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Headteacher’s Blog

Not long to go now until the Christmas break! It has been a very long term and pupils are certainly beginning to flag. They will have done really well if they managed to dodge flu and sickness bugs and keep going right until the end. One more sleep!

Pupils have enjoyed a very busy week including a pantomime, Christmas lunch and class parties. Father Christmas was also spotted at Bowmansgreen again this week, visiting Key Stage 1 classes to deliver a few more early presents.

We hope that you enjoyed the opportunity to share in your child’s maths work at today’s curriculum evening. Pupils are always excited to show off what they have been learning with you and are always proud of their work.

I am sad to announce that Bowmansgreen will be saying goodbye to Mrs Flatt and Ms Chivers tomorrow as they are both moving on to new schools after Christmas. Mrs Flatt has worked with pupils across the school for the last four years, singing, drumming and strumming your children through their music lessons, performances and assemblies. Mrs Flatt is changing roles and becoming a class teacher at another Hertfordshire school. Ms Chivers is leaving to teach at a school closer to her home. I know that you will join me in thanking both Mrs Flatt and Ms Chivers for their hard work and commitment to the pupils of Bowmansgreen and wishing them well in their new jobs.

 

Headteacher’s Blog

Our latest Ofsted report has now been published and is available for parents to read.

Bowmansgreen remains a ‘Good’ school under the new Ofsted framework. The report acknowledges what a caring, inclusive school we are where pupils are happy and safe; where they work, behave and play well together. Staff and governors are already working on the areas for improvement and I am confident that Bowmansgreen will continue to go from strength to strength.

 

Headteacher’s Blog

What a week!

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, an Ofsted inspection was carried out at Bowmansgreen. It had been three and a half years since Ofsted last visited the school and although the prospect of an inspection has never filled me with delight… I welcomed the opportunity to show off the journey that the school has been on since 2016 and the changes and progress that we have made.

The report for parents will take roughly a month to publish and until then, staff and governors are not permitted to discuss the outcome in terms of judgements or specific details. I can, however, confirm that we are pleased with the feedback and consider the inspection to have been a positive experience.

The experience of the two day inspection highlighted what a caring, supportive school community we are at Bowmansgreen and how well we all work together to support our fantastic pupils. I remain incredibly proud of the school and feel very well supported by parents, staff and governors. I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment,  not just over the last few days but since I joined this very special school community. Bowmansgreen is a great place to work and learn and I am excited about what we can all achieve together.

There was, of course, lots of ‘business as usual’ last week….

… including, Anti-Bullying Week. We kicked off the week with theatre shows for all pupils. The Power of One Anti-Bullying Show reminded pupils about what bullying is and is not and reinforced our school values of being kind, safe and respectful. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Change Starts With Us’ which focuses on what part we all play in preventing bullying and taking responsibility for our own actions towards each other.

The photographers were back in on Thursday, in response to the feedback from parents about the quality of the most recent photos. We hope that the new photos give parents more choice and better quality to choose from.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Headteacher’s Blog

Last half-term ended with our school Harvest celebration. Year 5 did themselves proud by leading proceedings at our Harvest assembly, with their super readings and singing. Thank you to Mrs Flatt, Mrs Street and the Y5 staff team for organising such a lovely assembly. This celebration highlighted what a caring, giving school community we are, with over 500 items having been generously donated. Reverend Wood collected the donations for the Churches Together Foodbank and has asked me to pass on his thanks and gratitude to everyone who kindly made a contribution.

Last half term, we said goodbye to Iaonna who worked in our breakfast club and school kitchen. I know that you will join me in thanking Ioanna for all of her hard work and commitment to Bowmansgreen and wishing her good luck for the future.

Bowmansgreen has been chosen to benefit from the next round of the Co-op Local Community Fund which is open until 24 October 2020. If you are a Co-op member, please ensure that you choose Bowmansgreen as your local cause so that every time you buy selected own-brand products and services, school receives 1% of the money. Please encourage friends and family to register too. https://membership.coop.co.uk/new-registration

This week, all pupils took part in on-line safety workshops, to remind them about the best ways to keep themselves safe when navigating the internet and apps. Thank you to the parents who attended the evening workshop. We hope that you found it useful and an opportunity to be updated about what our children are accessing and can be exposed to on-line as well as ways to help keep them even safer. Once they are received from ECP, we will make the workshop slides available to parents.

Yesterday, pupils created our Bowmansgreen poppy field to help the school community commemorate Remembrance Day. Every pupil made a poppy and planted it to help them remember the lives lost in war and to symbolise the hope for a peaceful future. Each class marked the occasion in their own way, including with poetry readings and quiet reflection.

Enjoy your weekend.

