This is the place where you will be able to read my weekly newsletters. Thanks for taking the time to read them, Jessica

• Newsletter - Friday 28th April 2023

  Fri 28 Apr 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers, 

   

  I hope you have had a good week. We have. I am so impressed with the projects the children have brought in. I love seeing their faces and how proud they are of them. Thank you for supporting them with this. 

   

  Thank you for your understanding and support regarding the NEU strikes. Year 6 are in school on these days as they are very near the date of their national assessments. There is another NEU strike on Tuesday and only year 6 will be in then too. I am sorry for any inconvenience. 

   

  You will be receiving information about your child’s attendance soon. This will be the percentages of attendance, authorised and unauthorised and how many minutes late they are in total. Please know that any time missed at school does make a big difference and we cannot authorise holidays or trips in term time. Our attendance is 93% as a school and should be 96% at the lowest. We do need to improve and I need your help to do this. Please ensure you do not take days off in term time. It is also really important your child is here on time and picked up on time. Thank you for your support with this. It is an area that is monitored by Hackney and Ofsted. 

   

  We have nits in school and they just seem to keep coming back, especially in Year 1. Please can you check your child's hair this weekend and treat it if needed. Please can you check your child's hair on a regular basis so we can get rid of them. Thank you.

   

  Some of our Year 6 girls attended a football tournament in Swansea. Liliana has written this about their trip -

  Swansea festival of football

  In the middle of April, four Year 6 Betty Layward girls took a train to Swansea to represent the district in a football tournament. We travelled with our team mates who come from different primary school across Hackney. We were all excited to represent Hackney in the Swansea festival of football.

   

  We had a brilliant start, winning 3 out of 4 of the group stage matches and drawing one game 0-0. We were the top team in the group stage and moved into the quarter finals. So far, we had not conceded a single goal and we were playing brilliantly as a team. 

  In the last minutes of the quarter final we scored from a penalty and won the match. Now in the semis, it was 0-0 on the final whistle and it was time for penalties. After a tense penalty shoot out, we beat Cardiff 4-2 to reach the final. We were all very excited and raring to go!

   

  The final

  We had made it this far when during the match a player from the opposition punched the ball from out of the box. The referee said continue play even though it was an obvious hand ball! In the final moments in our box there was a ‘ball to hand’ counted as a handball and the opposition got a penalty. They scored. This was the only goal we had conceded in the entire field of play and it lost us the final.

   

  We were devastated and believed we should have won, but we made it to the finals, had a brilliant weekend away and we did Hackney proud!

   

  Aside from the football we played laser tag and bowling and had a generally great trip! 

   

  Liliana Bracken, year 6 Chilli

   

  Well done to all the children that took part. You did really well. Thank you, Liliana, for writing about it.

   

  I hope you received the flyer about the Coronation picnic. Weather permitting, we will have a picnic outside that day.

   

  I really hope you all have a lovely long bank holiday weekend and we look forward to seeing Year 6 on Tuesday and everyone else on Wednesday.

   

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

• Newsletter - Friday 21st April 2023

  Fri 21 Apr 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  Welcome back. I hope you had a lovely break. It is great to see the children back and they are already working incredibly hard. We have a busy term ahead with Blastonbury and other events taking place. Dates will be sent out soon.

   

  As you know school is closed for all the children apart from Year 6 for two NEU strike days on 27th April and 2nd May. Year 6 will be in as they are very close to taking their national KS2 assessments and transitioning to secondary school. If your child is in Year 6 they do not need to wear uniform on these days. Please ensure they are wearing suitable and appropriate clothing and footwear on these days. There is no breakfast or afterschool clubs or provision.

   

  If your child attends the Junior Adventures Group (previously Fit for Sport) please do not ring the school to book them in, especially after the deadline. We cannot place children into the provision and we also have to follow their procedures. Please contact them directly to book a place. Please also remember to pay as if you don’t the place will be cancelled.

   

  Please can I remind you not to stand in the area inside and in front of our school gates. It is getting really congested and it means children are finding it hard to enter.

  It is 20p time again. As some of you know, we ask the children to collect as many 20ps as they can to raise money for school. This year the amount will go towards Project Renovate. We let the children know in assembly on Monday and the class that wins by raising the most money then wins £20 to spend as they choose. Thank you for supporting us with this. It is voluntary and not a must but I hope you will support us with this. I hope you also saw the details of Project Renovate. I am so grateful for all the support with this, especially in such difficult times. We will be counting them up at the end of the academic year.

   

  It is World Earth Day tomorrow and we will be talking to the children next week about this. One child in Year 5 has made a lovely suggestion about having more plants in the classrooms. They can make pupils feel more content, more satisfied and possibly even improve their learning. A number of plants may also help to clean the classroom air. I was wondering if you had any spare plants at home that we could have in the classrooms. They would be greatly received.

   

  On Saturday 20th May, 80 Betty Layward children from reception to year 6, and 20 parents and carers will run the final leg of the Hackney Half Marathon at the school's challenge at Hackney Marshes. They have been running a mile a week at school for 12 weeks, so this last mile completes their half marathon. On Sunday 21st May, 10 parents and carers will be running the full half marathon to raise funds for our school. In 2019, parents and carers ran for Project Playground and raised over £12K, nearly half of what was needed to completely redesign the woodlands, paying for all the equipment our children enjoy today. The Hackney Half was a really important part of the fundraising effort. This time they are running for Project Renovate; the new mission to raise funds to redecorate the upper floor of our school. It’s a big project including 8 classrooms, the ICT suite, a large hallway, and the two stairways. This part of the school hasn’t been improved for over 15 years and is now looking (and feeling) tired and worn. It's in need of repair and renovation to give the children more beautiful spaces in which to learn. Classrooms that feel loved and looked after, just like the children are. It’s time to fix it and we need your help. We know times are a lot harder than they were 2019 and that many people will be unable to donate, but for those who are able, please give what you can, to support the brilliant children running on Saturday, and the adults, parents and carers taking part in the Hackney Half on Sunday. Here is the just giving page.

  https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bettylaywardprojectrenovate

  If your child is attending to run the mile on the Saturday they must have a parent or carers with them. They cannot be left on their own. Thank you for supporting us with this.

   

  A group of children in Year 4 are taking part in a reading scheme through the Bookmark charity: www.bookmarkreading.org. On Thursday a photographer came in to take some photos of the children reading to use in their advertising. The children were very enthusiastic, welcoming and showed great confidence in their reading skills. We look forward to seeing these photos.

   

  Happy Eid-ul-Fitr 2023. Have a great day and a wonderful year ahead.

  Jessica

  Headteacher