Music, Trips and Sunshine!

1. ISSUE 19|April/May 2014 Upcoming events May 27th & 28thMr Brathwaite’s Soccer School Mon 2ndJune 3.30pmOpen classrooms Mon 2nd– 6th JuneY6 School journey Thurs 5th JuneY1 Class assembly Wed 11th JuneReception Class Boxmoor Trust Thurs 12th June amKS1 Sports Event Fri 13th JuneNon-Uniform Chocs for summer fair Fri 20th June50th Anniversary celebration Fri 27thJunePixies Got Talent Music, Trips and Sunshine! Value of the month Our value of the month is Self-Worth. Research presented in the news shows this to be a very important value in recent years with more children nationally verbalising a negative opinion of themselves. The children have been discussing what the effects are of high and low self-worth. We then looked at practical ways in which we can improve our own and other people’s self-worth. The children showed a great deal of maturity and thoughtfulness this month and we are very proud of them. Martin Smith, Headteacher We’ve been having a think about how we raise the profile and prominence of music in the school and are about to trial a fantastic new curriculum (news on this coming soon). Children from all classes really enjoyed our Samba drumming workshops with a World Cup flavour and were introduced to a range of Brazilian instruments and sounds. The children gave very favourable feedback on their experiences. Hertfordshire music service did an assembly on playing the violin and I will be sending a letter out soon to gauge interest for children having lessons on different instruments. Year 6 have been to Boxmoor church to see how a one octave wooden organ works. The organ is called a ‘Woofyt’ and the children then had a chance to use their science and DT skills to make their own.. Samba Drumming and Music Save the dates! The remainder of the academic year is going to be very busy with lots of great events. Here are some key dates. We will be writing with further details where necessary. 50TH CELEBRATION20th June | 12.15-3.30pm PIXIES’ GOT TALENT27th June PUPIL PROGRESS MEETINGS1st July SPORTS DAY2nd July (7th July reserve date) CLASSES TO VISIT NEXT YEAR TEACHER AND RECEPTION PARENT WELCOME EVENT3rd July | 9am PARENT CONSULTATIONS8th July | 3.30-6pm &9th July | 5-7.30pm CELEBRATION EVENING9th July | 5-7.30pm SUMMER FAIR12th June | 12-3pm KS2 PERFORMANCE15th July | 2pm KS2 PERFORMANCE16th July | 6pm Samba Drumming Workshops and Herts Music Service Free school lunches for Reception and KS1 I’m sure you’ll have heard in the national media that all schools in England will be providing free school meals for children in Reception and KS1 from September 2014. If you are already paying for school lunches, this will be an automatic transition. However, if your child is on packed lunch and you would like free school lunches we would be more than happy to accommodate. Mrs Galley will be sending out registration forms in the next half term to all parents. If your child is eligible for free school meals, please complete the paperwork. The school receives £1,300 per pupil for each child registered which goes towards ensuring that all children have the best possible education here at Pixies Hill.

2. Stars ofthe week Introducing Miss Woollatt and Mr Lawrence We are pleased to announce the recruitment of Miss Woollatt and Mr Lawrence. Miss Woollatt has already started to teach Year 2 for the remainder of the academic year to help cover Mrs Mounsey’s maternity leave and will take over as the full time class teacher of Year 3 in September. She was not short of interview offers but felt Pixies was the best environment to start her career. Mr Lawrence is our first teacher from the West Herts Teaching Alliance who we have now established links with at board level. He is highly regarded by the partnership and we are delighted he choose us after considering other options. • Week of 25/04/14 • Reception: Isabella Bruce • Year 1: Mia Lilly-White • Year 2: Lucy Fidler • Year 3: Matthew Conlon • Year 4: LibbeHoulihan • Year 5: Jack Clark • Year 6: Thomas Cornish • Week of 02/05/14 • Reception: Millie Lucas • Year 1: Alessandro De Souza • Year 2: Verity Fay • Year 3: Maddie Symonds • Year 4: Sophie Wiles • Year 5: Jamie Hemley • Year 6: Whole Class • Week of 09/05/14 • Reception: Freddie Farr • Year 1: Leon Jackson • Year 2: Emily Merrington • Year 3: Toby Evans • Year 4: Tommy Street • Year 5: Charlie Hyder • Year 6: Amber Hogan • Week of 16/05/14 • Reception: Ryan Jackson • Year 1: Lincoln Hyland • Year 2: Jacob C Smith • Year 3: Elliot Su • Year 4: Kacey Gurney • Year 5: Thomas Shaw • Year 6:Whole Class - Sats • Week of 23/05/14 • Reception: Katelyn Pearman • Year 1: Eva Todd • Year 2: Whole Class - Sats • Year 3: Darcey Gower • Year 4: Tom Fry • Year 5: Sam Beale • Year 6: Abbie Surety Year 5/6 Trip Year 4 trip Y4 had a lovely day out at Bhaktivedanta Manor to support learning in RE. Whilst there, they were shown how they use animals to help make foods such as cheese. The process was complete when they used the cheese for lunch. As you will see from the photo, they also had the chance to dress up and were treated to a tour of the grounds. Year 5 and 6 experience life as a Tudor at Sulgrave Manor. As you can see, they really enjoyed dressing up and touring around the Tudor estate. The highlight of the day was taking part in an interactive one hour lecture of how Henry VIII had six wives and what happened to each one of them. ! • Bracelets • Abbie Surety, DayaIstiawan, Lois Axten, Charlotte Culverhouse and Ashley Belsonare going to be selling bracelets at break times to raise money for Cancer Research and St Francis Hospice charity. The cost of a bracelet will be80p for a sparkly one and 60p for a multi-coloured band . and they will be sold after Y6 return from their school journey for two weeks. Safety and considerationaround the school site Please do not drive into the school driveway during regular school hours. Although our children never access the car park, part of our risk assessments to ensure the site remains safe stipulate this measure to help ensure no accidents happen. Could I also remind you again to park considerably. Following conversations with local residents, I will be meeting with local highways representatives to see what can be done to ease the growing problems of inconsiderate parking.