Kindness Resilience Respect Thankfulness
Flourishing in Learning and Love
"Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Newsletter
17 April 2026
ZooLab and History off the Page
We have had a jam packed start to the week, with visits from ZooLab who brought along snakes, spiders and beetles and History off the Page, looking at what it was like at the seaside in the past. They both came in to work with our Early Years children. Reception also were very excited about their newly refurbished outside area, where we have doubled the space for them to explore.
Author Visit Friday 24 April
EXCITING NEWS: AUTHOR NANCY LESCHNIKOFF IS VISITING OUR SCHOOL!
We are thrilled to announce that on Friday 24 April we will be hosting the wonderful author and illustrator, NANCY LESCHNIKOFF!
Nancy will be spending time with all the children (including Nursery) to share the prehistoric fun of her book, Ug Want Hug. She’ll be talking about her life as a creator and how she brings her characters to life.
If you would like a copy of her book, please use the link below to order before the visit.
https://www.ourbookshoptring.co.uk/product/ug-want-hug-a-funny-story-with-a-gentle-message-about-consent-for-young-children/
The signed books will be delivered to the school and given to your child on the day.
We are going through our Little Wandle book sets and have noticed we have several books missing. Please can you have a look at home to see if you have any Little Wandle books and return as soon as possible. If you find any, please return to the school office or give to Mrs Freeman at the door in the morning.
Well Done to Miss Stanford
At the weekend, Miss Stanford completed the London Landmark half marathon. She was a little sore and achy on Monday but said it was an amazing experience. Thank you to everyone who donated and gave support.
Screen around the Fence
After the strong winds over the holidays, you may have noticed the bamboo screen has been damaged. We will be replacing the screening around the fence with a mesh vinyl woodland screen, which the VSA have kindly agreed to fund. We are looking forward to the new screening being delivered and fitted.
Playfeet
Due to the increasing demand of places at ASC, especially on a Monday. We no longer have enough space to have all KS1 and EYFS children together on a Monday. This has led to the difficult decision that we no longer have a space for Playfeet to be able to run their club. We did investigate alternative days but Playfeet were unable to come on the day suggested.
We are excited that our new oracy programme across the school, will give lots of opportunities for children to perform, speak and act in lessons and all areas of the curriculum. As we appreciate drama is a wonderful way for children to express themselves and develop their confidence as well as their oracy skills.
After School Club
Easter Kindness Challenge from our Kindness Ambassadors
During the Easter break, we’re inviting children to take part in the Easter Kindness Challenge. All you need to do is download the challenge sheet below and complete the 15 kind activities. Not only will you be helping other people, you will also be helping themselves…because when we’re kind it improves our own physical and mental health. Click here to start your challenge.
Deadline for entries: 30th April 2026.
Oracy Homework Conversation Starters
This week the oracy task to discuss is:
Jam or cream first on a scone?
Use these sentence starters to help:
- I would have... because....
- I think...
- In my opinion...
Encourage your child to turn and face you to talk and use a clear voice when talking. A fun way to help with turn taking when talking, is to have an object that you hold and you can only talk when you have the object in your hand.
Governor Newsletter
Please see the Spring Edition from the Governing Body of Castle CE Federation.
VSA Update
The two main VSA events for this term are as follows:
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Summer Fair - Saturday 27th June, 12–3 pm: Expect games, crafts, tombola, face painting, music, food, drink and lots more!
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Summer BBQ - Friday 17th July: Our relaxed end‑of‑term family BBQ to celebrate the end of the school year - think sizzling grills, picnic vibes, and a chance to catch up with everyone before the summer break.
More details on both events will be coming your way soon.
And a quick reminder: please drop any Woods of Berkhamsted receipts into the school office as we can exchange them for vouchers for the school. Thank you!
Acorn - Lydia for greeting the adults with a lovely "good morning" to start the day.Ash - Henry for showing brilliant resilience and trying his best in his learning.
Oak - Isaac for showing resilience and kindness in all you do.
Beech - Otis for your fantastic participation in our learning this week! Well done!
Cedar - Ralph for excellent work in computing.
Hazel - Arthur L for being a kind, helpful and delightful child who always demonstrates our golden rules.
Rowan - Charlotte for showing great resilience this week in maths when using division.
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Sonny, Sophia, Max, Isle-Mae, Etta and Flora |
"Everyday in school makes a difference to your child's future" Nursery 93% Reception 96% Year 1 95% Year 2 95% |
