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6th September 2024

Dear Parents

Welcome back to academic year 2024–2025.

I hope that we have all had a fabulous 6 weeks away from school and have come back ready to take on the Autumn term.

It was lovely to see all of our children return to us with their sunny smiles and clean tidy uniforms. We have had quite a few new children this term so a warm welcome to them and their families.

New Reception

Our new Reception children will be starting on Monday 9^th September for their half days. It will be so terrific to see them and their families. Please can I ask any existing parents to offer them a friendly smile and welcome them to our school. We have all been there dropping off our children at “big school” for the first time.

New Faces

There are a few new faces mixed in with the familiar ones:-

Miss Patterson is our Year 1 teacher

Miss Fairweather is our Year 4 teacher

Miss Keir is our new TA

We are interviewing for two more members of staff early next week so hopefully I will be able to inform parents once these roles have been filled.

Co Heads

Please remember that this year we will have two Co-Heads leading Harpenden Academy one step away from headship and a step into a new role for the Trust.

Mrs Curnow will be Head on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I will be head Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Meet the Staff, 10th September 2024, 3.30pm-4.15pm

In order for parents and children to get to know members of staff we will be holding a “Meet the Staff” event in the hall after school on Tuesday 10^th September. This will be from 3.30pm-4.15pm, and it is an opportunity to get to know the teaching team for this year. We hope that you will be able to drop in and get to meet not just your child’s teacher but every member of the team.

Can I also remind parents that on the school website, on class pages you will find teacher and TA passports which are a fun way of finding out key pieces of information about your child’s teaching team. Also, on the class pages you will find the information of what is being taught in each curriculum area. This is under the tab of ‘‘Autumn, Spring and Summer Planning”.

A whole school overview of the curriculum can be found under “Curriculum Overview” tab.

Dates for Diaries

As always we have put together a comprehensive “Dates for Diaries” - see below. These are the events which we know of currently and there may well be changes throughout the year. We will inform parents of any significant changes as they occur.

New Department of Education Guidance regarding absence

Earlier this week we resent out information regarding significant changes in attendance and absence from school. This is significant to parents so if you haven’t made yourselves aware of this information please do so. As always, we will be on hand to answer any queries. A copy of the information that went out to parents can be found on the school letter page of our school website.

KS1 and KS2 Reading Workshop

It was lovely to welcome a group of you into school yesterday to our KS1 and KS2 Reading Workshop.

We will be running the workshop again on Monday 16^th September, 6.00pm - 6.30pm for those of you who couldn't make the session this week.

Please click here to access the ppt from yesterday's workshop.

Reading Expectations and Recommendations Sept 2024

As we start a new school year, we want to make sure everyone is clear of our expectations for reading and that everyone knows how to find high quality books for their child to enjoy. Please see attached a link to the letter from Mrs Watson that has been sent out via Class Dojo and Edulink to parents this week.

Co-Curricular Clubs

The club booking window opened yesterday for our teacher clubs.

If there are spaces on the clubs then you will still be able to book on to the club using the Edulink app. If the club was fully booked please contact the school office to be added to the club waiting list.

A full list of contractor and teacher clubs can be found on our school website

Smart Watches/Mobile Phones

Smart watches/devices that record video, take photos or can receive or send messages/calls are not allowed in school. This is because they are a safeguarding risk as well as a distraction that interrupts learning. We ask that parents do not allow children to bring smart watches / mobile phones to school because they are a safeguarding risk. If a child needs to contact a parent or carer, they can do so swiftly from the school office.

Similarly, if a message needs to be conveyed from a parent to a child, the school office will take these calls and pass the necessary information on promptly. Children who use public transport or are lone walkers may bring mobile phones to school to enable them to contact parents/carers regarding travel arrangements. Use of mobile phones is not permitted during the day. All phones must be named and should be handed in to the school office first thing in the morning where they are kept securely in a locked cabinet. At the end of the day, they are returned to the children.

Pick Up Authorisation

We sent out an email in the week.

To ensure pupils are only picked up by authorised adults please could you provide a list of nominated people who have permission to pick up your child. We need names of additional authorised adults other than those with parental responsibilities. If one of these people arrives to pick up your child no further checks will be made.

This form supersedes any information you have given to the school previously and this form will be completed annually to ensure we have up to date information to guarantee the safeguarding of the children.

To access the form please click here or paste https://forms.gle/Eb1eR7pjYFRYjtRt6 to your browser.

Finally...

Thank you all on behalf of my staff and myself for the very kind and generous gifts at the end of the summer term. These are so lovely to receive and I always say, ‘never expected but always welcome’. Thank you.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Adda

Parentkind - The charity that supports school PTAs - have teamed up with Asda, which is donating money to primary schools across the UK through their 'Cashpot for Schools' initiative.

Even if you do not shop at Asda, they will donate £1 to the school just by you opting in via the free Asda Rewards app. If you do then shop at Asda online or in store, they will donate 0.5% from your shopping total. Asda will also donate £50 to the school to get us started!

All you need to do is download the Asda Rewards app and select Harpenden Academy.

This offer comes to an end on 30.11.24.

More information can be found on the Asda website here.

Asda