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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 14th February 2025
Fri 14 Feb 2025Dear Parents and Carers,
We are half way through the school year. I can’t quite believe it. Where is the time going? It’s been a great term and thank you for all your support.
Thank you for attending our Artbash art exhibition today. I was so impressed with all the children’s artwork. They really enjoyed the workshops, and we enjoyed seeing them proud of their creations. We hope you enjoyed them, too.
On Wednesday, the Year 4 classes had an exciting trip to the Southbank BFI as part of their Spanish learning. The children worked together to answer a variety of questions and interact in Spanish. In the afternoon, pupils enjoyed the luxurious BFI theatre seats and watched a Spanish film, El Ratón Pérez, with subtitles. It was a great day.
On Thursday, February 13th, 2025, a group of children took part in the Hackney Primary Swimming Gala at Clissold Leisure Centre. The children competed against six schools from Hackney in different races, including backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle, as well as team relay races. Betty Layward secured second place in this year's swimming gala. Well done to all the children who took part. We are proud of all of you.
It was Safer Internet Day this week, and we had an assembly on 'Who can we trust?'. We discussed the importance of not giving away information to anyone, how to check if things are true, and what to do if we are unsure or worried about something on the internet. There is a lot of information and support online, so please have these conversations at home as well.
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
As you know Teresa, my PA, is leaving today and has some exciting times ahead travelling and enjoying retirement. We wish her well and thank her for all her hard work. Karen, who is currently a TA in Year 3 Emerald class will be taking over the role after half term. She will continue working in the mornings as the Year 3 TA and will be PA in the afternoon until we have found a new TA for Year 3. The sewing club will also continue this term.
I hope you have a lovely half term and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 25th February.
Thanks
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 7th February 2025
Fri 07 Feb 2025Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you have had a good week. We have had a lovely week full of fantastic art workshops and we are looking forward to even more next week. Because the children are still working hard on their art, we will be having our Art Exhibition on Friday, February 14th, after school (3:15 to 4:30 p.m.) in the hall. There will not be an exhibition on Thursday 13th February. We hope you can come along with your child next Friday and see all the wonderful artwork the children have created. One of the artists they have been looking at lived in Stoke Newington. Althea McNish (1924 – 2020) was amongst the first, if not the first, designer of African-Caribbean descent to achieve international recognition. Her designs injected much-needed colour and life into the post-war fashion and textiles industry from the 1950s onwards. This is to be massively respected. She spent most of her life living and working in Stoke Newington. Althea McNish revolutionised design with her bold and beautiful prints. After moving to England from Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1950s, McNish studied printmaking at the London School of Printing and completed postgraduate studies in Textiles at the Royal College of Art. Just days after she graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1957, Arthur-Stewart Liberty – the chairman of Liberty of London – bought her entire graduation collection on the spot. He was so impressed with her work that he placed her in a taxi to see Zika Ascher, a fashion and textile entrepreneur who was well known in the industry for his use of artists’ designs for fashion fabrics. In Althea's words, this meeting would change her life. Alongside designing for Ascher and Liberty, the artist – who died in 2020 aged 95 – went on to create works for Heal’s, Cavendish Textiles, Hull Traders and Danasco; fashion houses, such as of Dior and Balenciaga; and many other well-known European and international design companies.
Jade class presented a fantastic assembly this week on the Ancient Egyptians. It was great. The children spoke with confidence and taught us many interesting facts as well as showing us their excellent dancing and singing skills. Well done Jade class.
I wanted to let you know that Teresa, my PA, is leaving on Friday, 14th February. She has worked at Betty Layward for 17 years and is a wonderful member of staff and not only an excellent support for me but also a great support for all staff, families, PTFA and governors. Teresa will be dearly missed and I know you will join us in saying that we wish her all the best for her next chapter. Thank you Teresa, for all that you have done for the school. It has meant a lot.
We have put the lost property outside on tables by the entrance. Please can you check it as we will be sending any items not claimed to charity.
I hope you have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you at the exhibition next Friday.
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter 31st January 2025
Fri 31 Jan 2025Dear 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
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Newsletter Friday 24th January 2025
Fri 24 Jan 2025Dear 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
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Newsletter Friday 17th January 2025
Fri 17 Jan 2025Dear 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.
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
Have a lovely weekend,
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 10th January 2025
Fri 10 Jan 2025Dear 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
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Newsletter Friday 20th December 2024
Fri 20 Dec 2024Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you for a great 2024. You are so supportive, kind and we feel lucky to be part of such a lovely community. The children have been brilliant this year and we are so proud of them. This week we had the Year 2 to 6 concert and it was amazing. It was so great to see so many of you there. Thank you for supporting this event and we hope you enjoyed it. We were so impressed with the children’s singing. Well done to all of them.
Today we shared the staff Christmas video which the children really enjoyed. Thank you to Tommy, a parent, who filmed it and put it together. The staff really enjoyed making it and we loved seeing the children’s faces when they watched it. A great way to end the term and 2024.
Here is the video for you to enjoy
Thank you for everything. Have a lovely Christmas, a Happy Hanukah and a brilliant New Year. Enjoy your holidays and we shall see back at the normal time on Tuesday 7th January.
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 13th December 2024
Fri 13 Dec 2024Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had a great week with many fun things going on.
Thank you to those of you who helped at or attended the winter fair. It was a great event, despite the weather. Thank you to the organisers. It’s a big job organising the event and everyone did a marvellous job. A big thank you to the parents who cleared up. This was only a few so we really do need more help with this next year.
Year 1 and Reception performed their nativity to the school and parents and carers this week. They were amazing even with a technical hitch during the afternoon performance. They sang beautifully without the music and it didn’t put them off at all. They are all stars. Well done Reception and Year 1 and to all the parents and carers for coming.
The Nursery also performed this week and sang some very lovely songs while playing instruments and having some great actions. Well done Nursery. It was amazing.
Christmas lunch was great fun today. We had a lot of fun. First, the children showed each other their Christmas hats in the hall. They were amazing. Then we all enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch with crackers. The hall was full of big smiles and laughter.
We are looking forward to seeing you next week at our Christmas concert for Year 2 to Year 6. Please remember it will start promptly at 1:30 on Tuesday 17th January at St Matthias church. Please use the south entrance via the double iron gate which is located next to St Matthias school. Please do not bring any food or drink into the church. Please collect your child from school and not the church.
I am sad to let you know that Emma (year 6 teacher) and Luke, our music teacher, are leaving us this term. Emma is moving to Glasgow, and Luke is returning to Australia. Both have been great assets to the school and will be dearly missed. We wish them well for their exciting futures and thank them both for their hard work, dedication, and care for the children.
Please remember we close at 1pm on Friday 20th December and return on Tuesday 7th January. There will be no clubs next week and no Premier on Friday 20th December. All children will need to be collected at 1pm.
Have a lovely weekend
Jessica
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Newsletter Friday 6th December 2024
Fri 06 Dec 2024Dear Parents and Carers,
What a busy time we are having. There are some really lovely things going on and we cannot wait to see you at all our events. Please see the list below with the times and dates and any extra information for each event.
Tuesday 10th December
9:45am - Nativity show for Year 1 parents
2pm - Nativity show for Reception parents
For both these shows please remember to be a quiet audience and please do not bring any food or drinks. Please remember it is two tickets per child and we cannot admit any extra adults.
Wednesday 11th December
10:30am - Nursery Christmas songs in the Nursery
Please remember no food or drink is to be brought into the Nursery and only two adults per child please.
Friday 13th December
Christmas lunch for all children
Christmas Jumper Day – the children can wear their own clothes with a Christmas jumper
Tuesday 17th December
1:30pm the Year 2 – 6 Christmas Concert at St Matthias Church. Please use the south entrance via the double iron gate which is located next to St Matthias school. Please do not bring any food or drink into the church. Please also collect your child from school and not the church.
Friday 20th December
School closes at 1pm and there is no Premier or clubs. School reopens on Tuesday 7th January.
We look forward to seeing you at the above events.
Thank you for all your donations for the Winter Fair. We are always so impressed with your generosity. We are really looking forward to seeing you there tomorrow and thank you for donating your time and support to make it happen. It really does make a difference.
In Reception today we had Family Friday. Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to come. We made decorations for the holiday season and it was lovely to have so many parents and carers attend. Thank you for being so supportive.
On Wednesday, 9 children from Years 5 and 6 attended a Mathematics Challenge Day at Nightingale Primary School. The day was hosted by Pete Hall, a leading mathematics specialist. The children explored challenges from around the world, and looked at the history of mathematics and how they can link their known mathematical knowledge to solve trickier problems. We were very proud of the children that attended as they were confident to share ideas and strategies and they were great ambassadors for Betty Layward.
On Wednesday 3rd December a group of year 5 and 6 girls took part in the Hackney Football League semi-finals against Mossbourne, Riverside and Berger. We kicked off against Mossbourne Riverside and took the lead. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hang on and lost 2-1. The second game against Berger was a tight affair, however Betty Layward came out on top with a very impressive 4-0 victory with a hat trick from Clara. Well done to all the children and thank you to the parent volunteer who accompanied us.
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.
We have had a lot of cheeky elves visit school this week and the children cannot wait to see what they are going to do next. Please see the attached photos for some of the mischief that has been going on.
Yield N16 is a local wine shop and bar serving not only natural, organic, honest wine, but also local craft beers, E5Bakehouse bread, Monmouth coffee, Natoora and all your pantry needs. They will be raising funds for our school again this year starting now until 3rd January 2025. When you are shopping with Yield N16, customers simply need to mention their child’s school and Yield N16 will donate 10% of the total bill back to the school on January 20th.
Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you at the Winter Fair tomorrow.
Jessica
Headteacher
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Newsletter Friday 29th December 2024
Fri 29 Nov 2024Dear Parents and Carers,
It is good to see the sun shining after the wild weather we had at the weekend. I hope it did not impact you.
As you know, we have our Christmas events coming up. These are on our website's calendar, so please add all these events to your diaries. The Year 2-6 Christmas concert in the church will start at 1:30 p.m. Please remember that the children will need to be picked up from school, not the church. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you there.
On Friday 6th December we have a non-school uniform day for the children in return for them bringing in items for the Winter Fair. This can be chocolates, toiletries or alcohol. The planning for the Winter Fair is well underway and the main thing we need are volunteers. We would really appreciate it if you could sign up to help. At the moment we do not have enough help and if it does not improve we might have to cancel it. That would be a big shame as so much has already been done and it does raise a huge amount for school and with everything as it is at the moment we need as much financial help as possible. PLEASE sign up and help even if it is just for an hour. It is also a really lovely way to be part of our school community. A massive thank you to those of you who have already signed up. It really does make a difference.
We were very proud of our children this week as they attended the Panathlon Challenge. Here is what they wrote about it –
‘On Wednesday some children in KS2 went on a trip. We went to the Panathlon on the 141 bus. When we got there, we were super excited. When we entered the building, we started doing some activities like beanbag throwing. We did basketball, then we did curling, then we balanced a ball on a racquet and walked around cones. Finally, we threw four balls at a target. At the end, we had a medal and we took pictures as a group together.’By Ajahni, Diana and Taliayah (Fuchsia Class) Well done to these children. It sounded like you had a great time.
This week we launched a new handwriting scheme, Letter-join, for all year groups. Letter-join is an online platform that teaches handwriting in line with the National Curriculum. Handwriting is an integral part of children's writing, which allows them to share their ideas and structure their thoughts in a well-crafted manner. Letter-join has structured lesson plans that build the children's skills incrementally. The lessons will not only teach the children letter formation and joins but also how to develop their writing posture and correct pencil grip. In addition to this, we had an assembly on Wednesday where the children discussed what good handwriting looks like, how we can achieve it and why it is such an important part of their writing. We will be sharing handwriting for the children to complete at home too. To further encourage the children's handwriting development, we will be awarding handwriters of the week a special treat. The children chosen for this honour will be able to choose a pencil topper to put on their pen or pencil for the week as an extra incentive. We look forward to seeing the amazing efforts the children put into this, as well as the opportunity to celebrate their success.
We are now registering 3 and 4 year olds for our school nursery places in September 2025 – 2026. Rainbow Nursery in Betty Layward Primary School prides itself on providing caring and inspiring provision for our children. We are very popular so we advise you to secure your space now. You are very welcome to come and visit us and our school and have a look around our delightful nursery for yourself. We provide 15 hour part time morning places and 15 hour part time afternoon places. We also provide full time 30 hour places that can be fully funded or partially funded and then the other hours are privately paid for. Our nursery is aimed at preschool children aged three and four years old. Children can apply for one of these nursery places if they turn 4 between 1st September 2025 and August 31st 2026 or in the term after their third birthday. Any questions about admissions to nursery in 2025 – 2026 do not hesitate to drop an email to paularamsden@bettylayward.org. We look forward to receiving your applications and meeting you next year.
We finish for the holidays on Friday 20th December at 1pm. There is no Premier or clubs on that day so all children will need to be collected at 1pm.
I hope you have a lovely weekend and please sign up for the Winter Fair.
Jessica
Headteacher
