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Issue 29 - 9th May 2025

 

Dear Families,  

Next week, children in Year 6 will sit their SATs. It is essential children come to school and on time otherwise they may not be able to sit the tests.  It is important to ensure children have plenty of rest the night before to set them up for the day ahead. We have engaged in lots of practice tests so they are well versed in the process and this should reduce undue anxiety. We see the tests as an opportunity to show what children can do and there should be no pressure or worries. The tests are sent away to be marked externally and the teachers share the outcomes with the children on the day their reports come out. This is done on a one to one basis so children can ask questions and be supported whatever the outcome.  

Year 6 children only are invited to come to school at 8.30am on all four days of SATs week where breakfast will be provided and they will have the chance to not feel rushed before they start each day. They will be met on the playground by their teachers at this time.  

It would really help our Year 6 children, if parents across the school could make a concerted effort to ensure their children are on time for school this week. Some children will be taking their SATs in rooms across the school and late arrivals can cause disruption to these children. Children behaved impeccably during our mock SATs week and I look forward to seeing the same behaviours demonstrated next week. 

Emma Fordham, 
Headteacher 

Act of Kindness for the Week - comfort a teammate who loses, misses a shot or who is out.

Key Messages

Swimming – Pop up Pool and School Reports  

A reminder that for Years 5 and 6 swimming will be added to the school reports. The expectation as per the National Curriculum is that all children can swim 25 metres by the time they leave KS2 so your child’s school report will now state whether or not they can swim the required 25 metres. We have the data for children who were assessed in the pop up pool but there were parents who told us their child could swim due to external lessons. If this is the case for your child, please send evidence in (i.e their most recent swimming certificate) so we can add this to our information.  You can email a photo to admin@almondhill.herts.sch.uk. Please do this by Friday 30th May as reports will be written in June. 

TTRockstars Badges

I am pleased to be able to tell you that we will no longer be charging for the TTRockstars badges. We want to ensure this reward is inclusive and that all children are able to have their badges when they are earned. It will also mean that the process will be more efficient than before as we know it could sometimes take a while before children were given their badges. Miss Simmons will be giving the badges out during celebration assembly on a Friday. Please note, as with the Top of the Hill badges, if a badge needs to be replaced due to being lost or damaged, this will be chargeable.  

Packed Lunches and Food Waste 

A reminder for parents that new regulations came into effect recently which means we need to recycle food waste (at a cost to us).  Therefore we will be asking children to take home all food waste and packaging in their lunch boxes.   

Consent for Trips and Events on Arbor

We are really lucky to be able to offer our children a variety of extracurricular activities like the choir, sporting events and matches as well as local visits. When we invite your child to specific events, it is really important you respond to the consent within the timelines specified on the invite. We know that Arbor does not allow you to decline an invitation (we have suggested this as a change) so would appreciate it if you could respond to the email invite and let us know if your child cannot or does not want to participate to give us time to invite another child.  

Arbor

Looking at our Arbor, we can see that many of our parents have not logged in for some time. We will be moving over to making payments in Arbor instead of School Gateway over the coming weeks and so it is important you are able to gain access. Not only that, Arbor allows you to make changes to your emergency contact details and child profile. Please can I ask all parents to login.  

If you haven’t logged in for more than 30 days, you will need to use the URL below and open that on an internet page before gaining access to the app.  

https://almond-hill-junior-school.uk.arbor.sc 

Do we have any gardeners in our school community?

We would be very grateful for any help maintaining our wonderful allotments. If you are interested and can spare some time to volunteer, please get in contact. We would love to hear from you!

admin@almondhill.herts.sch.uk   

Donation Request

Our pastoral team are looking for donations of any unused/unwanted picnic blankets. If you have any at home that you'd be willing to donate, please give them to your child's class teacher. Thank you.

Diary Dates 

Click the months below to open our calendar.   

Did you know, you can subscribe to our calendar to keep up to date with the events going on within the school? 

Follow the link below, select 'subscribe' and follow the instructions for your device. 

School Calendar  

Book Sales

All sales will take place during the school day. Books cost just 50p each. 

Wednesday 21st May
Wednesday 25th June  

Uniform Sales  

Our monthly uniform sales take place on a Thursday in the hall from 3.00-3.30pm 

Thursday 5th June 
Thursday 3rd July  

SEND/Pastoral Sessions

Coffee morning:  
Thursday 22nd May  
8.30-9.15am 

This will be hosted in the Friendship Room which can be accessed via the quadrant.

We welcome all parents to attend (with or without a diagnosis) if they feel they would benefit from speaking to our SENCo and/or our pastoral team. In our experience, almost all children benefit from pastoral support during their journey at school. Examples of where this has been supportive in the past are when friendship issues arise, loss of a pet, online issues outside of school, family break up and bereavement.

Afternoon tea:  
Tuesday 24th June  
2.30-3.15pm 

Diary Dates for the Summer Term  

Click here to expand the diary dates...

Date 
Event 
Times  
Additional information  

12/05/2025-15/05/2025 

SATs Week 

 

20/05/2025 

Year 3 and 4 
FOAH Film Night  

3.15 - 4.45 

 

Lower School Booking Details 

Time. Cost £5 

Ticket Sales Close: 15th May on Arbor 

22/05/2025 

Voices of Hertfordshire - at Fairlands 

1000-1130 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

Please ensure you have completed the consent by Thursday 15th May. 

22/05/2025 

Y6 Frisbee  

1300-1500 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

22/05/2025 

Y6 Cricket  

1000-1500 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

26/05/2025-30/05/2025 

Half Term  

 

03/06/2025 

Year 5 and 6 
FOAH Film Night  

3.15 - 4.45 

Upper School Booking Details 

Time. Cost £5 

Ticket Sales Close: 29th May on Arbor 

04/06/2025 

Class photos 

900-1200 

Please ensure children are in correct uniform. If your child’s class usually has PE on Wednesdays, please can they bring their PE kit into school to change into.  

05/06/2025 

Lower school sports day  

900-1200 

Parents should make their way to the school field after drop off. More details to follow. 

06/06/2025 

Upper school sports day 

900-1200 

Parents should make their way to the school field after drop off. More details to follow. 

11/06/2025 

Y6 Crucial Crew 

900-1200 

We will leave school at 9am and return in time for lunch. 

12/06/2025 

Father's Day Present Room 

 

Details tbc 

13/06/2025 

Y4 Girls Euros  

 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

17/06/2025 

Y4/5/6 Ridlins Athletics  

900-1500 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

20/06/2025 

INSET Day 

 

23/06/2025 

Occasional Day 

 

24/06/2025 

Y5 Science trip to Barclay (1st visit) 

1300-1500 

  More details to follow.

25/06/2025 

Year 3 Wise Up Resilience Day 

900-1500 

  More details to follow.

25/06/2025 

Stevenage Festival (choir) 

 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. Sign up deadline is 7th May 2025. 

25/06/2025 

Y5/6 Netball Festival 

1500-1730 

We will contact you directly if your child has been chosen to take part in this event. 

02/07/2025 

Year 4 Shuttleworth trip 

 

We will leave school at 9:15am and return before the end of the school day. 

Children should wear their school uniform and bring a packed lunch and a drink with them (no glass bottles or fizzy drinks please). If your child is entitled to free school meals and you wish to order one for that day, please do so at the office by Wednesday 25th June. 

03/07/2025 

Y5 Science trip to Barclay (2nd visit) 

1300-1500 

  More details to follow.

04/07/2025 

FOAH Ice Cream Friday 

1430-1530 

  More details to follow.

04/07/2025 

Y6 Water Fight 

1400-1500 

  More details to follow.

09/07/2025 

Rocksteady concert for parents 

1415-1515 

  More details to follow.

10/07/2025 

Transition Day  

 

  More details to follow.

11/07/2025 

Year 6 LEGOLAND 

 

We intend to make the most of the day by leaving school at 8.30am and returning at approximately 6pm. Children will therefore need a packed lunch and a snack tea on the day. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals and you require a school packed lunch for the day, please let us know by Thursday 3rd July. 

14/07/2025 

6S Graduation  

 

Times tbc (pm) 

15/07/2025 

6B Graduation  

 

Times tbc (pm) 

16/07/2025 

6C Graduation  

 

Times tbc (pm) 

18/07/2025 

Y6 trip to Fairlands 

 

Details tbc 

22/07/2025 

Last day of term  

 

School finishes at 1pm 

23/07/2025 

INSET Day 

 

Club Collection Points

Click here to expand the club information...

Clubs will run for 8 weeks to 23rd June (excluding bank holidays and half term). 

For children in Years 5 and 6, please add your consent to Arbor (under notices) if your child is permitted to walk home independently after clubs. We expect all children in Year 3 and 4 to be collected promptly at 4:15pm. 

We expect children to attend clubs regularly and we keep an attendance register. Please inform the school office if your child is unable to attend for any reason. We will follow up with parents whose child has not attended. 

 

Club 
Lead 
Year group 
Location 
Collection point 

Monday 3.15 -4.15 

Debating 

Miss Bonfield 

Years 5 and 6 

3B 

3B Classroom 

Monday 3.15 - 4.15 

Netball team/club continues 

Miss Wase  
Miss Harris 

Year 5 and 6 

Netball courts  

St Nicholas Church Gate 

Monday 3.15-4.15 

Year 3 and 4 football 

Will Bryson 

3 and 4 

Field  

St Nicholas Church gate  

Tuesday 3.15-4.15 

Year 5 and 6 football 

Will Bryson 

5 and 6 

Field  

St Nicholas Church gate  

Tuesday 3.15 - 4.15 

Rounders 

Premier 

Years 5 and 6 

Field  

Hall 

Tuesday 3.15 - 4.15 

Eco 

Mrs Waldrom  
Miss Porter 

Years 3 - 6 

4W 

4W Classroom 

Tuesday 3.15 - 4.15 

Play 

Miss Andrews 
Miss Clarke 
Mrs Salam-Khan 
Miss Harris 

Years 3 - 6 

Playground  

4A Classroom  

Wednesday 8.00-8.45 

Cheerleading 

Lindsey Pollard 

All 

Hall  

n/a 

Wednesday 3.15 - 4.15 

Street dance  

Lindsey Pollard 

All  

Hall  

Hall doors (quadrant) 

Wednesday 3.15 - 4.15 

Art 

Mrs Nicholls 

Year 3 

Computing room 

Computing room door 

Thursday 3.15 - 4.15 

Outdoor activities 

Miss Harris 

Years 3 and 4 

  

Year 5 Classrooms 

Friday 3.15 - 4.15 

Cricket 

Premier 

Years 3 and 4 

Field  

Hall 

Friday 3.15 - 4.15 

Outdoor activities 

Miss Harris 

Years 5 and 6 

  

Year 5 Classrooms

Attendance 

Year 3 94.51% 

Year 4 96.97% 

Year 5 98.64% 

Year 6 97.08% 

All Students 96.84% 

Class Winners

5P    99.67% 
3L    98.08%

Almond Hill Achievements

Click the button below to see all the wonderful things our children have achieved outside of school.  

Almond Hill Achievements Page

Submit an Achievement Here

House Points

FOAH Update

Film nights (20th May and 3rd June)  

We are aware that there will be clubs running on these days but if you have bought a ticket to see the film, we will assume your child is not attending the club.  

Baseball Caps 

With the hot weather on its way, why not purchase one of our FOAH baseball cap. They are available to purchase on the Arbor School Shop for £8.  

Watch this space for our summer events...  

We are aware that there will be clubs running on these days but if you have bought a ticket to see the film, we will assume your child is not attending the club.  

  • Father’s Day present room - 12th June

  • Ice cream Fridays - 4th, 11th and 18th July

In Other News...

Year 4 Maths Challenge

Year 4 Maths Challenge A team of four enthusiastic Year 4 students recently represented our school in an inter-school Maths Challenge. Competing against other schools, our team tackled tough problems and scored an impressive 105 out of 199. Although we didn’t make it to the final round, the team demonstrated excellent communication and teamwork throu…

Year 4 - Bags of Character

Year 4 - Bags of Character Year 4 were lucky enough to take part in Bags of Character last week. The children had to work in groups to achieve all the challenges and tasks such as skipping in a very large rope, crossing the river, a blindfolded challenge and more! They had to be resilient and work together in order to be successful. All the children tried real…

Football Team Update

Football Team Update On Friday 2nd May, Almond Hill played in the Schools Cup semi-final against Walkern. Winning this game would mean we had another final to play for. So, it was of course an amazing feeling when the whistle blew and we took the win 4-1. We do not know yet who we are playing in the final but it is guaranteed we will fight for the w…