Latest News...

Online Parent Questionnaire and Supporting letter from Mr Jukes.
Please complete by 9th February.

Monday 23rd January 2012

Our teachers are blogging! - We have launched our Year Group Blogs! To see what it's all about and to read some of the great posts from our teachers (and pupils!) click the Year Group Blogs links at the top.

Calling Girls in Year 3 - St Albans Abbey Girls Choir is recruiting! Auditions are being held for any girl in Year 3 who loves to sing. You do not need previous choir experience. For full details, click here.

Garden Fields secure the 7-a-side County Cup! - On Saturday 14th January a group of Year 5 and Year 6 boys travelled to a school in Stevenage to take part in the County 7-a-side tournament. They were placed in a group of three. In the frosty conditions they achieved a 0-0 draw in their first game. They knew they had to better this in the second game and with a late header they secured a 1-0 win to secure their place in the final where they met a school from Stevenage. The expectations were high in the final and they didn't disappoint their parents and with another headed goal they achieved the ultimate prize of County Champions! Thank you to Mr Berman for his hard work with the boys. Having been the first team from St Albans to achieve this in over ten years they will be travelling to Greenwich in March to represent Hertfordshire in the South East competition hoping to reach the overall final of the Tesco Cup.

A reminder about safety around the school - Please ensure your child stays on the school paths when walking to and from school. This is particularly important around the Music School car park where children (and parents) have been seen cutting across the car park. This picture shows what a careless driver did to a cone in the car park recently. Parents are reminded not to drive into the school at the start and end of the school day. This is for the safety of our children.

Wednesday 18th January 2012

National Curriculum Levels - A new document (as requested by parents at the recent curriculum meetings) has been posted up under Parents - Curriculum which explains the Levels System within the National Curriculum.

Monday 16th January 2012

Parent Questionnaire - The Parent Questionnaire is available online this year. Click here for more information and to complete the online questionnaire. We ask that you complete one for every child you have at GFS. If you have any queries, please contact the school office. The deadline to complete the questionnaire is 9th February.

Year Group Newsletters - If you were unable to attend the curriculum meetings last week, you can access the Year Group Newsletters under Parents - Newsletters. Please take a look at these as they contain important information about each year group.

Friday 13th January 2012

Well done to our Year 5 Quiz Team! -
A group of Year 5 children represented Garden Fields on the 12th January in the Semi-Final of the Science Quiz Club competition. This took place in Hanwell, West London at Hobbayne Primary School. The four children demonstrated outstanding Science knowledge with many of the questions based on the curriculum taught at Secondary School. The children competed against nine other schools from areas in London and Buckinghamshire. The contest was very close and tense eventually with the winner being decided on the last question. We finished a creditable fourth! The school are very proud of their performance and how impeccably they represented Garden Fields.

Newsletter - Catch up with the latest news from Mr Jukes in the January newsletter (Issue 15) now available in Parents - Newsletters.

Curriculum Meetings - Thank you to all the parents who attended our curriculum meetings this week. We hope you found them useful. If you were unable to attend, you can find the presentation (containing some useful links) on the Parents - Newsletters page. The year group newsletters will also be posted up there soon!

Important Dates - Don't forget to reqularly check the Important Dates box on the right and add the dates to your diary!

Tuesday 10th January 2012

Curriculum Meetings this week - We look forward to seeing parents at the curriculum meetings this week. All meetings will be held in the GFS hall. If you are unable to attend, please check the website for newsletters/handouts after the meetings.

Gymnastics Day - Last week Mrs Johnson (our PE Support Subject Leader) organised for Steven Lee, a former member of the British gymnastic team, to visit us for the day. He spent time with some of the children showing them exercises they could do on their own at home or at school. Some lucky pupils were then wowed by a gymnastic demonstration helped by some of our children. To see some pictures taken on the day, visit our Gallery.

Thursday 5th January 2012

Monday 19th December 2011

Merry Christmas! - Wishing everyone a restful Christmas holiday and a happy new year from everyone at Garden Fields School! The Spring term starts on Wednesday 4th January 2012.

Garden Fields is Blogging! - Last term we introduced blogging to our Year 4 classes. Mrs Cooper and Mrs Watson did a great job leading the blogging and the children posted some interesting and fun blogs as well as some great pictures. Look out for your year group blog in the new year! In the mean time if you would like to find out what it's all about or to read some of our Year 4 blogs, click the Year Group Blogs link on the top navigation bar. If you have any comments, please speak to Mr Jukes or email webmaster@gardenfields.herts.sch.uk.

Double Bass Lessons - St Albans Music School is currently offering Double Bass lessons. For more information please click here.

Are you doing your last minute shopping online or thinking about January Sales already? - Great to see more people have registered to raise money for the school PTA! We have currently raised a fantastic £88.51! If you are shopping online, why not help raise money too. It won't cost you a penny and all it means is an extra couple of clicks before you visit your normal online retailer in the usual way. There are over 2000 retailers (such as M&S, Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and HMV) and you can earn the school up to 15% every time you shop. Click the link to see how easy it is to register and start raising money now. Thank you!

Tuesday 13th December 2011

Tomorrow is Non-uniform day! - Don't forget tomorrow children can come into school wearing non-uniform. Come in wearing festive red and white to tie in with our Where's Wally Day and Christmas Dinner! Children will also be treated to a showing of Jack in the Beanstalk.

Class Logo Designers - Well done to all the children who entered the Class Logo competition and especially to the winners. You will see the class logos used around the school and on the website on the Staff and Classes page.

Check out new photos in the Gallery! - New photos taken from some recent events are now available under Our School - Gallery or by clicking here.

Have you given your view of Garden Fields? - Parent View is a new OFSTED run website allowing parents to give views about the school their child attends. By completing a series of 12 questions, the information will help OFSTED in making decisions about which school to inspect and when. By sharing your views, you'll be helping your child's school to improve. You will also be able to see what other parents have said about your child's school. Click the link below to access Parent View.

Monday 12th December 2011

Final House Points Scores for this term - Children in the winning house can come to school in non-school uniform on Thursday. Well done Townsend!
Townsend - 435... Winners!
Waverley - 432
Harpenden - 431
Batchwood - 395

Spaces still available for Mini Medallists Holiday Fun - Sign your child up for some sporty fun on two one-day sessions at Garden Fields School. Sessions will be held on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th December. Visit their website mini-medallists.co.uk for more details. To book a place, please contact neil.kateley@mini-medallists.co.uk Tel: 07989 434788 (NOT the School Office!). Please note that the session will be held in the school gym in the event of poor weather.

Newsletters - Catch up with the latest news from Mr Jukes in the December newsletter (Issue 14) now available in Parents - Newsletters.

Are you doing your last minute shopping online? - Great to see more people have registered to raise money for the school PTA! We have currently raised a fantastic £87.89! If you are shopping online, why not help raise money too. It won't cost you a penny and all it means is an extra couple of clicks before you visit your normal online retailer in the usual way. There are over 2000 retailers (such as M&S, Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and HMV) and you can earn the school up to 15% every time you shop. Click the link to see how easy it is to register and start raising money now. Thank you!

Wednesday 7th December 2011

Thank you from the PTA! - The PTA would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to the fair on Saturday and supported us, particularly those who gave up their time to help out before, during and after. The fair was a great success and everyone had lots of fun! A selection of photos are available on the Gallery page which really sum up the great atmosphere of the day. The PTA will shortly announce how much we raised!

Thursday 1st December 2011

PTA Christmas Fair this Saturday - Come along to join in the fun this Saturday between 12 - 3pm. Everyone is welcome so bring your family, friends and neighbours! For a full list of attractions, please take a look at the Christmas Fair Programme.