FEBRUARY

Fri 10 2nd hand uniform sale

2.45 pm Lowerfield hall

Mon 13- Half Term

Fri 17

Mon 20 Return to school

Tues 21 Global Rock

Duckling eggs arrive

MARCH

Mon 13 Dance Festival—Y5

Tues 21 Y3/Y4 Performance

Evening

Wed 22 Y3/Y4 Performance

Afternoon

Mon 27- Y5 Caythorpe Court

Thurs 30

Fri 31 End of term 2.00 pm

APRIL

Weds 19 School re-starts 8.50 am

D I A R Y D AT E S Swallow Dell

Half term Newsletter February 2017

Headteacher’s Message!!

Dear Parents/Carers,

Another busy half term has come to an end and I do hope you are all looking

forward to the half term break. It was lovely to see so many parents cele-

brating in their children's success this week and enjoying hearing about their

progress from their class teachers.

Next half term we are looking forward to a group of children competing in

the Global Rock performance festival, Year 5 trip to PGL and the Year 3/4

performance to name a few.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued coopera-

tion and support. Have a wonderful half term break and we look forward to

seeing the children back in school on Monday 20 February.

With Warm wishes,

Clare Hollingsworth

Headteacher

Message from Jeff Hawes, Chair of Governors …

Thanks to all the parents that took time to complete a survey at this week's

parent/teacher consultations. The Board will of course share the key find-

ings with you in due course. In conjunction with the good work of the

Parent's Association, surveying parents views on a variety of topics impacting

you, your children or life at the school in general, is something the Board of

Governors would like to do more of in future

School news …….

A warm welcome to …...

Miss V Mackney, who joins us as class teacher for Silver Birch class in

Year 3

Mrs L Harvey who joins us as Learning Support Assistant in Year 3

and Good Luck ……..

We would like to wish Mrs Morgan, one of our Year 6 teachers, all the very

best as she goes on Maternity Leave.

We look forward to a visit with the new baby soon!

SchoolComms

If you have still not signed up to SchoolComms, it would be appreciated if you could do so as soon as

possible. We are working towards having a cashless school office and this will help to streamline our

processes more efficiently. If you are unsure how to set up a SchoolComms account, please call into

the school office , where help will be given.

School Uniform Stock Clearance

The following items of uniform are available from the school office:

24”-28” Sweatshirt £6.50 each

24” Cardigan £7.25 each

XS Cardigan £10.00 each

34” and 36” Polo shirts £5.00 each

Safer Internet Day 2017

The internet contains a wealth of information and can be used positively, safely and for many fun activ-

ities. It is however relatively un-policed due to the ever evolving nature of the internet and can there-

fore be unsafe for children if they are not provided with the skills to be safe online. As part of our

Safer Internet Day activities on February 7th, we looked at the photos we take and spoke about what

we do with these, linking this to our school e-safety animals.

Molly Monkey reminds us that we should ALWAYS ask someone’s permission

before taking or using a photo of them. Ask your friends before taking and

posting a photo of them. Stevie Squirrel reminds us to guard our personal

information. As well as keeping our user details private and not including our

actual name or school details as our user name, it also includes thinking about

the pictures that we post online. Don’t post pictures with your house number,

street name, school logo on them.

For more information on how to support your children when using the internet please look at our new e

-safety area on the school website or https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/

If you have any e-safety concerns please contact your class teacher or Mrs Joyce.

Young Voices

Once again, children from Swallow Dell took part in

Young Voices at the 02, singing in front of around

10,000 people, in one of the largest children’s

choirs in the world! The children were able to en-

joy a magical and memorable evening singing with a

live band, backing singers and an internationally-

acclaimed conductor.

Everybody agreed it was an amazing experience and we

would like to thank the children who took part for their

hard work in practising the songs, as well as the teach-

ers who helped prepare them - Swallow Dell can be

very proud of what they achieved, well done!

Coffee Morning, Games Library and 2nd hand uniform

After half term, we will be holding coffee mornings each Wednesday morning from

9.00-10.00 am in the new room in the Lowerfield Building. All are welcome, includ-

ing under 5s!

The Games Library will also be open during the coffee mornings and

we have a fabulous array of games and activities suitable for all ag-

es which you will be able to borrow. Please come along and take a

look!

We will also have second hand uniform available to buy. We would be very grateful for any donations

of good quality used uniform you no longer need, Many thanks. All proceeds will go towards school

funds.

Attendance Awards

Well done to the following for their exemplary level of attendance at school:

* Riley from Chestnut * Ashleigh & Maro from Elm * Taheem from Pine * Ashton from Maple

And the overall Class winners - Oak with 98% attendance and Apple with 93.1% attendance

Kids and Teens Health Website launch

Two new health websites designed to engage and benefit children and young people across Hert-

fordshire are now live.

Health for Teens and Health for Kids deliver topical health messages and advice through interac-

tive tools and creative marketing materials. By covering subjects that promote health and wellbe-

ing, the aim is to educate and help young people to make the right choices.

To see the Hertfordshire Health for Kids website—aimed at those

aged 4-11 years—visit:

www.healthforkids.co.uk/hertfordshire

To see the Hertfordshire Health for Teens website—aimed at

those aged 11-19 years—visit:

www.healthforteens.co.uk/hertfordshire

Abbie’s Charity Swimathon

Abbie Hackworth from Year 5 has signed up to do a 1.5k swim on 8 April to

raise money for the Marie Curie cancer fund. This is a charity close to our

hearts at Swallow Dell. Abbie has been training really hard, and swimming

long distances several times a week in preparation. We wish Abbie well in

raising as much money as possible to support the fight against cancer.

If you would like to support her, please visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swimathon-2017-Abbie?

Many thanks!

Packed lunch survey

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to complete and return the

packed lunch survey and CONGRATULATIONS go to Mr Lincoln, a parent

from Reception who has won the £10 voucher to spend in Sainsbury’s. We

are in the process of collating all the results and comments and once com-

pleted we will let you know the outcome. In the meantime why not visit the

Change4Life website www.nhs.uk/change4life where they now have a new

lunchbox section with simple, tasty and healthy tips for hassle-free packed

Late arrivals

We have had quite a few parents arriving at school late with their children recently. Please make

sure your children arrive in time for school start time at 8.50 am. It would be a good idea if you

could aim to arrive by 8.45 am.

How to Follow a Class Blog

Keep up to date with what the children are learning about and the exciting things that take place in

school by following the class blogs.

Go to our school website: www.swallowdell.herts.sch.uk

Click on ‘curriculum’

Choose your child’s class blog.

Click on the ‘Follow

…’ link at the

bottom of the

screen

Enter your e-mail address to receive a notification

whenever the blog is updated

Feb 2017Feb 2017Feb 2017

What we have been doing!What we have been doing!What we have been doing!

ReceptionReceptionReception

This half term in Reception we have been learning about our self-chosen topic

of 'Castles, Knights and Princesses'. We had great fun planning and then changing the

role play areas of both classrooms into a Castle. We thought about the roles of people

who are associated with Castles and linked this to our knowledge of Fairy tales. In Lit-

eracy we studied the Fairy tales of 'The Frog Prince' and 'Beauty and the Beast' in

more detail. We learnt how to sequence and retell these stories, thinking about how

important it was not to miss out any key events! We also learnt more about the charac-

ters and settings of stories, learning how to describe these. In phonics we have contin-

ued to learn many new letter sounds and have been practising reading tricky words super-fast!

In Mathematics, we have been learning about 'more/ fewer' and how to find the

number that is 'one more than' and 'one less than'. We have also learnt more

about 2D and 3D shapes. We went on a shape hunt in the outdoor environment to

see what shapes we could see, name and describe. We also became 'Knight Test-

ers' and explored both 2D and 3D shapes to see if they would roll.

As part of our 'Understanding of the World' Learning, we thought about

what materials would make the strongest shield. We also tested castles

made from a range of materials to see whether or not they were water-

proof and cannon proof! We also drew royal self-portraits using the oil

pastilles, thinking carefully about similarities and differences between our

own and our friends’ appearances. We have also

learnt about the festival of 'Chinese New Year'.

