Newsletters

Newsletter 

Green Lanes School Newsletter

Issue 3: Thursday 8th October 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank You for Open Classrooms
A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for open classrooms earlier this term. It was wonderful to see so many of you engaging with your children's learning and experiencing our classrooms first-hand. Your support and interest in your child's education means so much to us all.

Electric Umbrella Performance – Celebrating Difference
What an incredible day we've had! Today, we were thrilled to welcome Britain's Got Talent finalists Electric Umbrella to Green Lanes for a spectacular performance. This special event was part of National Mental Health Week, and today's theme was 'It's Good to Be Different!' The performance was a brilliant reminder that our differences make us unique and special, and we hope the children left feeling inspired and celebrated.

Parent Café - All About SEND
Tomorrow, 9th October, 9:00-9:30am in the Library
Don't miss our next parent café, which is all about SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). Whether your child has special educational needs or not, this workshop will tell you all about the ways we support and include all children at Green Lanes. We'd love to see you there!

Parent Café Research Choice – You Choose the Topic!
(Friday 16th October 2026, 9-9.30am)
Our next parent café will be the Parent Research Choice session, where you as parents choose which topic of interest you'd like us to explore. In the past, we've covered approaches to homework and reducing tech time – we can't wait to see what you'll choose for this year!

Harvest Appeal – Supporting Hatfield Foodbank
Our Harvest Appeal is running throughout October, and we're collecting different coloured items each week. All donations will go to Hatfield Foodbank.

  • This week: Red items – passata, jams, tinned tomatoes etc.
  • Next week: Yellow items – pasta, custard, sweetcorn etc.
  • W/C 19th October: Purple items – toiletries, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, nappies etc.

Thank you for your generosity in supporting our local community.

Key Dates for This Term
We've just set some important dates for this term:

Book Look Week & Reports

  • Book Looks: Monday 2nd, Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th November
  • Termly reports: Friday, 6th November
  • Parent consultations: Weeks beginning 9th & 16th November

Look out for communications regarding appointments for your child/children.

Christmas Singing and Signing Performances
Get ready for the festive season! All performances start at 2:45pm:

  • Year 6: Wednesday, 9th December
  • Year 5: Thursday, 10th December
  • Year 4: Friday, 11th December
  • Year 3: Monday, 14th December
  • Year 2: Tuesday, 15th December
  • Year 1: Wednesday, 16th December
  • Reception: Thursday, 17th December

Year 4-6 School Council Visit to Westminster
Our Year 4-6 school council had an amazing experience this week visiting Westminster! They found out what it's like to be an MP and even got to sit in the House of Commons. What an incredible opportunity for our young leaders!

Enrichment Events
There are lots of enrichment events happening this term, so please look out for key information coming your way.

GLSA Halloween Disco
Friday, 16th October – KS1 5-6pm / KS2 6.15-7.15pm

Kind regards,

Michele Johnson
Headteacher
 

 

 

UK Parliament Tour
All Day
09
October
Parent Cafe - SEND
9:00am – 9:30am
09
October
Year 6 School Nursing Visit
9:00am – 2:30pm
12
October
Year 4 Anglo Saxon Day
All Day
16
October
Year 5 - Greek Day
All Day
16
October
Parent Cafe - Research Choice
9:00am – 9:30am
16
October
GLSA Halloween Disco: KS1 5-6pm, KS2 6,15-7.15pm
5:00pm – 7:15pm
16
October
Year 6 PGL
All Day
from 21 Oct until 23 Oct
21
October
Parent Cafe - Phonics, how we reach reading
9:00am – 9:30am
23
October
Half Term Autumn
All Day
from 26 Oct until 30 Oct
26
October

Foundation Stage

 

The children have had yet another fantastic week at school.  They are enjoying learning phonics and it is lovely to see them starting to recognise the letters and having a go at blending some words. A fun game to play on your way to school is I spy the sound! 'I spy something beginning with S....' or even try blending three letter words like I see a- c.a.t and see if they can find it too. 

If you have any questions about supporting your child at home with their learning, then please just ask. 

Please continue to check that all items coming into school are clearly named including shoes, coats and jumpers, and don't forget to send in, or email us, a family photo if you haven't already done so.

Thank you for your continued support.

 

Year 1

 

What another fantastic two weeks we have had in Year 1. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning our new phase 5 sounds. Each Monday we will send home the previous week's sounds. You can begin to collect them to make your own set of sound cards for use at home. 

