Head of Junior School’s message
Celebrating International Women's Day and Women's History Month
The month of March marks a significant time for honouring the achievements and contributions of women around the world. International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Women's History Month, which runs throughout March, serves as an opportunity to reflect on the struggles and triumphs of women throughout history and to inspire future generations.
Head of Junior School’s continued…
This morning, Dr Bagworth- Mann shared with Year 6 three inspirational women who have inspired her in different ways. We are delighted to have several parents coming into school to share their experiences and achievements; we will share more information about all the sessions in the newsletter next week.
As parents, your support and encouragement play a crucial role in reinforcing these important lessons at home. We encourage you to engage in conversations with your children about the significance of International Women's Day and Women's History Month.
Thank you for your continued support
Mrs Claire Brown Head of Junior SchoolCornflower Assembly
Friday 8 March
Friday afternoon assemblies are always a time of joy and celebration in the Junior School. Our weekly Cornflower Assembly celebrates individuals who have particularly demonstrated ways in which they have embodied our school values: Courage Curiosity Community and Ambition. We cherish our Cornflower Assemblies and hope that you enjoy celebrating with us too.
Ambition
Alaya (1 Purple)
Rachel (2 Ansuz)
Sarah (3A)
Scarlett 3A)
Ava (3 Alpha)
Shanaya (4 Aesc)
Lia (5 Aesc)
Maanya (5 Aleph)
Qaya (6 Aesc)
Thuvaraka (6 Aesc)
Marianne (6 Aleph)
Lily (6 Aleph)
Community
Anaya (Rainbow Red)
Freya (Rainbow Red)
Suzie (1 Orange)
Rosie (2A)
Lucy (4 Aesc)
Erin (4 Aleph)
Courage
Aarya (1 Purple)
Stella (2 Alpha)
Esme (3 Alpha)
Sophia (4 Aleph)
Kaashvi (5 Aesc)
Anya (5 Aleph)
Emily (5 Aleph)
Curiosity
Sybil (2 Ansuz)
Rainbow to Year 6 Information
Lunch Menu
WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 18 MARCH
Please click here to view our Rainbow and KS1 lunch menu.
Please click here to view our KS2 lunch menu.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please take some time to look at the menu with your child, in advance. If your child has any food intolerances, please ensure they understand the food choices for each day. Pupils have been reminded that there are always Allergy Champions in the serveries who they can speak to if they are unsure about appropriate food choices for them.
Snacks
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please kindly remember that, in line with government guidance, grapes or olives should be cut in half and cherries should be de-stoned if these foods are brought in for snacks. A full list of permitted breaktime snacks can be found in the Parent Information Booklet.
Attendance Policy
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Please click here to review updated Attendance Policy shared with parents on Monday 11 March.
RoyalAcademy Young Artists’Summer Show 2024
COMPETITION DEADLINE WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH
Please click here to view the letter.
Wet Weather - Uniform Reminder
REMINDER
With the wetter weather now upon us, please may we remind all families that all pupils will be outside before school and for breaktimes and lunchtimes and as such, need to wrap up warmly with their waterproof school coat, remembering that long socks or tights should be worn with winter uniform. Only school uniform colour (matching the version of uniform your child is wearing) hats, scarves and gloves should be worn; all items must be clearly named. Please click here to review the information about the new uniform phasing in plans.
Relationships and Sex Education
SPRING 2 TO SUMMER TERM
Please click here to view an explanatory letter.
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION
Design a Bookmark Competition!
CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES - NEXT MONDAY - 18 MARCH
The Junior Library are launching a voluntary competition to coincide World Book Day, inviting pupils to design a bookmark celebrating our enjoyment of reading. Pupils wishing to enter should use our entry form, which contains all the instructions and a space to design their bookmark. Entries should be returned to the Junior Library.
The entry form can be downloaded here, or hard copies are available from Junior Library during lunchtimes and library lessons.
Winners will be selected from across the year groups, and the winning designs will be professionally printed as bookmarks. These will be available for all our Junior School pupils from the Junior Library once printed.
The closing date for entries is Monday 18 March.
We look forward to seeing all the students’ ideas and sharing the winners’ designs with you all
Class and Sports Teams Photos
WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH
Class and Sports Teams photos are taking place on Wednesday 20 March. Please ensure that your daughter comes into school on that day in full school uniform, looking photo-ready. Any girls that are in sports teams should also bring in their sports kit(s) for these photos.
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION
Let's Celebrate Neurodiversity Week!
MONDAY 18 TO FRIDAY 22 MARCH
We would like to invite Junior School pupils and staff to join us in celebrating Neurodiversity Week. On Tuesday 19 March we would like everyone to wear a colourful accessory for the day to show off their wonderful uniqueness and to help spread awareness of neurodiversity.
With huge thanks to Zeph and Enora (U5) for designing this beautiful and colourful promotion poster.
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED
Family Friday
We look forward to our next Spring Term Family Friday event on 22 March, giving an opportunity for your daughters in Rainbow and Years 2, 4 and 6 to share their work and learning environment with you.
Key date:
Friday 22 March 2024 (8am to 8.30am)
Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 and Year 6, followed by Parent Talks
Classrooms will be open from 8am, please enter the school via the double doors between reception and Rainbow garden, and you are welcome to pop in any time up until 8.30am, when we will revert to normal registration and lessons. In line with our safeguarding policy, no taking of photos or filming is permitted during the Family Friday sessions.
On arrival at school, please use the car park, as opposed to the drop off lanes, and walk to the Junior School. The middle doors will be open from 8am and, from there, you will head to your child’s classroom, where you will sign in. If you have more than one child involved in the event, older siblings will collect their work and meet you in the classroom of the younger sibling.
Should you be unable to join your child, they will have the opportunity to bring home some of the work to share with you the evening before. If you would like your child to bring work home because you are unable to attend, please contact their class teacher.
Family Friday teacher-led workshops
We are continuing to offer a range of short teacher-led workshops . These will take place between 8.30am and 9am, straight after Family Friday class-based time; these will consist of a short talk followed by an opportunity to ask related questions. The workshops will be repeated in both halves of the term, and you are welcome to attend even if your daughter’s year group do not have Family Friday on that date. The programme for this half term is:
• Using Devices to Complement Learning
Spring Term (Friday 22 March 2024)
• Developing a Curious Mind
• Negotiating Friendships
If you have not yet indicated your intention to attend a workshop, please use this form to do so By Monday 18 March.
RAINBOW TO YEAR 6 INFORMATION CONTINUED
Off Timetable Week
MONDAY 25 TO WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH
Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 March is our off- timetable week. This year we have chosen to celebrate diversity and inclusion, with a focus on valuing and respecting differences in gender, race, culture, religion and the ways in which we learn. The activities we have chosen will promote the value of our individual differences in creating strong teams and communities. There will be drama and dance workshops as well as age-appropriate information sessions about different disabilities highlighting the importance of representing everyone in society. On the final day, the children will be working in houses to create performances for the rest of the school. As many of the sessions will be quite active, they will be allowed to wear their PE tracksuits for this week.
As part of this week, we would like to put together a Diversity and Inclusion online booklet to share with parents, children and staff. This will include pictures of the activities that have taken place during the week, but we’d like to extend it further to invite you to submit anything that reflects your family and community: this could be a family recipe, information about a local charity that does amazing work in your local area, photographs of one of your family/religious celebrations, a poem that you or your child loves with a theme of inclusion, a picture your child has drawn to represent the things that are important to her. You may also have other ideas that we haven’t thought of that would also be perfect for our Diversity and Inclusion booklet, so please do email over anything that you think is appropriate. Please email any contributions or questions to js-dot3d@habsgirls.org.uk by Monday 25 March
Wraparound Care & Coach Service -Wednesday 27 March
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
On Wednesday 27 March, the last day of the Spring Term, After School Care will run from 3.30 to 4pm only.
All students must either be collected from school at 4pm or use the 4.15pm coach service. There will be no 5.30pm coach service running on this day.
Wraparound Care BOOKING LINK
Please click here to book your daughter into Wraparound Care.
Parent Handbook REMINDER
Please click here to review the Parent Information Booklet for 2023/24.
Tooled Up
REMINDER
Following Dr. Kathy Weston’s visit to school earlier this term, please once again be reminded that all families have free access to Tooled Up Education, which is packed full of evidencebased resources, for parents on all aspects of parenting, education and family life. The School PIN for logging in is HGJ2009. We would ask that parents do not share this log-in outside of the Habs Junior School community.
Year 1 toYear 6
Spring TermACE - Lunch Time and Wraparound
REMINDER
All Spring Term ACE activities will end on Friday 22 March. There will be no ACE on the final three days of term.
ACE Karate
SUNDAY 17 MARCH
Please click here to view a letter from Mr Patel regarding upcoming Karate grading on Sunday 17 March. The deadline for this has now passed, but the information on timings for Sunday’s event is still available to view.
Year 1 to Year 6 ACE Summer Term
Girls in Year 1 to Year 6 will once again have an opportunity to embark on a wide range of co-curricular activities through our ACE (Additional Curriculum Enrichment) programme.
To view the activities on offer for the Summer Term, please refer to the relevant year group booklet using the links below:
Key dates
Friday 15 March
Thursday 21 March
Monday 25 March to
Wednesday 27 March
ACE booklets shared in the newsletter. Forms to register interest for Wraparound ACE open from 5pm. (in booklets and on next page)
12pm deadline for registering interest for wraparound ACE, using Microsoft Form link in booklet.
Girls register their interest at school for lunchtime ACE.
Wednesday 27 March Emails sent where places have not been allocated.
Thursday 28 March
Tuesday 16 April
Tuesday 4 June
Monday 24 June to
Friday 28 June
All ACE activities confirmed on SOCS.
All ACE activities begin.
All ACE resumes after half term.
Last Spring Term ACE sessions.
YEAR 1 TO YEAR 6 ACE SUMMER TERM
Register of Interest-Wraparound ACE
Registering interest for wraparound ACE can be done using the electronic forms contained within the ACE booklets, in the section titled Wraparound ACE Key Information. Links to the forms for expression of interest are also below:
Please take the time to review the activities on offer and express your interest for the relevant activities by 12pm on Thursday 21 March. Please note that this form does not guarantee your child a space if the maximum number of students is reached.
You will be notified by email if your child is unsuccessful in securing a place for the activities that you have selected by Wednesday 27 March.
Spaces remaining in wraparound activities will be advertised in Habs Weekly at the beginning of the Summer Term, along with details of how to sign up.
Register of Interest-Lunchtime ACE
Pupils will register their interest for lunch time activities, during the last week of this term. Please take the time to review the activities on offer with your daughter before this date.
Rainbow
Rainbow Parents Evenings
MONDAY 18 MARCH 2024
We are looking forward to welcoming Rainbow parents into school on Monday 18 March from 4pm to 6pm, for the appointments with your daughter's class teacher to discuss their progress this term. Each appointment will be 10 minutes long and these will take place in Year 1 classrooms; your child's Rainbow classroom will also be open for you to view.
Please arrive via the Junior School reception, where you will be signed in by a member of staff. We kindly ask you to make childcare arrangements so that you can attend without your children. There will be no supervision of pupils outside After School Care.
If you wish to use After School Care for supervision, you must book through the normal channels even if you are only using part of a session, remembering that this is chargeable after 4pm. We have a limit to the number of children that can be accommodated, so booking a place is essential. Please click here to book your daughter into After School Care.
The online booking system for Parents’ Evening appointments is now closed. If for any reason you need to amend your booking, please contact Mrs Karaolou directly on 0208 266 2425.
Year 1
ACE Year 1 & Year 2 Joint Performing Arts Performance
FRIDAY 22 MARCH
Parents of children in the joint Year 1 and Year 2 Performing Arts ACE are invited to attend their performance during their session on Friday 22 March from 4.15pm to 4.30pm in the PrePrep Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Habs’ Boys’ Pre-Prep Reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Pre-Prep Hall .
Year 2
ACE Year 1 & Year 2 Joint Performing Arts Performance
FRIDAY 22 MARCH
Parents of children in the joint Year 1 and Year 2 Performing Arts ACE are invited to attend their performance during their session on Friday 22 March from 4.15pm to 4.30pm in the PrePrep Hall. If you would like to attend, please come to Habs’ Boys’ Pre-Prep Reception at 4.15pm, where you will be signed in and escorted to the Pre-Prep Hall .
Morning Club (Mathletics, Word Shark and Touch Typing)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note Morning Club (8.10am) will not be running on the following dates:
Spring Term
Tuesday 19 March
Monday 25 March
Tuesday 26 March
Wednesday 27 March
Summer Term
Tuesday 16 April
Wednesday 17 April
Thursday 25 April
Friday 26 April
Year 3
ACE-Joint Junior Orchestra
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Girls attending Joint Junior Orchestra are invited an additional rehearsal. This will take place at lunch time on Monday 18 March in Classroom C in the Seldon Music Building at the Boys’ School. Please remind them to bring in their instrument on Monday
Morning Club (Mathletics, Word Shark and Touch Typing)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note Morning Club (8.10am) will not be running on the following dates:
Spring Term
Tuesday 19 March
Monday 25 March
Tuesday 26 March
Wednesday 27 March
Summer Term
Tuesday 16 April
Wednesday 17 April
Thursday 25 April
Friday 26 April
Year 4
ACE-Joint Junior Orchestra
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Girls attending Joint Junior Orchestra are invited an additional rehearsal. This will take place at lunch time on Monday 18 March in Classroom C in the Seldon Music Building at the Boys’ School. Please remind them to bring in their instrument on Monday.
Morning Club (Mathletics, Word Shark and Touch Typing)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note Morning Club (8.10am) will not be running on the following dates:
Spring Term
Tuesday 19 March
Monday 25 March
Tuesday 26 March
Wednesday 27 March
Summer Term
Tuesday 16 April
Wednesday 17 April
Thursday 25 April
Friday 26 April
Year 5
ACE-Joint Junior Orchestra
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Girls attending Joint Junior Orchestra are invited an additional rehearsal. This will take place at lunch time on Monday 18 March in Classroom C in the Seldon Music Building at the Boys’ School. Please remind them to bring in their instrument on Monday
Morning Club (Mathletics, Word Shark and Touch Typing)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note Morning Club (8.10am) will not be running on the following dates:
Spring Term
Tuesday 19 March
Monday 25 March
Tuesday 26 March
Wednesday 27 March
Summer Term
Tuesday 16 April
Wednesday 17 April
Thursday 25 April
Friday 26 April
Year 5 & 6 Swimming Gala
THURSDAY 21 MARCH
NEW
Year 5 and 6 inter house swimming gala will take place on Thursday 21 March from 10.35am to 12pm, during the school day. On this occasion, we are not inviting parents to attend. Please can you ensure that your daughter has their swimming kit and house T shirt in school on this day.
Jazz Summer School 2024
Please click here for more information.
Habs Indian Music Course 2024
Please click here for more information.
Year 6
ACE-Joint Junior Orchestra
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Girls attending Joint Junior Orchestra are invited an additional rehearsal. This will take place at lunch time on Monday 18 March in Classroom C in the Seldon Music Building at the Boys’ School. Please remind them to bring in their instrument on Monday.
Morning Club (Mathletics, Word Shark and Touch Typing)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note Morning Club (8.10am) will not be running on the following dates:
Spring Term
Tuesday 19 March
Monday 25 March
Tuesday 26 March
Wednesday 27 March
Summer Term
Tuesday 16 April
Wednesday 17 April
Thursday 25 April
Friday 26 April
Year 5 & 6 Swimming Gala
THURSDAY 21 MARCH
Year 5 and 6 inter house swimming gala will take place on Thursday 21 March from 10.35am to 12pm, during the school day. On this occasion, we are not inviting parents to attend. Please can you ensure that your daughter has their swimming kit and house T shirt in school on this day.
Year 6 Play Rehearsal
SUNDAY 9 JUNE
Thank you to those of you who completed the form confirming your daughter's availability to attend a planned rehearsal on Sunday 9 June. We have decided to schedule a full day rehearsal, which will run from 10am to 3pm with a break for lunch. Girls who can attend only a morning or an afternoon rehearsal will be able to join when they can. More information will follow next term
Jazz Summer School 2024
Please click here for more information.
Habs Indian Music Course 2024
Please click here for more information.
Tuesday 19 March, 8am to 9am Boys’Prep Hall
Neurodiversity Parent GroupCoffee Morning
Rainbow to Year 6
On Tuesday 19 March, the Individual Needs teams across the Girls’ Junior and Boys’ Prep schools will be hosting a coffee morning from 8am to 9am in the Boys’ Prep Hall. This is the first of a series of coffee mornings that we will be running that aim to share good ideas and strategies for supporting children with learning differences. Anyone who has an interest in neurodiversity is welcome to come along. In this initial meeting we will be telling you a little bit more about how we support pupils through our departments, as well as sharing the resources we use and directing you to the website Tooled Up via a video that Dr. Kathy Weston has prepared for us, signposting useful materials Home - Tooled Up Education. We also hope that this will be an opportunity for you to meet other parents. If you would like to attend this meeting, please register using the link below.
