** P6 & P7 AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS will finish at Half Term **
This is due to after school rehearsals for the School Production which will involve all P6 & P7 pupils and P4 & P5 pupils who are members of the Chorus. A number of boys and girls will be involved in after school sporting fixtures during Term 2. The teachers and coaches involved will inform the pupils of any forthcoming training sessions or matches. N.B. P4 & P5 After School Music Club members have received dates for this term.
As at many schools, Governors, staff, pupils, parents and local residents have voiced concerns about poor parking, congestion and concern for children's safety at school entrances.
The PSNI Pupils Preventing Poor Parking programme will be starting shortly. The PSNI and some of our older children will be visible and vocal at the school entrances to ask drivers to slow down and encourage HPS parents to park 2-3 minutes walk away from the school to reduce congestion. Please support us, we need your help.
No vehicles, except those with prior agreement with the school are permitted inside the school grounds during morning during morning drop off and afternoon pick-up times.
A HUGE THANKYOU to the parents, grandparent, staff and pupils who helped last Saturday. These 41 volunteers raised an amazing £920 in 8 hours! A special mention goes to Mrs Gillian Morrow (Euan and Robbie's mum) who worked tirelessly to muster up support before the day and who also co-ordinated times for all those who could help.
It was hard work but it was worth it. See some of our smiling volunteers in our gallery.
In the event of severe weather conditions in the coming months, we will operate a similar system to previous years. If it were necessary to close the school due to adverse weather conditions, we would inform you by our text messaging service, putting updates on the school website as well as informing the local media.
We have received information from SEELB of Open Days and Evenings for P7 children transferring to post-primary schools in September 2013. To assist you in planning for these events, a calendar of dates is shown below. Times and dates will also be available in local newspapers and the relevant school websites. For full details see the letter sent home with P7 children on 3rd December.
School will close at 12.15p.m. on Friday 21st December. No school meals will be provided. This is a non-uniform day!
School reopens on Monday 7th January 2013.
After School Clubs commence in the week beginning Monday 14th January 2013.
Christmas is in full swing at Holywood Primary and last week our P1 to P3 children performed their Nativity 'Hey Ewe!. If you would like a photograph of your little angel (or star!), a selection are available to purchase online here.
Photographs have been taken by school staff. Photographs are printed by Photobox and delivered to your door. Due to the high cost of administration. photographs are not available directly from school.
B&Q kindly donated a Christmas tree to HPS along with a £25 B&Q Gift Voucher. A special visitor in a big red suit came along to present it to Mrs Elliott’s P1 children. THANK YOU to Paul B&Q Store Manager, Santa and his helper!
The tree will have pride of place in Santa’s Grotto at the PTA Christmas Fair.
Over eighty children enjoyed their Christmas dinner in the school canteen today. Mrs Crone and Mrs Leadbeatter were very busy serving the tasty meals!
(Click an image to enlarge)
Congratulations to over 100 children who took part in Holywood Music Festival. Well done to the Choir, Clarinet and Brass ensembles who sang and played extremely well. Boys and girls from P6 Room 10, P7s in Room 12 and 13 were also involved as part of the Instrumental Innovative Open Class. The adjudicator, Mrs Childs, commented on how wonderful it was to see classes performing a contrast of traditional and modern music together. She commended the dedication of the teachers and chlildren involved and the range of instruments involved including hand bells, recorders, violins, flutes, a trombone and percussion instruments. Well done! We were so proud of you and your teachers.
It was a truly festive day out in Holywood today when everyone celebrated switching on the Christmas Lights. Children from the orchestra at Holywood Primary took part, playing a selection of Christmas music on the High Street. (Video to follow)
Thank you to all the pupils and Miss Riddell who performed a medley of Christmas songs which entertained many visitors in Holywood on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday 23rd November the children in our school choir and the P6 and P7 classes will be taking part in Holywood Music Festival.
The choir will be performing in the church beside the school in a class starting at 09.30am.
The P6 and P7 children will be performing in our school hall starting at 2.00pm. The Festival committee have been kind enough to allow this class, which includes other local schools, to be held in our school to accommodate the children.
We would ask that all the performers wear a white long-sleeved shirt with a tie. The girls are asked to wear a skirt, white knee socks and dark shoes. Hair should be neatly tied back if possible. Boys are asked to wear long trousers and dark shoes.
Please come along and support the children if you can!
As in previous years, Holywood Primary School is taking part in this year's Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying initiative.
Anti-Bullying Week 2012 takes place from 19th to 23rd November and focusses on how children and young people experience bullying because others see them as being "different".
For more information on bullying including resources for parents and children, visit the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum.
Following an invitation from local MLA, Mr. Gordon Dunne, the Education Minister, Mr O'Dowd, visited Holywood Primary School on Wednesday 14th November. Whilst seeing what goes on in HPS on a daily basis, we took the opportunity to highlight the need for new school builds in Holywood. Priory College and Holywood Nursery School have also been campaigning for new school builds for many years.
A number of our children presented Mr O'Dowd with letters pointing out the need for a new primary school in Holywood and the significant difference it would make to their learning and also many other children in the future.
We are having a non-uniform day for Children in Need and Tearfund on Friday. We would like everyone to wear their pyjamas to school on Friday and pay at least £1 for the two charities. Make the day as bright and colourful as possible!
Please wear appropriate underwear, coats, socks and trainers. Everyone will have outside playtime as usual and need to be warmly clothed.
Swimming classes will continue as usual so there will be fun on the way to and from Sullivan! We have heard Pudsey and Postman Pat may visit Holywood Primary on Friday too!
The Book Fairs held during the past few years have proved so popular that we will be holding one again this year from Tuesday 13th November. There will be a wide selection of books on display. Any books that sell out may be ordered and will be delivered within three days of the Fair closing. You can find a selection of the books in the Autumn selection (download here) with loads more choice at the Book Fair.
Our school benefits from all sales. Funds generated provide new novels for Key Stage 1 and 2 children and new stock for the School Library.
Parents may view the Fair in the Main Entrance Hall at the following times:
Tuesday 13th November: 1:00pm - 3:30pm
Wednesday 14th November: 11:30am - 12:15pm and 1:00pm - 3.30pm
Thursday 15th November: 11:30am - 12:15pm and 1:00pm - 3.30pm
Friday 16th November: 11:30am - 12:15pm and 1:00pm - 3.30pm
Monday 19th November: 11:30am - 12:15pm and 1:00pm - 3.30pm
We hope the children enjoy the fun of choosing and reading books. If you would like to buy online and collect your books at your school’s Book Fair click here to browse the selection. Simply add to the basket and follow the payment instructions selecting the Collect at Fair option at the check out.
NI water came in on Tuesday to talk to the children about conserving water and preparing our pipes for winter! Keep an eye out for the information which has been distributed and ask the children about the yellow tag sent home with P4-7 children.
HPS are one of only 100 NI schools selected to take part in the Energy Management Challenge organised by Airtricity. Some of the children were invited to Parliament Buildings to be part of the Launch for the Challenge. They met our local MLA Mr Dunne and the Environment Minister, Mr Alex Atwood.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon and we look forward to taking part in the Challenge in the coming weeks.
Holywood Primary School, along with a number of schools in the North Down area, have agreed to participate in a programme delivered by Childline staff and volunteers. They will be holding an assembly in our school and then a class-based workshop approximately two weeks later.
Volunteers will talk to children in Primary 6 and 7 about keeping safe. Full details can be found in the letter we have sent home with children.
The Childline Schools Service would also very much welcome your feedback. If you would like to share your thoughts, please complete the online feedback form when your child has completed the programme.
