This week at Gainsborough…

Autumn 1  

Coming up at Gainsborough…

Back History Month

We are celebrating black excellence throughout October. A range of activities have been designed to celebrate black excellence and raise awareness of the positive, and varied, influence black culture has on us. We have designed activities in a range of curriculum areas, all building towards a performance for the parents in class session and a huge celebration event. Years 1 -6 have been allocated a back poet to learn about and celebrate in reading. In PE children will learn a dance they can perform for you during our carnival. In art, the children will design and make a headdress for their carnival performance. In DT we are making a variety of drinks to share with you at our Black History Month celebration. We have planned a series of celebration events on Friday 24th October. We would like families to come and join us in celebrating difference, and specifically celebrating the culture of carnival. We have 3 events taking place over the course of Friday 24th:

Nursery and Reception Family Friday 9-10am, all families are invited to come and join us in poem, dance and song in the early years

Years 1 -6 Parents in Class event 2.30-3.30pm, we will meet you on the grass area for Gainsborough’s very own Carnival! Children will dance and perform for you while enjoying the vibes of carnival.

Black History Month celebration event– all families are invited to join us from 3.30-5.30pm for an evening of celebration. Please wear traditional dress and take part in our fashion show, please bring a dish to celebrate food from your own culture, come and watch our Yardlings performance and dance the night away with our special carnival dancing guests!

Update on Clubs

We have been incredibly lucky over the years to have wonderful partnerships with local services. We have had a very successful working relationship with the Yard Theatre for over 8 years, with incredible facilitators supporting a weekly drama group and the children performing in the theatre. While the Yard goes through a significant period of change the funding for the facilitation has been paused. We are continuing this legacy with a school based dram school led by Miss Lewis, the children will continue to learn drama and acting skills, create plays and perform for us each half term.

We have come to the end of a wonderful partnership with British Cycling. Children from Gainsborough have been learning to ride on site at school, and learning to BMX off site at the BMX track on the Olympic Park, with support from British Cycling. Again, funding reductions have meant this can no longer be facilitated at Gainsborough. To carry on this legacy work we have decided to offer weekly on site cycling as a club for the children, giving them the opportunity to learn to ride on site and to cycle together.

To continue to rich offer of clubs, and linking with external services, we have decided to link with the Hackney Borough Youth Choir. The choir’s rehearsals are on Wednesday from 4.30-5.30pm at Cardinal Pole secondary school. We are inviting children from Years 5 and 6 to audition for the choir and join a group of Gainsborough children travelling to and from the venue each week. Children will leave school at 4pm and return to Gainsborough for 6pm. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well established choir, who perform all over London, and have a senior choir and other links to opportunities to sing or perform.

Lastly, we also have a new music club offer – Ukele. This is to replace the school choir option as we are now using the opportunities with Hackney Borough Youth Choir to offer a choir option.

For the reasons mentioned above our club offer for years 4, 5, 6 children will change slightly. Children who this affects will be asked to re select their clubs.

The Benefits of having 100% Attendance

We know that regular school attendance is one of the most important factors in your child’s learning and wellbeing. Being at school every day ensures that your child:

• Keeps up with learning: Even a day missed can mean missing key lessons or important instructions.

• Builds strong friendships: Daily attendance helps children form and maintain friendships, improving social skills and confidence.

• Develops routines and discipline: Consistent attendance teaches responsibility, time management, and good habits.

• Boosts future success: Children with strong attendance records tend to achieve higher academic outcomes and are better prepared for the next stage of their education.

We understand that children get sick sometimes, and it’s important they stay home if unwell. But when possible, attending school every day sets them up for their best success