Dear Parents,
To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee we will be holding a celebration day on Thursday 26th May where children are encouraged to wear red white and blue and parents are invited to join us for a whole school picnic at 12:30pm. Following the picnic children will showcase a range of popular dances from each decade as well as looking back over the last 70 years to celebrate the Queen’s service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. Parents are more than welcome to stay for the whole afternoon.
At 12:30pm all children will go outside to eat their picnics. Parents can choose to bring a family picnic, provide their child with a packed lunch or order a school packed lunch. There will be no hot meals served that day. If parents decide to bring in a family picnic, please remember we are a nut free school and are unable to allow the consumption of alcohol during the school day. Parents are welcome to bring picnic blankets as well as camping chairs as there will be no tables and chairs on offer from school. If you wish to order your child a packed lunch that day, please return the reply slip at the end of this letter no later than Tuesday 17th May.
After the picnic, children will go back to their class teachers to register and prepare for the afternoon’s entertainment. Parents are welcome to stay on the field during this short interval.
The Queen will start the proceedings and we will learn/remember some of the key events from her reign, brought to life by children in Year 6. Each class will perform a popular dance routine from one of the decades over the last 70 years and we are hoping that parents will join in where they can!
The aim of the afternoon is to come together to have fun while commemorating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. FoHPS have kindly agreed to fund a couple of commemorative keepsakes for each child so they all have something to take away to remember the event in years to come.
FoHPS Summer Fair
The FoHPS Summer Fair is drawing ever closer and next week marks the start of donations from parents.
Toy Stall
Please leave your donations of pre-loved toys, books and games in the school entrance hall. For games and jigsaws, please ensure that the contents are complete, and then please tape the box closed. For all items, please only donate items which are of good re-saleable quality which you would be happy for you or your child to purchase.
Crockery Smash
Please leave donations of crockery for the crockery smash in the school entrance hall. Any condition is fine, although no glass please.
Bottle Tombola
Each class will be trying to collect as many filled bottles as possible for the bottle tombola. The bottles can contain any drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic). Please check that the bottles are within their best before date and have not been opened! The class that brings in the most bottles will receive a small prize. Please give your bottles to your child’s class teacher who will count them before handing them to FoHPS.
Silent Auction
FoHPS will be making class hampers for the silent auction. This has been very successful in the past and they have made some beautiful hampers. Each hamper will have a themed colour. If each child brings in one coloured item for the hamper then we will have more than enough. The items can be things such as toiletries, chocolate, wine, food and sweets, books, games. Anything new and unused. The allocated colours are:
- Reception – Red
- Year 1 – White
- Year 2 – Blue
- Year 3 – Green
- Year 4 – Purple
- Year 5 – Orange
- Year 6 – Yellow
Please hand donations to your class teacher.
Design a poster competition
The poster competition deadline is being extended until Monday 16th May. Children can design a poster for the fete or paint/draw a picture of the queen. Selected entries will be displayed in the marquee during the fete and there will be a prize for the winning picture/poster (from KS1 and KS2). All entries should be A4 size and given to your child’s class teacher by Monday at the latest.
Thank you to FoHPS
Due to the Summer Fair being held in the May Half Term break, the entire event is being organised solely by FoHPS committee members who are made up of a core group of parents, with most of them working full time. I am extremely grateful to them for all their hard work and the amount of time given to ensure the event runs smoothly and is a success. Nearly all members of staff are either away that weekend or celebrating the Jubilee with their own families in the villages/towns where they live. However, this has not deterred FoHPS who are determined to keep calm and carry on!
The FoHPS committee has always worked hard to raise money for the children of Horsmonden while planning exciting events that all children love going to. For that, I am truly thankful.
Sports for Schools Fundraiser
Thank you to everyone who supported the Sports for Schools Fundraiser. The money is being totalled up ready to present children with their wristbands/signed posters as necessary. As part of the fundraiser Jessica Fleischer gave an inspirational talk encouraging children to ‘Dream Big, Start Small and Never Give Up’. She told them about her kickboxing journey to becoming a Champion and asked children to consider their dreams and how they could achieve them.
Sports Day
This year our whole school Sports Day will be on Monday 11th July. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will start at 10:30am and children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will start at 1:15pm. Parents are welcome to join us to watch their children compete at the times above.
Musical Showcase with Katie Slowgrove
On Tuesday 19th July at 9am parents of children who have music lessons with Katie Slowgrove are invited in for a showcase of everything they’ve learned this year.
Attendance
Children should be in school every day unless they are too ill, attendance is mandatory, as set out by the Department of Education. We have high expectations of behaviour, learning and attendance at Horsmonden and will use the full extent of our Attendance Policy to support this.
Parents should aim for 100% attendance for their children. When children are not in school regularly it not only affects their learning, but also their behaviour, routines and ability to make and retain friends. We often find that those children that have friendship issues are the same children who have poor attendance. There is also a direct correlation between attendance and attainment. Children have missed out on too much education over the last couple of years and I am asking for your support in ensuring your children are in school every day.
As always, if there is anything you wish to discuss, you can arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher, send an email, or catch me at the gate. I am out there mostly every day, along with Mr Alabi.
Kind Regards,
Hayley Sharp
Principal
Jubilee Celebration Day – Thursday 26th May – School Packed Lunch Order
Children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2, as well as children in older years who receive free school meals, can order a packed lunch at no extra cost. For all other children the cost remains £2.40 which can be paid on Parent Pay.
Anyone wishing to have a school packed lunch should pre-order using the slip below and return it no later than Tuesday 17th May:
Click here to view/download the School Packed Lunch Order Return Slip
Diary Dates 2021/22
Term 5
- Monday 9th to Thursday 12th May – Year 6 SATs Week
- Monday 16th to Friday 20th May – Bottle and Crockery Collection for FoHPS Summer Fair
- Friday 20th May – Children invited to wear non-uniform in exchange for donating a jar of sweets to the FoHPS Summer Fair
- Friday 20th May – Parent Coffee Morning with Mrs Sharp and Mr Alabi, drop in between 8:40am and 9:45am
- Tuesday 24th May – Year 5 Activity Day (GoApe, Bedegbury)
- Thursday 26th May – Jubilee Celebration Day and Whole School Picnic
- Friday 27th May – End of Term 5
Term 6
- Saturday 4th June – FoHPS Summer Fair
- Monday 6th June – Start of Term 6
- Friday 10th June – Hotshotz Tennis Workshops
- Monday 13th to Friday 17th June – Year 6 Residential to Windmill Hill
- Monday 13th June – Year 3 Trip to Wildlife Trust
- Monday 20th June – Marvellous Males Afternoon for Dads, Grandads, Uncles to celebrate Father’s Day, drop in from 1:45pm
- Friday 1st July – Leigh Academies Trust Kwik Cricket Tournament (selected children in Years 5 and 6)
- Monday 4th July – Year 6 Trip to Kent Police Open Day
- Thursday 14th July – FoHPS Summer Disco
- Monday 18th July – Leigh Academies Trust Sports Day (selected Years 5 and 6 children)
- Tuesday 19th July – Music Assembly organised by Katie Slowgrove
- Wednesday 20th July – Year 6 Production to Year 6 Parents (5pm)
- Friday 22nd July – Year 6 Leavers Assembly
- Friday 22nd July – End of Term 6