Jessica's Newsletters

Newsletter Friday 26th January 2024

Fri 26 Jan 2024 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a lovely busy week this week and the children have been presenting their projects which are amazing. Thank you for your support with this. Year 6 had a lovely visit to the London Buddhist Centre. They really enjoyed it and were very well behaved. Well done Year 6.

We are going to have a Kindness Day on Friday 9th February. This will be part of Mental Health Week. The children can wear their own clothes but we ask them to wear the colour yellow to represent kindness. We will be doing some lovely activities that week too.

Aunt Joy, an online gallery exhibiting contemporary art created by women, is excited to announce ‘Girls Like Us’. A collaboration series launching on International Women's Day bringing together the incredible talent of creative young girls with established & emerging artists, a little hint at the future of art by women. Aunt Joy would like to invite girls between the ages of 8-14 to create an artwork based on JOY, and email to girls@auntjoygallery.com by 7th February. This is bringing together established female artists with future female artists to create collaborative works around the theme of JOY. We will be asking girls at school if they would like to take part but you are also welcome to do this at home. Here is the website - https://auntjoygallery.com/pages/girls-like-us

On Tuesday 23rd January, children from year 5 took part in a football match against Millfields and St John and St James primary schools. Despite the results, the team showed great character, determination and teamwork. Well done everyone.

I have asked the children to be independent and carry their own school bag to and from school. This does not mean they give it to you as they walk out of the front gates either. I have let them know I am monitoring this. I feel this is important as the bag belongs to them. Thank you for your support with this.

Please can I ask that you do not wait at the front gates at drop off and at pick up. Please keep that area completely clear as Key Stage 2 children are finding it hard to enter and exit. Please can you wait across the road. Thank you as it is important to keep the entrance clear.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 19th January 2024

Fri 19 Jan 2024 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a lovely week in this cold and sunny weather. The children have been working hard and Year 4 really enjoyed a trip to the Thames as part of their Tudor topic. The children went mudlarking (the act of searching the riverbed for historical treasures) and learnt about rivers and how the Tudors lived around the Thames and how they used the river. The children learnt how the Tudors unfortunately used it as a dumping ground. Photos are attached.

Thank you for the project homework. They are amazing and all staff are enjoying seeing them and the children are really enjoying presenting them.

We have registered for the children to participate in the Young Artists Summer Show competition run by the Royal Academy. Children aged 4 - 19 can enter their artwork which will be judged by a panel of artists. Successful pieces are exhibited online and some will be shown in the gallery. If you would like your child to partake please look at this website- https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/get-involved

If you cannot upload their work please bring it in and we will attempt to do it for you. Please let us know if your child is successful.

The children are really enjoying the new menu. They loved the cooked salmon fillets today. They are also very good at complimenting the chef.

Thank you for your understanding about the car park entrance being closed and coming in and out of the front entrance. The matter in the driveway should be sorted soon and I will let you know when you can walk around again.

Dates are on the website calendar so please ensure that you put them in your diary.

On Tuesday 6th February, we will join schools and youth organisations across the UK to celebrate Safer Internet Day 2024. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers and more, to help to create a better internet.

This year the campaign will be focusing on change online, including covering:

• Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology

• Using the internet to make change for the better

• The changes young people want to see online

• The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline

Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote in school, and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. To help you with this, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created some free activities and information for parents and carers which are available at: saferinternet.org.uk/SID-parents.

Whether you have 5 minutes to start a conversation or hours to spare, there are top tips, quizzes and films which you can use at home with your child. If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please do get in touch with us.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Newsletter Friday 12th January 2024

Thu 11 Jan 2024 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely holiday. It is really great to see everyone back. Thank you for your lovely words and gifts last term. The children have come back refreshed and happy and it is really great to see them. We have had a great start to the year.

We have started a new menu. This is on the website. Any dates for this term are also on the calendar on the website so please take a look.

Next week we have individual photos on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This also includes siblings.

Please look at the knowledge organisers on the website. These will let you know more about what the children are learning this term. They are very helpful.

We have a new School Crossing Patrol Officer called Patrizia. Please say hello. It is great to have someone taking over the role of helping keep our children safe on the roads.

Tabitha (year 5) and Acer (year 2) made ornaments out of hammer beads and raised over £18 for the school. Well done Tabitha and Acer. We really appreciate your kindness.

