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 15th December 2023

  Fri 15 Dec 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I cannot believe that this is the last newsletter of this term and 2023. What a great year we have had and thank you so much for all your support during this time. I have really appreciated it. The children are just amazing and really care about doing well academically as well as being kind and caring to everyone. Well done to them.

   

  Year 1 and Reception put on a brilliant nativity play this week and we were all incredibly impressed by their confidence, loud voices and brilliant singing. The acting was also amazing. Well done to all our Reception and Year 1 children. You are fabulous.

   

  The children loved their Christmas lunch today and looked great in their Christmas hats and jumpers. A big thank you to Damion who has been with us since September cooking our delicious lunches. The children love them. There will be a new menu from January and we will be putting this on the website on the last day of this term.

  I am looking forward to seeing Year 2 to 6 parents and carers at the church for the performance on Tuesday. It starts at 2pm. You are in for a treat. Please remember to stay in the pews and please do not stand in the aisles as each year group has to leave after their performances. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there.

  Well done, we raised an amazing £8715 at the Winter Fair this year. What a fabulous amount. Thank you for all your help, donations and support with this. It really does make a difference.

   

  On Tuesday 12th December, The Betty Layward football team went to Hackney Eastway Hub to play Mossbourne Parkside in the Hackney football league. The boys kicked off first and despite a strong performance in the second half, Mossbourne Parkside won. The Betty Layward girls kicked off their match and romped to a 12-0 victory with goals from Bonnie, Emilia and Emmy Lou. Well done to everyone who took part.

   

  Please remember we finish at 1pm on Thursday 21st December and there is no clubs or Junior Adventure Group so all children need to be collected.

   

  Thank you for all that you do for our school. It really is a wonderful community to be part of. Thank you for a lovely 2023 and I am really looking forward to 2024. I hope you enjoy your holidays. Happy Christmas a Happy New Year to you all and I look forward to seeing you in January when we return. If you ever need anything please let me know.

   

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 8th December

  Fri 08 Dec 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  Thank you for an amazing Winter Fair. It was so lovely to see you there and for helping or supporting this event. It was really enjoyable and thank you to the organisers and for all your hard work. I know the children had a lovely time too.

   

  We have a very busy week next week. On Wednesday 13^th December we have the Nativity. Tickets for Year 1 and Reception have gone home and please remember is it only two adults per child as we can’t fit anyone else in. The performance for Year 1 parents and carers is at 9:45am and the performance for Reception parents and carers is at 2pm. The children will get to see the dress rehearsal this Monday. Year 6 are going to see a production of Annie at Stoke Newington on Tuesday afternoon. It is Christmas jumper day next Friday (15^th December) and the children will be enjoying a delicious Christmas lunch on that day too. On Tuesday 19^th December we have our Christmas concert in the church at 2:00pm and this is all the children from Year 2 to 6 and we look forward to seeing you there. This is in St Mary’s church on Church Street. You cannot pick your child up from there. We ask that you pick them up from school as normal at their regular time. The Nursery performance is at 10:30am on Thursday 14^th December and they will be singing a variety of winter songs. We look forward to seeing Nursery parents and carers then. We have our family carol concert on Wednesday 13^th December at 5pm. Thank you to those of you who have already bought tickets. These are for sale in the school office and are £5 per adult and children are free. This includes refreshments. We look forward to seeing you there.

   

  Laura Green is returning from maternity leave on Wednesday and will be the teacher of Emerald class with Aja. Thank you to Emma for covering her maternity leave. Emma will continue to be the teacher of Jade class with Asifa. 

   

  Amirah in Year 6 was incredibly proud this week about the Hackney District Football and wrote this about it –

  “Hackney District Girls Football Team won the Inner London South County Cup last Saturday at Douglas Eyre football ground in Walthamstow. We had to play against four different teams and I managed to save all the goals in every match, meaning four clean sheets! This was also the first time Hackney District Girls and Boys have won the tournament together.”

   

  Well done Amirah and everyone in the Hackney District teams.

   

  Please remember we finish at 1pm on Thursday 21^st December and there is no Junior Adventure Group or clubs so all children need to be picked up then.

   

  Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you at all our events next week.

  Jessica

  Headteacher  

   

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 1st December 2023

  Fri 01 Dec 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  The Christmas tree is up (thanks to Olivia, a parent, for decorating it so beautifully) and we are getting ready for the Winter Fair tomorrow. Thank you to those of you who have offered to help. We really need the help. I am really looking forward to seeing you there so please come and help raise funds for the school. Thank you for all your donations. They are also greatly appreciated.

   

  Year 6 attended the Hackney Junior Citizenship workshop on Thursday. The children participated in talks from representatives of the police service, fire brigade, TFL (underground services and bus services) and health professions. The year 6 children learnt valuable life skills to make them more aware of what they can do to help themselves, and others, make responsible decisions for a healthier, safer lifestyle. 

  On Wednesday, 8 children from KS2 attended the Hackney Panathlon at the Britannia Leisure Centre. They played a variety of games including bowling, the bean bag throw and curling. The children had a lot of fun and each came away with a medal and a certificate for taking part. Well done to these children. Great work.

   

  All our Christmas activities are about to begin. Please ensure you have the dates for all the performances in your diary. For the nativity each parent will be given two tickets for the performance. Year 1 in the morning and reception in the afternoon of Wednesday 13th December. We can only give two tickets per child due to the size of the hall. A letter will be coming home soon. Year 2 – 6 will be performing in the church on 19th December. We are having a Carol evening for families to attend on Wednesday 13th December from 5-6pm. Tickets are for sale in the office and are £5 for adults and children are free. Refreshments will also be provided. Please come and get your tickets from the office on Monday onwards.

   

  Please can you make sure your child is wearing a jumper or cardigan and a coat. It is getting colder and we need to keep them warm.

   

  I hope you have seen the sail shades in the playground. They look great and will really help protect the children from the sun. Thank you for fundraising for these.

  Thank you for your OPAL donations. We still need more. We would love –

  • Tennis rackets and balls
  • Wellies
  • Waterproof jackets and trousers or all in ones
  • Small world – play mobile, small animals, cars, dinosaurs etc
  • Small lego
  • Large lego/mobilo
  • Building blocks
  • Chalk
  • Dressing up clothes in all sizes
  • Washing up bowls
  • Watering cans

  Please bring any donations into school. Thank you. The children are really going to enjoy using these.

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you at the Winter Fair tomorrow.

  Jessica

  Headteacher