This academic year we will be focusing on:

Improving school punctuality and attendance

Launching a school food initiative

Striving towards being a more sustainable organisation

Improving our academic outcomes for pupils at statutory checkpoints

Year 5 and 6 Boys Football Competition

Our Year 5 and 6 football team took part in the Hackney Schools Athletic Association football competition at Queensbridge Leisure Centre this week. Unfortunately the boys did not come back with any titles, although they did enjoy the tournament and came back full of reflection and positive ways to improve. Well done boys and Coach Terry on representing Gainsborough with pride, and holding your heads up high, even when the outcomes do not go your way.

Jump Into a Book Year 2 Family Reading

Children in Year 2 were invited to join a reading programme with their families this week. ‘Jump Into a Book’ is a Hackney Education led reading programme designed to inspire families to read together. There are still some spaces left Year 2 families, please join if you can. The sessions run on Thursday’s throughout Spring from 3.30-4.30pm, please speak to Ms Ahmed if you would like to join the reading group.

Hackney’s Low Carbon Children’s Banquet

This week Ling Tang, the artist behind the low carbon banquet project Gainsborough has been part of, released the images and videos celebrating the art installation. We want to publicly thank Ling for including Gainsborough in the project. Gainsborough hope to live out this legacy by holding annual low carbon banquets for the children and families in our community to raise awareness of the what low carbon eating looks like, feels like and tastes like. We will be recruiting families to help with the low carbon banquet in the summer term, ready to eat together in September 2026! Please see Gainsborough’s contribution in the link below:

https://lowcarbon.lingql.com/chinatown#low-carbon-children-banquet

Food Strategy Update

This week we introduced the idea of a food strategy to the children in assembly. They were asked to think about how we can help them to make healthy choices, reducing their sugar, fat and salt intakes. Children in Years 1-6 have been asked to complete a questionnaire in their homework this week, asking for them to think about the best ways in which we can help them to make better choices. School council met this week and they decided to make a series of videos showing ‘Swap this, for this.’ They have started with swapping shop bought jelly pots, which hold a whopping 2 and 1/2 tables spoons of sugar per pot, to home made jelly with fruit and fruit juice, containing a lot less sugar and of which are considerably cheaper. School council hope to inspire families to make these easy swaps at home. The videos are coming soon. We will also be sending parents a questionnaire to gather their views on the food culture at school, and ask for feedback on what would help them to make healthier food choices at home and at school.

TT Rockstars Battle

Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 were challenged to a TT Rockstars battle against Mr Alexander this week. Mr Alexander was beaten fair and square by the children at Gainsborough this week. Our new contestant was selected by Ms Clark, Ms Carhart. Will any of the children be able to beat Ms Carhart in this week’s battle?

Reader of the Week

Each week we celebrate an amazing achievement from each class. Children are celebrated in assembly, receive a gold certificate and their name in the newsletter. Please celebrate their learning at home too!

Nursery Ducks

Cadhla was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for sharing ideas and contributing well to carpet sessions. Well done Cadhla!

Nursery Geese

Patricia was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for settling well into new routines and learning new transitions. Well done Patricia!

Nursery Swans

Betsy was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for naming all of the Arctic animals and creating a wonderful Arctic animal picture. Well done Betsy!

Reception Magpies

Larosa was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for always offering ideas to friends. Well done Larosa!

Year 1 Doves

Idris was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for his consistently positive attitude and wonderful work in maths. Well done Idris!

Year 2 Wrens

Teya was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for her positive attitude and participation in all lessons this week. Well done Teya!

Year 3 Owls

Faith was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for writing a detailed and dscriptive diary entry and being an all round fabulous role model for Year 3. Well done Faith!

Year 4 Hummingbirds

David was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for returning to school and settling into all of his groups beautifully. Well done David!

Year 5 Herons

Sofia was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for completing an excellent piece of homework, focusing on the Ancient Egyptians. Well done Sofia!

Year 6  Skylarks

Mohamed R was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for putting so much effort in to learning the chorus for the Year 6 assembly retelling the story of Romeo and Juliet. Well done Mahamed R!

Hackney Wick Town Hall – 6pm, Wednesday 21st January

We are hosting the Hackney Wick Town Hall meeting next week. The Town Hall is an open meeting made up of members of the local community. This groups is  working together to bring change to the community and make suggestions to improve the infrastructure, link with community groups, connect organisations and build a community that has a say in the local area. Please come along and share you ideas! To find out more and book a place please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hackney-wick-town-hall-january-edition-tickets-1980180668685?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

National Reading Day

On Friday 23rd January we will celebrate National Reading Day. We will be setting up reading opportunities for older children to read with younger children and we will spend some time simply reading and listening to stories. Children are invited to bring a book they love or have loved into school to share with friends.

Year 1 Jobs Geography unit, can you help be interviewed about your job?

We are looking for family members who work in Hackney Wick, and the surrounding area, who could come and talk to Year 1 about their jobs. The children look at jobs in the local area as part of their geography learning. Alternatively, if year 1 could visit a place of work in the local area that would also be really helpful. If you can support us for an hour with this term half term please speak to senior leader on the gate or email admin@gainsborough.hackney.sch.uk

PE kit Reminder

We would like to remind families on PE days your child is invited to wear their PE kit to school. This saves time and supports children to access longer, more effective PE lessons. Please ensure your child is in school PE kits and not other clothes. The school PE kit is a white t shirt, blue/ black leggings or jogging bottoms, black trainers and their school jumper or cardigan. The school PE kit is not other tracksuits and brightly coloured trainers. We will speak to children and families over the coming weeks about ensuring children come in uniform each day, particularly on PE days.

Punctuality Reminder

We would like to remind everyone of the importance of arriving at school on time each day. The school day begins promptly at 8:45am, and being punctual helps children settle into their routine and start the day calmly and confidently.

Our phonics and reading lessons take place from 9:00–10:00am every morning. This is a key part of your child’s learning, as these sessions build essential skills in reading, spelling, and language development. When children arrive late, they miss important teaching and often find it difficult to catch up with the rest of the class.

Regular attendance and punctuality make a real difference to children’s progress, confidence, and enjoyment of school. We kindly ask for your support in ensuring your child arrives on time each day so they can benefit fully from these vital lessons.