Newsletter

NEW AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT

We are half way there – can you help us reach the target?

Please support us to raise £5,000 for new audio-visual equipment in the school hall. Our school community – Holly Park children, staff and parents will ALL benefit from this appeal. We hope that all of our parents will engage with this appeal. Please donate to the appeal and share the appeal link with friends, neighbours and family. The further we spread the appeal the more chance we have of raising the remaining funds. Every little helps!

Thank you to everyone who has donated already – if you haven’t- we would be very grateful if you could. Thank you.

This is the link.

Sponsored Event THE HALF-TERM SCREEN-FREE CHALLENGE GIVE UP YOUR SCREENS TO HELP US BUY OURS!

Could your children give up their screens for fun for one day this October half term?

We are challenging Holly Park children to take part in our Screen-Free Day Challenge, raising money through sponsorship towards new audio-visual equipment for our school hall. Our current projection and sound system is almost 20 years old and is no longer fit for purpose. We’re fundraising to replace it with a modern screen and sound system that can be used for assemblies, lessons, performances and events across the school.

The challenge:

Choose one day during October half term and encourage your children to give up their screens for the whole day – no TV, gaming, YouTube, tablets or phones for entertainment. Which day you choose is completely up to you. Necessary screen use is absolutely fine, and taking part is optional. We know screens can be important for communication, accessibility and family life, so this is about having fun, trying something different and discovering what else we can do with our time while raising much needed funds towards our new hall screen.

Children will bring home a Screen-Free Day Sponsor Form with plenty of ideas for things to do instead. Can you sponsor them? We’re hoping our Screen-Free Day Challenge can help us raise £5,000 towards our new hall equipment. You and your family and friends can sponsor the children per hour, for half a day or a whole day to give up their screens. Donations can be made through our fundraising page. Every little counts and will take us another step towards our new screen. Thank you for supporting the Big Holly Park Appeal!

Sponsor money can be uploaded here.

Cultural Day

As part of our work on Personal Development we will be having a Cultural Heritage Day on Friday 6th November. On this day we would encourage children to come to school dressed in clothes that represent their cultural heritage, wearing flags from their cultural heritage or colours of the flags.

The point of our day is to value the backgrounds of all of our children, to value and celebrate the diversity of our community and for children to get to know more about their class mates and their backgrounds. Knowing their cultural heritage can build children’s confidence and give them a sense of belonging.

Cultural heritage is about a person’s unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, culture, and artefacts handed down by previous generations. We absorb a sense of our heritage throughout our lives as we observe and experience the things that make our family unique.

Cultural heritage includes: cultures, customs, beliefs, rites, rituals, ceremonies, social customs and traditions, arts, crafts and music. A cultural heritage is anything that was passed down from one generation to another. The heritage passed down can be tangible, like an heirloom, location, or object. It can also be intangible, like a tradition, belief, or skill. We would like all of the children from Year 1 to Year 6 to put together a box (a shoe box is ideal) containing 6-8 items that represent their own cultural heritage. These could include: flags, religious artefacts, recipes, a photo, food items, clothing etc. Please support your child/ren to do this. The discussion about this at home will be very interesting and stimulating. The children need to bring them to school on Friday 6th November. They will have to talk about their box and the items in it. It may be a good idea to have a practice at home so that the children know what to say. The children will bring their boxes home.

‘Help Your Child Love Maths!’ Parent session for Years 2,3 and 4

As you may be aware, this year the school is working with the independent charity National Numeracy on an exciting homework project that your children have been bringing home which encourages children and families to do maths together. As part of this, the children have been bringing home a National Numeracy’s Family Maths activities and scrapbooks. This homework dovetails with our existing homework policy and children use the scrapbooks every couple of weeks.

We know that maths can sometimes seem daunting but engaging positively with children’s learning can make a big difference to both children’s and parents’ confidence with numbers. Therefore, we are inviting all parents and carers in Years 2,3 and 4 to a unique workshop, ‘Help Your Child Love Maths!’ held at the school on Tuesday 3rd November at 9am. The workshop is not a maths lesson, nor does it teach any maths, but it is focused on fostering positive attitudes towards numeracy and tips for ensuring your children develops these too. This is critical to their success in building strong numeracy skills. The session will cover the importance of maths in the real world, being positive about maths and how to boost your own number skills. In previous workshops, 96% of parents and carers said that following the workshop they felt more able to support their child with maths learning, and 96% said the workshop had given them a more positive view of maths. We hope that you take the opportunity to come along and see how you can support this exciting homework project.

Be Bright Be Seen Day

Today was “Be Bright Be Seen Day”, to raise awareness of the importance of being safe on the streets especially as the nights draw in earlier in Autumn. Children came to school dressed in bright clothes – as bright as they could find.

KS2 Pencil Cases

Children in years 3,4,5 and 6 will be bringing their pencil cases home for half term. We do this so that parents can check the equipment and can sharpen pencils, replace pens and glue sticks if they have run out. Parents can check that there are still 2 pencils, 2 blue pens and 2 purple pens. Please do check the pencil cases and return them to school after the holiday. Thank you.

Raising a Concern with the School

At Holly Park, we want parents to feel able to tell us when something is worrying them. We know that when your child is upset or something has gone wrong, it can be hard to wait, and you want it sorted quickly. We want that too. The best way to get a concern resolved is to talk to us early and in person, so we’d like to remind everyone of the correct steps to follow:

Speak to your child’s class teacher. Most concerns are best resolved here, often within a day or two. Pop in at the end of the day, or call the office to arrange a quick chat.
If you’re still concerned, speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team. They will listen, look into the issue and help find a way forward.
If it still isn’t resolved, you can email the Headteacher
After all previous avenues have been exhausted in person, you then may feel that you want to make a formal complaint in writing to the Headteacher and it will be handled under our formal complaints procedure.

Why we ask you to start with a conversation and in person

Our experience is that the great majority of concerns are resolved quickly and positively when we talk face to face. Often there is more to the story than one email can tell, and a conversation lets us understand what has happened, put things right, and keep your child at the centre of it. We can then look into matters from all angles and perspectives. A formal written complaint, especially one that opens quoting policies and legislation (of which we are aware of) or making demands, tends to do the opposite. It puts people on the defensive, slows things down, and can damage the relationships between home and school that children benefit from so much. We understand that people sometimes use AI to help word their emails. However, emails clearly using AI, sent as a first step can feel more like a confrontation than an invitation to work together, and it is not how we want to do things here. A formal complaint is the end of a process not the start. A formal complaint takes 20 working days to resolve whereas an informal face to face discussion can be resolved much faster which is much better for the child.

What you can expect from us

If you come to us with a concern, we will listen, take it seriously, be honest with you about what we find, and get back to you promptly. If we have got something wrong, we will say so and put it right. Our staff care about your children, and they work hard every day. We are always happy to talk (with an appointment made) and we’d ask that you give us the chance to do so first before turning to AI and long aggressive emails. Positive relationships with parents are important to us. Thank you for helping us keep Holly Park a school where parents and staff work together.

Maths at Home – Talking about numbers together

A free webinar for parents, carers and teachers of children aged 5-13. National Numeracy in partnership with NRICH are delighted to share a fantastic opportunity for parents and carers to join a FREE online webinar on Tuesday 3rd November at 7pm. This relaxed and friendly session, led by Liz and Charlie from NRICH, will explore simple, enjoyable ways to support your child’s confidence with numbers and maths through everyday conversations, play and family activities. You do not need any maths knowledge or expertise to join this webinar. Whether you enjoy maths, feel a little out of practice, or would rather avoid it altogether, this webinar is for you. There is no pressure and no maths test, just the chance to sit down with a cuppa, listen, and pick up some practical ideas that can make a real difference.

You’ll discover:

• Easy ways to spot maths in everyday life

• Fun activities that encourage curiosity and confidence

• Simple conversation starters to help children think positively about maths

• Tips for supporting your child, regardless of your own experience with maths

Developing a positive attitude towards numbers can have a lasting impact on children’s learning, and every parent or carer can play a part.

To register, please click here . A joining link will be sent to you closer to the event, so all you need to do is sign up and add it to your calendar.

Just One Tree Day

Thank you to everyone who supported Just One Tree Day.

School Equipment Reminder

The children need to bring to school:

✓ Reading Folders: Every child should have one of our school reading folders. These will be used to transport reading books, homework and letters to and from school. Even though your child does not read to their teacher every day, they do need to bring these folders to school every day, as they will still read at other times.

✓ Swimming Bags: Classes who are swimming will be notified in advance and will need to bring their swimming bag with their costume or trunks, towel, swimming hat and goggles (if needed) on the appropriate days. It is usually Year 4 who swim at Holly Park. We usually offer catch up swimming to Year 5.

In addition, the children will need a coat appropriate to the time of year, and if they have packed lunches they will need to bring their lunchbox every day.

There are, however, several items we do not want brought into school:

Rucksacks and other sports bags: Although they may be more fashionable, rucksacks and sports bags are too bulky to fit on our coat pegs. As a result, they often fall off, and make a mess on the floor or get lost. Everything the children need can be carried in their reading folder or P.E. bag.
Mobile Phones: Children are not allowed to bring mobile phones to school unless they are in Year 5 or 6 and walking home alone. Year 5 and 6 children bringing mobile phones need to hand them into the class teacher on arrival and collect them at the end of the day. The school cannot take any responsibility for loss or damage to mobile phones while on the school site. We are a smartphone free school and recommend that children at primary school do NOT need smart phones.
Toys or games from home: children should not bring toys cards or games in from home. This is written in the Meet the Teacher packs and is also talked about at Meet the Teacher sessions every year. Toys from home are not necessary and can get lost, damaged or stolen. This includes any sensory equipment. Children who have sensory equipment do so after a discussion with the SENCO and in liaison with the school.

Attendance

Whole school attendance for last week was 98% Well done to Year1 Chestnut Class and Year 2 Rowan Class with the best attendance at 99%.

Dates

Monday 2nd November Inset Day
Tuesday 3rd November Meeting for all parents: Maths
Tuesday 3rd November Notice for consultations Years 1-6
Friday 6th November Cultural Day
Monday 9th November Year 5/6 Bikeability all week
Wednesday 11th November KS2 Book Look 3.30-5.30pm
Thursday 12th November Individual Photograph Day
Thursday 12th November KS1 Book Look 3.30-5.30pm
Friday 13th November Meeting for all parents: Enrichment
Monday 16th November Parents in Class to Read Together 8.45-9.15am
Monday 16th November Anti-Bullying Week
Tuesday 17th November Year 5 Juniper Class assembly 9am
Tuesday 17th November Meeting for Y5 parents – Y6 residential in 2027 9.30
Wednesday 18th November Consultations for KS1 & KS2 4-6.30pm
Thursday 19th November Consultations for KS1 and KS2 4-6.30pm
Friday 20th November INSET DAY
Tuesday 24th November Year 4 Mulberry Class assembly 9am
Monday 30th November Decorations Day
Friday 4th December Reading meeting for Reception parents at 9am
Monday 7th December Nativity Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday 8th December Y3 Nativity at 2.15pm
Tuesday 8th December Nursery stay and play for new children 4-5pm
Wednesday 9th December Christmas Lunch
Thursday 10th December Y3 Nativity at 9.30am
Friday 11th December Meeting for KS1 and Y3 parents: Colourful Semantics
Monday 14th December Y3 and Y4 parties
Tuesday 15th December EYFS parties
Tuesday 15th December Y1 and Y2 parties
Wednesday 16th December Y5 and Y6 parties
Thursday 17th December Choir sing a long 2pm
Friday 19th December Term ends at 1.30pm