Grazebrook Primary School Bulletin
Tuesday 23rd November 2021
Message from Mrs Beecroft
Dear Grazebrook families
We have had a fantastic fortnight of learning at Grazebrook with visits from owls and snakes; persuasive speech writing; composition and performance with musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra and PSHE lessons centred around kindness and respect for anti-bullying week. We are also proud to announce that the New Wave Federation schools have once again been awarded Apple Distinguished School status which recognises our continuous innovation in using iPad to learn, teach and enhance the school environment.
As we head into winter, as predicted, we are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases within Hackney. Several cases were reported within our school community, which resulted in the reintroduction of some aspects of our COVID-19 precautions such as making assemblies and staff meetings virtual and staff wearing masks in shared areas of the school. We thank you for your support by wearing masks on site and keeping a safe distance from each other. As ever, taking your child for a PCR test if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, high temperature or a loss of smell/taste or if they are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, is vital to reducing transmission rates. Regular lateral flow tests also help to check for asymptomatic cases within our community. Grazebrook staff are taking these tests twice weekly.
Unfortunately, the re-introduction of some restrictions has had an impact on the range of family events we are able to offer in school this term. We have postponed our remaining reading breakfasts and family workshops outside of Nursery. Currently, we are working towards still being able to invite you in for a Christmas concert and are planning different options to make this happen whilst still keeping the arrangements safe for all. Details will be shared with you in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your patience and continued support and as ever, please do not hesitate to speak with me or a member of the leadership team on the school gate, or via the school office, if you have any questions or comments.
Our learning this week
Early Years have been learning to use a range of mathematical and geographical vocabulary with Nursery children comparing the size of different objects and Reception children taking tours around the school to practise their directional language. Year 1 came face-to-face with a range of animals to support their learning in science, identifying different animals from the five vertebrate groups. Year 2 showed impressive measuring skills using rulers, metre sticks, tape measures and trundle wheels to build their understanding of metric units of measure.
Year 3 have been inspired by their class book, The Accidental Prime Minister, and wrote me some very persuasive letters of why they should become headteacher for the day! Their use of rhetorical questions and flattery was very impressive. Year 4 created electrical circuits with bulbs and buzzers and worked collaboratively with musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra to compose and perform a nature-inspired piece. Year 5 have begun to rehearse their Christmas songs on guitar and can't wait to share these with their families as part of their Christmas concert. Year 6 have been discussing the changing nature of how we view historical events through their history unit on the Kingdom of Benin. They are looking forward to their trip to the British Museum to see some of the artefacts they have been discussing in class.
Last week Grazebrook achieved the Silver Spanish Award from Hackney in recognition of our Spanish teaching and learning across the school. Spanish Knowledge Organisers for years 3 to 6 can be found in the classes section of our school website. These can be used to support your child at home to practise the key vocabulary and phrases they are learning in the classroom.
End of term assessments
This week, the children in years 1 to 5 will be taking part in reading and maths standardised assessments. These summative assessments, called PiRa and PUMA, are designed to measure progress in learning since September. The scores we gather from these papers help us to identify children's strengths and areas for development. The analysis is used to support and inform planning and teaching. Furthermore, we will use the information to share a progress update with you during the parent consultations.
Reception Applications
If you are a parent of a child aged 3 or 4 (born between 1 September 2017 and 31 August 2018) who will start reception class at primary school in September 2022, you should apply for a primary school place by 15 January 2022, even if your child is already in the nursery. There is a separate application process for children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan. You will get an application form to complete from the Education, Health and Care Planning (EHCP) team. You should use this form to list the schools you prefer for your child. Further information about the application process for all children can be found on the Hackney Education website. If you are a Nursery parent and require any support with this process, please let Ms Mulder know or contact our office team who will be happy to help.
Parent Consultations
Although we had planned for parent consultations to be face-to-face, we have now had to make the decision to move these to virtual meetings. These will be held as Google Meets on the afternoon and evening of Thursday 2nd December starting at 3.50pm. Clubs will not take place on that evening; however, Our Space will run as usual for the children who normally attend on a Thursday. A meeting booking form will be shared with you at 5pm on Thursday 25th November. Please contact the Grazebrook office if you have any difficulties booking or have any questions.
Christmas Market Trail and Food Bank
Although we are not able to hold a Christmas Fair on site this year, our very resilient and innovative PSA are organising a Christmas Market Trail instead. This will take place on Saturday 4th December between 12pm and 2pm. If you live on any of the roads near Grazebrook and would be happy to run a stall at the front of your house, please sign up via the PSA website here. After the success of the Summer Trail, the PSA are looking to create all the fun of the usual Christmas Fair: face painting, glitter tattoos, toy/book and bake sales, festive crafts and anything else you are able to offer. Trail profits will go to the PSA, helping them to fun extra activities for all the children at Grazebrook such as the trip to the pantomime.
The local Christmas foodbank will be collecting donations on Friday 10th December after 3pm at 15 Grayling Road opposite the Grazebrook school gates. A list of the most needed items will be circulated nearer the time.
Autumn Term Key Dates
November
24/11/21 Year 3 Royal Academy Arts Project
24/11/21 Year 4 visit from Apollo Music
26/11/21 Year 4 visit to the British Museum
29/11/21 6G visit to the British Museum
December/January
01/12/21 KS2 Dodgeball Festival
01/12/21 Year 4 Apollo Music concert trip
02/12/21 6B visit to the British Museum
02/12/21 Parent Consultation Evening
08/12/21 Panathlon Competition
09/12/21 Hackney Empire Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime
13/12/21 Christmas Lunch and Christmas Jumper day
13/12/21 EYFS Hobgoblin Travelling Panto, The Snow Queen
14/12/21 Y1 to Y6 'Winter Sounds' Concerts AM & PM
15/12/21 Nursery and Reception Concert AM
15/12/21 Karl Nova poetry workshops for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
17/12/21 Last day of the Autumn Term - school closes at 2pm
04/01/22 Inset Day for staff
05/01/22 Children return to school
15/01/22 Hackney deadline for Reception applications
Key Contacts
If you have any queries regarding you child's learning the first point of contact is your child's class teacher. You can speak to them at the end of the day or contact our school office to arrange a phone call or face-to-face meeting with them. At times, you may wish to contact the member of staff in charge of your child's year group. At Grazebrook, these are our phase leaders and assistant headteachers:
Nursery and Reception: Ms Joanna Ichim
Years 1, 2 and 3: Mr Harry Spencer
Years 4, 5 and 6: Ms Lucy Spreckley
SEND: Ms Lindsey O'Shea
All email queries should be sent to gboffice@newwavefederation.co.uk in the first instance with the addressee and/or topic in the subject line. These will be forwarded to the relevant member of staff.