During 'Expressive Arts and Design, we have designed and made our own shields,

have further explored modelling by making castles and swords from reclaimed mate-

rials and we have painted Fairy tale characters, thinking carefully about the colours

we needed and mixing those that we did not have. We also designed a Royal Banquet

for the King and Queen and we made craft representations of this food by collaging

materials.

NurseryNurseryNursery

In nursery we have been learning all about Chinese New Year! We listened to the Chinese New Year

with all animals crossing the river. We then acted the story out in our book corner with masks. We

then changed our role play area into a Chinese House! We worked on our fine

motor skills folding paper to create fans and lanterns. We got to try some

Chinese food for snack, which we thought was really yummy!

Feb 2017Feb 2017Feb 2017

Year 1Year 1Year 1

Year 2Year 2Year 2

Maple class - As part of our topic learning we have been exploring people that help. We

looked at how Florence Nightingale and Mary Secole changed nursing and have impacted on

how nurses help people today.

In art we looked at a range of different portraits drawn by different artists and explored the different

techniques and textures used. We then planned and painted our own self-portraits focussing on creating

the correct face shape, position of facial features and mixing the correct colour for our hair and skin tone.

We then finished our unit by exploring Picasso's more abstract pictures by creating a self-portrait with

our facial features muddled up.

Oak class have made a fantastic start to the spring term. We have been working hard on our new learning

powers of: * Being determined * Working collaboratively * Asking questions * Being methodical

We have also been working hard on making the right choices and following our classroom rules. We have

nearly filled our marble jar this half term which means that soon, we will be able to choose a treat for our

class. Not only that, Oak class won the attendance award for this half term and have chosen a games af-

ternoon to celebrate. This will be happening on Wednesday 22nd February and a letter from us will come

out this week.

This term, we have had Mrs Salter (a gymnastics teacher from Sir Frederic Osborn School) teaching our

gymnastics lessons each week. We have also had Mr Parrott (our school sports apprentice) to support our

learning. We have been working on a variety of core strength, balance, roll and vaulting movements. We

have been performing to each other and giving feedback to celebrate achievement and to help each other

to improve. She has been VERY impressed with our progress!

Last week, Oak class went on a trip to our local church to visit Father

Norbert. We found out about the things that make a church special and

what Father Norbert usually does in a day. It turns out that he is very

busy!

This half term year one have had lots of fun in maths learning about

money and playing shops. For Literacy we have been looking at the

texts 'Superworm' and 'Room on a Broom' by Julia Donaldson. In sci-

ence we have investigated and explored our senses. We enjoyed mak-

ing our very own family trees for our Topic work.

For RE, we were lucky enough to receive a visit from Father Norbert to discuss Christian beliefs and teachings.

Year 4Year 4Year 4

With the warmer weather arriving, we were able to have a lovely walk around the School grounds, looking at habitats.

We also did some sketching of all the plants and creatures we could find.

We have also enjoyed producing some fantastic watercolours in the style of Paul Horton. Paul

Horton is a hugely successful name in contemporary art and is well know for the wonderful array

of characters and street scenes which have a universal appeal

Some of the Year 3 and Year 4 children have joined our new guitar club which takes place on

Thursday afternoons

Feb 2017Feb 2017Feb 2017 Year 3Year 3Year 3

Year 3 have been studying ancient Egypt this half term. We have looked at

how the pyramids were made and the amount of maths and science it took to

get them exactly the right shape! We even made our own little pyramids,

which were a bit tricky.

We have also looked at the mummification process and are currently making our

own apple mummy in Apple class. The mummy is currently undergoing the drying

out process and we shall see the results when we return from half term! We also

took a closer look at the Egyptian profile in art. We drew our own profile portraits

and then painted them with watercolours.

We have also been studying rocks and soils in science. We have completed lots of

mini experiments to test the rocks strength, durability and permeability. Although this half term has

been very short, we have done lots of thinking and learning.

