Headteacher’s Blog

Welcome back, to the final half-term of the school year.

Pupils looked fantastic yesterday – thank you for ensuring that we had a school filled with red, white, blue (and royalty), in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee year. Throughout the week, pupils learnt about the monarchy, aspects of British history, custom and tradition, to help them understand the significance of the jubilee and the celebrations they have witnessed during the last few weeks. Your child has received a book about Queen Elizabeth, as a commemorative souvenir of the platinum jubilee.

Reminder – our additional bank holiday is Friday June 24th. There is also an INSET day on Monday 27th June.

As well as being the Queen’s jubilee year, 2022 is also the year of Bowmansgreen’s 70th birthday! On Friday 8th July, we will be holding our own birthday tea party – more details to follow.

Please be reminded that the start of the school day has now reverted to its ‘pre-lockdown’ time of 8.45am. Pupils who do not attend breakfast club can be dropped off from 8.35am onto the Key Stage 1 playground. If your child arrives to school after 8.45am, they must enter via the school office and will be registered as late. Lateness to school is logged as absence on your child’s attendance certificate and, if persistent, may lead to a referral to the Attendance Improvement Officer. Pupils arriving late miss out on valuable learning as well as the opportunity to experience a calm, settled, social transition with their peers. Arriving late to school is usually an anxious, unsettling experience for children and one which can deeply affect pupils if it is a regular routine.

Thank you for all of your efforts to make packed lunches at Bowmansgreen a healthy option. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the lunchtime staff to choose a single, daily winner as there are now lots to choose from! It is great to see so many more pupils eating a range of healthy foods in their packed lunches and to hear them discussing and comparing their healthy choices with their friends and staff.

After receiving their peer mediator training, our Year 5 friendship coaches are now ready, willing and able to support pupils across the school, with disputes and disagreements, help resolve issues and repair friendships. Thank you and congratulations to the following Year 5 pupils who successfully completed the training, and are giving up some of their time each week, to support their peers:

AmiraBreconHarryEmilia
NevaehBetsyAnnaAlexia
AbigailNoahRubiLouisa
RosaDaisyLexiRaudah

Celebration assembly this week was extra special as we were joined by the families of pupils who were being celebrated, for the first time in nearly two years. Pupils were surprised and excited to see their family members in attendance and it was lovely to share the experience with them. For now, we will continue to limit attendance at celebration assembly, to invited adults only and review the situation, next term.

Breakfast club – price change from Monday 20th June. We will be introducing a £1 charge for attendance at breakfast club for pupils whose places were previously free of charge. All other charges remain the same. Please read for more information and details.

Anthony Glenn also returned to Bowmansgreen yesterday, to perform a Shaking up Shakespeare performance of Macbeth. It was a wonderful hour of entertainment and enthusiastic participation which pupils loved and will surely remember for years to come. There was also lots and lots of laughter – just what we all needed!

 

Support for Parents/Carers of children with Eating Disordered Behaviour or Poor Body Image
Hertfordshire has commissioned a new 4 week programme called First Step ED skills. It offers free online workshops for Hertfordshire parents, carers & older siblings, who are supporting a young person with their body image, disordered eating and/or eating disorders. Find out more.

Due to a few recent incidents where children have walked or run into the roads around school, we will be having discussions with all pupils about their road safety knowledge and awareness of potential risks and hazards. Please follow-up and reiterate key messages with your child.
Teaching road safety to children (capt.org.uk)    Skills for Carers – First Steps ED    Education resources – THINK!

Next week, it is our annual Bowmansgreen Reading Festival, with lots of activities planned to encourage, promote and excite pupils about reading for pleasure. Lots to look forward to!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.