21st October 2022

I can't quite believe we have come to the end of this half term already. As much as I love celebrating all the chagim in and out of school I am very much looking forward to next half term and the full weeks we will be able to have in school. 

In assembly this week the Tzedakah Tzevet shared some information about Remembrance Day and explained why this is commemorated on 11th November. We discussed the poppies growing on the battle fields and the poppies that are sold today in order to raise money for ex service personnel and their families. Poppies will be sold in school after half term.

On Thursday morning we welcomed some prospective parents into the school to see what a fantastic school we have. We showed them around all that classrooms and they were delighted to see the hard work taking place in every class.We have two more tours planned for the 9th November and 6th December as well as an information evening on the 15th November, please let your friends know if this may be of interest to them. These can be booked via the school office.

Thank you to those of you that sent in party food and drink today for our Etz Chaim Get Together. The children all seemed excited to come in to school in their own clothes today and we are very much looking forward to seeing you at our social event on the 3rd November.

Wishing you all a safe half term and Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs Martin

14th October 2022

We have all thoroughly enjoyed Chol Hamoed in school. The children have all taken part in some fantastic activities to continue their Sukkot celebrations. Years 1, 2, 5 and 6 were lucky enough to be able to visit the Sukkah at Mill Hill Synagogue. Whilst they were they they spent time with Rabbi Rose and even got to eat some delicious cake. The children have also had time in our school Sukkah and been able to wave and shake our sets of lulav and etrog. We had an interesting discussion in assemble about the differences between an etrog and a lemon.

The whole school were lucky enough to take part in an art activity lead by Miss Roberts. Miss Roberts asked the children to look at different images created the artists Arcimboldo and then created their own faces in his style. Year 3 and 4 took part in a Sukkot craft activity ran by SEED. They had to use tissue paper to carefully create skylines of Jerusalem.

It has been lovely seeing all the children enjoying riding their bikes and scooters around the playground over the past few days. I had a brilliant conversation with a child in Year 5 today about aerodynamics and the impact that different shaped helmets have on this. Apart from having fun we have been highlighting to the children the importance of getting out into the fresh air as well as the physical and emotional benefits of exercise such as cycling or scooting.

This linked well with the theme of World Mental Health Day this year which was 'Looking After Number 1.' We talked to the children about the importance of remembering that their are aspects of our life we can manage and control. We asked them to what is in their power to start doing, stop doing or change in order to support their mental health. I asked the children to consider what they could do to make mental health their Number 1 priority. We then moved on to thinking about others and how it can sometimes be hard to see if one of their friends is upset, hurt or worried as unlike a broken leg, these feelings are invisible. I reminded the children the importance of checking in with their friends and family members and asking if they are ok.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

Mrs Martin

7th October 2022

Even though it has been another short week the school has been a hive of activity with all children working hard on a variety of topics.

"We made play dough with cinnamon in" Lenny, Reception

"We planned and wrote a graphic novel based on the book we have been reading" Gracie, Year 3

"We have been learning about maps and typography. I am making a map about my feelings" Lila, Year 5

This morning we had a whole school Kabbalat Shabbat/Oneg assembly, all the children seemed to be looking forward to Sukkot. The children got to see some of the fantastic Sukkah decorations that have been made at home and sing some Sukkot songs. Some were even able to practice waving and shaking the Lulav and Etrog. 

Next week we looking forward seeing the children on their bikes and scooters in school. The children can leave their bikes and scooters at the front of the school on the bike racks in the morning and will fetch them for their session which will take place in the playground.

Wednesday 13th: Reception, Year 2 and Year 6

Thursday: Year 3 and Year 4

Friday: Year 1 and Year 5

Wednesday was World Teachers Day. On this day we celebrate the critical role of teachers in transforming learners’ potential by ensuring they have the tools they need to take responsibility for themselves, for others and for the planet. We are extremely lucky to have a hard working and dedicated team of teachers at Etz Chaim. I would like to once again, thank all of the staff for their dedication and commitment to helping our children reach their full potential.  

We are lucky at Etz Chaim to have our fantastic security guards who work together with CST to protect us all. The CST are about to run training sessions for those who would like to volunteer to 'Learn To Protect' others in the community. The course runs for 6 weeks and involves a combination of online learning and face-to-face sessions. To sign up please go to www.cst.org.uk/join-us 

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

Mrs Martin

30th September 2022

It was wonderful to see so many people at our Macmillan Coffee Morning this morning. Both adults a

nd children alike seemed to thoroughly enjoy the goodies on offer and said it was a great way to start their day. Thank you so much to Mrs Alexander and the PSA for organising and running this, we managed to raise £183 for this extremely worthwhile charity.

The 1^st October marks the start of International Walk to School Month. Each year, primary school pupils from across the UK join forces with children in more than 40 countries worldwide to celebrate the benefits of walking to school for a whole month. We are aiming for the children to walk to school as many times as is possible throughout October. Each day the children record their journey to school on our WOW program and each week the class that have walked the most will receive the WOW trophy in assembly. 

On Tuesday 5^th October it is International Walk to School Day which is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. If you would like to know more, please visit: https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/international-walk-to-school-month

Tomorrow marks the start of International Black History Month in the UK. This year's theme is 'Sharing Journeys' - an exploration of the lives and stories of the people who came to Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries and helped laid the foundations of today's diverse Black British Community. In assembly on Wednesday Miss Roberts shared a book recommendation with the children, Black in Time by Alison Hammond and E L Norry. This book shares the stories of some of the most interesting and awe-inspiring black Britons. Journey through time to meet lots of fascinating characters who have helped to shape Britain.

