Dear Parents and Carers,

This week’s assembly theme made us all remember the importance of asking questions and being curious. We showed the children some hugely magnified images and asked them to ponder what each photograph was from – there were some impressive answers and some wonderfully creative guesses. I think the hardest one to guess was the snail’s tooth, especially as most people aren’t even aware that a snail has teeth! It’s great to marvel at the world around us.

It was a real joy working with the children in my Year 6 science lesson this week! They definitely showed a “zest for learning and a love of life”. We were investigating why penguins huddle in Antarctica and whether it actually helps them to keep warm. The children set up a way to test this theory, measuring the difference between water cooling in a single test-tube compared to a “huddle” of test tubes. I loved seeing the children’s amazement when they found that the “huddle” stayed really quite hot. And plotting the falling temperature on a graph involved some impressive data handling. It’s so encouraging that our children find learning so interesting. They are a credit to their families and to the school!

Now that the term is well underway, I wanted to write again about our Clubs+ and PUPs provision. If there are any parents who no longer need the spaces, or who could reduce the number of days that their children are using, please do let Sam know (pups@htpd.surrey.sch.uk). We have a number of people on a waiting list and that’s really tough for them.

I was disappointed this week to receive two emails from local residents about parking; they’ve asked me to remind you that it’s illegal to park on the double yellow lines or zigzags around school and to be careful not to block their driveways. It’s also really dangerous. Thank you for taking note and parking respectfully, safely and courteously in future. With so many families taking part in last weekend’s car-free day and enjoying the bike ride in car-free streets, I’d love to see the same around school. There are plenty of spaces in our bike racks and scooter parks, and why not walk instead if you can.

It was great to work with our parent volunteers this week, going over our safeguarding arrangements and thanking them for their kindness in offering their time to support children’s learning at HTPD. If you missed the sessions, there’ll be another opportunity later in the term (Friday 3rd November 2.30pm at HT). And please do remember that you can contact me at any time if ever you’re worried about a child. We place such a high priority on keeping the children safe and ensuring that they flourish – and we are so grateful to you all for sharing in this collective responsibility.

Have a great weekend!

With love,

Clare

Thought of the week: Little Miss Curious – “Intelligent people want to learn, but foolish people are satisfied with ignorance,” Proverbs 15, v14. Seek and you will find!

If your child attends after-school clubs, please check the notices below by clicking on the junior or infant section.

Whole School Notice

• Wednesday 18 October – Early Finish PD pick-up at 12:00, HT pick-up at 12:15
• Thursday 19 and Friday 20 October – INSET days
• Monday 23 – Friday 27 October – Half term holidays
• Monday 30 October – Children back to school