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 22nd March 2024

  Fri 22 Mar 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have had a brilliant week this week. We had a fabulous child led assembly about Spring. The children taught about Spring, Passover and Easter. They did an amazing job and we were all very impressed. Well done Juno, Manu, Livia and Bobbi. You are all fantastic.

   

  The children have started leading our Star of the Week and Kindness Assemblies. A child in Year 6 will lead Key Stage 2 Assemblies and a child in Year 2 will lead Key Stage 1 assemblies. The children can volunteer if they would like to do it. We had two fantastic children do it this week. Well done.

   

  As part of their ‘Living things and their Habitats’ topic, Year four went on a trip to Hampstead Heath this week to discover the secret life of invertebrates. They explored the Heath with a hands-on bug hunt and even went pond dipping to see how many creatures they could find. They learnt about how to classify these animals using scientific keys and got a chance to create their own eco-art. Lots of fun was had.

   

  On Tuesday 19th March, the Betty Layward Girls football team represented Hackney at the London Youth Games. The Girls played teams from Haringey, Waltham Forest, Brent, Camden, Merton, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge. The girls did very well and showed great team spirit. Well done everyone, we are very proud of you all.

   

  On Thursday 21st March, a group of year 6 children took part in a Kayaking competition at Leaside. The day started with 5 heats, the top 2 children would go into the quarter-finals then into the semi-finals and final. Well done to Rocky and Wilf who were the overall winners with Pearse and Sam coming second. Well done to everyone who took part.

   

  We had a lovely lunch today to celebrate Holi. The children had Vegetarian Baked Samosas with Rice & Sweetcorn and Mango Lassi for dessert.

   

  Thank you for booking your parent meeting. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday. The school will close at 1pm. Please ensure you pick up then. Junior Adventure Group are taking bookings. This is also the last day of term and we return on Monday 15th April. I hope you have a fantastic holiday and the sun shines. Thank you for all your brilliant support and we look forward to the summer term.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

  

• Newsletter Friday 15th March 2024

  Fri 15 Mar 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Thank you for all your support with the jumble sale. We raised an amazing £3900. Thank you for all your donations, support and time. I am so impressed with how well the PTFA are doing and thank you so much for all the amazing fundraising. It means a lot to us and to the children. It makes a real difference. Dining with Damian has been postponed to the summer so we will have it outside and it is something to look forward to. The Team Betty t-shirts have currently sold out and they will be available. Please also follow Team Betty (PTFA) on Instagram – TeambettyPTFA.

   

  Chilli class performed an amazing class assembly on William Shakespeare this week. They were brilliant. They shared a lot of facts about him and his work. They were confident, clear and just amazing. Well done Chilli class.

   

  Thank you for signing up for your Parent’s meeting. The school will close at 1pm on Thursday 28th March and the meetings will start shortly after. This is also the last day of term.

  There is a creche for children if you need it during your appointment time. This is not for the whole afternoon. JAGS will be here from 1pm so you can book a spot with them if you need it.

   

  Jojo, a year 4 child, won Headteacher of the Day at the auction and carried out his duties yesterday. He was amazing. He led assembly, gave out gold certificates and was on playground duty. Well done Jojo. What an excellent Headteacher you are. I have attached a photo.

   

  20p day will happen in July. This is when we ask the children to fundraise. We ask the children to find as many ways as they can to collect 20ps and then bring them into school in July. The class that raises the most wins £20 to spend as they choose. We have also said there will be a surprise treat for that class too. Thank you for supporting this.

   

  Our Eco-committee received a grant of £250 for plants and had a lovely time buying plants this week. These will be put in classrooms and around school as we all benefit from having plants around us. Well done to the Eco- committee. You can see them with their plants in the photo attached.

   

  A neighbour has come in and complained about children dropping litter in the gardens next to the school. Please can you ensure that they do not do this. Please can I also ask you to not stand at the main entrance and block it when children are still trying to enter. We have also started walking around the school so please come in through the main entrance and out through the car park entrance. Thank you for supporting us with this.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

  

• Newsletter Friday 8th March 2024

  Fri 08 Mar 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  We are very glad the sun is shining and hopefully it continues. We have our Jumble Sale tomorrow and we look forward to seeing you there. Thank you for all your donations and to those of you who are helping on the day.

   

  We are also looking forward to Dining with Damian on Friday 22nd March. It should be a lovely evening and we look forward to seeing you there. A massive thank you to the PTFA for all your support and time with all these events. I was so impressed with the auction raising £6,981.00 . A massive well done and thank you to all parents and carers who donated and those of you who also bought an item. I am looking forward to one of the children being headteacher for the day this month. I know they will be brilliant.

   

  We had an amazing World Book day yesterday. The children looked amazing and made some excellent story characters out of a range of items. Thank you for supporting us with this. It was a really great day. Please see attached photos.

   

  On Wednesday 6th March 2024 the year 4 and 5 girls football team took part in the Young Hackney Biggest Girls Football competition at Mabley Green, to celebrate International Women's Day. The girls took part in several carousel activities in the morning as a warm up followed by a football tournament with victories over St Dominic's, William Pattern and Millfields which meant we qualified for the finals. Unfortunately, we lost in the finals 1-0 to Queensbridge. Well done to all the girls that took part and Bonnie who won player of the tournament! We are all very proud of you.

   

  Reception visited the farm today and were so well behaved. They loved seeing all the different animals. This was their first trip and they were brilliant. Well done Reception.

   

  On Thursday 21st March we will be celebrating World Down Syndrome Day, and the theme this year is 'End the Stereotypes'. We are asking children to wear interesting, fun, or mismatched socks to school. The aim is to create a single global voice advocating for the rights, inclusion and well-being of people with Down syndrome. Your voice (and your socks) can help us to be heard. 

   

  Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. We are all proud of who we are at Betty Layward.  Happy International Women's Day. 

   

  Have a lovely weekend and see you at the jumble sale tomorrow,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 1st March 2024

  Fri 01 Mar 2024 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I hope you have had a good week. We had a lovely assembly this week led by children in Year 6. Tessa, Zoe, Emily, Nellie and Hugo taught the whole school about saving energy and looking after the planet. They told us about solar panels and will be fundraising to support the installation of them at school. Well done to all these amazing children and I look forward to their fundraising endeavours.

   

  It is World Book Day on Thursday 7th March. The children can decorate an item however they like, as long as it relates to a book. They could choose a paper plate, potato, pebble, wooden spoon, shoe box, lolly stick, paper lantern, pillowcase, t-shirt, poster - the options are endless. Please can they then bring these into school on World Book Day to show their class. We would also like to ask the children to bring in their favourite book to share with their class on World Book Day. 

   

  We will be celebrating reading throughout the day and having some fun lessons and activities. Children can also dress up as a book character if they wish. We ask that we do not wear masks or costumes that are not book characters.  Children do not have to dress up if they do not want to. Thank you for being so supportive of this.

   

  Thank you for your support with fundraising for the solar panels. We need to keep going. 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. Ticking the Gift Aid 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

   

   

  We are looking forward to the jumble sale on Saturday 9th March. Please sign up if you are able to help, please donate items or come along to support it. We look forward to seeing you there.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher