The Devonshire Hill Times

Monday 6 January
Inset Day - School Closed - Staff only

Tuesday 7 January
Spring 1 Term Begins - Children Return

Friday 10 January
Inflatable Obstacle Course (selected children)
Attendance & Tull House reward

Monday 13 January
Attendance Celebration - Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6

Wednesday 15 January
Reception 2025 Admissions Deadline

Thursday 16 January
Dance Giants returns - selected Y5 & Y6

Friday 17 January
Attendance Celebration - Y1, Y2

Pizza Party - Most Improved Attendance

Tuesday 21 January
Tottenham Stadium Tour - Y3 & Y5

Friday 24 January
Great Mental Health Hat Parade - £2

Tuesday 28 January
Tottenham Stadium Tour - Y4

Wednesday 29 January
Chinese New Year Celebration - £2
Chinese New Year performance Y3, Y4, Y5

Thursday 30 January
Chinese New Year performance Y3, Y4, Y5

Haringey Shed Workshop - Coral Class

Wednesday 5 February
Oral Health Talks - N, R, Y1

Thursday 6 February
Early School Closure at 1.15pm
For Parent Carer Open Afternoon

Friday 7 February
Home Learning Projects due

Our festive lunch was bursting with colour! Children wore their most festive and wintery jumpers to raise funds for Save the Children. The Dining Hall was filled with excitement as children sang along to festive songs and pulled crackers with their friends and teachers. Thankyou to everyone who made a donation on this brilliant day, 50% of funds raised will go towards the Devonshire Hill FUNdraising pot. So far this academic year our families and staff have supported lots of fundraising activities, raising a total of £1,667 to date. We can’t thank everyone enough for their support and look forward to continuing our efforts in 2025. More information about our FUNdraising activities is available on the school website at: www.devonshirehill.com/news/fundraising/

Following last year’s victory, children and families across the school were encouraged to submit a beautiful card design for the Mayor of Haringey’s Christmas card competition. There were some fantastic designs, and hundreds of entries were submitted from schools across Haringey. What a huge victory for one of three winning designs to have been created by a Year 3 child at Devonshire Hill. The Mayor of Haringey Cllr Sue Jameson attended our school in person to award a prize which included a voucher and a professionally printed copy of the finished card. What a fantastic cause for celebration for our whole school community, and how brilliant to win two years in a row! Well done to everyone who took part.

The children sang with clear and confident voices at our recent singing performance. The audience was full of proud families which fuelled the enthusiasm of the children. They sang with such energy and confidence alongside Mrs Brown who was playing the piano. This was the perfect opportunity for children in Year 1 to Year 4 to showcase some of their favourite songs such as The Lightning Song, The Skeleton Stomp and Sun Arise. Thankyou to everyone who came along to experience the fantastic skills of our young singers, we are looking forward to welcoming you for some instrument concerts towards the end of the Spring 2 Term.

The School Councillors  had a fantastic morning decorating gingerbread biscuits with our new chef, Natalie. From footballers to elves, each imaginative design looked delicious. The biscuits were embellished with coloured icing, chocolate drops and sprinkles. The children couldn’t wait to take their biscuits home to enjoy with their families. The children made a biscuit decorated as a chef to thank Olive Dining for this session. 

Thank you to our catering team, from Olive Dining, for this lovely session. 

Well done to everyone who took part in the school’s Christmas card competition. 

Ms D’Abreu was very impressed with all of the brilliantly unique designs but she could only choose the top three from hundreds of entries. Congratulations to the winners from Year 1 Emerald Class, Reception Opal Class and Year 5 Onyx Class. The very creative Christmas tree, Reindeer and Snowman, were added to the school’s 2024 Christmas card which was sent to  local schools and VIPs in Haringey.

There were lots of proud families and staff at this year’s EYFS winter production. Children in Nursery and Reception were beaming with confidence as they told the story of the Jolly Red Santa in their fantastically festive jumpers. The reindeer, snowmen, elves, stars and santas all told a very important message about the value of working together as a team.  Lines were spoken with powerful voices, and everyone sang beautifully accompanied by their very animated actions. Well done to everyone who played a part in the performance and thank you to all of the parents/carers who were able to attend and enjoy this seasonal treat.

This year we were able to award a total of seventy winners with prizes during our Christmas Raffle. The Head Boy and Head Girl were busy choosing the winning numbers and collecting the winners to choose their prizes. We had winners in every year group, from Nursery right through to Year 6. Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether you donated something to the table or you purchased raffle tickets, your generosity is gratefully received. The Christmas Tree raffle and Christmas Raffle raised a combined total of £251 which is a fantastic boost to the Devonshire Hill FUNdraising pot.

Children in Year 1 to Year 6 had a magical time at Millfield Theatre with their friends, teachers and volunteers. This year’s pantomime was a vibrant performance which brought the story of Aladdin to life with a modern twist.

The audience were filled with wonder as the performers danced energetically across the stage in their colourful costumes. The performance even included an appearance from the Grinch and references to the local area including Tottenham Hotspurs and Wood Green.

Children from six local schools recently attended a very special event to celebrate the career of Michael Rosen. 

The event, held at Haringey Sixth Form, invited 1300 children in total and included Year 3 to Year 6 from Devonshire Hill. During the event Michael brought to life some of his best known stories and poetry. His expression, energy and sound effects captured the audience. Two children from Year 4 were thrilled to have been awarded signed copies of his book following an interesting question and answer session. The lucky prize winners told us ‘I felt so special to receive a signed book...thankyou Michael Rosen for giving up your time for this exciting event.’

There were so many families attending our annual classroom decorating event this year. The competition was festive and friendly, there was a Santa Claus amongst our visiting families, lots of paper chains, giant snowflakes, present wrapping and mini Christmas trees. Everyone had an exciting and energetic afternoon transforming their classrooms into a wintery wonderland. The winning class from each phase were presented with a special certificate to display in their classroom, and additional play time before the end of term.

Congratulations to: Pear Class, Amethyst Class, Garnet Class and Onyx Class who were extremely happy to have been selected as the winners.

We are very proud of the sixteen talented children from Year 4 who have written an inspiring story for the BBC’s 500 Words competition. Their stories included imaginative characters, fantastical scenes and exciting plot twists. We now eagerly await the final in February 2025 where the six winning stories will be announced as bronze, silver and gold winners under two age categories, 5-7 and 8-11 years. Last year’s competition received 44,000 entries, which were judged by volunteer teachers, teaching assistants and librarians from across the UK. At least 5000 entries will make it through to the second round and stories will be judged on a variety of criteria including originality, plot, characterisation, language and enjoyment. Fingers crossed everyone!

On behalf of all of the staff, children and their families, We would like to say a huge thankyou to the fantastic parents/carers who stayed to help decorate our Christmas tree this year! 

The tree looked stunning and although it needed the occasional shuffle following the windy weather it stood strong throughout December. Congratulations to Cinar’s from Year 2, his family were lucky enough to win the Christmas Tree in our annual raffle. They will take the tree home to re-decorate at the end of the term.

On behalf of the entire Devonshire Hill community, we would like to express a huge thankyou and farewell to governor Penny Woolley. Well known by the children for her love of reading, she would regularly come into school to share a good book with children of all ages. The school council put together a wonderful collection of messages for a handmade card which was lovingly created by the Head Boy, Head Girl and their very creative families. Thank you for everything Penny, you have inspired many young readers and will be greatly missed, we wish you well in all that you do.

What a brilliant achievement to have reached the Gold Reading Award by the end of Autumn 2 Term! Gold achievers have read 30 books and recorded them into their reading record. You can identify a gold reader by their ‘Star Reader’ badge. Perhaps next time you come across someone with this very special badge, you could ask them to recommend a good book to read. Children regularly visit the school library to choose a new reading book to take home and share with an adult at home. Do remember to record your reading achievements into your reading record so that your child can be included in this fantastic award system.

This term, our school participated in Monster Kickabout 2024, a nationwide celebration of football. Children in Year 1 to Year 6 had a fantastic time and really embraced the joy of the sport, although everyone hoped that they could successfully complete the highest number of kick-ups there could only be two winners, one from KS1 and one from KS2….Anthony from Year 2 won with a total score of 5 and Ivan from Year 5 won with a total score of 31! Well done to both winners who were each presented with a football signed by our teachers. Congratulations to everyone who participated, you all demonstrated a great attitude to sport!

All families with children starting Reception in September 2025 must visit Haringey Primary Admissions and apply before the deadline.

Please remember to share details of our Open Day visit with your friends and family.
If you are part of a community group or your workplace has a notice board please ask at the Office for some flyers to circulate within the local community.