Yom Kippur is a time for personal reflection. Rather than focusing on what happened to us a long time ago, we should see Yom Kippur as a day of introspection, a day to consider our individual behaviour over the prior 365 days. We have spoken to the children in school this week about Yom Kippur being a time where we apologise for the things we did wrong during the year. It is the “I’m sorry” day, a day to reflect upon our past behaviour and seek forgiveness from anyone we may have harmed. We also promise to do better in the coming year.

Shabbat Shalom and wishing you all well over the fast,

Mrs Martin

23rd September 2022

The school has been alive this week with preparations for Rosh Hashana. The sound of Rosh Hashana songs has been ringing out around the corridors and the smell of freshly baked honey cakes have been wafting through the school. Some children have even had enough puff to follow in Rabbi Herman's footsteps and make notes with the shofar. Year 1 and 2 took part in a fantastic Rosh Hashana event run by Seed during which they made some colourful and extremely sparkly apple shaped booklets. Thank you to the adults who came to work with their children on this, the smiles on their faces as I looked around the hall was a wonderful sight to behold.

Year 6 came back from their residential on Wednesday having had the most memorable and enjoyable time away. They challenged themselves and pushed themselves out of their comfort zone in order to make the most out of a once in a lifetime experience. 

The 3rd to 7th October is national Cycle to School Week. During this time, we want as many people as possible to make a pledge for Cycle to School Week. 

This year, they want you to choose from one of four different pledges to carry out that week:

• Cycle to school everyday
• Swap one car journey for cycling
• Cycle with your family
• Discover somewhere new on a cycle ride 

Thank you to everyone that supported Jeans for Genes day by giving tzedakah to this worthwhile cause. We managed to raise over £200 which will make a big difference to the lives of children and families affected by genetic conditions.

Finally, I would like to take this time to wish you all a Shana Tova, a happy and sweet new year. It has been wonderful getting to know the children and families in the Etz Chaim community and I look forward to an exciting new year ahead of us. Together as a community we can take the school on its next phase and continue to make it the best place for our children to learn and grow.

On behalf of all the staff at Etz Chaim, I wish you and your families the sweetest of new years and an upcoming year of health and growth.

Shana tova and Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs Martin

16th September 2022

As we come to the end of a very poignant week in our country’s history, there is a lot for us all to reflect upon. As you will know we will be closed on Monday as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II, and for everyone to be able to watch her funeral. Whether we are royalists or not, there is so much to admire about a person who devoted over 7 decades of their life to serve others. It has been fascinating seeing the proceedings linked to The Queen’s passing, and I hope that you have had some interesting discussions with your families at home.

We have had another busy week here at Etz Chaim. It has been wonderful meeting so many parents at the Meet the Teacher sessions and I look forward to the final few over the next two weeks. Thank you to those who were have attended this week to find out more about the year ahead in each class, the expectations and to find out how you can best support your children at home.

The classrooms have been extremely busy places this week with the children now settled back into their learning. Our Reception class look like they have been here forever!

Wednesday was the day I have been looking forward to all summer - our first whole school assembly of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed giving out certificates to children who had enjoyed using Mathletics, TTRockstars and EdShed as well as crowning Year 4 as our Walk to School champions for this week. Please let Miss Roberts know if your child/ren has a book recommendation for her to share in these weekly assemblies.

Finally, I would like to wish Year 6 the most fantastic time on their residential which starts on Sunday and publicly thank the staff going with them (Mrs Gishen, Mrs Osborne and Miss Zairi) for sacrificing their additional bank holiday to ensure the children get the experience of a lifetime. I look forward to greeting them off the coach when they arrive at Kingswood on Sunday.

I hope that you enjoy the weekend and make the most of reflecting on the life of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. I look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs Martin

9th September 2022

Welcome back to a new school year. I have had a wonderful week getting to know the children and watching them enjoy all the fantastic learning opportunities the staff in school have provided for them.

This morning we spoke to all the children about Her Majesty the Queens sad passing and celebrated how much she achieved during her reign. I have a huge amount of admiration for the way The Queen dedicated her life to serving others for such a long time. She displayed so many of the personality traits that all of us should try to incorporate into the way we go about living our own lives . She always led by example with dignity and respect, she always showed compassion for everyone, treated everyone equally and made time to listen to everyone, no matter who they were.

My thoughts and prayers go to her family, who have to balance mourning the loss of their much loved mother, grandma and aunt, with their public duty. 

Rest in Peace, Your Majesty...and as Paddington Bear put it so well recently; "thank you, for everything".

I began the week by sharing the book 'Have You Filled A Bucket Today?' with the whole school. The story encourages positive behaviour through the image of an invisible bucket that everyone carries around with them each day. It showed the children the importance of expressing kindness and appreciation to others in order to "fill their bucket" rather than unwanted or unkind behaviours which would mean they were "bucket dipping." I asked the children to think about how they could fill someone else's bucket, which at the same time would fill theirs too. They came up with some wonderful suggestions about how they could be kind to others both at home and in school.

We are looking forward to welcoming you all into school for our Meet The Teacher sessions over the coming weeks.

Shabbat shalom.

Mrs Martin