Year 3 to Year 6 Tuesday 19 March, 7pm Prevett Hall
Junior PerformingArts Evening
You are warmly invited to our Junior Performing Arts Evening, which will take place on Tuesday 19 March at 7pm in the Prevett Hall The evening is entitled 'A Celebration of Music, Dance and Drama through the Ages', and will feature the following:
KS2 Chorus - this involves every pupil from Year 3 to Year 6
Junior Orchestra
Junior Choir
Senior Choir
Brass Ensemble
Guitar Ensemble
Super Saxes
Recorder Consort (formerly Descant Recorders)
Year 3 Recorders
Golden Bones
Junior Chamber Strings
Fabulous Four-Stringers
KS2 Performing Arts Club
Joint Year 5 Performance Squad
Flamenco Dance
There will also be solo and small group items interspersed in the programme, provided by performers from Year 5 and Year 6
Please note that girls in the ensembles and the Year 5 and Year 6 solo/group performers will need to bring their instruments into school for a rehearsal on the day of the concert
For the concert itself, the Joint Year 5 Performance Squad should arrive at the Prevett Hall at 6pm and instrumentalists no later than 6.15pm, and the rest of the pupils who are taking part should arrive by 6.30pm. Pre-concert refreshments will be available for the audience in the Prevett Hall foyer. We expect the concert to end by 8.20pm.
Tickets for the evening can be reserved online using the box office from Friday 15 March at 9pm.
The box office booking link can be access via this link
There will be a limit of two tickets per family, priced at £5 each Students taking part in the concert do not need tickets. The booking form will close on Tuesday 19 March at 8am.
The dress for the evening is all black: plain black trousers or leggings and black top (with no embellishments) and plain black shoes and socks (school shoes are fine).
We look forward to seeing you at the Performing Arts Evening which promises to be a varied programme and a real showcase for all involved.
Saturday 20April
Bourne Hall, 5.15pm to 8.15pm
Habs Boys’Parents’Guild Eid in the Bourne
The Habs Boys’ Parents’ Guild are delighted to announce Eid in the Bourne, an upcoming celebratory event for the whole school community
Ticket price: Adult £20 / Child £15
Join us on this wonderful occasion that will mark the end of Ramadan and 30 days of fasting, celebrating with food, entertainment, henna, children's activities and more!
Please click the here for more information and to book tickets for this event.
Event queries: habs.eidcelebrations@gmail.com
Thursday 23 May Dining Hall
6.45pm to 10.30pm
St Catherine Parents’Guild Quiz Night
We are delighted to invite you to our Quiz Night on Thursday 23 May. Doors will open at 6.45pm with the quiz starting promptly at 8pm in the Dining Hall. The event is open to all, so please bring along family and friends.
The ticket price includes supper which will be available from 7.15pm until 7.45pm and will include vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Dessert will be available during the quiz break around 8.45pm. There will also be bar serving drinks throughout the evening and a raffle (cash and cards accepted).
Online booking is now open via the school Box Office. Tickets cost £22 per adult and will be available to book until Monday 20 May. Please note tickets will not be available on the door. This is a popular event that is advertised across both Girls’ and Boys’ Schools, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
We would encourage teams of six to be formed. When booking, please ensure you coordinate with your team to ensure you are all seated at the same table.Alternatively, you are more than welcome to book individual places at any of the available tables and take the opportunity to meet other parents from other year groups.
Raffle tickets will be on sale for a chance to win some fantastic prizes which have been generously donated by local businesses and parents at the school. If you have any prizes you would like to donate, we would love to hear from you.
We look forward to welcoming you to the quiz; in the meantime, if you have any questions, want to make a donation or wish to volunteer at the event, please email the Guild at stcatherineparentsguild@gmail.com
Rainbow to Year 6
CoCommercial Partnership Spring Camps & Activities
Limited time offer!
Quote HABS24 at checkout and get 20% off when you book this Easter with Camp Beaumont. With over 50 activities on offer, Camp Beaumont can guarantee that this Easter holiday at Haberdashers' Boys' School will be truly unforgettable! Offer valid until Monday 18 March, book your place now via this link.
Please click here to find out about our co-commercial Spring Term camps on offer at Habs Elstree Schools. For all weekday activities available, please click here.
Sunday 30 June 12pm to 4pm
JUNIOR SCHOOL CALENDAR DATES
MONDAY 18 MARCH
Rainbow Parents’ Evening 2
TUESDAY 19 MARCH
Neurodiversity Parent Group
Coffee Morning
ColourfulAccessory Day
Junior PerformingArts Evening
WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH
Class and Sport Team Photos
THURSDAY 21 MARCH
Years 5 & 6 Inter House Swimming Gala
FRIDAY 22 MARCH
Family Friday – Rainbow, Years 2, Year 4 & Year 6
Family Friday Parent Workshops
MONDAY 25 TO WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH
Off Timetable Week
THURSDAY 28 MARCH TO MONDAY 15 APRIL
School Holidays
MONDAY 15 APRIL
Staff Training Day (No Pupils In School)
TUESDAY 16 APRIL Summer Term begins
The reminder dates above cover the next four school weeks, if you require further information beyond this time frame, please refer to the school calendar on Firefly.