Happy New Year
Welcome back to the new term and to 2026 at Holly Park. I would like to thank you on behalf of myself and the staff for the gifts we received at the end of term. May I wish you a happy and healthy 2026. You will have received this week a leaflet of key dates (via e-mail) for this term. Next week you will receive a year group newsletter explaining what the children will be learning this term.
External Clubs for Spring Term
The details for paid lunchtime and after school clubs run by external providers have been emailed out last term. Please do sign up as quickly as possible as places will be limited. There is a list attached at the end of this newsletter also. We can only provide clubs if parents sign children up to do them.
Governors
I am writing to let you know that following the meeting of the full governing body in December we have a slight change in some of our governor roles.
Clare Hegarty and Rhonda James are Co-chairs and Ally Birchall is Vice Chair
Online Safety – Parent Session Tuesday 20th January
Do you know what your child is doing on their computer or ipad? Do you know which sites are safe? Are you aware of all of the dangers of your child having a mobile phone? Are your children sending messages on x box? Is your child watching videos on Youtube? What are the dangers of Apps? What social media is suitable for my child? How much screen time is acceptable? What are the latest online dangers? On Tuesday 20th January we have paid for an outside company to come in and talk about online-safety all day with classes and also to do a meeting for parents at 9am to help parents think about keeping children safe at home on computers, ipads etc when they are playing games and using the Internet. We have run these sessions for the last few years and they have been a great success. Parents found it scary, thought provoking and extremely useful. It is very important to be one step ahead of your child as technology becomes more a part of children’s everyday lives. Whatever your child’s age or year group, the meeting will be appropriate and useful. I would urge as many parents as possible to come along to the school hall at 9am on Tuesday 20th January.
End Of Term Christmas Sing a Long
In the last week of the Autumn Term we had a very festive singalong in the hall with our Y2 classes and the Junior Choir. There were a selection of festive songs – some calm and gentle, some more jolly and raucous! Year 2 particularly enjoyed singing the dreidel song and the Diwali song. We also enjoyed a couple of solos, duets and some fun with bells, reindeer and inflatable instruments! Well done to all of the children and a big thank you to Miss Halil.
Spanish Penpals
At the end of last term, Year 6 wrote some pen pal letters and Christmas cards to the children in a Spanish school in Santander, Spain called Cabo Mayor School. Just before Christmas, Ms Echanove made a visit to Spain for the holidays and delivered the letters and cards to the school. She has brought back letters from the Spanish children for Year 6.
Snow and icy Weather
As always as we move into the New Year, there will inevitably be a higher risk of inclement weather, linked with the possibility of school closure or later opening. In the event of heavy snowfall, parents should check for closure notices on the school website, as well as looking out for emails and texts from the school. Any decision to close is not taken lightly. We make decisions that we think are for the best at the time for our school and our circumstances and at the heart of everything is the health and safety of the children in getting to and from school, the safety of staff and ensuring there is adequate supervision. Decisions are made with senior staff, the chair of governors and other local Headteachers. Every school in Barnet is different due to location and also where staff travel from. For various legal reasons, we are not able to grit the pavements outside the school – our responsibility is for the school site only. However, the council have provided a grit bin opposite the school which parents are very welcome to use to grit the paths and entrance outside the school gates in icy weather. Please do make use of this. We will also send out a text if necessary to ask for a group of volunteer parents with shovels to help Mr Reid clear paths – this has been very helpful in the past. There is also the possibility of a late opening during snowy weather to ensure the grounds are prepared and also early closing – should more snow fall be forecast. Please note that we do not provide online work if the school closes for a day – this is in line with our blended learning policy. Online activities (probably seasonally related to snow) will only be provided from the second day of any closure. We would hope that on the first day of snow that children go outside and enjoy the snow experience. Please be assured that we always have the health and safety of the children uppermost on our mind. We continually risk assess, consider and evaluate what we do in snow and icy weather. Thank you for your support in advance with what inevitably is always a difficult and stressful time.
Letting Our School Hall
Over the past couple of years we have been letting out our school hall at weekends for all kinds of events including parties. We also hire the hall out after 6pm on weekdays for clubs and groups e.g Karate. All lettings are booked through a company called ’Sharesy’ If you would be interested in having a birthday party in the school hall you can book this through the Sharesy website. Booking can include the main hall, the dining hall, the Astro ball area or the playgrounds. If you would be interested in hiring a part of the school for an event you can go to: https://www.sharesy.com/v/holly-park-primary-school
Interviewing an Author at the British Library – Katherine Rundell
Miss Sampson arranged a special trip for some Year 5 and 6 children to visit the British Library. The children attended a talk given by multi-award-winning author Katherine Rundell about wondrous and mysterious maps in fiction and her newly released book in the ‘Impossible Creatures’ series. Ahead of the visit, the children gathered together questions they had for the author on the day. Holly Park was chosen to have two children to represent all other schools and to interview Katherine Rundell. Alex and Viyana did a fabulous job. The interview was live streamed and shown in schools across the country. Our Y5 and Y6 children watched the live stream in the hall. There was an almighty cheer when they saw Alex and Viyana on screen. The children had lunch at the venue and took some time to explore the library further. What a fabulous experience!
Telephone Calls
I would politely request that parents are mindful of how they speak on the phone when they call the school. We appreciate that at times parents can be unhappy or annoyed about something that may have happened. However, shouting, ranting, swearing and slamming the phone down on the person at the other end who is only trying to listen and to help is not the way forward. It is unacceptable for office staff to receive calls like this. If parents cannot call and be civil, they should wait to call later when they can speak with calmness, politeness and respect. Thank you.
Attendance
Whole school attendance for the last week was 92% Well done to Year 2 Rowan Class with the best attendance at 98%.
Dates
- Friday 16th January Y3 spelling and phonics meeting for parents at 9am
- Monday 19th January Y6 meeting about sex and relationship education 9am
- Tuesday 20th January Online Safety Meeting for parents at 9am
- Tuesday 20th January HPS Online safety day
- Thursday 22nd January Y3 trip to the Temple at Neasden
- Friday 23rd January Y2 Great Fire of London Day
- Friday 30th January Parent meeting – Character Education via Zoom 9.30am
- Monday 2nd February Annual House Challenge
- Wednesday 4th February Meeting for Y4 parents about the Y5 residential 2026
- Thursday 12th February Cross Country
- Friday 14th February End of Half term at 3.30pm
KS1 External Clubs Spring Term 2026
Mondays e.Assistant Game Design (Y2 only) Lunchtime Booking: www.eAssistant.co.uk select: ‘Clubs’ then ‘Holly Park’ 077 4849 3383
Mondays Football (Y1 and Y2) Non-Stop Action After School Booking: https://nonstopaction.co.uk/ 02084460006
Tuesdays Chess (Year 2 Only) FINCHLEY CHESS MOVES Lunchtime Y2 Booking: Email: johnfleetwoodj@aol.com
Thursdays Gymnastics Vicky RG Academy Lunchtime Booking: 07725818655 info@vickyrgacademy.co.uk
Fridays Art, Karate Art Club Karate Club After School After School Booking: 07741126151 Booking: info@kaishikarateschool.com Tel 0787 550 1674 www.kaishikarateschool.com https://www.facebook.com/SheenaK aishikarate/
KS2 External Clubs Spring Term 2026
Mondays Street Dance & Game Design e.Assistant Game Design Dance Wright Lunchtime After SchoolY3/4/5/6 Booking: www.eAssistant.co.uk Booking: select: ‘Clubs’ then ‘Holly Park’ 07482693890 077 4849 3383
Tuesdays Chess & Tag Rugby FINCHLEY CHESS MOVES Serge Betsen Lunchtime After School Booking: Email: johnfleetwoodj@aol.com Booking: 2034414360 contact@sergebetsenrugby.com
Thursdays Gymnastics Vicky RG Academy Lunchtime Booking: 07725818655 info@vickyrgacademy.co.uk
Fridays Karate, Football, Art Non-Stop Action Art Club (Y3,4,5)
After School
After School Booking: https://nonstopaction.co.uk/ Booking: 07741126151 02084460006
Karate Club After School Booking: info@kaishikarateschool.com Tel 0787 550 1674 www.kaishikarateschool.com https://www.facebook.com/SheenaKaishikarate/
- There is a facility to translate this newsletter and the whole school website at the bottom of the website home page.
Introduction letter – September 2025