14th November 2025
Dear Parents
This week has been truly wonderful at school! Several children from our cross country club had the opportunity to represent the school at the Primary Schools Cross Country event—more details on that later. Additionally, our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors proudly represented the school at the Trust Anti-Bullying Conference held at Samuel Ryder in St. Albans.
Today has also been Children in Need Day with the school council taking the lead on this event in school.
Mayor's Christmas Card Competition
I am delighted to share with our school community that Harriet Goldsmith has been awarded *Highly Commended*, and Phoebe Hambridge and Sidney Horne have received *Commended* awards in this year’s Harpenden Mayor’s Christmas Card Competition!
Harriet, Phoebe, Sidney, and their guests are invited by the Town Mayor to a Presentation Ceremony at the Town Hall.
In addition, as a Highly Commended entrant, Harriet is also invited to be on stage for the Lights Switch-On at the Harpenden Christmas Carnival on Sunday, 23rd November, at Church Green.
Congratulations to all three of our winners—especially Harriet, who will have the special opportunity to switch on the Christmas lights. This is a fantastic achievement for each of you!
Harpenden District Cross Country Championships
This week, our talented Year 5 and 6 boys and girls represented the school in the annual cross-country competition, showing incredible determination, teamwork, and school spirit. Every runner gave their best effort and cheered each other on from start to finish. We are especially proud of the perseverance and positive attitude they demonstrated throughout the event. Well done to all our young athletes — you have made our school proud!
Trust Anti Bullying Ambassadors' Conference at Samuel Ryder
On Friday the Anti Bullying Ambassadors went to Samuel Ryder to attend the Trust Conference with representatives from all the primary schools in the Trust. The day focused on what bullying is and what it isn’t. The children practiced some roleplaying and freeze frame drama activities on how to recognise and respond to bullying and then made kindness chains or anti bullying posters to display in their respective schools.
Children in Need, Friday 14th November 2025
It was great to see the children in non-uniform on Friday, raising money for Children in Need. Thank you for your donations. So far, we have raised £243.
This year’s theme for Children in Need is ‘Challenge Yourself to 25’. At various times throughout the school day, our School Leaders announced mini challenges over the school tannoy for each class to participate in in their classrooms. These included 25 star jumps, balancing on one foot for 25 seconds and sharing 25 positive things that happened throughout the day.
Be Bright , Be Seen Campaign
It’s that time of the year again and ‘BE BRIGHT AND BE SEEN’ is an important message for the whole school community. The Active and Safer Travel Team are continuing to promote this as a key part of the road safety and active travel programme, especially over the Autumn and Winter months.
As the days are getting shorter, now is a good time to remind everyone of the importance of wearing bright and reflective clothing when out and about, to make them more visible to traffic.
KS2 Christingle, Thursday 4th December 2025 at High St Methodist Church at 6.30pm, All Welcome - parents & siblings
School Jumper Day, Friday 12th December 2025
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, please can you drop off your jumpers to the school office and parents will be able to help themselves at pick up.
Odyssey Cinema Trip, Wednesday 17th December 2025
We will be taking the whole school to the Odyssey cinema for their Christmas film on Wednesday, 17th December 2025. The information for this trip has gone out to parents today. Please see a copy of this letter here.
Parents need to give their consent on MCAS, place their child's popcorn order and make the payment for this trip by Friday, 28th November 2025.
We are looking for volunteeers for this trip and many parents have already stepped forward to help so thank you. You will be needed from 9.00am-12.30pm. We are still looking for the following volunteers for these classes, please let the office know if you are able to help and have a current DBS:
| Volunteers still needed | |
| Year 1 | 3 |
| Year 3 | 1 |
| Year 4 | 3 |
| Year 5 | 1 |
Christmas School Lunch, Thursday 18th December 2025
Christmas lunch day for the children is Thursday 18th December. On this day we like to encourage as many children as possible to take part in our Christmas lunch even if they typically have packed lunch. This is the only option of food on that day. SwiftKitchen has now added the Christmas dinner option on SwiftKitchen. Please place your orders by Friday, 5th December 2025.
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 Swiftkitchen to book your school lunch then please contact the school office.
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.
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: 4-11 years. 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
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: Carter (Yr2), Lillian (Yr2), Oscar (Yr2), Jack (Yr2) and Ivo (Rec)
Please click here to view our Harpenden Academy vacancies
Please click here to view our Scholars' Education Trust vacancies
Join the Wheathampstead Wanderers Year 5 Girls Football Team!
Love football or just want to give it a go? Come and be part of a fun, friendly, and supportive team where every girl gets to play, learn, and shine! Whether you’re a future Lioness or just starting out, we’d love to have you.
Train, make friends, and build confidence while having loads of fun on the pitch!
Open to all Year 5 girls — no experience needed!
We train at KWS on Tuesdays 6:30-7:30
email Karen at kstanden.wwfc@outlook.com
Downloads
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