On Tuesday 9th January Betty Layward took part in the next round of fixtures for the Hackney football league. The boys and girls tried really hard but unfortunately, the results didn't go our way. Well done to all the year 5's who took part, we are very proud of you.

If you are having a January clear out please remember we would really appreciate some items for OPAL in our playground. These include

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 going to enjoy using these.

Thanks,

Jessica

Headteacher

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

Newsletter Friday 24th November 2023

Fri 24 Nov 2023 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for all your kind donations for the winter fair today. They are greatly appreciated and will really help. I hope we will see you next Saturday and if you are able to help at the event that would also be greatly appreciated. I am really looking forward to seeing you all there. Well done for raising over £6000 at the quiz night. That is a Betty Layward record amount and thank you to the organisers, quiz hosts and everyone who came. It was a fun evening.

As you know we are implementing Opal into our lunch playtimes. This is an opportunity for children to learn and play during their lunch play using a wide variety of resources. We would really appreciate some donations, so if you are able to donate any of the following please bring them in –

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

I know this is a long list and I appreciate any of these items that you might not need at home anymore. Please bring them into school and thank you for the support. The children are going to really enjoy using them.

Team Betty, our wonderful PTFA, have designed some great new t shirts. These children’s t-shirts are going to become our PE t-shirts and we will be asking that children wear them on their PE days to school alongside long shorts or tracked suit bottoms. We have found that some of the items children are wearing on PE days are not suitable so introducing a special PE t-shirt will make this easier. These t-shirts will be on sale at the Winter Fair and we will be asking that children have to wear these as part of a PE kit from April so there is time to get hold of one. Thank you for supporting us with this.

Betty Layward Primary School has kindly been donated a Christmas tree by Pines and Needles and they would love to offer parents and carers a discount on Christmas trees in their pop-up stores! Our local pop up store is located in Clissold St Mary's at: St Mary's Church.

DISCOUNT CODE: BETTY10

Keep an eye out on Pines and Needles social channels @pinesandneedles for fun activities at our local stores. Please visit www.pinesandneedles.com for more details and other locations as they are all around London!

Matilde Bernocchi, Year 6 Ruby, has written about a competition that she and another Betty Layward child took part in. It is very impressive-

On Saturday 4th of November I competed in a martial arts championship, and although I won it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. There were many rules for children under the age of fourteen, some of which included: no strikes to the head, medium level strength and no sweeps. I wasn’t expecting it to be so big and with so many people! Nor the fact that it was NATIONAL, I knew mostly everything apart from something called an exit (when you push someone within one metre distance off the mat which makes you automatically win that round). There are 2 mats, one for girls and one for boys, I was the second person to fight on mat 2 (girls). On the first fight I was up against a girl called Jasmine but even though she took me down 3 times (which takes away six points) I still won a gold medal. Then on the second fight (13th fight on mat 2 for juniors) I was against a girl called Akia and she was very strong in my opinion but aside from that I still won. At the awarding ceremony I got to stand on a podium and was awarded by the president of BCCML, (British Council of Chinese Martial Arts) Bryan Andrew’s, the chairman. Thank you and I hope this will inspire others to follow the path of Martial Arts.

Well done Matilde and Tommi. What a great result.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 17th November 2023

Fri 17 Nov 2023 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you for all your kind words, emails and support for our recent Ofsted report. We are really proud of it and are really pleased that it reflects the school and community. I have read it to the children to ensure they understand how much they contribute to the school and how proud we are of them. Thank you.

The children had Diwali Dance workshops this week and they thoroughly enjoyed them. Thank you for your contributions towards this. I am also so glad that you can now pay on Arbor as we are usually covering at least two-thirds of the cost of trips and workshops at the moment.

It was lovely to see you at the PTFA AGM this week. Thank you so much for all that you do for the school and for all your support. It is really appreciated and much needed with current budget issues. A massive thank you to Anne for being chair for the last two years and to Ali for her time as treasurer. Thank you for all your time and hard work. Welcome to Olivia who is our new chair and to our new trustees. I look forward to seeing everyone at the quiz night tonight.

Next Friday is a non-school uniform day. The children can wear their own clothes (practical clothes please) and in return we ask that they bring in a donation for the winter fair. This can be chocolates, a bottle of alcohol, new toiletries, or any other new gifts etc. We really appreciate your support with this. The winter fair is on 2nd December and we also need volunteers to cook for it. Please let me know if you are happy to do that. Thank you.

