Wilbury News
Friday 4th October
This week has been very wet, which could have again impacted our school trips and playtimes, but they didn’t. The children have worked amazingly despite this. The year five children attended the faith tour this week, where they visited a church, a mosque, and a gurdwara. This is a great opportunity to visit places they may not usually visit. We also had a safeguarding audit across the school and all was good in this area.
Mental Health – Yellow Day
On Thursday next week, children are asked to wear something yellow to school. This could be a yellow pattern or simply a yellow badge or patch supporting mental health awareness. The children will also be doing different activities related to mental health.
Ambition Day
Monday, October 7th, is an Agora values day celebrating and understanding ambition. Children will create posters with the other nine schools in the multi-academy trust.
Year 5 and 6 parents
Please can I inform you that when children leave the school site and walk home independently and parents give permission, that they take responsibility for their child's safety? As parents, you are responsible for your child's behaviour and safety when walking to and from school.
Photographs
Individual photographs of children in school will be taken on Monday, October 7th. We are also reviewing permissions for pictures on the school website and social media. Please check and update your permissions, as this will make it easier for the school and allow us to show the lovely activities your child is doing in school.
Clubs
Next week is the last week for clubs for this half term, as we have clubs in 5-week blocks. We will send out the next half-term clubs next week.
Parents Evening
We have changed the date of one of our parent evenings to support the teacher workload and ensure that all staff can attend. A letter will be sent out about how to book the parent evening.
Opening and closing of gates
The gates will close between 8:45 am and 8:50 am, giving Mr. Goddard time to get to all the gates. Children should be in school at 8:40 a.m. each day. We suggest being on the school playground a few minutes before. We did this time as it gives parents adequate time to get to Ickneild each morning, as they open the doors at 8:40 am but take the register at 8:50 am. We adapted our times to support you as parents and Ickneild. We open the doors at 8:40 am and take the register at 8:45 am. If children arrive between 8:45 and 9 am, they will be down as late; if they arrive after 9 am, they get an unauthorised absence mark. This is the county guidance and policy that we are working towards. If you have difficulty getting to school on time, please contact Mrs Bev Watkins at bwatkins@wilbury.herts.sch.uk, who will be happy to discuss support if needed.
Dates
Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
Thursday 10th October- World Mental Health Day- Children to wear something yellow.
Friday 11th October – Last clubs for this half-term
Wednesday 16th October – Parents evening (More information to come)
Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
Friday 25th October – Last day of half term school finishes at 3:10 pm
Tuesday 29th October- Thursday 31st October- Half-term theatre school
Monday 4th November – Children return back
Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair in school
Monday 11th November – year 3 creative chefs workshop
Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come- save the date)
Thursday 19th December – Whole school Panto trip to Hertford Theatre
Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 8th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break
Wilbury Junior School Newsletter
Friday 27th September
This week has been a lovely week in school despite the rain, which made it hard to participate in activities outside. However, the school continues, and children have been doing more inside activities at playtimes. The year six children attended Hazard Alley, but due to the rain, they had to be evacuated and sent home. We have booked another date for year 6 to attend this later in the year.
Wilbury Parliament
We had our school Wilbury Parliament elections this week, where Year 6 had the opportunity to make a video and stand for Prime Minister. All children had the chance to take part in a democratic vote. We are pleased to announce that Maisie, in year 6, is our new Prime Minister. She will be joined by Lyla, who will be the curriculum Minister; Henry, who will be the sustainability minister; and Grace Ivy, who will be the Wellbeing Minister. We wish them all good luck in their year in office. Next week, more children will have the opportunity to join the different committees. We thank Mrs Hill for working on this to give the children real-world experiences.
Coming into school
School starts at 8:40 a.m., and children are expected to arrive at this time. They then go to the assembly at 8:50 a.m. The register closes at 9 a.m., but children must go to the office if they are later than 8:45 to ensure they are marked in the register.
The school is working alongside the county and national guidelines that a fixed penalty notice is put in place if children miss five or more days of school, which is unauthorised. We understand that, at times, children are ill and need to be off school, but when this is repeated over time, it can negatively impact a child.
Some children do find the transition from home to school hard; we as a school understand this, and we would not want a child to be distressed. We do ask that parents do not push children into the school door and shut the door as this can cause children to be more distressed; if you have a child that finds coming into school challenging, please do speak to the school so that we can put systems in places to support them, this could be a calming transition activity each morning, someone to speak too or some time. We ask that parents talk through the day and reassure them about picking up what the day looks like, what is happening after school, etc., to alleviate anxiety.
