Newsletter 14th November 2025

Friday 14th November 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, we welcomed Sue from Holy Trinity church to our Collective Worship to look at gentleness. In our busy lives, it can be easy to rush and sometimes speak without thinking. Gentleness, as described in the Bible (Galatians 5:22-23) as a fruit of the Spirit, is not about being weak, but about being strong and controlled. It means:

Speaking Softly: Choosing kind and encouraging words instead of harsh ones.
Acting Thoughtfully: Being careful with our actions so we don’t hurt others’ feelings or bodies.
Showing Patience: Taking a moment to understand someone else’s point of view, especially when we disagree.

Gentleness helps us care for one another, creating a school where everyone feels safe, valued, and loved. Let’s try to practice gentleness in the classroom, in the playground, and at home this week.

Remembrance Day: Lest We Forget

On Tuesday, our school paused to observe Remembrance Day. This is a vital time for us to reflect and remember the incredible courage and sacrifice of those who have served and continue to serve our country in times of conflict. We held a special assembly led by Mr Thomson, where we discussed the importance of the poppy as a symbol of hope and memory, as well as having Archie’s grandmother play the Last Post on her trumpet. On the playground at 11 am, we observed a minute of silence. This act of remembering is a powerful way for us to show gratitude for the peace we enjoy today. Please continue this conversation at home, perhaps sharing a story of a family member who has served, and discussing the importance of working towards peace in our own communities and the wider world.

Best wishes,

Mr George

Instagram: @HolyTrinityschrichmond

Trips, visits and events

Year 6 have been busy with Bikeability

‘On the first day of Bikeability we were cycling up and down the playground and practising our emergency stops. On the second day we learnt how to do u-turns, signalling and T-junctions. I found it very fun and cool!’ The children spend the rest of the week out on the roads with their instructors learning how to cycle, manoeuvre and be safe amongst the traffic.

Swans have fun at Forest school!

Swan Class dodged most of the rain on Monday morning to enjoy a brilliant Forest School session. They played on the ropes and zip wire, cooked up a storm in the mud kitchen, made Stone Age tools and built dens and fires for their “Stone Age civilisations”.

Kingfisher parents running 25km on Saturday and cycling 25km on Sunday to raise money for BCC Children in Need

Please have a look at their Just giving page, any support is so greatly appreciated!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/jennifer-fairfield-2?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL

Bike Dr Clinic 18/11/25 9-12pm

We are very grateful to the Bike Dr who will be in school on Tuesday 18 November, 09:00 – 12:00 to run free checks for your children’s bikes. They will be set up under a gazebo at the front entrance of the school where you can drop off your children’s bikes and collect them from the bike racks at the end of the day. The session will be run by two cycling instructors, who also have experience in bike mechanics, and they will check over everything for free including wheels, brakes, gears, tyre pressure, chain, pedals, saddles and more. They can make any minor adjustments; however, they do not carry any spare parts so anything that needs repairing but that they can’t fix on-site they will inform you about so that you can take the bike to a bike shop for repair. There are a maximum of 40 spaces available. To book a slot for your child’s bike please email; lprendergast@htprimary.com or cbell@htprimary.com.

Please be aware that:

In cases where it’s not possible to get the bike to a safe standard, you will be advised about the faults.

LBRuT does not take responsibility for problems arising from faults that damaged your bike before this check, for injury, loss or damage to property that is not caused by an instructor’s negligence.

Wishing Miss Ashby lots of luck

This week, some of our staff (past and present) gathered together for a little tea party. We celebrated Miss Ashby and her exciting new chapter. Although as a staff, we wished Miss Ashby good luck, we are sure that as a parent community, you would like to say a few words too. Miss Ashby’s last day before maternity leave will be next Friday 21st November, unless her baby has other ideas! Please do try and catch her at the gate, in her office or around school.

Notices and requests

Christmas Fair: Lucky Dip Stall

The Junior Leadership Team will be running the lucky dip stall at the Christmas Fair once again this year to help raise funds for our school. They are looking for donations of any small toys that are in a good condition. Please leave them at the school office or take them directly to Mr Auton in Roe Class. We will be very grateful for any donations received. Thank you in advance from Mr Auton and the Junior Leadership Team.

Scholastic Book Fair

We’re thrilled to announce the return of the Scholastic Book Fair from Tuesday 18th of November to Friday, November 21st. Join us in the KS1 playground, outside the Year 1 classrooms, after school at 3:15 pm.

All payments can be conveniently made by scanning the QR code located on the book fair cases.

Scholastic Virtual Events

Celebrate reading with your favorite authors and illustrators! Join Scholastic for a new programme of virtual events. Featuring writing workshops, “drawalongs” and more. There are regular events running for all ages throughout the school term.

