Hamstel Infant School & Nursery Weekly News

Another fabulous week for our children who got to enjoy some real hands-on experiences this week as we were joined for two days by the British Transport Police! The children were interested to hear all about the work of the police to keep people safe when using public transport and absolutely loved trying on the equipment, getting locked in the back of the police van, trying out all the features of the police cars and seeing their teachers get handcuffed! We also had a special treat when we were visited by an adorable puppy who is a police dog in training…. although they seemed a little unsure at the prospect, we were reliably informed that meeting 430 children was very good practice for experiencing the busy crowds they will need to encounter in public places. We cannot thank the police officers enough for giving up their time to give our children this wonderful experience and it was great to hear how much they had also enjoyed sharing their work with the children and how well behaved and respectful the children were…Let’s hope this can become an annual event! It was great to welcome so many parents and carers into school on Wednesday and Thursday evenings for our spring term parent/teacher conversations. Thank you to everybody that came along and for the positive comments given to us both before and after the meetings. The teachers reflected your positivity in their feedback and enjoyed having the chance to share the children’s learning and progress with you. Team Hamstel were back in action again this week as our girl’s football team took part in the football tournament at the Len Forge ground against a number of other local schools. The girls have been giving up their lunchtimes to hone their skills and the hard work paid off as they returned with silver medals having reached the final. This is our third silver medal in two weeks and shows just what great young sports people we have at Hamstel Infants…. We also can’t forget their coaches Mr Sayer and Mrs Walker who have done a great job preparing the team! Congratulations to all! The school is buzzing with anticipation for next week’s arrival of the Happy Chicks who should be with us on Tuesday. The media team have been busy interviewing across the school in readiness for this great annual event and we cant wait to see how many eggs hatch, what names they will be given and which chick will prove to be the most popular this year….although they will have some way to go to beat Geraldine from last years brood. Next week we also have the remainder of our Year 2s visiting Colchester Castle on Monday. While Friday looks to be a super exciting day with Team Hamstel in action at a gymnastics event, poetry workshops across the school and the Infant Music festival, where our choir will be putting all of their rehearsals into action as they represent our school in this prestigious annual event. Don’t forget that Friday is also Comic Relief Day where we will be wearing red to support this great charity! Never a dull moment at Hamstel Infants…. Enjoy the weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday morning! Scott Roche   Principal

Weekly Celebrations!

 Attendance

Jump to a section...

News Story - Competitions - Spring 1 Diary Dates - Nursery - Reception

Rainbow & Starlight - Year 1 - Year 2 - Lunch Menu - PTA - Messages from the Office

Spring 2 Diary Dates - Community

Nursery

This week our NELI story has been 'Cinderella'. The children have enjoyed retelling the story. We also had ballroom music that the children had fun dancing to. In maths we have been ordering objects by their size using words such as big, small, smaller, bigger etc. The children enjoyed our visit from the British Transport Police, especially sitting in the police car and van! How to help at home NELI special words: clean, beautiful, invite and fit Nursery Rhyme of the week: I’m a little teapot- https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/something-special-little-teapot Maths: Encourage your child to find objects that are either bigger or smaller than you have.

Outdoor learning – Monday Please dress your children appropriately for the weather. Also please make sure that your child has shoes to change into.

Letters sent home this week

• Nursery - Easter Crafts - 02.03.2026

Reception

This week we have been reading the book ‘Who Sank the Boat’ and writing about the characters and events in the story.  In PSHE we have started the unit on Money and Work and been learning about different jobs and thinking about why people have jobs.  In PE we have been developing our control over dribbling a ball with our feet.  In maths we have been learning to order number block images and consolidate our understanding of 8 as 5 and 3 more. In shape, space and measure we have been comparing and ordering objects by their mass, learning the words heavy, heavier, light and lightest. We all really enjoyed our visit from the British Transport Police and loved sitting in the police car and van!   How to help at home NELI special words: traffic lights, safe, dangerous, drive, how much, ticket, sell, pay, wait, early, late, arrive Handwriting: 

Nursery rhyme of the week: Row, Row, Row Your Boat - CBeebies Maths: Number bonds to 4 | Reception maths | addition - BBC Bitesize

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Summer Club Offer - 12.03.2026

Rainbow & Starlight

Rainbow

It has been another busy week for the children in Rainbow Room, learning about dimensions and correct use of language while describing these dimensions. We have also continued learning about prepositions, directions and different types of vehicles and transport used on the roads.   The children have continued to enjoy the story 'On the way home' reciting some familiar phrases and getting excited at certain points in the story.  In maths this week we have continued with subitising, one more one less, full or empty, we have looked at understanding numbers and partitions and recognising a set of counters (such as 4 or 5 counters). In English we have been looking at making short sentences and practicing our CVC words and blending, the children have really shown how much they have learnt, by participating and being engaged. 

Starlight

This week in English, the children wrote a set of instructions about how to trap a dragon. They had great fun thinking about the steps needed and using clear instruction language. In maths, we consolidated our learning on subtraction and practised using different strategies to help us find the answers. In PE, we focused on movement and balance. The children moved like different animals, including duck walks, frog jumps, elephant stomps and crab walks. We also completed a simple obstacle course where the children practised jumping, balancing, throwing and crawling. As part of our topic work, we continued learning about the features of castles. The children created their own castles using junk materials and then painted them. They were very proud of their creations. We also had a very exciting visit from the police this week. The children were able to sit in a police car and van, turn on the sirens, try on some police clothing and watch a police dog find a hidden ball.

Year 1

This week we have been reading ‘The Way Back Home’. We looked at different sections of the story and discussed how the little boy is feeling at the beginning, middle and end. We recapped the features of a diary entry including ‘Dear Diary’, using ‘From’, including feelings and emotions and personal pronoun ‘I’. We sequenced the story in the correct order and used this to write a diary from the perspective of the little boy. In maths we have been consolidating own knowledge of place value with numbers up to 40. We have been comparing greater and smaller numbers by looking at the tens and ones.  In science we have been revising our knowledge of materials. We looked at what materials are best suited for particular objects. We also did an experiment to test what would be the best material for a waterproof spacesuit! 

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Summer Club Offer - 12.03.2026

Year 2

This week, the children have been planning and writing instructions on how to catch a dragon. They used imperative verbs and time conjunctions to help sequence their writing clearly. The children had lots of fun with this creative task and produced some fantastic instructions.  In maths, we have continued our work on subtraction. The children have been learning how to rename tens and ones and have started applying their knowledge to more complex problem-solving questions.  The children also enjoyed a packed and exciting outdoor learning day. They carefully drew daffodils, worked together to build castles, and planted their own seeds ready for our science learning next week. To finish our Design and Technology unit, the children designed and built their very own castles. They were very proud of their creations and showed great creativity and teamwork.

Monday 16th March: Squirrel and Otter Class Colchester Castle Visit. Please arrive to school for 8.30am

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Summer Club Offer - 12.03.2026

LUNCH MENU

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