Dear Parents

It was heartening to see so many parents actively participating in Come Learn With Me, focusing on road safety with the theme 'Let's Talk About Speed.' The engagement of parents is invaluable as we work together to teach the children about road safety.  We've also dedicated time to Anti-Bullying Week to spread awareness about bullying, empowering us to unite against it and ‘Making some Noise.’ 

Have you noticed the Eco Schools green flag waving proudly? We're thrilled to announce that our school has been awarded the Eco Schools green flag with merit. This accomplishment reflects our collective commitment to sustainability.  Well done everyone! 

A big thank you to the GPPSA and all the amazing parent volunteers who made the school disco a disco to remember! The children had a blast, and your efforts raised funds for our school. Get ready for our upcoming Christmas Fayre on Sunday 3 December, from 11am to 2 pm. It's the perfect opportunity for our school community to come together, enjoy festive activities, and spread the holiday cheer. There will be something for everyone, so save the date and let's make this event truly magical!

Have you spotted the pod in our car park next to the gates? We're thrilled to announce that soon, we'll have our very own hot beverage pod, Scoffi, serving parents during drop off and pick up times. A percentage of all proceeds will go back to the school, so you can enjoy your favourite beverage while supporting our school community.  

At the end of this term we will be bidding farewell to Karen Ayres, SENCO.  Karen has accepted a new opportunity, and we wish her all the best in her exciting journey ahead.  We're delighted to welcome Cathy Burns as our interim SENCO in January. Cathy brings a wealth of experience, having already familiarised herself with our school and met some of our wonderful children. Parents of children with SEND are invited to a coffee morning on Thursday 14 December at 9am to meet Cathy, learn more about her, and extend a warm welcome. We'll be looking to appoint a permanent SENCO later in the academic year.

As always, thank you for your continued support, positivity, and enthusiasm.  Remember, there's an inset day tomorrow, so school will be closed.  See you all back on Monday 27 November. 

With my very best wishes to you and your families

Tijen Hassan

Headteacher 

Please click to view term dates for 2023 - 2024 

Please click here to view term dates for 2024 - 2025

Who are these workshops for?  

These workshops are designed for parents and guardians of primary and secondary school-aged children and young people who wish to learn various strategies to support their children.   

What do these workshops offer?  

These introductory workshops aim to explore with parents ideas, skills, and strategies that can be used to help support their children. While we will touch on general themes, please note that the workshops might not cover every situation or experience that may contribute to these issues. These workshops are designed to be interactive. Participants will be provided with resources, further reading recommendations, and guidance for after the session, should any further concerns arise. We recognise that parents, are experts of themselves and their children and that the professionals at My Young Mind Enfield bring their own expertise through training. The aim of the workshops is for parents and professionals to bring their expertise together and provide information, ideas and resources.  

These workshops will be led by Wellbeing Practitioners from My Young Mind Enfield. They will be delivered via Microsoft Teams; please note that a Microsoft Teams account is not required to join.  

What is the process?  

We ask that My Young Mind Enfield/MHST schools advertise the workshops through whichever platform they typically communicate with parents (e.g. newsletters, letter, email, word of mouth etc). To access the event parents are able to sign up via Microsoft forms. We ask that they state which school their child attends along with their name, when signing up, to help us monitor the number of parents that attend from each school. This will help us also to tailor any further work that may be required at a later date. The workshops will be delivered on Microsoft Teams, an account is not required to join the workshops. Parents will need access to either a computer / laptop / tablet / phone to access it. Once parents have signed up they will be sent a link to the event shortly before the start time. Parents can sign up until the date of the workshop. 

If mental health leads have any questions, please do not hesitate to email on beh-tr.enfieldcamhsmhst@nhs.net.  

During the first week back after half term, Tijen introduced the children to the new Character trait that we are focusing on,  ‘Gratitude’. The children explored that character trait through the story ‘Windows’ by Julia Denos.  The children were asked to consider the character as they take a walk one evening and pass windows of different people in their homes, reflecting on gratitude for simple things like painting a picture, playing the piano, receiving a hug from a relative, rather than materialistic things.

During the assembly, we discussed the meaning of gratitude: Being thankful for good things in their life and knowing that they are luckier than lots of other people. We agreed that gratitude is about appreciating the person or things that did something for you or made you feel happy. It is pausing to notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, even computer access and taking a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are when something good happens - whether it’s a small or big thing. Together we recognised that showing gratitude can sometimes be challenging, as we can sometimes feel envy when we compare ourselves to others. In the following assembly, the children discussed moral dilemmas, offering advice to others on when to and how to show gratitude. 

How to support at home

1. Do practice gratitude every day, even if it’s only to tell your children how grateful you are to have them in your life. Together, you could try writing down the things that you are grateful for each day, both the big and small. Verbalising what you’re grateful for is a powerful way that both you and your children can avoid taking things for granted and remain thankful for all that you have. 

2. Do say “thank you” regularly. Showing your gratitude to those around you with a kind note or word is one small way to show your appreciation for them. Teaching your children to do the same is important in helping them to feel gratitude for the lives and friends that they have. 

3. Don’t let the bad times be all bad. Use these as opportunities to teach you something useful. Try saying to yourself, “I can’t wait to find out what good will come from this!” This helps you look at all situations as leading toward positives in life. 

4. Do write a thank-you note to your children for what you appreciate about them. For example, you might write and leave a note that says, “Thank you so much for tidying up your room today without me even asking. You are incredible, and I am so thankful to have you in my life!” 

5. Do treasure yourself and take care of yourself as a role model for your child. Many parents treasure their children but not themselves. 

This month, pupils in the school have been participating in our annual Buddy Reading event. This is an opportunity for pupils to work collaboratively with children in their school family and to build up positive relationships between the older and younger children. It was lovely to see the children so enthusiastic about reading with somebody new and to see the older children supporting the younger ones in their learning.

During the week of the 6th November, the children of Grange Park Primary School took part in Come learn with me. This year's focus was on Road Safety and the theme was “Let’s talk about speed”.

Children throughout the school learnt about the importance of the Green cross code, road markings, ways to travel to school, sensible places to park and most importantly the speed limits around the school and how to cross the road safely. All the children worked extremely hard and produced some excellent work. Here are some examples.

In Yr5, parents and children collaborated to create a compelling advertisement focused on the Green Cross Code! Together, we explored the essentials of road safety, teaching our youngsters the vital steps to navigate roads securely. The event was a fantastic opportunity for families to bond while promoting a crucial message. We've already taken a step towards making road safety cool, and some of the adverts were a joy to behold.

We spoke about making a noise, when and how we should do it. The Anti-bullying Ambassadors told the children who they could speak to if they were a target of bullying behaviours and reminded everyone of the trust boxes in classrooms and the virtual trust box on the school website and their Google Classroom. 

The audience was asked to think about the impact of one voice compared to many by getting everyone to ‘Make some Noise’. We understood that if there is a unified message and we deliver it together, the change will be made more consistently and effectively.

The Anti-Bullying Ambassador also led an online parent workshop which we hope you were able to attend. Here is a link to the slides they shared for your future reference.

In addition to this, during Friday lunch, they led  ‘Friendship Friday’ on the playgrounds. The ambassadors  encouraged children to come and join them in making gifts (friendship bracelets, chatterboxes of compliments and origami hearts)  for their friends, to let them know how much they care. One child said “This is the best Friday ever!”

Please see attached flyers from the GPPSA regarding:

• Guess the Bear: 20 November - 23 November 

• Collection week for the Christmas Fayre: 27 November- 1 December

• Christmas Jumper day on: Thursday 7 December

Also looking forward to seeing our families at the Christmas Fayre on Sunday 3 December 11am-2pm. 

One of our main events is also fast approaching - the Christmas Fayre on Sunday 3rd December from 11am - 2pm.  We are currently sourcing raffle prizes and looking for stall holders for the event so please reach out if you are able to help us.  Thank you to all the parents who will participate in the Xmas for Schools!

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 bear in mind the initiatives that are available year round:

• Amazon Smile - we would like to encourage parents to use Amazon smile when making online purchase through Amazon (where Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the GPPSA) search = Grange Park Primary School Association 

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

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

Our little Acorns have really enjoyed experimenting in the outdoor area. They've used the guttering and stands to create elaborate water shoots and used their gross motor skills to transport water from one area to the other. They've experimented with bubbles and really enjoyed jumping in muddy puddles.

In English, the children have been reading the story ‘The Little Red Hen.’ To support the retelling of the story the children have learnt actions such as ‘once upon a time’, ‘cat’ and ‘the end.’ This week Reception had great fun innovating the story and changing the Little Red Hen to an animal of their choice!

Year 1 have been exploring freestanding structures in Design technology. First the children went outside to identify some freestanding structures in our school environment. Next the children explored different ways paper could be folded to find out which way was strongest. Finally the children designed their own chair. 

In Religious  and Worldview, Year 4 have been looking at the question - How do people celebrate Christmas? The children have been looking at the question through a religious lens and a sociological lens.

The classes have acted as ‘religious studies investigators’ to explore how people celebrate Christmas, both at home and in places of worship (church). They first completed an inference activity where they closely examined photographs related to Christmas celebrations. They used these photographs to ask questions, make sensible guesses and identify what they could see. Afterwards, the children went on a ‘fact hunt’ and worked together in groups to create mind maps of how Christmas is celebrated at home and at church. 

In Year 5, the children had the exciting opportunity to attend a captivating science workshop focused on the mysteries of black holes and the fascinating intricacies of our solar system. Directly linking with our new science topic of space, they had the opportunity to share what they already know about the solar system while learning all about the fascinating concept of black holes. Through engaging presentations, hands-on experiments, and interactive discussions, the students delved deep into the enigmatic world of black holes. The children explored the concept of gravity's infinite pull and the formation of these invisible cosmic vacuums. They then learnt about the life cycles of stars and how black holes can form as the remnants of massive celestial explosions. This hands-on experience left the Year 5 children enthralled and eager to unravel the secrets of the universe, creating a great curiosity and interest to learn more about the wonders of space. 

During this half term in our religious and worldviews education classes, Year 6 have been exploring the important subjects of racism and equality. To raise awareness about these topics, our students got creative and made artworks that represent their ideas of what equality should be. In our lessons, we've also explored 'The Golden Rule,' which essentially means treating others the way you'd want to be treated. We discovered that different religions and belief systems have their versions of this rule, but at the heart of it all, they share the same message: kindness and fairness towards one another.

The children discussed questions like: 

What is racism, and why is it not a good thing? Have you ever seen or heard about someone being treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin? How did it make you feel? How can we be kind and fair to people from different backgrounds and races?