Spring Term Newsletter #21

27th February 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been business as usual back in school this week; we have been quick to return to routines and our learning journeys. I have popped into classrooms and had some excellent discussions with children about their learning - some Year 6 pupils really impressed me with their discursive writing considering the impact of mobile phones in school. Year 2/3 have been in the kitchen using a range of skills and utensils to develop their cooking skills. We are very fortunate to have a cooking space and it is always incredibly rewarding to see children engaged in hands-on activities. Lastly, Serge Hill hosted a workshop with their resident artist on Wednesday for a selection of our older pupils. The children benefited from expert input and a chance to be creative in a beautiful natural setting.

Values: The focus on collaboration this week led to some reflections about the Winter Olympics and the many examples of team work that lead to success in our Monday assembly. I challenged the children to bring collaboration into their week at school and teachers recognised the values champions today for those efforts. Being able to work with others and cooperate is such an important skillset to develop. Next week, with World Book Day upon us, we explore creativity and the words of Albert Einstein - 'Creativity is intelligence having fun.'

Votes for Schools: This week we considered the challenges of being loyal and older children zoomed in to consider 'Should MPs stay loyal to their political party?' There was a general consensus that loyalty is important to successful friendships but sometimes we can be tempted by exciting opportunities. Regarding MPs, children felt that they had a right to change their minds or stick to their personal beliefs.

Dojo Rewards: Since January, the Junior Leadership Team (JLT) have launched individual rewards for children collecting house points. Children get certificates and rewards for reaching 50, 75 and 100 dojos per half term. Certificates should have made their way home this week. The JLT are pleased with the start to this new idea and will look to refine things this term.

Talent Show: The JLT are hosting a talent show on Friday 27th March - the last day of the term. Auditions will take place over the next couple of weeks. If your child has a hidden talent that could be shared in assembly, encourage them to sign up! Children have been asking me about this since I arrived in September 2024! It should be a fun and entertaining way to end the term.

World Book Day: It's World Book Day next Thursday. Teachers have been busy planning an immersive day to promote a love of reading. You still have time to create a 'Book in a Box' ready to bring on the day. Also, get hunting over the weekend, for a pre-loved book (or two) to bring to the book swap. At the end of the day, your child will be given their World Book Day voucher - a great opportunity to choose a free book from a local bookshop.

Parents' Evenings: This term we will once again be using our Arbor system to book appointments for parents' evenings. You will be able to book from 6pm on Friday 13th March. Please be sure to set up the app to ensure you can book your slot. Follow this link and click 'Forgot your password?' to set up your account. Support can be found here.

The beautiful weather mid-week sadly is not with us this weekend; it will be waterproofs if you are venturing out! Whatever you choose to do, have a great weekend. I am off to join the school disco and judge the teacher's dance moves!

Best wishes,

Mr. Matt Morey - Headteacher

Upcoming Dates...

Tue 3rd Mar - Y4 Class Expos, 2.45pm

Y4 share their curriculum with their families.

Mon 2nd Mar - Y2/3 Parent Workshop

The Y2/3 team take parents through a sample lesson exploring adaptations and teaching strategies.

Thu 5th Mar - World Book Day

We celebrate the brilliance of reading as a whole school.

Monday 9th Mar - Y2/3 Class Expos, 2.45pm

Y2/3 share their curriculum with their families.

Tue 10th Mar - Y1 Class Expos, 2.45pm

Y1 share their curriculum with their families.

Wed 11th Mar - Y4 Anglo-Saxon Workshop

A trip back in time as the small hall becomes an ancient settlement.

Thu 12th Mar - Y5 Tring Museum Trip

An opportunity for Y5 to explore a range of creatures and their adaptations.

Sun 15th - Wed 18th Mar - Y6 PGL Trip

Y6 develop their independence and problem solving skills on their residential trip.

Tue 24th Mar - Y1 Cinema Trip

An opportunity to dive into their space learning at the cinema in town.

Tue 24th & Thu 26th Mar - Parents' Evenings

Your chance to discuss your children's learning with their class teacher.

School calendar

Attendance

Attendance this week is a pleasing 95.4%. Excellent attendance is vital for successful learning. Our curriculum is sequenced and builds knowledge cumulatively, so any absence can hinder their learning journey. Be sure to get your child into school every day. Congratulations to Jakarta who take the top spot with an excellent 99.1%.

Class Attendance Summary:

1. Jakarta 99.1%

2. Cusco 98.3%

3. Colombo 98.1%

4. Rome 96.7%

5. Rio 95.7%

6. Kingston 95.7%

7. Kampala 95.0%

8. Cairo 94.3%

9. New York 93.8%

10. Tokyo 91.3%

11. London 91.0%

Values Champions

This week has been full of children making excellent choices and working on our school values. The children listed below were recognised in assembly for their outstanding efforts! They were ready to learn, respectful of the environment and their peers and they were resilient and worked hard throughout. Well done, everyone!

Reception:

London - Siya

Year 1:

Rome - Chloe

Year 2/3:

Colombo - Shubhavee

Jakarta - Lola

Tokyo - Adrian

Year 4:

Cairo - Darrel

Kampala - Amelia

Year 5:

Rio - Emiko

Cusco - Sofia

Year 6:

New York - Hasini

Kingston - Victor & Theo

House Points

Children’s attitude to learning has been recognised through the collection of dojo points, which are then totalled as house points across the school. Every child continues to show their commitment to being Ready, Respectful and Resilient, earning points for their house. Each half term the points are reset and a new competition begins. Curie have made a strong start to take the top spot this week! Congratulations to everyone involved. Every point represents a moment of success this term.

Here’s how the points stand:

1st: Curie with 589 points

2nd: Alhazen with 564 points

3rd: Sharman with 542 points

4th: Carver with 516 points

Let’s keep up the great work and continue to support each other as we aim for the top!

Class News

This week in Reception

This week in Reception, we have been hooked into our new story for this half term. We came into school on Wednesday to find a 10ft beanstalk in our classroom. We discussed how it could have got there and then discovered magic beans hidden all over our classroom. We went on a quest to find all the beans before they grew into beanstalks and consumed our classroom. We have also been learning about Chinese New Year and have been lucky enough to have Ms Chan teach us all about this tradition, having celebrated it in Hong Kong with her family over the half term break.

This week in Year 1

This week in Year 1, the children were immersed in our new class text How to Catch a Kraken. We explored the theme of “under the sea” through a whole-class sensory slime activity, using our senses to investigate textures, colours and objects from the ocean.

The children used rich descriptive language, shared ideas confidently and showed fantastic curiosity and engagement throughout the session. A wonderful start to our new learning journey!

This week in Year 2 / 3

This week in Year 2/3, we began our exciting DT project, 'Cook Well, Eat Well'. The children became real chefs as they learned about different cooking methods and food preparation skills.They enjoyed the hands-on experience of peeling potatoes safely and explored three ways of cooking them: boiling, roasting and baking. The children observed how the texture and taste changed with each method and loved tasting the different potatoes. It was a fun and engaging way to develop their cooking skills and learn about healthy eating.

This week in Year 4

The children have had a fantastic start after the half-term break and have settled back into their learning with great energy. In English, we are looking at recounts this half term. To kick things off with an exciting "hook," the children had a fun and engaging morning solving puzzles and riddles! In Maths, we are learning how to calculate the perimeter of rectilinear shapes and polygons. In Science, our new topic is Electricity, where we will be exploring circuits and conductors. In History, we are traveling back in time to study the Anglo-Saxons.

This week in Year 5

This week in Year 5, the children enjoyed their class Expos. We were, yet again, impressed by the incredible turnout from parents and the children thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to showcase the topics they have been exploring in class. The Year 5 team wishes to express our immense pride in the children for being so independent and taking ownership of their Expo preparations. This demonstrates wonderful passion and commitment to their learning.

This week in Year 6

This week in English, Year 6 has been mastering the art of writing balanced arguments! To make their writing as strong and structured as possible, the class has been applying the PEER method: Point, Evidence, Explanation and Research.

The children did a fantastic job of exploring both sides of an issue, backing up their statements with solid facts and explaining their reasoning clearly.

This week in Staff Meetings

We came together to moderate our teacher assessments of writing. We explored some shared examples and evaluated them against the success criteria. This is an important part of our assessment process ensuring teacher judgements are consistent and accurate. There were some excellent conversations about children's learning and how we can drive improvements when we assess correctly.

Friends of Lanchester

We hope you all had a great half term! We’re looking forward to some fun events this term and we’re already underway with planning for our summer term.

World Book Day Lanchesterlicious sale

To celebrate World Book Day, we’ll be running a Lanchesterlicious World Book Day chocolate bar sale. 50 golden tickets will be hidden in chocolate bars for sale. Everyone has the chance to win a book and there will be 10 special tickets who will win afternoon tea with Mr Morey.

Chocolate bars will be £2 each and cash only.

Lanchester Friendship Disco

Thanks to everyone who came to our Lanchester Friendship Disco today. The children had a great time and it was lovely to see all their dance moves!

We’ll let you know how much we’ve raised once we’ve added it all up. A massive thanks to our volunteers, we couldn’t do it without you!

LanchestFest 2026

We’re already underway with planning for LanchestFest 2026 and have some great singers already lined up.

We’d love to raise sponsorship to help us cover our costs. If you or anyone know you know has a company that would like to help support us in return for advertising. We’ll be part of Watford Fringe so will also have advertising through their channels as well.

We’re also inviting external stalls back so if you know anyone interested, please get in touch.

Thursday 5 March - World Book Day Wonka bar sale

Friday 27 March - Non-uniform day

Saturday 11th July - LanchestFest2026

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendsoflanchester or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendsoflanchester/ or contact us by email: friendsoflanchester@gmail.com

Thanks for your support!

Friends of Lanchester committee - Tracey Bravo, Lawrence Brown, Louise Brown, Helen Gibson, Chloé Harper and Laura Robson

On Behalf of 'Friends of Lanchester CFS'

Registered Charity 1161580