This week at Gainsborough…
Spring 1
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 1 Jobs- local area walk
Year 1 visited a range of locations in the local area this week to find out about jobs and services in our local area. They visited Reverend Sue at St Mary of Eton, Badu Sports at the Badu Cafe and Plexal, and The Loop, to look at circular economies. They were tired by the end, Hackney Wick is bigger than you imagine when you are 5! They learnt a lot about the different jobs and organisations in our area. A huge thank you to our partner organisations, we really appreciate you giving up your time to show us your places of work. Well done Year 1!
Food Strategy Update
This week we saw our first catering order fulfilled. We supplied catering for a group for the Abba Voyage team! The money we make from the catering sales will fund the gardener and food growing at Gainsborough. This model provides us with better quality provision for the children, with sessions from both a chef and a gardener, and builds better connections within our local community. If you require any catering for events, Monday to Friday, please email Chef Rab rbramwell@gainsborough.hackney.sch.uk
TT Rockstars Battle
Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 were challenged to a TT Rockstars battle against Ms Carhart this week. Ms Carhart triumphed and beat the children at Gainsborough again this week. Ms Carhart has decided to stick with her winning reign and continue to challenge the children this week again. Will any of the children be able to beat Ms Carhart in this week’s battle?
Reader of the Week
Each week we will award one child from Years 1-6 with a new book, as the Reader of the Week. The award is for commitment, reading progress, engagement or sharing their love for reading. Please support your child with reading at home! After all, reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
Year 1 Samuel
Year 2 Yusuf
Year 3 Asya
Year 4 Mercy
Year 5 Pawal
Year 6 Mohammed R
Most Improved Writer of the Week
Each week we will award one child from Years 1-6 as most improved writer of the week. The award is for those who have shown a significant improvement in handwriting or writing throughout the week.
Year 1 Shannon
Year 2 George D
Year 3 Suyane
Year 4 Za’Kai
Year 5 Sarah
Year 6 Owen
Golds!
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
Forrest was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for sharing ideas really well in carpet time. Well done Forrest!
Nursery Geese
Nature Kamari was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for using words really well to ask for things and explain during class time. Well done Nature Kamari!
Nursery Swans
Aurora was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for settling back into nursery routines really well. Well done Aurora!
Reception Magpies
Aaminah was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for being a great friend in class and always being so helpful. Well done Aaminah!
Year 1 Dovcs
Netsuh was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for completing an excellent published piece of writing this week. Well done Netsuh!
Year 2
Milan was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for showing great effort and enthusiasm in all learning this week. Well done Milan!
Year 3 Owls
Riley was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for staying on green all week, working really hard on his handwriting and having a great week. Well done Riley!
Year 4 Hummingbirds
Rafi was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for completing an excellent piece of homework. Well done Rafi!
Year 5 Herons
Melisa was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for working incredibly hard all week and having a brilliant attitude to learning. Well done Melisa!
Year 6 Skylarks
Ava was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for showing great determination and resilience in maths this week. Well done Ava!
Headteacher’s Gold
Latina was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for completing additional learning in maths and mastering long division. Well done Latina!
Daniel was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for being the top player in Dream Box maths and working incredibly hard to improve his number skills. Well done Daniel!
Coming up at Gainsborough…
Parent’s in Class, Friday 13th February 2.45pm
On Friday 13th February, Years 1-6 will invite families into class to complete a TastEd session. This will be our first set of TastEd lessons and we are really happy to have our families join us for these. We will using our senses to try new fruit and vegetables and connect and communicate over food. TastEd is designed to engage children in healthier eating and build confidence to try and explore new fruit and vegetables from a young age.
Valentine’s Disco, Friday 13th February 3.30-5.30pm
We would like to invite all families to our annual Valentines Disco to celebrate the end of term. January had been long and cold and it is wonderful to share some love and laughter during this event. The usual stalls, food making, drinks, crafts and dancing will be on offer. We will operate a ticket system with payments being taken on the door for ease. Please come along and support our community.
Mental Health in Schools Team Support
We are very luck to have 2 allocated staff from the Mental Health in Schools Team. Please complete the questionnaire emailed to families, and on our Instsgram page, to help us best plan for the needs of our community. Hannah Stone will complete direct work with classes, groups and children weekly on a Friday afternoon. These workshops support anxiety, belonging and transitions and she will generally work with Years 4, 5 and 6. Hannah will deliver a workshop on Friday 6th February to Year 6 students explaining and how to cope with the pressures of SAT’s. She will then be able to work with small groups or individuals who express further worries about the testing in May. Following on from this, a parent workshop will be held on Friday 13th at 3.30pm in the Year 6 classroom, for parents to come and learn about some of the strategies they can use and how to support children in a period of high stress.
Our second clinician is Shilpa Soni, Shilpa is a Clinical Psychologist, she will work with families and staff to help us better understand pathways to referrals, navigate support systems that are available to families and sign post us to other services. Shilpa will be in school fortnightly on Monday’s. This week she is hosting a coffee morning for families with children who attend the Nest provision. We will be opening a weekly drop in slot for parents on Monday’s with Shilpa. Please speak to Ms Black, Ms Harris or Ms Clark on the gate for more information.
February Half term Camps
Gainsborough Under 5’s Half Term Camp – families can book by emailing admin@gainsborough.hackney.sch.uk
Strings Camp @ Gainsborough – for more information https://www.thestringsclub.org/locations/hackney-wick
Badu Holiday Camp @ Gainsborough – for more information https://linktr.ee/baducic?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
Punctuality Reminder
We would like to kindly remind you that our daily reading lessons take place from 9:00–10:00am, and it is very important that children arrive at school on time so they do not miss this essential learning. Reading is the foundation for accessing the whole curriculum. When children can read fluently, they are better able to understand instructions, enjoy stories and texts, and take part confidently in lessons across all subjects, including maths, science, and topic work. Regular attendance at reading sessions also has a big impact on children’s confidence, motivation, and enjoyment of learning. Children who miss the start of the day often find it harder to settle in and can feel discouraged if they fall behind their peers. We really appreciate your continued support in helping your child arrive on time each day so they can make the most of this important learning opportunity.
