Summer Term Newsletter #34
19th June 2026
Summer Term Newsletter #34
19th June 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are reaching the business end of the year where we check our progress against many national measures. Although the data is still provisional, the results are looking very promising and I have been really impressed by the determination to succeed in both the children and staff. I will share more details once they are published. It is also time to reveal who is teaching your children next year. The children were told at the end of the day and the final list is available below. Keep scrolling!
Values: We used the British sign language alphabet to explore perseverance in assembly on Monday. We talked about the importance of motivation and determination when things are tricky. Our values champions were recognised for their perseverance across their learning this week. Well done to all!
Votes for Schools: A resounding 99% of children agreed that they should learn more about water safety in this week's discussions. Next week, in response to the government's announcement to ban under-16s from social media, we ask the following question: Will the social media ban work? (Y5 & Y6) and Does banning things work? (R-Y4)
Behaviour Workshop: Apologies if you were unable to access the slides from Miss Murphy's presentation last week. We have set up a new parent folder and you should have access to the slides here.
Olympian Visit: On Thursday 25th June, GB olympian, Hammy McMillan, will be in school to lead an assembly about the importance of exercise, diet and a positive mindset. He will then take the winners of our poster competition with him to cut the ribbon and officially open a new supermarket just across the road from us!
Amber Weather Warning: It is going to be very hot on Monday and Tuesday next week. Please ensure children wear light, loose summer clothing, come to school with a water bottle and wear suncream where necessary.
Best wishes,
Mr. Matt Morey - Headteacher
Thu 25th June - Olympian Hammy McMillan's Assembly
Hammy McMillan will visit school to share his experiences and promote healthy life choices to the whole school.
Mon 29th June - Tokyo & Jakarta Library Trips
Hosted by the education team at Watford FC, children will enjoy story time and a chance to explore the library.
Tue 30th June - Rome & Colombo Library Trips
Hosted by the education team at Watford FC, children will enjoy story time and a chance to explore the library.
Fri 3rd July - Sports Day
Families are welcome to join us at West Herts Sports Ground for the morning of sports and a picnic lunch.
Thu 9th July - Transition Day
Y6 visit their new schools and all other classes spend the morning with their teacher for next year.
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.
Reception:
London taught by Mrs Henney supported by Mrs Chan and Mrs Gilmore
Year 1:
Rome taught by Mrs Hayes supported by Miss Murphy
Year 2 (new class name to be confirmed):
Mrs Tang supported by Mrs Afsar
Year 3/4 (new class names to be confirmed):
Current Tokyo: Mrs Ameen supported by Mrs Harrison
Current Jakarta: Mrs O'Kelly supported by Mrs Dammi
Current Colombo: Mrs Praveen supported by Mrs Krsjak and Mrs Smith
Year 5:
Current Cairo: Rio taught by Mrs Stachurska supported by Mrs Kato
Current Kampala: Cusco taught by Miss Doulton supported by Mrs Kato
Year 6:
Current Rio: New York taught by Mrs Javed and Mr Sanderson supported by Mrs Mukherjee and Mr Yu
Current Cusco: Kingston taught by Mr Bristow and Miss Murphy supported by Mrs Mukherjee and Mr Yu
Whole-school attendance this week has improved once again to 96.3%. 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 - always one of the top performers for attendance - who have taken the top spot this week with an impressive 99.0%
Class Attendance Summary:
1. Colombo 99.0%
2. Cusco 98.2%
3. Jakarta 97.8%
4. Rome 97.5%
5. London 97.1%
6. Tokyo 96.6%
7. Rio 96.4%
8. Kampala 94.9%
9. New York 94.6%
10. Cairo 94.0%
11. Kingston 93.1%
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 - Baylee
Year 1:
Rome - Elisha
Year 2:
Colombo - Mahmoud
Jakarta - Dhanur
Tokyo - Gabi
Year 4:
Cairo - Ayce
Kampala - Adeena
Year 5:
Cusco - Amina
Rio - Anagha
Year 6:
Kingston - Cooper
New York - Akos
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 launch themselves to the top of the table!
Here’s how the points stand:
1st: Alhazen with 1770 points (+506)
2nd: Sharman with 1756 points (+543)
3rd: Carver with 1690 points (+501)
4th: Curie with 1627 points (+544)
Let’s keep up the great work and continue to support each other as we aim for the top!
Class News
We have seen some fantastic writing in Reception this week. Our story focus, Oh No, George!, has encouraged the children to use their critical thinking skills to explore how characters are feeling and to discuss how we can turn poor choices into positive ones. We ended the week by creating our own book pages for an alternative version of the story called Oh Yes, George!. In maths, we have been busy consolidating this year’s learning, and the children have demonstrated excellent recall and recap skills.
This week in Year 1, we explored the work of Stephen Wiltshire in our Geography lessons. Linked to our topic on the United Kingdom, we learned about his incredible talent for drawing detailed cityscapes from memory after seeing them only once. Inspired by his work, the children carefully observed and sketched a famous UK landmark.
This week in Year 2/3 Science, we have been learning all about magnets and investigating how they work. The children explored how magnets can both attract and repel each other, and they tested a variety of materials to discover which were magnetic and which were non-magnetic. Children became real scientists as they carried out their investigations, making predictions and testing different objects. They had great fun experimenting with magnets and were excited to discover that not all metals are magnetic! There were plenty of "wow" moments as the children watched magnets pull objects towards them and push other magnets away.
In Year 4, the children co-created a fantastic persuasive writing toolkit and put their skills to the test with 'short burst' writing sessions, arguing their points on a variety of different topics. Meanwhile, in Maths, we have started learning about time, focusing on reading analogue and digital clocks and calculating time intervals. In Science, the children have been exploring sound, conducting a hands-on experiment where they used boxes with pasta wrapped in different materials and a noise meter to investigate which ones are best at altering and insulating volume. The children have shown fantastic curiosity and creativity across all of their learning!
This week, Year 5 concluded their architecture project in Design and Technology. The children were incredibly excited and motivated to take on this project following your kind donations of cardboard from home, and it is safe to say they thoroughly enjoyed putting it to good use! After planning their designs, the children quickly rose to the challenge of bringing them to life. They cooperated beautifully, using their fantastic teamwork skills to construct these buildings from the bottom up. They began with the base, moved on to the steps, constructed the columns (using their class research to guide them) and finally added the roofs. Once again, we are incredibly impressed by the high standard of work the children have produced, but we are just as pleased with how wonderfully they collaborated with one another.
Year 6 have been working hard to create their own 'zines' on topics they are personally passionate about. Both classes designed and wrote about areas of interest, using highly creative layouts to engage their readers. The children took great pride in expressing themselves and sharing their unique hobbies through their finished magazines.
World Cup celebration
Thanks very much to everyone who supported our World Cup celebration last week. It was great to see such a range of football kits and everyone having fun! We raised an excellent £500
Donations
Thanks for all the donations so far. We're still collecting for bottle tombola, party bag toys and jazzy jars. Please do bring in anything that may be suitable.
We'll be collecting cakes and bakes on 10th and 11th July and are very grateful for donations.
LanchestFest
LanchestFest has some great external stalls lined up this year with henna, candy floss, pocket money toys and much more. If you know of anyone who would like a stall, please let us know and contact us on friendsoflanchester@gmail.com
Make sure you have Saturday 11th July in the diary and invite all of your friends and family!
Dates for your diary
Saturday 11th July 12-5pm - LanchestFest
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