Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have had an enjoyable week.

This week, I could not start anywhere else than with the Year 5 residential, where we set off with 42 eager children to Phasels Wood. It was a fantastic trip, with children at every stage of their development building a wide range of new skills. Trips like this always bring their fair share of ups and downs, and our hope each year is that the ups far outweigh the downs, which I am reliably informed that they did! I would like to take a moment to extend a special thank you to all the parents who expressed their gratitude to the staff who accompanied the children. The adults attending these trips give up their own personal time and leave their own families to make these experiences possible. Therefore, I would also like to extend my thanks to Mrs. O'Brien, Mr. Power, Mrs. Shah and especially Mr. Rolfe, who must be setting a record for the number of consecutive residentials attended. Perhaps we will let him skip next July's Year 6 trip!

My second update is a well-deserved apology to Miss Mathwasa. When I was singing the praises of our incredible Early Years team in last week’s newsletter, I accidentally left her name out. Given how tirelessly she works and the brilliant positive energy she brings to the classroom every single day, I have no idea how she slipped my mind! She truly deserves a shout-out all of her own this week  

In school this week, there has been a real buzz around certain year groups as writing hooks have been kicking off! I have had Year 2 children pursuing me about a dragon spotted on camera, and Year 3 children complaining that their crayons have quit! As a man, I find multitasking a challenge at the best of times, but trying to cut jacket potatoes in the dining hall yesterday while children were tugging at my shirt to ask if I’d seen a dragon in the school courtyard really was too much to process at once. I also enjoyed welcoming over 50 Reception children into my office as part of their school tour. Sadly, they didn't seem particularly impressed by my choice of mug, which features Luton Town FC.

Next Monday, we look forward to welcoming parents and carers from Years 1–6 to our 'Meet the Teacher' session, held in your child’s classroom right after school. You should have received an invitation from your child's phase leader via email this week. Please allow all children to be safely dismissed first before heading inside. This is a brilliant chance to hear about the year ahead and ask any questions you might have, so we strongly encourage all families to attend. On a related note, a huge thank you to everyone who has already signed the Home-School Agreement - a copy is on our website, and the deadline is next week. Also next week, I must remind you about two exciting events: The Charity Bingo night to raise money for our OPAL project and the Welcome Back Discos, organised by our FODS team. We look forward to a good turnout at both!

Finally, I am delighted to share some wonderful news to end the week. Our very own Mrs. Barnes gave birth to a healthy baby boy on 4th September. Both mum and baby are doing exceptionally well, and she has already been keeping in touch with the team to say hello. We send them our huge congratulations!  

Have a lovely weekend,

Mr Bostock

Headteacher