Woodberry Down Update
Friday 4th November 2022
A Message From Mr Hewie
This week saw our return to school following the halfterm break. The wet weather reminded us that Autumn is well and truly with us and that the colder months are coming.
With the children wearing thicker jackets, scarves, gloves and hats, we ask that you label all items to avoid these going missing. If your child wears welly boots on the way to school, please remember to put an extra pair of shoes into their bag for them to wear whilst they are indoors. We also want to remind our families about PE kits. Our children should be dressed appropriately for sports and games. They should be wearing white or black trainers for these lessons to ensure safety. An increasing number of children have been wearing boots on PE days. Please expect a call from the school office if your child is dressed inappropriately for sports lessons.
In our newsletter this week you will find information about our 'Come Learn with Me' sessions which we are holding over the term. We look forward to seeing you at these. In addition, we have posted information about the children's homework projects linked to their history topics and have given you dates for the remainder of the term. Our Family Consultation Evening is set to take place on Thursday 8th December.
I would like to thank all of our families who have attended recent coffee mornings and Nursery events and for their feedback and suggestions on improved ways to work alongside our families and the community.
We have recently ordered additional books for our new school library. In the meantime, if you have any books at home that you would like to donate to the school, please do bring these to the school office.
COME LEARN WITH ME
We are really excited to be welcoming our families into our school over the coming weeks for our ‘Come Learn with Me’ sessions. We hope that many of you will be able to come along to join in with the lessons we have planned. These will take place at 2.30pm, in your child’s classroom on the dates below. Please report to the school reception at 2.30pm on the day, if you wish to join us. The lessons will be linked to your child’s history topic.
These are:
Year 1 - Living History
Year 2 - Hackney's History
Year 3 - Stone Age to Iron Age
Year 4 - The Romans
Year 5 - The Vikings
Year 6 - Benin
The children will be creating or building an object linked to the topic. All of our children will be able to take their creation home with them after the lesson.
cost of living support
The cost of living crisis is placing the budgets of many Hackney households under huge strain.
Hackney Council's comprehensive guide gives residents struggling with their bills information on the help and support available to them. The guide contains useful details on the financial support available and details on a range of other initiatives offering help.
95.0%
This week the year group with the highest attendance is Year 6 with 95.0% of the children attending for the week. A huge thank you to all of our families for their continued efforts to improve our attendance figure and to be in school every day!
Weekly Attendance
Our attendance figure for the school year to date remains at 93.0%. A huge well done to class 6W who ended the week with 98% attendance, the highest figure for the week!
Please remember that it is the responsibility of our families to ensure that the children attend school regularly. If your child is sick, we ask that families report absences by text on 07537455343 in the form of the child's name, class and reason for absence. We appreciate you support and with this matter. Otherwise, contact us on 0208 800 5758.
History Homework projects
This term we have set the children the challenge of creating historical pieces for their homework projects. These have been shared with you on the school website and can also be found below. The staff can't wait to see what the children bring before 14th December.
Year 1 - Class Museum Artefact
Year 2 - Special Suitcase
Year 3 - Stone Age Settlement
Year 4 - Roman Empire Map
Year 5 - Viking Ship
Year 6 - Model of Benin City
Woodberry Down Digital Leaders
Ms Williams and Mr Pavela are delighted to announce the school's new Digital Leaders. Gaddiel, Zachary, Maachah, Souhayla, Leonidas and Aymen have been appointed as ambassadors in computing and technology for the school and will work to support both staff and pupils with solving issues with technology as well as demonstrating the skills and expertise of the pupils at Woodberry Down Primary School.
They have expressed their pride at having been chosen to represent the school in this field and to be able to use their expertise at times when it is needed.
Year 7 uniform grant
Families of children in Year 6 might be interested to read that they could qualify for a grant to put towards the purchase of their new secondary school uniform. Apply once you have accepted the secondary school transfer offer from Hackney Education.
Eligible applicants can expect to receive their grant prior to the start of term if they apply before 30 June.
The school uniform grant is still available for current Year 7 pupils who have started secondary school from September and meet the eligibility criteria. Information can be found here.
Break time Maths Challenge
who will win?
This week the children of Years 3, 4 ,5 and 6 began the ‘Solve It’ Maths Challenge during break times. It has been great to see so many keen mathematicians posting their entries for their given year group challenge. Whose entry will be selected for the very special prize of a lunch with Mr Hewie?
Woodberry Down Reading Ambassadors
We are delighted to introduce our new Year 6 Reading Ambassadors. The children who have been given this new role are responsible for reading with younger children in the lower years of the school. They read with them during the week, sharing stories and helping to develop their phonics knowledge and understanding of new texts. We have been very impressed with the children's skills in supporting our younger children to develop a love for learning. We are sure that Zayba, Shanisia, Leon, Naheed, Jayden and Erblina will continue to do a great job in this role.
messages from the school office
school photos
School photos should be uploaded by the photographers by Friday for families to order. The photos can only be ordered online, however the delivery will be made to the school unless otherwise specified.
debts
Can we please ask parents to regularly check their ParentPay accounts and pay in advance for any club, meals and additional nursery hours they have. The school cannot afford to carry debts.
Parking
Complaints from local residents about parents using the resident parking spaces whilst they are dropping off their child in the morning have been made to the school. This is causing problems as residents cannot get move their cars.
Upcoming term dates
Tuesday 8th November 2022 - Curriculum Science Coffee Morning
Wednesday 9th November 2022 - Year 2 Come Learn With Me
Friday 11th November 2022 - Year 1 Come Learn With Me
Thursday 17th November 2022 - Year 3 Come Learn With Me
Monday 21st November 2022 (all week) - Reading & Maths Assessments (Year 1 - Year 5)
Thursday 24th November 2022 - Year 4 Come Learn With Me
Monday 28th November 2022 (all week) - Year 6 Practice SATs Papers
Tuesday 29th November 2022 - Year 5 Come Learn With Me
Wednesday 7th December 2022 - KS1 Pantomime Trip (Year 1 & Year 2)
Wednesday 7th December 2022 - Year 6 Come Learn With Me
Thursday 8th December 2022 - Parent Consultation Evening (All Pupils)
Friday 9th December 2022 - EYFS Nativity Concert (Nursery & Reception)
Tuesday 13th December 2022 - Christmas Concert (Year 1 - Year 6)
Wednesday 14th December 2022 - KS2 Pantomime Trip (Year 3 - Year 6)
Thursday 15th December 2022 - Christmas Lunch (All Pupils)
Friday 16th December 2022 - School Closes at 2.00pm
