St Alban’s CE Aided Primary School News
8th February 2017 (9)
A message from Mrs Hordell
It was lovely to see so many parents at our recent maths morning. Parents who attended seemed to find it a
very useful way to find out more about the new St Alban’s ‘Diamond Dash’ mental maths home learning
program. We are already noticing a very positive impact at school for those children who are working hard
with their families to become faster and more accurate in their mental maths recall.
As I have shared with you before, curriculum expectations rose greatly in 2014 and are now much higher than
ever before. Although our end of KS2 outcomes (for combined subjects) are still the highest in Havant for the
second year running and place us in the top 8% of all Hampshire schools, children’s fluency and rapid recall of
mathematical facts is still often a barrier to them as they move through the school and encounter challenging
learning. Your help in supporting children at home will be invaluable in helping them to access the maths
curriculum as a whole.
Alongside this however is the important of developing in children a growth mindset approach to their learning
which we stressed at the maths curriculum morning also. It is essential that we are able to provide all children
with a safe, secure and loving environment in which they can develop the ability to tackle challenges with a
positive attitude and manage set-backs through developing resilience and perseverance before venturing out
for themselves into the wider world. Please come along to one of our growth mindset workshops to find out
more: Tuesday 7th March 9.00am or Thursday 9th March 5.00pm.
Reminders and updates
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Uniform Please remember that hair decorations should be purely functional and not too large (flat hair
clips and plain hairbands or scrunchies in school colours – red and blue). Only children in Year 6 may
wear earrings (and these must be small gold or silver studs in both ears). Any child wearing earrings to
school in Year R to 5 will continue to be asked to remove these. Coats must also be either navy blue or
black. If you have any queries regarding school uniform, please speak initially to your child’s class teacher
or the school office.
School meals price increase We have been informed by Hampshire County Council that the price of
school meals will increase from £2.10 to £2.15 from 1st April 2017.
Contacting staff Please remember that staff are available to speak to parents at the following times:
KS1/EYFS - beginning and end of the school day at the classroom door KS2 - end of the school day in
the KS2 playground. Also a member of staff is located at the KS2 blue door in the playground to take
messages for you to KS2 class teachers every morning. If you feel you require more time to discuss an
issue than is possible with a brief chat at these times, please make an appointment to speak to your
child’s class teacher.
I am very keen to continue to expand the musical opportunities available to children at St Alban’s. You
may notice on Mondays after school that musicians from our school and other schools in Havant are
taking part in a new initiative – The ‘First Access Havant Ensemble’. Young instrumentalists who have
completed one term or more of lessons are invited to join this ensemble which will be a great way to
boost your child’s progress in a fun setting. All young orchestral instrument learners are welcome; from
brass to strings and percussion to woodwind. If interested, please email [email protected]
Attendance
I expect all children to attend school unless there are exceptional circumstances. Our target for each child is a
minimum of 96% attendance. Thank you very much to the many families who are really supporting us with
this and are ensuring that their child attends regularly. Congratulations to the following children who also
had 100% attendance in the autumn term alongside those pupils who were named in our last newsletter.
This really is an outstanding achievement to be proud of:
Yr R Layla Yr 1 Jayden K Yr 2 George Yr 3 Dexter Yr 4 Jamie Yr 5 Georgina, Ingrid
Yr 6 Lauren, Katie-Anne, Jo, Tyrese, Vansh, Joshua, Sarah, Grace, Tommy, Esther, Elisha
‘Inspired to make a difference in God’s world with excellence and love’
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St Alban’s CE Aided Primary School News
8th February 2017 (9)
Congratulations to the following children who have received a merit
Year R: Elliot, Nevaeh, Elsie, Tayler-Jai, Satine, Sam, Isla Turner, Layla, Matthew, Theo, Darcie-Rai
Year 1: Jayden, Evie B, Riley, Ansh, Tilly, Maisie, Astrid, Layton, Jaxx, Florence, Faith, Beth
Year 2: Charlie, Isaac, Euan, Lily C, Lily-Ellen, Caitlin, Ruby, Olivia, Kieran, Oliver, Samuel, Imogen
Year 3: Ned, Ace, Oscar, Daniel A-W, Lisa, Ellie, Matthew, Taylor, Isabelle, Tom S, Billie-Mai, Joshua
Year 4: Frankie, Rafferty, Alexi, Scarlet, Isabelle, Finley, Troy, Mia, Catie, Ethan, Amber, Olivia
Year 5: Heidi, Sam, Tristan, Owen, Megan, Lewis, Evie, Ella, Samantha, Jack, Freya C, Ingrid
Year 6: Reggie, Vansh, Tyrese, Wesley, Katie-Anne, Sam, Joshua, Esther T, Grace, Lauren, India,
Elisha, Faith, Lacey, Erin
Gold award Well done George S, Darcy M-W, Ben N, Nicholas D, Tom S
Online safety – important information
It has come to our attention through the media and other schools that the popular apps Musical.ly and Live.ly
are being targeted by adults who are attempting to make inappropriate contact with children through the
private messaging service. We have strongly advised the children in Y5 and Y6 who have it to talk to their
parents about deleting the app from their devices.
Educating our children about the dangers of social media sites is an important part of our E-Safety curriculum
as is making parents and carers aware of issues that arise. The website commonsensemedia.org is an
excellent place to find out about apps that that your children may be asking for. The apps are reviewed by
parents and ratings are given on violence and language etc. Please also consider the age limits when
downloading apps for your children.
Grand Theft Auto
Please remember that Grand Theft Auto games are rated ‘18’ because of their inappropriate content for any
child below this age. As Designated Safeguarding Lead for children at St Alban’s, I have to ensure that all
children at our school are safe from harm, which includes harm from being exposed to the very unsuitable
material found in games such as Grand Theft Auto. If children are playing games of this nature then I do have
to consult with Children’s Services Social Care team because of the dangers posed to their wellbeing. Please
ensure that your child does not have access to games such as these at home or when they visit others.
Library news
There will be a box of books in the school reception area which pupils and/or their pre-school siblings can use
as a book exchange. Please bring in a book you have read and exchange it for something else in the box. Let's
share what we have enjoyed and get reading!
Calling all budding young writers...BBC Radio 2's writing competition is open to 5-13 year olds. Write an
original story on any subject or theme in 500 words or fewer and submit it online via the BBC website. The
winning story will be read live on the radio by a superstar celebrity. Competition entries for 2017 close at
7.00pm sharp on Thursday 23 February.
A little more locally - young writers across Hampshire (7 - 11 years) can enter the Jane Austen letter writing
competition. Write a letter about a day in your life, real or imagined, and you could win £50 of book tokens
and be published on the Jane Austen website. Closing date for entries is 28th February. Have a go!
www.janeausten200.co.uk/competitions
Hampshire Public Libraries are running several ‘Chatterbooks’ sessions for 8-11 year olds on Saturday
mornings over the next few months, along with Wonderful Wordsmiths, a creative writing group for ages 8 to
13, where you can practise your short story writing in a fun and friendly environment. You can write about
everything from adventure stories, to creepy monsters to Star Wars spin offs!
Mrs Coveney
‘Inspired to make a difference in God’s world with excellence and love’
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St Alban’s CE Aided Primary School News
8th February 2017 (9)
School nurse drop in
Havant School Nurse Team are offering a School Nurse Health Drop In on Wednesday 22nd February
2017 between 12pm and 2pm at Park Community School, Middle Park Way, Havant, PO9 4BU.
Drop ins can be accessed through the main school reception. There will be 2 School Nurses and 1 Community
Nursery Nurse available.
Trailblazing
It appears that our amazing Trailblazing and Pollination projects
are reaching a very wide audience across the country (and
possibly beyond.…). Imperial College, London, have shared the
video our children produced on their social media platforms and
this is a testament to the quality of this video. If you haven’t
already seen it, please view it on our website –it is well worth a
look. (Access this via the Trailblazing blog or by selecting the
link https://t.co/jQUmu1yESt via the version of this newsletter
that can be found on our website.)
Year 6 have written to Alan Mak (MP for Havant) as part of the Pollination project to persuade him to support
our cause in increasing pollinator friendly plants in the local area and it was very encouraging for the children
to receive individual written letters in response with personal, hand written comments from Alan Mak. Not
only are our children making a difference in the local community but they are also learning valuable lessons
about our democratic system and how to secure change for all and improve God’s world. St Albans children
are also preparing to take part in a UK wide ‘art with a message’ competition which supports schools to
influence decision makers in their community.
St Alban’s has a very strong reputation for excellent academic results which have continued to rise over the
past 3 years. However, it is wonderful to know that the outstanding achievements of the school in other areas
of the curriculum, such as Trailblazing, are also recognised. Well done to the children, staff and volunteers
who have shown such commitment and excellence in this area.
Diary dates
(Please keep in a safe place as this list will not be sent with every newsletter)
Wb 6th February
Year 6 visit to the Outdoor Study Centre, Portsmouth (all week)
Thursday 9th February
9.10am Y2 class assembly to parents
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Wednesday 15 February
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HSA cake sale
Thursday 16 February
Y3 visit to Butser Ancient Farm (NB Y3 assembly moved to 23rd March)
Friday 17th February
INSET DAY
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Half term begins
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Monday 27 February
Children return to school and Fairtrade Fortnight
Thursday 2nd March
World book day – children to dress up as their favourite book character
Monday 20 February
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Friday 3 March
3.30 – 5.30pm HSA Film Night
Tuesday 7th March
9.00am Growth mindset workshop for parents
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Thursday 9 March
9.10am Y4 class assembly to parents
5.00pm: Growth mindset workshop for parents
Thursday 16th March
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Tuesday 21 March
9.10am Y1 class assembly to parents
Parents’ evening 2.15 – 5.45pm
‘Inspired to make a difference in God’s world with excellence and love’
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St Alban’s CE Aided Primary School News
Thursday 23rd March
Thursday 30th March
8th February 2017 (9)
Date change: 9.10am Y3 class assembly to parents
Parents’ evening 4.00 – 7.00pm
9.10am YR class assembly to parents
2.45pm Listen2me concert for parents (Y4) – all welcome
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Wednesday 5 April
St Alban’s ‘Interfaith Conference’ for children
Thursday 6th April
HSA Easter Egg Hunt (pm)
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Friday 7 April
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Monday 24 April
End of term Eucharist (pm) and last day of term
Children return for the first day of the summer term
‘Inspired to make a difference in God’s world with excellence and love’
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