Wow, is it really nearly the end of term and the end of this academic year already?! I know I must sound like a broken record by now, but where did that time go?

There has been plenty going on in school this week from the mini beast workshop which took place in Year 3 at the beginning of the week to the Year 6 visit to Stanborough lakes today. The highlight for many in the school though was probably the Apprentice afternoon held on Wednesday which was yet another success and has raised a significant amount of money for charity once again. As the Year 6 class have been very busy over the last couple of days, they do not know how much was raised in total yet and so I did not want to spoil anything by sharing it here but I will add it to my final blog on Wednesday of next week.

Which brings me on to my mention of the events to come next week in our final week of the year. Year 6 will be performing their end of year show to the whole school on Monday morning in their dress rehearsal which will also be their first full run-through, before the ‘real thing’ when they will perform it in the evening to their parents. This is a tradition that is followed in most primary schools across the country and judging by how good it has sounded when I have been passing through their classroom or the hall while they have been rehearsing, I am sure that it will be an amazing show!

The end of year fun will continue on Tuesday when we will also be holding our annual Staff vs Year 6 rounders match. I actually managed to hit the ball for once last year (usually the nerves get to me and I miss in spectacular fashion) and if I am lucky enough to blast it towards the Foundation Unit again, I can assure that I will be doing all I can to get a 'rounder' and help bring the title back to the staff! I look forward to all of the cheers from those children in the school supporting the teachers, but also relish the ‘panto' boos from those who will be cheering on the Year 6 children, as after all, it is for them that we continue to put on this event and I wish the class all the best.

Finally, we will come to the end of term on Wednesday, where we will be holding our annual Leaver’s Assembly for the Year 6 children before they then get to visit classes to have their shirts signed. We will then be waving goodbye to the Year 6 children for good and will be saying goodbye for the summer to the rest of the school as we finish with the ‘guard of honour’ at 1:15pm.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and we will see you all again on Monday morning for these final few days.

Well, after a cooler start to the week which was a very welcome relief from the extreme heat of last week, the temperatures have certainly crept up again today and we find ourselves with yet another yellow weather warning in place which is due to last into the beginning of next week. As a result, once again we have put things in place to mitigate against the effects of the heat as much as we can, though sometimes I just wish that we had air con in all of our classrooms (as well as in my office) as there is only so much relief that is given by the fans that we have in place. Still, while I may sit here complaining about the heat right now, it could be pouring down with rain and while this is obviously good for the garden, I know which conditions I’d rather be facing.

The main points of note to mention from this week were the sharing and class assemblies and our Parent Consultations that took place throughout the week, which culminated in the later evening last night. These meetings are a great opportunity to share all of the hard work and progress that the children have made this year before they move onto their new classes and teachers and I hope that you found it a worthwhile opportunity to discuss your child and how well they are doing at school.

Monday’s sharing assembly might have been a smaller affair than usual due to being our ‘mop-up’ event for those who missed out earlier in the year, but nevertheless there was plenty of quality learning across a range of subjects that the children proudly shared with us. The Year 1 class assembly today then showed the wonderful learning made by the younger children of the school. It was very well presented and was well attended by our parents and I want to thank all of the parents for joining us, all of the staff who helped to put it together but most importantly, the children who were all superstars.

Following on from my comments regarding the consultations last night, I know that I spoke to a couple of parents about this Sunday’s football match and whether we would be allowing a late start to the day. Having consulted with all of the other local Potters Bar primary headteachers, for once there was not a general consensus with only a couple of other schools offering a later start to their day. For those who have known me for a while, you will know what a huge football fan I am, but on reflection, whilst I do not wish to disappoint anyone, on this occasion, in line with most other schools, we have decided to stick to the usual start time. Despite my love of the beautiful game, I don’t think I could face the day after lack of sleep (especially if it goes to pens) and so I myself will be setting my alarm for 5:30, switching off my notifications and watching it then and whether you choose to allow your child to watch it live or not, I hope our boys do well and I will be cheering as loudly as the next person in the hope that we get through to the quarter finals. If we do so, luckily we will have no more silly-o’clock KOs.

I hope you all have a good weekend.