Headteacher Blog Archive Spring 2 2023
31 March 2023
This week has been all about Pesach. All of the model Sedarim held across the week have highlighted what a special school we are and how much the children have grown and learnt over the past few weeks. It was wonderful to see so many adults in the hall too enjoying the Seder and seeing the children lead parts of it with confidence and Pesach knowledge. Pesach is a time that brings families and friends together, so it provides us with the idea opportunity to bring the Etz Chaim family together.
The songs ringing out in the corridors across the whole week has been wonderful to hear and have been filling our school with Pesach excitement.
As we sit around our Seder tables next week, we have a chance to reflect on the plight of those still facing persecution today and the true meaning of freedom. I would like to thank everyone who has donated food items to Food Bank Aid as well as to the children for raising awareness of this charity.
I would like to say a huge thank you to my wonderful staff for the work that they do providing our children with fantastic learning opportunities day in day out. Finally, the whole school community would like to say farewell to Rabbi Herman and thank him for the hard work and dedication to the school over the past five years. We wish him luck in his new school.
I hope you all have a restful break and a happy Pesach.
Mrs Martin
24 March 2023
This week has been all about books. We have loved loosing ourselves in a variety of text and the buzz for reading around school has been electric. It was so wonderful to see so many adults join in with our family reading time on Wednesday morning, the smiles on the children's faces as they sat together with a parent and shared a good book was really special to see.
We hope your children have been taking part in the daily reading challenge which began last Friday. We challenged the children to read for ten minutes a day for ten days, please remember to inform teachers through SeeSaw by Monday 26th March if your child has completed the challenge. I have a pile of prizes ready in my office and I can't wait to see who I will be giving these out to. Winners will be announced in our final assembly of the term, on Friday 31st.
Over the past fortnight I have met with every class teacher to look at how all our classes are progressing with their English and Maths learning. It has been wonderful to see and discuss how much progress the children are making and to sit together and look at the work they are producing in their books. I hope you felt the same after looking at their books during our Parent Consultation Evenings.
On Wednesday we welcomed a team of children from Goodwyns School for a Y5 netball match on our astro court. It was a very competitive game which the whole team put their all in to, the children also got to enjoy spending time talking with the other team after the match. We hope to repeat experiences like this again soon.
On Thursday Year 5 went on a trip to Kew Gardens. They spent time looking at Rainforests, exploring the sights and smells of the rainforest plants located in Kew’s historic Palm House. They were given the opportunity to work scientifically in the rainforest challenge, observing, investigating and analysing rainforest products and artefacts, discussing the importance of the rainforest in our everyday life and raising questions about the choices we make. This lead to a number of thought provoking conversations about our impact on the World which is both positive and negative.
Finally, we look forward to seeing many of you at our model Sedarim taking place from Monday to Thursday next week. The children have been working hard preparing for them by creating Haggadot and practising the many songs and tefillot they will need to enjoy during their Seder.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
17 March 2023
We have come to the end of another busy week, finishing off with our hugely successful baby and toddler music group this morning. It was wonderful to see the Technology room full of crawling babies and to feel the buzz amongst the youngest member of our school community. Thank you to everyone in the PTA that arranged the session, for creating an electric atmosphere as well as raising vital funds for the school.
Also this morning was our governor drop in breakfast where people were invited to pop in and talk to the governors over a coffee and a biscuit. Trhe governors enjoyed meeting some of our parents and discussing things taking place for the school community.
In assembly this Wednesday, as part of world maths day, Miss Genn and the maths ambassadors talked to us about the importance of maths and how much we use it every day. They challenged the children to think of a job that does not need maths - the children were unable to come up with one!
I also spoke to the children in assembly about Food Bank Aid which is a charity the school supports. Food Bank Aid provide essential ingredients to households in order to try and encourage nutritious home cooking. They also supply everyday toiletries, cleaning and personal hygiene products to their guests. They support North London Food Banks from Bushey to Tottenham and everywhere in-between. They operate in Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Herts and Islington which together, help around 11,000 vulnerable people including 3,500 children every week. They are a community-led charity which supports all denominations and demographics.
Next week is book week, we are excited to immerse ourselves in the world of books and celebrate the fact that reading allows us to journey into other worlds. Our reading competition begins today. We are challenging your children to read for ten minutes a day for ten days between Friday 17th and Sunday 26th March. (Reception and Key Stage 1 children can be read to / with). Children who complete the challenge will be put into a draw to win vouchers for Jump-In, there will be winners per year group. Please inform teachers through SeeSaw by Monday 26th March if your child has completed the challenge. Winners will be announced in assembly on Friday 31st.
On Wednesday 22nd March, a parent or another family member is invited into school to read a story with their child. The family reading session will be from 8.45am – 9.05am in the classrooms and siblings will be able to sit together and enjoy family time in school. Children are never too old to have a story read to them. We hope you will be able to enjoy these special moments with us in school. Books will be available in each classroom for you to share with your children.
As well as these activities the children we have paired reading time with another year group and have story time with different members of staff. I am very much looking forward to reading my favourite story, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, to those that sign up for my story time.
