Dear Parents and Carers,

What a busy but truly joyful final week of term it has been!

Our week began with some wonderful news—the safe arrival of Georgie and Lilja’s baby, Robin Rose! I’m sure you will join me in sending them our warmest congratulations. We’re delighted to share that all are doing well.

Our end‑of‑term Easter services were a wonderful celebration of hope and togetherness. The children’s singing was, as always, a highlight, and their thoughtful prayers showed real depth and reflection. It was lovely to have some of you join us—thank you for coming, and for helping with the walks to and from the church.

The services followed our annual Pause Day, when the whole school revisits the Easter story and takes time to reflect on the hope of the resurrection, as well as the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. We were blessed with support from so many churches across the town, and we are incredibly grateful to Holy Trinity, Guildford Baptist Church, St Nicolas, Christchurch, Emmaus Road, St Martha’s on the Hill, and St Saviour’s. The creativity, care and commitment shown through the activities were inspiring, and we are fortunate to have so many gifted people willing to give up their time to support our school community.

Throughout the week, the children had many opportunities to be creative. On Monday, the children at the Juniors tried their hand at a Ukrainian tradition of painting and decorating real eggs. The colours were spectacular and thankfully there were not too many breakages! The Juniors’ House ‘Bake Off’ included some spectacular entries—thank you for your help at home with the baking! I also loved seeing the children’s Easter gardens. These beautiful creations, complete with the empty tomb and the stone rolled away, and decorated with spring flowers, were made with such care, imagination, and thoughtfulness.

This week, all three Year 5 classes also visited the From Darkness… to Light exhibition from the Methodist Modern Art Collection. St Mary’s Church was a stunning setting, with sunlight pouring through the stained‑glass windows and adding to the atmosphere. Volunteers from the church guided the children through the artwork, helping them explore different artists’ interpretations of moments from Jesus’ life, including Holy Week. The children responded with great thoughtfulness and were captivated by the range of styles and media used by these internationally recognised artists. If you’d like to see the exhibition yourselves, it is free and open at St Mary’s until 5th April.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an HTPD week without some sport! On Thursday, our Year 5 and 6 Sportshall team competed in the Surrey County Finals at the Spectrum—an event featuring the top 12 schools in the county. The team performed brilliantly, winning multiple races and showing fantastic teamwork. We were thrilled to finish in 1st place, and the children proudly brought home eco wooden gold medals. Thank you to everyone who supported this and the earlier year‑group Sportshall events.

Parents and carers have also been busy this week. It was wonderful to welcome Year 2 families into school for the Dinosaur Exhibition, and Year 5 families for the children’s fabulous Space science work. These events were a lovely way to celebrate a term full of learning. A big thank you as well to those who helped run the Infant Easter Bunny Hop party and the Junior discos—the children had an amazing time.

We are delighted to share that we raised a fantastic £770 for Red Nose Day. Thank you for your generosity. This year’s focus—helping people meet their basic needs of food, shelter and safety—gave us all an important opportunity to think about compassion and what it means to ‘imagine the journey in another’s footsteps’.

Finally, I am delighted to share the report from the recent SIAMS inspection at Pewley. The findings truly reflect what a special place HTPD is, capturing so many of the strengths we see in our school every single day—not just on the day of the inspection. We are incredibly grateful to our staff for everything they do, day in and day out, to ensure HTPD remains a safe, welcoming, and nurturing environment where our children can learn, grow, and truly thrive. You can read the full report here.

I wish you all a very Happy Easter holiday. A reminder that we return for the summer term on Tuesday 14th April. I’m already looking forward to the lighter evenings and all the exciting things the summer term brings.

Best wishes

Vicky

Thought of the week: Prayer and Wholeness - when and how do you pray?