Extracurricular

We believe that an excellent education extends beyond the classroom. Woodside children have a rich variety of opportunities to broaden their horizons, find their passion, become leaders, and support their peers.

Each year, our Year 6 Ambassadors are voted in by the whole school following presentations to their houses. This is completed democratically using a ballot box. School Ambassadors meet at least once every half term to discuss their plans for the school and drive change.

We hold daily assemblies. Themes are determined as appropriate each term to fit in with significant religious festivals. Parents are invited in to celebrate their child's successes on Wednesday and Friday and they are notified in our weekly newsletters about these. Reception and Nursery children do not come to assemblies to begin with, but as the year progresses, Reception joins in more, ready for their transition to Year 1.

Assemblies are as follows:

Monday: 09:00am - 09:15am | Whole school assembly (HT / DHT)
Tuesday: 09:00am - 09:15am | Whole school assembly (faiths / festivals)
Wednesday: 9.00am - 9.20am | Assembly in class linked to world news
Thursday: 9.00am - 9.15am | Whole school singing assembly
Friday: 9.00am - 9.20am | Shining Star aspirations assembly

Our Eco Council helps to ensure that our school is environmentally friendly and gives pupils a platform to have their voices heard. The Eco Council discusses matters related to the environment and campaigns for change.

Our children represent the school in the Ivy Parliament, a thriving and influential body within Ivy Learning Trust. Every year, new representatives from each Ivy school are elected to join the Parliament, which gives children a voice in educational and social issues.

Pupils meet regularly to discuss current themes and decide on an action plan for the year. In the past they have written to MPs, visited the Houses of Parliament, appeared in the local press and successfully lobbied to ban single-use plastic bottles from all Ivy schools.

Children can have piano lessons through Hertfordshire Music Service and guitar lessons and violin through First Note. Please speak to the school office if you would like any more information about this.

We are fortunate at Woodside to have extensive grounds and, hidden at the edge of our field, is an outdoor classroom and forest area. All children have regular sessions of outdoor learning, developing new skills and using the space for activities to enhance their curriculum learning. They get to plant a variety of vegetables, harvesting in the Autumn.

We believe that trips and visitors bring learning to life and our children really value these experiences. They are placed at strategic points during topics and we aim to have at least one trip or visitor each term.

In Year 6, we have our annual residential trip. The children take part in a number of adventurous activities as well as learning about independence. These are always great fun and create lifetime memories for our children.