October 16 Parish News

Pupils have been experiencing “Democracy in Action” this month at Great Gaddesden!

Our school operates a School Council forum which includes one child from each year group from year’s one to six and changes each academic year. School Council exists to enable pupils to present their ideas and opinions and ensure that all children feel they have a say in what happens in their school. All children have the opportunity to nominate themselves for School Council. After nomination they must then present to their peers the reasons that they think make them a good candidate. Each child votes for the candidate they would most like to see represent their year group via democratic vote.

Last year the School Council consulted on the change of the School Dinner System and helped to choose new equipment for the proposed renovation of the bark area. They also got involved with raising money for Great Ormond Street and assisted with selling cakes at a Bake Sale held at the Snow Centre in Hemel.

Meadow in Year Six created a brilliant Acrostic Poem as part of her campaign to be a School Council Representative and her peers were obviously impressed as she was successful in her campaign and has become their representative!

Here is her innovative poem detailing the reasons and qualities that she thought would make her a good candidate. Perhaps some of our current politicians can take note!

Sensible

Caring

Honest

Organised

Obliging

Leader

Creative

Optimistic

Unique

Negotiable

Considerate

Impartial

Likeable

Nursery and Reception have settled in wonderfully to the school. In class they are learning how things grow. They have been busy exploring the school Garden and admiring the Sun Flowers. They were also exploring the apple trees and their fruits, and deciding what vegetables they could grow in the garden. Soon they will be going on a class visit to the local garden centre to buy seeds to grow some food of their own!

Years One and Two have been busy exploring materials and the differences between wood, plastic, metal, glass and clay. They went on a hunt in the school grounds trying to identify different materials They have also been working hard on their mental maths!

Years Three and Four have been focusing on the Stone Age as their topic for the start of this term. They took an exciting trip to Celtic Harmony in Essex to experience the Stone Age in action and had the chance to build dens, explore what children in the Stone Age ate and experience sitting round the fire in a Stone Age hut. Pupils dressed up in Stone Age costume and they all looked absolutely wonderful!

A team from Years Five and Six are competing again in the Gaddesden Football League. Their first match was against Kensworth. Here is their match report:

“Match Report
The season is now under way and what a curtain raiser it was. Great Gaddesden hosted Kensworth using Kenworth’s field as theirs is unavailable for the time being. It was a very even match, Great Gaddesden putting Kensworth under pressure and going deservedly 1 nil up with Caden’s well taken goal.”

Kensworth dug in and kept making chances, eventually equalizing through Wills strike with only 10 minutes left on the clock! Both teams had chances to grab a winner but a combination of good defending and goalkeeping saw the game finish all square

The Match finished: Great Gaddesden 1 – 1 Kensworth

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This month pupils took part in a non-school-uniform day to raise money for Great Ormond Street our chosen charity as part of the 'Going for Gold' campaign to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

We have also welcomed a new Foundation Governor this month. Krys Kirby who lives locally in the village very close to the school has kindly agreed to join the Governing body and we are sure she will be a fantastic asset.

Pupil numbers are now at the highest they have been in recent years, with 85 pupils currently on roll. As the school grows we are working hard as a Staff and Governing Body to ensure that the school maintains its small “village” community feel.

We also work hard to ensure that each child’s learning needs are catered for. We do this in a variety of ways. One of the things we offer is 1-2-1 support sessions for pupils identified as needing extra support with their learning. Staff also run a Homework club to offer support to anyone who may not have the opportunity to undertake homework or reading at home.

We regularly take advantage of external workshop opportunities for our most able learners. Additionally, this year Gill Edwards one of our Governors is kindly sparing her time to run a book club for able readers in Years Five and Six which they are very much enjoying.

Each and every child’s progression in Reading, Literacy and Maths is individually monitored by the class teacher and Head. Anonymised pupil progress reports are regularly presented at Curriculum and Standards Meetings to ensure that Governors can also track how pupils are progressing.

We also celebrate pupil’s out-of-school activities in our weekly celebration assemblies where children have the opportunity to share and celebrate their extra-curricular achievements.

We welcome visits from prospective parents who are considering Nursery and Reception places for 2017 or in-year admissions. Please contact the school office to arrange a visit. We would love to show you around!