Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for your generous donations for the Winter Fair this week. It is really appreciated. We are really looking forward to it next weekend and if you are able to help please come and sign up on the noticeboard by the school entrance. We are also looking forward to seeing some of you at Quiz night this evening. Thank you to everyone who is organising and supporting these events. It makes a real difference to the school.

 

Thank you so much for all your sponsorship donations for the school's Mini Marathon event.  The children enjoyed running around the playground at school and their mile runs have really helped support our in-school Mini Marathon.  If you are still collecting donations, please send these into school when you are able to.  Thank you very much for helping support with this event. We are so impressed with how much the children have raised so far. We will let you know the total when all donations are in. Thank you again as this money will really help. 

 

It was Anti-Bullying week this week and the children discussed bullying and how it can make us feel and how we need to be kind to each other. We are really proud of how our children behave and look after each other. 

 

I would like to say a big thank you to Steve Halsey for his hard work and time as Chair of Governors. He has been the Chair for the last few years. Adam Roland is our new chair. He has written a few words to introduce himself,

‘I’m honoured to be recently elected Chair of Betty Layward Governing Body. I’ve been a governor at the school for 4 years, most recently chairing the Curriculum and Inclusion Committee, and have enjoyed a long and fulfilling relationship with Betty Layward School. Both my children attended BL and are now in GCSE and A-Level years across the road at Stoke Newington.   I’ve done my fair share of Betty Layward quizzes, table erecting, raffle ticket selling and burger flipping, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Jessica, the SLT, the Governing Body and whole school community to ensure the school continues its upward trajectory. Have a great quiz night!’

 

A big thank you to Barbara Riddell who was the Vice Chair. Sally Stewart has now been elected into this role and says;

‘Following my induction as Parent Governor in November 2021, I am now delighted to be elected as the Vice Chair of Governors. I look forward to working closely with Jessica, Adam (our new Chair of Governors) and my Governor colleagues as we continue to ensure that Betty Layward 'inspires, develops and nurtures every child to have the confidence to learn'.’

 

I look forward to working with Adam and Sally in their new roles as, like all our governors, the children are at the heart of all they do for the school. We are currently working on improving writing across the school. This area has really been impacted by Covid-19. We are concentrating on children being able to write sustained longer pieces of writing as well as developing content, grammar, spelling and punctuation. It is a lot for children to focus on and we want to give them the best writing opportunities possible. Asking them to write at home can be hard work, especially when we are using computers more and more. You can support your child by helping them learn their spellings and ensuring they remember them, asking them to write for a purpose; this could be a shopping list, a postcard or letter. Any questions please ask your classteacher, myself or a member of SLT.

 

Thank you for your donations for Children in Need today.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jessica