To view the Live Events scheduled please click below:

https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/scholastic-schools-live

Holy Trinity Church Christmas Community Choir

HT Church has their Carols by Candlelight service at 6pm on Sunday 14th December, and would love to invite any HT parents or carers who are interested to join in. Music reading is desirable but not essential, as full rehearsal recordings will be provided. To sign up, please click this link, or for more information email matt.osgood@htrichmond.org.uk.

Holy Trinity does Movember!

Week 2 – update!

This November some staff and Governors are joining in with Movember and would love parents and carers to join them.

This annual event raises money and awareness for men’s health charities while being a bit of fun. The rules are simple – be clean shaven on 1st November and then grow away! All styles of Mos welcome! If you are keen to join the fun drop an email to fneal@htprimary.com.

We’ll keep you updated during November – look out for updates on the school social media accounts. We are going to get everyone participating together towards the end of November to compare moustaches – there might even be a prize for the best Mo….!

There is a QR code below that links to the HT Team page for donations or visit – https://uk.movember.com/mospace/15380367?utm_medium=share&utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=qr-code

Celebrations!

Our Values Champions

Congratulations to this week’s values champions:

Nina, Kane, Freya, Yusuf, Amayra, Norelle, Lottie, Hiroya, Isabella, Julia, Ayyan, Viktoria, Aahil, Mikky, Rafi, Haya, George, Scarlett, Tom, Megan, Nika and Sammy.

House Point Champions

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Pankhurst!

P.E Star

Congratulations to Nina in Ladybirds!

Music Star

Congratulations to William in Herons!

Attendance

94.62% overall: Well done to this week’s winners, Bumblebee class with 98.82%.

Safeguarding

Online Safety

We know that using technology and the internet is a fantastic way for our children to learn new things and keep in touch with people. We absolutely love seeing them benefit from the digital world! Ensuring that every child feels secure and confident when using digital technology is a major priority here at Holy Trinity.

Learning to Be Safe Online

We ensure that online safety is not just a one-off lesson; the teaching of it is embedded throughout the curriculum in various subjects. We also teach it explicitly in our Computing lessons right at the beginning of each school year. This dedicated approach helps us equip our wonderful children with the essential skills they need to keep themselves safe.

To maintain a secure digital environment, all children and staff complete an Acceptable Use Agreement, which is fully detailed within our Online Safety Policy.

Crucially, we also use our PSHE curriculum to provide children with the opportunities to develop the skills they need to recognise and stay safe from abuse. We aim to establish and maintain an environment where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk, and know they will be listened to. We always want our children to know they can approach any adult in school if they are worried, and they will receive a consistent, supportive response.

What to Do If You Have Concerns

We encourage everyone—parents, carers, and pupils—to partner with us on online safety.

If you have concerns about online safety, please report this to the school.

Alternatively, or in addition, you (whether an adult or a pupil) can report your concerns directly to the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre). You can find their helpful resources and reporting tool by clicking the link to the CEOP website: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk.

If you think a child is in immediate danger, please remember to **call 999**.

Let’s work together to ensure that our children’s online journey is secure, confident, and full of positive learning!

The online safety page of our website can be found here.

Dates for your diary

21st Nov – Own Clothes day for Chocolate for the Christmas Fair

25th Nov – Parent Teacher meetings (from 2.30pm)

26th Nov – Flu Imms – reception to year 6

– Parent Meeting re: 1 form entry 6.30pm

27th Nov – Year 3 Stone Age Day

28th Nov – Own Clothes Day for Cakes for the Christmas Fair

10th Dec – KS1 Nativity 9.00am

11th Dec – EYFS Nativity 9.00am

16th Dec – KS2 Carol Concert at Holy Trinity Church 6pm

17th Dec – Christmas Lunch and Christmas Jumper Day

PTA event dates

29th Nov – School Christmas Fair

12th Dec – Christmas Movie Night

6th Feb – Disco KS1 4.15 – 5.30, KS2 5.45 – 7.30

26th Feb – Sponsored Bounce

13th March – Movie night

20th March – Chocolate Bingo

15th May – Movie Night

12th June – HT in the Park

4th July – Summer Fair

Community events and initiatives

Friday 11th July 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Summer fair – despite the damp start, it was a roaring success, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our wonderful PTA for all that they do for the children and families of Holy Trinity. Eils Osgood joined us for Collective Worship on Monday to explore how light can guide us on our journey through life. Parents may be aware that for each collective worship, a child is chosen to light our candle, giving us focus on our theme, and to help us reflect on Jesus, the Light of the World.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

Best wishes,

Mr George

Instagram: @HolyTrinityschrichmond

Trips, visits and events

Herons and Swans visit Kew Gardens

Year 3 had a wonderful time on their trip to Kew Gardens on Tuesday. The children explored the gardens and the greenhouses, experiencing what it is like in the Tropics, went on a bee hunt as part of a pollination workshop and were even able to pollinate some flowers. There was also time for a play in the Children’s Garden. Everyone behaved impeccably and a lovely day was had by all.

Recorder concert

Year 2 treated us all to a spectacular recorder concert this week. They played a wide range of songs from different genres with confidence and enthusiasm. Thank you to all of the parents and carers who came along. We appreciate the time spent encouraging the children to practise playing their instruments at home.

Notices and requests

HT Friends Coffee Afternoon

Thank you to everyone who attended the coffee afternoon on Thursday, it was lovely to see you all!

Tennis Balls needed!

We would like to kindly request donations of any tennis balls you no longer need. We go through quite a few over the course of the year, and your support would be greatly appreciated!

Parent Survey

Just a reminder that our parent survey can be found here. The survey will close at midnight on Sunday 13 July; many thanks to all those parents who have completed it so far.

Leavers

If there are any parents with children in Reception to Year 5 who are leaving the school at the end of term, please contact Mrs Prendergast (lprendergast@htprimary.com) for a leaver’s form. Richmond Admissions are starting to make offers for September admission. Many thanks.

2025 Summer Reading Challenge – Adventures in Nature and the Great Outdoors.

The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest children’s reading initiative for 4 –11-year-olds and is produced by The Reading Agency and delivered by public libraries. We hope that this year’s theme will inspire children to tap into a world of imagination through reading, exploring the magical connection between storytelling and nature.

From Saturday 5 July 2025 the children can sign up for the challenge at their local Richmond upon Thames library and receive a Story Garden pack. To take part, they need to be a member of the library and have their own library card. For each of six library books they read they can collect a sticker for their pack. Children can update their progress through the challenge at any library in the borough. Everyone who reads six library books is rewarded in the library with a medal and certificate.

Story Garden ends in the borough on Saturday 6 September 2025. More information is available here https://www.richmond.gov.uk/summer_reading_challenge

Celebrations!

Our Values Champions

Congratulations to this week’s values champions:

James, Nina, Tom, Keira, Christopher, Anna, Magnolia, Kamaya, Agnes, Kosei, Zoe, Amelie, Lexi, Morgan, Bulut, Haya, Arda, Matias, Scarlett, Juliao, Hazel, Paven, Ichika and Year 6 for their fabulous production!

P.E Star

Congratulations to Sheldon in Bumblebees.

Music star

Congratulations to Kosei in Dragonflies.

Attendance

95% overall: Well done to this week’s winners, Bumblebees with 100%.

Dates for your diary

Monday 14th July End of year reports go home

HT’s Got Talent auditions

Tuesday 15th July HT’s Got Talent

Thursday 17th July Reception to Bocketts Farm

Sports and Music award assembly

Monday 21st July Star award assembly

Nursery Concert 9.00am

Tuesday 22nd July End of term – 2.15pm

Safeguarding

Online

In school, we have a very secure filtering system called SENSO, which helps us to monitor the usage of computers in school, ensuring that websites and content are suitable for whoever is using the machine and keeping children safe online. However, this filtering system is only available at the school, and so we are asking all parents to ensure that any devices used at home (online gaming consoles, laptops, tablets, phones etc) that their children may have access to have suitable filtering and monitoring controls fitted. Whilst each home system will be different, we are happy to recommend the NSPCC website here, which is a link to Parental Controls for devices. The best way of checking that children only access appropriate content at home is by parents keeping a close eye on all devices and ensuring that children are in a shared space when using them. If you have any further queries, do contact Mr George at school.

Community events and initiatives

Current years 5, 6 and 7 who cannot yet swim 25m

Pools on the Park and Teddington Pools & Fitness Centre are offering Summer Splash crash courses for children in current years 5, 6 and 7 who cannot yet swim 25m. This is open to children who either live in the borough or attend school in the borough. The 5-day course costs £5.

Applications will be accepted from 7th July 2025

Summer Splash

The Summer Splash programme will return this summer, providing crash courses to children in school years 5, 6 and 7 who are unable to swim to a level expected for their age.

Summer Splash 2025 – London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

MET IN THE PARK

The Met Police South Richmond SNT are running the highly successful Met in the Park, in Old Deer Park, Richmond on the 6th August between 1100 and 1700. This is a completely free family fun day, with dogs, horses, interactive crime scene for kids as well as London Fire Brigade and vintage army vehicles. They will also have free fun fair rides and lots of other activities. They would love to have as many families attend to meet the various departments of the police and to enjoy a free day out in the summer holidays.

Love, Aspiration, Community