The Buzz

Dear Parents/Carers

I'm delighted to welcome you all back to the Autumn term. It's always wonderful to see the children so eager to come into school in their bright new uniforms and happy smiles.

The year 3 children have made that transition to "the big school" and they are already confident and happily finding their way; settling into new routines and enjoying the new opportunities on offer. I am hopeful that the new playframe will be ready early next week following a final safety inspection. I would like to thank FOHJS who have worked tirelessly to raise the funds for this equipment. Please continue to support them as we have a long shopping list!

Whilst years 3 to 5 are working hard, the majority of the year 6 children and 9 staff are away on a residential visit to Bude. I hear they are having a tremendous time and challenging themselves to have a go at all the activities.

I would like to remind parents regarding school shoes. Some of the children have returned to school in trainers. These are not acceptable and the children need a pair of black school shoes. Nail varnish and jewellery are also not to be worn by children and they will be asked to remove it.

We have also had children arriving at school very early. Children should not arrive too early as the gates don't open until 8.30am and waiting unsupervised for a long period of time is not safe for the children.

Following the sudden loss of water to the area, I wanted to thank staff and parents for ensuring that the children had a half day and were then collected promptly. Closing the school is a significant decision but on this occasion an unavoidable one. I'm delighted the children are back today.

Ms H Lockey

3D - Emilia D

3M - Esme J

3G - Maya F

3S - Lucas M

4S - Sebastian J

4P - Georgie D

4B - Olivia H

4C - Lottie H

5C - Scarlett St

5D - Paul O

5H - Kourosh F

5S - Tia D

Congratulations to the following children for completing this week's Maths Challenge:

Bronze Award

Avani A 4C

Saanvi 5H

Arthur E 5H

Mohammed 5H

Hannah 5H

Hanaa 5C

Simon 5C

Silver Award

Saanvi 5H

Arthur E 5H

Mohammed 5H

Hannah 5H

Hanaa 5C

The class with the best attendance last week was 5H, 6B & 6GB (100%)

The class with the least numbers of lates last week is 3M, 3S, 5C, 6B, 6L & 6W

As a reminder, if your child is visiting a secondary school please do let the office know so that they can mark this absence as authorised in your child's records. As per our Attendance Policy any child not in year 6 who wishes to attend any secondary school visits will not be authorised.

We are looking for an experienced, flexible person with a caring nature who enjoys working with children of all abilities. The candidate will need to be able to work across the partnership, and is comfortable working in both KS1 & KS2.

Year 6 parents will have been sent home this week the AfC Transfer to secondary school presentation 2024. A further copy is attached.

Reminder that secondary applications close on Tuesday 31 October 2023

Congratulations to Idris in year 4 who climbed Ben Nevis in aid of Cancer research. It took Idris 4 hours in total to climb the highest mount in the United Kingdom at 1,345 meters. Although the navigation was challenging, Idris said it an amazing experience and was so happy to have reached the summit!

Idris thought he would recognise this achievement by raising money for Cancer Research in memory of his grandfather who is very loved and missed. Idris was able to raise a total of £700 for such a worthwhile cause.

The year 6 gardening team enjoyed a spot of weeding, leaf raking, dead heading and some pond maintenance this week.

Miss Bell has commented on how great the children have been this week and said that they are all absolute stars.

Children often need some additional emotional support during their time at school, and we are very proud to be able to offer an array of interventions and support. One of which being a 1:1 counselling service for our pupils. This service is provided by Thames Valley Trust.

I am a professionally trained and experienced school counsellor working in both primary and secondary schools for a number of years. Until early 2023 I also worked part-time for a local authority-commissioned drug and alcohol service in South London, working with families and also running the counselling service where I led a team of volunteer professional counsellors.

I started my professional career in Sweden working with children with special needs and children of refugees. Since moving to the UK, I undertook a postgraduate training in psychotherapy at Roehampton University whilst working 8 years in a pastoral care role in a large comprehensive school. I have therefore been exposed daily to the full range of challenges within a school setting and familiar with schools' safeguarding protocols and the variety of ways they promote students' wellbeing.

Though my mother-tongue is English, I am in fact Swedish by nationality and attended university there. But my mother was Indian and I grew up in the middle East. From Sweden, I moved to Chile where I lived and worked as a language tutor for many years before settling in the UK in the early 2000s where I have family. I therefore have a naturally international outlook and cultural awareness, speaking fluent Spanish, French as well as Swedish.

There are still some places for this club. Please click on the below link to sign your child up.

Email: office.hjs@hpp.school
Website: hpp.school
Location: Hampton Junior School, Percy Road, Hampton, UK
Phone: 020 8979 2545
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamptonJuniorSchool