Newsletters

Newsletter 

Green Lanes School Newsletter

Issue 4: Thursday 22nd October 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

A Big Thank You
Thank you so much for all your support over this half term. As we move into the break and the colder months ahead, please ensure your child has everything they need to stay warm and dry outside. Why not take a look in our 'wear and share' area in the main reception if you need anything?

Parent Research Project – Your Vote Needed!
Last week's parent café looked at exciting ideas for you to vote on and get involved with. We need you to choose which project you'd like to participate in:

Option 1: 'Book Talk' Project
We'll explore whether talking about books and reading with your child improves their understanding.

Option 2: 'Maths Games' Project
We'll look at whether playing maths games improves your child's understanding in maths.

Look out for the voting email – we'll launch the winning project after half term. Please remember to vote!

Book Looks – Week Beginning 2nd November
You'll have a chance to see your child's books and are invited to our 'book looks' sessions. Just follow the link to book your slot. https://greenlanes.schoolcloud.co.uk/

Termly Reports & Teacher Consultations

On Friday 6th November, you'll receive your child's termly report, which includes:

  • Their initial assessments
  • A reminder of the end of Summer assessments

This will be the focus for discussions during your teacher consultations, which will be happening over the following weeks.

Remember: You don't need to wait until this date if you want to chat with your child's teacher about anything. Just email us at teachers@greenlanes.herts.sch.uk and we'll be happy to facilitate a 10-minute meeting for you.

Donations Needed – LEGO Appeal
We're always looking for donations, and if you have any LEGO – particularly mini figures – we would be really grateful!

Thank You – Harvest Festival
A huge thank you to everyone who donated to the Harvest Festival Hatfield Foodbank appeal. You raised lots of colourful food donations, all for a good cause.

Christmas Performances
Check that you have all the dates for the Christmas singing and signing performances, which will be happening in the main hall 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

GLSA Halloween Disco
Thank you to the GLSA for hosting the popular Halloween disco last Friday – it was a spooktacular event!

Good Luck Year 6!
Good luck to our Year 6s who are heading to PGL for their residential trip this week. Have an amazing time!

Have a Great Half Term!
Enjoy the break, stay warm, and please remember to vote for your parent research project.

Kind regards,

Michele Johnson
Headteacher

 

 

 

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
Prospective Parent Tour
2:00pm – 2:30pm
03
November
Prospective Parent Tour
9:15am – 9:45am
05
November
Termly Reports sent home
All Day
06
November
Parent Cafe - How we teach maths fluency
9:00am – 9:30am
06
November
Parent Consultations
All Day
from 09 Nov until 13 Nov
09
November
Flu Vaccination Mop Up Session
8:30am – 10:00am
12
November
Parent Cafe - Behaviour & Relationships
9:00am – 9:30am
13
November

Foundation Stage

 

Last week in Reception, the children had a go at how to use our Chromebooks. They really enjoyed using a program to compose their own music. We have added the link to Google Classroom for you to try at home - please do leave us a comment to let us know how you got on.

This week we have been learning about the changing season of autumn. On our nature walk, we noticed the leaves are falling and changing colour.

After half-term we will be learning about Diwali. We will create our own rangoli patterns and talk about different ways people celebrate.

There are still a few family pictures missing, so please send them in to photos@greenlanes.herts.sch.uk.

We hope you all have a restful and relaxing half-term.

Year 1

 

We can't believe that it is already half-term! Where has the time gone?

We are all very proud of all the children in Year 1 for the way they have conducted themselves this half-term. They have all tried their best and have enjoyed our learning so far. It has been fantastic to see the progress they have made so far.

Many children have used their spare clothes and our small stock has now been used up. Could every child come to school with named spare clothes which can be left in their bags or on their pegs. This is especially important as the weather is beginning to change. We do go outside in the rain and often a change of socks might be needed once we come in. 

We wish you all a restful half-term and look forward to seeing you on Monday 2nd November. 

 

Year 2

 

Year 2 have had a fantastic couple of weeks filled with exciting learning and practical activities!

