Weekly Update from Mr Burkinshaw

I hope this finds you well as we approach the weekend and the final stretch of this long Autumn term!

This week, our school has been absolutely brimming with festive cheer and creativity! We have been so proud of the children in both the infant and junior sites for their wonderful Christmas productions, which retold the Christmas story with such enthusiasm.

On Wednesday we wore our Christmas jumpers and ate our Christmas dinners, all while supporting one of our three chosen charities: National Autistic Society, Kingston Young Carers and Princess Alice Hospice. Donations can still be made, via the school office. Thanks to all your generous donations so far we have raised the following:

• National Autistic Society: £68.09
• Kingston Young Carers: £72.98
• Princess Alice Hospice: £68.94
• Infants Nativity - £153.23
• Juniors Christmas Production - £521.89

Starfish and Seahorse gave a wonderful performance of their Wriggly Nativity yesterday. It was lovely to see the children retell the story of the first Christmas with such enthusiasm and it will be the first of many performances while they are at Christ Church! 

Earlier this week, our junior pupils performed their Christmas production, Bethlehem - The Musical. Led by Year 3, all junior children took part in a retelling. For the first time ever, we had all the children performing the finale, O Little Town of Bethlehem. I have never seen the junior hall so full - it was standing room only.

The junior children all received their new Chromebooks this week - provided thanks to the support of the Governors’ Fund, for which we are very thankful. This investment means that children in Years 3 to 6 will now take their devices home every night, giving them access to a secure suite of learning resources. It also means that we know every child has a Chromebook that they can use to do their work at home. 

Our new Eco team this week shared with our juniors a sneak preview of our 2026 pledges, and we’ll be working on this at both the infants and the juniors from next term.

Today, the house winning the most housepoints were announced: the infant winner was Elm and the junior winners were both Lime and Poplar. The winning houses will have a treat next Thursday of a mini-movie in the hall with squash and biscuits.

We will celebrate Christmas with our Christmas Service at Christ Church at 9:30 am. All parents are invited, but we especially encourage parents of Year 1 and Year 2 children to attend, as they will be performing as part of the service. 

Wishing you all a very restful and happy weekend.

Our School Updates for Parents

School Business Manager Vacancy

As mentioned previously, Ian Duncan, our School Business Manager, is retiring next Spring.This post is now being advertised, so if you or someone you know possesses strategic financial and operational management experience, and a passion for excellence in a supportive, community-focused, term-time-only role, please see the full details and application pack on our eTeach page.

Infant Site New Boundary Fence

You will have noticed our lovely new boundary fence is now up on our infant site. The electronic gate is not yet in operation, as we are awaiting a part for this, and then this will be the entry point into the site during the school day. We will let you know more about this in the new year when this gate is in operation.

School Photography Survey

Please could parents/carers complete the form sent via email to let us know which photography company you were most impressed with overall - Van Cols this year or Pret-a-Portrait last year.

Professional Photographer

We are looking for a professional photographer to come into school for a day to take some photographs to enable us to refresh our website. If you would be interested or know someone who might be, please contact the school office.

Sponsor our Sports Kit 

Every time our team takes part in a sports event, they wear our school kit. If you would be interested in sponsoring our team, please get in touch with Mr Duncan in the school office.   

Clubs and intervention groups

All clubs have now finished and will not run next week. Clubs start next term w/c 12th January. Year 6 intervention groups will continue next week.

Connect Message

It has come to our attention recently, that there are a number of parents/carers arriving late to collect their children from Connect. Late collections not only affect the overall effectiveness of Connect but also cause the child/children to become unsettled, especially when parents/carers are unreachable. In addition, these late collections have highlighted the importance of having up-to-date contact details of primary contacts and emergency contacts. While we understand that delays occasionally occur, to ensure the continued affordability, running and overall effectiveness of Connect, please can we remind parents that collection of Connect children is no later than 18:15 and ask that parents/carers provide Connect with up-to-date contacts. We thank you for your continued support.

Wider Community Updates

Halliford School's Open Events & Saturday Adventure Series - Y4-6 Boys

Halliford School would like to invite Year 4, 5 and Year 6 boys to their fun-filled Saturday Adventure Series. These free events offer the perfect introduction to life at Halliford, allowing participants to explore their facilities and engage in a variety of hands-on activities. At the end of each event, parents are welcome to join them for refreshments and meet their staff. Parents can reserve their son's spot by clicking on the link on the attached flyer. Also included on the flyer are details of their Spring Term Open Events taking place on Saturday 28th February and Tuesday 24th March.

Key School Dates

• Monday 15th December - Class Christmas Parties
• Monday 15th December - Y2 Singing in the Methodist Church (Nursery & Reception to watch)
• Tuesday 16th December - Y4 Trip to Rose Theatre (Cinderella) PM
• Friday 19th December - Christmas Service @ 9:30am
• Friday 19th December - Term finishes early at 1.05pm (infants) and 1.20pm (juniors). Connect will finish at 5:15pm
• Monday 22nd December – Friday 2nd January - Christmas Holiday
• Monday 5th January - INSET Day (School closed to pupils)
• Tuesday 6th January - Spring Term Starts