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 23rd February 2024

  Thu 22 Feb 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Welcome back after half term. I hope you had a lovely break. It is lovely to see you and the children back.

   

  Well done to George and Edith for their fantastic child-led assembly this week. It was about people who have made a difference in the world and they had done some amazing research. We all learnt about someone we had never heard about before. Well done George and Edith, it was a great assembly.

   

  We have an exciting new event on the evening of Friday 22nd March – Dining with Damian. This will be a lovely sit-down meal in the school hall cooked by our chef, Damian. Damian has been a head chef in a variety of restaurants and the menu looks amazing. The tickets are £50 per head. This might sound a lot but when you see the menu you will understand. There will also be two sets of two seats raffled for £5 per ticket. I hope you will want to come and raise money for the school. It will be a lot of fun with very delicious food. More details on how to buy tickets will come from the PTFA. Thank you for supporting this.

   

  We are fundraising to install solar panels on our school roof. Having solar panels will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint and work towards a more climate-friendly future. It will help us spend less on bills and more on the children's education.

   

  The story so far …

  A brilliant local community energy non-profit, set up by several former Betty Layward parents, Stokey Energy, carried out a successful solar panel Feasibility Assessment at Betty Layward earlier in 2023.

  The assessment has shown that installing solar panels would help the school:

  • lower our energy bills
  • cut our carbon emissions, by generating energy from the sun
  • shade our roof, to keep kids and teachers cooler in summer with less need for electric fans

  So … what could we do?

  During the Feasibility Assessment the school's roof was checked and measured and planning permission for installing the panels was obtained.

  We think we could fit up to 135 panels on our roof, which could potentially:

  • generate up to 40% of the electricity we need to run our school
  • save between £13,000-£23,000 each year
  • reduce our carbon emissions by 10 tonnes every year

  But what would it cost?

  Buying and installing the solar panels might cost up to £60,000.

  Each panel, bought, installed and generating energy on our roof will cost around £400.

  An inverter, needed to complete the system and turn it into usable energy, will cost around £1800.

  We will need racking to house the solar panels on the roof, wiring to connect them, and a professional, MCS-accredited team to design, install and commission the system with a 10-year warranty.

   

  With Stokey Energy's support, we will be applying for a grant of up to 66% available from Hackney Council's Community Energy Fund, but we will need to fundraise for the remaining 30% of the costs. We will be looking for other sources of grant funding, and we will need your help to raise the rest. Every pound we raise will bring us one step closer to another panel on the roof, another metre of wiring, and another hour of the team's time to supply and fit the system and set it working.

   

  What can you do?

  We have been spreading the word about this project and we've got some great feedback from the school community. Here are a few comments from our information stand at the Winter Fair:

  'It is important to leave a legacy for our whole community - this doesn't just benefit our kids but the wider Stokey community.'

  'This is a really good way to help the future generation to understand climate change'.

  'Energy independence is key.'

  'So good to see Betty getting greener!'

   

  Whether you donate now (please don't forget to add GiftAid), research sources of grant fundraising, organise an event, take on a challenge, or fundraise your way, we would be hugely grateful for your support.

   

  Please spread the word to family, friends and co-workers.

  - Could you ask your employer about match-funding your donation or fundraising?

  - Could you challenge your work colleagues or friends to a fundraising goal?

   

  This is a GREAT project - not only will it reduce our bills and our carbon footprint, but it is also an opportunity to teach our pupils about the importance of working together as a community for a more sustainable future.

   

  There are likely to be further ways we can change our behaviours and equipment to reduce the school's energy use and mitigate its impact on the environment so we are keen to hear ideas from the school community.

   

  About donations

  Ticking the GiftAid box when you donate will raise an extra 25% on top of your donation, at no cost to you. All the donations given towards this project will be used for this project. If we raise more than we expect, or if for any reason the funds are not needed, the funds raised will be used to engage in activities or provide facilities or equipment which support the school and advance the education of our pupils.

   

  Thank you so much for supporting this. The link to the Just Giving Page is  https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-layward-primary-school-go-solar

   

  Thank you for being so supportive of this; the children are also excited.

   

  Love Productions are currently casting for the new series of the Channel 4 programme, Junior Bake Off. Filming will take place from July 2024 and applications close on Sunday 17th March 2024. Interested bakers can apply online at - www.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk

  Please do feel free to contact them on 0207 067 4833, should you have any questions regarding the above. I know we have some great bakers here and it would be great to have some children apply.

   

  Our second online auction is live and will run until Saturday, March 2nd at 10pm! We have stunning holiday homes, signed artwork and PTFA babysitting all up for grabs, please register now and get ready to start bidding! https://app.galabid.com/bettysbids2
  
  A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed we are very grateful to our PTFA community! If anyone wants to add any last minute lots please contact renovatebetty@gmail.com

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

• Newsletter Friday 9th February 2024

  Fri 09 Feb 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I cannot believe we have come to the end of another term and we are also halfway through the school year. It has been a great first half and we are looking forward to the second half.

   

  We have been busy this week. Emerald class performed a wonderful assembly on the Ancient Egyptians and we learnt a lot. They were confident, had learnt all their lines and sang beautifully. It was very impressive. Well done Emerald class.

   

  We have really enjoyed celebrating Kindness Day today and the children looked great wearing yellow. Each child has been given a daffodil bulb in a pot to grow at home. They learnt about the importance of nurturing and taking care of something and they also know this is how we should treat each other. Enjoy nurturing the bulbs at home.

  Year 3 went on a trip to the British Museum today and they really enjoyed it. Year 6 have had a workshop with a local artist today and have produced some lovely pieces of artwork.

   

  We have increased the number of trips and workshops to six this year. These are a wonderful opportunity for children to learn in different ways and to experience new things. They really enjoy them and are a valuable part of school life. Unfortunately, we are lacking funds and parent volunteers for these trips and if this continues we may not be able to have so many. We do say the trip payment is voluntary but if you are able to pay for it and can contribute we would really appreciate it as only about 20% of each trip is being paid for and we cannot keep funding 80% of each one. It is easy to pay on Arbor. If you are not able to pay I also completely understand. I just want trips to be able to continue. If you can accompany a school trip we would also really appreciate it as we have had a few trips with no parent helpers. We cannot always provide enough adults so any help is welcome. Thank you for your support with this.

   

  The children enjoyed their Lunar New Year lunch today, especially the fortune cookies. I wish all our families and carers success and good luck in the Year of the Dragon.

   

  I would like to say a massive thank you for all your continued support and kindness. I hope you have a lovely break next week and we look forward to seeing the children back on Tuesday 20th February 2024 at normal school time.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

  

• Newsletter Friday 2nd February 2024

  Fri 02 Feb 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have had a great week. We have been really busy. Some Year 4 children presented a wonderful assembly on animals and their habitats. Well done Indy, Aurora, Illy, Edith and Betty. You did so well and the assembly was wonderfully prepared as well as presented. Apricot presented a fabulous assembly about Australia and we felt like we had flown there ourselves. Well done Apricot class. You were amazing.

   

  Year 1 went to visit the Science Museum and had a great day. Their behaviour was amazing and we were really proud of them. Well done Year 1.  

   

  On Saturday 27th January the Betty Layward girl’s football team took part in the Inner London County Pokeman Cup competition at Douglas Eyre Sports Ground They represented Hackney. The girls played schools from Lewisham and Islington and as the tournament went on our girls grew with confidence despite the results going against us. We are very proud of the girls’ team for getting to this stage of the competition and representing Betty Layward and Hackney. Well done to all of them, we are very proud of them.

   

  Over the past 2 weeks the year 3's have taken part in the Personal Best Programme, a sport and health lifestyle programme aimed at Year 3 pupils. The fully inclusive programme involves pupils competing against themselves in a variety of multi-skill-based activities to achieve their own personal bests. Well done to all of the year 3's.

   

  Please remember it is our Kindness Day next Friday and all children can wear their own clothes and the colour yellow. The children here are very kind and we will be celebrating this on Friday.

   

  We have been working with Damion on providing packed lunches for trips. From now on the school will provide the children with their lunch if they are going on a trip and will be given a sandwich, sweet treat and fruit. We ask that they still bring a bottle of water.

   

  The PTFA have raised an incredible amount for the decoration of the classrooms and I would like to thank you for contributing towards this. The children love their new classrooms and it really does make a difference for them. Thank you again. Your fundraising makes such a difference for the children and we really appreciate it, especially as budgets are as tight as they are.

   

  Our school jumble sale is on Saturday 9th March. We look forward to seeing you there. If you can help with the setting up, selling or clearing up it would be much appreciated as these events are not possible without your help.

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher