Green Lanes School Newsletter
Issue 17: Thursday 25th June 2026
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Dear Parents and Carers,
What a Hot Week!
Wow, what a hot week we have experienced! We're pleased to say that we've managed well, and our air-conditioned classes have particularly breezed through the heat. We're looking forward to extending this comfort to the rest of the school.
GLSA Summer Fair – This Sunday!
Sunday 28th June, 11am-3pm
Our biggest fundraiser of the year is almost here! Please tell your friends and family about this fantastic event.
What to expect:
- Winners of Green Lanes Has Talent performing live
- Exciting stalls
- Bouncy castles
- Live music
- And much more!
Volunteers Needed!
The GLSA still needs volunteers for 1-3pm slots. If you can help, please let us know as soon as possible. Your support makes all the difference.
Fundraising Goal
This is our biggest fundraiser, and we're hoping to raise enough money to purchase air conditioning for the rest of the school, ensuring all our pupils can learn comfortably during warm weather.
KS2 Sports Day – Date Change
New Date: Thursday 2nd July
Timings:
- 9-9:45am: Years 3 & 4
- 9:45-10:45am: Years 5 & 6
Important reminder: Your child should wear their house colours:
- Fir: Red
- Oak: Blue
- Ash: Green
- Elm: Yellow
School Closure Reminder
The school will be closed on Monday 29th June and will reopen on Tuesday 30th June.
End of Year Information – Friday 10th July
On Friday 10th July, you will receive:
- Your child's class and teacher information for the new academic year
- Your child's end of year report
We hope to see many of you at the Summer Fair on Sunday!
Kind regards,
Michele Johnson
Headteacher
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We were so proud of all the children during sports day. They had an amazing time, having a good go and showing such strong resilience. Thank you everyone who came to watch!
This week we are learning all about the plastic pollution in the ocean. We played in the sparkly water in Riley class, saving all the fish from the plastic and drew beautiful fish in Kusama class with mixed media materials. Next week we will be learning about all the different and unique animals that live in the sea, from shrimps to sharks!
With the weather being so hot for the next few weeks, we will be keeping the blinds down to try and keep the rooms cool. We are doing our best to ensure that the children stay hydrated and cool. Please do make sure that your child has a named hat and a water bottle in school each day.
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What a week we have had in Year 1 with all this heat. The children have shown true resilience and have coped very well this week.
We are thoroughly enjoying learning our new phase 5 sounds. We have begun to learn a unit on fractions in maths.
The children are very excited to begin our assembly practise next week ready for our performance on Friday 3rd July. We will be sending home their lines today. Homework next week will be practising lines each night.
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It has been a busy and exciting term in Year 2!
In maths, we have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes and sorting them into groups based on their properties.
In English, the children have been creating their own superheroes and villains, and next week they will be writing their own stories featuring these characters.
In geography, we have been learning all about maps and compass points, and the children have designed their own playgrounds with lots of different human and physical features.
We are very proud of all their hard work!
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Year 3 have had a wonderful couple of weeks. They have worked hard despite the heat!
In our maths lessons, we finished formal written multiplication, something the children enjoyed learning! We then moved onto geometry, where they had great fun creating 3D sheets out of pasta and marshmallows as well as using tangrams to create different animals!
Our writing lessons have focused on different writerly techniques that could be included in a personal narrative, e.g. similes, dialogue, and using consistent tense. This will help improve our writing when we come to write our own. In our topic lessons we have begun DT and have been learning about mechanisms. The children created brilliant catapults and levers!
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In English, the children have continued developing their action-adventure writing skills. They have explored the features of this exciting genre, including how powerful verbs can make action scenes more engaging and how metaphors can help create vivid images in the reader’s mind. The children have also spent time planning their own stories by developing their characters and settings, and have begun drafting both the opening and ending paragraphs of their adventure narratives.
In Maths, we travelled back in time to learn about Roman numerals. The children have enjoyed learning how to read and write Roman numerals and have explored where they can still be found in the modern world, such as on clocks, buildings and in book chapters.
In Geography, we have been learning about climate zones around the world. The children investigated how different weather patterns affect the environments, landscapes and living conditions in various regions of the world.
Finally, we would like to congratulate the children on how well they have coped during the recent hot weather. Although we are fortunate to have air-conditioned classrooms in Year 4, the children have also shown great resilience and adaptability as we have made last-minute changes to lessons, timetables and parts of the school day to keep everyone safe and comfortable.
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Over the last couple of weeks, our Year 5's have continued to demonstrate an excellent attitude towards their learning across all subjects. Here's what they've been up to:
In English, they have begun their two-week unit on writing explanation texts. The children have explored the key features of this text type, including the use of technical vocabulary, relative clauses to add extra information, and labelled diagrams. Our core text, The Lost Book of Adventure by Frances Lincoln, has provided inspiration and ideas throughout the unit. As their final task, the pupils will create and write an informative guide explaining how to survive on a deserted island of their own design, including the dangers that may be encountered there. Throughout the week, they have been applying the knowledge and skills they have learnt to produce a final published piece of writing.
