Hyde Park Infant School
Hyde Park Road, Mutley
PLYMOUTH PL3 4RF
Tel: Plymouth (01752) 225493
www.hydepark-inf.plymouth.sch.uk
email: [email protected]
25th September 2015
Dear Parents,
Currently there is a bubble of excitement and chatter in the playground as I type my newsletter over
the lunchtime period. This chatter is in stark contrast to the silence and exemplary behaviour that
the children exhibited during our whole school fire drill practice this morning. I am happy to report
that every person was out of the building in just less than three minutes. We were testing the
effectiveness of the new fire doors too (which close when the alarm goes off) and all were found to
be effective. For your information, although the doors close, they can still be easily pushed open so
that even the youngest and smallest child can exit safely.
Wednesday was Devon Apple Cake eating day at Hyde Park Infant School. Grateful thanks to Paul
who baked 20 large trays of cake for the children, staff and helpers to consume. Every child helped
to chop some apple for the cake and every child had the opportunity to consume a very large square
of cake packed with our school allotment apples. One child from each class will feature in the
herald cutting and eating an additional circular cake that Paul baked in the school kitchen. Well
done to everybody who helped to make this event so enjoyable.
Harvest
Our assembly theme next week is that of Harvest and the children will be learning about where our
food comes from and that some people in Plymouth and across the world have little or no food. In
school we will hold our main Harvest assembly for the school children on Friday 2nd October (no
room for parents unfortunately) in which we will talk about and share our harvest gifts and sing
some songs too. This year we are supporting the Plymouth Food Bank by collecting non perishable
foods that can be distributed to families across the city who are in need of some nourishing meals.
Please donate whatever you can and bring it to the main school hall (at the front of the hall under
the projector screen) throughout the week beginning on Monday 28th and ensuring that your
donations have been sent by Friday 2nd October. This is a great local charity where your donations
go directly to the families that need it most.

Tinned fish or meat Sponge puddings (tinned) Mashed potato Longlife fruit juice
Longlife milk Cereal Tinned fruit Tinned vegetables Pasta/Rice Pasta sauces
Tinned savoury meals
I shall take a photograph of our Harvest donations and print it on my next newsletter so please be as
generous as you are able. Thank you
Parents’ Evening Dates
A ten minute appointment will be available for parents to discuss their child’s progress and targets
on Tuesday 20th or Wednesday 21st October between 3 and 5.50 pm. Appointment request slips and
appointments will be sent out at least a week in advance. For parents not living with their child and
needing a separate appointment from their previous partner, please ensure that you contact the
school on Thursday 15th or Friday 16th October to make your own appointment although staff do
appreciate it if both parents are able to attend at the same time.
Parent workshops
Thank you to all the parents who attended the Y1 and Y2 workshops this week. Every child came
home with information leaflets about how parents can help at home. I was presenting at the Y2
workshop and I know that there was a lot of information shared in a short space of time so staff
would like to reiterate that they are happy to talk through any aspect of the curriculum with you so
that you feel confident to support at home. Some parents have found it helpful to use the BBC
websites where they type in the year group, the area of learning e.g. multiplication methods and
then they can get some examples on-line. In the Y2 workshop I mentioned the new assessment
frameworks that have been issued by the Standards and Testing Agency which can be found in the
‘Curriculum’ section of our school website.
Christmas Production dates
All productions will be on site during school hours and involve all 270 children in every production.
The hall is extremely tight for space so we have to limit seats to 2 per family. Full details and
booking forms will appear nearer the time and we always try to prioritise parents who work and
have to book time off in advance. The performance dates and times are as follows :- Monday 14th
afternoon (this can be noisy as pre school and babes may well be sitting on a parent’s lap) Tuesday
15th afternoon, Wednesday 16th afternoon and Tuesday 17th morning
It is still lunchtime as I near the end of my newsletter and I can hear the ballet lesson in progress in
the hall. I am informed that the Digital Artists are busy in Holly classroom and I can hear the
children out at play having eaten their dinners. I am slowly managing to see the children about
their holiday scrapbook but it takes time to chat about their lovely holidays.
Thank you to all the parents who have taken the trouble to ‘catch me’ or ring me for a chat. In the
main it is about how pleased they are but if there is an issue, I am always keen to help and will
investigate any matter that is of concern to you.
For the children who enjoy one of my Head Teacher challenges, here is one for you to try at the
weekend:To create a picture or poem with a seasonal theme.
Please send in pictures or poems electronically or into my office on Monday morning. I wonder
what treats are in store for me?
Mrs E A Hill
Head Teacher