This half term, Reception have been inspired by the book The Colour Monster and have learnt how to mix paints to make new colours! They particularly loved creating their collaborative handprint artwork.

In geography lessons, the children have been learning to read maps and carry out fieldwork to gather data to answer questions. Year 1 learnt how to read maps of the school grounds in order to find treasure. Year 2 visited Clissold Park to identify key features before creating their own maps of the park. Year 4 have learnt how to interpret contour lines on maps. They went to Alexandra Palace to explore its topography and record the noise levels. They then compared this to Stoke Newington. 

Year 5 explored different types of maps, comparing new maps and older maps, road maps and OS maps. They used a map and compass in Hyde Park to locate and visit different locations within the park. 

The children have continued to develop their life skills and learn about the world around them through the Grazebrook Passport. Children in Years 2 and 5 were visited by the London Fire Brigade who talked to them about how to be safe around fire and how to avoid starting fires by accident. Year 2 used their Design Technology lessons to learn how to prepare healthy snacks. During Nursery's first topic of the year, All About Me, the children worked with their families to make All About Me boxes which they shared with each other. They then made their new (and old!) friends kindness bracelets. The children have also been learning about the different types of transport they might use. The children had lots of fun waiting at the bus stop and touching in with their Oyster cards! The pupil responsibilities for Key Stage 2 children have now been announced - further details of their projects for the year will be shared with you over the coming weeks. After Christmas, we will begin to develop project for EYFS and KS1. 

Congratulations to all the teams who have trained and competed this half term. Events so far have included football and tag rugby tournaments. Our Year 5 and 6 football squad team players, Raheemah, Frances, Ella, Ina and Lottie said, "We tried really hard in our tournament games. We played well and even though we lost on penalties, we didn't mind. We cheered on our friends and had fun."

We were very disappointed that the weather took a turn for the worse meaning we had to cancel our athletics event at Finsbury Park this week. The Federation sports coaches will ensure other athletics opportunities are planned throughout the year as we know the children selected for the team worked hard to demonstrate their abilities in their PE lessons. 

Our Nursery and Key Stage 1 pupils had a fantastic day having an animal encounter this week. They met a snake, prairie dogs, a rabbit, a tarantula, a frog, a tortoise and a bearded dragon. After half term, the Year 1 pupils will be learning about animals in their science lessons so the day was a great introduction to animals with scales, shells and fur. Ayden said, "There was a snake and its scales felt like sweetcorn. The frog was jumping high." Bilal said, "I held the rabbit. It was very furry and fluffy."

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. At times, you may wish to contact the member of staff in charge of your child's year group. At Grazebrook, these are: 

Nursery and Reception: Ms Kelly O'Callaghan (EYFS Leader) or Ms Caireann Conlon (Assistant Headteacher)

Year 1, Year 2, Year 3: Ms Niamh McLaughlin (KS1 Lead Teacher ) or Mr Josh Middleton (Assistant Headteacher)

Year 4, Year 5, Year 6: Ms Simone Bunbury (Assistant Headteacher) 

SEND: Ms Caireann Conlon (Assistant Headteacher) 

All email queries, including those for the attention of a class teacher or school leader, 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.