In Maths, the children have continued to explore the connections between percentages, fractions and decimals, using bar models to deepen their understanding and represent their findings visually. They have also been consolidating their knowledge of area and perimeter, building confidence in applying these concepts to a range of problems. Over the coming weeks, pupils will learn a variety of strategies for estimating the area of irregular shapes and calculating area using standard units of measurement.
In History, Year 5 have continued their journey back in time to explore life in ancient Central America alongside that of the Anglo-Saxons. Throughout this fascinating unit, the children have compared and contrasted the Maya civilisation and the Anglo-Saxon period, developing a deeper understanding of both societies. They have explored the social hierarchy of each group, investigated the impact of their locations and climates, and examined their cultures, achievements and inventions.
As a final task, the pupils completed a Venn diagram to identify the key similarities and differences between the Maya and Anglo-Saxon civilisations. This activity allowed them to showcase their historical knowledge and apply their understanding in a meaningful way. The children have greatly expanded their knowledge of these two significant periods in history and have thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and thought-provoking topic.
We are now eagerly looking forward to two brilliant upcoming events:
Sports Day – a chance to demonstrate teamwork, determination, and sportsmanship
The Summer Fair on Sunday 28th June 2026
We will continue to celebrate our Year 5's achievements so far. Thank you for your continued support at home – it makes all the difference!
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As the children approach the end of their time at Green Lanes, we are talking a lot about secondary school and enjoying many books that explain what it's like. We are particularly looking at a book filled with a series of poems, called 'The Final Year' by Matt Goodfellow. It follows a boy called Nate in his journey through Year 6. We are going to make our own book of 'rebel' poems based on our time at Green Lanes and let the Year 5's enjoy them, so they know what is to come.
In Maths, we have been making our own theme park and working out running costs, entry fees and building costs. We have realised it is a lot more expensive to make a theme park than we thought! We also explored healthy eating again and made some delicious noodles and sensory salads.
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As we come into a time of transition, we understand that this can sometimes feel a little daunting for children and families. Please be reassured that we are here to support you every step of the way.
We believe that small, consistent transitions help children feel safe, confident and ready for change. With this in mind, we have arranged four transition sessions to help children gradually become familiar with their new setting.
We have also created transition booklets which include photographs of the staff and the room, helping to make things feel more familiar and reassuring before the move.
If you would like any further support, please do take a look at the webinar on our website here: Transition Webinar
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Sunday 28th June, 11.00am-3.00pm - GLSA Summer Fair
Monday 29th June – INSET DAY
Wednesday 1st July, 6.00-7.00pm - Equality Webinar
Thursday 2nd July 2026, Sports Morning - Year 3 & 4, 9.00-9.45am
- Year 5 & 6, 9.45-10.45am
Friday 3rd July, 9.00-9.30am - Year 1 Assembly
Friday 3rd July – Year 2 Mondrian trip to the De Havilland Aircraft Museum
Monday 6th July 2026 - Year 3 trip to Verulamium Museum
Monday 6th July – Bikeability all week
Tuesday 7th July 2026 – Year 4 to attend Shine a Light (Electric Umbrella) at St Albans Cathedral
Wednesday 8th July – Year 2 Rousseau trip to the De Havilland Aircraft Museum
Thursday 9th July – Secondary Transition Day
Friday 10th July, 9.00-9.30am - Year 2 Assembly
Tuesday 14th July, 6.00-7.00pm - Year 6 Leavers Production
Friday 17th July, 9.00-9.30am - Year 5 Assembly
Friday 17th July, time tbc - GLSA Summer Disco
Tuesday 21st July, 1.30-3.00pm – Green Lanes 85th Birthday Celebration
Wednesday 22nd July, tbc – Year 6 Leavers Assembly
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Summer Term 2026
INSET Day: Monday 29th June 2026
INSET Day: Thursday 23rd July 2026 - Accrued
Secondary Transfer Day: Thursday 9th July 2026 - Y6 pupils visit secondary schools
Term ends: Wednesday 22nd July 2026 - school finishes at 2.15pm (2.05pm for FS & Y1)
HERTFORDSHIRE TERM DATES 2026-2027
Autumn Term 2026
Term starts: Thursday 3rd September 2026
Half-term: Monday 26th October 2026 to Friday 30th October 2026
INSET Day: Tuesday 1st September 2026
INSET Day: Wednesday 2nd September 2026
Occasional day: Friday 27th November 2026
Term ends: Friday 18th December 2026 - school finishes at 2.15pm (2.05pm for FS & Y1)
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