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16th January 2026

Dear Parents

Lockdown practice happened this week which was successful. The children were respectful of the practice, and all followed the rules very well.

Tommy Boxing

As some parents will be aware Tommy flew to America in the Christmas holidays to fly the fly the flag for the UK in his boxing competition through his gym. We are thrilled to say that he won again. He is rapidly becoming an unstoppable force. We are really proud of his achievements and we are sure that Tommy has a bright future ahead of him.

A Plea from Ladybirds class

The Early Years team would be very grateful for your help with a few items to enhance our indoor and outdoor learning areas. If you have any of the following items at home that are no longer needed, we would love to give them a new home. Please just drop them off at the office.

Please see the list below for some ideas of items we would be delighted to receive.

Thank you so much for any support you are able to offer, it is greatly appreciated by both the children and the team.

Bean bag or giant pillow (no character ones please, ideally neutral or pastel coloured)
Wooden spoons
Slotted spatulas
Rolling pins
Chopping board
Musical instruments for an outdoor music wall (think suitable materials for outside)
Pots and pans
Baking trays
Cake trays (metal and silicone)
Empty spice jars (glass or plastic)
Teapots (metal)
Mugs (metal)
Spoons
Wind chime
Old rolls of unwanted wallpaper
Sequin squares or sequin fabric

No Teacher Clubs After School on Tuesday, 27th January 2026

On Tuesday, 27th January 2026 there will be no choir, football or drawing club due to teacher training after school that evening. Apologies for the inconvenience of this and the short notice.

Please liaise with Mrs Marchment if you need to book your child into Owls after school and she will open the booking window so that you can do this on Magicbookings.

Time Table Rock Stars (TTRS)Trust Competition

The week beginning 26^th January all the primary schools in the Trust will be taking part in a TTRS Trust competition. We would really love it if our children could put in some extra practice so that we could give the other, often larger schools than us, a run for their money. Please could you encourage the children to put in some extra practice over the next few days so that we are prepped and primed ready to go on 26^th January.

Scholars Trust showdown (1)

Parking

Parents who do drop off and collection at school will have noticed that the volume of traffic outside school and in particular illegally parking on double yellow lines has increased again. I have been out again this week and stood in the road to stop parking and have spoken to parents asking them to park somewhere else, but with the best will in the world I can’t do this every day.

Parking permits mean that parents can park on the carpark without the fear of getting a ticket at drop off and collection and the carpark is literally 1 minute away. I am urging parents to have a care and park in the carpark. My greatest fear is that there will be an accident outside school and one of our children will get hurt. One of our sister schools, only last week, had a child knocked down resulting in a broken leg. It is a real possibility, and I don’t want that for any of our school community.

Parking permits are freely available from the front office.

Parents' Evening, 3rd and 5th February 2026

The Parents' Evening letter were sent out this week. The MCAS booking system went live on Wednesday and parents have until next Friday, 23rd January to book their parent appointments via MCAS. If you need any support with booking your appointment please contact the school office. Just a quick reminder that we close school at 2.30pm on both days so that the parent consultations can begin at 3.00pm.

We are aware that not all parents will be able to collect at 2.30pm and these children will be supervised by our Teaching Assistants until the normal pick up of 3.20pm. This is really for the parents who are not able to collect at 2.30pm so please be mindful of that and collect your child at 2.30pm if possible. Please inform your child whether they are staying at school until 3.20pm or being picked up at 2.30pm. This is particularly important if your child is a lone walker. If you require your child to stay at school post 2.30pm then please complete this e-form for each child. You do not need to complete this form if your child is being picked up at 2.30pm or if your child is booked into Owls Wrap Around Care. You need to sign up by Friday, 23rd January 2026 and we will be unable to accept any late requests.

INSET day

This term we will be holding an Inset day on Wednesday, 4^th February. School will be closed to children on this date.

Trust Concert - Grove Theatre, Dunstable, Wednesday 11 March, 6.00pm, KS2 Choir Club

Please save the date. Tickets have not yet been released and we will shortly be sending out logistics via MCAS to the children participating in this event. KS2 choir have been asked to complete an eform if they would like to participate.

Upcoming FoHA Meeting – Wednesday, 21st January at 8.00pm
The next FoHA meeting will be held on Zoom on Wednesday 21st January at 8.00pm. We will circulate the Zoom link via Class Reps closer to the date. We welcome new members for your support and ideas!

Booking is now open for February Half Term Holiday Workshops!!

Sadie1

Copy of SET Notice

Quiz & Chips tickets are now on sale

Quiz & Chips

Join us at Harpenden Academy on Saturday 7th February 2026 for what promises to be a fantastic evening of quizzery, prizes, raffle, fully stocked bar and a Godfreys meal of your choice (ordering food is optional).

We are delighted to announce that our Quizmaster will once again be the wonderful Neil Fuller, who runs several very popular local quiz nights including the always packed Thursday night quiz at Harpenden Arms. The bar will be operated by Platform Wines.

Sign up as an individual, a pair or a whole team (6-10 people).

Tickets are £12, or £18 with a Godfreys meal. The options are small cod, 7 piece scampi, battered halloumi or 2 sausages - all served with chips.

Quiz and Chips Night February 2026 — Friends of Harpenden Academy

Whether or not you can join us on the evening, our raffle is open to everyone.

£2 a ticket all straight to Friends of Harpenden Academy.

A host of fabulous prizes up for grabs, from meals at local popular restaurants, beauty treatments, and kids’ activities.

A full list of prizes will be confirmed nearer to the event.

Quiz and Chips Night Raffle Ticket — Friends of Harpenden Academy

SAVE THE DATE: Harpenden Easter Egg Hunt 3 April 2026

Easter

Tickets will be available soon.

Volunteering

We will be setting up a volunteering WhatsApp group (with more details shared via your Class Reps), and we would love you to consider joining. Whether you can spare the odd hour here and there or get involved more regularly, we’d be delighted to have you on board.

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