A WEEK AT SCHOOL - HEAD TEACHER'S BLOG

January 10th

We wish all of our families a very happy new year 2025.

Please help us with our playground. We do need more helpers on Saturday 25th January. 

Thank you to Mr Ramus from Flo Drains. As a parent, you supported us to ensure the steps near our side gate have been mended quickly. 

Now, over to our bloggers.............

Hello Families,

Happy new year from Lilly and Sofia. It’s good to be back for 2025. We keep writing 2024 still…..It’s been a very cold start, so nursery and reception have been exploring the ice.  They’ve been warming up with physi-gym to develop their arm muscles.

This week we had an assembly about National Story Telling Week from Mrs Cargill. It starts in February, but we have already made a start.

Reception have been reading and retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. They have also been making their own story books. Year one have been looking at Little Red Riding Hood.  The learners in year two have been reading The Day The Crayons Quit. We’ve started Percy Jackson in year 6 because we are learning about the Greeks.

Yesterday, year five did their first swimming session with Stevenage Pool. They enjoyed swimming with their friends and learning new techniques.

Mrs McKenzie took children from year three and year four to Barnwell for a Harry Potter quidditch tournament on Thursday. John Williams was the composer we learned about in our music assembly. He composed the sound track for Harry Potter and lots of other films. This week’s music vote is either John William’s Flying Theme from the film ET, or All of Me by John Legend. This is because we’ve been learning about the ‘celeste’ and about ‘contemporary’ music.

END

The Wellbeing Team have decided to keep this week's Phil Good question going until next week, after a short week. The question was 'How can we make our school better?' and some good suggestions have come in already. 

The mental health first aiders were reintroduced, so that children in our school know where they can go for help and support. 

We had some amazing head teacher awards this week. Some of the youngest children in our school read more than 20 times in the school holidays, and two of our little ones read over 30 times! That has to be a record. We also had awards for swimming, for maths, for sketch books in art and drawing club. Well done to Kiera, Aryan, Lilly, Esme, Baran, Fredrico, Lily, Lara, Mabel and Aaron. 

Bucket filler tea party will be on Monday this week. Lilly, Lennon, Lilly, Eric, Jude, Kyran, Arthur, Margot and Alfie deserved their awards for being so kind and helpful. Well done for starting the new year in such a great way. 

Our LEARNERS did us proud this week too. Many of them remembering feedback they were given last term, and starting the year with a bang!  Ini, Sebastian, Aryan, D, Matthew, Kyla, Henry, and Chester proudly show their awards.

Our house ambassadors had a great start too. When reading points are collated each week, we can see which houses in which classes did the best. These ambassadors picked a book from our lucky dip and added points to the leader board this week. Fab job. 

Message from Mrs Finch

I would like to say thank you for all the thoughtful cards and gifts that have come in this week - myself and the staff are very lucky to be part of such a warm and thoughtful community. 

Have a very merry Christmas, and we will see you all safely in the new year 2025

Christmas Week

Well done to all our learners this week. We have had a fantastic week filled with christmas carousels, pantomimes, Little City, jumpers, hats and dinners. Please see our gallery below - click 'PLAY' to see all the amazing things we have been upto.

Sparrowhawks leapt up two squares on our leader board this week for romping the attendance prize. 

Our Shephalbury LEARNERS earned their head teacher awards this week for their work with sewing and story telling. 

Earning their LEARNER awards this week and proudly sharing their growth in our assembly. 

Our Bucket Fillers this week earned a place at the Christmas tea party. We ate brownie cakes made by Mrs Spiller in the shape of trees. They were decorated gold. 

Phil Good swapped places with Bea Happy this week. The children shared their favourite Christmas jokes. These are on our gallery, and had us all laughing. 

December

13.12

Please note - last week we had an error. Funding raised for mufti day did not go to FOSP, but to Stevenage Community Trust.

We are nearly at the end of term. In celebration assembly we reflected that we don't always know things YET, or maybe we haven't mastered them YET. This powerful three letter word is part of our growth mindsets. It builds children's resilience to mistakes and little failures as they learn new things. 

This week, our children have seen the onset of festivities. Our early years children did us very proud with their performances of 'Whoopsie Daisy Angel'. They overcame, nerves, learning lines and putting on costumes as well as a technical hitch. Well done to the children and to the staff. Thank you for supporting us so well, and for your donations towards the garden in early years.

We had our first Christmas carousel this week with years 3 and 4. They played games such as Christmas tree relay, drop the candy cane, and mastermind. They also had fun with glitter, glue, biscuits and sweets. Today it is the turn of year 1 and 2. Our year 6 helpers are supporting the fun too. 

Year 3 and 4 also finished their space book this week, and told Mrs Finch how much they enjoyed it. 

Miss Cordner took the Eco Council to plant trees at Shephalbury Park. Freddie said there were three schools there and it was fun. They all came back a bit muddy, but a lot happy. 

Year one and two have been enjoying making their cards with 'sliders' 'pop ups' and 'levers' this week. They a have also composed acrostic poems and performed them. 

Our older learners in years 5 and 6 have been learning different sewing stitches - running stitch, cross stitch and chain stitch. Today they have been writing up their new story plans.

Phil Good. 

Children filled out their ideas throughout the week.

Ephraim Charlotte and Sofia were our golden ticket winners. We really liked the suggestion of 'making' a gift for someone so that it is more special and personal than a bought gift. 

Our bucket fillers enjoyed the tea party. Well done to Bella, Freddie, Jake, Olivia, Willow, Mollie, Lara and Sofia. Mrs Lee made rice crispy Christmas trees to enjoy. We played a game about our school elf.

