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

• Newsletter 31st January 2025

  Fri 31 Jan 2025 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We hope you have had a good week. We have had a lovely week at Betty Layward. Peach class led the most amazing assembly about Australia and we learnt some amazing facts. The children spoke with confidence and we are very proud of them. Well done Peach class.

   

  There have been lots of trips and we are extremely proud of how well the children behaved. On Tuesday, the Chilli class participated in the Hackney Junior Citizenship scheme at Forest Road Youth Hub, an exciting opportunity to gain valuable skills and knowledge about staying safe and being active members of the community. During the trip, the children had the chance to learn from several key organizations, including The Hackney Health and Well Being team, focusing on dental hygiene and mental health strategies, Transport for London, offering guidance on safe travel with a Zip Oyster card, the Met Police, discussing robbery and the importance of reporting, Hackney Road Safety, teaching crossing awareness and stopping distances, the London Fire Brigade, providing proactive advice on escape routes and the Hackney Substance Misuse team, highlighting the importance of healthy choices and the consequences of misuse.

   

  Year 4 visited the Estorick Gallery of Italian Modern Art in Canonbury to discover how sounds, shapes and colours around us have been a source of inspiration for many artists. The trip supported the children's abstract thinking and creativity and they created their own pieces, making drawings based on the experience and sounds of the trip. It was a lot of fun.

   

  On Tuesday a group of children from year 5 and 6 took part in the Hackney Cross Country competition at Hackney Downs Park. Despite the downpour of rain, the children put in a tremendous effort with Oli finishing in 7th place in the boy’s race and Elsie finishing in 10th place in the girl’s race. Well done to all the children who took part and a special thank you to all the parent volunteers.

   

  The children in Reception also enjoyed Family Friday and thank you to those of you who made it. I know you might not be able to come every time and I am sure your children understand this too. We want you to feel involved in our child’s learning journey. Thank you to the Reception parents who completed our survey. There was a lot of positive feedback and some really good suggestions for future Reception years. Thank you for those as we are always looking at ways we can improve.

   

  In support of our art and design curriculum, from next week we will be hosting Art Bash. Art Bash is an art organisation that brings art directly into schools creating bespoke projects that are linked to the Primary Art and Design National Curriculum. Over the next two weeks, each class from Reception to Year 6 will participate in workshops inspired by the following three artists - Althea McNish, Lakwena Maciver and Yinka Ilori. These workshops will culminate in an exhibition of the children’s artworks. The exhibition will take place on Thursday, 13th and Friday,14th February from 3:30 to 4:30pm in the main hall. This is an amazing opportunity for the children to create and have their work displayed like a professional artist. To make this a success we are asking parents and carers to make a voluntary donation of £15 to help cover the costs of the workshops and art supplies. We look forward to seeing you all at the exhibitions on Thursday, 13th and Friday,14th February from 3:30 to 4:30pm in the main hall.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 24th January 2025

  Fri 24 Jan 2025 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have had a busy week at Betty Layward. On Thursday we were lucky enough to have a special visit from Inge Jongkheere, an environmental engineer for the European Space Agency (ESA). Inge is currently working on designing rockets that will be used to survey the effects of climate change on our planet. Inge shared with the children some of the exciting experiences astronauts encounter when they travel into space. She also highlighted the importance of having more females involved in space exploration. Out of 700 people who have been to space only 60 have been female. The children were extremely enthusiastic about Inge's talk and they had so many questions. We are certain we could have filled another hour simply by asking and answering questions. We would also like to say a massive thank you to Barbara who arranged this opportunity for us.

   

  Last week both Reception classes went to the Puppet Theatre Barge in Little Venice. The children enjoyed a performance of Captain Sandy and the Sea Monster. The performance was really magical and the children were lucky enough to meet the puppeteers and ask them some questions. They even got a special demonstration of how to do a seagull's cry. This was Reception’s first trip and they did amazingly well and we were very proud of them. Well done Reception.

   

  We have individual photos on Monday and Tuesday next week. Here is the timetable so that you know when your child’s photo is –

  Monday

  Nursery-morning children and full-time

  Y4 Fuchsia

  Y2 Apricot

  Y2 Peach

  Y3 Jade

  Y6 Chilli

  Y6 Ruby

  Nursery-afternoon children

  Y1 Lavender

  Y5 Saffron

  Y3 Emerald 

  Tuesday

  Rec-Ocean

  Rec-Aqua

  Y4 Cerise

  Y5 Buttercup

  Y1 Violet

  Catch up photos and sibling photos

   

  Our heating boiler needs a new part and we hope this will be fitted on Tuesday so the children will need an extra layer for Monday and Tuesday. Luckily the weather has not been too cold. Fingers crossed we can get it repaired next week.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 17th January 2025

  Fri 17 Jan 2025 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have had a great week at Betty Layward with lots going on. On Wednesday, Year 1 took a trip to the past and visited the Ragged School where they took part in a Victorian lesson and learnt all about what London was like then. An actor conducted a session, meeting the children first out of character, before transforming into the very strict "Mrs Poole”. The session involved the children roleplaying as though they were being taught in Victorian times. This involved using chalkboards and following some very strict rules. The children then got an insight into what it was like for families living in London during this time. It was great to see the children so immersed and they all looked fantastic in their Victorian fancy dress. They loved this trip and were very well behaved. Well done Year 1.

   

  On Tuesday, year 3 visited the Petrie Museum to learn more about the Ancient Egyptians. They were lucky to have the whole museum to themselves. This meant that they could explore the incredible artefacts, including hieroglyphics, clothing, shoes, jewellery, and much more. The children's behaviour and enthusiasm were excellent, and a great day of exploring and learning new knowledge was had by all. 

   

  Below is some information about two competitions you might like to do with your child at home.

   

  The Into Film Awards

  Entries are now open for our flagship celebration of young filmmaking talent, offering a platform for 5-19 year-olds from across the UK to express their creativity and tell the stories that matter to them. The Into Film Awards are a way of recognising some of the brilliant talent and creativity among young people across the UK, and winning an award can be just the first step on an incredible journey into the world of film and beyond.  This year there are 11 categories, including those celebrating animated, live-action, and documentary filmmaking, as well as those showcasing the best storytellers, and the next generation of filmmakers and the practitioners that support them.

  We see some great films the children have made for project homework so if you are interested the details are below. Good luck if you apply.

  https://www.intofilm.org/awards?utm_source=edco&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=marketing&utm_content=intofilm-awards&dm_i=7JIH,8DZL,15EG17,11ES6,1

   

  Fourth Plinth School Awards 2025

  The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards 2025 competition is a chance for schools to get creative and produce a work of art inspired by the contemporary art commissions for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth.

   Here’s how to get involved:

  • children can design a piece of artwork inspired by the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square
  • scan or take a photo of your child’s artwork and submit it to the online gallery
  • that’s it.

  There are winner and runner-up prizes for different age categories: 5-7 years, 8-11 years and 12-15 years, and prizes for the best work from each borough. There’ll also be a presentation ceremony at the new City Hall in the spring and the winner of each category will appear in an exhibition later in the year. Entries can be in all art forms including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and digital designs. Good luck.

  The website for  information and to enter is

  https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/arts-and-culture/current-culture-projects/fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square/fourth-plinth-schools-awards-2025?source=vanityurl

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 10th January 2025

  Fri 10 Jan 2025 Jessica
  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Happy New Year and welcome back. I hope you had a lovely break. it was lovely to see everyone back. Thank you for your kind words and lovely gifts last term.  It was a joy to see the children smiling and keen to come back to school on Tuesday morning at the gate. They have settled back in really well and it has been a great start to 2025.

   

  Thank you for your support and kind words about the hot water boiler. It is being replaced this weekend, so the hot water will hopefully be returning on Monday. The children have been great about it. 

   

  The term dates for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 are now on the school website so you can put those in your diaries. 

   

  We have a new signing-in machine, so if your child is late to school, you will need to sign your child in on there, as it is part of our registration process and it allows us to know who is in school. If you are taking children out of school early for an appointment you will also need to sign them out in the same way. Please also sign your child in the same way if they come in after an appointment.  Thank you for your support with this.

   

  It has been great to see so many parents and carers being so positive about our new mobile phone signs. We ask that parents and carers are not on their mobile phones as they enter the school and pick their child up. Please can you also ask any other family members or childminders to do the same. We also ask that you do not wait for drop off by either of our gates at the main entrance of the school. It really makes it hard for Key Stage 2 children to enter the school. We ask that Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 parents and carers wait across the road until it is their time to come in. 

   

  The deadline for reception class applications for September 2025 is fast approaching. Parents/carers with children in nursery class born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021  must submit their reception class application by Wednesday 15 January 2025.  If parents and carers do not apply before the deadline, their child's application will be classed as late and will be considered after all the on time applications have been dealt with. Late applicants are also less likely to get a place at their preferred school.  So, if you have a child who is due to join Reception in September 2025 please ensure you have applied. Thank you. If you have any questions, please pop in and ask. 

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend,

   

  Jessica 

  Headteacher