Dear Parents,
The end of the academic year is hurtling towards us at quite a speed and teachers are busy finalising end of year reports for parents. You will receive your child’s report on Tuesday 19th July giving you time to discuss it with your child’s class teacher if you wish to before we finish on Friday 22nd July.
The reports will feature a commentary on your child’s ability in English, Maths and their Inquiries, as well as comments about their learner profile. Within the English and Maths comments teachers will indicate whether children are:
- working towards the expected standard for their year
- achieving the expected standard for their year
- working at greater depth
The learner profile commentary will focus on your child’s behaviour for learning, attitude, personality and the learner profile attributes from our weekly Horsmonden Hero assembly.
Teachers will also provide you with your child’s areas for development in English and Maths which will be used by your child’s next teacher to ensure they continue building on the work started this year.
The teaching arrangements for next year will be confirmed next week ready for ‘moving up morning’ on Friday 15th July where children will spend time with their new teacher.
LAT Cricket Festival – Bexley Cricket Club
Last Friday I had the pleasure of taking the Horsmonden Cricket Team to the LAT Cricket Festival at Bexley Cricket Club. They played brilliantly winning 3 of their 4 games, placing them second in their league overall. I am so proud of the way they played and how their drive and passion to win shone through. As well as representing Horsmonden superbly, they also had the chance of a lifetime to meet ex England cricketers Graham Gooch, Alex Tudor, Phil DeFreitas and Jonathon Trott. The children didn’t understand the significance of meeting such legends, but I certainly did! All children left with a collection of autographs and great memories of the day.
Forest School Celebration Day – Friday 8th July
Tomorrow marks the ‘official’ opening of our Forest School and it will be a day of celebration! Mrs Turvey and Mrs Radford have completed their training and tomorrow all children will take part in a session led by the experts themselves!
Further to the last update to parents, please remember to provide your child with the following clothes tomorrow:
- Wellington boots/old trainers
- Old clothes (t-shirt, jumper and comfy trousers)
- Hair ties for long hair
- Sun cream (applied before school) and sun hat
Whole School Sports Day 2022 – Monday 11th July
Parents are warmly invited to join us for Sports Day on Monday. EYFS and KS1 will start at 10:30am and KS2 will commence at 1:15pm. All children should come to school on Monday wearing their PE kits with a house coloured T-shirt if they have one. They will also need a water bottle, sun cream and sun hat.
Similar to the Jubilee Celebrations, we are inviting parents to join us/stay for a picnic lunch on the field in between EYFS/KS1 and KS2. Parents are welcome to bring a family picnic to share or provide children with a packed lunch/order a school meal as normal. Children having a school meal will eat in the hall then make their way outside afterwards.
To ensure the event runs smoothly, parents are kindly asked to stay behind the roped area when watching the races and children will be required to stay with their classes on the opposite side of the track.
FoHPS will be running a second hand uniform sale for cash donations, so please bring some cash if you wish to browse the available uniform. Thank you to Mrs Clark for organising this.
Parent Coffee Morning – Wednesday 13th July, 8:45am-9:45am
Mr Alabi and I are looking forward to our next Parent Coffee Morning. The last two were very useful for us and gave us an opportunity to hear your views and answer any questions. Please pop in for a coffee, biscuit and an informal chat.
EYFS Outdoor Area and Classroom
Further to my previous communication about the proposed redevelopment of the EYFS outdoor area, I am pleased to confirm the work will be going ahead over the summer as planned. The area is being completely refloored using a colourful rubber crumb as well as being extended round into the courtyard, re-fenced, re-painted and re-organised including the removal of the old shed.
I am delighted to announce that in addition to this, the classroom is being repainted, refloored and reorganised! I am so grateful to the Trust for investing in the development of this area for the children of Horsmonden. The area will be bright, fresh and engaging just in time for our new intake.
Miss Foord has been busy spending lots of money on new resources, planning how and where to use them as well as deciding how to organise the new extended outdoor area. To complete the resourcing of the area, there are a few items still needed. If you are able to help please let the office know. The items still needed are:
- Bikes without stabilisers or balance bikes suitable for 4-5 years olds (no rust and in working order)
- Toy cars and other vehicles for small world play
- Baby dolls and clothes
- Child’s wooden table and chairs
- A real kettle and toaster for the home corner (does not have to be working)
- Cushions for the book corner
New Entrance
Over the summer the front entrance to the school building will be having a face lift. The work will include a new porch area complete with double doors and a big, open office window to see Mrs Janes through! For too many years parents have been peering through a tiny wooden hatch straining their necks! In September, the front entrance will look bright, professional and welcoming as well as being fit for purpose.
MyChildAtSchool App
Very soon we will begin using MCAS (MyChildAtSchool) as our communication platform. It links directly to our Management Information Software (Bromcom) and will help us to quickly send letters/reminders straight to parents via the app. It will also allow parents to see their child’s attendance in real time, helping to keep track of attendance throughout the year.
As we all become familiar with the app, we will move away from Parent Pay and use MCAS for payments of trips, clubs, lunches etc. I do not anticipate this being until term 2, and more details will follow on this in September.
Using the MCAS app in full will mean parents have everything in one place, rather than having two separate systems for communication and payments. The fact that it links directly with our system also means parents can update contact details on the app making sure everything is always up to date.
For now, I am kindly asking all parents to download the app ready for our launch day next Tuesday.
MyChildAtSchool – Parent App
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bromcom.mcas&hl=en_GB&gl=US – Android
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/mychildatschool/id1394575255 – Apple
On Tuesday, you will be sent your invitation code, which together with your email address registered with us, will give you access to the parent portal.
Breakfast and After School Club
Please see below for a reminder of our Breakfast and Afterschool Club services:
Breakfast Club
Drop off time from 7:45am (Breakfast included), £3.50 per session
After School Club
Finish time of 5:30pm (Snack provided); until 4:20pm – £3.00, from 4:20pm – 5:30pm – £3.50, until 5:30pm – £6.50
Attendance
Children should be in school every day unless they are too ill, attendance is mandatory, as set out by the Department of Education. We have high expectations of behaviour, learning and attendance at Horsmonden and will use the full extent of our Attendance Policy to support this.
Parents should aim for 100% attendance for their children. When children are not in school regularly it not only affects their learning, but also their behaviour, routines and ability to make and retain friends. We often find that those children that have friendship issues are the same children who have poor attendance. There is also a direct correlation between attendance and attainment. Children have missed out on too much education over the last couple of years and I am asking for your support in ensuring your children are in school every day.
As always, if there is anything you wish to discuss, you can arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher, send an email, or catch me at the gate. I am out there mostly every day, along with Mr Alabi.
Kind Regards,
Hayley Sharp
Principal
2021/22 Diary Dates
Term 6
- Friday 8th July – Forest School ‘Official’ Opening Day
- Monday 11th July – Sports Day – EYFS and KS1 at 10:30am and KS2 at 1:15pm
- Wednesday 13th July – Parent Coffee Morning, 8:45am-9:45am
- Wednesday 13th July – PYP Exhibition for Year 6 parents – 2:45pm
- Thursday 14th July – Bag 2 School clothes recycling deadline – 9am
- Thursday 14th July – Rocksteady showcase to parents of children taking part in Rocksteady lessons – 10am
- Thursday 14th July – FoHPS Summer Disco
- Friday 15th July – ‘Moving Up Morning’ for children to meet their new teachers
- Friday 15th July – Year 5 Parent Meeting about the Year 6 Residential – 3:20pm
- Monday 18th July – Leigh Academies Trust Sports Day (selected Years 5 and 6 children)
- Monday 18th July – Year 1 and 2 trip to Port Lympne
- Tuesday 19th July – Music Assembly organised by Katie Slowgrove
- Wednesday 20th July – Year 6 Production to Year 6 Parents (5pm)
- Friday 22nd July – Year 6 Leavers Assembly (9am)
- Friday 22nd July – End of Term 6
Term 1
- Thursday 1st September – Start of Term 1 for all children