Friday 27th September

This week has been a lovely week in school despite the rain, which made it hard to participate in activities outside.

However, the school continues, and children have been doing more inside activities at playtimes. The year six children attended Hazard Alley, but due to the rain, they had to be evacuated and sent home. We have booked another date for year 6 to attend this later in the year. 

Wilbury Parliament

We had our school Wilbury Parliament elections this week, where Year 6 had the opportunity to make a video and stand for Prime Minister. All children had the chance to take part in a democratic vote. We are pleased to announce that Maisie, in year 6, is our new Prime Minister. She will be joined by Lyla, who will be the curriculum Minister; Henry, who will be the sustainability minister; and Grace Ivy, who will be the Wellbeing Minister. We wish them all good luck in their year in office. Next week, more children will have the opportunity to join the different committees. We thank Mrs Hill for working on this to give the children real-world experiences.

Coming into school

School starts at 8:40 a.m., and children are expected to arrive at this time. They then go to the assembly at 8:50 a.m. The register closes at 9 a.m., but children must go to the office if they are later than 8:45 to ensure they are marked in the register.

The school is working alongside the county and national guidelines that a fixed penalty notice is put in place if children miss five or more days of school, which is unauthorised. We understand that, at times, children are ill and need to be off school, but when this is repeated over time, it can negatively impact a child.

Some children do find the transition from home to school hard; we as a school understand this, and we would not want a child to be distressed. We do ask that parents do not push children into the school door and shut the door as this can cause children to be more distressed; if you have a child that finds coming into school challenging, please do speak to the school so that we can put systems in places to support them, this could be a calming transition activity each morning, someone to speak too or some time. We ask that parents talk through the day and reassure them about picking up what the day looks like, what is happening after school, etc., to alleviate anxiety.

Parking on site

We have several members of our community who are disabled and have a disabled blue badge; this includes staff, children, parents, governors and other visitors to the school. We only have a set number of places in the car park, and at times, we have had up to 15 parents requesting to park onsite to pick up their children at the end of the day. We cannot facilitate this as we only have a few spaces available and sometimes none. We also have the rule that cars do not come and go 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the children's start and finish times to ensure that we support children onsite at our busiest times so they are safe coming on and leaving the site. This means that, at times, we cannot fulfil your requests. For your information, it is nearer for parents to park at the Haselfoot gate as this is nearer to the classrooms and the year 3 and 4 playgrounds.  Please be aware that you may not be able to park onsite if we do not have spaces.   

Parental Behaviour onsite

We would also like to remind all parents and careers that the staff at Wilbury Junior School should not be shouted at or harassed; if this does occur, we will ask you not to come on-site. We understand that people sometimes get cross, frustrated and angry about situations; however, it is not OK for any adult to be rude, aggressive or shout at staff. Please take some time to think about the situation and then come and speak to us. We have an open-door policy; however, the staff have a right to feel safe and valued onsite. Please see the link below about our parent and visitor behaviour policy.

Parent and Visitor Behaviour Policy

Governors

This week, we welcomed two new governors, Mr Thomas Dunk and Mr Fabian Smith. Over the coming weeks, we will have more information about all our governors and how they support the school, the children, and the community.

Keeping Safe

Next week, the year three children will start their protective behaviours group. All children take part in this with their parents' permission. It supports young children in understanding how to keep themselves safe and who to speak to if they are not feeling safe.

This week, children had assemblies on how to keep themselves safe. We discussed that all children should have at least five trusted adults to whom they can go to. We looked at what trust is and that these adults have their best interests at heart and will listen and make them feel safe. Please ask your child who their five trusted adults are. If you think your child does not have five, please speak to Mrs Watkins or Ms Atkins about this.

During all computing lessons, we always have online safety advice and work to support children's safety online. More and more technology is used in the house, and more children are using it unsupervised. We have many helpful hints and tips to support you on the following link. https://www.wilbury.herts.sch.uk/online-safety/ 

Celebrations and Awards at Wilbury Junior School

At Wilbury Junior School, we have many awards and celebrations. Each class has its own system, but as a school, this is what we offer.

Headteachers Awards

Children who have worked exceptionally hard and produced good work or something exceptional will receive a head teacher award. This award consists of a head teacher sticker and an item from the treasure chest.

Smile Awards

When Ms Atkins has seen a child in the school who has been happy and smiley around the school because they are pleased to be in school, have achieved something or are optimistic about what they are doing, they receive a certificate and a smiley squishy

Values Awards

Value Awards are issued each week for one member in each class who has demonstrated the value of that half-term; this half-term, the value is organisation.

House Points

Children receive house points when they have done good work, shown kindness and compassion to others, been helpful or completed something set. These are counted each week, and the winning house, each half term, receives a treat. This half term is an ice cream treat on Friday, 25^th October.

Word of the week

Mrs Holmes, our writing lead, sets a word of the week to help children increase their vocabulary. The children then use this vocabulary in their writing and submit a piece of work. The winner is rewarded with a notebook to do more writing.

Attendance awards

The class with the highest weekly attendance receives the trophy and extra playtime that week.

Shine Award

Children receive shine awards on a Friday that celebrate achievements outside of school or things that are above and beyond the curriculum. Some children have the opportunity to shine a lot because they get many opportunities to participate in different activities; this is why we have free shine clubs at school so that all children can shine outside the curriculum. If your child has achieved a badge at swimming or taken part in a charity race or event, then please let me know at head@wilbury.herts.sch.uk

Dates

• Tuesday 1st October - Year 5 Faith Tour- children will need a vegetarian lunch and a scarf to cover their heads. 
• Friday 4^th October- Multisports Festival at Knights Templar (letter to those children will go out)
• Monday 7th October – Individual photographs
• Thursday 10th October- World Mental Health Day- Children to wear something yellow. 
• Friday 11th October – Last club for this half-term
• Tuesday 22nd October – Parents evening (More information to come)
• Wednesday 23rd October – Parents Evening (More information to come)
• Friday 25th October – Last day of half term school finishes at 3:10 pm 
• Tuesday 29^th October- Thursday 31^st October- Half-term theatre school
• Monday 4th November – Children return back
• Wednesday 6th Wednesday 13th November – Travelling book fair in school 
• Monday 11th November – year 3 creative chefs workshop
• Wednesday 27th November – After school curriculum evening, take part and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School (More information to come- save the date)
• Thursday 19^th December – Whole school Panto trip to Hertford Theatre
• Friday 20th December- Children break up for Christmas at 1:30 pm
• Wednesday 8th  January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break