I know it is normally a bad sign when you have spots in front of your eyes but that is what I am seeing in abundance today because practically everyone is wearing something spotty today for ‘Children in Need’. As a school we do like to support fundraising projects like this because it does make the children think about people less fortunate than themselves and it does show that if everyone does a little it can have an enormous, positive impact on the lives of those in need. I would like to thank everyone who made a donation and I will let you know how much we raised when we have the total.

 It has also been anti-bullying week in school. The children have been carrying out lots of activities which highlight the negative impact that bullying can have on people’s lives and they have also been finding out about strategies to help them cope with conflict in their lives so that it does not develop into bullying.  They were all very excited about being involved in the creation of an anti-bullying emoji (art attack style) and this will be available for you to view on our website. I also did a presentation on Monday about how parents can help support their children mange conflict at school. If you could not attend the meeting I have uploaded the presentation onto the home page of our website so you can look at the advice in your own time.

A matter that has been brought to my attention this week is the number of pupils who are obviously accessing computer games that are not appropriate for their age. Some of the games that are now available on the market are extremely violent but their rating is above that of a primary age pupil and yet some of our children are playing on them. We know this because some of the scenes from these games are being discussed by the children in school and reproduced in their written work. Can I ask that your children only access games that are age appropriate and that the amount of time that they spend on a computer is monitored.  Advice on e- safety and what your children can access on a computer is available on the school website.

Next week is another exciting week in school. Some of the older children are taking part in the ‘Big Draw’ at Hertfordshire University and some of the younger junior children are taking part in a sports event. On Saturday the PTA are holding a ‘Family Photograph’ day in school. If you would like to take part in this and have not booked a session contact someone in the school office and they will put you in touch with the relevant member of the PTA.

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend.