Newsletter

Black History Month

As part of a series of inclusive coffee mornings for parents, we were delighted to welcome our families of black heritage to a coffee morning during Black History Month. A large group of our children sang ‘Jambo Bwana’ a Kenyan welcome song. Year 5 children sang a song from South Africa. Our Year 4 classes are learning about Africa in their curriculum work. Year 4 Sycamore did an African drumming session and parents were invited to join in and have a go. Year 4 Mulberry performed an African dance routine. Parents then had the chance to stay and talk to each other in the hall over a cup of tea or coffee.

Just One Tree –Planet Hero School

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.

Remembrance Day

From Monday and after half term we will be selling Poppy merchandise at the start of each school day. The suggested pricing is £1 for the merchandise (slap bands, keyrings, bracelets) and 50p for the poppies and stickers. These have been given to us by the Royal British Legion and all sales money goes back to them.

Cross Country

On Thursday this week Holly Park took part in the Barnet Schools Cross Country event at Copthall Playing Fields. All of our athletes performed really well and showed great determination and resilience. Special mention goes to Grace in Year 5 who finished 3rd and a stunning performance by our Year 6 girls Bronagh and Demi who finished second and third respectively. Thank you to Mr Bourne and Mr Carini for all the training.

PTA – KS2 Pencil Case Replenishment Sale

All of the KS2 children will be taking their pencil cases home over half term so that you can check the condition of the equipment and replace anything required. Although we stipulated 2 pens/pencils – it is fine to have 3. The PTA have some spare equipment and will be doing a table top sale after school on Tuesday 4th November where you can buy extra pencil case items.

Harvest Festival

Advance notice that we will be holding our Harvest assembly on Tuesday 21st October for Food Bank Aid. This year they have made a special request. They would like JUST donations of breakfast cereals. This is part of their breakfast champions campaign. As cereal is a key feature of Harvest, this is the theme of the Harvest collection this term. This is a new initiative to help ensure that no child or adult in North London has to start their day hungry. I am letting you know with advance notice in case when you are doing your weekly shop over the next month that you might want to buy a breakfast cereal from time to time and put it away ready for our collection.

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 24th 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.

Read Together in Class

On Monday 3rd November, parents are invited to come into school with the children to read. The session is from 8.45am to approx. 9.15am. Parents are welcome to read to children or listen to children read a book to you. Children love to read and share books with adults. You will be reading with a small group of children. If you have more than one child you will need to decide which class to go to as there will only be time for one class. The event will be repeated in the Spring and the Summer term so there is a chance to read with your other children to. We hope that many of you will be able to visit. The event is not really suitable for toddlers to join you in the classroom.

Little City – Open session for toddlers

On Wednesday 22nd 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.

Cultural Day

As part of our work on Personal Development we will be having a Cultural Heritage Day on Friday 7th 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 classmates 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. Article 8: Every child has the right to an identity and at Holly Park we want to celebrate individual identity.

Parents Cultural Day Coffee Afternoon – Food Event on Friday 7th November 3.00pm

Let’s celebrate the different cultures and cuisines of our Holly Park families We are inviting our parents/carers to come into school on Friday 7th November for a Cultural Day Coffee Afternoon. We would like parents to come with a plate of cakes, biscuits, sweet treats or savouries from their own cultural heritage to share with other parents. It will be an informal gathering to share food from around the world with other Holly Park parents. Come and sit in the hall and enjoy tasting some cuisine from around the globe. It can be homemade or shop bought. Come and tell us about what you have made. Bring along some of your favourites to share with others. Come and try foods from other cultures that you haven’t tried before. Our only request is that there are no nuts in the food. Please do try to come along and to bring some food to share and enjoy a lovely event. We are asking parents to come along with a plate of food (not hot food like curry etc) but cakes, sweets, pastries and savouries from their own cultures (homemade or bought) that can be put on a table and shared with other parents Could you bring along: Welsh cakes, spring rolls, sushi, baklava, spanakopita, Victoria sponge, lamingtons, Bundt cake, macrons, Babka, Panetonne, Meskouta, Trilece cake, Maamoul or Barazek cookies, Halwas, Drozdzowka, Gevulde Koek, Porter cake, Pasteis de Nata, scones or something else?

Attendance

Whole school attendance for the last week was 98% Well done to Year 3 Hazel Class with the best attendance at 100%.

Dates

Monday 20th October Y6 National Assessment meeting for parents at 9am
Tuesday 21st October Harvest Festival
Friday 24th October Be Bright Be Seen Day
Monday 3rd November Parents in Class to Read Together 8.45-9.15am
Monday 3rd November Notice for consultations Years 1-6
Tuesday 4th November Meeting for all parents: Maths
Friday 7th November Cultural Day
Monday 10th November Anti-Bullying Week
Wednesday 12th November KS2 Book Look 3.30-5.30pm
Thursday 13th November Individual Photograph Day
Thursday 13th November KS1 Book Look 3.30-5.30pm

A New Parent Council

Last year we ran a very effective Parent Council during the summer term. This was our first ever Parent Council. It was a success both for me and for the parents involved, therefore I would like to run another one this academic year.

What is a Parent Council? The Parent Council is a separate parent group from the PTA (our official school fundraising group) and the Governing Body. The Parent Council is a body of parents who represent the parents of children in each class. It is a focus group that provides a forum for parents to give feedback and opinions to the Senior Leadership Team for matters that the Leadership Team would like to seek parental views on. The feedback will help to shape decisions made by the Senior Leadership Team. The aim of the Holly Park Parent Council is to provide a direct link between parents and the school.

Parent Council Scope:

The Governing Body remains the decision-making body and provides the strategic leadership of the school. The Parent Council will provide a forum for consultation and advice on matters such as (but not limited to):

Procedures which affect the day-to-day operation of the school.
Systems of communication between the school and parents on matters concerning the operation of the school.
Matters designed to foster greater parental participation and engagement in the education of pupils.

The Parent Council is:

Constructive – Meetings are conducted in a positive spirit A forum for gathering, discussing & conveying parental views, opinions and feedback on matters brought forward by the Senior Leadership Team.

A consultative forum:

A discussion forum to discuss/debate general issues that affect all children. Not a decision-making body – The Governing Body continues to provide the strategic leadership of the school

Not about individual pupils, parents or members of staff
Not a channel for complaints

Parent Council Objectives:

The Parent Council works in partnership with the school to:

Strengthen the partnership between parents and the school
Support the children’s learning
Facilitate parental understanding of the curriculum of the school
Share and celebrate the successes of our community
Provide clarification over any issues in order to avoid confusion
Involve parents in the decision-making process for various improvements and changes within the school
Act as a forum for feedback and a voice for suggestions
Create a welcoming school which is inclusive for all parents by promoting a positive partnership between the school, its pupils and its parents
Develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils
Identify and represent the views of parents and carers on matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils How does it work?

The Parent Council will meet once every half term during the school day. The views and feedback from the Parent Council will complement the work of the Senior Leadership Team & the Governing Body and will be a useful source of information for decision making.

Membership of the Parent Council is open to all parents and carers who have a child currently at our School.

One parent from each year group (as a minimum) at a time; ideally each class
Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher
Other members of staff will be invited to meetings as appropriate. Membership will be by expressions of interest made to the Headteacher upon invitation to head@hollypark.barnetmail.net Members will be expected to attend two meetings in a school term. Membership of the council will be cyclical; a new parent will represent the year group (or class) every term. We aim to ensure that the Parent Council members represent the diversity of the school. If there are no expressions of interest made in a year group, the Headteacher will invite parents to attend.

The role of members:

Members are encouraged to participate in discussions and positively represent their views Members are expected to attend two meetings (across one term) Members will express views openly, courteously and respectfully. All members will respect confidentiality and will not name individual teachers, pupils, members of staff or parents.