Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a lovely week and hope you have too. We have been busy with Black History Month, and as part of their Black History Month project, our Year 6 pupils recently visited the Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation (HCEO). In the weeks leading up to the visit, the children worked hard to prepare thoughtful interview questions and were excited to put them to use. On the day, they met HCEO members and interviewed them about their lives and experiences. The children were confident and polite, approaching the members respectfully and listening with kindness and genuine interest. The members told us how much they enjoyed meeting the pupils and described our Year 6s as a real credit to the school, which made us incredibly proud. We thank everyone at the Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation for their warm welcome, and we look forward to seeing some members again at our Black History Month celebration on 6th November.

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we were delighted to welcome one of our parents, Sydney McCarthy-Burrell, who came into school to speak to the children during assembly. Sydney began by sharing memories of her early life in Stoke Newington, describing how much the area has changed over the years, while reminding us that one thing has stayed the same: the strength of the community here. She then told us about her career as an NHS nurse, explaining that nursing comes in many different forms. Over the years, she has studied and worked in a wide range of areas, from caring for patients with sickle cell disease to her current midwifery training. The children were fascinated, asked brilliant questions, and left having learnt so much about both their local community and the important work nurses do. It was a truly wonderful assembly, and we would like to say a huge thank you to Sydney for giving up her time to share her story with us.

On Thursday, Year 3 had a brilliant workshop on Prehistoric Britain. They met an aspiring archaeologist and travelled back to the Stone Age to help with her research. They explored the different jobs people had and created freeze frames of farming, cooking, hunting, toolmaking and fire-building. They imagined they were hunter-gatherers and considered the food people ate in Prehistoric Britain. The children then travelled into the Bronze Age and Iron Age to discover what life was like in their homes and settlements. Finally, they made adverts to promote the tools people made from Bronze and Iron to make jobs easier. 

We are collecting donations for the Hackney Foodbank for Harvest. We welcome donations and any contribution can make a big difference.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Phonics and Spelling workshop on Thursday. We hope you found it useful. Thank you also to the Reception parents and carers who attended Family Friday. It was lovely to see you there.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher