Friday 5th November

Dear families,

Welcome back to the new term at Shacklewell- I hope you all enjoyed a restful and relaxing break. I certainly noticed a change in the air during the break and have been enjoying the crisp and colder temperatures this week. During the half term it was also good to be able to take stock and reflect on the progress made so far this year and as such, the teachers and the leaders have a renewed sense of purpose for this term.

We will continue to focus on the role of kindness in society and our school. The children understand the principle of what it means to be kind to each other but they do not always make the connections between their actions and the wider impact on the community, locally and nationally. Another priority for this term is to continue to increase the opportunities for families to be involved in school life. In the section below you will be able to see the key dates and I encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to come into school. On Monday I wrote to you to discuss the focus on attendance and punctuality this term. We have already seen an improvement, so I am thankful for your support with this. We need to ensure this positive start continues over the coming weeks.

I am looking forward to the parent council meeting next Friday and wanted to remind you that these meetings are open for all families to attend. The parent council is a forum for families to address whole school issues and it is a positive way for you to communicate directly with the leadership team. If you are unable to attend the meeting you can email spc@newwavefederation.co.uk to share any items for the agenda or discussion points you may have.

It is one of the joys of my job to welcome perspective families into Shacklewell for a visit. This week a large group of parents, hoping to join us in September 2022, came for a tour. The reason that these experiences are so enjoyable is that they capture the essence of the school and when listening to the feedback from these groups it is really heartening to hear that they can immediately feel the care, love and commitment that the team here have for their class and the wider school community. Whilst we know that the children here have a fantastic offer, it is always reassuring to hear this from visitors to the school.

On a final note, I would like to encourage you all to follow the school on Twitter (@ShacklewellE8). The teachers are increasingly sharing snapshots of the children's day and their work so it is a great place to see what is going on at school.

Wishing you an enjoyable weekend,

Rory

Key Dates

With our new history topics well underway, many of our year groups have been able to book trips to museums and local areas of historical significance to help bring the learning to life for the children. Next week, year two are off to Abney Park cemetery to find our more about important historical figures from Hackney and they will welcome a local historian into their classrooms to find out more about the people they discover.

Hackney schools' sports activities have returned for this academic year. We have applied to participate in a wide range of activities for children of all sporting abilities. On Friday we have a small group of children heading up to Hackney Downs to take part in a cycling event.

Reception families will be able to join their children for a reading breakfast next Thursday morning from 8.30am - 8.55am. We provide a range of the children's favourite stories along with a breakfast of fruit and pastries to enjoy whilst you cosy up with a good book in our top hall.

On Friday, 1S have the privilege of kicking off our weekly sharing assembly. The children have begun planning their performance and look forward to sharing the recent English learning with the school. As always, there will be a musical number for an added cute factor too!