Hamstel Infant School & Nursery Weekly News

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Monday we held our annual ‘We are Artists Day’ where the children had a fantastically creative time creating their underwater themed artwork using a range of neon coloured art pastels, pens and paints. You may be wondering why we went for the underwater theme… well this is because we also linked this event to World Oceans Day, a day celebrating the need to protect marine environments from threats like pollution, climate change, and overfishing. We hope to create an amazing ultraviolet gallery of the children’s superb work for you to visit during our open evening on Monday 13th July. On Wednesday, the children looked so smart as they sat sensibly with their best smiles, for their class photographs. We can’t wait to see the final results! The weather really impacted some of our plans this week as we had to cancel our Year 2 beach visits for the second week running. We are aiming to try again on Monday but the weather again looks very changeable but ever the optimists, our fingers are firmly crossed that we can finally complete this visit.   We also had to postpone some of our Reception parent visits to outdoor learning this week, although we did manage to squeeze in three of the four classes who had a great time working with the children and Mrs Shine outdoors. Thank you for your understanding around any postponements of recent weeks. We will of course endeavour to try and catch up as many of the rain-affected events as we can before the end of term. Next week it’s our Sports Days… for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 these take place on Wednesday and for Nursery it’s on Thursday. Please refer to our letter sent earlier in the week for specific details. The children have been practising their sporting skills and are eager and ready to show you what they can do. We look forward to seeing you there!   This week we also launched our sponsorship campaign based around the visit of Commonwealth gymnast, Courtney Orange, who will be visiting the school on Monday 22nd. As well as delivering an assembly to inspire our children, Courtney will also be aiming to get the children moving during some short high-energy exercise sessions…it should be great fun!! On Monday, the Friends of Hamstel will be running their Father’s Day pop up shop. Please don’t forget to send the children into school with £2.50 in a named envelope if they would like to purchase a gift. It was also great to be able to share your children’s new classes and class adults for next year. This exciting news means we can start introducing the children to the key staff that will play such a huge part in their lives next academic year…exciting times indeed! Just a reminder that next Friday 19th June, is an Inset Day so no children will be in school. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday and here’s hoping for a drier week ahead! Scott Roche Principal

Weekly Celebrations!

Attendance

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Summer 1 Diary Dates - Nursery - Reception - Rainbow & Starlight Year 1 - Year 2 - Lunch Menu - PTA - Messages from the Office - Community

Nursery

This week our NELI story has been ‘Firefly home’. The children have enjoyed exploring and creating their own maps. In maths we have continued exploring and naming 3D shapes. In PSHE we have been thinking about what makes us unique, talking with our friends about what we like and dislike. The children enjoyed taking part in the ‘We are Artists’ day and enjoyed creating different fish pictures.  How to help at home NELI special words: lost, spot, fly, fast Nursery rhyme of the week: Mary had a little lamb  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPN1GQvGBew Fred Talk games https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/BzEUNn3O/jzNGBfVO https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/X10pGbPi/l057vr08

REMINDER: Sports day Thursday 18th June Please bring your child in wearing shorts, a tshirt, trainers and a named sunhat . As the weather is getting warmer and the children will enjoy spending more time in the garden, please ensure that your child brings a named hat to nursery and that you apply suncream before they attend their session. Could you please ensure that your child has a spare set of clothes at nursery and if you have borrowed any clothes could you please return them. Thank you.

Letters sent home this week

• Nursery - Sports Day Details - 11.06.2026
• Nursery - Library Visit Letter - 09.06.2026

Reception

This week we have continued reading ‘Supertato’ and learning to write a description of what is happening in one of the pictures in the book.  In PSHE we have continued thinking about why we are unique and special, this week identifying our likes and dislikes and understanding that these may be the same of different to other people and that is okay.  In maths we have been learning to count objects up to 20, remembering that the last number tells us how many there are.  In RE we have been learning about the Christian creation story and exploring our role in taking care of nature.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the ‘We are Artists’ day and enjoyed creating different sea creatures.   Thank you to all the grown up’s who joined us for our outdoor learning sessions. We all enjoyed making friendship bracelets and learning about the signs of summer.   How to help at home Fine motor skills: 

1. Rip some thick card to develop hand and finger strength
2. Open and close the lid on a jar to develop wrist stability and movement

  Handwriting: practise the capital letters for the long legged giraffe letters  

Maths: Learning to Count with these fun Counting Games

Letters sent home this week

• Peacock - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Woodpecker - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Owl - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Kingfisher - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Whole School - Sports Day Information - 11.06.2026
• Whole School - Fitness Circuit - 09.06.2026

Rainbow & Starlight

Rainbow

This week, the children have continued their learning on superheroes. We discussed how Supertato might be feeling, why he helps his friends, and different ways to stop Evil Pea. The children explored alternative endings to the story and considered what might happen if Evil Pea were kind instead. As part of our learning, we also focused on building positive and lasting friendships. The children talked about the importance of respecting others, sharing, caring, and making the right choices. Through discussions and activities, they explored how their actions can affect others and how kindness helps us to be good friends. For 'We are Artists Day' the children have created some lovely seaweed artwork using an array of different colours.  RWI: Red words/ Sentence building/ CK/SH/QU/CH/THNK/NG Maths: Additions up to 10/ One more one less/  REMINDER: We are having outdoor learning on Wednesday so please dress children according to the weather.  And Rainbow Sports day will be on the 25th June at 2.15pm

