There has been a real buzz in school this week as the pupils have been taking part in lots of extra activities outside of the normal school day. As I mentioned last week some of the pupils were Maypole dancing last week at the Brookmans Park May Day event on Saturday and they put on an excellent performance.  Those of us that were watching them were all very proud and I would like to thank Mrs Richardson and the pupils themselves for all their hard work in preparing for the event.

Yesterday we had pupils scattered far and wide. Some pupils from Year 4 took part in a technology challenge at Oakmere School against other local primary schools and although they did not win they all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At the same time some Year 5 girls were taking part in an enrichment day at Queenswood School and by all accounts everyone had a great time.

Then, after school, both our ‘A’ and ‘B’ netball teams took part in the ‘Le Gros Primary Netball Tournament’ at Mount Grace School. I am delighted to say that the ‘A’ team won the tournament after a very close final against Brookmans Park in which the girls had to come from behind twice to win 4-3. I am also pleased to say that they were the winners of their league. The ‘B’ team did well by winning two out of four of their games in the tournament and they finished 2^nd in their league. All of these good results would not be achieved without the hours of practice that the girls do and the brilliant coaching of Georgina Parkinson and Joanne Munn who give up their own time to run the netball teams. Without their dedication and commitment none of the above success would be possible.

Today we had one of our ‘Sharing’ assemblies which I always love because I think it is really good for children to share learning that they are proud of. It also pleases me that so many parents take the time to attend these events as it means a lot to the children that they are there to celebrate their learning with them.

Next week will be a slightly more formal one in school as the Year 6 are taking their SATs tests and we have a quieter atmosphere in school to help them concentrate. Although the tests are only one form of the assessment that we do with the children I would like to remind the parents of the Year 6 children to ensure that the children are relaxed outside of school and have no late nights to ensure that they perform to their full potential in the tests. School clubs will be running as normal during the SATs week.