Dear Parents and Carers, 

We have ended the Spring Term in true HTPD busy style – what a week! 

Monday was a strong start to the week with the Guildford Primary Schools' Music Festival Concert at GLive.  It was an amazing opportunity for the children in the orchestra and choir to join forces with 11 other Guildford Primary schools to perform in such a large venue, with a sold out auditorium! The children performed superbly and showcased some amazing musical expertise; it was a fabulous event and certainly a highlight in the school’s musical calendar. The opportunities to perform have continued this week in assembly at the Juniors, the ‘Choir Showcase’ for parents on Wednesday afternoon and, of course, at the Easter Service. 

Our end of term Easter service provided a joyful celebration of hope, love and whole-school togetherness. The children’s singing is always a highlight for me and the staff ’band’ really summed up our school values with the staff modelling a ‘zest of learning and a love of life’! It was great to have some parents join us – I hope you enjoyed it all as much as I did and we’re really grateful for your help in walking to and from the church.   

The service followed our annual Pause Day; when we retell the Easter story and give time to the children to reflect on the hope of resurrection, as well as other aspects of Jesus’ life leading up to His crucifixion. This year, we were supported by so many different churches from across the town and we’re so grateful – huge thanks to Holy Trinity, Guildford Baptist Church, St Nicolas, Christchurch, Emmaus Road, St. Martha’s on the hill and St Saviour’s. We were so impressed by the creativity, care and commitment shown to us, that so many skilful people were willing to give up time to lead the school community so well.

Over the course of the week, there have been many creative opportunities for the children. I saw so many impressive creations coming into school for the Juniors’ House ‘bake off’. Nick assures me that the cakes tasted as good as they looked! I really enjoyed watching the children across HTPD design and make beautiful Easter gardens to represent parts of the Easter story, complete with the empty tomb and the stone that was rolled away. These wonderful creations were adorned with spring flowers and were so lovingly created. Thank you for helping provide all the resources that made this such a success.

It’s never a week without sport at HTPD! On Tuesday, we took our Year 5 and 6 Sportshall team to the Spectrum for the Sportshall County Finals—a prestigious event featuring the 12 best schools in Surrey. Our children performed brilliantly, winning multiple races and demonstrating outstanding teamwork in their relays. We finished 4th overall and are incredibly proud of every child who gave it their all. The Year 4 girls also played in a netball tournament at St Joseph’s against other local primary schools; the girls played brilliantly and improved throughout the afternoon, coming an impressive second out of six teams. We’ve kept active at the infants too. Today we were so fortunate with the glorious weather, all the children thoroughly enjoyed the sponsored Easter Bunny hop, navigating an Easter themed obstacle course on the field. 

It’s been a busy week for parents and carers too, it was great to welcome Year 4 into school for a ‘Crazy Invention Demonstration’, Year 2 for a ‘Dinosaur Exhibition’ and Year 3 to see the children's fabulous work on volcanoes. It was a super way to round off a fantastic term of learning. A big thank you to the parents and carers who helped to run the Junior discos on Thursday too; the children had a fantastic time. 

We are delighted to report that we raised a fabulous £860 for Red Nose Day – thank you for your generosity. This year, the focus was supporting those in need during the current cost of living crisis, focusing on issues like lack of food and homelessness, which provided us a time to reflect on how we can support others and ‘imagine the journey in another’s footsteps’. 

Today, we say farewell to Jonel and wish her all the best for her wedding tomorrow. We’d like to thank our student teachers Isabel, Megan and Amber and wish them luck completing their courses. We welcome back Mark and Sofia from their second placement after Easter. 

I cannot end the term without saying enormous, heartfelt thanks to our amazing, dedicated staff team. As you’ve read in the weekly newsletter, they really do go above and beyond each and every week to provide the most amazing opportunities for the children; there really is no place like HTPD! 

I hope that you all have a very Happy Easter holiday - remember that we return for the summer term on Wednesday 23rd April. It’ll be exciting to start the summer term and look forward to all those light evenings! 

Best wishes 

Vicky 

Thought of the week: ⁴Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; ⁵love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; ⁶love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. ⁷Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. ⁸Love is eternal. Corinthians 12:4-8