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 2 visit to St Paul’s
Year 2 visited St Paul’s this week and learnt about the Great Fire of London. They enjoyed seeing the streets and places the fire started and comparing the old wooden, thatched buildings to today’s modern buildings. Well done Year 2!
Food Strategy Update
Thanks to 33 parents and carers who took part in our recent school food survey. Your responses gave us a really helpful picture of how food is working for families, both in school and at home.
What’s working well
- Most children eat school meals regularly, and parents generally feel positive or mixed about the food on offer.
- Many parents told us they feel confident cooking at home and value healthy eating.
- There is strong support for schools playing a role in shaping children’s food habits.
- Environmental issues, such as reducing food waste, are important to many families.
What could work better
- Taste and familiarity matter. The main reason some children don’t choose school meals is that the food doesn’t always match their tastes. Parents told us that healthy food needs to feel familiar and appealing to children.
- Fussy eating is a real challenge. Many families said their children are reluctant to try new foods, which can make both school meals and home meals harder.
- Cultural choice and reassurance. Some parents would like to see food that better reflects different cultures and dietary needs, or clearer reassurance about the options available.
- Clearer communication. A number of parents said they want more and clearer about menus, ingredients and how dietary needs are met.
- Feeling full matters. While most parents are happy, a few raised concerns about whether meals always feel filling enough.
How parents would like to be involved
- Families are most interested in child-focused food activities, such as after school cooking clubs with and without parents, parent tasting sessions and getting involved in food growing.
- When it comes to support for home, parents are looking for practical ideas — quick, affordable meals and help with fussy eating — rather than formal workshops.
- Email and WhatsApp were the most popular ways to hear about food at school.
We’re really grateful for this feedback. There were lots of other ideas and suggestions so we will look at these and out them into the food strategy. It will help shape our next steps around school meals, food education and how we work with families to support healthy, enjoyable eating for all children. If you have any further ideas please email food educator Rab – rbrownell@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. The children triumphed and beat Ms Carhart at Gainsborough again this week. Niqo, Jay and Zayaan beat Ms Carhart and led the children to victory. The children have decided to face Coach Terry in this week’s battle. Will any of the children be able to beat Coach Terry 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 Timur
Year 2 Rukia
Year 3 Michael -Pius
Year 4 Inaaya
Year 5 Dovon
Year 6 Mohammad 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 Gabriel
Year 2 Henry
Year 3 Amelia
Year 4 Savannah
Year 5 Lola
Year 6 Mohamad S
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
Ayliz was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for joining in with her friends during carpet time. Well done Ayliz!
Nursery Geese
Alex was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for joining in in carpet times and using new vocabulary in his play. Well done Alex!
Nursery Swans
Jaxon was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for being a great role model at tidy up time. Well done Jaxon!
Reception Magpies
Philamena was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for settling into Reception brilliantly and having a great attitude to learning in all lessons. Well done Philamena!
Year 1 Dovcs
Favour was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for her exceptional work in maths this week. Well done Favour!
Year 2
RJ was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for settling into Gainsborough really well and having a fabulous first week. Well done RJ!
Year 3 Owls
Samuel was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for always having a positive attitude and staying on green. Well done Samuel!
Year 4 Hummingbirds
Iram was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for working really hard in Spanish lessons and having an incredibly positive attitude. Well done Iram!
Year 5 Herons
Asia was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for working incredibly hard in lessons and in particular in fractions conversion in maths. Well done Asia!
Year 6 Skylarks
Romario was awarded a Gainsborough Gold award this week for working really well in maths and leading a group through group work this week. Well done Romario!
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 be 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
Parking Reminders
We have received feedback from residents in Leabank Square that parking at school drop off and pick up times has become very difficult for residents of Leabank Square. Please could families consider the following:
- Please avoid parking at the entrance to Leabank Square and to respect residents’ private parking spaces.
- Consider the use of alternative parking options further away, walking the short distance, or using public transport where possible.
