Dear Parents and Carers,

With the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II last night, we have today spoken together of the deep affection with which she was held. We reminded the children of the joyful occasion of her Platinum Jubilee just a few months ago, and we looked back over her life of service and reflected on her strong Christian faith. I hope that all the children will have had the opportunity to build memories of this historic event, understanding the significance of what is unfolding in our nation, and marvelling at the long reign that has come to an end. We have prayed for the royal family as they mourn the Queen’s death, and we have prayed for King Charles III as he succeeds to the throne.

The news came at the end of a wonderful first full week of term – we have been so impressed that the children have settled so quickly into their learning. It’s been great to welcome the youngest children into Reception and the older students across both schools are relishing the opportunities to be role models, with children in Year 6 helping serve lunches, support the office team and operate the audio-visuals in assembly. They’re so excited to meet their Year 3 buddies next week – and I believe that the Year 4 and 5 trip to the Chantries today has been a great success. The school is thriving again!

We’re really looking forward to telling you all about the year ahead at next week’s “Meet the Team” events (7pm Tuesday 13th at HT for the juniors, and 7pm Thursday 15th at PD for the infants). After you’ve heard from the teacher teams in separate year group meetings, you’re also invited to join me as I welcome you back to the wider school community in the HT Chapel and Pewley hall. I’ll also be introducing this year’s new parent-teacher committees at the HTSC and FOPS AGMs so do come along; everyone’s invited to make a contribution to school life at HTPD, however big or small.

The weather certainly helped to make it feel like September and, at breaktimes, we’ve been yoyoing in and out of school in between the downpours– with this wetter weather, do make sure that the children bring a waterproof coat as we like to stay outside as much as we can, even in the showers.

Thank you so much for responding to my request for safe parking around the school gates. Please remember not to park on the yellow zigzags or close to the school gates where people are crossing, Be extremely careful to drive slowly! Watch out for pedestrians and especially take care to slow down for children who might not be fully aware of the dangers of the road.

Inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable life, let’s live out our school values across the whole community, respecting one another, acting with kindness, and thinking of each other’s wellbeing. After a memorable first full week, I hope that you have a peaceful and restful weekend.

With love, Clare

Whole school notice:

Nut-free school

Please remember that we are a nut-free school. This is to ensure that any children with nut allergies are safe when they’re in school; at the juniors, please remember that children should only bring healthy fruit or vegetable snacks for their morning break (no crisps, chocolate bars or anything with a wrapper to reduce litter and stay healthy) and please check that packed lunches don’t contain nuts of any kind.

At the infants children are provided with a healthy fruit/vegetable snack at break-time.