Headteacher’s Blog

Thank you for attending this week’s Family Consultation meetings. We hope that you found the meetings useful and that they provided an insight into how your child is learning, progressing and behaving at school. Your child’s reading, writing and maths targets will be sent home so that you can help support your child’s progress towards achieving their next steps in these subject areas. If you did not book or attend an appointment, please contact the school office.

The YoungMinds website includes some useful resources for parents and carers, to help support their child’s mental health.

MindEd offers a range of free e-learning modules for parents and carers, including Trauma and Coping and Parenting in a Digital World.

Regrettably, the cost of school meals will be increasing. From April 1st, a school meal will cost £2.80 – an increase of 15p per meal. This is the first price rise since 2019 and due to Hertfordshire Catering Ltd responding to rising food and staffing costs.

Please ensure that your child attends school in full school uniform each day, including appropriate, black footwear. Trainers must be plain black, without coloured laces or logos.

The number of positive cases of coronavirus within our school community has risen sharply during the last couple of weeks. The last fortnight has seen the highest staff absence at Bowmansgreen, due to covid-19, since the start of the pandemic and staffing across the school has, at times, been very stretched.  Although there is no longer a legal requirement to self-isolate, public health advice for people with COVID-19 and their contacts, is to stay at home and avoid contact with others.

We ask that families follow public health advice on when to self-isolate and what to do  and do not send your child into school if they are unwell, show symptoms of covid-19 or test positive. If your child shows symptoms whilst at school, we will ask you to collect them, to protect the health and safety of other pupils and staff from possible infection.

At Bowmansgreen, we will continue to maintain appropriate control measures, including effective cleaning and hand-hygiene regimes and good ventilation in classrooms, to help reduce the risk of transmission.

Take part in a London Colney community litter pick, on Saturday 26^th March. This event is part of the ‘Great British Spring Clean’ campaign with Keep Britain Tidy.
Date: Saturday 26^th March
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Meet at the Caledon Community Centre, Caledon Road, London Colney, AL2 1PU at 10am
Please wear suitable footwear and clothing for the weather.

The next round of Book Swap events takes place during the next fortnight – look out for the text notifying you of when it is your child’s day. If they would like to take part, please ensure your child brings a book to swap so that we can maintain a good supply of books for these events. Any additional donations are always warmly welcomed!

Enjoy your weekend.

This half-term’s values are courage and determination. Staff will be looking out for examples of pupils demonstrating and representing these values, in their learning, friendships and behaviour.

What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges – updated government coronavirus guidance.

Yesterday, the Government removed the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive covid test. Adults and children who test positive will continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at least 5 full days. Although these are now guidelines rather than legal requirements, we hope that families will choose to adhere to this guidance to help keep our school community healthy and safe. This will also help to ensure that Bowmansgreen is well staffed and in the best position to provide the high quality education that your child deserves.

Thursday is World Book Day, 2022. We look forward to seeing some super costumes and meeting lots of your favourite book characters. Which House will win the ‘book in a box’ competition?…

During the last few days, many pupils have been talking about the unfolding situation in Ukraine. Some pupils have expressed worry and a real fear about the invasion and headlines referring to an impending war and how it might affect them. Others have repeated or misinterpreted information from social media, that is factually inaccurate. Staff will ensure that questions and concerns raised at school will be addressed honestly, sensitively and with the age and maturity of the pupil in mind. Families might find the following resources helpful, to support conversations at home.

How to talk to children about what’s happening in Ukraine | Metro News
Ukraine crisis: Capital city Kyiv under attack from Russia – CBBC Newsround
Advice if you’re upset by the news – CBBC Newsround

British Science Week begins on March 11th, with the theme of  ‘growth.’ Pupils across the school will take part in a range of activities exploring different types of growth in the world around them. It is a great opportunity for pupils to be immersed in, motivated and excited by science and always lots of fun!

The Bowmansgreen School Council and Eco-Committee are working together on a project focusing on packed lunches and how to help pupils choose healthy and waste free options. I look forward to working with them on this project and hearing their findings and ideas.

Enjoy your weekend.

I hope you have all enjoyed a lovely half-term… not that the weather made it easy at times!

Pupils return to school tomorrow, for the second half of their school year. It will be a very busy six weeks, with a range of school events and occasions to celebrate, including World Book Day, family consultation meetings, British Science Week, ‘nearly new’ uniform sales, Bowmansgreen book swaps and International Women’s Day.

This evening, the Prime Minister announced the government’s ‘Strategy for Living with Covid-19’ and a timeline for ending all remaining COVID restrictions. Once we have clarity on the guidance and detail relating to schools, we will update families and respond accordingly.

From tomorrow, we will be easing the one-way system at the front gate. The pedestrian path to and from the Key Stage One playground will again be used for families both to drop off their children and also as the exit route – the one-way system through the staff car-park will therefore no longer be in use. This decision has been made, in part, due to the move towards lifting all COVID restrictions but also due to safety concerns about the increasing number of families who are not using the pedestrian path and cutting through the car-park instead.

We have decided, for now, to maintain the Key Stage One playground as the drop-off and collection point for families at the start and end of the school day and the back gate for Y4-Y6 independent travellers only. We will review both of these procedures in the next few days.

We look forward to seeing your child in the morning. Please inform the school office if your child is unable to attend school for any reason. Remote learning will be available for pupils who are unwell or self-isolating.

In response to the ongoing concerns that staff, families and local residents have raised, about the issues of traffic and parking around Bowmansgreen, the council have issued a notice of intent to make a Traffic Regulation Order.

A public notice, providing details of the Order to implement some restrictions on the roads around Bowmansgreen, has been displayed in the affected roads and can be viewed via the links below.

Comments, objections and representations from the school community and wider public are invited and should be received by Friday 11^th February, 2022.

Public Notice

Map detailing restrictions of Order

This week, many of our Year 5 pupils learnt to ride their bikes safely on the road, through Bikeability cycle training. Pupils learnt new skills, gained a better understanding of road safety and (despite the cold weather) enjoyed learning how to ride their bikes, with greater confidence. Well done Y5!

All pupils attended online safety workshops, on Wednesday. Sessions were tailored to the knowledge and understanding of each year group and covered issues such as sharing personal content, online bullying and gaming. Online workshops for parents and carers will be offered later this half term, to reflect the content of the pupil sessions and support families to keep their children safer online.

There have been several situations already this term, involving pupils being unkind to each other over social media and messaging apps, outside of school.  These conflicts can then be brought into school, causing continued upset and bad feeling but we are not alerted to them until days, sometimes weeks after. Some of the content can be really unkind and inappropriate, making others feel upset and uncomfortable. Pupils are also often reluctant to block, leave or report unhealthy online conversations and, very worryingly, see the language as normal and acceptable ‘banter.’

We will continue to reinforce this message to pupils – it was discussed during the workshops on Wednesday – and we would encourage you to have those conversations with your child. Please monitor what your child says and sees online – they are often too young to be accessing some of the content that they come into school and discuss and we know that often, adults are unaware of the language and images that they are accessing. Some of the language they use towards and between each other is shocking.

If pupils are witnessed using homophobic, racist, misogynistic or threatening language online, they can face the same consequences as if they had said it at school. Content will be shared with parents and carers and can also be reported to the police. We will not tolerate abusive language or behaviours from or between pupils.

We have a CEOP red button on the home page of our school website and most apps and sites that your child might use, also include buttons to block, remove or report. Pupils must learn to take responsibility for their own online behaviours and we will continue to discuss and remind pupils of this.

This term’s Herts for Learning online safety newsletter provides information, resources and reviews, coving a range of topics, including: ‘Squid Game – What parents need to know,’ online grooming and keeping under 5s safe online.

We continue to build and publish curriculum content on our school website, to support your child’s education at Bowmansgreen. The maths and English pages include curriculum overviews, showing progression in knowledge, skills and understanding for each year group. The pages also contain links to resources that support learning and progress in specific curriculum areas, such as phonics, maths fluency and reading. Oxford Owl, Numbots, Times Tables Rock Stars and MyMaths can be used to practise key skills, especially as part of your child’s remote learning, if they have to self-isolate.

Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans visited Bowmansgreen, yesterday. She met with our school council, to talk about her role and responsibilities as an MP and answer a range of really thoughtful questions.  A report from our school councillors will follow. It was a fantastic opportunity and experience for pupils to meet their local MP and we would like to say a huge thank you to Daisy Cooper, for taking the time out of her very busy schedule, to visit Bowmansgreen. Thank you also to Ms Smith for organising the visit.

Dates for the diary…

Crazy Hair Day – this Friday, Jan 21st

Time to Talk Day – Feb 3rd

Safer Internet Day – Feb 8th

Enjoy your weekend.

Pupils returned to school yesterday, happy to see their friends and eager to learn. It is lovely to have them back after the Christmas break, ready for the term ahead.

We have welcomed several new families to our Bowmansgreen school community this week – five classes have been busy helping their new friends to settle in, get to know their classmates and new learning environment.

Next week, classes will begin their spring term timetables which might mean a change of PE day for some classes. Please ensure that your child has their PE kit at school every day so that they can take part in all physical games and activities.

The Eco-Committee and 3RG were very busy last half-term, planting spring bulbs and thirty saplings ready to transfer into the school grounds this term. They also made bird feeders, for the winter. The litter and composting team have been doing a brilliant job too! Mrs Gritz would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part and to the families who have donated items.

During this morning’s assembly, we celebrated the hard-working members of the Eco-Committee. Mrs Gritz presented members with their new badges and talked about the important work that they have been doing, to help make our school environment less wasteful and more sustainable.  Thank you, Eco-Committee.

At the end of last term, I met with school councillors Cassi, Zachary and Rhema, to discuss ideas and suggestions about how to make improvements to our school curriculum and provision.  I was very impressed by how thoughtful and articulate all three pupils were and by their passion and enthusiasm for representing the voice of pupils across the school.

Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans, will be visiting Bowmansgreen on Friday January 14th, to meet with our school council. This will be a great experience for our school councillors and an opportunity to gain insight into the role and responsibilities of a serving Member of Parliament.

We therefore thought it best for pupils and staff to have ‘un-crazy’ hair on the day of Daisy Cooper’s visit…. so Crazy Hair Day will now take place on Friday January 21st, instead!

Enjoy your weekend.

Musicians from Bowmansgreen performed to a huge audience at the London Colney Light Switch-On event, on Sunday 29th November.  Kian, Reef, Harry, Alfie, Davud, Eliza, Poppy, Louisa, Lacey, Amin and Zara all played and sang beautifully, and finished their set with a rousing chorus of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. It was completed with a perfectly timed flurry of snow! Well done to all of the musicians for their hard work this term and for representing Bowmansgreen so well. A big thank you to Mrs Street, for accompanying the musicians to this event.

On Monday, Mr Regan led an assembly for KS1 and KS2 focusing on medical emergencies. He asked pupils to consider the types of medical emergencies that might occur at school and what they should do, where they should go and who they should tell, if they witness what they suspect to be such an emergency. Please discuss this important topic with your child and see if they can tell you what they have learnt.

This month, all pupils across the school will take part in a Forest School session. Mrs Stanley has been leading these hands-on, outdoor activities in the school grounds, supporting and encouraging pupils’ curiosity, confidence and independence. Some sessions have been muddier and colder than others…. but all sessions have been thoroughly enjoyed! Three classes will take part in their sessions on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Please be aware of the DfE guidance: ‘What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges’ – updated today.

During the last couple of weeks, a small number of pupils and staff at Bowmansgreen have had to self-isolate or have tested positive for COVID-19. Although we have had relatively low numbers, the number of positive cases within our school community has risen, in recent weeks. We are so close to the end of term and hope to make it to December 21st without having to bring in further restrictions and measures at school which is a more likely prospect if more members of staff test positive or have to self-isolate.

Please continue to test regularly and do not send your child in to school if they have any of the main symptoms of COVID-19:

• a high temperature
• a new, continuous cough
• a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste

If your child is unwell and you are unsure whether or when to send them into school, take a look at this useful guide, to support families with their decision making.

We also ask that during these next seven school days, you do not send your child to breakfast club unless you require the wraparound care to support work or educational commitments.

HAPpy Holiday Activities are now available to book for the Christmas period. Parents and carers of children entitled to free school meals can book places for their children to attend local activities during the Christmas holidays. If you think that you are eligible, please contact the school office for your child’s code. For more information and to book, please visit: www.sportinherts.org.uk/happy/booking

Thank you Mrs Gentleman, for adding a seasonal sprinkling of snow-flakes and decorations throughout the school. Bowmansgreen is starting to feel a lot like Christmas…

Today was Christmas Jumper day. It was great to see so many pupils wearing their jumpers during this morning’s assembly and around school, supporting this event to raise money for Save the Children.

Next week, there will be no new home learning sent out. Once your child hands in their home learning on Tuesday, their books will not be returned until the beginning of next term.

Our Fundraising for Fiona raised a grand total of £1300! Thank you so much for showing your generosity and support for Fiona and her family. I know that the money raised will enable the family to create some very special, cherished memories.

Enjoy your weekend.