Dear Grazebrook Families

I would like to begin by congratulating all of our children and staff on a hugely successful start to the term. It has been wonderful to see such enthusiasm for learning across the school, and I am very proud of the way our children have embraced the many opportunities on offer.

This term, we have also welcomed NSPCC workshops into school, supporting our children to learn how to speak out, stay safe and understand where to seek help if they are worried. These sessions are an important part of our commitment to safeguarding and to ensuring that all children feel confident, listened to and supported.

Our curriculum will also be brought to life through a wide range of geography, history and science field trips. Year 4 visited the Natural History Museum to explore tectonic plates and earthquakes. Year 5 will also be visiting this week to deepen their understanding of climate and biomes. Year 1 are venturing into central London to identify famous landmarks and enjoy a memorable boat trip along the River Thames. Year 3 will be investigating erosion and weathering during their visit to Abney Park and Year 2 will explore a wetlands habitat in Walthamstow, linking closely to their science learning.

Reception children will go on an adventure to The Museum of the Home, comparing houses of the past with the homes we live in today and Year 6 will attend a Junior Citizenship event, exploring how to be responsible members of society while developing independence as they prepare for their transition to secondary school.

In addition, Year 5 have begun our annual Bikeability programme. This provides all children with the opportunity to develop their cycling skills and confidence while riding safely on the roads in our local area. We were very impressed by our first group's focus and resilience last week and loved seeing them out in our community. 5B will also complete their intensive swimming programme later this term with daily lessons to build their confidence and stamina. 

March is a very busy month in the Grazebrook calendar. We will begin our celebrations with World Book Day on Friday 6th March. Children and adults are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character, real-life story inspiration or author, and will take part in a range of exciting, book-themed activities throughout the day. Mr McGivern will be writing to you with further details next week. 

We will then be celebrating British Science Week from Monday 9th March, including our annual science fair at the end of the week. Our focus will gone beyond science to include maths, computing and design and we will celebrate a wealth of inspirational figures in our assemblies and lessons. Please look out for a letter from Mrs Cabey with further details of this year's themes and ideas for home learning projects.

If you are a parent or carer who is passionate about books, science, technology, engineering or maths and would like to run a workshop or give a short talk to your child’s class to celebrate either World Book Day or British Science Week, please let their class teacher know. We are always delighted to welcome families into school and to celebrate our amazing Grazebrook community together.

As part of our computing curriculum this term, all the children at Grazebrook have been developing their knowledge of coding and programming. Year 1 and 2 have been learning about commands and simple algorithms. They have been collaborating and having lots of fun programming our BeeBots to move and travel in different ways to solve problems. 

Across the school, children have been taking part in dance lessons, working together to learn and link different moves within different styles of dance. Year 6 showcased their Haka at the start of the term before moving on to choreographing dances which included balances and dynamic movements. They also took on the role of scientists in their classrooms to prove to Ms Pratt and Mr Williams that light travels in straight lines. 

Year 4 have been on lots of adventures learning outside the classroom to develop their knowledge of art and geography. They loved being inspired by the artefacts at the Victoria and Albert Museum to create their own artwork. At the Natural History Museum, they experienced the impact of an earthquake and used the models and reconstructions to learn about tectonic plates. 

A reminder that school starts promptly at 8.55am each morning. For years 1 to 6, the lining up bell rings at 8.53am. This gives children two minutes to get into their line and be ready to learn. Children complete a learning review every morning as soon as they enter their classroom which includes arithmetic and spellings practice or deepening their understanding of key vocabulary from their knowledge organiser. Children who arrive after 8.55am miss this learning. The later children arrive at school, the more learning they lose, as lessons begin promptly at 9.00am. 

We would also like to remind you that requests for term time leave for holidays or visiting family abroad cannot be authorised unless in very exceptional circumstances. Fines will also be issues for extended absences. 

Please continue to support us by ensuring your child is at school as often as possible and that they arrive punctually each day. Thank you!