Newsletters

Newsletter 

Green Lanes School Newsletter

Issue 7: Thursday 11th December 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone who has come to our 'Jingle and Mingle' shows so far – we still have performances from Year 4 tomorrow, Year 5 and Year 6 next week, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Christmas Dinner Day - Wednesday 17th December

Next Wednesday, 17th December, is Christmas dinner day. Your child is invited to dress in their party clothes or Christmas jumpers for the occasion. If you wish to make a donation, please donate to the GLSA here.

Staffing Updates

We are sadly saying goodbye to Mrs Panter at the end of this term as she moves onto an exciting new career. We also wish Miss Ellis all the best as she goes on maternity leave.

We are delighted to welcome Mrs Looney back to Year 6 as the Da Vinci class teacher, and Miss Tompkins is joining our office admin team.

Improving Our Communications

We've been listening to your suggestions about how we can improve communications, and we're introducing some new email links to make it easier for you to contact us:

For family photos: If you'd like to send in photos for our family photo boards, we're happy to print them for you. Please email them to: photos@greenlanes.herts.sch.uk

For teacher communications: We're introducing a new email address for you to direct communications to teachers: teachers@greenlanes.herts.sch.uk. We will pass on your communications and please allow 3 working days for a response.

General enquiries: You can of course still email our admin team at admin@greenlanes.herts.sch.uk

Parent Questionnaire – Closing Tomorrow Friday 12th December

Finally, we would love to hear your feedback on our parent questionnaire, which closes tomorrow. Your views are really important to us in helping us continue to improve.

Spring 1 After School Clubs

Communication has gone out today for you to express an interest in after-school clubs. We have listened to you and if your child does not manage to get a place this term they will be given priority next term.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Michele Johnson

Headteacher

 

Christmas Songs - Year 3
2:45pm – 3:05pm
11
December
Parent Cafe - Farewell to Mrs Panter
9:00am – 9:30am
12
December
Christmas Songs - Year 4
2:45pm – 3:05pm
12
December
Christmas Songs - Year 5
2:50pm – 3:05pm
15
December
Christmas Songs - Year 6
2:50pm – 3:05pm
16
December
Dress in Party Clothes for the Day
8:50am – 3:15pm
17
December
Christmas Lunch
12:00pm – 1:15pm
17
December
Term Ends - 2.15pm
8:40am – 2:15pm
19
December
INSET Day - School Closed (TBC)
8:40am – 3:30pm
05
January
Term Starts
8:40am – 3:30pm
06
January

Foundation Stage

 

IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!

It was lovely to see how well the children did during our Christmas assembly. Thank you all for coming!

Our class video is on Google Classroom, with each child saying what Christmas means to them.

We have begun our preparations for Christmas. This is an exciting time, with numerous arts and craft activities and events happening soon.
Please check your child's bag for all their amazing creations and any letters. As well as the Green Lanes website's calendar for upcoming events.

This week, the children have been busy getting all 'Christmassy'! They have decorated the classrooms and started making Christmas creations to bring home. We have been discussing how we celebrate at home with our families and learning about various festivals and traditions. 

 

Year 1

 

Thank you to all the parents and carers who came to watch Year 1 singing this week. The children were so proud that they were able to show you their singing. We have been working hard learning the Makaton signs this half-term. 

In Phonics we have learnt another four alternative sounds and we will continue to send home the summary sheets for you each week to review at home. Please make sure you return and swap your reading books on Monday so you have a new one for the holidays. 

In Maths we have continued our work on doubles and halves. In CUSP, this week we have identified the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, learnt their capital cities and talked about the seas that surround the United Kingdom. We look forward to starting our Art and Design topic on painting next week.

 

Year 2

 

This week in Year 2 we have been very busy and creative!

In Design and Technology, the children have been designing their own Christmas stockings, carefully choosing colours, patterns and decorations, and we are all very excited to start making them next week.

In English, we have been reading the book Dragon Post and exploring the different letters in the story. The children have been practising writing their own letters for different purposes, including letters to inform and letters to ask questions. They have worked incredibly hard and we are very proud of their enthusiasm and ideas.  

 

Year 3

 

The children have had a brilliant couple of weeks.

