Last week at Gainsborough…
Eat them to Defeat them….
We launched our Eat them to Defeat them reward programme this week. This is the national initiative to get children to eat more fruit and vegetables, you may have seen the campaign on TV. We have been running this campaign at Gainsborough annually for 3 years and guess what? It works! This week the children have all eaten a fruit or vegetable with their meal and also tried something new. The children get a sticker in the dinner hall when they have chosen, or eaten, their fruit or vegetable. Please engage with this programme at home through the chart and sticker pack we have sent home this week as part of your child’s homework. This may not be the greenest way to persuade children to eat more healthily but it certainly does motivate them!
Year 6 Swimming
Year 6 have completed their first week of swimming lessons at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic pool! They have walked there and back daily to complete their swimming session and every single child has joined in. The children have been very supportive of one and other and even within a week great progress has been made. Well done Year 6 Doves, let’s see what you accomplish next week.
Family Cooking Programme – session 1
Families from across the school joined our Friday night family cooking session with Chef Chris, Joyce from the Children’s Centre and Ana, from the Circular Food Economy. We picked our home grown, organic basil, made our own tomato sauce and rolled our Chef Chris’ home made dough. We then composted our food waste. To sign up for a session, each Friday of this half term, from 3.3-5pm, please email admin@gainsborough.hackney.sch.uk The programme is designed to:
- bring our community together
- encourage more sustainable food choices
- show case our home grown fruit and vegetables
- provide families with a healthy, nutritious meal
- showcase carbon reduction through the use of home grown food and composting food waste
Keeping Healthy
Each half term we focus on a different Gainsborough Keep: kind, connected, safe, healthy, green or giving. This half term we are looking at Keep Healthy. We are focusing on healthy eating this half term. Children will get the opportunity to try new herbs and vegetables in an attempt to encourage us all to make healthier choices. We will also look at what healthy endings look like as we say goodbye to this academic year.
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 Ahad
Year 2 Moyosore
Year 3 Iram
Year 4 Ibrahim
Year 5 Macey
Year 6 Destiny-Rose
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
Jacqueline was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for being able to observe what your peers are doing and participating in activities! Well done Jacqueline!
Nursery – Geese
Shannon was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for your improved understanding of the routine of the day and your kind sharing with your peers! Well done Shannon!
Nursery – Swans
The class were nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award. You have all shown a great attitude towards the new monitor roles and have actively contributed towards looking after our learning space. Well done all!
Reception – Wrens
Peter was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for working hard in class to focus on different activities and playing cooperatively.
Year 1 – Owls
This week Tate has been nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for his fantastic effort in writing and maths this week. Tate has been very engaged in his learning this week and has been asking some very interesting questions. Tate has also been challenging himself to write cursively. Well done Tate!
Year 2- Hummingbirds
This week JJ was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for working hard and using great expression during our class assembly. JJ remembered all of his lines and sang beautifully. Well done!
Year 3 – Herons
Lola was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for starting the term with such a positive attitude, being a great talk partner and for practicing/performing the music festival songs so beautifully. Well done!
Year 4- Skylarks
Shantay was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for an impressive and successful start of the new half-term. She has worked
incredibly hard in all of her lessons. Her efforts in class have been exemplary. Well done!
Year 5 – Magpies
This week Ibrahim and Karima were nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for showing great team work and camaraderie in the class Ancient Greek Olympics. Well done both of you.
Year 6 – Doves
Bridget was nominated to receive a Gainsborough Gold Award for her determination and hard work in swimming. We are very proud of you!
Next term at Gainsborough…
Summer 2 Priorities at Gainsborough
We will focus on the following next term in a bid to improve outcomes, teaching, our engagement and well being at Gainsborough:
- Assessment – all staff will look at assessing pupils through: lessons, observations and tests, to ascertain progress for the end of the year and set targets for next year
- Transition – we will ensure good transition for all pupils to their next year group
- Science – we will be developing our practical approach to science lessons
- Maths – we will be embedding the use of Maths – No Problem in our maths lessons
- Sustainability – we will be running our family cooking programme, selling our home grown fruit and vegetables, cooking our home grown fruit and vegetables in our school kitchen
- Attendance – we will be supporting families to remove barriers that prevent good attendance
- Keep Healthy – we will focus on healthy eating. We will address packed lunch contents, suggest healthy snacks to bring and promote more eating of fruit and vegetables in the dinner hall
WAMH’s Transition Workshops at Gainsborough in Summer 2
We have access to a WAMH’s clinician at Gainsborough. This service supports both school and home and identifying and supporting pupil’s well being and mental health. Alice Zacharia is our dedicated WAMH’s worker, she is in Gainsborough every second Monday, and she is able to meet parents to discuss any aspect of pupil well being. Please email admin@gainsborough.hackney.sch.uk if you would like to meet with Alice.
- Monday 10th June, 3.30-4.30pm WAHM’s Workshop – Information on how to Support your Child in the Year 6 to Year 7 Transition
- Monday 24th June, 3.30-4.30pm WAHM’s Workshop – Information on how to Support your Child in the Reception to Year 1 Transition
- Monday 8th July, 3.30-4.30pm WAHM’s Workshop – Information on how to Support your Child in Transitions for Children with ASD
- Monday 22nd July, 3.30-4.30pm WAHM’s Workshop – Information on how to Support your Child in Transitions, drop in session
Year 1 Phonics Screening Test
Next week Year 1 children across the country will sit the Year 1 Phonics Screening Test. The children will sound out phonetically decodable words to assess their phonic knowledge. Some of these words are ‘real words’ and some are ‘alien words.’ For more information on the rationale for this testing and how it will be completed be see the below link. At Gainsborough the children are used to very short phonics testing and are comfortable and happy undertaking these with known adults.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/664c87774f29e1d07fadcba9/2024_Information_for_parents_assessment_phonics_screening_check_WEBHO.pdf
Year 4 Multiplication Check
Across the country Year 4 children will sit a government set, standardised times tables test to assess their x tables knowledge next week. The children have been learning the x tables up to 12 x 12 and are well prepared and confident in their abilities to answer the questions in this short test. Good luck Year 4! For more information about this test please see the link below:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6543c1ef9e05fd0014be7c64/2024_Information_for_parents_Multiplication_tables_check_PDFA_v1.1.pdf
Attendance at Gainsborough
We are working hard to ensure good attendance at Gainsborough. To help you understand the importance in having good school attendance, we will be informing you about how we teach cycles of learning at Gainsborough in each week’s newsletter. We want families to understand the impact of absence on well being, the progress in subjects, friendships and the work load absence has on the school work force. We are doing this to help families be more mindful about taking days off.
This week’s ‘absence impact snapshot’:
You want to go and visit relatives that you have not seen in several years. Plane tickets in term time are hundreds of pounds cheaper. You are really tempted by the offer to save this money, but you do know that your child doesn’t want to miss school and will miss some learning.
Response: missing school is not an option. If your child misses school for one week they miss key learning in subjects, this will then impact future learning as well. Please remember to stand firm in your belief that education matters, and your child’s education matters the most!