In Maths we have been looking at more and less and representing it on a tens frame, part part whole model, bar model and as a calculation. 

In CUSP we designed and made our very own sliding pictures. We were very proud of the hard work the children put into making them. This week Perry Class will be starting a new History topic on how shopping has changed since the 1950s and Kahlo Class will start their Computing topic and they will be creating their own digital pictures. 

In PE we are starting a new topic about understanding games. We have started this week learning to work as a team to play with the parachute. 

 

Year 2

 

Year 2 have had a busy and exciting time with their learning! In English, we have completed our unit on list poetry and are looking forward to beginning our new unit on instructions, where the children will develop their skills in writing clear and sequenced instructions.

In Maths, we have completed our unit focusing on regrouping ones and tens, with the children working hard to strengthen their understanding of place value.

The children have also really enjoyed their Computing lessons, learning about information technology in the world around us and in school, as well as understanding the importance of following rules and staying safe online.

 

Year 3

 

Year 3 have had a lovely couple of weeks and the children have worked incredibly hard!

In our English lessons we have continued reading Mini-Rabbit Not Lost and have begun to rewrite the story. We have focused on using past tense as well as conjunctions to help extend our sentences. The children have really loved following Mini-Rabbit's cake adventure! 

Our maths lessons have moved onto finding 10 more and 10 less of a number using manipulatives to help. The children enjoyed using the sugar paper to explore different ways of regrouping to find 10 more and 10 less.

In our topic lessons we have been doing Science and our focus has been rocks. We have looked at how rocks are made as well as the 3 different types of rocks. In our future lessons we will learn more about fossils!

 

Year 4

 

Year 4 have been up to some exciting things!

In English, they have chosen a topic that they are passionate about to write a persuasive speech. They used persuasive devices such as rhetorical questions, rule of 3 and statistics to convince their audience to do what they suggested. They have edited their drafts and started to publish their work, ready to read to the class. 
 
In Maths, they have been using mental strategies to add and subtract numbers. We have had lots of discussions about what methods are most efficient and easiest to do in our heads. We have also considered times we may need to use mental strategies, such as adding up the cost of items when shopping. 
 
In DT, we had a successful two days of cooking. We thought about the ingredients that go into our food and how we can make healthier choices to avoid processed foods. We also discussed how eating an unbalanced diet doesn't always make us feel good and the effects it has on our bodies. 
 
In PE, Year 4 went to Stanborough School to take part in indoor athletics. Everyone gave their activity a good go and they were all very supportive of one another!
 

 

Year 5

 

In our English lessons, we have been learning how to 'Write to Entertain'. The descriptive writing skills that we have been learning have taken inspiration from our core text, Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. The children have been practising how to use fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and conjunctions in their extended writing in class, and it has been a pleasure to see how much their love of writing has grown! By the end of this unit, the children will write a final description of a setting based on our core text.

In our maths lessons, we have completed consolidating our knowledge of multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1,000 and it has been great to see the children's' confidence and ability increase in such a short space of time! in maths lessons, we have been using place value charts and base tens to consolidate our knowledge and skills practically. We have now begun a new unit on Multiples and Factors, and our Year 5's are showing great enthusiasm for this new topic. 

In History lessons (our topic for the next 3 weeks), we have been learning about the Ancient Greeks.  We have explored the origins of democracy and discovered how voting worked in Ancient Greece. The children have also learnt about Greek theatre and the important role it played in society, as well as exploring some of the fascinating stories and beliefs surrounding the Greek Gods. We have compared the city-states of Athens and Sparta, discovering the differences between their lifestyles, education, government and values. The children have thoroughly enjoyed travelling back in time and discovering how Ancient Greek ideas and traditions have influenced the world we live in today!

 

Year 6

 

This week, Year 6 have been learning all about the features of a non-chronological report in English. Using the non-fiction book Planetarium as inspiration, the children have explored fascinating facts about space and are now preparing to write their own report about a planet of their own creation.

In Maths, we have been focusing on problem solving with the four operations. The children have been using a range of helpful questions to support their thinking, including: What do I notice? What can I calculate? What is the most efficient method? Where do I start? It has been wonderful to see their reasoning skills developing.

In Topic, we have been learning about electricity and enjoyed carrying out a fair scientific test using Tinkercad, an online platform for making circuits. We are now moving on to our first Art unit, practising our sketching skills.

 

 

Inclusion and Banksy

 
 

World Mental Health Week

Yesterday, we supported World Mental Health Week in assembly, and this week the children are taking part in journaling activities.

We were fortunate to welcome Bianca, a Mental Health Support Worker from the NHS, who led yesterday's assembly focusing on positive mental health strategies. This helped the children to think about simple, practical ways to look after their emotional wellbeing.

This week, we are supporting the children with journaling activities that explore the benefits of mindfulness and encourage them to advocate for their own mental wellbeing. These activities are giving children the opportunity to reflect, express themselves and develop healthy habits for looking after their minds as well as their bodies.

As we support the children in school, we would also like to encourage you, as parents and carers, to prioritise your own mental health and wellbeing too. Looking after yourself is just as important, and it enables you to better support those around you.

If you feel you would benefit from additional support, you may wish to explore the following services:

• NHS Talking Therapies - support for anxiety, stress and low mood https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-nhs-talking-therapies-service/

• Mind - advice, information and support for mental wellbeing https://www.mind.org.uk/

• Samaritans - confidential emotional support, available 24/7 Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org/

• NHS Every Mind Matters - practical tips and wellbeing advice https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/

Thank you, as always, for your support.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Date for your diary

 

Friday 9th October, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - All about SEND

Monday 12th October 2026, 9.00am-2.30pm, Year 6 School Nursing Day Visit

Friday 16th October, Year 4 Anglo Saxon Day

Friday 16th October, Year 5 Greek Day

Friday 16th October, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - Research Choice

Friday 16th October 2026, KS1 5-6pm, KS2 6.15-7.15pm, Halloween Disco

Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd October 2026, Year 6 PGL residential visit

Friday 23rd October 2026, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - How we teach phonics 

Monday 26th to Friday 30th October 2026, Half Term

Book Look Week & Reports

  • Book Look Week: 2nd, 4th and 5th November
  • Termly reports: Friday, 6th November
  • Parent consultations: w/c 9th & 16th November

Friday 6th November 2026, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - How we teach maths fluency

Thursday 12th November, 8.30-10am, Flu Vaccinations - mop up session

Friday 13th November 2026, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - Behaviour & Relationships

Monday 16th to Friday 20th November 2026, Anti Bullying week

Friday 20th November 2026, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - Anti Bullying Council

Wednesday 25th November 2026 - 6.00pm-6.30pm, Prospective Parent Tours

Friday 27th November, Occasional Day - School Closed

Thursday 3rd December 2026, 9.30am-10.00am, Prospective Parent Tours

Friday 4th December 2026, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - School Council

Friday 4th December 2026 - 9.30am-10.00am, Prospective Parent Tours

Friday 11th December, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - Eco Council

Christmas Singing and Signing Performances

Get ready for the festive season! All performances start at 2:45pm:

  • Year 6: Wednesday, 9th December
  • Year 5: Thursday, 10th December
  • Year 4: Friday, 11th December
  • Year 3: Monday, 14th December
  • Year 2: Tuesday, 15th December
  • Year 1: Wednesday, 16th December
  • Reception: Thursday, 17th December

Wednesday 16th December 2026, Christmas Lunch

Friday 18th December, 9.00-9.30am, Parent Café - Banksy Council

Friday 18th December, End of term

 

 

Term Dates 2026/2027

 

Autumn Term 2026

Half-term: Monday 26th October 2026 to Friday 30th October 2026  

Occasional day: Friday 27th November 2026 

Term ends: Friday 18th December 2026 - school finishes at 2.15pm (2.05pm for FS & Y1)

 

Spring Term 2027

Term starts: Tuesday 5th January 2027

Term ends: Thursday 25th March 2027 - school finishes at 2.15pm (2.05pm for FS & Y1)

Half-term: Monday 15th February 2027 to Friday 19th February 2027  

INSET Day: Monday 4th January 2027

 

Summer Term 2027

Term starts: Monday 12th April 2027  

Term ends: Tuesday 20th July 2027 -  school finishes at 2.15pm (2.05pm for FS & Y1) 

Bank Holiday: Monday 3rd May 2027 

Half-term: Monday 31st May 2027 to Friday 4th June 2027

INSET Day: Wednesday 21st July 2027 

INSET Day: Thursday 22nd July 2027 

Secondary Transfer Day: Thursday 8th July 2027 - Y6 pupils visit secondary schools

 

 

GLSA

 
 
 

 

 

Joining Reception in September 2027