Autumn Term No: 1 2019

Woodfield School Malmes Croft, Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP3 8RL

Dear Parents and Carers, It doesn’t seem possible that we have reached half term already!! This term has gone very quickly and has been extremely busy for us all in school. We had 14 new pupils start with us this term and it is pleasing to see how well they have all settled into their classes and life at Woodfield. Pupils who have moved into new classes have also settled well and are becoming familiar with their new routines. I think staff and pupils are all now ready for their week off after what has been a very hectic half term!

We would like to welcome all our new pupils and their families who have joined us this term. We welcomed 10 new pupils at the beginning of this term – Rebecca, Maisie, Joshua and Antonia who have joined Class 1; Khaya who has joined Class 2; Hanaa and James who have joined Class 6; Hifzah and Isobel who have joined Class 7 and Layla who has joined Axis Group. At the end of September we also welcomed Cayson, Tyler, Reed and Joseph who have joined Class 1. We hope they are all enjoying their new classes and settling well into life at Woodfield

NEW PUPILS

Half Term: Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November 2019

Woodfield Charity Ball: Saturday 23rd November 2019

Occasional Day (school closed): Friday 29th November 2019

Christmas Fayre: Thursday 5th December 2019

Pop up Café: Thursday 12th December 2019 at 1.45pm TBC

Christmas Concert at Church: Mon 16th or Tues 17th December 2019 Time and date TBC

Carols around the tree: Tuesday 17th December 2019 6.30 – 7.30 pm

End of Term: Friday 20th December 2019 at 1.00 pm

INSET day: Monday 6th January 2020 – school closed to pupils

Spring Term starts: Tuesday 7th January 2020

Parents’ Consultation Evening: Tuesday 21st January 2020 4.00 – 6.30pm

Half term: Monday 17th – Friday 21st February 2020

World Book Day: Thursday 5th March 2020

Easter Show: Tuesday 31st March 2020 at 10.00 a.m.

Easter Show: Wednesday 1st April 2020 at 2.00 p.m.

End of Spring Term - Friday 3rd April 2020 at 1.00 pm

INSET day: Monday 20th April 2020 – school closed to pupils

Summer Term starts: Tuesday 21st April 2020

Parents Consultation Evening: Tuesday 28th April 2020 4.00 – 6.30pm

Bank Holiday: Friday 8tthMay - chool closed to pupils

Half Term: Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May 2020

Sports Day: Thursday 25th June 2020 10.00 a.m.

Leavers Prom: Wednesday 15th July 2020

End of Term: Friday 17th July 2020 at 1.00 pm

DIARY DATES

We are pleased to welcome Karen who has joined us as a full time teacher currently working in Class 7. We would also like to welcome Dionne, Holly and Jodie who have joined us this term as Teaching Assistants currently working in Class 1, Iona who is currently working in Class 3 and Beth and Jess who are currently working in Axis Group. We hope all the new staff are settling into school life and enjoying being part of the Woodfield team. After half term we will be welcoming Neil who will be joining us as a Teaching Assistant and Clare who will be joining us as a Nursery Nurse.

NEW STAFF

Woodfield School

On Saturday 14th September we held a Teddy Bears Picnic from 12.00 – 2.00 as a welcome event to the new school year for all families and staff. The picnic was an opportunity for new families and staff to meet with existing families and staff and to get to know each other. We were very lucky with the weather and it was lovely to see so many bring their teddy bears out to play! Tea, coffee and cakes were provided. Thank you to those who sent in donations of cakes for the event. There were a variety of games available for everyone to participate in and the bouncy castle was very popular. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way and to all of you who came along and supported the event.

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC

Woodfield School

On Monday 14th October we held our Harvest. Assembly in school. Dave from DENS came along and joined us for the assembly, as did some parents and friends. Everyone joined in with singing and signing our Harvest songs, and the pupils who did the readings did very well. Thank you to everyone who sent in donations of food for the Harvest; all of which went to DENS. After the assembly the pupils took part in making a range of food ready for the Harvest Supper which we held in the hall in the afternoon. An enjoyable day had by all.

HARVEST ASSEMBLY AND SUPPER

Woodfield School

Woodfield School

On Friday 27th September we ran a coffee morning in our coffee shop in aid of MacMillan. The event was well supported and we raised £336.75 for this very worthwhile charity. Thank you to everyone who supported this event by either coming along to it, sending in cakes, or money to buy cakes. Your support is very much appreciated. A huge thank you also to the students, Sarah and the Work Related Learning Team who organised and ran the coffee morning. They did a fab job.

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING

If you have any spare time come and visit our coffee shop. Our opening times are:

COFFEE SHOP

Our shop is open at specified times during the week. Please come along and support the students’ learning….and grab a bargain or two at the same time! You could also combine your visit to Woodfield Trinkets along with a visit to the Coffee Shop!! If you have any new or second-hand items you would like to donate to the shop please send them in for the attention of the Enterprise Group.

OUR SHOP – WOODFIELD TRINKETS

Coffee Shop Open Term Time

Only Monday Closed

Tuesday 09:00 to 16:00

Wednesday 14:30 to 16:00

Thursday 09:00 to 16:00

Friday 09:00 to 14:00

Woodfield Trinkets Open Term Time

Only Monday Closed

Tuesday 09:00 to 15:30

Wednesday 14:00 to 15:30

Thursday Closed

Friday 09:00 to 14:00

We have many children who attend the school who are vulnerable to infection, or due to their special needs find it very difficult to cope with illness. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that children should not attend if they are not well. They will not benefit from being at school if they are ill and may pass on infection to others. If your child has diarrhoea and/or vomiting they must have a 48 hour period clear from symptoms before they can return to school. The school reserves the right to notify parents and ask them to collect their child if it is deemed they are unwell and should not attend school. Please ensure you have sufficient emergency contacts in place who can collect your child at short notice when needed if you are not available.

ILLNESS

Woodfield School Woodfield School

Membership of WASP is open not only to parents of pupils at the school but also to extended family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, as well as friends and ex parents and staff.

If you would like further information about WASPs please contact Andy or Zoey (WASP Chair and Secretary) via the school, Gill or Ian.

OUR PARENT/STAFF ASSOCIATION - WASPs (Woodfield Association of School Partners):

SCHOOL UNIFORM – Please help us ensure we start the next half term with smart looking pupils!

It is still very noticeable that there are some pupils who are regularly not wearing school uniform to school. I would like to remind you that, with the exception of our 16 – 19 year old students, ALL pupils should be wearing school uniform. There is a link on the school website to School Trends, the suppliers of our school uniform, where you can purchase any items you may need for your son/daughter. As a reminder our school uniform is as follows: Black or Grey trousers/joggers or skirts/pinafores Pale Blue polo shirt School royal blue sweatshirt/cardigan/fleece PE Kit – Royal blue shorts and white tee-shirt ALL clothes should be labelled with your child’s name so that we can identify who clothing belongs to. If you have any issues regarding providing school uniform for your son/daughter please contact Gill to discuss.

SECONDHAND SCHOOL UNIFORM SALE

We have a supply of second-hand school uniform in school which can be purchased at any time throughout the year. We will also be running a second-hand school uniform stall at parent’s evening next term – Tuesday 21st January 2020.

CURRICULUM PLANS

You should have all received a copy of the curriculum plan for your child’s class. The curriculum plan gives you some general information about what you child will be learning about this term. If you have not received this please contact the class teacher for a copy.

PARENTS EVENING

Our next parents evening will be on Tuesday 21st January 2020 from 4.00 – 6.30 pm. This will be an opportunity for you to meet staff and have a look around your son/daughter’s class. It is also an opportunity for parents to meet up with other parents and have a chat over a cup of tea/coffee. Please put the date in your diary.

SEND NEWS (formerly HAND SEND news)

The October edition of SEND News is accessible via the link below: https://sendnews.hertfordshire.gov.uk/ There are updates about transforming SEND services in Hertfordshire as well as information on events, support groups, services and much more. If you have not seen the SEND Newsletter it is worth having a look at. There are also some fab photos of some of our pupils on the newsletter taken when we had the HCC photoshoot.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are always in need of volunteers in school to assist particularly with swimming and to help us maintain our school grounds by doing, for example, fence painting or gardening in the Dell or the Sensory Garden. Maintaining areas in school such as the Dell is an ongoing job and any help we get is always appreciated. Volunteering for swimming would need to be on a regular weekly basis but volunteering to help with eg gardening in the Dell can be a ‘one off’. If you have any spare time and would like to volunteer to help with swimming or grounds maintenance …..or if you know anyone who might like to volunteer, please contact Lucy Goodley, for more details via the school office.

Woodfield School

FOCUS WEEK

Our Judaism week took place within the first half of the Autumn Term. The focus this time was on the festival of Sukkot with all classes preparing a dish that may be eaten during the Sukkot celebrations. Classes explored the different symbols associated with Judaism and investigated how some of the other festivals are celebrations. Classes took part in learning about the Sabbath and Hanukkah.

Woodfield School

GOODBYES

We are sad to be saying goodbye to one of our teachers Sarah and one of our teaching assistants, Ashley, who are both moving on to pastures new. We will miss them both and wish them both well in their new jobs.

CHRISTMAS AND EASTER

Following all our Christmas activities last year we had a discussion in staff meeting and made a decision that we would no longer do a Christmas Play. The run up to Christmas is really busy in school with lots of activities taking place and we felt we needed to space things out a little. There will therefore not be a Christmas Play this year, but instead we will be having an Easter Show at the end of the Spring Term. There will still be all the other usual Christmas activities taking place including the Christmas Concert in the local church.

PLEASE remember to keep us up to date with contact details if you move house, change your phone number or emergency contact numbers. It is really important that we can contact you if we need to. Parentmail is one of the ways we can remind you of important dates/events and therefore we need to make sure we have the correct contact details or you may miss out on things.

CONTACT DETAILS