https://www.alexandraprimaryschool.co.uk Friday 11th September 2026 Issue No. 35

Message from the Headteacher

A very warm welcome back to everyone after the summer break. I hope you and your families had an enjoyable summer. I would particularly like to welcome all the new children and families joining Alexandra this term. We hope you quickly feel part of our wonderful school community.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our recent coffee morning. It was fantastic to hear your ideas about future fundraising events and ways we can work together to continue improving our school. Your involvement and support make a real difference.

We are also incredibly proud of our Ofsted report, which you can read below. I am especially pleased that Personal Development and Wellbeing was judged to be a Strong Standard. This recognition reflects the commitment of our whole team to ensuring that every child feels known, valued and supported and has the opportunities and encouragement they need to flourish both personally and academically.

It has been a really positive start to the new school year and I look forward to everything we will aspire to, achieve and enjoy together in the year ahead.

Welcome from our chair of governors

Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of the Governing Body, I would like to offer a very warm welcome to you and your children as we begin a new school year.

The start of a new academic year is always an exciting time. It brings new opportunities to learn, make friends, develop confidence and discover new interests. For those joining us for the first time, we hope that you and your child will quickly feel part of our school community. To our returning families, welcome back — we hope you had a restful and enjoyable break.

For those of you who are not aware of the role that governors play within the school we are here to support and help our school be the very best it can be. We work closely with the Headteacher and staff, asking questions, offering support and helping to make important decisions about the school’s future. We give our time voluntarily because we believe passionately in the value of a happy and strong school community. We are proud to support the school and work closely with the Headteacher, staff, pupils and families in ensuring that every child receives the best possible education and has the opportunity to thrive. We are committed to Alexandra Primary being a school where children feel safe, valued, listened to and encouraged to achieve their very best.

As most of you know just before the summer break our school had an Ofsted inspection and I am delighted to report that it was a great success. This achievement is a reflection of the hard work, dedication, and skill of our entire staff team, the enthusiasm and good behaviour of our pupils, and the invaluable support of parents and carers like yourselves. The Ofsted inspectors were impressed that Alexandra Primary is not only a school where children learn well, but one where they are cared for, valued, and encouraged to reach their full potential. On behalf of the governors, I want to thank everyone who contributes to making our school such a special place.

We recognise that a successful school depends on a strong partnership between home and school. Your support, encouragement and involvement make a real difference to your child's learning and wellbeing. We look forward to continuing to work together throughout the year and greatly value the contribution that parents and carers make to our school community.

Thank you for your continued support of the school. We wish all our pupils a happy, successful and rewarding year ahead, and we look forward to sharing their achievements with you.

With very best wishes,

Caroline Schloss

Chair of Governors

Charlie Burke, Year 1 Teacher

Welcome to our new staff this September

Ofsted Report

'Pupils feel a secure sense of belonging at this inclusive and nurturing school'

We are delighted to share the report from our recent Ofsted inspection. It captures so much of what makes Alexandra special. Inspectors recognised that our pupils behave well, enjoy their learning and benefit from highly effective pastoral support.

The full report can be found here; https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/130358

International Evening is coming soon!

Our International Evening is coming soon and we would love your help in making it a true celebration of our diverse community.

One of the highlights of the event is sharing delicious foods from around the world. If you would like to contribute, we invite you to prepare a dish from your country or culture to share with everyone. Whether it’s a family recipe or a traditional favourite, your contribution will help us showcase the flavours and traditions that make our community so special.

What's been happening this week?

A Wonderful Start in Early Years

The Early Years children have had a wonderful start to the term. Our returning children and new joiners have all been getting stuck in, helping out, exploring together, and having lots of fun. There’s a genuine sense of sharing, caring, and looking after one another across the setting, which has created a really positive buzz this week.

We’re very much looking forward to welcoming even more children next week and continuing to build this lovely community feeling as everyone settles in.

KS2 Phase Assembly

This week our phase assembly, led by Mr Smyth, celebrated a brilliant start to the year. We congratulated our Stars of the Week for living Alexandra’s values of Kindness, Responsibility, Courage and Curiosity, presented Reading Journal certificates and shared Year 6’s holiday homework. A reminder that not every child has a reading journal yet — we will be giving new journals to all children next week. Mr Smyth said it was hard to choose winners because so many children have made such a positive start — well done to everyone.

Alexandra Values

Last year we finalised our school values — Kindness, Curiosity, Responsibility and Courage — chosen after workshops with staff, parents and children and brought to life through an art competition and a final character design by a local artist. The start of the year is a good moment to revisit them and think about how we live each value every day.

Here are some examples of Year 6 artwork that show how pupils are living our values day to day:

Writing Competition Winners

A huge congratulations to all our writing competition winners and runners-up from the end of the year!

The winning entries were of a high standard, bringing to life fascinating characters and exciting, adventurous scenarios. Well done to everyone who took part—we were so impressed by the creativity and imagination on display. Keep your pencils ready and look out for our next writing competition later this year!

Writing Competition 2 – Winners July 2026

Aris – Bol Y3, Imran – Nic Y4, Deivi – Mex Y4, Irem – PR Y5, Tony – Ven Y5

Runners Up July 2026

Year 3 Bolivia Class:

Phoenix, Oyin, Mia, Rimiok, Andreea, Enxhi, Halil, Elizabeth, Jason, Cinar, Ocean, Mohamed, Samuel, Yamac, Sabri, Amadou, Alexsanda, Armani, Elaya,

Year 4 Mexico Class:

Carissa

Year 5 Venezuela Class:

Nikola

Year 5 Puerto Rico Class:

Dhruv, Luis, Zak, Luka, Akira

Year 6 WWII Launch day

Year 6 got off to an engaging start with our WWII launch day. The children spent the day exploring life on the home front and making direct links to the history curriculum through a mix of hands-on activities and drama.

Children took part in short war‑time role plays to practise oracy skills and deepen their understanding of different perspectives. In small groups they examined replica artefacts and photographs, generating questions and recording findings.

The day built subject knowledge, speaking and listening, and curiosity — all key to our ambitious curriculum. It also provided a memorable starting point for the unit, helping children to think like historians - asking questions, weighing evidence and making connections.

Well done to Year 6 for their thoughtfulness and enthusiasm.

Year 5 Tudor Launch Day

Year 5 enjoyed a fantastic Tudor launch day this week using resources kindly provided by Islington Library. Children researched everyday life in Tudor times and wrote their own “revolting” recipes inspired by historic tastes.

In class they worked in teams to design and build Tudor houses from donated cardboard, practising measurement, cutting and collaborative problem‑solving. The day sparked curiosity, deepened historical knowledge, strengthened reading and research skills and gave children hands‑on experience of teamwork and making. Please ask your child about their recipes and models — they are very proud of what they created.

Reading News

I know it seems like a little while ago now, but a huge congratulations to our KS2 Reading Raffle winners! 🎉 It was wonderful to see how hard the children worked to complete their Reading Journals and earn their raffle tickets.

The KS2 Reading Raffle is starting again this half term! To be in with a chance of winning, children should be reading for at least 20 minutes every evening and remembering to complete their Reading Journals. Each completed journal entry helps them earn a raffle ticket, so keep reading and get those tickets coming in!

There is lots more exciting reading news to share. Your child will soon be getting the opportunity to use our wonderful school library and will be able to choose books to take home. In addition, children should be bringing home their banded reading book, as well as a book of their own choice from their class book corner.

We have lots of exciting reading activities planned, so watch this space for more news!

Happy reading!

Mrs Herda

Music Assembly with Mr Ken

Mr Ken led our first music assembly of the year, which focussed on our value of Courage.

Children discussed what courage means to them and listened to a story Mr Ken told about an eagle learning to fly — a powerful reminder to persevere when things feel different or difficult. We finished by learning the words to “You Raise Me Up”.

It was a very uplifting start to the year and a lovely reminder of our Alexandra values.

Music At Alexandra Primary School

At Alexandra we are committed to a high‑quality music curriculum that follows the national curriculum and gives every child regular, progressive musical learning.

Every class receives a weekly 30‑minute music lesson, taught by our specialist music teacher, Mr Ken, with the class teacher supporting learning in the classroom;

- Nursery & Reception — voice and musical play
- Year 1 — voice, percussion and drums
- Year 2 — voice and glockenspiel
- Year 3 — voice and ukulele
- Year 4 — voice and recorders
- Year 5 — voice and guitar
- Year 6 — voice and violin

Each year group also takes part in a weekly 30‑minute singing assembly led by Mr Ken, with other staff joining to ensure full participation and to develop vocal technique.

We celebrate a different musician each month to broaden pupils’ musical knowledge and cultural understanding. This month we are exploring the work of Kate Bush. Ask your child about our musician of the month and see what they can tell you.

Additionally, we run a choir and an orchestra for pupils in Years 3–6. If your child would like to join, please encourage them to speak to Mr Ken or their class teacher.

We aim for pupils to leave Alexandra confident in performing, composing and listening and with a lifelong love of music.

Music Lessons at Alexandra

Music is fantastic for your child

Did you know that learning a musical instrument is exceptionally good for you? It helps with brain health, mental well-being and overall cognitive functioning.

Haringey Music Service are now providing one-to-one and group lessons at Alexandra Primary School on a Monday morning. They offer individual or group instrument / singing lessons.

If you are interested in finding out more (including the fee - in some cases, you can access the lessons for free) please follow this link:

https://haringey.gov.uk/schools-learning/haringey-music-service/book-music-instrument-singing-lessons

Coffee Morning

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our welcome‑back coffee morning. Our little chefs did a wonderful job serving cakes and biscuits, and it was lovely to see everyone enjoying the treats together.

It was a relaxed, friendly opportunity to talk, share ideas, and catch up after the holidays. We really appreciate you taking the time to come along and help us start the term with such a positive atmosphere.

Look out for more Welcome in Wednesday sessions this term.

Our Next Welcome in Wednesday - Using Tapestry

Our next Welcome in Wednesday, for Early Years families, will be on Wednesday 16 September 2026 and will be led by Ms Shah. The session will show you how to use Tapestry — our online platform for sharing your child’s learning — including how staff post observations and photos, how you can view and comment, and simple ways to support learning at home.

This friendly, hands‑on session is perfect for parents/carers who are new to Tapestry or would like a refresher. Please join us — no need to book, just come along.

Guided Emotional and Mental Health Support (GEMHS)

At Alexandra Primary we are fortunate to have our own Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Practitioner - Zoe Buxton in school on Wednesday afternoons. Zoe works for Haringey Guided Emotional and Mental Health Support (GEMHS), formerly Haringey Trailblazers — a school‑based service offering early interventions for children with mild‑to‑moderate anxiety, stress and low mood.

Over the last year Zoe has provided one‑to‑one sessions, small groups and whole‑class workshops (Brain Buddies) and has offered practical strategies to support behaviour. She has also run parent sessions and supported families one‑to‑one.

If you think this service could help your child or your family, please speak to your class teacher.

School Uniform

This is a reminder of our school uniform expectations. Children should wear the royal blue sweatshirt, cardigan or fleece displaying the school logo. Grey or black bottoms (trousers, skirt or shorts) with a white polo T-shirt. Children may wear grey dresses and blue and white school uniform dresses can be worn in the summer. Children should wear black shoes or trainers.

Children may wear their PE kit to school on the day they have PE. Their school jumper or fleece must be worn on top. Tracksuit bottoms should be blue or black.

Earrings, if worn, should be small plain studs – no other jewellery is permitted.

When children go swimming they need a swimming costume, a towel, goggles and a swimming hat.

Uniform can now be purchased online from Brigade.

Alternatively, from your local shop – Kenzie Schoolwear www.kenzieuniforms.co.uk and their address is: Unit 27, The Market Mall, The Mall, Wood Green Shopping City N22 6YQ, 02088896025 (opposite Iceland Store).

Kenzie are now offering ‘Click & Collect’ service. Order on-0nline and when the order is ready, parents will be contacted with an appointment to collect.

Their opening times at the moment is Monday – Saturday 10am – 4:30pm.

We thank you for our support in ensuring your child wears the correct uniform.

Attendance and Punctuality Matter

Good attendance and punctuality make a huge difference to children’s learning, confidence, and daily routines. Being in school on time helps children settle calmly, join in with morning activities, and start the day feeling ready to learn.

As we begin the new term, please take a moment to check the term dates and planned school closure days so you know exactly when school will be open. This will help you plan holidays and appointments during non‑school times and avoid any learning being missed.

Teacher training days (INSET days) are also listed on the term calendar, so families can plan ahead with confidence.

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child arrive at school every day, on time, and ready to learn.