Your school photo images are now live and ready to view/purchase.  

THE DEADLINE FOR FREE DELIVERY TO SCHOOL IS: WEDNESDAY 27TH MARCH 2024 

Any orders placed after the set deadline will be subject to postage and packaging charges with delivery direct to your home address. For any issue regarding Online Ordering Access Codes, please contact the school office who will have this information available on their systems and will be able to assist you. Should anyone have trouble in placing an order, they can contact DSP directly via email dspenquiries@gmail.com  

Therapeutic Thinking is a behaviour management approach which focuses on all behaviour being a form of communication. The basis is that we need to 'analyse' children's behaviour for what they are not saying and put into place support for them in order that they can thrive and develop not only academically but socially & emotionally too. The ethos is that we teach kids to read, do maths, swim and we also need to 'teach' them what positive behaviour looks like. It has to be explicitly taught so we can't bribe with extrinsic rewards as we want children to be able to make good choices for themselves (intrinsic) even when we are not there.  

When children feel negative, it is harder to make good choices. It's like when we're tired, hungry, stressed we are not the best versions of ourselves. So in order for some children to be able to make better choices we need to help them feel better about themselves by giving them more positive, pro-social experiences. 

The theory is underpinned by ACES (Adverse childhood experiences), attachment and being Trauma aware and how all these things can impact on children. Research shows for it to work, it has to be a whole school approach and needs to be embedded in policy. Consistency is key so children get the same experiences from all staff which makes them feel safe and secure at school.  

Everyone makes mistakes and when children get it wrong we focus on repair, reflect, restore strategies such as reflection & restorative conversations to help them make a better choice next time. 

The photographers will be in next week to take individual photos of the children. If your child is due to have PE on Tuesdays, please can they wear their usual school uniform to school and bring their PE kit to change into for their lesson. Year 6 parents – these photos will be used in the yearbook so it is important children are in school for their photo.  

Please accept our apologies, there was an error in the dates for the sponsored read. This was meant to take place from Friday 1st March to be completed on Friday 8th March. However, please don’t worry, the most important part is that children READ and help to raise money for new books so we can extend the date on this if necessary. We will count the proceeds from the 15th March. 

Some selected children from Year 6 were invited to go to Letchmore to read with younger children. This was a reward/positive consequence for their contribution to the school e.g Reading Mentors and Headteacher Assistants.

As you know, we began using Arbor for collecting data at the start of the academic year. We will now be moving forward with the app and will be introducing Arbor communications from Tuesday next week. Adopting Arbor will allow us to communicate with our families more efficiently and bring all our data into one user friendly system. The Parent Portal and Parent App will allow parents to view attendance data, update the contact information that we hold and complete consent forms all from one place on your phone or computer. 99% of our parents have already logged into the Arbor Parent Portal which is fantastic but I must urge parents that haven’t already, to download the app and login. For the time being, we will continue to use School Gateway for payments only with the plan to move everything to Arbor by the start of the next academic year. 

There is lots of helpful information on our website if you need some guidance: https://www.almondhill.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=Key+Information+and+Apps&pid=223  

Parents’ Evenings for the Spring Term will take place on Thursday 21st and Tuesday 26th March. We wanted 4O parents to have the opportunity to meet both Mrs Barham and Mrs Geer together and so their first set of meetings were held on Thursday 7th and the next will be on Thursday 21st March.  The booking system will close at 1.00pm on Wednesday 13th March.  Should you wish to make any changes after this date, please contact the school office. 

The system we use for booking these meetings is the same as we use for clubs.  Please visit https://almondhill.parentseveningsystem.co.uk to book your appointment. A short guide on how to add appointments is available on the school website. Please log in with the following information: your child’s first name, surname and date of birth. A creche will be available.  

We would like to ask you to consider volunteering to become a school governor at Almond Hill. Being involved in school governance can build tangible links with your local community and make a positive impact on the life chances of young people. Thousands of ordinary people do something extraordinary every year by becoming school governors, helping drive the strategic direction of our schools and supporting head teachers in delivering the best possible education opportunities for their pupils. 

We have a group of governors with a wealth of experience who do an incredible job but would love to extend this to include more of our parents.  If you would like to visit or to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school via email at admin@almondhill.herts.sch.uk or call our office (01438 233 660). We can arrange a time to meet and discuss the role of governor before you commit. 

Parents are being warned about the dangers of purchasing e-scooters for their children after a teenage girl was found guilty of causing serious injury by careless driving following a collision in Letchworth. 

On 7 January 2023, at 8.30pm, the teenager, then aged 16, was riding the e-scooter outside Letchworth Railway Station. She attempted to cross the road whilst the pedestrian lights were red and collided with a motorbike. The rider suffered potentially life changing injuries as a result of the collision. 

The girl appeared at Stevenage Youth Court on Thursday (22 February) where she was found guilty of causing serious injury by careless driving. She will return to court for sentencing in April. Detective Constable Ellie Cowling said: “This was a devastating incident, not just for the victim, but also because a teenager has had to appear in court and has ended up with a criminal record. “I am sure many parents may be buying these scooters for their children thinking they are harmless fun, but as this case demonstrates they can be extremely dangerous, with devastating consequences.” The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road or other public place unless a valid policy of insurance is in place. Although electric scooters are motor vehicles, they are not legal for road use and therefore cannot be insured. They can only be used on private land with the landowner’s permission. 

“Please think very carefully before you purchase one of these scooters,” continued DC Cowling. “At this current time there are very few places you can legally ride one and we will seize e-scooters being used in public areas and prosecute riders where appropriate. “We have been engaging with the retailers that sell these machines, to advise them to remind any purchasers that they cannot use an e-scooter on a public road.” The full Government legislation on e-scooters can be found here.