Headteacher’s Blog

We are now in our final week of term, before the summer holiday…. and it is not going according to plan! Regrettably, our Year 6 pupils are not able to see out this week as hoped, as they are self-isolating due to a confirmed, positive case of COVID-19. It is such a shame, being so close to the end of the year but a reflection and sad reality of how widespread this virus is again, in our local and wider communities. Thankfully, the Year 6 residential trip in Norfolk and the end of year production both successfully took place this term and alternative arrangements are currently being finalised, to say goodbye and good luck to our fantastic pupils.

As is often the case at the end of a school year, there are members of staff, as well as pupils, who will be leaving Bowmansgreen this summer. Miss Chuter, Miss Hood and Mrs Kennedy – who have been working as part of our support staff team – and Mr Bailey, Mr Gowler, Mr Harnden and Mrs Manly – part of our teaching team – are all saying their goodbyes and setting off on new adventures. There are a lot of staff members to say goodbye to at once and school will feel very different in September, in their absence. It is always sad to say ‘farewell’ to members of our school community but it is exciting to see friends and colleagues start new chapters and reach new goals. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and commitment to our pupils and the school community, especially during these difficult, last two school years. I know that you will all join me in wishing them good luck and much happiness for the future.

There has been lots of information announced and published by the government, during the last few days, about ‘Step 4 of the roadmap’ and what it means for school aged children. We will ensure that you receive the key headlines over the next couple of days and try and confirm – as far as is possible – arrangements for September, in terms of start and finish times, after school clubs etc. As has often been the case with best laid plans over the last eighteen months, we will be guided by government and Hertfordshire advice, therefore, they are subject to change – sometimes at very short notice. However, it would be great if we could all look ahead to a fresh start in September, whether at Bowmansgreen, new secondary schools or pastures new and see exciting opportunities, new challenges and something different to the disruption, restrictions and uncertainty, of the last two school years.

Encourage your child to take part in the Summer reading challenge presented by The Reading Agency and in partnership with Hertfordshire libraries. The ‘Wild World Heroes’ challenge is free for Hertfordshire children and it is now open!

Hertfordshire’s Holiday Activity Programme, offers a range of summer holiday activities for children aged 5-16 years old. See if your child is eligible to attend.

Congratulations to Mrs Neville, Mrs Pitcher and Ms Robbins! They have all been recognised by Hertfordshire for their length of service with the county council. Mrs Neville and Mrs Pitcher have reached 20 years of service, and Ms Robbins, 30 years of service.

Work began today on our new sensory garden. Watch this space to see how it develops…..

Plastic pollution has been the focus of assemblies this week. Pupils followed the journey of a plastic bag, that ended up as rubbish in the ocean and learned about the dangers of single-use plastics, to the environment and wildlife. The Bowmansgreen Eco-committee is helping staff and pupils to reduce the use of non-recyclable materials at school and increase the amount of waste that is recycled. Please talk to your child about what they have learnt and how your family is supporting this climate action.

Bowmansgreen is taking part in the Eat Them to Defeat Them schools’ programme which is part of a campaign to encourage children to eat more vegetables. Each week there is a focus vegetable which pupils are encouraged to try – this week it was the turn of the tomato! If pupils eat a portion of the focus vegetable, they will receive a sticker from staff working in the dining hall. Lots of pupils tried tomato juice for the first time yesterday and were surprised at how good it tasted! Thank you to our dining room MSAs and HCL catering staff who have been encouraging and tempting pupils to take part in the programme and try something new!

Pupils were excited to see Miss Golding visit their classrooms this week, as she returned to Bowmansgreen from maternity leave. She has already set to work checking in with classes across the school, seeing how hard pupils have been working throughout this very challenging year and planning with teachers to maximise teaching and learning opportunities during this busy half-term. Welcome back, Miss Golding!

Please could I remind families that the earlier school start and finish times, reflecting government COVID-19 guidance and measures, apply to Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6 only. Unless you have arranged with the school office and class staff to drop siblings off at the same, agreed time, into the care of school staff, pupils in all other year groups should arrive at school at the usual time, between 8.35 and 8.45am. Pupils are unsupervised before this time and should not be on the school site. Unfortunately, we will have to start asking families to wait off-site with their children, if pupils continue to arrive too early.

We have provisionally planned a range of activities to take place this half term, involving parents and carers, in the hope that further national restrictions will be lifted on June 21st, for example sports days, Year 6 performances and Reception 2021 transition activities. We will continue to monitor the guidance and keep families informed – further government announcements are expected next week. Unless further restrictions are introduced, we intend for all of the events to take place, with or without other family members present, as they are an important part of your child’s curriculum and provision.