EYFS Blog

What a great half term we have had!
All of the children have settled in so well and have made a positive start. It has been really great to hear so much positive feedback from the children and parents during our parent consultation meetings – thank you.
We have now covered all of the Phase 2 sounds. Please keep practising all of the accompanying actions, to keep them fresh in the children’s minds.
Next half term our topic, in the lead up to Christmas, is called “Let’s Celebrate!”
Thank you for all your support – it really is much appreciated.
Have a restful half term!
EYFS Team

EYFS News

Super busy in EYFS!

Last week, we said goodbye to Mrs Doyle who has now left Bowmansgreen. Mrs Enus, who your children already know, is currently working with the EYFS team in the mornings.
This week, we have been working really hard on our phonics, learning and recapping the sounds.
We’ve also been learning how to blend, using our ‘robot arms.’ Ask your child to tell you about Metal Mike and how he can help us to blend sounds!
Finishing our timelines has also kept us very busy.
We have had fun learning how to blend colours to make our own skin tones. We have been reading the ‘Colours of Us,’ helping us to celebrate Black History Month.

Make sure you come and see our work at Curriculum Evening this Thursday!

Headteacher’s Blog

FOBS have already been busy this term, raising money for our school, by holding a school disco and a doughnut sale. There are plenty more events planned throughout the year for you to enjoy and get involved in.  The money that is raised directly benefits your children. Every class has already received resources funded by FOBS this year, including dictionaries, thesauruses, maths equipment and reading books. We are very lucky that we have such an active FOBS committee and supportive school community and we appreciate how much pupils benefit from the additional funds that are raised. Thank you.

On Tuesday, Bowmansgreen said goodbye to Mrs Doyle who will be starting a new job at another local school. I am sure you will join me in thanking her for all of her hard work and wishing her luck in her new job.

This term, we have welcomed Miss Bliss to the Bowmansgreen school community. She will be working with pupils across the school as part of our PE team.

This afternoon, our Y6 returned from their residential at PGL. They had lots of fun taking part in a range of activities, including raft building and a ride on a zip wire! They had a great time and did themselves proud with their enthusiasm and behaviour. I think they all might sleep very well this weekend! Thank you to Miss Allen, Miss Chilton, Miss Rawlings, Mr Gowler and Mr Sanders for making the trip such a great experience for the pupils.

Next Thursday, 17th October, our first Curriculum Evening of the year takes place. Come along and see some of the work that your children have been busy working on this half term. Pupils love sharing their work with you and are always proud of their efforts and achievements. It is always a popular school event and I would encourage you to come along, say hello to the teachers and see how busy your children have been.

Keeping our children safe on-line is an ongoing battle and responsibility that home and school share. At Bowmansgreen, we are constantly reminding pupils and setting clear expectations of their on-line behaviours. All pupils will again attend on-line safety workshops next half-term, to reinforce key messages and raise awareness of some of the dangers that they and their peers face in the on-line world. Last year, we also held a parent workshop that was, unfortunately, very poorly attended. We had decided to hold this workshop, as many parents were contacting school about issues that their children were facing on-line, either through gaming, messaging apps, or on social media. We are holding another parent workshop, led by an external company, to inform and empower parents to support their children in keeping safe on-line. Parents who attended last year’s workshop found it to be a bit of an eye-opener in terms of the apps that their children were using and I would encourage any parent, whose child uses a mobile device and accesses the internet or apps, to attend. The parent workshop takes place on November 7th, 6-7pm.

On Saturday October 19th, we are holding our open morning from 9 – 11.30am. This event is not just for new and prospective parents – all are welcome.

Enjoy your weekend.

EYFS News

Last week was a great week in Reception!

Children have been working hard on their Phase 2 phonics, learning the “m, d and g” letters and sounds as well as consolidating their SATPIN sounds. Can you find any of these sounds around your home?

The children loved sharing their home learning with their classmates and talking about what they did at home with you. Please remember that home learning is handed in on Tuesday. Reading books and library books are changed every Thursday.
A big ‘thank you’ to all parents choosing lunches with their children at home.
This week, will again share our weekend news and continue to make a time line from when the children were born to now. Can you please talk with your children about any significant events that have happened in their lifetimes i.e. little brother or sister being born, learning to ride a bike etc?
In phonics we will be learning the sounds “o, c and k”. In Maths we will be practising number recognition and our careful counting.
It promises to be another super week in EYFS!

EYFS News

It’s been a super busy week in EYFS! The children really enjoyed their Drama 4 All workshops on Wednesday, with everyone joining in and having fun!
This week we have been learning the p, i and n sounds and learning how to form the letters. We also made our family trees.  In Maths we have been consolidating our number recognition.
Next week, we will be making a timeline using pictures –  from baby pictures, to most recent. We will also be moving onto the m, d and g sounds in phonics.
We have given out Home Learning this week. If you are unsure of anything, come and see me. Home Learning is to be returned on Tuesday.
A huge ‘thank you’ to all of the parents who attended our parent workshop. We hope you found it useful. Please don’t worry if you missed the session – we will email the slides out to you.
Ms Minardi