Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been another fun filled week at Hamstel Infants as the children enjoyed lots of exciting activities alongside their learning!
All of the children have been brilliant but the real superstars of this week must be our Year 2 leavers who lit up the school with their ‘Eddy the Penguin saves the World’ leavers show. On Monday they performed to the whole school for their dress rehearsal and after a super run they were ready to greet two huge audiences on Tuesday and Wednesday where they wowed the crowd with brilliantly performed shows. The narrating was full of expression, enthusiasm and clearly told storytelling, the acting was funny and bang on point with everybody being in the right place at the right time and the singing from each class individually and as a whole group was absolutely amazing! The children all thoroughly deserved the cheers, claps, whoops and whistles that they all received as they proved that all of the time spent making props, rehearsing lines, practicing songs and organising costumes was well worth the effort! Of course, a huge thank you to all of the staff that have prepared the children so well for this outstanding performance and a big thank you to everybody who came along to support the children in this, their last performance at Hamstel Infants!
The week ended with some of our class parties, where some extremely dubious dance moves and singing were evident and the last of our parent events as we welcomed Nursery parents in for the delightful teddy bears picnic this afternoon. We hope everybody had a fabulous end to our last full week before the holidays.
Next week, we have the last of our class parties to look forward to and on Tuesday we will hold our special final celebration assembly where we will be finding out…the winners of our sports day, the class and children with the best attendance, and the classes of the year! We will also sadly be saying goodbye to some of our wonderful team as they move on to different and exciting life experiences… I will share more about this in my end of year letter next week.
But for now, I hope you all have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing the children on Monday, for the last two days of this academic year.
Scott Roche
Principal
A polite request
As lovely as they are, please can we respectfully ask that children only have one small keyring on their school bag to identify their bags more easily. We have had a number of children coming into school with huge bunches of key rings attached to their bags, which are not only causing storage issues but are also starting to be the cause of some minor arguments between the children.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Scott Roche
Principal
Jump to a section...
Summer 2 Diary Dates - Nursery - Rainbow & Starlight - Reception - Year 1
Nursery
This week we have enjoyed listening to bear stories as we had our Teddy Bears picnic on Friday which the children really enjoyed. Thank you to the grownups who were able to join us.
In Maths we have been recapping on what we have learnt this year and practising one more and one less than.
In PSHE we have been thinking about what we have enjoyed doing at Nursery and what we have got better at.
REMINDER: Tuesday 22nd July is our end of year party.
Children can come to Nursery in party clothes.
We will be sending wellies home on Monday, you might want to send in a carrier bag for these.
Rainbow & Starlight
Rainbow
This week the children have been listening to the story 'The Rainbow Fish' learning about sharing and friendship and how we can be kind to our peers. The children have enjoyed working in pairs, taking turns and being understanding.
The children have decorated some undersea creatures and looked at the Zones of Regulation. Participating in a Matching game and showing their understanding of feelings and emotions. The children have enjoyed playing in the garden as a group, learning to respect and be considerate of others, learning to be mindful of others personal space.
RWI: Random Letters
Maths: Review and revise
Starlight
This week we have been reading the book ‘Fidgety Fish’ by Ruth Galloway. We discussed what it means to be fidgety and talked about times when we have felt this way. We looked at the Fidgety Fish character throughout the story and identified the different emotions that he was feeling during his adventure.
In maths, we recapped 2D and 3D shapes and looked at making patterns. The children enjoyed exploring the 2D and 3D shapes.
In art, the children made underwater patterns; we placed paper on top of vegetable oil mixed with coloured water to make abstract art. WE also made bubble pictures by blowing through straws into a paint/washing-up liquid mixture. The pictures produced were amazing!
In PSHE we learnt how to cross roads safely (with an adult.) We discussed using a crossing, if possible, the need to look both ways, to listen carefully and only crossing the road when there is a big gap in the traffic.
REMINDER: Please can you send in a strong carrier bag so we can send home your child’s work.
We look forward to seeing you on Monday at 2:30pm for our tea party (we hope you like jam sandwiches!) and celebrating your lovely children’s year.
Reception Year
This week our theme has been ‘I’m a Superhero’ and we have been reading the book ‘Super Duper You!’ We have been thinking about how we are special and the ways in which we are ready for Year 1. In literacy we have been writing sentences about our beach trip.
In PSHE we have been learning about how to keep safe online and know that we should always ask permission from a grown up before going online.
In RE we have been learning about caring for our world and talking about what we can do to help the Earth.
On Friday we enjoyed our class parties and took part in lots of dancing and party games.
How to help at home
Reading: all the RWI books will be collected in before the summer break. Continue to read lots of stories to your child over the summer holiday and visit your local library and join the summer library challenge.
Handwriting: continue to practise all the letters, remembering to start and finish in the right place.
Maths: continue to count to 20 and beyond and count different groups of objects.
Letters sent home this week
Year One
This week in literacy the children have written a letter to their new teacher telling them all about themselves. The children worked very hard to showcase their amazing writing and the skills they have learned across the year.
In maths we have continued to review the Year 1 curriculum. The children have played money bingo, made models out of 3D shapes and consolidated their understanding of volume and capacity.
On Wednesday we enjoyed a whole day of Design and Technology where the children got to make various mechanisms linked to the seaside.
Finally, we got to enjoy our class parties to finish off a fantastic year!
Letters sent home this week
Year Two
Well, what a week Year 2 have had! The children certainly did themselves and all the staff proud with their amazing performances this week! We hope you loved the singing, acting, narrators and some of the sassy dance moves just as much as we did!
Dinner menu
Week 2
Monday - Beef Bolognaise & Penne Pasta Bake - Vegan Bolognaise with Spaghetti - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans - Cheese Sandwich - Ham Salad Wrap - Cauliflower & Green Beans - Maryland Cookie
Tuesday - Caribbean Chicken & Sweet Potato Curry with Steamed Rice - Vegan Aubergine & Courgette Tagine with Cous Cous - Pasta with Squash & Tomato Sauce - Egg Mayonnaise - Cheese Salad Wrap - Carrots & Peas - Apple Flapjack
Messages from the Office
Arbor – Our New Communication, Booking and Payment System
All families have been sent a letter via email with details of the new platform we will be using from September. This will replace ParentPay. However for the remaining few weeks of term, please continue to book items in the usual way through ParentPay.
Arbor will be used for all communications and payments and will be the way in which you book or pay for after school/breakfast club, trips, clubs, and nursery meals from September. We will provide an update when bookings are open on the new system and aim to have it available for breakfast and after school clubs from Tuesday 26th August.
Community Information
The Kite Festival - Southend
Follow the link for more information on a super exciting free family event taking place for the first time along Eastern Esplanade.
Reporting a Parking Issue
Following on from Mr Roche's message regarding parking issues all Southend City residents can report parking problems to the council using the website - link provided below. Please note you will need a MySouthend account to use this.
Key Dates for Autumn Term
September 2025
- Tuesday 2nd - Year 1 and Year 2 return to school
- Tuesday 9th - Reception Curriculum Meeting 9.05am or 2.30pm
- Wednesday 17th - Flu Immunisations
- Tuesday 30th - Reception Phonics Workshop 9am
October 2025
- Friday 3rd - Individual photos
- Thursday 23rd - Reception Handwriting Workshop
November 2025
- Monday 10th - Odd Socks Day
Credits:
Created with images by splitov27 - "Notebook with black leather cover and pen on yellow background" • 78art - "PTA活動に参加する" • a_korn - "Closeup calendar page with drawing-pins"