We can, however, confirm that we will be maintaining staggered start and finish times and the current gate arrangements, until the end of term. Even if government guidance allows for a change in these measures from June 21st, with just over four weeks left of the school year at that point, we have decided that it would be simpler and safer to maintain these measures for the rest of the term. We will then review the situation and any updated guidance, for the start of the new school year, in September.

Please could we remind all adult family members to continue to carry out social distancing and wear face masks whilst on the school site. We have been very lucky with the low number of coronavirus cases that have affected our school community and have worked hard to ensure that appropriate, effective, protective measures have been put in place. As the number of COVID cases has begun to rise again nationally, including in St Albans, we would like staff, pupils and families to continue to keep each other as safe as possible, during these last few weeks of term.

I am very sad to announce that former Bowmansgreen staff member, Debbie Cooper, died during half-term, after a short illness. Debbie had worked at Bowmansgreen for more than a decade, in various roles, including breakfast club assistant and as a teaching assistant in the Primary Support Base, before leaving in 2017, to take up a position at another local primary school. Debbie was well liked and respected within our school community and she will be sadly missed by the staff, pupils and families who knew her.

Bowmansgreen has had the pleasure of ‘duck-sitting’ a brood of very cute ducklings, for the last few weeks. Pupils have enjoyed looking after them, watching (and hearing!) them grow and change. A special ‘thank you’ to the Webb family who took great care of the ducklings during the half-term break. Next week, the ducklings will leave Bowmansgreen for their new, permanent home in Norfolk.

Next week, our first Bowmansgreen Reading (books, not music!) Festival takes place. All pupils will take part in a range of activities to encourage interest and enjoyment in reading for pleasure. Activities include live streamed author events; an introduction to new authors and illustrators; and discussion and recommendations through book reviews. It promises to be a really enjoyable week and a great opportunity to inspire and motivate pupils to discover and read books that capture and challenge their imaginations.

Enjoy your weekend, the sunshine… and the Euros!

The last couple of weeks at Bowmansgreen have been so busy!

Pupils enjoyed a special live event with Baroness Floella Benjamin, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her childhood memoir, ‘Coming to England.’ It was an inspirational talk about her family’s journey from Trinidad to England; her life and achievements; and included powerful messages about always having hope that things will get better, especially when life feels really challenging. For family members old enough to remember Play School, Humpty also made a special appearance! Each class has copies of Baroness Benjamin’s books so that pupils can read and continue to learn all about her interesting and inspiring life.

Last week, Y6 pupils attended a live, on-line workshop delivered by UK Parliament. It was an opportunity for pupils to learn about the work and role of the UK Parliament and Government; the work of MPs and members of the House of Lords; how laws are made; and how they can get their own voices heard. Pupils were also lucky enough to have a live Q&A session with Daisy Cooper, MP (Member of Parliament for St Albans).

This week was Walk to School Week  in London Colney. Pupils were encouraged to walk, scoot or cycle to school, to help reduce carbon emissions and encourage healthy habits and lifestyle choices. It is great to see an increasing number of pupils walking, cycling or scooting to school. Please remind your child to wear a helmet and ride safely and considerately, at all times.

Sustfest began on May 23rd 2021. This year’s district Sustainability Festival takes place until June 6th, with over 100 events for local families to get involved in. Assemblies this week focused on the importance of looking after our school and local communities and how we can all play our part to encourage sustainable living and protect the environment.

Sustainable St Albans: Food and Climate Change
Sustainable St Albans: Learning from Lockdown – transport
Sustainable St Albans: Learning from Lockdown – food waste

This half-term, our Eco-Committee has been busy bringing about positive change within our school community, helping us to be more mindful about the amount and types of waste we create and increase our recycling and composting. There are several, future eco-activities and events to look forward to, including the outcome of our super sunflower competition, the delivery and planting of tree saplings and our District in Bloom entries. Thank you to Mrs Gritz for all of her hard work, setting up, organising and supporting our Eco-Committee.

After half-term, we will be trialling Meat Free Mondays at Bowmansgreen. All KS1 and KS2 classes watched a presentation about Meat Free Mondays then took part in a survey to seek their opinions about this proposed change in menu. Every class returned a majority of votes in support of this trial which will begin on June 7th. Hertfordshire Catering Ltd (HCL) has adapted their menu to make Meat Free Mondays happen at Bowmansgreen. Pupil choice meal options through LiveKitchen also now reflect the Meat Free Monday menus.

We would like to recommend that pupils who eat a packed lunch on Mondays, also support this trial. Although we will encourage, we will not be enforcing meat free lunches as the expectation for pupils bringing packed lunches from home.

