Friday 22^nd November 2024

The cold weather has hit. Please ensure your child has warm clothes and layers when they come to school. Many children do not want to go out because it is too cold, but they want to be outside to play with friends. Please make sure that children have all the appropriate clothing for school. Also, please name the items, as we have lots of lost property.

Parent communication with the school

We have many parents who are respectful and a sheer delight to work with, who understand that staff are working their hardest to support their children in school. In the current climate in education, services are being pushed, and we have a SEND crisis nationally, where children are awaiting special provision places and taking up lots of additional time, money, and resources. We understand that this can be frustrating. However, as a school, we are trying hard to work with limited funds and support. Most classes have 30 children, and we are responsible for their academic achievement and ensuring that they achieve their educational potential. The additional responsibilities put on schools have meant that recruitment and retaining good staff are challenging. Many schools suffer, meaning they have an endless supply of teachers. At Wilbury this is not the case and we hope that this continues. 

As a school and as a trust, we are passionate about children's education and well-being. We are proud that we have been able to recruit and retain our staff, which has been hard for many schools. I can genuinely say that I am working with a team of staff of the highest quality in their skills, experience and expertise.

As a school, we make mistakes, not purposely, but by genuinely trying to support all children regardless of need. We have 250 children in school for whom we are responsible. When you feel aggrieved or angry, we ask that you take time before calling and speaking aggressively to us or sending time-consuming and hurtful emails and complaints. We have many parents who send lovely supportive emails and are respectful to us, and that is truly appreciated and needed with the high demands we are currently under. If you are upset or cross about something, we ask that you model the behaviour we are trying to teach your children; this means understanding the emotion you are feeling, upset, disappointed, unsure, etc. Think about what it is and why you are feeling this, and then take time to calm down and then call or email. Everybody at Wilbury and across all schools are trying hard to support children in being the best they can be.

I don’t want the goodwill that staff show outside of their working day unpaid to disappear because people do not understand that they are people, too. It would be a shame because things like singing on a Saturday, residential stays, clubs, and additional sessions we take on, such as drawing and talking mental health NHS hub and emailing parents and teachers directly, will disappear because all of these things are done outside of staff's working day and done without pay.

Most parents are respectful; we ask those of you who have not shown staff the respect they deserve to reflect and think about how we communicate with staff moving forward. To think that every time we set up meetings, and you don’t attend or inform us, this is extra work on staff, which means less time directly impacting children.  Having this kind and transparent communication strategy supports the foundation of good working relationships for all. We have come so far as a school and want to go further, and we can do this with your help, support and collaboration.

Outside people in to school

Over the last two weeks, we have had a few different visitors to the school to talk to children or run workshops; if you would like to see more of this in school, let me know of companies or ideas you feel the children will benefit from. This week, we had the Dog Trust in to speak to children about responsible ownership and how to be around dogs, equipping them with life skills for now and in the future. Last week, year 3 had Creative Chefs who did a healthy eating workshop, where children made pasta pots with vegetables.

Mrs Banks and a school governor have set up an online reading with HMRC, who spend one afternoon a week listening to readers online. The children have benefited from this, which gives them different experiences.

Charity

We celebrated Children in Need I Need last week, where children wore superhero outfits and spots and participated in lunchtime activities. Thank you, Wilbury Parliament, for organising this.

We also took part in the poppy appeal, where children purchased items, and poppies were sold.

Thank you to all the families who supported us in this.

Christmas Singing

Unfortunately, the Christmas singing in Letchworth Town Centre this Saturday has been cancelled. 

Clubs

We have a good range of clubs at Wilbury. Our aim is that 100% of schoolchildren have the opportunity to attend a club to help support their personal development and mental well-being. If your child has yet to participate and you would like to see different clubs, please let me or Mr Rust know your ideas. We have had some good responses this term with a health cooking club, a Christmas club, a Space club, a clay club, and more. head@wilbury.herts.sch.uk  

Christmas Dinner 

Can parents please order Christmas dinner by Monday 2nd December.

Curriculum Evening

On Wednesday at 3:30 pm, the school will be open for a free-to-wander session; this is an excellent opportunity to see what different curriculum subjects look like and the staff leading them. We will not have clubs this evening other than boxing in the hall and after-school club with Mrs Smith. The other clubs,tuition,  Art club and girls football, will continue for an extra week; the reason for the break is to ensure the well-being and safety of your children whilst the school has lots of people walking around. It would be great to see as many of you as possible. It is a free event and allows you to spend time with your children and have them tell you about their school.

SATS Meeting

There will be a SATs meeting for Year 6 parents on Monday, December 9th, at 5 p.m. It would be great to have all Year 6 parents at this. This will allow each parent to see their child's previous papers and what they need to do next in order to achieve the expected standard.

Dates

• Wednesday 27th November - After school curriculum evening, participate and see what we do at Wilbury Junior School. More information to come- save the date)
• Monday 9th December - Year 6 SATs meeting for all parents, 5 pm-6 pm. Please bring your child, too.
• Tuesday 17th December - Christmas Dinner Day. On this day, Children can wear Christmas jumpers or school uniforms.
• Wednesday 18^th December - Year 4 Christmas production Wednesday 18^th December at 2 pm (separate letter being sent out to Year 4 parents)
• Thursday 19^th December - Christmas Panto at Hertford theatre (children can bring their snack- no nuts and a packed lunch will be needed)
• Friday 20^th December - Singing to parents at 1:00 pm
• Friday 20^th December 2024 -  School closes at 1:30 pm End of term
• Wednesday 8^th January 2025- Children return after the Christmas break