Dear Parents and Carers, 

It has been a week full of children truly living out our vision of “learn to live”! 

On Wednesday, Geraldine took 21 Year 6 children to GHS for afternoon tea as part of our Book Award process.  The children shared their ideas with pupils from other schools involved in the judging, and even had the chance to put questions to one of the authors via a live stream. 

On Thursday, Year 1 enjoyed a wonderful farm visit—a perfect opportunity to “See Heaven in the Moment!”  The children loved meeting the animals and were thrilled to pet, cuddle, brush, and feed the many creatures brought by the Mill Cottage Farm team.  We are so grateful to Farmer Liv and Farmer Noah for teaching us so much about the animals in their care. 

Year 5 also launched their new Space topic in style with a visit to Winchester Science Centre. They took part in rocket testing, explored the Solar System in an incredible planetarium show, and investigated forces through the centre’s interactive exhibits. 

Today marks the first of the Year 3 Greek Days — I look forward to seeing it in action and hope I get to sample some of the food! 

Of course, no week would be complete without sporting excitement.  On Tuesday, we took 40 children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 to a cross‑country event at St Catherine’s School.  It was a fantastic afternoon, with many pupils representing Holy Trinity in their very first competition.   A huge well done to all who took part!  On Thursday, eight children from Year 4 travelled to the Spectrum in Guildford for a dodgeball tournament, competing against ten other schools.   It was a brilliant event, and we are incredibly proud of our team, who came away with gold medals!  As always, a big thank you to all the parents who supported us with lifts — we truly couldn’t do it without you.  

Reading is such an important part of every child’s development, and fostering a love of books is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.  We are so fortunate that reading is at the heart of HTPD. Next week, we will be celebrating the National Year of Reading Book Week alongside World Book Day—an exciting opportunity for children to discover new stories and share their favourites with friends. 

We have lots of events and activities next week to look forward to, including 'share a book' in which children from other year groups will be visiting their peers to share a reading book with them.  The younger children will be reading the books on the Waterstones Illustrated Books Shortlist, and they will have a chance to rate each book before casting their vote for their favourite.  The children will be creative with crafts based on their favourite books or characters.   Also, the staff will be holding a special 'story lounge' experience for the children! 

On Thursday 6th, there will be a Book Swap at both sites. If you have any pre-loved, age-appropriate books you’d like to donate, please send them into school on Wednesday 4th or Thursday 5th. Thank you in advance! 

We also look forward to welcoming you to parent consultations next Tuesday and Thursday. These meetings are such an important part of our partnership with you and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate your child’s progress.  Your encouragement gives them a real boost in enthusiasm and motivation.  Staff will do their best to keep to time, but if you are delayed, teachers may need to arrange an alternative appointment.  Please remember that there will be no teacher‑run clubs next week due to the parent consultations. 

Next week, we also have our SIAMS inspection taking place at the infants on Wednesday.  A SIAMS inspection is an opportunity to demonstrate the impact of the school’s Christian vision on the flourishing of the whole school community.  We look forward to welcoming the inspector and sharing—and celebrating—the many things that make our school such a special community. 

Finally - and on a very happy note - huge congratulations to Lilja and Georgie, who were married over half term.  I’m sure you will join me in wishing them every happiness in their life together. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Best wishes, 

Vicky 

Thought of the week:  Banana = Joy.  “Know joy – what makes you joyful inside?”