Dear parents

It was lovely to so many of you during the recent Learning Conversations.   We trust that these conversations with your child's class teacher provided valuable insights into their learning journey.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the parent survey.  If you haven't had the chance to share your thoughts, please take a moment to respond – your voice matters, and we genuinely want to hear from you! Click here for the survey.  

This week, we are proud to have joined in marking Children's Mental Health Week under the theme "Your Voice Matters." Our children explored their passions and concerns, and it was inspiring to witness so many of them advocating for road safety. They shared their thoughts on safe ways to arrive at school, the importance of following road safety rules, and safe ways to drop off and pick up if using a car.  

We're thrilled to see so many of you enjoying Scoffi Coffee, our drinks and food pod. Remember, a percentage of all proceeds directly goes to the school.  

Looking ahead, we are excited to announce "Come Learn with Me" in the next half-term, scheduled for March. Please make a note of the dates in your diary and join us for this exciting opportunity to further engage with your child's learning.

Wishing you all a wonderful and restful half-term break. See you back at school on Monday 19 February. 

With my very best wishes

Tijen Hassan

Headteacher 

Please click to view term dates for 2023 - 2024 

Please click here to view term dates for 2024 - 2025

Working together to improve school attendance

We know that sometimes our children cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other children. Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness. 

We also know that children fall behind their friends and classmates when they miss school. At Grange Park Primary school we want the amount of missed education to be reduced as much as possible. We believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our children in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success. 

 We also know that you can have a significant effect on your child’s absences this academic year and we would really appreciate your help and support ensuring that they come to school every day so that they can get the best possible outcomes. We want to work with you to achieve this – please call or come in and meet your child’s class teacher if there is anything we can do to support you or your child. We appreciate that every family’s situation is unique.

Thank you for your continued support!

For this year’s Safer Internet Day we explored how to make a difference, manage influence and navigate change online. In our whole school assembly we explored how changes online can make us feel and looked at strategies to manage these. In our classes we explored who to contact if you see something you feel uncomfortable with online.

Here are the links for the online safety videos that were posted to all year groups Google Classroom's:

Reception: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/389401275545132376

Year 1: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1283574708787469151

Year 2: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1977822843239733596

Year 3: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1292583007553939549

Year 4: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1266333266952435033

Year 5: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5588425514809679706

Year 6: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8212817933311023958

We are excited to announce that this week, our school has been participating in Children's Mental Health Awareness Week 2024, a time dedicated to fostering understanding and support for mental health among our young learners. 

This year, the theme was "My Voice Matters," emphasising the importance of empowering children to express themselves and make their voices heard. Evidence shows that empowering children and young people can have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. For example, Children and young people who feel that their voices are heard and that what they say makes a difference, have higher levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem.

To kick off the week, we held a special assembly focused on mental health awareness and speaking out. We used the story ‘Speak Up‘ by Nathan Bryon to highlight the message. The story is about a young girl called Rocket who loves nothing more than discovering new books in her local library. When disaster strikes and it is announced that the library is closing down, she springs into action by speaking up and encouraging the local community to form a peaceful protest. Her actions meant that she was able to save the day and the library too.

Throughout the week, children have had the opportunity to engage in early morning work closely linked to the theme of "My Voice Matters." They had the autonomy to choose the activity that resonated with them, allowing for personal expression and exploration of their thoughts and emotions. Each day, there was a different mindful activity and affirmation of the day. During circle time, our children participated in discussions focused on promoting good mental health practices and understanding feelings. 

Friday saw our School Parliament and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors embracing the week by taking to the playground and offering a range of activities aimed at promoting laughter, social interaction, physical activity and mindfulness. From team games to outdoor yoga, there was something for everyone to enjoy and boost their mood.

Finally, we would like to convey our gratitude and a huge congratulations to everyone that took part in our ‘Express Yourself Exhibition’. This was certainly one of the highlights of the week. Children from Y1-6 were invited to create artwork that reflected what matters to them. This could include their dreams, passions, or even challenges they've overcome. The exhibition not only showcased their creativity but also served as a platform for meaningful expression and connection. The exhibition was also an opportunity to fundraise for Anti Bullying Ambassador hoodies, enabling them to be easily spotted on the playground and much needed resources for promoting wellbeing at lunchtimes. We asked each child that entered to donate £1 in the way of an entrance fee. If you have not had the opportunity to make your donation yet, you can do so via the school office or your teacher.

By actively engaging in these activities and discussions, we hope to instil a sense of confidence, resilience, and empathy in the children at Grange Park Primary School. Together, let's create a supportive environment where every voice is heard, valued, and respected.   Here are some top tips for families.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the parent survey.  If you haven't had the chance to share your thoughts, please take a moment to respond – your voice matters, and we genuinely want to hear from you! Click here for the survey.  

Congratulations to the following children for making the most progress in the following areas:

Battles

Here are the standing of the family, class and year group battles with three days remaining at the time of writing. Well done to Year 5, Mercury and Broomfield, who are currently leading the way in their respective battles.

Grange Park would like to welcome you into school for our Spring Term Come Learn With Me event.  This is an exciting opportunity for you to come into your child's classroom and join in with their activities! Please see the dates below:

Important Advice

Recommended Period to be kept away from school: Four days from onset of rash.

Try to avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.

Measles is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Children with rashes should be considered infectious and assessed by their doctor.

Do

Wash your hands often with soap and warm water

Use tissues when you cough or sneeze

Throw used tissues in the bin

Don't

Do not share cutlery, cups, towels, clothes, or bedding

Immediate Action Required  - Call 999 or go to A&E if:

Shortness of breath

High temperature that does not come down after taking paracetamol.

Confusion 

Seizures

Translated Measles Information

Please note that you can download the attached flyer in various languages including Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romany, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian and Urdu from the link below:-  https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/ViewArticle.html?sp=Smeaslesdontletyouchildcatchitflyerforschoolstranslations 

Measles is a notifiable disease. 

The Public Health Agency Health Protection Duty Room Telephone 0300 555 0119 can be contacted for further advice.  

Did you know you can get up to £500 tax-free childcare every 3 months for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare? You can use tax-free childcare to pay for Extend breakfast, afterschool and holiday club and enrichment clubs!  Click here for more information.  

Do you receive childcare vouchers through your employer? You may be able to use them to pay for our Extend club and Enrichment Clubs. Payment is made to the school via the childcare voucher provider and when the payment is received by the school we will manually credit the payment item on Parentmail. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

If you are in receipt of free school meals, do not miss out on some of the wonderful free activities that are organised by Enfield council this half term. Your child can get involved in Build-a-bear, swimming sessions, soft play, junior gym, outdoor trails and many more exciting activities. Just follow the link to book a space!

https://www.enfield.gov.uk/services/children-and-education/half-term-activities-for-children 

Please do not hesitate to contact us via email on gppsa@hotmail.co.uk if you have any questions, want more information about vacancies on the GPPSA or how you can help us.  

Thanks in advance for your support.

GPPSA

Please also bare in mind the initiatives that are available year round:

• School lotto:  www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/grange-park-primary-school-association 

• Donate page - http://easydonate.org/HTDT007

We have been very lucky in Acorn class  to have some of our parents come into the nursery and volunteer to spend some time in the book corner sharing some of the children's favourite books with them.

Reception have been shape detectives this week! The children have enjoyed making shapes from play dough, using technology to capture and share images of different shapes within their environment and sorting shapes by their properties. They have learnt mathematical language for describing the properties of circles and triangles, such as ‘sides ’, ‘straight’, ‘corners ’ and ‘round’. Lara explains, “I know this is a circle because it only has 1 curved side, it doesn’t have any straight sides.” 

Our classroom has been buzzing with excitement these past weeks! We’ve gone from learning about toy vehicles to creating our own ambulances! Paintbrushes flew as we transformed boxes into yellow emergency responders, complete with sirens, lights, and even tiny stretchers. The fun doesn’t stop there! Next week, wheels and axles will be added, bringing our artistic ambulance to life.

Year 4 took part in a history workshop about ‘Ancient Greece’. They had an introduction about Greek life and culture, as well as an introduction to Greek theatre.

The children took part in a quiz which tested their knowledge on Greek Gods, City States, The Olympic games, Alexander the Great, Greek World, Philosophers, Mythical Creatures and Heroes.

The ‘Ancient Greeks’ were excellent at strengthening their minds with games and puzzles. Year 4 had the chance to tackle the ‘ARCHIMEDES STOMACHION’ which is a Greek “jigsaw” puzzle for exercising the mind. Then they looked at ‘PETTEIA’ which is a Greek strategy game that was played by Alexander the Great.

In English, Year 4 have been learning about several Greek myths such as ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ and ‘Arachne the Weaver’. During the workshop, the children were transported to a Greek theatre where they took part in re-enacting Greek myths and legends.

At the end of the day, the children had a visit from a Greek warrior fresh from battle who demonstrated their weapons and armour. They took part in a discussion about the differences between the city states of Athens and Sparta and the importance of democracy.

This term, our artistic endeavours have been ignited by the captivating theme of 'Monarchy Mayhem.' As we delve into the realm of creativity, we have honed our abilities in mastering proportion, symmetry, and the nuanced art of depicting diverse skin tones. This meticulous preparation serves as the canvas upon which we will bring forth our final masterpiece: a portrait of Henry VII, drawing inspiration from the renowned artist Hans Holbein.