It was lovely to see so many parents at our Parent Teacher Consultations last night, I look forward to seeing the remaining parents on Tuesday.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
10 March 2023
As always we have had a fantastic week here at Etz Chaim. The highlight of the week was celebrating Purim in school on Tuesday. it was wonderful to see everyone, including some parents, come to school dressed up for the day. We were fortunate enough to have Rabbi Rose and some of his family join us during the morning to read the Megillah. The children loved hearing him tell the story and enjoyed booing and cheering in all the right places! It was wonderful to see the smiles on the children's faces as they gave out and received Mishloach Manot, thank you so much to those families that donated towards this.
On Wednesday Ms Moshwe spoke to the whole school in assembly about Fairtrade Fortnight taking place from 27 February to 4 March. She explained to us all the importance of trying to help farmers get a fair price for their goods and explained the importance of making the small switch to Fairtrade supports producers in protecting the future of some of our most-loved food and the planet. THe children were horrified to hear that coffee, bananas and chocolate could soon be much more difficult to buy. She explained that climate change is making crops like these harder and harder to grow. Combined with deeply unfair trade, communities growing these crops are being pushed to the brink.
I also spoke to the children in assembly about International Women's Day and how fortunate we are to now live in a society where women and men have the same opportunities.
Last night I was lucky enough to attend the Barnet Schools' Dance Festival to watch Year 5 shine on stage. They did a fantastic job and performed their dance with style and finesse. The festival provided them with the unique opportunity to experience performing on a real stage at the Arts Depot. A huge thank you to Mrs Lack and Miss Deitch for all their hard work as well as Miss Zairi for looking after the children back stage.
Next week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week. When it comes to inclusion, neurodiversity refers to a world where neurological differences are recognised and respected as all other human variations. Depending on how our brains are wired we think, move, process information and communicate in different ways. Many people use neurodiversity as an umbrella term used to describe alternative thinking styles such as Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD. But regardless of labels, neurodiversity is about recognising those who think differently. Approximately 15-20% of population has a neurological difference. Instead of labelling people with deficits or disorders, when we use the term neurodiversity, we take a balanced view of an individual’s unique strengths and challenges.
Finally, I look forward to seeing all of you at our two Parent Teacher Consultation evenings over the next fortnight. Please contact the school office if you still need to make an appointment.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
3 March 2023
On Monday Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had a drama workshop run by Perform during which they became people in a circus. They immersed themselves in different scenarios and thought about how it might think and feel to be a variety of different characters.
Tuesday was the Year 1 Chagigat HaSiddur. The children all became Siddur Superheroes and explained to us how much their new siddur would mean to them and they are intending to use it. All the children rose to the occasion and performed their lines and songs brilliantly. The highlight of the morning was receiving their new Siddur from their parents with the help of Rabbi Rose. It was a joy to see the children using their new Siddurim in assembly on Wednesday morning. The excitement on their faces was infectious!
Also this week a team of Year 5 girls took part in a Maccabi netball tournament. The girls worked so well as a team and managed to win two of the matches they played. Congratulations to all those that took part.
Once again I have spent time this week visiting classes and talking to children about what it is like to be at Etz Chaim. I had a great meeting with the Class Ambassadors this week, we discussed their thoughts on the changes to teaching this term as well as discussing how they feel in school and who they can talk to in school if they have any worries.
Finally, my focus this week has been on reminding children that kind words go a long way in making people feel happy, valued, liked and appreciated. This is something I feel is crucial for everyone to understand as words can sometimes be equally or more hurtful than actions.
Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameach,
Mrs Martin
24 February 2023
It was wonderful to welcome the children back on Monday morning and to hear about some of the things they got up to after half term. As always, there has been a lot going on in school this week and the school has been a hive of activity. Despite this it was wonderful to hear from a visitor we had in school on Wednesday how calm the school felt as we walked around and how engaged in their learning all the children were.
As I do every week, I have been in and out of classrooms this week observing lessons and looking at the work the children have been completing. I was almost as excited as the Year 3 children themselves when I discovered that they were going to be reading the book The Egyptian Cinderella over the next few weeks. In Year 1 I had a great discussion with some of the children about what could be inside the fruit seed that was rattling as they shook it. one child thought it might be water but another tried to explain to her why they thought it couldn't possible be!
On Tuesday after school all the teachers took their English books and we headed off to Fairway School to meet with their teachers as well as the teachers of Courtland School in order to look at how we each teach writing. It is always wonderful to go out and look around other schools as well as talk to other teachers. The teachers from the other schools commented on how impressed they were with the work our children have been producing and we were all very proud to show what the children at Etz Chaim can produce.
On Thursday we welcomed the performers from the Festival of Spoken of Ivrit into school. The children were all lucky enough to be able to watch one of the companies plays and immerse themselves in the story as well as in the language. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 got to watch the story of The Fisherman and the Goldfish about a goldfish that magically appears out of a shell. Years 3 to 6 watched the story of Itemar the First Hebrew Speaking Boy who helped to develop the modern Hebrew language we speak today.
Finally, I would like to commend Sofia, Ava, Lily, Liv, Lila and Bella in Year 5 for the charity sale they put on at the end of the school day today. The girls came to me earlier in the year to ask if would be possible to hold a sale to raise money for charity. They have spent their own time time making and gathering items to sell as well as creating advertising posters for the event. They have done a fantastic job in planning and organising the event and raised over £286 for Chai Cancer Care and Etz Chaim.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin