Dear Parents and Carers,

We had a lovely, busy week filled with many trips. On Wednesday, Year 6 participated in the Hackney Junior Citizenship scheme at Forest Road Youth Hub to learn about staying safe and being responsible members of the community. The children gained insights from several organisations, including the Hackney Health and Wellbeing team, who focused on dental hygiene and mental health; Transport for London, which taught safe travel using a Zip Oyster card; the Metropolitan Police, who discussed robbery and knife crime; Hackney Road Safety, which provided lessons on crossing awareness and stopping distances; and the London Fire Brigade, which shared advice on fire safety and escape routes.

Year One enjoyed a fantastic trip to The Ragged School Museum. The children loved dressing up and taking part in a Victorian lesson led by a suitably strict teacher in an authentic Victorian classroom. They were fascinated by the artefacts on display and enjoyed comparing life in the past with the present. It was a brilliant and immersive day of learning.

In Year 2 Apricots assembly this week, they took an exciting trip to Australia, where the children explored famous sights and learned all about amazing Australian animals. As part of their learning, they have enjoyed discovering the Aboriginal Dreamtime story of Tiddalik the Frog, which helped them understand Australian culture and storytelling. Well done, Apricot class.

The Eco Committee began 2026 with a remarkable achievement, successfully launching their first Eco Refill Shop of the year. This initiative supports their aim to reduce waste across the school and the children showed genuine initiative, organisation, and teamwork throughout. A big thank you to everyone who supported them and helped make this event a success. We will have more Eco Refill Shops throughout the remainder of the academic year, so please keep an eye out for dates.

Hackney's Mayor Woodley and Speaker Cllr Patrick invited all children and young people aged 3-18 in Hackney to participate in two art competitions. They were to design the council's festive card or create a T-shirt design for Hackney to wear during the New Year's Day parade, with the theme of celebrating diversity. We were thrilled that Didem in Year 5 won the T-shirt competition and her design was made into a T-shirt worn at the New Year’s Day Parade. We also had some children who were runners-up in both competitions and received Amazon vouchers. We were really impressed with how many children took part. Well done, everyone.

We have received some lovely donations for OPAL. Thank you for them. The children truly enjoy using them.

We really need some spare clothes for children across all year groups. Accidents happen and children can also get wet in the rain. If you have any spare clothes, especially trousers and tracksuit bottoms suitable for all ages, we would appreciate any donations.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher