Despite the extreme heat, the children have coped brilliantly throughout the week. We adapted our timetable to make the most of the cooler parts of the day, enjoyed water games, took part in plenty of shaded outdoor activities and ensured everyone stayed cool and hydrated. The children's resilience and positive attitude have been exceptional.

Much of our time has been dedicated to our Enterprise Project, with the children working collaboratively to prepare for tomorrow's Summer Fair. They have shown excellent teamwork, creativity and determination as they planned, created and organised their stalls. We can't wait to see all of their hard work on display tomorrow!

In English, we have continued with our persuasive writing unit, embedding our writing toolkit and developing our skills through a range of short-burst writing activities. The children are becoming increasingly confident in selecting and applying persuasive techniques effectively.

There was great excitement this week as parts for the Year 6 production were announced! Rehearsals are now underway, and we are also busy composing additional lines for those who have requested larger speaking roles. It has been wonderful to see such enthusiasm and confidence from the whole class.

This week also marked our celebration of Diversity Week, which culminated today in a fantastic event exploring the themes of light, food, celebrations, stories and gifts across a range of world religions. This was our final Families Event of the year, and Year 6 truly shone as leaders. They demonstrated exceptional care, patience and responsibility while supporting our younger children as they rotated around the different activities. Everyone enjoyed discovering both the similarities and differences between faiths and embraced the day's learning with enthusiasm and respect. The class will be bringing home their passports to share what they have discussed and to complete a key question for each theme. Please can these be returned before Tuesday.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you all at the Summer Fair tomorrow, where the children will be proudly showcasing the results of their hard work. Thank you in advance for supporting their enterprise efforts—we hope you enjoy what promises to be a wonderful afternoon!

Democracy in Action

This week also saw our prospective Head Boy and Head Girl candidates share their speeches before the whole school. Our current Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team led the entire election process, demonstrating fantastic leadership and responsibility. The children took their right to vote extremely seriously, carefully listening to each candidate before casting their vote. Any children who left early due to the hot weather will have the opportunity to vote on Monday, ensuring every voice is heard. We look forward to announcing the results very soon!

This week's Reflection

In our Collective Worship, we explored the philosophical question: "What could help me to keep going when I feel like giving up?" Together, the children thought about the three most important things they would keep in their own 'toolbox' to help them persevere through challenges. We would love you to continue this conversation at home by asking your child what they chose for their toolbox and discussing what you would include in yours.

Despite the hot weather, the children have shown great resilience and enthusiasm all week. We hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys staying cool!

Dates for next week

Saturday 26^th July – Summer Fair – can’t wait to see you there!

Years 5 & 6 – Bikeability week for those who have selected this option

Wednesday 1^st July – SIAMS Inspection

Friday 3^rd July - Rickmansworth Tennis for a Tennis Day

Friday  3^rd July - afternoon - full rehearsal for our Charity Music Concert

Friday – 6:30pm – Charity Music Concert

Emails sent this week

Church of England School Inspection letter

Bikeability Training – years 5 & 6 for those that chose to take part

Crucial Crew event

Early collection on Wednesday and Thursday due to hot weather conditions

Charity Music Concert – Friday 3^rd July – relevant participants

Summer Fair update

Church visit cancelled

Cancelling Enrichment Clubs this week

Hot weather arrangements

Have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Bacchus

It was also lovely to see so many families at our Easter service in church. The children sang beautifully and represented the school with such maturity and enthusiasm. Today has been a joyful end to the term, with our Easter bonnet parades bringing colour and creativity to the morning. The children also spent time in their family groups, enjoying activities together and celebrating the season as a school community. It’s been a brilliant way to finish the term, and we are very proud of them all.

Optional Home Learning
There is a collection of home learning activities uploaded to Google Classroom. This includes a set of SATs papers, some Maths revision booklets and Reading Comprehensions. If you choose to complete anything, you may bring it in after Easter for it to be marked in school.
Please keep up with your reading over the Easter holidays!

We are looking forward to seeing you all back in school on Wednesday 15th April, ready for the Summer (and final) term.
Wishing you a safe, restful and peaceful Easter break!
Mrs Rayburn

In PSHE, we began exploring different ways to save money. The children learned about saving accounts, budgeting and even Junior ISAs, discussing why saving early can help them plan for the future. They asked thoughtful questions and showed great curiosity about how money works.

Our RE lessons focused on how belief in the resurrection gives Christians hope. We explored how this belief shapes Christian worship, especially through songs that express joy, gratitude and trust. The children reflected sensitively on why Easter is such an important celebration for Christians.

In Geography, we continued our work on population by looking at push and pull factors that influence why people move from one place to another. We also discussed how climate change is affecting where people can live, and how rising temperatures, droughts and floods are shaping population patterns around the world.

In English, the children have been writing autobiographies in role as Emmeline Pankhurst, crafting powerful first‑person narratives. This week, they began researching other historical figures who faced adversity and made a positive impact. Next week, they will use their research to write their own autobiographies in role. We can’t wait to see the voices they bring to life.

Home Learning
You have the following assignments set on Doodle: 
Maths - Use 10% to find other percentages of quantities
English - Non-fiction reading comprehension
Spelling - Homophones (words that sound the same but are spelt differently)
advice, advise, device, devise, license, licence, practise, practice

Next week: 
It is the final week of term next week. 
We are looking forward to seeing you for Parent Consultations on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. 
Our Easter Service is on Thursday at 6pm at St. Mary's Church. Please see separate communication sent from the school office.
On Friday, we have our Easter Bonnet Parade at 9am. School finishes at 1.10pm on Friday.

Have a great weekend! 
Mrs Rayburn

In RE, we have been exploring what the resurrection means to Christians. The children looked closely at hymn lyrics, identifying how Christians remember Jesus’ sacrifice and how the words reflect the changing moods of Holy Week. This led to some really reflective conversations about hope, sorrow and celebration.

We've also begun learning our song for the Easter Service which takes place on Thursday 26th March at 6pm at St. Mary's Church. 

In Geography, we have been learning about migration and the reasons people move from one place to another. The children considered both push factors (such as conflict or lack of opportunities) and pull factors (like safety, jobs or education). They showed great maturity when discussing real‑world examples.

Our Art lessons have been full of creativity as we continued our new project inspired by dogs. This week, the children carefully sketched the outlines of their dogs, paying close attention to shape and proportion. Next week, we will begin collaging them before eventually turning them into 3D sculptures.

In PSHE, we explored how social media can sometimes be misleading. The children learned that what we see online is not always the full story, and we discussed how images and information can be edited or exaggerated. This helped them think critically about what they view and share.

In Positive Minds, we focused on emotional literacy. The children learned how important it is to recognise, name and understand their feelings, so they can find healthy ways to manage them. They engaged brilliantly and shared thoughtful ideas about how emotions affect our actions.

Home Learning: 
Maths - To order and compare fractions, decimals and percentages
English - Formal and informal sentence structures
Spelling - Words with silent letters
doubt, island, lamb, solemn, thistle, knight, knock, crumb

Next week: 

We are very excited to be taking part in the K'NEX challenge again this year. This will be on Monday. 
In Maths, we will be learning to find percentages of amounts and to calculate percentages from missing amounts.
In English, we will continue drafting an autobiography in role as Emmeline Pankhurst, before moving on to plan one in a different role. 

Wishing you a great weekend, 
Mrs Rayburn

In Maths, we’ve been tackling long division and growing in confidence with this tricky skill! In English, we have begun drafting our own stories, carefully building atmosphere and developing characters through action and dialogue.

In Science, we explored the fascinating world of fungi by investigating how spores are dispersed. Using  mushrooms, we created beautiful spore prints to observe the tiny structures that help fungi reproduce.

Over in Geography, we’ve started to analyse the data collected from our local fieldwork. We have been writing up summative statements and preparing a group presentation to share findings — excellent teamwork on display!

🔔 Reminder: Our Change Maker Project continues — next week is the final week for anyone who would like to complete additional tasks or add finishing touches before we share our work.

Home Learning 

You have the following new Doodle assignments:

Maths - The order of operations (BODMAS)

English - Identifying apostrophes

Spelling - Adding suffixes beginning with a vowel to words ending in -fer

referring, referred, referral, preferring, preferred, transferring, transferred, transferral

Reading records and Doodle home learning are checked on Fridays. 

Next week: 

On Thursday, we have a short visit from the police to talk to us about their anti-violence campaign.

In Maths, we will be using known facts (times tables knowledge) to solve more complex problems.

In English, we will continue drafting and editing our own portal stories based on our book Skellig. We are considering carefully how to 'show' emotions and features (e.g. scared or old) rather than tell. 

Next week, we will also be completing our first set of practise SATs papers. This is to help familiarise children with the format, structure of the week and begin to manage time.

Wishing you a lovely weekend, 

Mrs Rayburn