Joshua, Olivia, Alfie, Stefan, Nicholas, Lexie and Hallie were super LEARNERS this week. Well done. 

A huge number of head teacher awards this week. What made it so special is that it included lots of creative work, and also things that children had decided themselves to do at home. WE LOVE that they are inspired by their learning in school. 

An impressive leader board this week. We had lots of captains away doing other things like planting trees, so Red Kites' house ambassador filled in with the book lucky dip for the library. 

Next week, with so much going on, we are providing 'double points' for attendance and punctuality. Our readers have also got the bug. With year 3 regularly leading the reading points, year 4 are keen to chase it. 

06.12

Notices - please take care when parking around the school area. Our neighbours don't often complain, but sadly a car was damaged by one of our school users. Careful driving near a school is crucial.

Some of our children are starting their own businesses. We have two groups who would like to sell their wares on the stable.

Our entrepreneurs are selling bookmarks (30p) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The bracelets (50p) and necklaces(£1) will be Mondays and Wednesdays. They are aiming to give some of their proceeds to FOSP and use some to pay for the resources. 

Thank you to FOSP for the tree in our foyer.

FOSP provided the templates prepared for the children to decorate too. It is being enjoyed. 

BLOG

Hello – It’s Sofia and Lilly again. We have started the countdown to Christmas with our elf Shep, all around the school creating mischief. So far he has been in the Christmas tree, in a pile of toilet paper on the stage, and zip wiring across the ceiling.

By the time you read this we will have had non-school uniform day. We really enjoy these days, and it raises money for FOSP. It is also St Nicholas’s day – the day he figured out he was Santa.

We wanted to remind you all about the Kind-O-Meter. So far, Purple Sparrowhawks are in the lead. Green Kestrels are close behind. Lots has been collected, and there’s time to add more.

Early Years, year one and year two, made a Christingle for a special assembly with Reverend Kate and Peter. The orange represents the world, with a ribbon for God’s everlasting love. The sweets show us the seasons, and a candle for Jesus – the light of the world.

Year one have also been learning about the colours of Christmas. Year two have been using powerful words to write poetry. In art, year three have been creating their 2025 calendars. They looked really good when we saw them.

Online safety has been the main focus in PSHE for year 4. It teaches you how to handle problems online and how to keep safe.  The main message is to tell an adult.

Year 5 have been stretching their brains by learning about fractions. They have been adding fractions with different denominators.

We have been looking at old Stevenage compared to modern Stevenage in year 6 as part of our Geography. A lot of things have been added since then, but some things have stayed the same.  Some building shapes have stayed the same. Stevenage has grown since the Victorian era by adding in the new town and the different parts of Stevenage. This helped people find jobs after WWII

This week, some children in KS2 represented out school at a bowling competition. It was lots of fun.

Miss Cordner proudly shows off the school's new Science Quality Mark. This is awarded to our school for the strong work in Science teaching and the positive developments that have taken place with Science. Assessment of our quality mark included the plans that are yet to come too. Well done to Ms Cordner and the rest of the staff for achieving this for our children.

Our amazing bucket fillers this week were Lenny, Mabel, Skylar, Esmie, Charlie, Dominic, Chase and Matilda. Mrs Ashby made Christmas themed cupcakes for our tea party, and we played a Christmas guessing game. 

Charlie, Jack, Sereny, Georgi, Maison, Ellis and Ayse earned their L.E.A.R.N.E.R. certificates this week. 

Baran, Violet, Rebecca, Taylor, Mia, Holly and Matthew earned their Head Teacher awards this week. Well done. 

Blue Buzzards chose this week's book from Mrs Finch's lucky dip book. Two of our house groups had attendance ratings of 98%. Well done Kites and Buzzards for the first place tie breaker.

The most house points for reading at home came from year 3, with the least from year 4 this week.  Reading is one of the simplest ways to build up those house points, and is so crucial to learning across the curriculum, as well as social/emotional learning. 

Tia met England players as a mascot at Wembley. Have you heard her voice recording about the experience?  Click here

03.12 - celebration catch up

The sorting office is up and running, so post your class cards. Please remember name, class etc so that we know where they have to go. 

Yesterday, we caught up with the celebrations and our bucket fillers were Evan, Declan , Spencer, Felicity, Connie, Alfie and Rain. They enjoyed a tea party with a game of 'guess the animal'. The teachers were especially pleased to have children trying hard on 'No Pens Day Wednesday'. 

Caleb, Finley, Poppy, Maisie, George, Tommy, Daniel and Yasmina proudly showed off their L.E.A.R.N.E.R. certificates in front of our assembly guests, Reverend Kate, and Peter. They had come to hold our lovely Christingle service. 

Alfie, Lilly, Sofia, Isla and Emily all earned head teacher awards this week. These were for such a range this week, including computing and sewing, as well as written work. 

All the hard work goes towards our leader board. The easiest way to earn points is to read every day. Every 'read' earns a house point. At the end of celebration assembly, the house captain or vice captain will complete the squares on the leader board. An extra square is filled out for the house who have had the highest attendance and punctuality too. Don't forget we will ge giving out a leader square for the 'Kind-O-Meter' at the end of term. 

Ethan, a Blue Buzzard leader, selected the lucky dip book prize from Mrs Finch's surprise collection. We do this book dip every week. Each time the book is unwrapped and donated to our school library. We firmly believe that reading transforms a child's education. In turn, education has the power to transform lives. 

28th November

Hello - This week our school decided to make learning more challenging with 'No Pens Day Wednesday'.  We had to do all of our lessons with out using pens or pencils. Some classes used paints. In year two, they used straws for their shape work, whilst year one dipped 2D shapes in paint and printed them - Mrs Gibson said it was very messy. It was challenging in maths to use paint! We used cuisinaire rods to show fractions.

Yesterday year 5 had a netball match. They did really well with a 0-0 score, conceding no goals to the other team. We hope to build on this success tonight with the year 6 netball match against St Nicholas'.  In school, year 5 are learning a dance in PE. They are making their own compositions in pairs, and have to include an action, a dynamic and a relationship. 

In early years, this week they made gingerbread men. They followed a recipe with help from their adults. For the people who had them, they were delicious! Our awards assembly for celebration will be on Monday - watch out for photos and of course the photos of 'No pens day Wednesday'. 

From Lilly and Sofia in Year 6

22nd November

NOTICE - An additional date has been added to the calendar for a mufti day on December 6th to raise money for Stevenage Community Trust.

Hello,

This week’s blog is written by Roma and Lilly in year 6. We want to start with talking about the ramble. On Friday the whole school went around Shephalbury Park. The younger classes did one lap, and the older classes did two laps. Year 5 looked after nursery for the first lap, and year 6 looked after children in reception class for the first lap. We did it for Children In Need to raise money. £74.50 was donated. Most people wore Pudsey ears or something yellow to support Children in Need.

On Thursday the dentist from Shephall came in to talk about how to keep your teeth healthy. (fact sheet below)

We learned how to brush our teeth properly – brush up and down, side to side for two minutes. You can floss to get the food from between your teeth out. We learned that we could get cavities. We learned that good food is fruit, milk and water. Things with sugar aren’t good for our teeth, such as doughnuts, chocolate and sweets.

We had a lovely email from them afterwards :

I hope the talks today were informative and enjoyable and met your expectations. Talia and Abi returned to the clinic with lovely feedback of Shephalbury park school —they mentioned how much they enjoyed the experience and how welcoming your staff were (plus how cute the nursery children were).

By the time you’ve read this blog year 5 families would have seen their children perform their sharing assembly to show what they have learned in class this term. We’ve heard them singing from our classroom. They learned the song ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi.

Year 5 netballers had their first ever match on Friday against St Nicholas. They didn’t win this time, but came near and put in a lot of hard work. Well done netball team.

This week, school councillors had a meeting. They said they are working on ideas for a tuck shop to raise money for the school. More information on this soon….

Dental Care for Children Aged 3–11 Years 

Why Regular Dental Visits Are Important 

Dental care is vital for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, especially in children. Starting early helps prevent dental issues like cavities and gum disease while encouraging good oral hygiene habits for life. 

What NHS Dental Care Covers for Children 

Children under the age of 18 are entitled to free NHS dental treatment. This includes: 

• Routine dental check-ups. 

• Fillings, extractions, and other necessary treatments. 

• Advice on diet and toothbrushing techniques. 

Top Tips for Healthy Teeth 

1. Brush Twice a Day: Use a fluoride toothpaste. For children under 6, ensure they use only a pea-sized amount. 

1. Reduce Sugar Intake: Limit sugary snacks and drinks, especially between meals. 

1. Regular Check-Ups: Visit the dentist every 6 months or as recommended. 

How to Register Your Child with an NHS Dentist 

• Contact a local NHS dental practice and ask if they are accepting new patients. We are currently accepting UNDER 18s on the NHS please call us on: 01438351556 to arrange. 

• Mention that you’re registering a child for NHS dental care. 

• Book a first appointment and bring any relevant medical details or complete forms as requested. 

PHIL GOOD 

Large number of entries this week to the question "What is a family for?" There were many really lovely answers but Mrs McKenzie's chosen winners for this week are...

Ollie Year 1, "it's for if you have no food and it's  for kindness and shows love."

Isla Year 2, "to love you and care for you and always be by your side, and look after you when you're hurt."

Roma Year 6, "A family will help you when you are sad.  They will always be there for you.  They are also there to give you advice."

Meet our Eco Council - With Christmas around the corner, are you thinking of ways to be eco friendly?

Bucket Fillers

This week, filling the buckets of adults all around us were Arlo, Annabelle, Spencer, Freddie, Mollie, George, Pippa and Nicholas. Well done, the lovely things your teachers wrote on the backs of your certificates were beautiful to read out. 

Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S

Danny Rylie, Aaira, Ethan, Skylar, Billy-Joe, Freddie, Darcie and Carla earned a certificate this week. This celebrates the way our children grow in their learning so that they develop as well rounded individuals, ready for the next steps in their learning journeys.

Master Harry was delighted to attend the celebration assembly this week. We had a number of children passing their grading at Taekwondo. 

A super well done to Leonardo, Greyson, Harvey, Jaxon, Ayaz, Ashton, Isabella, Jake, Charlie, Matthew, Bella, Henry, Imogen and Sereny.

Head Teacher's Awards

These go to Albie for his train slider, which he did independently and again for his writing progress. Dominica for her home learning about bats. Tia's story about Moses. Emily and Olivia for practising their times tables at home. Eric, Charlie Louis and Lenny for their superb English work. We also had a head teacher's award for our kitchen this week, after being awarded a 5 Star Rating.

It all adds up, and each week the points for reading are counted, along with the points collected in the hall.

Purple Sparrowhawks romped this week's chart, and also achieved over 97% attendance & punctuality. They coloured 5 squares on the leader board. Green Kestrels coloured 3, Blue Buzzards coloured 2 and Red Kites moved on 1. 

15th November

This week, on Monday, it was Armistice Day. During the silence, we thought about the soldiers that fought in the war, protected us to give us freedom day to day.  The school raised money for poppy sales, and we will let you know the total when it comes in.

Today, we went on the Pudsey Ramble around Shephalbury Park to raise money for Children In Need. More on that next week.

Older children on Tuesday had an assembly about ‘County Lines’ and learned how to stay safe outside of school. Leo Powell taught us about how young people and adults can lead us away from our families to somewhere we don’t know. He told us what to look out for and how to deal with it.

Nursery and Reception have recently started practising for their nativity. That means the stage is up ready for their performances on Tuesday 10th December and Wednesday 11th December.

This week has also been anti-bullying week. The theme is respect.

Phil Good Question with Mrs McKenzie- How can adults support your mental health? 

Florence- "by helping you and keeping you healthy."

Eleanor- "listen to your problems and try to help with them."

Freddie- "Adults can help our mental health by being able to talk to them if something is upsetting you, or to have your parents to comfort you.

Bucket Fillers

This week our bucket fillers enjoyed a tea party together and were treated to a delicious Children in Need cake. Well done to Jessica, Florence, Naayel, Kevin, Iustin, Grayson, Daniel, Richard. 

Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S

Baran, Ashton, Caleb, Taylor, Peyton, Ernie, Daniel, Harvey are our LEARNERS this week. The children have been applying themselves in class showing one of the main attributes we learn about in school. 

Head Teacher Awards

Poppy, Tia, Finley, Morgan, Bonnie, Matthew and Skylar.

8th November

Exciting this week to have earned this award. Coach Steve from Stevenage Football presented it in Monday's assembly. We also talked about our new playground zones. These have been organised to increase the activities available to the children, and to ensure that different zones offer different things, including a zone for quieter activities, as well as the sports. 

In Assembly we also learned about Guy Fawkes night. We learned that this was two denominations of Christianity wanting to rule England.  Guy Fawkes worked with others to try to blow up the houses of parliament. Churches were ordered to have services of celebration on 5th of November each year to remember this, which is why we still have fireworks day now. 

This week we started our music voting. Mrs Oustayiannis shared two songs that have a 'coda' for us to vote between. The winning song will be played when we come into assembly on Monday. You can click on the winner. You can listen to the winning vote by clicking this link - it went to Hey Jude by the Beatles.

NEW HOUSE AMBASSADORS

New this week was our house ambassadors. Each class now has an ambassador for their house group, so that the encouragement and team approach spreads through. Their job each week, is to count their class reading points and bring them to compete for the leader board. The increased reading means the children are earning more house points for their learning.

They are also earning them for their wonderful conduct in the hall, as they earn two for being Finer Diners too. 

Dominica, Zaki, Imogen, Tommy and Matei are the ambassadors for BLUE BUZZARDS

Emily, Ashton, Eric, Mollie and Eliannah are the ambassadors for GREEN KESTRELS

Arthur, Emma, Ernie, Isabelle and Daniel are the ambassadors for RED KITES

PURPLE SPARROWHAWKS have Naayel, Elliot Esmee and Olivia. 

Phil Good Question with Mrs McKenzie

This week our children responded to a seasonal question about safety. They earned their golden tickets for their thoughtful responses. Well done Rebecca, Roco and Olivia. 

How can you keep safe around fireworks and bonfires?

"Stay near an adult, stay inside, do not go near them," Rebecca 

"Don't go near fireworks and don't touch them as they can hurt you and cause pain.  They can shoot down or up and also turn."  Roco 

"You can have a torch or if it is to loud you can have ear defenders," Olivia T 

Bucket Fillers

This week our bucket fillers enjoyed a tea party together and played a game of 'sad mad glad'. So many happy ideas were shared - a favourite was being part of the tea party. Well done to Isla, Isla, Frankie, Alex, Ralph, Jayden, and Mayson. 

Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S

We had an extra 'learner' this week. Miss Cordner joined Mia, Sofia, Alfie, William, Flynn, Gabriella, Holly and Theo. The children have been applying themselves in class showing one of the main attributes we learn about in school. Miss Cordner, has been leading our science in school, and the school has been awarded the Primary Science Quality Mark. 

Head Teacher Awards

James earned an award this week for recording his story telling. What a star. Tommy helped other children complete their design technology cam mechanisms to earn his. Maths was Mayson's turn to shine, with lots of calculating completed. Well done this week. 

October 2024

October 25th

Hello it's Lilly and Sofia again....

This week we want to talk about the Spooky Disco. Thank you to Mr Klein for DJing it - shout out to you. Big thank you to FOSP for organising it. It was really fun, and good that not everyone was in the hall at the same time. Everyone in our disco liked the Taylor Swift songs, and the active ones like Conga and Cha Cha Slide. The best costume was Tommy in year 5. All of them were really good.  The decorations were really cool, especially the ones in the studio. 

We also had school photos. All of the students had them individually and with siblings. 

This week we had a sharing assembly with year 6. They sung the Pharell Williams song 'Happy' and explained all about their learning this term. 

We had an assembly about Diwali with Mrs Spiller. This is during half term - it is the Hindu festival of light. 

It is also Guy Fawkes night soon, so if you are enjoying fireworks please remember to talk to children about the importance of the 'fireworks code'. 

Phil Good Question

What should you do if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or scared at Halloween?

"Tell and grown up, tell a teacher because they can help you feel safe," Charlie Year 1

"When it's Halloween they are normally just trying to scare you because it's Halloween, but if you're really scared tell your Mum," Isabelle Year 3

"Hold your parents hand or go back to your house," Oliver Year 3

Bucket fillers 

This week adults had their buckets filled by Isabelle, Louie, Sofia, Aryan, Bonnie, Elliot, Louie and Eliannah. We had a super tea party enjoying Halloween themed cakes brought in by Mrs Cargill. 

Our Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S

This week we had a super group of learners, demonstrating the different attributes that we value. These attributes make our learners ready for the modern world they will enter as they move through their lives and become well rounded individuals. 

Well done to Ephraim, Felicity, Morgan, Eliza, Greyson, Eleanor, Margot and Emily. 

Head teacher awards. 

We had so many head teacher awards this week, including a last minute one for Friday morning from Freddie. I'm so pleased at the pride the children show in their learning. The aim is to do and be the best we can, so it's fantastic to be able to share this with you all too. 

Great job to Elijah, Theo, Charlie, Eleanor, Freddie B, Freddie W, Margot, Charlotte, Rae, Emily, Olivia, Felicity S, and Reuben. 

Our weekly awards mean that children are earning house points throughout the week.  The children are awarded house points for each time they read at home too.

The weekly leader board is added to in each celebration assembly by our captains. The winning house captain feels around in the book lucky dip, which is adding to our library too. This week was a picture atlas donated by FOSP. 

Red Kites did much better this week, but still it was our Blue Buzzards taking the lead. They also coloured in the additional point for strongest 'attendance & punctuality'.

Well done Buzzards. 

October 18th

This week our bloggers are Lilly with Roma filling in for Sofia. 

They are looking forward to telling you all about the disco next week. Thank you to FOSP who have worked hard to bring this spooky event to everyone. Don't forget to let the team know if you can join FOSP - they do lots of great things for our children. 

blog:

Mr Hobbs came into lessons this week. He set up in the library to help us use saws to cut wood for cam toys. The children found it exciting, as some of us were using saws for the first time.

We introduced something new for the dining hall. It's called FINER DINER. Children get a finer diner sticker when they are doing the right things in the lunch hall. For each sticker you get, you get two house points, so you can help your house team. The kinds of things are 'eat with your mouth closed', 'talk quietly to the people around you', 'put your hand up for the next thing to do', 'stay seated whilst eating', 'walk in the hall', 'try to use a knife and fork' and of course, 'say please or thank you'. 

In assembly, Blue Buzzards won the house leader board. So Buzzards house captain, Fredrico, unwrapped the lucky dip book, which was called 'Sea'. The book goes in our library once the house captain has opened it.  Red Kites smashed the attendance and punctuality trophy with 98%. Well done.

Porridge Pot had pirate fun this week. Mr Haslet made a ship and had the children walk the plank!

HEAD TEACHER AWARDS

Well done to Elliott, Ayse, Molly and Kyla for your amazing head teacher awards this week. 

SHEPHALBURY L.E.A.R.N.E.R. AWARDS

Elena, Imogen, Arlo, Felicity, Hudson, Leonardo, Henry and Spencer make up our winners this week. They have shown the attributes we instil throughout our school, showing themselves to be solvers, risk takers, creators, reflective and critical thinkers. They are children who take risks, stretch their learning because they are showing growth mind sets.

BUCKET FILLER AWARDS

Charlie, Kyla, Lily, Lola, Leia, Riley, Teddy, and Ini filled our buckets this week. 

GOLDEN TICKETS

Molly, Olivia and Emily thought about whether money or happiness was more important. They considered that poor people can be very happy, and rich people sometimes unhappy. Happiness isn't something that can be bought.

October 11th

Bloggers Lilly and Sofia brought this week's news

Thank you to everyone who supported the Macmillan coffee event. The total raised was £101.11. 

Our community library opened this week, please come along. This was launched as part of national library week.

Also this week, we voted in our school councillors. They were Charlotte & Kane in year one, Isla K & Sophia in year two, Georgie & Sonny in year three, Emily & Elijah in year four, Leonardo & Tommy in year five and Pippa & Ethan were chosen in year six.

Our councillors help to decide what happens in school. They are responsible for seeking the views of all the pupils and sharing them with the school leaders.

Our bloggers shared this week that they took part in archery and dodgeball with the lunch time clubs, which they really enjoyed.

A reminder that next week we have school photographs and of course the school disco.

School leader board for our houses this week went to 

Our houses earn an extra leader point for attendance. There is stricter guidance this year from the DfE and Hertfordshire. We like to celebrate with the children, and raise their awareness. Routine is good for mental health. Friendships and social networking are supported by stronger school attendance. Of course, learning is also maximised. There is always help and support in school for anyone who might be struggling. Please contact Mrs McKenzie or Mrs Dean if you would like this. 

Phil Good this week asked:

What have you done to show kindness?

Ephraim Year 6, "What I have done to show kindness is helping in the hall because I put the tables away and stack the chairs."

Dominic Year 2, "I give my toys to other kids who doesn't have money."

Alfie Year 2, "I let my cousin play with my favourite cuddly toy because he wanted to."

Well done to those children earning their Golden Ticket.

Head teacher awards

This week awards went to Emily, Rebecca, Olivia, Rae, Harry, Roma, Ethan and Oscar.  Fantastic efforts. Well done.

Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S

who showed one of the attributes during the week were Emma, William, Arthur, Reign, Darcey, Frankie, Beau. 

Bucket Fillers tea party

This was held with Mrs Dean this week and enjoyed in the studio. Awards were earned by Hannah, Orla, Mia, Oakley, Lucy, Leo, and Louis. 

October 4th

Our summer fayre was a huge success on Friday. The team raised almost £700 even with the challenges of rain offs! Thank you to the hard work that everyone put in. This money goes to support the children's experiences and added extras at school. If you can spare time, please do join this lovely group.

We had a special shout out this week to Tommy for raising lots of money from his 6hour hike, for Cancer Awareness. Mrs McKenzie and Mrs Dean host our MacMillan coffee event to day. Come and have a slice and a cuppa with us. 

We are also recruiting for a teaching assistant. The advert link is on our facebook page, and you can help our school by sharing the post. We want to reach a strong pool of candidates for our wonderful school. 

Click here if you want to apply

This week we had a harvest themed assembly with Reverend Kate. She talked about sharing and generosity. The children will recall that she used a bunch of bananas to make her point clear. 

October begins Black History Month, which many schools observe. For us at Shephalbury, it is an important time to learn about significant figures, the legacy they have provided and to consider the issues. 

More importantly, though, we think about equality and equity throughout our curriculum. Teachers ensure that there is representation through resources and events chosen. We also try to consider our 'unconscious bias'.

Each week our children are reminded of Fundamental British Values supporting tolerance, respect, and liberty. We learn that these values are enshrined in the rule of law in our democratic society. 

In addition, our children learn about different world views and religions in WRE, and today we held a special event to consider why we have rules/laws. Children thought about the rules they have in their lives and why they are there. Mrs Spiller demonstrated a game without any rules - it was confusing and chaotic.

Golden Tickets

This weeks question was set to link with our WRE day by Mrs Spiller. 

Is it still worth doing good things even if nobody sees you?

"Yes, because it is a sign that you're kind and caring and a good person."  Lexie Year 4

"Yes it is and it's called integrity! It helps everyone even when they aren't looking!" Lilly Year 6

"It is always right to do the right thing, it shows you have a good heart and that you're a good person, looking after everyone and yourself.  It does not matter if no-one notices."  Tommy Year 5

Head Teacher Awards

Mrs Finch will celebrate our head teacher award winners on Monday in assembly. 

This week they were Louis, Elliot, Rae, Charlie, Spencer and Ashton. Also, Spencer's poster based on Tuesday's NSPCC assembly was shared on our face book page. 

On Monday we will also begin training our new year 6 'employees'. They applied for their roles in school last week and were selected for their roles. Read more about this on the class pages for year 6 next week. 

L.E.A.R.N.E.R. Awards

Well done to the children who were rewarded for showing Shephalbury L.E.A.R.N.E.R. attributes.  Mollie, Frankie, Lily, Rebecca, Joy, Oliver, Poppy, Roma.  

BUCKET FILLERS - showing kindness and helpfulness to fill up an adults bucket.

We had Polly, Albert, Maia, Ollie, Florence, Kai, Eleanor and Olivia. This award is such a lovely one to give out, because it is about thinking beyond yourself. It was lovely to have children from Reception and Nursery join us for the tea party. Mrs Lee made us some lovely autumn themed cakes with chocolate leaves and table decorations.

September 2024

September 27th

Our summer fayre was postponed due to rain, and is now inside due to rain. The hardworking team at FOSP are really hoping for lots of support for this event which has been fraught with challenges. Please come along and enjoy.

On Friday 4th we will have our harvest assembly with Reverend Kate. The children may bring in food which is non-perishable, or toiletries.  All items will be provided to those in more need.

Even though we had a very rainy week, lots went on outside, most notably the collection of crane flies!  Our children were fascinated by them and learned about their beautiful wings, their body parts and how to be gentle with them. 

Might you recognise a hand or sleeve! 

Mrs McKenzie will be hosting a MacMillan coffee session here on Friday 4th at 2:30pm. Please come along and support this amazing cause if you can. 

Schools were all sent safety warnings this week about water beads. Please do not use these with young children. If swallowed, they can eventually swell to such a size as to cause fatalities. 

On Monday's assembly, we signed the word 'cooperation' and thought about the different ways we cooperate. We chose this word as it was the focus for the International Day of Peace. I wonder if your child remembers how the sign goes?

Today our house captain for Green Kestrals  opened the book lucky dip today, and filled out the leader board.  The extra square for attendance and punctuality was won by Purple Sparrowhawks.

Blue Buzzards are still in the lead at the moment.

Our Phil Good question this week asked 'should children set their own bedtimes?' and our children came up with a variety of answers. Our winners

Poppy Year 4, "Yes and no because at weekends you can, but not on a school night."

Isla K Year 2,  "Yes, because if the parents don't know if they are feeling tired they will get cranky!"

Carla Year 5, "No because if they did they would go to sleep very late and would be late for school."

This week's Shephalbury LEARNERS covered more of the attributes we expect to see, taking risks, solving problems, reflecting on their learning.

Well done Sophia, Olivia, Charlotte, Melissa and Vinnie.

Bucket fillers included helping another child who was stuck, bringing a smile every day, always showing enthusiasm.

So Leo, Jaxon, Lewis, Tia, Lenny and Ephraim came for a lovely tea party with me. Well done. We enjoyed sharing what makes us laugh and what we like about rain. Puddles were a firm favourite, along with the smell, and the way the drops chase each other down windows.

This week also saw the most head teacher awards so far. Learning from hinduism, , writing and craft all came through. Fantastic learning Mia, Nicholas, Pippa, Emily, Olivia, Isla, LIlly, Jaxon and Gabriella.

a 'meet the teacher' session. This really helps us to work in partnership. We are a

September 20th

Thank you for joining us for a 'meet the teacher' session. This really helps us to work in partnership. We are able to share the learning for the year and respond to queries you may have too. I always say, if you go home and think of something you wanted to ask, or something crops up, please do just let us know. No question is too small. 

I met with FOSP today. They are busy thinking of fun and inexpensive ways to raise funds for the fun things in our school. Like all groups, the support and member involvement means a lot. Please do join them if you have some time to spare. 

If you are more interested in supporting the governance of our school, then please contact our governors for more information. They will be at the summer fete too. They are ready to respond to any queries about joining, and are always looking for help. There are currently some vacant places on the board. 

Our fantastic house captains and vice captains were inaugurated today in assembly. They each opened a book prize for the library and began to fill out the leader board.

Congratulations to our pupil leaders

Blue Buzzards - Fredrico, Ethan

Red Kites - Lilly, Charlie

Green Kestrals - Pippa, Sereny

Purple Sparrow hawks - Amelia, Sofia

Mayson, Willow kyla Lenny brought their work this week for a head teachers award. We had excellent work in place value, some superb roman numerals, fabulous art work and well thought through writing. 

Max, Esmie, Charlie, Harry, John-boy, Charlie, Amelia were this week's LEARNER awards. They showed the attributes of the Shephalbury LEARNER and impressed their teachers.

Zaki, Joshua, Lexi, Chester, Emily, Abigail all joined me for a tea party this week. After being chosen as 'bucket fillers'  they came together talked about games that make them happy. 

Our Phil Good question was 'Who is your hero?' Lola, Lexi, Louis, Joy were chosen for Golden tickets after sharing their hero suggestions. They gave really good reasons. 

Lola Year 1 "My dog is my favourite hero because it protects"

Lexie Year 4 "All my friends because when I fall over they are there to help me"

Joy Year 5 "My Mum because she makes me feel safe and when I am crying she hugs me and makes me comfortable"

Louis Year 4 "My hero is my coach so when I play rugby I am safe"

September 13th

Lots to look forward to with the summer fete on 27th, and before that you can 'meet the teacher' on the 20th. October will bring us 'Black History Month' and 'Harvest' before we get to the spooky disco being organised by our fabulous friends at FOSP.

When our children go to the hall for PE they take off their shoes and socks and put them together. Please do name everything! It is easy to see how young children get in a muddle. Please have a peek at their jumpers and other items too, in case names have rubbed or been washed up. It's already started happening.

We do our best to return items to children and naming them will really help. 

Year 6

Spencer C came to tell me all about y6 this week. He said they have been working on fractions, but have also looked at the place value of digits upto 1,000,000. He said the best6 two things have been, designing cam toys and making a suspense story...can't wait to read those.

Year 5

Freddie  said in year 5 they have been learning about Alice In Wonderland in English. They've been thinking about writing with description for the characters. His best two things were WRE and PSHE. In World Religion Education they looked at the Hindu symbols and meanings. Friendships was the theme for Personal,Social and Health Education. A healthy friendship is kind and caring. It is also encouraging. Friends are pleased for you when you do well.

Year 4

Daniel and Lexi came together. They have been rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds. The focus in English has been a story about a beetle and a sand monster. Through this they have been identifying the vocabulary for their Egyptian topic, as well as things like similes, adjectives, commas and full stops, semi-colons.  Lexie really liked the new neon colour that the PSHE books came in, when they were learning about friendships at the start of term. They compared positives and negatives. She chose two octopuses, one squirted in when it was scared. Daniel chose Ronaldo and Messi. 

Year 3

Isabelle came prepared. She had written about her week. 

'In maths we have been representing numbers to a thousand. In English we have been making a text map and using conjunctions. In WRE we have been learning about sikhism. In geography we have been learning how a mountain is formed.  In guided reading we read a book called Lilly Par Scores!  In Science we have been learning about rocks and fossils. 

Year 2

Isla said "We have been learning about Little Red Riding Hood a bit differently". They did some investigation about who brought the basket. They are still hunting for clues, and finding bits of broken purple rope. "Every day we do a book vote. We find our coloured discs and put it in the basket for the book we want. Today we will read Princess and the Pea."  Throughout school we teach children that they have a voice, and can be democratic.

Year 1

Mrs Finch was excited when year 1 treated Ted to a ball. He visited for the day, and the children made him a crown, took his photos and showed him how to dance. This was part of the 'Talk for Writing' work that the children do, to help them learn to write with full sentences, great ideas and strong vocabulary.

Reception

This week we have bene learning the rules and routines. They have learned the phrase CHOOSE IT, USE IT, PUT IT AWAY. One of the routines is the lunchtime boogie. The children have enjoyed the car washing.  The children have been designing and making rockets in their free flow. They have been exploring what resources are in the different areas, and how to use them safely. 

Nursery

Children have been exploring inside and outside. They have been getting to know each others names. Each child has learned to find their own name on their rocket when they arrive too. Turn taking skills have been a focus for the children through lots of different activities, games and adult interactions. 

A reminder from Mrs Mutch is to remember those wellies for our outside learning. 

Some children have already earned stars in the jars this week for making excellent choices. These will accrue house points right from the start. 

HEAD TEACHER AWARDS  - Frederico was very patient with me, and ensured I did not miss off the award he earned on Friday for his excellent work in design and technology. Well done. Matilda earned her award for her fabulous independent sentence writing. Excellent. 

BUCKET FILLERS - Ethan, Sonny, LIlly, Hiba, Jack and Alara earned their certificates this week. It is fantastic to hear that the children are being kind and helpful to each other, as well as all the adults - not just the teachers. Keep it up children. 
 