In our English lessons we have begun to look at non-chronological reports, they have loved reading about all the remarkable children!

Our maths lessons have focused on mental fluency for subtraction and different strategies that can be used. The children have enjoyed learning about maps and different physical and human features of our local area.

We want to thank the children for all their hard work this term and we are proud of their progress! 

 

Year 4

 

In English the children are learning about all the features required to write an engaging narrative. The theme is an animal adventure story and to help them, they have been exploring the beautiful, sensory book, Starbird by Sharon King-Chai. This week they have revisited fronted adverbials and how to punctuate speech. 

In Maths, we focused on the 9 times table. The children have been learning lots of helpful tips and strategies to build their speed and accuracy - please do ask them to show you what they know! They have also been using bar models to solve multi-step word problems.

We also completed our D&T project, where the children created their own hinges and experimented with different designs to discover which worked most effectively.

Finally, we have been practising our Christmas signing songs, and we can’t wait to share them with you soon!

 

 

Year 5

 

In Year 5 we have had a productive couple of weeks filled with new learning and creative challenges.

In English, we published our narratives called "The Promise." The children creatively wrote and published their own story based on the book, and used their expanded noun phrases, figurative language and relative clauses to entertain their readers. We have just begun learning about biographies, and the children will be choosing their own groundbreaking, inspirational figure to base their own biographies on. The children are really looking forward to researching their chosen figure, and it would be a great idea to have discussions with them at home exploring their choices.

In Maths, we have been exploring 'estimation' and the rounding skills needed to be able to estimate accurately. We have also been using our mental strategies to find complements to 1 using decimal and whole numbers. We also got the opportunity to practise our regrouping skills to use part whole models to add and subtract decimal numbers. 

In Science, we have begun exploring the human timeline (from embryo to older adult). The children have learnt lots of new scientific vocabulary to discuss this topic which they will need to build on in future lessons. Practically, we carried out a quick investigation based on the hypothesis that the oldest pupils in the class have the biggest head circumference; the children enjoyed carrying out the investigation and many were surprised by their findings!

In the next 2 weeks, we are looking forward to our Design and Technology lessons, where we will be exploring nutrition and preparing 3 dishes - flatbread and garlic butter, Smørrebrød and a Mezze bowl. We are really excited about our last week of the term where we will be creating calendars, winter cards and much more!!

 

Year 6

 

In Year 6, we have been doing persuasive speeches in English. This has allowed us to practice our knowledge of Persuasive Language Devices. They have been using rule of three, rhetorical questions and exaggerated emotive language to persuade their audience to banish their pet peeve to room 101 (just like the game show!)

In Maths, we have been continuing our learning of fractions. We have looked at addition and subtraction of fractions, finding common denominators using the lowest common multiple and now converting fractions into decimals and percentages. They have been doing so well with this.

In the afternoons, we have been doing a mixture of learning about tectonic plates, earthquakes and volcanoes in Geography as well as some more food technology. 

 

 

Inclusion and Banksy

 
 

We would like to apologise for the delay in carrying out APDR review meetings. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to reschedule these important meetings to the first week of term in January 2026.

This meeting is specifically for parents whose children are receiving targeted SEN support.

Many thanks,

Amy Russell
Assistant Head, Inclusion Lead

 

 

 

 

For information about SEN support at our school, please see our SEN information report on the school website or contact our SENCO.

 

 

GLSA

 

 

 

Christmas Lunch - Wednesday 17th December 2025

 

Please order using the School Grid in the normal way, click here. 

School Grid

 

Flu Vaccination

 

Respiratory and flu-like cases are rapidly on the rise. We urge you to ensure your child receives the flu vaccination. You have a choice between the quick and painless nasal spray or the Injection which is porcine & gelatine free. This not only protects your children against being seriously ill but also protects vulnerable members of your family and community. 

We have several community catch-up clinics available. Please use the link below to book an appointment.

Vaccination UK Immunisation

If you previously declined consent for your child when we visited the school, you CAN CHANGE your consent. Please call our office on 01462 427008, and we will book a clinic appointment for you.

Thank you for your support.

Kind Regards, 

Hertfordshire Immunisation Team

 

 

DSPL5 Newsletter