazed me! My poor staff have suffered me moving them into different classes and year groups, changing their timetables and asking them to magic planning and resources out of thin air! I could not wish for a more hard working, positive, caring staff to help me look after the pupils of Bowmansgreen. School governors and parents have offered help, kind words of support and messages of appreciation – thank you everyone. I am immensely proud of our school community.

Thank you to Mrs Hanly for taking the beautiful photo (yes, it is genuine!) of the rainbow over Bowmansgreen. A perfectly fitting photo for today!

Take care of yourselves.

It was a longer than usual celebration assembly this Friday, with so many pupils to congratulate and celebrate. Sporting superstars, outstanding learners, safe cyclists, incredible role-models and talented mathematicians were all celebrated this morning, for their super achievements and efforts. Mrs Street led the assembly song, accompanied by pupils from across the school, signing the lyrics to the audience. We are a talented school community, with pupils to be very proud of and Friday mornings are always a great reminder of this.

Thursday was World Book Day. There is always a good reason to read a book and an even better one to share a story with someone else and pupils at Bowmansgreen managed to do both of those things in abundance on Thursday. Pupils took part in a range of book related activities, to support this year’s theme of ‘Reading is Power,’ including  poetry reading and helping to write a school story. A paired story time took place in the afternoon, involving all pupils across the school. Reception enjoyed hosting Year 6 in their classroom and settled down to hear a story or two with their older friends. Thank you to Miss Ottley for organising our World Book Day activities.

Hertfordshire County Council is keeping schools up to date with information and advice regarding coronavirus. The national guidance remains that schools do not close. We appreciate that some families will naturally be worried about local coronavirus cases within Hertfordshire. The local authority have stressed that current evidence indicates that most cases appear to be mild, with patients experiencing flu-like symptoms and that the new cases of coronavirus are nothing unexpected. The latest updates for Headteachers are around what schools should do if  a member of the school community should test positive for Covid-19 or comes into close contact with somebody who has. The local authority is discussing and planning strategies around possible and likely scenarios for schools and we will update the school community accordingly, if or when necessary.  In the meantime, it is school business as usual! We will continue to be proactive about hygiene routines and school cleanliness and ensure that school is well resourced and equipped to fulfill the ‘Catch it, Bin it. Kill it’ guidance.

Next week, Bowmansgreen will be supporting British Science Week, through a range of curriculum activities. You can look forward to finding out more about your child’s learning during science week, at our next curriculum evening on Thursday 2nd April.

Please be reminded that parent consultation evenings take place on March 24th and 26th. See your child’s class teacher if you have not yet made an appointment.

Enjoy your weekend.

You may have noticed something different about the front of the school since returning after half-term but couldn’t quite put your finger on it….
Unfortunately, the large Lombardy Poplar tree, that had stood for many years by the school entrance, had to be felled during half term. It never recovered from being hit by lightning a couple of years ago and, unfortunately, had to come down.

As you will be aware, there has been a lot of information in the news about a strain of coronavirus called COVID-19. This includes information relating to schools, including those returning from trips to Italy over half term. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) have reassured all schools that none of the trips run by Hertfordshire schools were within the ten towns which the Italian authorities have put on quarantine measures and Hertfordshire residents remain at low risk. HCC have advised that taking basic hygiene precautions remains the best way to reduce the chances of spreading any virus, a message that we have reinforced to all pupils. The Department for Education has communicated guidance for educational settings in conjunction with information and advice from Public Health England which we are following and will closely monitor as it is updated.

We have again managed to accumulate hundreds of items of lost property during last half term, including coats, shoes, bags and football boots. None of the items are named so cannot be returned to their owners. Please could we remind parents and carers to name all items of children’s uniform. Weather permitting, we will have a used uniform sale alongside our monthly book swap, on Friday 13th March. Please come along to top up your child’s uniform.

National headlines frequently refer to statistics that support a worrying trend of poor mental health amongst school-aged children. This is alongside rising reports of self-harm and anxiety. These are not just increasingly common trends, they are real issues for some of our families. As a school, we will continue to teach and support our pupils to look after their physical and mental health and look at ways of building their resilience and self-esteem. We are continuing to develop and improve our therapeutic provision so that we can provide early intervention for our families, which in this climate of funding and service cuts, is not easy to achieve. If you would like more information or you are worried about the mental health or emotional well-being of a child or young person, the NSPCC and Young Minds websites are good places to start. If you are concerned about your own child and would like some support or information from school, please see your child’s class teacher or contact me via the school office.

Please can we remind families that children are not allowed on the playground equipment at the end of the school day. Pupils are aware of this expectation and we would appreciate your support in ensuring that it is reinforced.

Our final celebration assembly of the year brought the term to a fitting close. Pupils, staff (and some parents!) were in fine voice as they sang and celebrated the pupils who have shone this week. It was also an opportunity to say our goodbyes to Mrs Flatt and Ms Chivers and wish Mrs Gritz good luck as she prepares to have her baby in the new year. Congratulations to all of the pupils who have, throughout the term, achieved amazing things and done themselves and the school community very proud. Bowmansgreen pupils are fantastic!

….including Hannah who has done it again! Hannah in 2C has been busy raising money for charity again this winter. She has made a family of lolly stick people and raised £115 to fund four beds through the charity Crisis. We are all very proud of you Hannah and know that your beds will make a huge difference to homeless people this Christmas.

…. and also Bailey in 4H who won the Christmas card competition run by Holiday Inn Express, St Albans. As well as receiving some goodies as her prize, Bailey’s design has been produced as the official Christmas card for the hotel. Congratulations Bailey!

Pupils and staff at Bowmansgreen also helped to raise over £250 for Save the Children by supporting their Christmas Jumper Day 2019. Thank you.

Parents in EYFS may have noticed that Mrs Akbolat had not been at school for the last few weeks of term….  except for a couple of surprise appearances to say ‘hello’ to pupils and to tell Father Christmas that she has tried to be very good this year! I regret to inform everyone that Mrs Akbolat was suddenly taken very ill and gave herself, her family and friends more than a bit of a scare! I am very happy and relieved to announce that she is now on the mend and hopes to gradually return to work after the holidays. I know that you will all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her in the new year.

It has been a great first term at Bowmansgreen this year. We are all working hard to bring continued, sustained improvements to our provision in all areas and although we still have so much to do and achieve, we should all be very proud of how far we have come. Last month’s Ofsted inspection and subsequent report accurately reflect the great things that we do every day to provide a safe, happy and enjoyable educational experience for our pupils. In terms of our results and published data,  we are certainly holding our own with local schools in terms of the progress and attainment that pupils achieve whilst they are with us. It is a whole school, community effort and I would like to thank everyone for their contributions and support. It really makes a difference to the lives of the pupils who come through our doors each day.

On behalf of the staff and governors at Bowmansgreen, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.