Headteacher’s News 20/07/22

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Soren Kierkegaard 

Summer Reading

Research shows between the end of one school year and the start of the next, every child risks summer learning loss. It can take up to six weeks to re-teach children material that has been forgotten over the summer. As well as teaching children to learn how to read we also promote reading as an enjoyable past time – even 10 minutes a day spent reading can make a huge difference. Please ensure that your child is registered for the exciting reading challenge that has been sent home.

Summer Maths Fluency

Similarly, your child’s start to maths lessons in the new school year will be hugely eased if they keep practising times tables over the summer. Remember, thanks to the heroic efforts of our current KS2 classes, HTSS is top of the Times Table Rockstars league of nearby schools in terms of average speed of answer time! We are keen to keep it this way! Current Y3, 4 and 5 parents, please ensure your child spends some time over the summer break improving their fluency on Times Table Rockstars. Again, as little as 10 minutes a day will make an enormous difference, especially in the couple of weeks running up to the start of term in September. There will be extra playtime in the first week back for the class that collectively played the most games on TTRS!

September School Time Changes

From 5^th September, the school gate will open as usual at 8.40am and the bell will ring at 8.55am but the school will end at the new time of 3.30pm. This will not impact clubs, which will still finish at 4.30pm. The extended day will enable us to maximise learning time and will slightly ease what has been a very tight daily timetable.

Thanks & Good Wishes

Thank you to all our families for your incredible support in a year that has continued to challenge us in a range of ways! As ever, it has been a joy to see your children thrive and work hard towards fulfilling their potential. Thank you too for the super fundraising of PiP and to all those that have contributed in any way to ensuring that our children can continue to flourish through the opportunities afforded by our arts curriculum.

The hotly contested Quiz Night raised approximately £1,103.68; the wonderful summer fair raised £1782; the raffle raised £750; and the sale of our special tea towels raised £560. This amounts to a grand total of approximately £3942 raised by PiP in this term alone! A huge congratulations and thank you to all involved.

I hope that the summer holidays will bring some special family time and a welcome break from the termly routines. I very much look forward to welcoming you and your children back on Monday 5th September.

Governors Report to Parents

Please follow this link to read an end of year report from our school governors to parents.

The classes for September are as follows:

Class	Teacher	Teaching Assistant
Reception	Ms See	Mrs McQueen Ms Ricketts (PT)
Y1	Ms Sun	Mrs Kabir Ms Ricketts (PT)
Y2	Mrs Evans (3 days) Ms Hale (2 days)	Ms Bergin
Y3	Ms Doades	Ms Powley
Y4	Ms Risby	Ms Hall
Y5	Ms Wainer	Mrs Hough and Mrs Gashi
Y6	Mr Martisius	Ms Clayton

Our Christian Values – Koinonia, Compassion, Endurance, Wisdom, Forgiveness & Service

Teaching Christian beliefs and values is hugely important as it ensures that children fully learn how to treat one another and be of service to others. It is in times of challenge that we can really keep our Christian values alive and intact. It is also in seeing how the actions we take, which draw on our values, can positively impact ourselves and those around us. It is also in living our Christian values that we and our children develop spiritually. It means that we are led to reflect on the bigger questions of life and refine our moral judgement in order to make better and wiser decisions. As Christians, it allows us to experience God in a more profound way – becoming better followers of Christ.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Summer Holiday Activities

It is time to sign up for Coach Steve’s extremely popular summer camps!

It will take place at Eleanor Palmer School on:

• 25th -29th July
• 1st – 5th August

For more information email: prorevolution.development@gmail.com

Camden Holiday Activity and Food Programme

All HAF participants will receive free access to physical and enriching activities and nutritional education each day. In addition, some providers will do onsite cooking where children and young people will be involved in activities and make their lunch on the day. In addition, there are various activities, including sports such as football, basketball and cricket, and creative activities including photography, drama, dancing, and arts and crafts. Camden’s providers are organising many enriching workshops, trips, and fun-packed experiences, all waiting to kick off this summer. Look out for an email from school with this information. Click here to sign up for activities.

Wellbeing Tip – The Joy of Laughter

It’s true, laughter is a strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens our immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects us from the damaging effects of stress. Nothing works faster to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Here are some ways to start thinking about adding more humour to our routines this month:

• Smile – Smiling is the beginning of laughter, and like laughter, it’s contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practise smiling.
• Bring humour into conversations – Ask people what funny things they have seen recently, or if anything funny has happened to them.
• Engage with comical media – If you know there are certain shows, video clips, writers or comedians that make you laugh, make time to engage with them.
• Spend time with fun, playful people. As humans, we take on the energies of people around us so try and spend time with those who laugh easily – both at themselves and at life, and who routinely find the humour in everyday events.​

Attendance and Punctuality

Camden Music Service

From Y1 onwards, you can sign your child up to learn an instrument in school. For more information and to download the Camden Music Service application form, please click here.

Community Events/Activities

Term dates for 2022 – 2023

First day of autumn term	Monday 5th September
Half term	Monday 24th – Friday 28th October
Last day of autumn term	Friday 16th December
First day of spring term	Wednesday 4th January 2022
Half term	Monday 13th – Friday 17th February
Last day of spring term	Friday 31st March
First day of summer term	Monday 17th April
Half term	Monday 29th May – Friday 2nd June
Last day of summer term	Friday 21st July