9th December

Dear families,

what a wonderful evening it was on Friday. The school was transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland and the children had an amazing time. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported this annual event- it somehow seems to get better and better each year! A special note of thanks to all the parents and carers who worked so hard to turn the dream into a reality. The team here at school know that you have dedicated countless hours to making, baking and creating and we are truly grateful for your hard work and commitment. I am pleased to announce that the total amount raised was £2612 which is absolutely superb.

Whilst it is definitely feeling a lot like Christmas with the cold temperatures outside, it is business as usual during our lessons at Shacklewell. The children are engrossed in their writing weeks books, and this week will be completing their own compositions based on their whole class texts. The children are also consolidating their knowledge in mathematics by revisiting key topics from this term. This is to ensure they have a solid understanding of the key knowledge before moving into the spring term.

In amongst all of the focused learning, the children are practising for their Christmas performances next week. The school is filled with great music and the children are incredibly excited to showcase their festive tunes. The children need to wear a particular colour for their performances so please make sure they have a plain top and bottoms matching these colours- Year 1 red, Year 2 green, Year 3 red, Year 4 white/silver, Year 5 yellow/gold and Year 6 white/silver. Tuesday is also a big day for the children because we all get to enjoy a delicious Christmas lunch together. The children will have the full Christmas trimmings accompanied by crackers and party hats.

Our main event this week is the pantomime at Hackney Empire! Children in Year 1 - Year 6 will have an altered timetable to ensure everyone has their lunch before they head off. Children in Year 1 and 2 will use public transport and children in Years 4-6 will walk to the Hackney Empire. We aim to be back at school between 4.45pm and 5.00pm so please ensure you are here to collect the children, from the playground. Unfortunately no child will be able to be collected from the Hackney Empire. Friday is also Christmas jumper day. As a school we are trying to be sustainable, so instead of buying an expensive jumper designed for a single use, the children are being encouraged to 'up-cycle' a plain jumper they already own and to make it festive with colourful adornments like tinsel and glitter.

The morning of Friday 13th December is Parent Council. This forum is ideal to hear updates about what has been happening in the school this half term. If you would like to speak to the chair of parent council, Rachel, ahead of the meeting on Friday then please send her an email.

Have a great week and enjoy the build up to the festive period,

Rory

Writing Weeks are in full swing in our KS1 and KS2 classes and many children are writing additional chapters and their own stories based on their learning in English lessons. A real highlight from last week was the Year One classes retelling the story ‘I Want My Hat Back’ in their sharing assembly. The children know the story so well now that they are ready to use their knowledge to write a story in the style of the author, this is a great achievement for some of our youngest writers.

As we edge closer to the end of term we are sharing recommendations for children to read either independently or with an adult at home. How many books have your children read from the top ten of the ‘100 best books’ (as defined by thebooktrust.org)? These titles are all readily available in the libraries throughout Hackney and some our in our class libraries too. They would make great reads for the winter break!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The BFG by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Winnie-the-Pooh by A A Milne, illustrated by E H Shepherd

The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien

Charlotte's Web by E B White

Northern Lights [from His Dark Materials trilogy] by Philip Pullman

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis