7th November 2025
Dear Parents
Welcome back to school after what I hope was a restful half term and you have all had the opportunity to recharge your batteries. It has been a lovely first week back. The older Key Stage 2 children had a workshop on Tuesday which was all about a soldier life in World War 1, in preparation for our Remembrance Day assembly.
Happy Gurupurab
This week also saw a change in the Festival Foyer as we moved from Diwali to the Sikh celebration of Gurpurab.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our Sikh families, the Nagra and Dhami family, for coming in to decorate the festival foyer to celebrate Gurpurab. Their dedication and creativity helped create a warm and festive atmosphere for this special occasion. On Wednesday, 5 November, Sikhs around the world came together to celebrate Gurpurab, the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Gurpurab is a time to honour Guru Nanak’s teachings and to reflect on his message of equality, compassion, and devotion.
Year 6 Girls' Football Team
The Year 6 Girls’ football Tteam recently took part in an exciting football tournament where they played six matches, winning two, drawing two, and losing two. Throughout the day, the girls showed fantastic determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship, representing our school brilliantly. All their hard work and dedication during Tuesday football club sessions really paid off, as they demonstrated great passing, defending, and goal-scoring skills. A special mention goes to Phoebe, who made an incredible penalty save in our final game — a moment that had everyone cheering! Well done to all the girls for their effort, enthusiasm, and brilliant attitude both on and off the pitch.
Tommy Hale Strikes Gold!
Just a quick update on how Tommy Hale got on at his boxing competition in Sweden over half term. I am delighted to say that yet again he has done his family, boxing club and of course himself proud by winning the gold medal. Well done Tommy.
Remembrance Day Assembly
On Friday, we held our annual Remembrance Day assembly at school. This year, our focus was on the D-Day landings, alongside honouring family members who served in the World Wars and subsequent wars. We were once again privileged to be visited by the Lady Mayor and Father Patrick Moriarty from St. Nicholas Church, who led our assembly. Additionally, we were delighted to have Wesley Ballad-Scott, a student from SJL, play The Last Post on the trumpet for us.
Our children were impeccable in their behaviour and the staff and I are always blown away by the children’s respectful behaviour, their courtesy and empathy for such an occasion.
Year 5 World War Poem
In Friday’s assembly, Dahl Class proudly performed a poem which they wrote together as a class for Remembrance Day. Please see their poem below.
World War 1 Soldier Experience
On Tuesday, the classes in KS2 participated in a workshop on the life of a soldier during World War 1. They learnt about the roles of a soldier, the equipment used during the war and even got to hold some war medals.
DATES FOR DIARIES
Anti Bullying week 10th -14th November
Next week is our anti-bullying week with the theme POWER FOR GOOD.
Odd Socks Day, Monday 10th November 2025
We kick start the week with Odd Sock Day. On Monday, 10th November your child is invited to wear mismatched socks with their uniform where each sock represents a different dimension of their “Power for Good.” We will think about our inner superpowers (what we’re already good at) and consider our action superpowers (how we can help others). It is also a day when we celebrate how we are all special and unique.
Across the week, through our Jigsaw PSHE lessons, stories and discussion, we will continue to explore the theme. Our aim is to empower the children to use their Power for Good to speak out (perfectly linked to our value for November which is courage), support others, and build a world where kindness wins.
Children in Need, Friday 14th November, Non School Uniform Day
Individual photo and Siblings, Wednesday 19th November 2025
On Wednesday, 19th November we will be having the school photographer in school taking photos of the children. Please can the children come to school in full uniform that day. If any classes have PE that day, they will need to bring their PE kit in to school to get changed into. The teachers will send out a reminder closer to the date. The children will be bringing home photo ID cards in preparation for the day - these are the instructions and individual login codes you will need to access your child's photo.
Occasional Day, Monday 24th November 2025
Monday, 24th November is an 'Occasional Day' which means that the school will be closed. Please make sure that this is in your diaries as the school will be completely empty and I wouldn’t want anyone to come to school accidentally on that day.
Belonging Day – Wednesday 26th November
A reminder Wednesday 26th November will be Belonging Day at Harpenden Academy! This special day will celebrate the wonderful diversity within our school and help every child feel a strong sense of belonging.
We're inviting parents and carers to come in and share part of their family's culture, heritage or traditions with the children. This could include cooking or tasting food, teaching a few words in another language, leading a craft, or talking about your family's traditions and why they're important to you. You can visit your child's classes, or even share with the whole school - whatever works best for you!
We understand it may not be possible to represent every culture or heritage through specific activities on the day. However, throughout the event all children will take part in activities that help them explore what make them unique, celebrate who they are, and appreciate the diverse community we are so proud of at Harpenden Academy.
This celebration includes everyone - whether your family has roots in other parts of the world or a long history here in Britain. We'd love to see families share anything that reflects their background and traditions, from local customs and recipes to stories or special family routines.
If you'd like to get involved, please let us know via the school office by Wednesday 12th November. Let's make this a memorable day for our children!
Our Christmas Tree Sale Is Back!
Order Your Premium Nordmann Fir Christmas Tree & Support Our School!
We’re offering freshly cut, locally grown Nordmann Fir Christmas trees in 3 sizes - all top quality and long-lasting. Even better, for every tree sold, £20 will be raised for FOHA!
Sizes & Prices:
- 5ft+ – £48
- 6ft+ – £55
- 7ft+ – £66
The deadline for placing your order is Monday 1st December 2025 at 12 noon
Collection (Free):
- Harpenden Academy, Vaughan Road
- Friday 5th or Saturday 6th December 2025 (9:30–10:30am)
Delivery (Charges Apply):
- Within 7 miles of Harpenden Academy £5 (AL5)
- Beyond AL5 (max 7 miles) £8
- Please note - Friday delivery only for addresses beyond AL5
To order and find out more please visit Christmas Trees — Friends of Harpenden Academy
Traffic Lights Workshop
Christmas Holiday Entertainment!
Monday 22nd & Tuesday 23rd December Christmas Crafty Party Workshop Days.
Two days of festive Arts & Crafts projects plus Christmas Party Games & Activities. A fun-filled start to the Christmas holidays! Age: 5-11 years (Half days available for 4 year olds). Harpenden Academy, 8.45am-5pm. £37 per day. Booking open!
A "K-Pop Demon Hunters” themed Workshop Special!
Saturday 3rd January - 'It’s Gonna Be Golden!’ We’re teaming up with Tiger Cheer to present a one-day Workshop Special inspired by the movie “K-Pop Demon Hunters!” Get ready to ‘Takedown’ the morning learning a Dance & Pom routine to music from the movie soundtrack and create some of your own Choreography too! The ‘Huntr/x’ fun will continue into the afternoon with K-Pop themed T-shirt Design & Printing and creating matching accessories. At the end of the day, you’ll get to take home your Golden Glitter Poms along with the T-shirt & Accessories you’ve made, so you can continue being a K-Pop Star! Age: 5-11 years. Harpenden Academy, 9.30am-3.30pm. £30 for the day. Booking open!
For all enquires and bookings please email admin@trafficlightarts.co.uk
Wreath Making at Harpenden Academy
We are excited to share the details of two separate wreath making workshops — a family-friendly Sunday afternoon on 30th November (including a drop the kids off option!) and a festive Friday evening just for adults on 5th December.
Family Wreath Making – Sunday 30th November, 3–5pm - with Traffic Light Arts
Adults can make a beautiful foliage wreath while Traffic Light Arts take the children off to make a crafty Christmas wreath in a supervised session. Come along as a family or drop the kids off and enjoy a couple of hours to yourself.
Adults £30 | Children £12.50
Adults-Only Wreath Making – Friday 5th December, 7.00pm–9.30pm
Enjoy a relaxed evening of creativity, complete with a glass of fizz and festive nibbles, while making your own bespoke Christmas wreath.
£35 per ticket
Both workshops take place at Harpenden Academy. Spaces are limited and must be booked in advance. Over 25% of tickets have already been sold for both events
For more information and tickets, please visit: www.foha.co.uk/fohashop/events
Thank you! Money Raised from the Halloween Disco
We are delighted to share that FoHA raised an incredible £600 at our Halloween disco, thank you for your generous support! This is a really positive start to FoHA's challenge of raising £10,000 this academic year.
Volunteering
Christmas Tree Fundraiser Volunteers Needed
It’s the most magical time of the year….the time when parents give up a little of their time to raise some serious money for our school!
The Christmas tree fundraiser is one of our biggest, delivering beautiful trees all over and beyond Harpenden. We deliver to school families as well as members of the wider community, raising lots of money for our school, as well as money for other local schools and nurseries.
There are several slots to choose from over the mornings of Thursday 4th, Friday 5th and Saturday 6th December, and you can commit to as little as one hour, (but it would be fantastic if you could sign up for more than one slot!)
It is a genuinely feel good, community spirited and fun few days, a perfect way to kick off the festive season and spread cheer around the community (think excited kids pressed up against windows awaiting delivery of their magical tree) and, most importantly of all, a great way to contribute to our children’s school experience. Santa hats are optional but encouraged.
All details are on the sign up sheet - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044DA4A72CA2FACE9-60274748-harpenden
If you have any questions please contact the Trees Team at hachristmastrees@gmail.com
Can you help with the FoHA website...
We’re looking for someone with a bit of website know-how to help us develop and improve the Friends of Harpenden Academy (FoHA) webpage. If you have experience with websites (even just a little!) and could spare some time to support us, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Gwendoline on 07929240131.
FoHA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Please see the calendar below for a reminder of upcoming events this term.
- Quiz & Chips 7 Feb 2026
- Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt 3 April 2026
Happy Birthday to: Mollie M (Yr6), Ruqayya T (Yr4), Esme L (Yr3)
Please click here to view our Harpenden Academy vacancies
Please click here to view our Scholars' Education Trust vacancies