Year 4Year 4Year 4

Year 4 have been learning about our town, Welwyn Garden City. We are really lucky

to live in such a unique town with fascinating history and features. The children

have been finding out why WGC was founded and what makes it so special. With

the Centenary year coming up in 2020, there will be many events and activities

planned for the town, so watch this space!

The children have also been really enjoying their music lessons this term. They have been creating a

piece of music in the jazz style, using a variety of instruments and learning about the importance of

the pentatonic scale. The results have been very catchy!

Feb 2017Feb 2017Feb 2017

Year 5Year 5Year 5

Year 6Year 6Year 6

Year 6 have had another busy half term. In English, we have enjoyed explaining how animals really

work. This has lead us to discover that horses are secretly evil, ducks are controlled by robots and

pigeons are eco-warriors!

In Science we have been learning about the circulatory system. To help our understanding of the

heart, we made models to represent the different parts. We have also been preparing for the SATs

tests which are approaching rapidly.

Year 5 have had a lot to fit into such a short half term! We’ve been writing Wind in the Willows

stories, as well as preparing for the Year 5 Dance festival!

On 8th February, we visited Cuffley Camp to complete some geography fieldwork about our riv-

ers topic. We looked at erosion and deposition, speed of flow and how to draw a cross-section of

a river. The children learnt a lot, even though we were very cold by the end!

Community Noticeboard

.

Looking for things to do as a family on a Saturday?

Do you want to get out of the house?

Want to meet new friends?

Why not try out Fun 4 Families, a place for the whole family

10-11.30am

Christchurch Peartree (Tewin Road Al7 1BW

Saturday 18th February

Saturday 18th March Lots to do from crafts to games

Plus bacon roll, tea coffee juice, and fun

Also come and meet your local Children Centre staff and find

out about their activities too.

Cap

tion

de-

scri

Noah’s Ark Family fun

Thursday 16th February 10.00-11.30am or 1.30-3.00pm

(one session per family)

at Christchurch Peartree

(Tewin Road Al7 3BW)

Loads of animal crafts and activities

Animals masks, arks to make, rainbow to paint make a colourful bracelet, book zone, baby area and much more!

Suggested donation £1 per child and

50p per adult

includes drink & biscuit (and tea & coffee!)

Event is for children aged 0-10, and parent or carer must stay

Places must be pre-booked (choose am or pm session)

For more information or to book your

place

Contact Diane Webb

t. 07724 104653 or

Diane.webb@christchurchwgc.org.uk

We have a number of activities during the half term. Monday - Friday Holiday clubs 08.00 - 16.00 hours and the school will be-ing used on Saturday 18/02/2017 between 08.00-16.00hours.

St Paul's CE VA Primary and Nursery School Langleybury Lane Hunton Bridge Kings Langley Hertfordshire WD4 8RJ

Cap-

tion

de-

ITV are looking for families from Herts to take part

in a new show called ‘The Money Saving Good Food

Show’, which gives them the opportunity to help

reduce their food shopping bill and learn some tasty

new recipes. If you are interested in applying to be

on the show, please contact Crackit Productions on

0203 761 4659 or by email at

foodshow@crackitproductions.co.uk

Advance Tickets Only * Adult: £4 / Child: £2 / Under 3 go free

Family: (Up to 5 / max 2 adults) £10 From Finance Office until 27th February

On Wisepay until 1st March 01707 275331 / ad-

min@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk

Tours: 4:30—5:45pm

(Last tour departs at 5:15pm)

Food & drinks School Band, Choir & Live

Swallow Dell School Term and Holiday Dates 2016/2017

Spring Term 2017:

Friday 6 January — Friday 31 March 2017 (2 pm finish)

Inset day: Thursday 5 January 2017

Occasional day: Friday 6 January 2017

Half term: Monday 13-Friday 17 February 2017

Summer Term 2017:

Wednesday 19 April — Friday 21 July 2017 (2 pm finish)

Inset day: Tuesday 18 April 2017

May Day: Monday 1 May 2017

Half term: Monday 29 May—Friday 2 June 2017

Inset day: Monday 24 July 2017

Autumn Term 2017:

School re-starts on Friday 1 September.

Full details of term dates for the next school year will be included in the

Easter Newsletter