Close

Twitter Wall

15/02/25

After using Twitter/X for many years, we have decided move away. Come join us on instagram to continue to keep up to date with all things HA! See you there!

13/02/25

Successful end of term art project for year six: children planned, designed and built these amazing Memories Boxes linked to our Oval history topic and our belonging driver. pic.twitter.com/n9kmoqMctV

12/02/25

Year six loved their visit from Steel today and asked some brilliant questions!#pshe pic.twitter.com/SVSTN0xR3p

12/02/25

We loved our visit from Steel today, learning all about resilience and the importance of sleep, healthy diet, being active, hydration and showing gratitude (noticing glimmers). Can anyone beat Steel’s record of 757 burpees nonstop in under an hour?#pshe pic.twitter.com/FLHRxZ2Lkq

12/02/25

As part of Safer Internet Day, year 2 explored a variety of dangers online and discussed how to respond to them. They had some excellent ideas and good knowledge of the safety features of various apps. They created posters to teach younger children about what they had learnt. pic.twitter.com/dWyOSidsdH

12/02/25

Amazing messages being given to the children this morning by the amazing gladiator Steel! What a fantastic morning we have ahead pic.twitter.com/Y0WFDxF1nL

11/02/25

Year six scientists dissecting hearts to understand how the circulatory system works. pic.twitter.com/ewcfvsfMRX

11/02/25

Year six scientists dissecting hearts to understand how the circulatory system works. pic.twitter.com/Dz7qWkgTL8

11/02/25

Year six home learning designing posters for around school about how to keep safe online. pic.twitter.com/eya9mmpF4M

11/02/25

Year six historians exploring the Oval as part of their local history project, with an added extra of a tag rugby PE lesson! pic.twitter.com/iabdKAYvHI

11/02/25

Year six historians exploring the Oval as part of their local history project, with an added extra of a tag rugby PE lesson! pic.twitter.com/gRFv2OAoT6

11/02/25

Team Dahl had a great science lesson on space and the stars with Mark the scientist yesterday (2).#science pic.twitter.com/FrJSAI3V1t

11/02/25

Team Dahl had a great science lesson on space and the stars with Mark the scientist yesterday (1).#science pic.twitter.com/K62hUgwN7y

11/02/25

Marking Safer Internet Day with a visit from the charity Computer Friendly pic.twitter.com/NuuQv4ROU2

10/02/25

Year 3 had a visit from Hands on Science and took part in a workshop on biological diversity. pic.twitter.com/RoqPJoSdUj

07/02/25

This week in assembly we celebrated Martin Luther King day, reading about this inspiring activist who devoted his life to fighting for civil rights. We linked to other activists such as Nelson Mandela, Greta Thunberg, Malala and Rosa Parks; and to our value of respect. pic.twitter.com/TKQlLAdduw

07/02/25

A huge thank you to all the adults who came to visit us today to explain how their job uses maths. pic.twitter.com/nNu8EdPIvU

07/02/25

Ladybirds have had a fantastic ! We have loved hearing about jobs that use numbers and dressing up! We are so inspired. We also made foot rulers to measure things in the classroom. pic.twitter.com/sfwifgPkd4

07/02/25

Our fourth visitor of the day was Tendaii, a train and air engineer. Our Y6’s were fascinated by his models and recognised how scale factors work in producing drafts of projects. pic.twitter.com/QmOElYN5WQ

07/02/25

Our third visitor of the day was Matt who works in the sports field. He explained to our Y6’s how fractions, decimals and percentages play a part in making predictions about different sporting events. pic.twitter.com/Js9gcUBH3m

07/02/25

Our second visitor of the day was Business Analyst Andreii who spoke to our Y6’s about how algebra and coding is used in his IT role. pic.twitter.com/g7qgZWX25k

07/02/25

Our first visitor of the day was Nurse Helen who works at treating cancer patients. Our Y6’s enjoyed learning about why measuring is particularly crucial in this field. pic.twitter.com/IG2nvg7xEC

07/02/25

Happy Number Day from Year 3! pic.twitter.com/bS3fxp7e8P

06/02/25

Aren’t we lucky to have such lovely, kind parents in our Year 1 class? We are so appreciative of these yummy sweet treats! pic.twitter.com/IEp8f6rkyO

04/02/25

Lunar new year celebrations last week pic.twitter.com/GAQmtKUjeU

1st December 2023

Dear Parents

Welcome to the festive edition of the newsletter.

For those of you who have been to school today you will have seen Christmas has arrived. Thank you to FoHA who came to decorate the hall on Thursday night - it's beautiful. The staff and I are responsible for the entrance with Laura Jones taking the credit for Stay & Play's entrance to the school.

The biggest thank you of all though goes to Dermot, our amazing caretaker, who made the sleigh. There are no ends to his talent and he has made our entrance truly magical. 

1

2

2

3

Christmas Activities

Date Event Time
Tuesday, 5th December 2023 Reception & KS1 Nativity (adults only) 6.00pm
Wednesday, 6th December 2023 Reception & KS1 Nativity 9.30am
Wednesday, 6th December 2023 Christmas Carol Rotary Club Concert - Selected children from choir

7.00pm
Friday, 8th December 2023 Christmas Jumper Day  
Saturday 9th December 2023 St Nicholas Festive Fayre - Choir Singing 10.00am
Tuesday,12th December 2023 Christingle Rehearsal 10.00am
Tuesday, 12th December 2023 Mayor's Carol Concert - Choir 6.00pm (5.30pm meeting Mrs Moss)
Wednesday, 13th December 2023 Christingle Service KS2 Children - St Nicholas Church 6.30pm
Monday, 18th December 2023 Christmas School Lunch  
Tuesday, 19th December 2023 Whole School Trip to Odyssey Cinema (Children can wear Christmas Jumpers)

9.15am
Wednesday, 20th December 2023 Break for Christmas holiday 12 noon

Unpleasant Incidents

Last week I was made aware of a rather unpleasant incident that happened in the Bower's Way car park on Friday after school. While I have no jurisdiction out of the school building and school hours I really don't like the thought of our children witnessing adults swearing and shouting at each other.  It's deeply unpleasant for everyone involved but especially children who genuinely find this behaviour scary. The emails I have received have all been forwarded to the Police Community Support Office (PCSO) linked to our school so he is aware and he is able to pick up this incident. 

Photo Permissions

Please can parents double check we have the correct photo permissions on Edulink. You can do this by clicking on the 'Update Information' tab of your Edulink wheel and then clicking on your child's profile. There is a drop down list to select your consents. 

We had an incident this week where a parent unwittingly gave permission for photo usage and didn't realise until we used the photo. A great deal of upset can be avoided if parents can check and get back to us if this is not what you want.  

The First Blast of Winter

We have had the first indications that winter is around the corner and with that comes the snow. 

Historically, we have always tried to keep the school open on snow days. This is mainly due to my staff living within walking distance of the school. I thought it might be wise to share our procedure of snow alerts with parents now so we are prepared. 

A decision will be made in the morning by 7.00am on:

  • Whether to open
  • Time to open
  • Arrangements for drop off/pick up

This decision will be made by Headteacher, Mrs Davies.  This decision will be posted on the website by 7.15am.  All parents will also receive an Edulink email notification. 

School Jumper Day,  Friday 8th December 2023

We will be taking part in 'Christmas Jumper Day' again this year.  If any parents have spare, outgrown Christmas jumpers which you can donate to the school, we would really appreciate it.

We keep these for the children who might not otherwise be able to join in with the day.  If you can help us in this area that would be terrific. 

Aspens Select New Month of December 2023

Please can parents ensure they have booked their children's school dinners for the month of December. We have had a lot of children without school dinners this week. Please can you double check your Aspens Select. 

Christmas School Lunch, Monday 18th December 2023 (date changed)

On Monday, 18th December 2023 we will be having our school Christmas lunch.  Aspens has now the Christmas dinner option on Aspens Select.  This is the only option of food on that day, so we really hope that as many of your children will join us - even as a one off meal on that day. Please place your orders by Monday, 4th December 2023. 

If the children don't want to join in with Christmas lunch then please send them in with a packed lunch for the day.

If you need access to your login details for Aspens to book your school lunch then please contact the school office. 

Please also ensure your 19th December 2023 school dinner option is selected too. 

HA Christmas Lunch

Parent Coffee Mornings

A reminder below is the timetable for this half term's coffee mornings.

The presentations from the sessions can be downloaded from the parent coffee page of our website 

8th December 2023

Music

Extra-curricular music opportunities
15th December 2023 Humanities - Geography and History

 

Online safety act

Copy of SET Notice

SAVE THE DATE:

Comedy Night - Saturday 10th February 2024

Comedy Night 24 (1)

FOHA NEED YOUR HELP!

It’s that time of year again…Christmas Trees! Annually this is our biggest fundraiser and we need help to continue its success. So, if you can spare an hour (or so) we'd love your support!

KEY TIMES:
As in previous years, we will need all (GLOVED) hands on deck for the unloading of trees Thursday 7th December, currently expected around 10:30am. Dads are generally very good at this but anyone (including agile family members) is welcome to help! Takes an hour max if we have plenty of helpers.  

We will also need help with tree collections (9:30am-10:30am) & deliveries (9am-1pm) on both Friday 8th & Saturday 9th December — any time you can spare will be greatly appreciated.

Ready to join the Christmas Tree Team? - click here to sign up>> https://signup.com/go/iDpjNCx

Comedy Night - Saturday 10th February 2024

Easter Egg Hunt - Good Friday, 29th March 2024

Please be on the lookout for ways that you can support and volunteer for these events (& more)!

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE SALES

The holiday season is upon us - get in the spirit & support the school at the same time... buy your Christmas Tree from FoHA. PREMIUM NORDMANN FIR CHRISTMAS TREES ON SALE starting at £48 (5ft tree); can be delivered or collected from the school - Click here to buy a tree

Christmas Trees

Did you know that you can raise money for our school when you shop online via the below sites:

Easyfundraising (commission varies by retailer):

Choose Harpenden Academy as your charity and we will be rewarded!

www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/harpendenacademy/

Use the below codes when purchasing your labeling option of choice:

Stikins (10% commission)

www.stikins.co.uk

Code: 35586

Stamptastic (30% commission)

www.stamptastic.co.uk

Code: AL54EN

Festival on the Field

We are very excited to support the 6th biennial Festival on the Field which will take place next summer 6th July 2024 at Sir John Lawes School.

The festival has gained a reputation as a high-quality family event where children and families can be entertained in a relaxing, fun, and safe environment. The event attracts up to 3,200 locals. 

Use this link to buy tickets and HA will receive 40% of ticket sales: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/festivalonthefield1?ref=harpendenacademy

FOTF 24 Harpenden Aca

Happy birthday banner landscape

Happy birthday this week to: Bobby, Owen, Cleo and Elodie

SET

Please click here to view our Harpenden Academy vacancies

Please click here to view our Scholars' Education Trust vacancies

Blue green illustrated community helpers book creator cover 1

 

Mayor's Carol Charity Concert 2023 poster

HA advert 2023

Stevensons

On Stage with Philo (1)

Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×