Summer Term Newsletter #36
3rd July 2026
Summer Term Newsletter #36
3rd July 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
It was great to see so many of you cheering on the children (and participating in the parent races!) at Sports Day today. It was a wonderful community event where our core values were clear to see: everyone was ready to participate, showed respect and support to each other and resilient when events were challenging. Thank you to all the staff for supporting the event and a special mention to Mrs Praveen for coordinating the day. Events like today make me incredibly proud to be part of this community.
Values: Curiosity has been our value and is always a core part of learning. Children are naturally curious asking great questions and exploring new ideas. Next week, we consider courage: 'I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear.' - Rosa Parks
Votes for Schools: Children explored the meaning of gambling and the ways they may encounter it at their age (2p machines, advertisements, in-game purchases). They also considered what might encourage gambling such as sponsorship of sports teams, peer pressure and the feeling of winning. After the sessions, 65% of children felt it was important to understand more about the risks of gambling.
LanchestFest: The countdown is on - Saturday 11th July, 12-5pm! The Friends of Lanchester still need volunteers to help run the day. Please offer your time, as little or as much as you can, to ensure we have a memorable day.
England Match: Personally, although I am an avid football fan, I will be fast asleep for the match knowing I have a busy day ahead on Monday. School will be open at 8.45am and children are expected to be in on time. If families choose to watch the game, perhaps an earlier bedtime to get ahead on the missed sleep would be a good idea.
The Watford Fringe Festival begins this weekend with free activites taking place on The Parade near the pond from 3pm tomorrow. Local singer-songwriter Joe Farry is performing at the Bandstand in Cassiobury Park, 3-5pm on Sunday (warming up for his appearance at LanchestFest!). However you spend the weekend, have a great time.
Best wishes,
Mr. Matt Morey - Headteacher
On Thursday afternoon, I was at Onslow St Audrey School to recognise the DET award winners from across the trust. Staff at each school nominate their peers for their exceptional work during the year. I am pleased to say Miss Henney and Mrs Gomes were the winners for Lanchester. Both have shown dedication and determination for the Reception class and the wider school community.
Thu 9th July - Transition Day
Y6 visit their new schools and all other classes spend the morning with their teacher for next year.
Fri 10th July - Y2/3 Cassiobury Park Trip
Y2/3 use the learning hub as a base for some outdoor learning to enrich their curriculum.
Fri 10th July - Y5 Elstree Screen Arts Trip
Y5 tour the ESA exhibition and participate in a workshop led by staff and students from ESA.
Sat 11th July - LanchestFest, 12-5pm
The iconic festival returns for a second year of excitement and entertainment!
Thu 16th July - Transition Session #2
Rec - Y5 spend a second morning with their teacher for next year.
Tue 21st July - Transition Session #3
Rec - Y5 complete their transition work with their teacher for next year.
Wed 22nd July - End of Term, 1.15pm
The school year ends and the summer holiday begins.
Whole-school attendance this week has been a steady 95.0%. 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 Colombo, frequently one of our highest performers, who have taken the top spot this week with an excellent 98.6%
Class Attendance Summary:
1. Colombo 98.6%
2. Rio 97.3%
3. Rome 97.1%
4. Cairo 96.7%
5. Jakarta 96.4%
6. Kingston 96.1%
7. Tokyo 95.5%
8. Cusco 94.0%
9. Kampala 92.8%
10. New York 91.1%
11. London 90.0%
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!
Year R:
London - Arianna
Year 1:
Rome - Sarah
Year 2:
Colombo - Albert
Jakarta - Isaac
Tokyo - Reyyan
Year 4:
Cairo - Olivia
Kampala - Daniel
Year 5:
Cusco - Eljus
Rio - Nana
Year 6:
Kingston - Sophia
New York - Fatima
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. Well done to Alhazen as they sit top of the table again after winning Sports Day!
Here’s how the points stand:
1st: Alhazen with 2845 points (+500)
2nd: Curie with 2370 points (+300)
3rd: Carver with 2362 points (+200)
4th: Sharman with 2335 points (+100)
Let’s keep up the great work and continue to support each other as we aim for the top!
Class News
In Reception this week we have used the story Oro to support our understanding of rhyming words. The children have enjoyed creating their own rhyming pairs and playing a series of games to help them learn about rhyming couplets. In maths we have been learning about positional language based on real life photos in the environment. The children have enjoyed creating structures based on what they notice on maps and environmental photos.
We’ve had an incredibly exciting week in Year 1! We were delighted to work with the Watford FC Community Sports and Education Trust for a fantastic workshop all about our future ambitions. The children loved sharing what they want to be when they grow up—we certainly have some future stars in our midst! The absolute highlight of the week was a surprise visit from Watford FC's mascot, Harry the Hornet! There were huge smiles all around as Harry gave out high-fives and cheered the children on.
What a busy and exciting week it has been in Year 2/3! We enjoyed a fantastic visit to the library, where the children listened to engaging stories and took part in a range of fun activities organised by the Premier League Primary Stars. Everyone had a wonderful time, and it was lovely to see so much enthusiasm for reading and learning. In History, we have been exploring the local history of St Albans (formerly known as Verulamium). The children were fascinated to discover why St Albans is such an important historical town. They eagerly learned about its Roman past, its famous landmarks, and the events that have shaped its rich history. Their curiosity and thoughtful questions made our history lessons especially enjoyable!
What a wonderful, productive week we have had in Year 4! In English, the children became passionate writers as they planned and drafted their own persuasive innovative letters, using powerful language to convince their readers. In Maths, we took a hands-on approach to geometry, using lolly sticks to build and label different types of angles. We wrapped up the week with a brilliant Sports Day! The children were bursting with excitement, cheered each other on with great sportsmanship, and thoroughly enjoyed every single race. Thank you to all the families who came out to support them!
This week, Year 5 has been incredibly busy with a wide range of activities. In PSHE, the children engaged in an important lesson about puberty, showing wonderful maturity and thoughtfulness throughout their learning. Our young chefs also created a delicious Greek Pasta Salad. Rio class made theirs in the morning, and as the children were so keen to taste it, not much of it lasted until home time! Finally, we finished off our action-packed week with another brilliant Sports Day, providing the perfect opportunity for everyone to blow off some steam and show great team spirit.
Year 6 pupils recently attended the Crucial Crew workshop at Watford Football Club. Both classes explored a variety of vital life skills through interactive activities, focusing on fire safety, internet safety, and learning how to control their emotions. The workshop provided excellent guidance on making safe, responsible choices as the children prepare to become much more independent when transitioning to secondary school.
LanchestFest
With just over a week to go, we’re busy getting ready for LanchestFest and hope it’s going to be bigger and better than last year!
We’re very excited to have an amazing line up of performances including our own school groups, B Dance and Stagecoach. We’ve got fun and music from Tiger Jazz, Joe Farry, Big Mama Funk and don’t miss our LanchestFest kids disco where all the songs are chosen by the classes.
Volunteers
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for a slot to help. We’re still very low on volunteers and will need to take some of our brilliant stalls away if we can’t fill our slots. New stalls this year include the World Cup coin drop so we'd love to keep as many as possible.
If every Lanchester family donated an hour of their time, we'd be able to fill our slots twice over! An hour really does make all the difference, please sign up here: https://volunteersignup.org/DYHWX
Raffle tickets
Please let us know if you would like more raffle tickets. We have some amazing prizes including a midweek round of golf for 4 at The Grove (worth £1000+), a family activity at the Grove, Watford FC signed shirts, Watford FC tickets, an inflatable party at Everyone Active, and much more.
Please return all money and stubs to school by 10th July.
Donation requests
Please support LanchestFest with donations of the following:
We’re still collecting bottles for the bottle tombola, party bag toys and jazzy jars.
Bottles should be unopened and in date until at least the end of July
Friday 10th July / Saturday 11th July - Cakes and bakes. No nuts please.
Please leave all donations in the boxes in the glass foyer or with the office.
Watford Fringe event
Mitch Benn is Asking Elvis
The King is back! Mitch Benn resurrects Elvis from BBC Radio 2's legendary "Steve Wright in the Afternoon" show, to answer hunks of burning questions about life, death, cheeseburgers and everything in between... including the story of how Mitch managed to be possibly the most popular thing on the most popular show on British radio for over ten years, without anyone ever knowing it was him.
If YOU have a question for Elvis, go to: www.mitchbenn.com/asking-elvis
Thankyouverymuch...
Book tickets here: https://watfringe.co.uk/events/mitch-benn-asking-elvis/
Recommended age: 14+
Dates for your diary
We’ll be at school events such as Sports Day selling ice lollies, snacks and drinks throughout the next few weeks so look out for us!
Saturday 11th July - LanchesFest
Friday 17th July - End of term stay and play in the playground with snacks, drinks and fun.
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
Lanchester Primary School, Hempstead Road, Watford, WD17 3HD
Tel: 01923 224160 Email: office@lanchester.herts.sch.uk
Website: www.lanchester.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher: Mr Matt Morey