Events
Summer Fair: 13th July 2024
The Friends of Noel Park have done an incredible job fundraising for the school this academic year. The contributions they have made towards trips in particular have been invaluable and we would like to thank them for everything they have done. Their summer fair on Saturday was a massive success despite fears about the weather and that is all down to their careful preparation and contingency plans. Thank you to everyone who attended. I hope you had as much fun as I did!
International Week: 8th to 12th July 2024
During international week the children learned traditional dances, listened to stories from around the world, sang songs and created artwork inspired by their chosen focus country. One class learned about San Marino, the 5th smallest country in the world! They also played traditional games including Piovra, Scopa, Briscola and Tresette and even tried saying numbers in Italian.
Take One Picture Exhibition: 19th June 2024
Over a period of 6 weeks, the children worked really hard to create their art masterpieces based on this year’s Take One Picture
focus painting: ‘The Courtyard of a House in Delft’ by Pieter de Hooch. We submitted a number of these
masterpieces to the National Gallery in the hope that they will be chosen to be displayed and offered parents a
sneak peak of this fantastic artwork in our exhibition!
British Science Week: Save our Seas: 15th March 2024
As part of British Science Week, all of Noel Park Primary School spent the day working with the charity Common Seas, learning about our seas and oceans. We looked at how they are connected to each other and how so many people depend on them for a variety of reasons. We also studied some of the vast and fascinating variety of plants and animals that call our seas home and what the impact plastic pollution is having and will continue to have if not addressed. Finally we looked at how some individuals and groups are already driving change and cleaning up our oceans. We created some posters and pieces of art to celebrate our learning.
World Book Day: 7th March 2024
We were so excited about our favourite day of the year!
The children dressed up as their favourite literary characters to highlight the joys of reading as we celebrated World Book Day! They shared their favourite stories, wrote on the Padlet and completed a book review. Parents also joined the children in class to share favourite books and took part in fun activities like creating a character face from rice cakes! There was a special assembly involving a costume parade and competition with prizes for the best handmade costume! It was an eventful day full of fun and creative activities inspired by books and reading.
LGBT+ month: February 2024
Throughout the year, we specifically focus on the protected characteristics of our four EEDI pillars (race and ethnicity; remarkable women; disability; and sexual orientation and gender identity), with LGBT+ being the focus for February. Over the course of the month, we focused on spotlighting the achievements of members of the LGBT+ community across history, learning about LGBT+ history, arts, culture and achievements in our individual year groups and as a whole school. This culminated in an incredible art exhibition where each class showcased their final masterpieces.
Year 4 Guitar Concert: 23rd & 25th January 2024
It was an electrifying experience to see Year 4 guitarists in their guitar concerts. It’s amazing to think that these children have only been learning since September! They were so confident and brave while performing in front of a large audience. They all did a fantastic job and put on a performance to be proud of.
Winter Fun Day: Wednesday 20th December 2023
We had an incredible turnout of parents that joined the children in class to complete a fun winter craft activity. It was a wonderful moment to create a happy memory with parents and the children were able to take their creations home with them. This activity was followed by hot chocolate and refreshments in the hall for parents and we were thrilled to see so many stay for a festive chat! The children also had some additional fun throughout the day, with Christmas dinner followed by winter parties in the afternoon.
Christmas Shows: December 2023
Our Christmas shows have been very well attended this year, with the hall packed out for all showings. The Early Years show began the with the classic Nativity play and the nursery children gave us a beautiful and heart-warming singing performance of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. There were joyful and festive presentations including the Year 3 & 4 performance of The Magical Jigsaw. The children have loved having such a fantastic audience to support them in showcasing the results of their hard work. They had been practising very hard to learn their lines and songs so it was great to see a huge turnout.
Friends of Noel Park Winter Fair
Friday 8th December 2023
The Friends of Noel Park kicked off the festivities in style with a fantastic Christmas Fair. After transforming our forest school area into a beautiful winter wonderland complete with snow, they organised a range of stalls and activities from popcorn and mulled wine to face-painting and crafts. Father Christmas even made an appearance with his sack of goodies! This was all topped off with a performance from the school choir followed by the drawing of the much anticipated raffle.
Spelling Bee: Friday 8th December 2023
Our Autumn term spelling bee took place in both lower and upper phase and the children were absolutely incredible! Before the spelling bee, the children had to take part in an in class spelling bee competition where the top two from each class were chosen to represent their classes. The children worked so hard and it paid off as they were all able to spell some extremely difficult words. After some tough rounds we were down to the final two children where it ended in a tie breaker to find our final overall winner. A massive well done to them and to everyone who took part. The children enjoyed the competition and should feel extremely proud of their achievements.
Careers Week: November 2023
We were very excited to host our first careers event of the year. Our focus for the half term was ‘Careers in Creative Industries’ and we had some fantastic speakers to inspire and motivate our children. There was a showcase of hand-made pottery with cutting tools and the children were really enthusiastic to learn about pottery and porcelain thrown on the wheel. This was a great event to support us in exposing the children to a wide range of careers as well as further developing their aspirations.
Black History Month: October 2023
This October, we launched a new theme for Black History Month 2023: ‘Saluting our Sisters.’ The theme highlighted the crucial role that black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities. This year’s celebration showcased pioneering black women who have made remarkable contributions to literature, music, fashion, sport, business, politics, academia, social and health care, and more. We began with a launch of Black History Month in Monday’s assembly where we discussed the importance of Black History Month and introduced this year’s theme. Through our reading lessons, our children learnt about a variety of remarkable British Black women and their achievements. The month culminated with a showcase of children's learning during our Black History Month exhibition on Tuesday 31st October.
Year 3 & 4 Bikeability: 16th & 17th October
In October, a group of 3 & 4 children took part in two days of bikeability training. Bikeability is a cycle training programme that teaches children practical skills and gives them the understanding and expertise they need to ride their bikes on the road. We were lucky with the weather and the children thoroughly enjoyed their experience. All the children passed their Level 1 and can now ride safely.
World Mental Health Day: Thursday 10th October 2023
We had a focus on mental health and wellbeing throughout the week in celebration of World Mental Health day on Tuesday. In PSHE and assembly, the children had the opportunity to learn about what mental health is, why it is so important and what things might impact it both positively and negatively. They also had a chance to try out a range of activities to promote good mental health, from mindfulness breathing and painting to sharing the things that help them when they’re feeling sad, considering which ones they prefer and find the most helpful.
National Poetry Day: Thursday 5th October 2023
The whole week was a week full of poetry at Noel Park, with the celebrations culminating in some incredible poetry recitals on the Friday. The children performed poems linked to Black History Month, focusing on conveying emotion, projecting their voices and creating impact on their audience. Every class did an incredible job of learning and practising their poem throughout the week and were excited to showcase the results of their hard work for the rest of their peers. Thank you, also, to everyone who joined us for our poetry workshops on Thursday. It was fantastic to see so many families join us for the event.
Take One Picture Exhibition: Thursday 22nd June 2023
This year, children were challenged to create art masterpieces based on the National Gallery's 2024 focus painting: Henri Rousseau, 'Surprised. We had our annual Take One Picture Project exhibition after school and were blown away by the quality of the children’s masterpieces. We are planning to submit a number of them to the National Gallery in the hope that they will be chosen to be displayed there so watch this space for further updates. Thank you to everyone who attended in spite of the
hot weather.
Writing for Pleasure Day: Wednesday 24th May 2023
The day started with welcoming parents into classes for oracy based writing activities. These included debating, role play, talk counters and even a courtroom scene activity! The children were able to show excellent oracy skills - adapting the language and vocabulary used based on the activity. We then discussed the importance of writing for pleasure with the children being able to identify that it is all about writing with no rules and having the ability to be as creative as they like! The day continued with various drama, art and writing activities which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Year 4 even turned into a crime scene for the day where the children had to be detectives to work out who had vandalised their classrooms! The children had a wonderful day and some brilliant artwork and writing pieces were produced.
Healthy Living Week: Week beginning 15th May 2023
All of the children in Noel Park were given a number of challenges to take part in during Healthy Living Week both in school and at home. In school these ranged from walking a mile, making fruit kebabs and extra HiiT sessions. At home there was a daily challenge booklet designed to keep us moving more; sleep better and eat in a more healthy style.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Day: Friday 24th March 2023
On Friday 24th March, Noel Park Primary School took part in Mental Health & Wellbeing Day. We focused on activities and discussions surrounding mental health, including the importance of sleep, emotions & feelings, wellbeing and the use of creative as a form of expression and mindfulness. Our day started with a 'gratitude morning' where we wrote down all things that we are grateful for in that moment. Each pupil also chose a unique way to say good morning to their teacher that day; some gave a high-five, some even chose to do a little dance! We also incorporated some physical activity in our day, engaging in HiiT sessions in order to increase our heart rate and release some feel-good hormones! Both children and staff thoroughly enjoyed using this day not only as an opportunity to have discussions about mental health, but also to engage in activities that have a positive impact on our wellbeing.
World Book Day: Friday 3rd March 2023
Our World Book Day celebrations this year were a massive success. It was lovely to see so many children and staff coming to school dressed as their favourite book character. There were some incredible homemade costumes and I know the teachers had a real challenge choosing the competition winners in each class! Parents joined us in class in the morning for some storytelling sessions, with many of them bringing their own favourite stories to share.
TFL STARS: Friday 3rd March 2023
Our Junior Travel Ambassadors were lucky enough to attend the TFL STARS event organised by Haringey Council. They were awarded the TFL gold star and certificate which has been proudly placed on our school plaque. During the event, they listened to other schools present their work as well as ways they can continue the gold star momentum. The children have many ideas up their sleeves and look forward to sharing this with our school councillors and making future plans. One of the initiatives the children are keen to get up and running is 'The Walking Bear'. This introduces road safety messages for our younger pupils and encourages children to think about how they travel to school. Children take turns to have the walking bear for a night over the course of a school term. They then draw a picture or write about their journey in the walking bear journal and share their story with the class. Hari Bear may well be coming home with you soon - be warned, he is car sick and only able to travel on foot!
Rachel Bright Visit: Tuesday 28th February 2023
EYFS and Year One children and staff met the author Rachel Bright. Rachel shared her latest book with the children and they all had a go at drawing their own Gecko. It was great fun and Rachel also signed copies of her book after the event.
National Poetry Day 2022
Our National Poetry Day celebrations started with a very well attended event in the lower hall where children and parents were able to take part in a variety of interactive activities hosted by teachers and pupils in each year group. This was followed by poetry workshops in all classrooms where parents were able to join in with their children. Throughout the week each class rehearsed performing a poem chosen for its Black History theme. The week ended with a poetry performance competition in the Upper and Lower Phases. All of the performances were amazing so the judges had a difficult task choosing one winner in each phase! The Upper Phase winners were Quince Class, Year 5, for their rousing performance of Maya Angelou's - And Still I Rise. The Lower Phase Winners were Date Class, Year 1, for their rendition of Freedom! Let it Ring.