Jessica's Newsletters
This is the place where you will be able to read my weekly newsletters. Thanks for taking the time to read them, Jessica
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Newsletter Friday 10th November 2023
Fri 10 Nov 2023Dear 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
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Newsletter Friday 3rd November 2023
Fri 03 Nov 2023Dear 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
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Newsletter - Friday 20th October 2023
Fri 20 Oct 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
We come to the end of our first term of this academic year and I thank you for all your kindness and support. It has been a great and busy term and the children have been amazing, as always. They have worked hard and have demonstrated excellent behaviour. We are so proud of them and it is a pleasure being their headteacher.
Thank you for supporting our Black History event today. It was great fun and thank you to the parents who organised it. The children also received an assembly about Hidden Figures today and Key Stage 2 had workshops. Our Black History Month menu this week was also very delicious. The children really enjoyed it.
Thank you for your support with Grandparent Week this week. It was lovely having Grandparents visit the school. The children really enjoyed listening to them.
On Wednesday, Eloy, Felix, Gene and Finlay attended the Hackney Tennis Primary School Championships. All four played a number of matches against children from Jubilee and Sir Thomas Fairchild schools. They came out victorious and won the competition, bringing home the trophy. Well done to our amazing tennis players.
On Wednesday afternoon, two children from KS2 visited Hackney Town Hall to attend the launch of the Hackney Reading Champions. This event marks the kick-off of our Reading Ambassadors challenge. Over the year the Reading Ambassadors will help to raise the profile of reading in our school by completing a series of challenges. These ideas will come from the children with the intent of making our school a place where as many children as possible love to read.
At the event, we were lucky enough to meet Sav Akyuz who is a children's author/illustrator. He showed us how he came up with his characters and even drew an illustration of a cool alien. Sav is going to be the patron of the Hackney Reading Champions for this year and we look forward to showing him all the amazing things we achieve.
Silas and Emmett Hussey held a toy, cake and lemonade sale on their road last week (in the last of the warm weather). They bought two bags of donations for Betty Layward’s Harvest appeal for the Hackney Foodbank with the proceeds. Well done Silas and Emmett.
Dates for your diary – Quiz night is Friday 17th November at 7pm and the winter fair is Saturday 2nd December. We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for supporting our events.
The details for parents’ meetings went out today. Please ensure you sign up. We look forward to seeing you there. Please could you ensure that you are signed up for Arbor as we are going to be using it more and more. Without it, you might miss out.
Thank you for a great term, all your support and I hope you have a lovely week,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 13th October 2023
Fri 13 Oct 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had a great week. Ruby class performed an amazing assembly. It was a quiz show about the Mayans and they definitely knew a lot and taught us a lot too. Well done Ruby class.
It is our Black History Month celebration next Friday (20th October) at 3:30pm in the hall. Please buy tickets for this as it is going to be a lot of fun. It is £6 for an adult and £4 for a child and a delicious plate of food is included. The children are having a special Black History Month assembly on that day and KS2 will be having workshops. KS1 will be having lessons too. There will be a special Black History Month menu on Thursday and Friday-
Thursday
Jamaican Oxtail Stew or
Jamaican Vegetarian Stew
Grilled Plantain, Rice & Peas
Traditional Breadfruit Pudding
Friday
Jamaican Patties (Beef or Vegetarian)
Corn on the Cob, Mango & Cucumber Salsa
Ginger Loaf
We are also asking children to wear red on Friday 20th October in support of showing Racism the Red Card. We need to challenge misconceptions, stereotypes and negative attitudes in society. We will be talking to children about this next week and asking them to wear red to school on Friday in support of this. They do not need to wear school uniform on this day.
On Tuesday 10th October, Betty Layward played their first football fixture of the Hackney football league against Halley House at the Young Hackney Eastway Hub. Despite a terrific team performance by the boys, Halley House won 2-0.
The girls kicked off their first game of the season with a very hard fought 3-3 draw with goals from Zhara, Martha and an own goal to get our first points of the season. Well done everyone.
On Wednesday 11th October, the Betty Layward boy's football team took part in a year 5 and 6 boy’s football competition at Mabley Green. There were victories over Parkwood and William Pattern and a draw against Baden Powell which meant that Betty Layward qualified for the next round against Mandeville. The boys put in a lot of effort during the match however were unable to get the victory as Mandeville won 2-0. Well done to all the boys who took part, we are very proud of you all.
We are looking forward to seeing Grandparents next week. If you haven’t booked your child’s Grandparent in please see your child’s class teacher. Thank you for your harvest donations. We were delighted to see so many. Thank you for supporting our fancy dress, second-hand uniform and coat sale today.
The children are having a week of work the week after half term. This will involve them learning about different careers. Nursery are learning about everyday jobs, Reception are learning about jobs in nature, Year 1 are learning about Engineering and robots and machines, Year 2 are learning about community jobs, Year 3 are learning about building futures and architecture, Year 4 are learning about arts and the theatre, Year 5 are learning about ethical business and Year 6 are learning about developing an app. There will be a trip or workshop linked to the theme for each year group. We are really looking forward to it. If you work in any of these businesses or can come on a trip (letters will be out next week) please let us know.
While thinking about what is going on in the world it would be lovely if hatred could turn into shaking hands and weapons could turn into welcoming arms. Kindness should be at the heart of all that we do and it definitely is at Betty Layward.
Have a lovely weekend,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Friday 6th October 2023
Fri 06 Oct 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you for all your support with Ofsted this week. Your support and kind words were overwhelming and very special. I was not allowed to see your comments from the questionnaires but the inspector told us how positive they were and how supportive you are as a group of parents and carers. I thank you for this, as this is the reason why Betty Layward is such a lovely place to work. Thank you to those of you who did send me the comments you wrote as they were very lovely to read. We had an amazing result of 100% of families recommending the school. This is fabulous and this is what really counts. The children were amazing and a credit to you and us. I was so proud of them. I have organised a thank you treat for them the week after next. The report will be out in around 30 days.
On Wednesday, four children in year 6 talked to the school about dyslexia in assembly to celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Week. They did a fabulous job at explaining what dyslexia is, and shared some of the difficulties that people might typically face. Did you know that these famous people are dyslexic: John Lennon, Jamie Oliver, Daniel Radcliffe and Whoopie Goldberg?
On Wednesday 4th October a group of year 4, 5 and 6 girls took part in a football competition at Mabley Green. The first round of matches were in a group stage format where the top 2 teams qualified for the quarter-finals. Both of the Betty Layward teams were successful in qualifying. Unfortunately, after a hard-fought match against Mossbourne Parkside our year 4's journey ended at the quarter-finals. Our year 5 and 6 girls however made it all the way to the finals and after a dramatic and nerve-racking penalty shootout against Woodberry Down school, Iris scored the winning penalty to win the competition for Betty Layward and sparked wild celebrations. Thank you to the parent volunteers and well done to all the girls who took part. We are very proud of you all.
Stanley, Frankie and Dylan made cakes and planes last weekend and sold them to raise money for the school. Well done – they raised £30.17. I am so impressed with the children’s attitudes about helping the school. Congratulations to Stanley, Frankie and Dylan.
Our sail shades are being installed very soon, which is really exciting.
Please remember Ruby class assembly on Tuesday at 9:15am. We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks again for all your support this week.
Have a lovely weekend,
Jessica
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Friday 29th September 2023
Fri 29 Sep 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had a great and busy week. The children are enjoying their topics. They are working hard and we are very proud of them. It was lovely seeing you at our Meet the Teacher meetings this week. We have a couple more next week.
The International Welcome Food Event was great last Friday, despite the weather, which did get the better of us in the end. We raised £1150 and I would like to thank you for your support, kindness and donations of food. It was lovely to see so many of you there.
Please remember the AGM on Thursday 5th October at 5pm. This will be online and a link will be sent out soon. Please look at the information that was emailed to you from them. We look forward to seeing you then.
On Wednesday 26th September, 8 children from Betty Layward took part in a Cricket Festival at the Young Hackney Hub. The children started with some throwing, catching and batting drills followed by a cricket game at the end which was so much fun. Well done everyone and thank you to the parent volunteer for your help on the day.
Last weekend Emma and Mara ( Apricot class) decided they wanted to raise some money for our school by putting on a cakes and lemonade sale outside Emma's house. Maddie (rainbow nursery) also helped bake! Their vanilla cupcakes, brownie cakes, chocolate chip cookies and homemade lemonade were very popular and they were all very chuffed to have raised £46.20 for the school. A massive well done to Emma, Mara and Maddie.
Grandparent week is coming soon and will be happening the week beginning 16th October. Grandparents can be a big part of children’s lives. It is an opportunity for the children’s grandparents to come in and read a story, tell the children about their school experience or tell them about an interest or a hobby. The sessions will take place on most afternoons of that week so if you would like your child’s grandparent to attend please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a time. The sessions are about 10-20 minutes each. We really enjoy meeting grandparents and look forward to seeing them then.
Matilda wrote about the eco trip last week –
The Eco Trip
Where?
We went to a shop on church street called Know & Love run by a lady called Karen.
Who went?
The year fives and year sixes of the eco committee. We went to the shop that’s stock is very locally sourced and good for the environment. We had a look at their products and asked questions about how they were made and how they were imported.
What?
We went to a little room at the back of the shop, there was the owner there and other people there. A lady from Hackney Herbal, a social enterprise. Two other business women who ran a business called Kind Bag, where they make bags made of recycled plastic bottles, were there. There was also a woman who made wooden birds and a Hackney councillor.
After
When I got home I took the Verbena leaf the lady from Hackney Herbal gave me, she told me that if I put it in a cup of boiling water it would turn into tea so I put it in and it turned bright green! It was tea-licious!
Thank you for a great recount of the trip Matilda.
Covid is back and is on the increase. If your child does have Covid please can they not come into school for 3 days and this is for the 3 days after they take the test. Any questions please let me know and we are encouraging the children to wash their hands.
Have a lovely weekend,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Friday 22nd September 2023
Fri 22 Sep 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you have had a good week. Thank you to those of you who helped and donated food for the Welcome Event this afternoon. It was all delicious. It was lovely to see so many of you there and I thank you for all your support. It is a really lovely event and an opportunity to all meet up after the holidays.
We were all really pleased to receive a letter this week about our Year 6 SATs results and how well our children did. Please see the attached photo. Well done to our children and our staff for the excellent outcomes.
We have started working with Opal to develop our lunchtime provision and I have resent the questionnaire. Please complete it if you haven’t already. It is really exciting and the changes will be happening soon.
Thank you to those of you who attended the Meet the Teacher’s meetings. There are more next week and the week after. We hope you were able to see some of the newly decorated classrooms upstairs.
On the 19th September, during London Design Festival Week (16 - 24th September), our Eco Warriors went to a local shop, Know and Love, on Church Street to look at designers and artists who are leading the way on sustainability. They really enjoyed the trip and a big thank you to Know and Love for providing the workshop.
A big well done to Charlie and Lily who raised £21 for Project Renovate by selling cakes. Fantastic work and well done.
Please can you ensure your child is not scooting on the road on the way to school and on the way home, especially if they are not wearing a helmet. I know it is a school road but cars can appear unexpectedly. The cameras are now up so please do not drive down between the hours of 8:30-9:30am and 3-4pm. You will get a fine if you do.
We are putting the dates of events on the school website calendar. You can subscribe to it and then it will put the events in your diary.
We are organising more trips for the children this year. From Year 1 to Year 6 there will two art trips or workshops and two religious education trips as well as three or four trips or workshops per class per year. We are really looking forward to these and you will receive more information soon.
Have a lovely weekend,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 15th September
Fri 15 Sep 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
What a great week we have had. Our new children in Reception and Nursery have settled in really well. I am so impressed with how well they are doing and I really enjoy seeing their happy faces when I go to visit. They are also doing really well eating their lunches and being out in the playground. I am sure they will be tired today after their first full day. We are so pleased they are all here and we are really enjoying getting to know them.
I have put all the dates for the Meet the Teacher meetings on the calendar on our website. Please view the calendar in grid format as the list format is not very clear to see. We are going to get this changed. Please take a look and put these dates in your diary. It is an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and find out what they will be learning this year. If you have a KS2 child it will also give you an opportunity to see the newly decorated classrooms. The Year 6 meeting will also include information about applying for secondary school. The admissions process is for children in Year 6 who will start secondary school in September 2024. You need to apply by 31 October 2023.
Next Friday (22nd September) at 3:30pm we will be hosting our Welcome International Food Event in the playground. I would really appreciate some help with this and some donations of dishes. This is a great opportunity for everyone to meet up after the summer holidays and for new families to meet other members of our school community. Please let me know if you can help or donate food as it would be a great shame to have to cancel our first event. I am really looking forward to it.
The children are loving the new school lunches. It is a pleasure to sit and eat with them. I am seeing a lot of empty plates and hearing some lovely compliments about the food. Today the children had a special lunch for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year and it was delicious.
I hope you got the flyer for our working week in October. We are really looking forward to this.
Thank you for returning the letters of interest in learning a new instrument. The available instrument lessons we have remaining are trumpet, violin, flute, clarinet and saxophone.
Please email Briony at Brionyblow@bettylayward.org if you would like to book your child into lessons for the year or would like more information.
School starts at 8:50am for Key Stage 2 and 8:55 for Reception, Nursery and Key Stage 1. Your child will be marked as late if they arrive after these times. If your child arrives 10 minutes late every day, that adds up to almost an hour of school lost every single week. Please ensure your child is on time.
Have a lovely weekend and I wish all of you celebrating Rosh Hashana a very Happy New Year this weekend,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 8th September 2023
Fri 08 Sep 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
It is so lovely to be back. I hope you have had a great summer. Welcome to our new academic year. We have an exciting year ahead. Summer still seems to be here which is great for the beginning of term. The children have come back with huge smiles and have settled into their new classes really well. It is fabulous to see them. Welcome to all our new children and their families. I hope you will be really happy here. We are really thrilled you are part of the Betty Layward community.
The upstairs has been decorated and most classrooms have been refloored. It looks amazing. It had not been done for years and the flooring was over 20 years old. It is astounding how much difference bright new white paint and fresh new floors can make. The company did not order enough flooring so two classrooms and the ICT suite will have their floors fitted in the half term holidays. A nice environment for the children is crucial for effective learning as they are in the classrooms all day and I am so pleased they now all have it. We do still need to raise the rest of the money to pay for this so thank you for your support.
The sail shades were also due to be put up in the holidays but have been delayed due to the company being busy over the summer and the weather delaying some of the jobs before us. They should be put up this term though. Thank you for raising the money for this too.
The children are really enjoying their new school lunches and I am so pleased that all children have access to school lunches at no cost to you this year. They are really delicious and the new company work well with our school ethos; putting the children first and ensuring that we are using good quality ingredients and minimising food waste. Please look at their website – Fuel for learning and see how they work. We are really thrilled they are here and Damian, the chef, is serving and talking to the children every day which is really lovely to see. They are often complimenting the chef. It is so lovely to see them happy while they are eating.
We have our International Welcome event in the playground on Friday 22nd September at 3:30 pm. This was really lovely last year and it is a great opportunity for families to meet each other, especially new families. We will be selling dishes from around the world but to do this I would really appreciate donations of a dish from you. There will also be a BBQ and refreshments. We will be selling food by the plate and there will also be drinks. If you would like to help me set up and help at the event I would also really appreciate it. Please let me know. Any money raised will go towards the decorating of the upstairs classrooms. Thank you for wanting to support this.
Please remember to put your child’s name in their uniform and any other clothing they wear to school. It would be great to see less lost property this year. We do not allow crocs or backless shoes as footwear so please remember this.
Thank you for being such a great community and I am really looking forward to this school year. If you need anything please ask. Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sunshine.
Jessica
Headteacher
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Friday 21st July 2023
Fri 21 Jul 2023Dear Parents and Carers,
I cannot believe this year is finishing today. What a great year it has been, and much of that has been down to you. We say goodbye to our Year 6 children. They have been fantastic and are a credit to you as well as themselves. They were my first Reception class so I have seen them all the way through their time at Betty Layward and what a privilege that has been. Their performance of the Wizard of Oz was amazing and such a lovely way to say goodbye to them. I wish them all well for their next journey at Secondary school. Each school is lucky to have them. Well done Year 6. Keep shining.
Thank you for all your support. I am so lucky to be the headteacher of such a lovely school with such a great community. You run and help at events, you donate via direct debit as well as many other great ways of supporting us. Thank you. It means a lot.
We have a new catering company in September. We are really looking forward to working with them. They are called Fuel for Learning and their food is delicious and sourced locally. All lunches (apart from nursery) are free next year so I do hope you will encourage the children to have school lunches and take up this offer.
Well done to the PTFA and Project Renovate. The good news is we are halfway to the amount needed for the decoration. As it’s hard to find time to get all those classrooms decorated and re-floored we are having the work done this summer. We need to definitely raise the other half now. We are also having the sail shades installed in the holidays. This is exciting as it will offer more shade to our children while they play.
Thank you for the 20ps today. We raised £908.50. This will go towards Project Renovate. Year 4 raised the moved the most money by raising £409 as a year group. Both classes received £20 to spend as they wish in Year 5.
We have so much to look forward to next year. The Opal playground project starts in September and we will be providing the children with different opportunities at lunchtime. The new curriculum is in place and going well. It is a joy listening to the children talk about their learning and using the vocabulary linked to the subject areas.
I am sure you will join me in saying a huge thank you to all the staff. They are caring, hardworking and dedicated and a pleasure to work with. We are lucky to have such a great team at Betty Layward.
Your children are amazing. They make me smile every day. Their behaviour, including their learning behaviour, is exemplary. They are wonderful to spend time with. Thank you for giving us the privilege of sending your child to Betty Layward. We really love having them. I hope you have a really lovely summer.
Jessica
Headteacher