 GOLDEN TICKETS - Mrs McKenzie gave out golden tickets this week in assembly. Mrs McKenzie is in school to help our children with all sorts of things, whether they are at home things, or in school things. The children get to know her and enjoy the positivity.  This week, Mrs McKenzie took responses for Phil Good's question of the week: What was the most exciting thing you did this summer? Explain"

"I went on holiday it was really fun because I made a friend at the Isle of Wight and I ate the biggest marshmallow ever, it was bigger than my hand.  Soon I am going to Spain to see a family member."  Jake Year 5

"Having a sleepover."  Ralph Year 3

"I went to the park and I went on a swing."  Matei Year 1

SHEPHALBURY L.E.A.R.N.E.R.S. Showed lots of creativity and have been growing with resilience too. The determination and perseverance shone through. 

Mr Haslet has become firm friends with TED. Ted always shows 'in'ted'grity. This was Mrs Finch's first assembly. We say that integrity is when we do the right thing even if no one is watching. The two rules Mrs Finch and TED abide by at all times are BE KIND and BE HELPFUL. 

This week Mr Haslet let Ted go to spend time in y6. He had special help from Ephraim and from Frederico. Mrs Finch also had special help with the house points too. There were so many with lots of extra reading happening. 

DATES COMING UP - please use the calendar link here and sign up to the calendar if you want it to go direct to your phone.

September 6th

Its been a wonderful first week back. Only 3 days, but so much has happened already. Thank you to everyone who joined us for a meet and greet so far. Next week we will be looking at Year 6 job roles, and of course our house captains. 

Our children have already been earning lots of house points. We reward each and every time they read. It is so important for language development,. That supports critical thinking in every way. 

In assembly we learned what Mrs Finch's two favourite rules are - being KIND and being HELPFUL. We also learned about the word INTEGRITY. We learned it means 'doing the right thing even if noone is looking'. The children have really been true to these ideas this week. Well done. 

Scroll down for a flavour of what has happened in each year group, and to see photos of our awards. 

Year 6

Roma went to see Mrs Finch about what she was was learning. She said, "In year 6 maths we have been doing some place value with Miss Maggs. We are going to be learning to go up to a million. We learned about fractions too with Mrs Oustayiannis. We learned to simplify numbers and which were equivalent.'  The Harry Potter theme of the class really stood out to Roma. DT was an excitement for Friday - learning about mechanics and cam.  Roma found the learning in Science interesting. She especially enjoyed making the poster about sources of light. They saw what a 'cross-section' picture of what our eyeball looks like in the inside.

Year 5

Lillyanna shared the year 5 learning with Mrs Finch. "In english we've been learning about Alice in Wonderland.  My favourite bit was when Alice grew and shrank to get through the doors", she said. "In maths we've been learning about Roman numerals as well as using the place value counters for numbers with four digits".  Lillyanna showed Mrs Finch a Hindu greeting using 'namaste'.  She said it was a bit scary going to year 5 the first time, but she's used the new classroom already. "year 5 learn about the victorians. We put the date in chronological order"

Year 4

In English, the children have been learning the features of fantasy stories. They have been sequencing with cartoon strips. In guided reading the class have been looking at the book Pompeii. This is linked to the unit in Geography called 'Extreme Earth'. In maths children have been remembering the work they did last year, such as 100s 10s and ones, along with the 5 times tables. 

Year 3

Ralph keenly explained that the class is "enjoying the fun".

Children in year 3 have already begun the Geography unit on 'Extreme Earth'. They have been identifying the human features and the physical features. Maths has been all about splitting numbers into their hundreds tens and ones, sometimes more! This helps children to add and subtract more easily. 

Year 2

Grayson was very happy to tell us "we've been learning about shapes". The class have been on a shape hunt. He said "We found 40 different shapes". The class talked about the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. Can you find more at home. Where are they, how many edges do they have? How many faces does each shape have?  

Year 1

Children in year one have been learning to put their writing on the line. They have remembered to use finger spaces when forming their letters. There have been lots of exciting sentences used. They have also been counting and using numbers in lots of ways, including when they have been exploring in the freeflow areas. 

Reception

Children in reception have proudly shown their animal stickers for dancing. They have been counting, drawing, climbing and dangling. These are all essential skills. They have been practising their letters with phonics and playing games together. 

Nursery

children in nursery had a special visit from Mrs Mutch and Mrs Lee. They were getting to know the families. 'We are looking forward to seeing them in their groups next week!' said Mrs Mutch. 

Head teachers awards

Lenny came  with his first piece of work for 'World Religion Education'.  He was Mrs Finch's first head teacher award at Shephalbury Park. He was able to talk about the facts he had learned from Hinduism, and made comparisons with other world religions. Well done Lenny. 

Molly shared the holiday book she had made. It contained lots of amazing sentence writing and her own pictures. Molly remembered what she had done and was able to read back her ideas.  She was very proud to share a song too. The words about her holiday were matched to a tune she knew well. Great work Molly. 

Bucket Fillers

Dominica, Tommy, Kane, Leonardo and Lilley filled their adult buckets this week by showing their enthusiasm for learning, showing how to include other people in games, helping each other with learning and fun.  They made us very proud this week.

Learner certificates

McKenzie, Louis, Albie, Roco, Melissa and Spencer proudly earned L.E.A.R.N.E.R. certificates this week. Showing this week's value from our Monday assembly - INTEGRITY. They were able to stretch themslves, to grow their learning, to solve problems and think more deeply.