Our school council has also been busy this half term, meeting together with Miss Allen, discussing issues around healthy eating and wet play at Bowmansgreen. We are currently noticing an increasing number of unhealthy foods and snacks being eaten by pupils at lunch and breaktimes. Next half-term, we will be reminding pupils of our expectations and monitoring snacks and packed-lunches more rigourously. Please ensure that all snacks and packed lunches are nut-free and that items which are high in refined sugar, fat and salt, are avoided.

After-school football training, with Watford FC CSE Trust, successfully returned to Bowmansgreen this half-term. It is great to see pupils taking part in extra-curricular activities again. We are hoping to offer more after-school clubs next half term and will be sending out a survey to find out which activities families would be most interested in.

EYFS and Y6 families – please read this letter about height and weight checks.

Last week, our whole school attendance slipped just below 96% for the first time this term. Please ensure that your child is at school every day unless they are unwell or self-isolating – they have already missed so much school during the last two academic years due to the pandemic. Let’s try and finish the year on a high and achieve our target of 96%.

There is lots to look forward to next half-term, including: sports days; welcoming our new Reception 2021 families; the launch of our new Reading Newsletter; our Y6 residential trip and end of year performances; a celebration of reading for pleasure, with our first Bowmansgreen Reading Festival; and – hopefully – the further lifting of National Restrictions ahead of the summer holiday.

Enjoy your half-term.

A new member of our school community announced their arrival this week! The recently hatched duckling made a special guest appearance at breakfast club on Wednesday morning and was made to feel very welcome.

Our current expectation regarding mobile phones is that independent travellers in Y5 or Y6 can bring their phones to school, present them to the school office each morning and they are locked away safely until the end of the day. This expectation had been reviewed and adjusted during the Lockdown period so that pupils now give in and collect their phones directly to and from the class teachers. Pupils are not allowed their phones in school and they are not expected to switch them on whilst they are anywhere on the school site. We will be reminding pupils in Y5 and Y6 of these expectations, next week. We hope that families understand and appreciate the need to be very firm about mobile phones at school and hope that you will support and reinforce these rules and expectations with your children.

Please could you send your child to school with a re-fillable water bottle each day. Shared water fountains at school cannot currently be used due to COVID-19 measures therefore we ask that pupils have their own re-fillable bottles so that they can access frequent drinks throughout the day.

Hertfordshire County Council would like parents and carers to complete a survey about mental health information, support & services for children. Closing date – May 17th.

3G are setting a very high standard with their class attendance. For the seventh week running, they have the highest attendance of all classes in KS2. This week – 99% attendance. Fantastic!

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend!

Pupils returned to school last week, after the Easter break, ready for their final term of the school year. Hopefully, as more Lockdown measures are lifted, pupils will be able to enjoy a full, settled summer term, taking part in many of the activities that they would normally experience towards the end of an academic year. Two weeks down….. 12 more to go!

Since all pupils returned to school on March 8th, whole school attendance has been consistently above 96% which is really positive. It would be great if we could maintain this standard for the rest of the school year, ensuring that all pupils are attending school every day, unless they are ill or self-isolating. Excellent attendance and punctuality is essential to help your child recover and catch-up after the loss of so many hours of face-to-face teaching and learning, this year and last. Congratulations to RecEK and 3G – the classes with the best attendance last week.

Yesterday was Earth Day. This annual, global event celebrates and raises awareness of environmental protection. This week, pupils have been learning about Earth Day and the importance of looking after and protecting our planet.

Mrs Gritz is working with our newly-formed eco-committee, to increase our school community’s awareness of and participation in environmental action and to encourage pupils across the school to help care for our planet. There are lots of activities and events planned throughout the summer, including developing a wildlife garden and entering District in Bloom. If your child is in Key Stage 2, please could you send your child into school next week with a yoghurt pot or small drinks carton (labelled with their name or initials) as they will be planting sunflower seeds.

Please could we remind parents and carers to ensure that pupils wear full school uniform every day, including footwear which should be plain black. Hoodies and tracksuit tops are not part of school uniform and should not be worn instead of Bowmansgreen jumpers, cardigans or fleeces. Next week, staff will be speaking with all pupils who are not in correct uniform, reminding them of our expectations. Please also remember to name all of your child’s uniform so that it can be returned to them if it is lost around school.

On Wednesday, the Children’s Commissioner for England launched The Big Ask – the largest ever consultation with children aged 4 to 17 in England. It aims to find out children’s concerns and aspirations about the future, as part of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Please encourage your child to take part in the survey which takes around 5-10 minutes. Parents and carers are also invited to complete the adult survey to share your views about the future for children and young people today. The results from this survey will help identify the barriers preventing children from reaching their potential, put forward solutions and set goals for the future.

Enjoy your weekend.