Starlight

This week, we enjoyed taking part in 'We Are Artists Day'. The children decorated coral using fluorescent oil pastels and created colourful octopus and jellyfish artwork. They showed great creativity and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In English, we have been learning about the features of a recount. The children first orally retold 'The Gruffalo' before writing their own recounts, focusing on sequencing events and using time connectives. In maths, we have been learning to tell the time using analogue clocks, concentrating on o’clock, half past and quarter past. The children are becoming increasingly confident in reading and recognising these times. In science, we explored what animals, including humans, need to survive, discussing the importance of food, water, air and shelter. We look forward to welcoming you to Sports Day on Monday and hope you can join us for this exciting event.   REMINDER: Sports Day – Monday 15th 2:00-3:00pm  Outdoor Learning is on Wednesday

Year 1

This week in literacy we have been continuing with the story ‘Grandma Bird’. We looked at the features of a postcard and sequenced the story. We then wrote our own postcards from the perspective of the little boy Noi, writing to his dad about his holiday at Grandma’s house.  In maths we have been learning about capacity and volume. We have been using vocabulary such as full, empty, half full, more and less to compare. In PSHE we have been learning about age restrictions and how they are important in keeping us safe. We discussed tv shows, films and games and what the symbols mean.  In PE we have started learning how to play cricket. 

REMINDER: Outdoor Learning next week, please note Newt and Heron have changed to Monday 15th June due to sports day and inset day.  Sports Day:  Wednesday 17th June 

Letters sent home this week

• Newt - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Dragonfly - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026​
• Duck - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Heron - Transition Letter - 11.06.2026
• Whole School - Fitness Circuit - 09.06.2026

Year 2

This week in literacy, we explored recount writing by identifying its purpose and key features. The children then applied their learning by writing a recount about our exciting 'We are Artists Day'. During the day, the children got creative while learning about fascinating deep-sea creatures and how some of them produce their own light. They designed, drew, and painted their own deep-sea animals before adding glow-in-the-dark patterns to make their creations really stand out. In maths, we have been learning about time, focusing on telling the time to and past the hour within 15-minute intervals. The children have been practising reading clocks and applying their knowledge to a range of activities. We also learned about Sir David Attenborough and the important work he has done throughout his life. The children enjoyed finding out about his passion for nature and how he has helped people around the world learn more about wildlife and conservation.

REMINDER: Year 2 Beach trips- Monday 15th 

Letters sent home this week

• Year 2 - Transition into Year 3 - 09.06.2026
• Whole School - Fitness Circuit - 09.06.2026

Support Our School with Easyfundraising!

Our PTA is using Easyfundraising to help raise money for our school and you can help too, simply by doing your everyday shopping online! It’s completely free to use and takes just a minute to get started.

1. 🛒 Here’s how it works: Visit our fundraising page here
2. Click “Support this cause” and create your free account.
3. Start your online shopping at your favourite retailers (like Amazon, Argos, Tesco, M&S, Just Eat and many more!).
4. The retailer sends us a free donation at no extra cost to you!

It’s an easy way to support our school while doing what you’re already doing online. Every penny raised goes directly towards enriching the learning experience for our children from new equipment and resources to fun events and activities. Please take a moment to sign up and share the link with friends and family too!

Messages from the Office

Parking around the school

Have you spotted unsafe, illegal and inconsiderate parking near to the school at drop off and collection times? As a citizen if you see problem or illegal parking you can report this - the link for Southend Council is here Report a Parking Problem and the link for Essex Police is here Report antisocial behaviour | Essex Police

Arbor Hints and Tips

How to make a payment towards the Enrichment Events:

1. The payment item can be found on your child’s main profile page under ‘Quick Actions’, ‘Trips’, choose this option.
2. You will see a section 'Trips Open to (your child's name), choose School Enrichment Events.
3. Now you can view the information and on the right hand side of the page is a 'Sign up ....' button, choose this option.
4. The cost for the Spring Term events your child will be taking part in is £6.00, increase the amount to pay to this figure or you can also choose to pay the full amount.
5. You can now choose to 'Add to basket' - use this option if there are other items you want to pay for in one total transaction.
6. Or choose 'Make Payment'. You will then be asked to add your card details and confirm the payment.

If you are unable to make payments using the system after following these steps please contact the school office.

Breakfast and After School Club

To change or cancel Breakfast or After School Club you need to contact the office. Parents are unable to change/amend their own bookings. If your child is booked into After School Club or Breakfast Club, it will show on their calendar in Arbor, including the session i.e SHORT, FULL, LATE. A full week view can be seen by clicking the blue arrow in the ‘Calendar’ tab.

Are you eligible for tax-free childcare? This can be used to pay for wraparound care at our setting. Please see the information below.

Community