Newsletter

NEW AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT

Today we are officially launching our new Holly Park Appeal for the academic year 2026/27. I am excited to say that our new appeal is to buy a new screen and sound system for our main school hall. Why have we chosen the screen and sound system for the appeal? The existing projection system and sound system in the hall is very old. The screen and projection are not suitable for our assemblies, curriculum lessons, meetings and parent workshops. They can no longer be relied upon to work consistently and this causes a lot of stress for staff. Bulbs need to be replaced in the old projector at considerable cost and cleaning it out annually is complex and precarious. The projection isn’t very bright – various colours do not show up and it can appear feint and is difficult for people seated near the back to see. The sound system is far too complex for a primary school and only a small handful of staff know how to sort it out. The system is not suitable to provide what we need for high quality engagement.

What exactly would the money raised buy?

We want to change the hall system to be more modern and fit for purpose. We want to buy a video wall and separate amplifier with several inputs and Bluetooth compatibility. The total cost to purchase the new equipment will be approximately £20k and this is not something that we can afford out of a very tight school budget.

How will the money be raised?

We have secured the first £5k through an application to the Friern Barnet Education Trust and the PTA have also ear marked us another £5k from events last year. We hope to raise the rest of the money through a crowd funding appeal which begins today and we are asking for parent help and support with this to share it amongst friends and family members. There is also a sponsored screen free day as a way to allow children and pupils to help us raise the money.

Who is leading this appeal and driving it forward?

As with our last appeals, this appeal is driven by a committee of people – myself, governors, the previous PTA committee and staff – all working together for a great cause for the children. The team is led by myself and Leanne Hall who is the governor with responsibility for Income Realisation. The PTA is represented by their treasurer – Bhavini Waghela. Staff members involved include Mr Reid as Site manager and Mr Turner and Mr Carini who are Computing leads.

When will the appeal be finished?

We hope that funds will be raised by April 2027 so that the system can be installed over the Easter break. The crowd funding goes live today and is open for 6 weeks. Who will benefit from this appeal? Our school community – Holly Park children, staff and parents will ALL benefit from this appeal.

What is the next step in terms of the appeal?

We hope that everyone in our Holly Park community will engage with this appeal and see how it will be of huge benefit. The next step is to please donate to the appeal and to share the appeal with friends, neighbours and family. The further we spread the appeal the more chance we have of raising the remaining funds. Every little helps! Donate here: crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hollypark-2026

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 audiovisual 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.

Gold ARC Award

Holly Park recently gained the Gold ARC Award for our work on being a Trauma Informed School. The Attachment Research Community (ARC) is a charitable organisation set up in 2017 by virtual school heads, school leaders, psychologists, training organisations and academics, with a mission for ‘every school to be attachment and trauma aware’. In order to get the Gold Award, we needed to participate in a yearlong project leading us to understand how trauma affects children and how to support them. We were then required to share our good practice. Well done to Miss Michael and Mrs Puzey who presented at two Trauma Informed Schools conferences and our work was also shared at a Healthy Schools Celebration Event.

NSPCC

Over the past few weeks we have engaged in NSPCC lessons and workshops with the theme of ‘Speak out, stay safe’ The sessions are part of a national programme about safeguarding children. In KS1 children learned – To understand the ways a child can be hurt by others and, that it is never a child’s fault. To understand all children have the right to be kept safe and know how to get help. In KS2 children learned – To understand the different types of abuse and that abuse is never a child’s fault. To understand that children have the right to be kept safe and to know who a child can talk to if they need help.

Harvest Festival

Thank you to everyone who donated cereal for Harvest. It was taken to Food Bank Aid in Finchley who were very grateful for it. KS2 children had an assembly led by Ms Sampson and Mrs Mehtar and a volunteer from Food Bank Aid. The children sang a lovely Harvest song which Miss Halil had been preparing them for over the last few weeks. This added nicely to the Harvest assembly. KS1 and EYFS all came to look at the Harvest table and talk about where the food was going.

Just One Tree

Thank you to everyone who came dressed in green or brown today and who donated £1 on School Money. We are now a Planet hero School. Each £1 raised plants one tree somewhere around the world. By taking part in this event, we are supporting our environment

Little City – Open session for toddlers

On Wednesday 21st October, we are being visited by Little City – a wonderful interactive role play set up with marvellous resources. Children can be builders, vets, post office workers, hairdressers, shop assistants, doctors and so much more. From 9am to 10.30am we are holding an open session during our Play Group time for any toddlers in the local community to come and play. Attendees do not have to belong to Holly Park. So if you have friends, family or neighbours with children under 5 years of age please let them know they are welcome. The cost for this special session is £10 paid by card or cash.

Be Bright Be Seen Day

Our annual “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 will be on Friday 23rd October. We ask all of the children to come to school dressed in bright clothes – not just colourful – but as bright as they can find.

Black History Month – October

October is Black History month. Over the month we are having various assemblies. I will be leading an assembly about Martin Luther King and Mrs Mehtar will be leading one about Ruby Bridges. In classes all of the children will be having a guided reading session and talk time. In addition, KS2 will be participating in African dance workshops.

Attendance

Whole school attendance for last week was 98% Well done to Year 1 Chestnut Class with the best attendance at 100%.

Dates

Monday 19th October Y6 National Assessment meeting for parents at 9am
Wednesday 21st October Meeting for Y4 parents about Cuffley camp 2027
Wednesday 21st October Y1 Little City workshops
Thursday 22nd October Y6 to Imperial War Museum
Friday 23rd October Be Bright Be Seen Day
HALF TERM