In English, we have started our new book, How to Make Friends with a Ghost, which the children have really been enjoying. We will be using this book as inspiration when we plan out and write our own list of how to be a good friend.

In Design and Technology, the children had great fun preparing their own fruit cups and toasted pittas. They developed their food preparation skills and learnt how to use knives safely, practising two important cutting techniques called the ‘bridge’ and the ‘claw’ grips to hold food securely while cutting. The children really enjoyed this hands-on learning experience and showed great care and responsibility when preparing their food.

 

Year 3

 

Year 3 have had an amazing couple of weeks!

In our English we have finished writing up our Mini-Rabbit Not Lost stories. The children worked so hard on their presentation and should be very proud of themselves!

We have moved onto Poetry and we are looking at free verse poetry. Our book for this unit is called The Dinosaur at the Bus Stop.

In our maths lessons we have focused on estimation and magnitude. In particular we have looked at greater than and less than. We will begin looking at rounding and using the rounding mountain to help us.

Our topic lessons have been computing, and the children have learnt about how digital devices use input and output devices. The children enjoyed designing their own digital devices using different inputs and outputs. 

 

Year 4

 

It has been another busy week in year 4!

In English, we have been exploring the poem A Small Dragon by Brian Patten. The children have been thinking carefully about how the dragon is described and what sort of habitat it might live in. They have then used this inspiration to create their own dragons based on different habitats before turning their ideas into free verse poems.

In Maths, we have been focusing on mental strategies for adding and subtracting. The children have been practising methods such as equal sum and equal difference to help them solve calculations more efficiently and build confidence with number work.

In History, we have been learning about the Anglo-Saxons, including how they came to Britain and why they stayed. The children have been developing their understanding of this important period in British history and what life may have been like at the time.

On Friday, we celebrated our Anglo-Saxon Day. The children looked fantastic in their costumes and took part in a range of activities inspired by the Anglo-Saxons, including designing and making shields, tasting different foods and drinks, and creating brooches. The children had a great time bringing our learning to life.

 

 

Year 5

 

In English, we have been exploring descriptive writing techniques based on our Core text "Cloud Tea Monkeys". The children have been refining their editing skills and published their best paragraph in their neatest handwriting. We have also been consolidating our grammar knowledge and skills particularly in writing in complete sentences, adding capital letters and full stops as well as practising identifying nouns, adjectives and verbs in their writing. 

In maths, we have completed our unit on prime numbers and have moved on to practising mental strategies for division and multiplication. The children have been experimenting with halving and doubling, partitioning and adjusting (using near numbers) to calculate their answers in the most efficient way.

In Computing, the children have been learning how to create vectors. They have explored the skills of copying and pasting, rotating, enlarging, zooming in and out to create different objects. The children have created objects like houses, robots, sheep, penguins and parrots using their newly-learned skills. The students have thoroughly enjoyed this unit on vectors and produced amazing results!

We hope you all have a restful and enjoyable half-term break and look forward to seeing you in Autumn 2.

Year 6

 

We are off to PGL!  We will send a picture on Google classroom at some point while we are away.

Year 6 have worked extremely hard this half-term, and we are super excited to see how they grow further!

Have a restful half-term everyone.  :) 

 

 

Inclusion and Banksy

 
 

PARENT SUPPORT SESSIONS

Parenting isn't always easy, and sometimes having someone to talk things through with can make all the difference.

Our informal parent support sessions offer a welcoming space for parents to share concerns, explore what's happening beneath their child's behaviour, problem-solve and discover practical strategies that may help.

Parents can speak with a Nessie therapist, a family support worker and other parents facing similar challenges.

 

Dates for your diary

 

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

Tuesday 3rd November, 2.00-2.30pm, Prospective Parent Tours

Thursday 5th November, 9.15-9.45pm, Prospective Parent Tours

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

 
 
 

 

 

Herts Catering Ltd - Winter Menu 2026

 

 

 

Joining Reception in September 2027

 

 

Hatfield Library

 

 

 

 

Football Fun Factory