Parking on site
We have several members of our community who are disabled and have a disabled blue badge; this includes staff, children, parents, governors and other visitors to the school. We only have a set number of places in the car park, and at times, we have had up to 15 parents requesting to park onsite to pick up their children at the end of the day. We cannot facilitate this as we only have a few spaces available and sometimes none. We also have the rule that cars do not come and go 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the children's start and finish times to ensure that we support children onsite at our busiest times so they are safe coming on and leaving the site. This means that, at times, we cannot fulfil your requests. For your information, it is nearer for parents to park at the Haselfoot gate as this is nearer to the classrooms and the year 3 and 4 playgrounds. Please be aware that you may not be able to park onsite if we do not have spaces.
Parental Behaviour onsite
We would also like to remind all parents and careers that the staff at Wilbury Junior School should not be shouted at or harassed; if this does occur, we will ask you not to come on-site. We understand that people sometimes get cross, frustrated and angry about situations; however, it is not OK for any adult to be rude, aggressive or shout at staff. Please take some time to think about the situation and then come and speak to us. We have an open-door policy; however, the staff have a right to feel safe and valued onsite. Please see the link below about our parent and visitor behaviour policy
Governors
This week, we welcomed two new governors, Mr Thomas Dunk and Mr Fabian Smith. Over the coming weeks, we will have more information about all our governors and how they support the school, the children, and the community.
Keeping Safe
Next week, the year three children will start their protective behaviours group. All children take part in this with their parents' permission. It supports young children in understanding how to keep themselves safe and who to speak to if they are not feeling safe.
This week, children had assemblies on how to keep themselves safe. We discussed that all children should have at least five trusted adults to whom they can go to. We looked at what trust is and that these adults have their best interests at heart and will listen and make them feel safe. Please ask your child who their five trusted adults are. If you think your child does not have five, please speak to Mrs Watkins or Ms Atkins about this.
During all computing lessons, we always have online safety advice and work to support children's safety online. More and more technology is used in the house, and more children are using it unsupervised. We have many helpful hints and tips to support you on the following link. https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/online-safety/
Celebrations and Awards at Wilbury Junior School
At Wilbury Junior School, we have many awards and celebrations. Each class has its own system, but as a school, this is what we offer.
Headteachers Awards
Children who have worked exceptionally hard and produced good work or something exceptional will receive a head teacher award. This award consists of a head teacher sticker and an item from the treasure chest.
Smile Awards
When Ms Atkins has seen a child in the school who has been happy and smiley around the school because they are pleased to be in school, have achieved something or are optimistic about what they are doing, they receive a certificate and a smiley squishy
Values Awards
Value Awards are issued each week for one member in each class who has demonstrated the value of that half-term; this half-term, the value is organisation.
House Points
Children receive house points when they have done good work, shown kindness and compassion to others, been helpful or completed something set. These are counted each week, and the winning house, each half term, receives a treat. This half term is an ice cream treat on Friday, 25th October.
Word of the week
Mrs Holmes, our writing lead, sets a word of the week to help children increase their vocabulary. The children then use this vocabulary in their writing and submit a piece of work. The winner is rewarded with a notebook to do more writing.
Attendance awards
The class with the highest weekly attendance receives the trophy and extra playtime that week.
Shine Award
Children receive shine awards on a Friday that celebrate achievements outside of school or things that are above and beyond the curriculum. Some children have the opportunity to shine a lot because they get many opportunities to participate in different activities; this is why we have free shine clubs at school so that all children can shine outside the curriculum. If your child has achieved a badge at swimming or taken part in a charity race or event, then please let me know at head@wilbury.herts.sch.uk
Dates
Tuesday 1st October - Year 5 Faith Tour- children will need a vegetarian lunch and a scarf to cover their heads.
Friday 4th October- Multisports Festival at Knights Templar (letter to those children will go out)
Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
Thursday 10th October- World Mental Health Day- Children to wear something yellow.
Friday 11th October – Last club for this half-term
Tuesday 22nd October – Parents evening (More information to come)
Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
Friday 25th October – Last day of half term school finishes at 3:10 pm
Tuesday 29th October- Thursday 31st October- Half-term theatre school
Monday 4th November – Children return back
Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair in school
Monday 11th November – year 3 creative chefs workshop
Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come- save the date)
Thursday 19th December – Whole school Panto trip to Hertford Theatre
Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 8th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break
Friday 20th September 2024
This week
This week, we celebrated National Fitness Day on Wednesday, September 18th. The children participated in an active assembly; each class did an additional fitness activity, and at lunchtime, we were treated to a task sheet of 8 activities for the children to participate in. This was very popular, and I was impressed that the Year 3 children could join in brilliantly.
