Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.
Edgar Degas
Last week, we welcomed Jasper and Sophie from MAKE GOOD Design Studio to school to run workshops with Year 5 and Year 6! The children were invited to contribute designs for a hoarding at a site on Hadley Street that is being developed by Camden Council. We all loved creating vibrant graphic designs in answer to the brief of ‘People, Plants and Pets’ and we look forward to seeing the children’s work brightening up our community very soon!
Mitzvah Day
At Holy Trinity & S. Silas we are holding our 6th Mitzvah Day is a national day where people spend time volunteering and helping others.
It is based on Jewish beliefs of charity (tzedakah) and acts of loving kindness (gemilut chasadim). Each class spent time on a caring act of service to others which included:
- Y5 & Y6 visiting local care homes
- Y4 making chew toys for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
- Y3 writing caring letters to go with the food donations to the food bank
- Y2 making ‘Get Well Soon’ cards for children at Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Y1 making cheerful pictures for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice
- Reception making bird feeders for the local area.
As a whole school, we all got involved in the spirit of Mitzvah Day by wearing green, and brought in donations for our local food bank. Thank you so much to everyone for their generosity!
Meet and Greet
A warm smile and a friendly hello can make all the difference as children come into school, letting them know we’re pleased to see them and giving them a positive start to the day. This is why you will always see HTSS staff on the school gates in the morning, something we know that our families value from our annual parent questionnaire.
What you won’t necessarily see is that this ‘meet and greet’ continues for children as they come into school and go to their classrooms. All our staff ensure that they smile and greet every child they pass on the stairs, corridors and as they enter their classrooms. This supports children to have a positive, regulated start to the day.
We want our children to know we care about them as individuals and that they are part of the HTSS community. It feels so good to smile so many times before 9am each day! 😊
Christmas Fair – Friday 6th December
Only two weeks to go until the Christmas Fair! Please look out for communication on class ‘What’s App’ groups from PiP reps on donations. There has been a call out this week for the following:
- Jolly Jars
- Raffle prizes
- Tombola prizes
Christmas Dates
- Infant nativity – Tuesday 10th Dec at 9:45am and 2:30pm
- Junior musical – Wednesday 11th Dec at 2:15pm and 6pm & Thursday 12th Dec at 9:30am
- Whole school Christmas lunch – Friday 6th Dec
- Christmas Fair – Friday 6th Dec – after school
- Christmas Jumper Day – Friday 6th Dec
Attendance and Punctuality
This week our school attendance was 96% – there are various illnesses flying around but hopefully all will be fully recovered for next week.
The attendance bears this week go to Y1 with 98.6% and Year 5 with 97.6%.
The early birds went to Y2 and Y6.
Christian Vision
Strong in our faith in God, let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, by encouraging one another.
Hebrews 10:23-25
In collective worship this week, we have considered the story of Joshua leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. Moses had been their leader throughout the escape from Egypt and all the years of wandering in the desert, but when he died, a new leader was needed for the final entry into the homeland God had promised for them. When Joshua was chosen, he must have been full of doubts. He felt unqualified for the monumental task of taking over from Moses, but God had promised to be with him every step of the way, just as he had been for Moses. God’s instructions to Joshua often seemed puzzling, but as Moses’ apprentice, Joshua had learned first-hand that he wouldn’t always understand God’s ways.
Human nature sometimes made Joshua want to question God’s plans, but instead, he chose to obey and watch what happened. So Joshua is an excellent example of humility before God. He drew from the past, remembering the impossible deeds God had accomplished through Moses, and trusted God’s promise that he would be with him. This same God is with us today, protecting and guiding us, and showing us his great strength when we trust him.
There is a lot that we don’t know. We never really know the consequences of what we do, for example. We can imagine that our good deeds this Mitzvah Day will probably lead to others feeling cared for and valued, but we know nothing for certain. We will never meet the people who benefit from our foodbank donations, for example, or who will see and appreciate the artwork, cards and messages of affirmation that many classes have made. But we are strong in our faith that if we act in a spirit of love, we are playing our part in the working out of God’s plans.
Weekly collective worship
Our class-led collective worship will take place every Friday at 2.55pm in the church hall. Parents/carers are warmly invited to attend their child’s class-led collective worship; the dates for these are shown below.
| Friday 29th November | Awards |
| Friday 6th December | Awards |
| Friday 13th December | Awards |
Our LabTech Sponsors
Please click here for a link to the Camden Market Events.
We are delighted to have a new partner onboard this year, LabTech. Through their Community Grants Programme, LabTech support a wide range of local initiatives to improve our neighbourhood and enhance Camden residents’ quality of life. LabTech’s funding helped to financially support the 2024 Shakespeare Project, Julius Caesar. LabTech is a local organisation in the heart of Camden Market; find out more about LabTech by clicking the link below.
Free Counselling Service for Parents
Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with many years of experience working with UK schools to improve children’s wellbeing and behaviour. The charity also supports parents and families and has a wealth of practical tips and advice on many areas of parenting, all of which can be accessed online, including: dealing with changes and endings; building resilience; separation anxiety; de-escalation techniques; positive body image; friendship issues; perfectionism; sleep; gaming habits; and many more. Click on the link here to access and explore the support
We highly recommend the free counselling service for parents through Camden. You can find out more and register your interest via this leaflet.
New Emotional Wellbeing Website for Young People and Families
A new NHS website, packed with emotional wellbeing and mental health information and resources, has been launched to help young people and families, as well as professionals working with them, to navigate support options.
NCL Waiting Room was produced with the help and input of young people, families and professionals. It aims to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for information on specialist mental health services, community groups, emotional wellbeing and self-care resources.
It allows young people and their parents or carers to search for, filter and share resources based on their needs and preferences.
NCL Waiting Room will continue to grow and develop, so watch this space for more details. You can visit the website here and try out the Support Hub resource navigation feature here.
If you have any feedback on the website, you can do this on the relevant pages of the site, or email rtown@tavi-port.nhs.uk
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.
Other Community Initiatives
Community Inititatives
Camden Library Activities
We highly recommend these. Click here for the catalogue.
Term dates for 2024 – 2025
| First day of autumn term 1 | Wednesday 4th September |
| Half term | Monday 28th – Friday 1st November 2025 |
| First day of autumn term 2 | Monday 4th November |
| Last day of autumn term 2 | Friday 20th December |
| INSET DAY | Monday 6th January 2025 |
| First day of spring term 1 | Tuesday 7th January |
| Half term | Monday 17th – Friday 21st February |
| First day of spring term 2 | Monday 24th February |
| Last day of spring term 2 | Friday 4th April |
| First day of summer term 1 | Tuesday 22nd April |
| Half term | Monday 26th May – Friday 30th May 2025 |
| First day of summer term 2 | Monday 2nd June |
| Last day of summer term 2 | Friday 18th July |