The Chronicle

Dear Parents

This week seems to have passed all too quickly and Advent will be upon us very soon.  This marks the beginning of a very busy period in school celebrating this special time of the year.  I have already heard the children preparing for the nativities and I know that parents are in for a real treat on performance days.

On Monday, Junior 6 were accompanied by Messrs and Mesdames Horan, Vaughan, Paphitis, Cottrill and Lamprecht as they made their way to Costa Coffee in Kenilworth to enjoy a coffee morning as part of their activity week.  They all enjoyed the brief excursion, fresh air and a chance to have a drink and cake with their friends.   Junior 6 will return to their usual timetable next week.  I would like to extend my thanks to the Junior 6 team for all their efforts co-ordinating the events ensuring that everyone had an enjoyable time experiencing team building, learning new skills and being rewarded for their hard study.

LAMDA examiners have been in school yesterday and today, hearing Junior 3 and Junior 4 pupils perform their selected pieces.  I hope that all the children gained confidence from this experience and look forward to their results in due course.

Yesterday evening we opened our doors to visitors attending the Little Crackers and Reception open evening.  This successful event showcased the recently updated nursery facilities and our two Reception classes.  My thanks to Mrs Vaughan, Mrs Butler, Mrs Hancock, our Little Crackers and Reception class staff and Mr Sansum for their input into making this event a success.

Tomorrow Mr Lamprecht was due to return to his previous school, St John’s Beaumont, and take the U11A rugby team with him.  Unfortunately, the weather has intervened and the match has been cancelled due to waterlogged pitches.  They will however, be going to watch the Rugby match at the Madejski Stadium in Reading.  I’d like to thank Mr Lamprecht for the many hours spent arranging this fixture.

For those of you who were unable to attend assembly this morning, I was delighted to announce that the final total raised during our Super Hero Day was £200.  This will be donated to Warwickshire Air Ambulance later today.  I was also very pleased to hear Mrs Olden announce that a new piano will be arriving at school shortly.  This is largely due to a generous donation by our wonderful PTA led by the ever-caring Chair, Mrs Lamb.  The piano will be delivered next week and many children will be able to benefit from this addition for years to come.

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week: Charlie, Thomas, Jessie, Isla, Blythe, Sebastian, Isabella, Alfred, George, Theo, Martha and Davi.  Rhomun is also congratulated for his RE Book of the Week.  Well done to all the pupils who received their bronze merit award this week.  The J1 recorder group performed extremely well at assembly this week, as did Francesca, who has a beautiful singing voice.

As you will have read in a communication earlier this week, it has been decided to take a different approach to lunchtime arrangements in the new term.  This will be trialled and feedback sought before contemplating a permanent change but it is hoped to give children more choice when selecting their lunch.  Holroyd Howe will continue to provide a range of well-balanced meals and cater for those children who have special dietary requirements.  Thank you for the feedback that we have already received from some parents.  The school is considering all opinions with the reassurance that we view this as a sensitive and subjective topic.  It is hoped to reach a position that is practical from a logistical point of view, whilst providing all pupils with the required nourishment and sustenance.

Our Choral Group are singing at the switching on of the Kenilworth High Street lights next Friday evening at 18:00.  Please do join us for a lovely evening of carol singing.  The following day sees our Winter Wonderland at school from 13:00 to 16:00.  We would love all our families to join us on what promises to be a super day.

I would like to wish everyone a very happy and restful weekend.

God bless

Mr Duigan