Hamstel Infant School & Nursery Weekly News 5TH december 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a great week it’s been – full of excitement and amazing opportunities for our children to enjoy!   On Wednesday, Enzo the Elf came to school to visit a very thrilled playground of children. Enzo was here to promote our physical activity during playtimes and he certainly got the children moving around with the excitement and fun he generated. A big thank you to Southend Sports Partnership (and Santa) for letting Enzo leave his busy Christmas timetable to visit us.   Yesterday, our KS1 children enjoyed a fantastic performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ ballet performed in our school hall. With its festive theme, this was the perfect way for our young children to witness this often-unexperienced form of dance and they were simply mesmerised with this beautiful production. Mrs Packer, our chair of Portico trustees, also came to see the performance and took the time to compliment the children for their amazing behaviour and respect shown to the performers, which was also reiterated by the dance company as well. A big well done to Miss West for organising this unique experience for our children, we hope they all enjoyed it and came home buzzing after school.    With just two weeks to go we are now in full festive mode and we still have so many things to look forward to as the end of term fast approaches…   Next week it’s time for our younger children to shine as they prepare to perform their eagerly awaited nativities. Reception start the week with a dress rehearsal to the whole school on Monday, before performances to parents, family and friends on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  While our youngest superstars in Nursery, are ready to perform three times during the week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Please refer to the information that came out to each year group for more details but we hope to see you there and I am sure you won’t be disappointed!   On Thursday next week, we also have our Christmas dinner, where the children will be the special guests as the staff serve them their delicious meal with all the trimmings. Thursday is also our Christmas jumper day, so we look forward to see some amazing festive outfits on show!   Of course, we haven’t forgotten about KS1 who have a very busy last week of term with our Year 1’s preparing for their Christmas crafts on Thursday 18th and Year 2 busy rehearsing the songs for their traditional Christingle performances on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th December.   Will we even have time to fit in a visit from Santa?   Well… the word from Enzo the Elf was that Santa is planning to visit Hamstel Infants during the last week of term where he hopes to bring a small pre-Christmas gift for each of our children. Let’s hope he makes it in time and doesn’t get snowed in at the North Pole or stuck in roadworks somewhere around Southend!   Whatever you’re doing, I hope you enjoy the weekend, and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday!   Scott Roche Principal

Weekly Celebrations!

This week we were focusing on Team Working.   Earning certificates were Ruby W & Everly (Hedgehog), Levi & Buddy (Otter), Alfie & Poppy (Fox), Ali & Lizzy (Squirrel), Alice & Hugo (Duck), Jake & On Ting (Heron), Ben & Anabia (Newt) and Albert & Oakley (Dragonfly). Among the many great reasons for earning certificates, these children demonstrated;  ·         Working well with peers ·         Helping to keep the table and classrooms tidy ·         For being helpful to others ·         For being a supportive learning partner ·         For taking it in turns   Our Going for Gold stickers for earning 20 or more dojos this week went to Joe, Ruby, Harry, Clara, Ashvika, Niccolo, Jack, Savannah, Ellie, Beau, Lainey and Phoebe. Harry reached gold three times to earn himself a special principal award.   This week the Golden Stars for the classes with the most dojos, went to Newt class again in Year 1 and Otter class in Year 2.   We always love WOW moments and this week we had some brilliant ones…well done to Joe (football man of the match), Thea (superb poetry), Clara (super maths work at home), Jake (rugby brilliance), Uthman (learning and sharing Arabic with the class) Eloise (great maths at home), Isaac & Theo (excellent diary writing). All fabulous reasons to WOW everybody and really showcasing the talented children we have at Hamstel Infants.   Well done to all our winners of the week!

Attendance

Our attendance took a hit again as lots of children continue to fight off coughs, colds and tummy upsets. We recorded 92.9% this week, which is still below our 95% target. This week our attendance awards went to…

• Kingfisher class who recorded a great 95% to win the attendance cup in Reception
• Heron class also hung on to the attendance cup in Year 1 but this week also had to share it with Duck class. Both classes recorded a brilliant 98.7%, the best attendance in the school
• In Year 2, Fox class registered an equally fabulous 98.1% to win back the Year 2 attendance cup

Interestingly, a large percentage of our absence this week was caused by reasons other than illness such as unauthorised holidays and a whopping 10% where no reason at all was given. It is very important that you let the office know why your child is absent and remember, if you are unsure, don’t forget that you can always speak to our team for advice about whether to keep a child off school. Get well soon if you’ve been unwell this week – hopefully we will see you on Monday!  

Jump to a section...

Autumn Term Diary Dates - Nursery - Reception - Rainbow & Starlight - Year 1

Year 2 - School News - Dinner Menu - PTA - Messages from the Office

Key Dates for Spring Term - Community

Nursery

This week we have been learning about why Christians celebrate Christmas and enjoying our story ‘Jesus Christmas Party’. We have also been busy rehearsing our Christmas Nativity.  In maths we have been practising counting objects from a larger group and talking about 2D shapes.  We have been practising drawing handwriting patterns. 

REMINDER: You will need to apply for a school place If you have a child born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 you can apply now to start school September 2026. Apply via the link below  

Reception

This week we have been very busy rehearsing and preparing for our Christmas nativity performance. In class we have been reading the book 'The Nativity Story' and learning about why Christians celebrate Christmas.  In PSHE we have been learning to be polite, share and take turns. We have been talking about when to say please and thank you and the importance of using these words. In art we have been painting repeated patterns    How to help at home  Reading: continue to listen to your child read at least 5 times a week and encourage them to join in with the QR codes.    Handwriting: practise all the long-legged giraffe and one-armed robot letters. 

Rainbow & Starlight

Rainbow

Children have really enjoyed listening to the story 'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?' and exploring the different animals, colours, and patterns in the book. They have also been learning about the various sounds animals make and have created some wonderful artwork using a range of materials to add texture.  This week we have also been learning about healthy eating and trying new foods. On Thursday, we held our Healthy Lives workshop, where the children made fruit skewers together with their parents. On Friday, we celebrated with our Christmas workshop, and everyone created lots of lovely festive items to take home. 

REMINDER: Outdoor learning on Monday. Please bring extra clothing. Hats and gloves as it will be cold.  

Starlight

In English, the children explored shape poems. They created wonderful Christmas tree–shaped poems, using their own word banks filled with descriptive and seasonal vocabulary.  In maths, we have been learning that multiplication is repeated addition of equal groups. The children have begun working on the two times table, practising recalling facts and applying their understanding in different activities.  In history, we learned about the history of the telephone. The children enjoyed discovering how communication has changed over time, and they even made their own telephones using string and paper cups to explore how sound travels.  We also had some very special experiences this week. Enzo the Elf visited our classes, and the children loved joining in with his games and dancing. We were also lucky enough to enjoy a beautiful ballet performance, which the children watched with great excitement. 

REMINDER: Outdoor learning on Monday. Please dress your child in appropriate clothing and provide a change of clothing too.    We would like to invite you to our Christmas crafts afternoon on Wednesday 17th December at 2:30pm. We look forward to seeing you! 

Year 1

This week we have been continuing with the story ‘The Lost Property Office’. We looked at the features of a diary entry and sequenced the story in chronological order. We used this to help us write a diary entry, pretending to be the little girl from the story who lost her teddy bear. We tried hard to include thoughts and feelings.    In maths we have been learning about positional language. We looked at queues and races and discussed who came 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th.   We also learned about left and right.  In science we have been looking at what a material is and have been investigating common materials in our everyday environment. We looked at a variety of different objects and thoughts about the materials they were made from.  

REMINDER: Outdoor Learning next week

Year 2

This week, we have been reading and performing a range of Christmas poems, looking closely at the interesting language and creative ideas the poets use. We then wrote our own poem in the shape of a Christmas tree, using our best descriptive words to make it exciting.    In maths, we have started learning about multiplication by counting equal groups and beginning to understand the 2 times table.   In history, we have been finding out more about the Victorian period. We learned about the invention of the very first telephone and explored how phones have changed over time, from old wooden models to the smartphones we use today! 

REMINDER: Costumes in a named bag by Friday 12th December. 

Support Our School with Easyfundraising!

Dear Parents & Carers,

We’re excited to let you know that our PTA is now 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!

Thank you for your continued support,

Messages from the Office

General Warning for Parents

Although we are not aware of any parents with children at our school being directly affected, please be aware that a scam perpetrated by someone who managed to join a class Whatsapp group has been brought to our attention. Please be extra vigilant when part of any group particularly if someone is trying to sell you something.

Parking around the school

Unfortunately, despite previous requests we are receiving an increasing number of concerns raised around unsafe, illegal and inconsiderate parking near to the school at drop off and collection times. Please always park respectfully and safely. That 'just be a few minutes' whilst parked on a road corner obstructing the view of other road user could cause a serious incident, which none of us want to happen. 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 We are looking into raising this issue further with the local ward councillors and other services to request support in tackling this.

Arbor Hints and Tips

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.

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