Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• School Attendance

  Thu 30 Sep 2021

  Good attendance at school is not just beneficial, it’s essential. Attending school is directly linked to improved attainment (exam performance) as well as helping to develop friendships, social skills, team values and life skills. 

   

  If a child is absent for 3 days in a half term, that means that there attendance is 90%. 

   

  Achieving 90% in a test is a fantastic result but if your child is at school for only 90% of the school year then they will have missed 19 days - almost four whole weeks of school!

   

  That is around 120 hours of learning... in a year.  And 120 hours is equivalent to the amount of time a Year 10 and 11 spends in school studying one full-time GCSE (normally taken over two years).

   

  And 90% attendance over a child's whole school life (Reception -> Year 13) is 266 days missed - almost a year and a half of school! 

   

  At Pirton Hill we expect children to attend school every day, unless there is a good reason (e.g. illness).  

   

  Rewarding good attendance:

  • In addition to all that the children gain from being in school every day, we also have the following attendance rewards. 
  • Each week, the children with 100% attendance (for that week) are placed in a prize draw - which is definitely the most exciting part of our Wednesday assembly each week.  
  • On a Friday, the classes with the highest attendance (KS1 and KS2) are awarded the Attendance Trophy to keep for the week. And, if a whole class has achieved 100% attendance for the week, they also get a chocolately treat! 
  • And, at the end of each term, children who's attendance is over 98% get to choose 2 small prizes from the Attendance Prize Box! And children with attendance between 97-98% get to choose 1 small prize.

   

  Please remember that a child is recorded as absent (because they are not in school) even if they have a 'good reason'. To achieve 100% attendance, a child must be in school.

   

  Obviously, children with low attendance, will not be selected to represent the school at external festivals / competitions. 

• Harvest Festival - Thursday 7th October 2021

  Tue 28 Sep 2021

  We are looking forward to our Harvest Festival next Thursday; this is going to be our first whole school event with parents / carers since Christmas 2019!

   

  Harvest Donations

  From next Monday (4th October), class teachers will start accepting food donations for their traditional class "harvest basket".  These donations (dried or tinned foods, please) form the focal point of our Harvest Performance and will be donated to the Luton Foodbank afterwards.

   

  We are always amazed by the generosity of Pirton Hill parents / carers at harvest time - giving something to others who need it.  You are amazing and thank you, in advance!

   

  Donations need to be handed in by Thursday 7th October, so that they can be included in your child's class "basket" and our whole school display. 

   

  Harvest Performances

  All year groups (except Nursery) are busy practicing their song(s) for the performances and we can't wait to welcome you back into school. 

  All children (except Nursery) will perform their songs twice: 

   

  9.15am - for parents / carers of children in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 (Doors open at 9.00am, please enter via the main office)

   

  2.30pm - for parents / carers of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (Doors open at 2.15pm, please enter via the main office) 

   

  We expect the performances to last around 40 minutes and do ask that you remain until the end so that all children get to perform to an audience!

• Stamping out Racism

  Wed 22 Sep 2021

  'A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim, or any other person.’ Stephen Lawrence Enquiry

   

   

   

  • As a school we promote the underlying British values of tolerance and mutual respect.
  • One of our school values is "We all believe in ourselves and know that everyone has something special to contribute."
  • One of our school aims is "create a safe environment where every member of the school community feels safe, valued and grows in confidence."
  • One of our school rules "Be kind and polite to others"

   

  We have a very diverse school community - which we are very proud of and celebrate. Over 75% of our pupils are from an ethnic minority group and almost 60% of our pupils do not have English as their home language. Including English, 35 different languages are spoken by our children. 

   

  Incidents of this nature are very rare but we will only be satisfied when they do not occur at all.  

   

  Racist incidents are not acceptable and will be sanctioned in line with our Behaviour Policy. 

   

  However, we don't want the incidents to occur in the first place. 

   

  Please spend some time talking about racism at home with your child(ren) - so that they understand what it is and why it is unacceptable. This applies to all children; racist incidents can and do occur between any ethnic groups.  The NSPCC website is a useful place to start. 

   

  Please also be aware that, whilst children may use a term such as "black" or "white" to describe their own appearance, if a term like this is used as part of an insult to someone else, it is a racist incident.

   

  Thank you for your support on this matter.

• Summer Challenge (Current Year 1 - Year 5)

  Thu 16 Sep 2021

  Over the summer holiday all of our current Year 1 - Year 5 children had a summer challenge to complete. This was to help each child to catch up on lost learning (due to COVID) and help them to make an excellent start this year.

   

  Each child took home a specially selected workbook (chosen by last year's teacher) for them to complete over the break.

   

  These were handed in last week and today every child who completed the challenge will receive their certificate and their exclusive Pirton Hill Summer Challenge 2021 reward!

   

  We are sure that the Summer Challenge 2021 rewards will be very popular; however they are for out-of-school use only... a good excuse to go to the park this weekend! 

   

  Well done to the majority of children who completed the challenge and a huge thank you to their parents / carers for supporting them and helping them to start the year off with confidence...

  

• Extra-Curricular Clubs (Autumn 1)

  Tue 14 Sep 2021

  Excitingly, clubs start again from next Monday (20th September 2021).  These are always really popular and we know that many children really enjoy taking part and, sometimes, having the opportunity to represent the school in external tournaments. 

   

  The following clubs will be running from Monday 20^th September to Friday 22nd October 2021, which we hope will engage and enhance your child’s learning experience:

  DAY	ACTIVITY	TIME	YEAR	ADULT
  Monday	Dodgeball (20 spaces)	8:00 - 8:45am	5&6	Mr Noel
  	Athletics (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	3&4	Mr Noel
  	Multi-Games (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	1&2	Think Sports
  	Chess (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	3,4,5&6	Mr Murphy
  Tuesday	Multi-Skills (20 spaces)	8:00 - 8:45am	1&2	Mr Noel
  	Tag Rugby (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	5&6	Mr Noel
  Wednesday	Athletics (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	5&6	Mr Noel
  	Tag Rugby (20 spaces)	3.20 - 4.30pm	3&4	Think Sports
  Thursday	Choir (25 spaces)	3.20 - 4.15pm	3,4,5&6	Mr Newport
  Friday	Dodgeball (20 spaces)	8:00 - 8:45am	3&4	Think Sports
  	Netball (20 spaces) – Girls Only	8:00 - 8:45am	5&6	Mr Noel

   

  In line with the Governor's Charging Policy, the cost clubs remains the same as last year - £7 per child, per club, per half term.  If your child attends one club a week this half term, the cost would be less than £1.50 a week! All monies raised by clubs go towards providing your children with new equipment and opportunities to reach their potential. This remains outstanding value compared to after school clubs run at other schools. 

   

  Clubs can only be booked via the Weduc app and are on a first-come, first served basis. Once the club is fully booked, it will no longer appear as an option on the Weduc app.

   

  Booking will be available from Tuesday 14th September 2021.

   

  To book: 

  1) Log on to Weduc and click on the Payments icon (a shopping trolley)

  2) Select your child - this will show the "offers available" - the clubs are in the section. 

  3) Once you have selected a club, follow the on-screen instructions for payment. 

  4) Once payment has been successful, your child is successfully booked onto the club 😀 

   

  A few reminders for all clubs:

  • The main office is open 8:30am, so if you child is attending a morning club then they must arrive on time to ensure that the club leader can let your child in. If they are late than your child may be waiting outside until a member of staff is available to let them in.
  • If your child is unable to attend a club then a letter must be given to their class teacher or a phone call should be made to the office before 3.00pm. If there is no letter / phone call then your child will be taken to the club.
  • If your child misses 2 sessions then they may be taken off club register and their space will be given to another child.

  Please remember, if you would also like your child to attend Early Birds (before a club) or Night Owls (after a club) this also needs to be booked via the Weduc app. As has always been the case, you will need to pay the full session cost - which means that your child will still have a place for the session, will still get fed and, if your child's club is cancelled at short notice, will still be able to attend from 3.20 - 4.30pm.  

• End of Week One!

  Fri 10 Sep 2021

  A huge well done to the vast majority of pupils who have settled back into the new school year so well! 

   

  We are so pleased that 313 pupils will be receiving a virtual green postcard today for consistently meeting our expectations this week. ⭐ These children have:

  • Worn the correct school uniform to school every day;
  • Had the correct equipment in school each day (e.g. PE Kit);
  • Shown Green Behaviour throughout the week (no Yellow or Red incidents in school or the community);
  • Completed their homework (Reading, Numbots/TT Rockstars [at least once a week] & other homework).

   

  Year 1 -> Year 6 have earned over 8,300 house points this week - with the highest earners in each class receiving their reward today. 👏👏👏  

   

  Hatters have taken an early lead in the house points race - don't forget, the house who earn the most house points this half term will have a non-uniform day at the end of this half term. 🏆

   

  We have also been really impressed with how well our new Reception children have settled it - well done!  A particular well done to those Reception children who have earned a "Cool to Be Blue" certificate this week. 👏👏👏  

   

  Unfortunately, we have had a couple of children who have chosen not to follow the school rules - which has meant we have already had one child with an after-school detention and one child excluded for one day. 😞 This is really disappointing so early in the term but it does emphasise that we are expecting all children to follow the school rules at all times...

   

  As a reminder, the school rules are: 

  • Show pride in Pirton Hill and arrive ready to learn
  • Be kind and polite to others
  • Follow all adult instructions
  • Treat all school and community property with respect
  • Strive to be the best you can be

   

  We hope that even more children will earn their virtual green postcard next week 🤞

   

  Thank you for continuing to support your child to progress and make the right choices - you are making a real difference to their progress. 

• Homework

  Wed 08 Sep 2021

  Thank you for supporting your child to complete their home learning each week. Learning at home reinforces what has been taught in school and helps the children to secure what they have learnt.  

   

  As a reminder: 

  Year 1 and Year 2:

  Children are expected to: 

  • read at home 5 times per week and parents / carers are expected to sign to confirm that they have read.  This is also supported with phonics activities to complete at home for early readers.
  • engage with Numbots at home during the week.  Ideally, this would be 10 minutes per day but a longer period once or twice a week is also permitted.
  • complete one additional piece of homework (usually an English or Maths task)

   

  Year 3, 4, 5 and 6:

  Children are expected to: 

  • read at home 5 times per week.  Children will read Accelerated Reader books (at the correct book level – indicated by the STAR reader test) and earn points (by taking the AR quizzes) to achieve the personalised AR target.
  • engage with TT Rockstars at home during the week.  Ideally, this would be 10 minutes per day but a longer period once or twice a week is also permitted.
  • complete two additional pieces of homework (usually an English or Maths task)

   

  Children must complete their homework, as well as show expected behaviour, wear the correct uniform and have ever to earn their weekly "green virtual postcard" home. 

• Parent Guide to the Behaviour Policy

  Fri 03 Sep 2021

  This year we have provided parents / carers with a Parent Guide to our Behaviour Policy which is a summary of our expectations, our rewards systems and what happens if a child misbehaves. 

   

  This year we have: 

  • simplified the number of school rules; and
  • introduced a weekly "well done" message to parents / carers for every child who: 
    • wear the correct school uniform every day
    • have the correct equipment in school every day (e.g. reading book, PE kit)
    • show 'green' (expected) behaviour throughout the week 
    • complete their homework (reading, Numbots / TT Rockstars & other homework)

   

  We hope that all children will achieve the weekly message home 😀

   

  A copy of the Parent Guide is available here.