Contents
- Contents
- World Book Day 2026
- School Council Food Bank Visit
- Careers and Enterprise Week
- Safer Internet Day
- Y4 Viking Day
- Lunar New Year in Reception
- Extreme Reading Challenge
- Scholastic Book Fair
- Book Swap
- Tennis Trip
- Hockey League
- Football at GOALS
- Y3/4 Ceilidh
- Children's Mental Health Week
- Reminders
- Sweets in School
- Dogs on Site
- The Courtyard
- Access for pupils with Disabilities
- Comic Relief
- Big Walk and Wheel
- Parent Governor
- February and March Learning Gallery
World Book Day 2026
We had a great day yesterday, celebrating books and reading. In assembly, we shared some recommended reads and we talked about different genres and different authors who have inspired us. In classrooms, everyone has had a day of books and enjoyed participating in reading families and sharing lots of stories, all while in our pyjamas! Keep an eye out for the book tokens which have been sent home and good luck with your book shopping!
School Council Food Bank Visit
The School Council children used their income from their Christmas Fair stall to fund a visit to the West End Food Bank. While they were there, they found out how food is distributed and used by the community and met some volunteers. Thank you to everyone in the Havannah School Family who made a donation. It was great to hand over so much food and for our children to see how it will be used. Thanks also to Rosie and her mum who inspired the collection and helped with the visit.
Careers and Enterprise Week
This week has been Careers and Enterprise Week and we have loved every minute of it! We are so lucky to have so many willing volunteers who have visited school and talked to the children about their jobs. The children have loved hearing about so many different careers and what different jobs entail. We want all of our children to have high aspirations and a can-do attitude about what they can achieve and how they can use their skills in the future. We have heard from bankers, scientists, nurses, doctors, IT workers, engineers, chefs, police officers, builders, architects, health researchers, a vascular surgeon, a games programmer, the Chair of Radio Lollipop, a registrar, managers, project managers, a fraud investigator, self employed business owners, a social worker, accountants, a compliance officer, trainers, estate agents, builders, solicitors, directors, teachers (no visitors required!) and more... I am sure they have inspired our children, broadened their horizons and planted seeds for the future.
Safer Internet Day
In February, we all learned about making safer choices when using the Internet. This is a theme which runs through our computing and PSHE curriculum but on and around Safer Internet Day, we focus on the theme of the day and this year we considered the use of AI. Miss Storey and the Digi Leaders led an assembly and we had lessons and visitors to help us to understand how to recognise AI and how to get help if we think something doesn't look right.
Y4 Viking Day
The children in Lapwing Class and Skylark Class were very excited earlier this week when they had their Viking day in school. They had a mock invasion, made long boats and designed and wore their own Viking helmets for the day. It was great fun and we are sure that it has helped them to learn more and remember more by being actively involved.
It was also quite scary for the rest of us to have 60 Vikings in school for the day!
Lunar New Year in Reception
Reception children were very busy celebrating Lunar New Year on the last day of last half term. They all took part in creative activities including a dragon dance (90 children long!) which snaked its way through school and even through the hall during assembly! There was a lot of food tasting too and the smell coming from the classrooms was delicious!
Extreme Reading Challenge
Mrs Jones and the Reading Ambassadors challenged everyone in school to show us their most extreme reading locations and we loved the pictures which have been sent into school. these are now on display in the corridor and look great. There is a winner for each year group and the prize of a £5 Scholastic School Fair book token which can be spent at the book fair next week. These have been given out in today's assembly to Paarth (R), Luca (Y1), Dominic (Y2), Arthur (Y3) and Alice (Y4). Well done to everyone who took part and remember to 'Keep on Reading!'
Scholastic Book Fair
The book fair is running next week. We hope to have it ready for Monday after school, depending on what time it is delivered and who is available to set it up. It will then be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 8.30am and Monday to Friday afternoons 3.30 - 4.30pm. Come and see what there is to offer and inspire some reading at home.
Book Swap
The Havannah Book Swap is still going! You can find it in the entrance to school through the first set of automatic doors. You are welcome to come and browse at any time. We aren't strict about swapping - you can pick one up without donating one because lots of people have donated books in large numbers. However, we are always grateful for donations. There are several boxes for children and for adults too.
Tennis Trip
We took a team of tennis players to a tournament in Sunderland before half term. This was a first for us and was great fun. The children returned with so much joy and pride. We look forward to the next one!
Hockey League
Our Hockey Team has been travelling to Gateshead after school to take part in The Primary School Hockey League with other schools from the region. They made a great impression and outstanding effort, especially as they were the youngest team taking part. We were delighted to welcome Graham Bell into school this week to present the children with an award for their participation. Well done everyone and thanks to Mrs McMeekan and Mr Richardson for arranging and supporting the event.
Football at GOALS
Yesterday, our Y4 boys represented the school at the NSB tournament at GOALS Gosforth! We played 8 games winning 4, drawing 1, losing 3. We came up against some really good teams and just missed the trophy by one goal. The boys showed great character, teamwork and attitude towards all players. Mr Richardson was very proud of them. Well done boys!
Y3/4 Ceilidh
Some dancers and musicians joined the Gosforth Pyramid Ceilidh at Junior High Middle School before the half term holiday and they loved taking part in the traditional group dances. This is a long standing event which takes place every year for schools in the Gosforth Group and the Gosforth Schools' Trust. We hope to have inspired some children to get moving and learn some new dances!
Children's Mental Health Week
During Children's Mental Health Week, we talked about what it means to belong and how much we benefit from belonging to different groups in and out of school. There was a lot of reflection and sharing as well as celebrating how good it feels to belong to our families and our school family. Thanks to everyone at home who helped with the homework task. It was great to see how children view the things which are important to their sense of belonging and how this makes them feel.
Reminders
Sweets in School
Children shouldn't have sweets in school either as a snack or part of their lunch. We also don't allow staff or parents/children to give sweets out to children in school. This is in part due to our Healthy School status but mostly because of allergies. Please don't send any sweets or food items into school for birthdays or celebrations. Thank you.
Dogs on Site
We have a Dogs on Site Policy available on the website. We are delighted that we are able to allow you to bring dogs onto site but please remember that your dog's behaviour is your responsibility and you must be confident that your dog can be safely left attached to the fence if you choose to bring your dog and leave it while you drop off or pick up. Please could all parents and carers remind their children that they should not approach other people's dogs when they are tied up and waiting.
The Courtyard
Another plea for our lovely planted areas - Please, as far as possible, keep your children off the planted areas in the courtyard. The new plants will be coming through now that spring has sprung and if there are little feet on these areas every day, they are unlikely to thrive. Children are not allowed to play on these areas during the school day and so it won't be a surprise when you tell them that they can't play her before and after school too. Thank you.
Access for pupils with Disabilities
Please be aware that a very small number of pupils at GPA and at HFS need access to the school car park at different times during the day. If the gates are locked and the site is busy, you might see staff from GPA or HFS escorting a car through the site. This is rare but we wanted to make everyone aware.
Comic Relief
It's here again! On Friday 20th March, we will be celebrating Red Nose Day and encouraging you to make a donation via the Comic Relief Website. Our theme this year is wear red - whether it's red socks, a red ribbon in your hair, a red hat, a red nose, a red t shirt or even head to toe in red! If you are making an online donation, please talk to your children about this so that they understand and know that they have made a difference. Thank you!
Big Walk and Wheel
Big Walk and Wheel is a national school challenge designed to encourage active journeys to school which improve everyone's fitness and our air quality. We take part every year and we compare the number of active journeys with other schools, locally and nationally. The challenge starts on Monday 23rd March and lasts for two weeks. During this time, we ask children to make as many active journeys to school as they can. For us, this includes parking at the Park and Ride facility and walking, scooting, cycling or using a wheelchair for the remainder of the journey. In school, teachers will be collecting the data and we will be competing with other schools and hoping to win some prizes for school. Please join in if you can!
Parent Governor
We are looking to appoint a new parent Governor to the Governing Body. This is a rewarding opportunity for someone who has a genuine interest in the strategic work of the school and who has skills and qualities which will help us to make sure that we provide the best possible education for all children in our school. Parent Governors bring an important perspective to the Governing Body as part of the school. The role is varied and will involve attending meetings after school (usually on Mondays), attending some training, including safeguarding training, and making planned visits to school. All of the Governors provide support and challenge to the school and they work alongside us on school finance, curriculum, staffing and many other aspects of our strategic work. The role of parent Governor is not to represent the views of other parents or act as a communication channel between parents and school, but to play a part in developing and driving forward our vision and ethos. Some parents who have been involved in the past have then become co opted governors and are now longstanding and very useful member of the Governing Body. We are always so grateful that people volunteer to give up their time to support us. We currently have a range of skills and backgrounds represented on the Governing Body, so we are not looking for a specific background or skill set. However, an interest in education is absolutely essential. Please look out for the information which we are sending out next week. This will give you more details and will tell you what you need to do if you are interested in putting yourself forward for the role.
February and March Learning Gallery
It has been such a busy time in school with so much learning and so much fun! We hope you enjoy all of our pictures. Remember that you can keep up to date with the fun by following us on Instagram too.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!