On Tuesday 14th November 2023, the Betty Layward football team went up against Gayhurst in the Hackney football league. The girls won their match 2-1 with Emilia scoring the decisive penalty to make it 2-1. Despite a plucky performance from the boys they lost to a really good football team. Well done everyone, we are all very proud of you all

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 10th November 2023

Fri 10 Nov 2023 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a great week. Fuchsia class performed a wonderful assembly on Wednesday all about the Romans. It was brilliant. Well done Fuchsia class.

Thank you for attending parent and carers meetings yesterday. It was great to see you and for us to share how well your child/ren are doing. We are really proud of them and thank you for all your support.

Please remember to look at our knowledge organisers on the website. We have created Knowledge Organisers for our curriculum outlining the vocabulary and crucial knowledge that the children will be taught in each subject at different points in the school year. The Knowledge Organisers have been designed to help support teachers, children, parents and carers to build their knowledge in each curriculum area year after year. This in turn helps the children to make a permanent change to their long-term memory, which is where learning takes place. Please take a look at them on our website -https://www.bettylayward.hackney.sch.uk/knowledge-organisers/

Buttercup class were lucky and won the draw last week to watch the training sessions for the Billie Jean King Tennis Cup at the Copper Box. They had a great time and this was a lovely opportunity for them all. One of our children drew out the name of the Great Britain player who will be in the play offs tomorrow.

It is Diwali on Sunday and all the children are having Diwali dance workshops next week. This class-by-class workshop introduces the topic of Diwali while creating a link between dance and storytelling. The children explore the story and characters of The Ramayana through movement, creating a 2 minute dance which they will perform to their teacher at the end of the session.

Please can I ask that you do not bring drinks into school and especially not into assemblies or performances. This is all drinks, including hot drinks with a lid. Thank you.

If your child has an appointment during the school day we cannot authorise this without proof of the appointment. This could be a letter or a screenshot of the text. Please email these to Max or myself.

You will have received the information about Christmas cards today. Please order by 20th November. The PTFA online AGM is on Wednesday 15th November at 5pm to 6pm. The link will be sent to you via text and we look forward to seeing you there.

Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous Diwali. Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 3rd November 2023

Fri 03 Nov 2023 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Week of Work has been a great success. Each year group has really enjoyed getting involved with their different themes and learning about different jobs. They have worked well in groups and have been really good at explaining all the activities they have been doing. It has been a great week for children to have the opportunity to learn about different careers and what life in work is like. I hope the children have been telling you all about it too. Please see the attached photos.

I look forward to seeing parents and carers of Fuchsia class at their assembly on Wednesday 8th November at 9:15am.

We hope you have signed up for a parent/carer meeting on Thursday. We look forward to seeing you there. The creche is only for children during your appointment time. It is not for the duration of the afternoon/evening. Junior Adventure Group will be here from 1pm-6pm. Please book on their website, as we cannot authorise children attending if you have not booked. Children are welcome to attend the appointment with you. School closes for all children at 1pm and clubs will be made up at another time.

On Tuesday 31st October the Betty Layward football team took part in the Hackney football league against Mossbourne Riverside. There were victories for both our girls and boys’ team. The girls won 2-0 with both goals coming from Bonnie and the goals were shared out between the boys as they triumphed with a 7-0 victory. Well done everyone, we are proud of you all.

The Billie Jean King Cup Play Off tie against Sweden is taking place at the Copper Box Arena on 11th and 12th November, which is local to us. There is a unique opportunity for us to be involved in this amazing event.

In collaboration with Hackney Tennis, this offer included:

An assembly (or equivalent) session that will give a brief history and background of (i) Billie Jean King (ii) the Billie Jean King Cup and the upcoming tie (iii) supporting female participation in sport/tennis
The opportunity for a class to watch a Billie Jean King Cup Team Practice session and attend the Official Draw at The Copper Box Arena on Friday 10th November ’23
A day of tennis taster sessions organised and delivered by your local venue

One class was allowed to attend the above so we made it fair and put all the names of the KS2 classes in a cup and asked a parent to pick one out this morning at assembly and Buttercup class was chosen. Well done Buttercup class. More information will follow.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher