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.