Also, on Wednesday, we had our first informal open session for parents to come and see their child's class and work and meet the class teacher and teaching partner. This was advertised on the school news last week, and we sent a reminder on the day via social media. We will put these events in the school diary, so please look at the Wilbury News each week.
Next Week
Next week, you will receive a letter about the whole school Pantomime on Thursday, December 19th, during the day. It would be great if all the children could attend, as we would like it to be a whole school trip, just like the zoo in July. These are a lovely experience for the children and help them get in the Christmas mood. This year, we will be going to Hertford Theatre.
Hazard Alley Trip
Year 6 will be visiting Hazard Alley on Monday. Children will need a packed lunch, or parents can order one directly from Swift Kitchen.
Mental Health
We have some more dates for workshops for parents to support their children with mental health. You can book directly with them – see the link below
HCT Children's Wellbeing Practitioner Workshops OCT-DEC 2024.pdf
School Dinners
We want to thank you for your continued support of the new online lunch ordering system. It is greatly appreciated that you are ordering and cancelling your children's lunches for them. This system is in many schools, and we apologise for any inconvenience it may have caused you. If you have any concerns, please do go directly to Swift Kitchen.
Pick up and drop off.
The children start school at 8:40 and finish at 3:10 p.m. Please make sure you are prompt when dropping off and picking up. If the children continue to be late to be picked up, we will charge for after-school clubs if this becomes a regular occurrence.
Clubs finish at 4:10 pm and ask that parents be prompt at picking up from clubs to allow staff to get home on time.
Clubs
All clubs this year will run for 5-week blocks- this means all clubs finish by the week ending Friday, 11th October 2024. They will restart after half term. The usual wrap-around care continues until the end of the half term.
Diary Dates
Monday 23rd September – Year 6 Hazard Alley
Tuesday 1st October - Year 5 Faith Tour
Friday 4th October- Multisports Festival at Knights Templar (letter to those children will go out)
Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
Thursday 10th October- World Mental Health Day- Children to wear something yellow.
Friday 11th October – Last club for this half-term
Tuesday 22nd October – Parents evening (More information to come)
Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
Friday 25th October – Last day of half term school finishes at 3:10 pm
Monday 4th November – Children return back
Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair in school
Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come- save the date)
Thursday 19th December – Whole school Panto trip to Hertford Theatre
Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 8th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break
Friday 13th September
Clubs
Our clubs started this week. It was beautiful seeing the children joining both afterschool and shine clubs. If your child is interested, there are still spots available. The clubs will run for half a term, so if they fill up, children can join in the next half term.
Thank you for your feedback about giving more explanation about the club – we will do this next time; if you want any more information, please get in touch with Chelsea at head@wilbury.herts.sch.uk
Open session for Parents
Next week, on Wednesday afternoon, we invite parents to visit their child's new class, meet the teacher, and look at the children's English and Maths books. If you have time, feel free to share a story. This will be an informal meeting from 2:50 to 3:05 pm. Please come to the front reception, and we will show you where your child's class is. If you can't make it, don't worry; there will be other opportunities later in the school year.
Values
This term, we are teaching kids about the importance of being organised. This means children need to come to school prepared, keep their things in order, and be ready to learn. Every Friday, we give out awards for demonstrating good values. This year, our theme is superheroes, and we have the power to make a difference. Last year, our song was Reach for the Stars, and this year, the celebration song is ‘I've Got the Power in Me’ Please see the link for dance actions that we are teaching the children to accompany the singing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhXA6nPTa4
Have you got any oxygenated pond plants spare?
The school needs some oxygenated pond plants. If you have any to spare, please consider donating them to us. The gardening club is working on organising and tidying up the pond area so that others can enjoy it.
Keeping Our Community Safe
Nut Allergies—We have several children in school with nut allergies, both airborne and when eaten. Can you please make sure that you do not send nuts to the school? This includes Nutella sandwiches and other nut products.
Break time snacks
Children can bring a vegetable or fresh fruit snack at Wilbury Junior School. Ideally, this would be in a reusable container or as an individual piece of fruit.
Recycling
At Wilbury Junior School, we are passionate about reducing waste, recycling, and reusing where possible. This is why we have supplied all children with reusable water bottles. We ask that single-use plastic bottles not be used at school. Ideally, we want to get to a position where we are packaging items at home and not having prepackaged foods with a lot of packaging. Can you please be mindful when packing lunches and snacks for your children?
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council has written a guide about supporting neurodiversity children. This guide is helpful for all parents as it helps us all understand people better. It is called the Neurodiversity Handbook.
Walking Home
At Wilbury, we allow children in Year 5 and Year 6 to walk to and from school independently with parental permission. When children walk home, the parents are responsible when they are off the school grounds. Please discuss with your child the expectations you have of them when walking home. I would also suggest walking with them so they are clear on the journey home and what they should do if they feel unsafe.
Picking Up Children
If you are late to pick up your children at the end of the day, please go to the front reception and walk around, not through the school.
Diary Dates
Wednesday 18th September - All year groups parents welcome into school between 2:50 pm and 3:05 pm to see work and classroom
Monday 23rd September – Year 6 Hazard Alley
Tuesday 1st October - Year 5 Faith Tour
Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
Tuesday 22nd October – Parents evening (More information to come)
Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
Friday 25th October – Last day of half term school finishes at 3:10 pm
Monday 4th November – Children return back
Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair in school
Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come- save the date)
Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 8th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break
Friday 6th September 2024
Welcome back
Seeing so many happy faces last week, parents and children, was fantastic, especially with the new school year starting. It was great news that we could share our good OFSTED report with you. This year, we will publish our newsletters on the website as a continuous feed so people can quickly look back at announcements and what is coming up. We will also add some information about our assemblies and other special activities that we have been doing.
School Uniform
When the children returned to school last week, it was lovely to see them looking smart and ready to learn. Please ensure that children wear PE kits only on the days they have PE. If children continue coming in with the wrong school uniform, we will call and ask you to bring in the correct one. You can find PE days in your child's class on the school website.
Attendance
The issue of attendance has been widely discussed in the news lately, as more and more children consistently miss school, resulting in attendance rates of less than 90%. Starting in September 2024, there have been changes to the guidelines and policies for all schools. All holidays will now be considered unauthorised absences. Additionally, there will be a new penalty notice charge of £80 per parent per child, and it must be paid within a specified time frame. Failure to pay the fine will increase the amount owed. These changes are mandatory for all schools to follow. It's important to note that 10 sessions of absence equate to 5 whole days missed. Here's the link to the attendance policy: alp_model_attendance_-policy_updated-march-2024-finalv2.pdf (primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com)
Shine awards
Our school motto is Together, Believe, Achieve, Shine. We believe that all children should shine and have the opportunity to shine at Wilbury Junior School. We ask parents to let us know by email if their child has completed something at home in a club or a significant achievement; this could be running for a charity, up-levelling a belt in Judo, completing a badge in swimming, etc. Please email Chelsea Atkins at head@wilbury.herts.sch.uk to inform her of this, and children can achieve shine awards in Friday assembly.
Shine Clubs
Letters were sent out last week regarding Shine Clubs, are free clubs available to all children. We kindly request that you book these clubs online and only select one to allow all children a space to participate. If you cannot make a booking, it means the club is full, and you will need to choose another one. The clubs run until 4:10 p.m.
School Dinners
We have a new way of ordering dinners now, and in the long run, this will mean less administration for school staff. I appreciate that this is a change and means you, as parents, are ordering the food for your children directly from the kitchen. Can I ask that you please make sure that you continue to do this? Thank you to those parents who have been able to do this; it has helped the school admin team and the kitchen staff so we are not chasing up children and parents each morning.
Clubs
Clubs start this week at 3:10 p.m. and finish at 4:10 p.m. Please ensure you are prompt when picking up at the end of the club, as this is the staff's own time. If persistent lateness in picking up occurs, we will ask that children no longer attend.
Homework
Homework started last week. We have a policy that children read at least five times per week, and parents will sign to say they have listened to them. Children can read during the school day at break and lunch times. If they do not complete this each week, they will stay in on Friday to do so.
Come in and visit the class.
On Wednesday, September 18th, we invite parents into the school from 2:50- 3:05 to look at their child's work and classroom and meet the teacher. This is an informal drop-in for parents. We ask that parents do not arrive later than 3:05 p.m., as this is close to the end of the day. We will have several of these throughout the year. It is a chance for you to see your child's class, routines, and work.
Year Groups Website Links
Please see the links for your child's year group- this will inform you of the work they are doing and their weekly timetable.
Year 3 - https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/year-3-3/
Year 4 - https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/year-4-3/
Year 5 - https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/year-5-3/
Year 6 -https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/year-6-3/
The Curriculum
See the link to the school's curriculum below. This is where you will find out what your child is learning. You will have an opportunity in November to come and look around the school and see in more detail what our school curriculum looks like
https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/the-curriculum/
Diary Dates
Monday 23rd September – Year 6 Hazard Alley
Wednesday 18th September - All year groups parents welcome into school between 2:50 pm and 3:05 pm to see work and classroom
Tuesday 1st October - year 5 Faith Tour
Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
Tuesday 22nd October – Parents evening (More information to come)
Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
Friday 25th October – Last day of half term
Monday 4th November – Children return back
Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair
Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come)
Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
Wednesday 8th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break