Green Lanes School Newsletter
Issue 5: Thursday 12th November 2026
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Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank You for Attending Book Looks
A huge thank you to those of you who attended our Book Look last week. We hope you were able to see the great work your child is doing. Our current focus is on foundational skills, so everyone is practising their handwriting, making sure they read regularly, and checking their maths work.
Parent-Teacher Conversations
This week and next, you'll have the chance to speak to your child's class teacher to see how they have settled into the term so far. Check you have booked an appointment. https://greenlanes.schoolcloud.co.uk/
Need more time to chat? Each week, teachers have extra catch-up conversations available. All you need to do is request one of these and you can chat about your child in more detail. These can be done by phone, email, or in person straight after school. Just request a catch-up conversation and we would be happy to help.
Termly Reports
You should have received your child's termly report by now. It contains helpful targets that you can work on with your child to support their learning, as well as any recent test scores.
Great Fire of London Re-enactment
A special thank you to our local fire service who came and supported Year 2 for their re-enactment of the Great Fire of London as they burnt their homework houses. The children loved this and the fire service safely made sure that everyone was protected.
Join Our Working Groups
We have 2 working groups that you might wish to join:
- SEND review group
- Filming and photographing review (What does AI now mean?)
Just drop us an email or come and tell us if you would like to get involved in helping us shape how we do things.
Research Project Announcement
You have voted and I'm pleased to announce that your chosen research project is: "Does playing maths games with my child improve their understanding of number?" We will send you details about how to sign up for this project next week.
This Friday, 13 November
Children in Need
Your child is invited to wear whatever makes them happy - pyjamas, party clothes, uniform, or not - it's up to you! Please don't send in cash, but if you want to donate, please follow the link.
Behaviour and Relationships Café (9:00-9:30am)
Pop along to find out how we teach children to regulate their emotions and build positive relationships.
Coming Soon
Parent Questionnaire
We will be writing to you next week to ask you to complete a parent questionnaire to let us know what is going well and any areas you think we can improve. Look out for the questionnaire.
National Anti-Bullying Week
Next week we will be highlighting National Anti-Bullying Week with the theme 'Break the Silence'. We will be talking about what bullying is and how we can stop it. Your child is invited to wear odd socks as a key message that it is good to be different.
Important Date: School Closure: The school will be closed on Friday 27 November for an Occasional Day.
If you have any questions, just let us know.
Kind regards,
Michele Johnson
Headteacher
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The children have really enjoyed learning phonics so far, and it has been lovely to see them beginning to recognise letters and blend some words. If you have any questions about how to support your child’s learning at home, please do not hesitate to ask. A simple activity you can try is playing I-Spy using sounds on the journey to and from school, which can help to develop your child’s understanding.
This week, we have been learning all about Remembrance Day. We made poppies using tissue paper in Kusama Class and with multilink cubes in Riley Class. Next week, we will be learning all about skeletons! Our school skeleton, Simon, will be coming down for us to explore what bones look like inside our bodies. We will also be making lots of skeleton creations - in Riley Class, we will be making skeleton pictures using cotton buds, and in Kusama Class, we will be decorating skeletons with resources from our creative area.
With the weather getting colder, please ensure that gloves, scarves and hats are clearly labelled to help prevent them from getting lost. Please also make sure that all items brought into school are named, including shoes, coats and jumpers. If you have not already done so, please send in, or email us, a family photograph.
Thank you for your continued support.
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We have now finished our English unit on line poems and started an instructional writing unit using The Gruffalo's crumble recipe book as a stimulus. We will be learning about what a verb is and how we can use them to create our own instructions. The unit will finish by writing a set of instructions to make a fox sandwich. We will also make the sandwich using the instructions.
In Maths we have been looking at regrouping and have been using pentominoes and unifix cubes to support our learning.
In Science we have been learning about plants including trees and labelling the parts of both.
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We have had a very exciting week in Year 2!
In Topic, we have been learning all about the Great Fire of London. We had lots of fun building our own houses using flammable materials and were very lucky to have a visit from the firefighters, who helped us bring our learning to life by setting fire to our houses!
In Maths, we have been exploring money and developing our skills through playing shops, where we practised recognising coins, adding amounts and making purchases.
In RE, we have been learning all about Diwali, the Festival of Lights, and discovering how and why it is celebrated. What a busy and exciting week of learning!
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Year 3 have worked hard since returning from half term! They have settled back into routines really quickly.
Our English lessons have been focused on poetry and different grammatical techniques to entertain the reader. The children have loved creating their own extraordinary thing for their poem, their imaginations are brilliant!
In our maths lessons we have been learning about measurement using practical resources to help. We have looked at length, mass and capacity. The children enjoyed creating their own potions using estimating and accurate measuring.
In our topic lessons we have begun to learn about the Stone Age. We have had great discussions and the children had amazing questions about the learning.
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In English the children have been learning about all the features required to write an engaging and informative explanatory text. They have used fronted adverbials and prepositional phrases to extend their writing and considered the impact of using precise, technical vocabulary.
We have started a new book in our Reading Practice sessions – the Girl Who Stole an Elephant, which tells the story of Chaya, a young girl living in a Sri Lankan village. Chaya is driven by a deep sense of fairness and the desire to help the most needy, but her methods often get her and those around her into trouble. Will she be able to restore a fairer and kinder way of life to the community?
In Maths this week, the children are moving on to discovering how repeated addition, arrays, and multiplication are linked. They’ll also explore different regrouping strategies—like the distributive law—to see how these help us build towards formal written methods.
Finally, the children had so much fun partaking in golf activities as part of our PE lesson. Lots of children were having a go at golf for the first time and others were improving already existing skills. Fantastic effort, Year 4!
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This week, Year 5 have been busy and enthusiastic learners across the curriculum.
In Maths, they have been developing their mental calculation strategies by using place value, regrouping the minuend and subtrahend, and exploring equal sum and equal difference.
In English, the children have been inspired by The Promise and have enjoyed using figurative language to create powerful descriptions of grey, urban environments that feel empty and lifeless.
In Geography, they have been strengthening their locational knowledge and learning more about different biomes.
In Reading Practice, they have begun their new adventure book, The Explorer, which is set in the aftermath of a plane crash deep within the Amazon rainforest and has already captured their interest.
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It has been a pleasure to see Year 6 engaging so positively with their
learning over the past two weeks. The children have shown great
enthusiasm, curiosity and perseverance across the curriculum, and we are very proud of the progress they are making.
In science, the children have been learning about the circulatory system
and the important role it plays in keeping our bodies healthy. They have
explored how the heart pumps blood around the body and how this helps to transport oxygen and nutrients where they are needed.
The class has also learnt about what blood is made up of, including;
plasma, red blood cells and white blood cells. The children have enjoyed discovering the different jobs these parts of the blood do and have been asking thoughtful questions to deepen their
understanding.
In maths, Year 6 have been working hard and thoroughly enjoying learning how to find the area of parallelograms, triangles and composite shapes. They have shown real determination when applying their knowledge and solving problems, and it has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they tackle increasingly challenging questions.
In English, the children have been enjoying reading Wisp and have been
responding well to the text. They are working hard to write well-structured paragraphs and are beginning to include figurative language to make their writing more engaging and imaginative. It has been lovely to see the creativity and effort they are putting into their work.
Overall, it has been a fantastic period of learning for Year 6. Their
enthusiasm, hard work and positive attitude are really shining through, and we are looking forward to seeing all that they achieve next.
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It has been a busy and exciting first half-term for sport across Key Stage 2. All children in Key Stage 2 have taken part in a whole-class sports event this term:
- Year 3 - Fun Run at Stanborough Pavilion
- Year 4 - Indoor Athletics event at Stanborough
- Year 5 - Fun Run at Stanborough Lakes
- Year 6 - Multi-Sports event at Stanborough
A big thank you to any parents who helped with collection from these events - your support is greatly appreciated.
We have also had lots more sporting opportunities:
- The netball team took part in a series of training sessions at Stanborough and also attended a netball festival
- 8 Year 5 pupils attended an Inspire and Engage activity carousel at Gosling Athletics Track
- The Year 6 boys’ football team took part in a tournament at De Havilland, reaching the final and narrowly losing on penalties
- A group of 10 Year 6 pupils went to Brocket Hall for a golf festival as part of Brocket Hall Golf Club’s GOLFA scheme
- 2 coaches from Brocket Hall visited Green Lanes to deliver an indoor golf session for the Year 4 classes
- 10 Year 6 pupils attended a basketball tournament at Stanborough and finished in joint second place
It has been fantastic to see so many children representing the school with enthusiasm, teamwork and determination. We are looking forward to another exciting half-term of sport ahead.
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We are pleased to announce that we will be holding our Autumn Term APDR Review Meetings weeks commencing 23rd and 30th November 2026.
These meetings are an important opportunity for us to:
- Review your child's progress since our last meeting
- Celebrate their achievements this term
- Update their support plan based on their current needs
- Set new targets for the remainder of the summer term
- Answer any questions you may have
How to book your appointment: Please use the link to book a convenient time for this meeting: https://greenlanes.schoolcloud.co.uk/
Before the meeting
Please take the time to note down:
- Any progress or changes you've noticed at home
- Questions or concerns you'd like to discuss
- Your child's views about their learning and support (we'd love to hear their voice!)
We look forward to working with you to support your child's continued progress.
Kind regards,
Miss Russell
Assistant Head & Inclusion Lead
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Natasha Devine, who will be running the Incredible Years Parenting Programme, will be holding a parent drop-in session in the Library between 12-1pm on Tuesday 17th November.
Please pop in if you can as she will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Just scan the QR code to book a space!
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Week commencing 9th and 16th November, Parent Consultations
Friday 13th November, Children in Need. Children can come to school dressed in whatever makes them happy!
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
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Autumn Term 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
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Christmas Dinner Day menu - 16/12/2026
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Joining Reception in September 2027
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Help stock Hatfield Foodbank this Christmas and winter
Christmas is a wonderful opportunity for pupils, staff and families to come together to support their local community. These donations can make a significant difference to local families facing financial hardship this winter.
Last year, Hatfield Foodbank provided 4,185 emergency food and toiletries to almost 9,000 adults and children across our local community. As we head into winter, demand for support remains high, and we are working hard to ensure our shelves stay stocked throughout the Christmas period and beyond.
The items currently most needed are:
- Tinned meat
- Tinned spaghetti
- Tinned tomatoes
- Tinned vegetables
- Pasta sauce
- Tinned fruit
- Tinned custard
- Tinned rice pudding
- Long-life fruit juice
- Tea & coffee
- Toiletries
All donations should be unopened, in date and in good condition.
Thank you for your continued support of Hatfield Foodbank. Every tin, packet and donation helps local people facing difficult circumstances.
With warmest wishes,
Jan Biggs
Co-Manager, Hatfield Foodbank
Foodbank Telephone Number: 07504 627359
Hatfield Foodbank
Gracemead House
Woods Avenue
Hatfield
AL10 8HX
For Sat Nav use AL10 8EW
Registered charity number 1174288 (England & Wales)
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An exciting NEW Table Tennis club is Launching at Monk's Walk in 2027 with Taster sessions starting this November.
Friday's after school have just got a lot better..... Come and play Tablet Tennis at our New Community Club.
Based in the Hall at Monk's Walk School, Knightsfield, AL8 7NL
All standards welcome with sessions for Under 11, Under 16 and Adults.
You can register interest using the google form below
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/7N8U0q3R6H
Age Groups
Be part of it from the beginning and get involved.
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