Dear parents

We've had a vibrant and eventful few weeks at our school, showcasing our children's talents and enthusiasm.   Our  Sports Day was a tremendous success! The children had a fantastic time, and it was wonderful to see so many parents cheering them on under the glorious sunshine. Your support made the day even more special.

Our School Parliament and Junior Travel Ambassadors took part in Brake’s Kids Walk, promoting road safety on Worlds End Lane. They raised awareness about slower traffic, safe crossings, and respecting no-parking zones.  Read the article below to see how you can help as parents.

Our Key Stage 2 children recently participated in an anti-racism workshop, and I must express how impressed I was with their maturity, respect, and kindness throughout the session. The workshop provided valuable lessons on equality and understanding.  

The children in Year 3 and 4 had an unforgettable time at their recent sleepover. They enjoyed toasting marshmallows around the campfire and bonding with their friends. A big thank you to all the staff who gave up their time to make this event happen. Your dedication is truly appreciated.

Another amazing term of sport at Grange Park! Our Year 5/6 football teams represented Tottenham Hotspur FC in the Nationals at Brentford FC's Gtech Stadium. Competing against 15,000 schools, Grange Park finished in the top 20 in England. An incredible achievement!

Don't forget our Summer Fayre on Sunday 7 July from 11am to 3pm. Join us for a day of fun activities, delicious food, and community spirit. We look forward to seeing you there!

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

A massive well done to our ‘Always Stars’. ‘Always Star’ children are children who ALWAYS show that they follow the Big 3, they are ALWAYS respectful, resilient and show responsibility and they ALWAYS try their very best, taking on new challenges with a growth mindset and never giving  up. 

Here are the 'Always Stars’ for the last half term.

This half term, we are focusing on the important character trait of confidence. Confidence is the belief in oneself and one’s abilities. It is essential for personal growth, success and resilience.  The children were introduced to the character trait through the story ‘I Am Enough’ by Grace Byers. After hearing the story, the children were asked to consider how the author encourages confidence and acceptance. Byers emphasises that regardless of one’s looks, abilities, or beliefs, every child is unique, able and worthy of respect. 

During the assembly, we discussed the meaning of confidence: I show that I am feeling proud of my achievements. I know that I can be proud of my abilities, without being arrogant.

Together we discussed that confidence helps us to feel ready for life’s experiences. When we’re confident, we’re more likely to move forward with people and opportunities - not back away from them. If things don’t work out at first, confidence helps us try again.

As parents, we play a crucial role in helping our children develop confidence. Confidence matters because confident children are more likely to participate in class, tackle challenging tasks, and persist through difficulties. Confidence helps children build strong relationships. They are more likely to express themselves clearly and stand up for themselves and others. Finally confident children are better equipped to handle setbacks and failures, viewing them as opportunities to learn and grow.

Here are some insights and tips on how to nurture this trait in your children.

Tips for Building Confidence at Home:

1. Encourage Effort Over Results

• Praise the Process: Focus on praising your child's effort, strategies, and progress rather than the end result. This helps them value hard work and persistence.

• Set Realistic Goals: Help your child set achievable goals. Celebrate small milestones to build a sense of accomplishment.

2. Provide Opportunities for Success

• New Experiences: Encourage your child to try new activities and hobbies. This can help them discover their strengths and passions.

• Age-Appropriate Responsibilities: Assign tasks that are suitable for their age. Successfully completing these tasks boosts their sense of competence and independence.

3. Be a Role Model

• Show Confidence: Demonstrate confidence in your actions and decisions. Children often imitate their parents' behaviour.

• Positive Self-Talk: Model positive self-talk. Replace "I can't do this" with "I'll try my best" or "I can learn how to do this."

4. Create a Supportive Environment

• Listen and Validate: Make sure to listen to your child's concerns and feelings. Validating their experiences helps them feel understood and supported.

• Encouragement and Support: Offer consistent encouragement and support, especially during challenging times.

5. Teach Problem-Solving Skills

• Encourage Independence: Allow your child to make choices and solve problems on their own. Guide them through the problem-solving process when needed.

• Resilience Training: Teach them that making mistakes is a part of learning. Help them see challenges as opportunities to grow.

By working together, we can help our children develop the confidence they need to navigate life's challenges and seize opportunities.

Well done to Broomfield, Year 4 and 5 Mercury for finishing first in our last round of battles. The next round has already begun so work hard to push your family, year group and class to victory.

If your child enjoys playing a musical instrument then this Samba drumming workshop may be of interest to you! Will Jackson, an EMS tutor will be delivering a Samba Drumming workshop here at Grange Park School over the summer holidays. All information is on the poster below. 

We introduced keystone routines that support the children to meet our expectations and revamped how we let children know when they are doing well by introducing ‘Proud Post’, which I am sure you’ve seen many of, and ‘Gotcha’ tokens.

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

The children in the nursery have all been having an amazing time exploring the new nursery outdoor provision. They’ve been busy making mud pies and potions in the mud kitchen, looking for bugs and insects, exploring water play and developing their physical skills.

Reception children were thrilled to participate in a science workshop about floating and sinking, delivered by Hands on Science. They began by sorting objects into three categories: always float, sometimes float, and never float. This led to a lively discussion about what makes objects float or sink, considering factors like material, weight, and shape. The children predicted whether different materials—metal, plastic, plasticine, tissue, and foil—would float or sink. They then learned to make foil boats and tested how many metal nuts each boat could hold before sinking. To their surprise, some boats held up to 30 nuts!

This Friday, our Year 2 students set on an exciting trip to Southend-on-Sea to learn about the different coastal features. They used their senses by writing about what they can see, hear, touch, and smell, ready to put their observations to the test. Armed with "kebab sticks" to identify coastal features, they pointed out the different features, felt the sand between their fingers, and listened to the sounds of the sea.

Year 3 has crammed so much into the last few weeks! We had a fantastic time at the sleepovers. It was the first time sleeping away from home for some children - so well done to them! During the day, the children enjoyed loads of outdoor activities, including parachute games, rounders and treasure hunts. Inside, they got to enjoy some interactive drawing and music activities on their chromebooks, as well as playing board games with friends. Dinner was a pizza party and we rounded the evening off with songs, toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate around the campfire. Bedtime with your buddies is extremely exciting, so not much sleep was had, as you can imagine, but the children enjoyed themselves and went home tired but happy on Saturday morning.

What a busy few weeks it has been for our Year 4 children! Firstly, they had a wonderful time during their sleepover earlier this half term where they experienced sleeping outside in tents! For some of our children (and teachers), it was their very first camping experience! Throughout the day, the children participated in various team building activities including gutter games, orienteering, team sports and parachute games. The games got very competitive! To promote this exciting event, the children demonstrated their creativity by designing a poster in various ways, including Google Slides and Canva. During dinner, all of the children enjoyed delicious pizza and cupcakes for dessert. If that was not all, we ended the evening by sitting around the campfire singing songs, toasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate until it was time to get ready for bed! Not very much sleep was had but all of the children had a great time! 

In addition, the children showed excellent resilience and perseverance in completing their Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)! Not only have they been diligently practising their times tables all year but have been working incredibly hard to apply them in their learning. We are extremely proud of the children for having a growth mindset and know that they have tried their absolute best to learn their times tables - which is the most important thing!

We had the exciting opportunity to visit Chickenshed Theatre, where we enjoyed an exclusive backstage tour to see how a theatre operates behind the scenes. We also honed our acting techniques with the guidance of acting professionals who helped us enhance our stage presence and confidence when performing. Their support has equipped us with the essential skills for our final production!