Headteacher Blog Archive Summer 2 2023
14 July 2023
Reception have spent the last few weeks finding their inner pirate. On Monday they went on a pirate adventure to the park. They took part in a scavenger hunt around the park and had to answer riddles to get real treasure from the treasure chest. They ended their trip with a pirate picnic and a play on the equipment before returning to school. Wednesday was pirate day in Reception. They began the day by brightening up our whole school assembly, it was wonderful to see the children dressed as pirates whilst still taking part in our daily tefillah! During the day each child was given a new pirate identity and a special pirate name, such as 'Scallywag McBoatface. The children worked hard to create their own Pirate flags. They also wrote about what they could see through the telescope on their pirate ship and went on a gem hunt around the big playground. Finally they learnt how to talk like a pirate - apologies to any parents that had children coming home still talking like pirates!
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of accompanying Year 6 on the trip to the Houses of Parliament. We had the most wonderful day visiting the House of Commons and House of Lords as well as getting to sit in the spectator gallery during a live debate in the Commons. Our tour guides were amazed by the knowledge of the children who were able to answer some technical questions extremely well. We ended the trip by having a mock debate about the abolition of home learning. The children had some extremely persuasive arguments as to why home learning should be banned, thankfully some children had to argue for the other side.
In our Wednesday morning assembly the whole school were thoroughly entertained by Year 3 who put on a fantastic show demonstrating their learning on the Ukulele this term. They sang and strummed with such passion and the look of enjoyment and happiness on their faces was so wonderful to see.
Next week we say thank you and goodbye to Yuval our Shinshinit. Yuval has come to Etz Chaim every week this year and spent time in different classes talking to them about Israel and helping them to gain a better understanding of Israeli culture and way of life. During her time with us Yuval has taigt the children so many things. She has taught the children Israeli dances, helped the children enjoy Israeli food and talked to the children about many different issues such as the Peace Process and the place of Kibbutzim in society. Thank you so much to Yuval for bringing her knowledge and enthusiasm to our school each week, we will definitely miss her.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a happy and restful weekend, hopefully the rain stays away.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
7 July 2023
Monday was an unusual day for me as I spent a large proportion of it driving up and down the M40 or in Oxford. I had the pleasure of joining four of our Year 6 children at the Quiz Club National Inter Schools Mathematics Finals that took place at Oxford University. We were one of 38 teams that travelled from all around the country to take part in the competition. The team managed to come through the online heat stages, which saw over 300 school teams compete, for the live finals during which we went head to head with some of the UK's most prestigious independent and state schools. A huge congratulations to Rafi, Jake, Noah and Edward in Year 6 for their lightning speed mental maths skills and commitment to the competition. Thank you also to their parents for getting our team to the event and for working hard in the audience with me to calculate the correct answers amongst ourselves.
On Tuesday Miss Zairi took four children to the Modern Hebrew Primary School Spelling Bee. Congratulations to Noga in Year 5 and to Matti, Jaxson and Edward in Year 6 for their amazing spelling skills. For some, to learn to spell in one language is tricky, but to spell accurately in two is a fantastic achievement.
On Wednesday evening Year 6 wowed us with their fantastic performance of Matilda. The whole class came together on stage and performed faultlessly singling, dancing and acting to their hearts content. The smiles and laughter amongst the audience were clear to see around the whole hall which added to the wonderful mood in the hall all evening. Thank you again to Mrs Gishen and Mrs Novick for their hard work and commitment to directing such a fantastic show.
Thursday began with Reception celebrating learning the whole Aleph Bet with their Alef Bet Part for parents. The children amazed the audience with their confident reading of the 22 letters of the aleph bet and entertained us all with Hebrew songs and Israeli dancing. It was wonderful to see all the learning and hard work the children have been doing this year has paid off. Thank you so much to Miss Zairi for writing the play and for directing the children to perform with gusto.
I always find this time of the school year a strange one. Reading through numerous end of year reports over the past week has made me stop and reflect on how far we have all come since last September. The achievements of everyone in the school over the past year has been immense and I think it is important to stop and think back to where we came from and the journey everyone has taken this year. I would like to thank you all as well for supporting the children this year and for helping us to help them grow.
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Martin
30 June 2023
The week started with Miss Genn and I visiting some of our new Reception children at home and getting to know a little more about them. It was wonderful to see how excited they are to start 'big school' and also to find out about the things they like to do - looks like we may have a very creative class in September. All the parents we met seemed to also be excited that their children will be joining Etz Chaim in September, some also shared a sense of denial towards their baby starting school! Miss Genn also spent time on Friday with Miss Stoakley and Mrs Fraser meeting more of our new pupils, she is also very excited to have them join us.
On Tuesday we had two professional dancers from the Israeli Dance Institute join us for the afternoon. They spent time in the hall with Year 1 and Year 2 teaching them some new dances and bringing some additional ruach to the building. It was wonderful to see the children, together with some of the parents, grandparents and younger siblings, joining in with the dances. The children ended their dance festival with some drinks, biscuits and delicious looking colourful cake which they had spent the day before baking for their guests.
Also on Tuesday, Year 5 went to the annual Etgar Challenge which took place at Wembley. Etgar is a Jewish education program that hopes to inspire a love of learning among Jewish primary schools through an exciting, team-based inter-school quiz for pupils in Year 5. The children have worked extremely hard over the past few months learning Jewish general knowledge facts using the handbook produced by Etgar. These facts are then used to form the basis of the quiz questions during the challenge. Our children had the most amazing day and came back to school buzzing about it, they all competed well and put their all into the event. Congratulations to everyone in Year 5 for taking part and being a great representative of our school on the day.
Wednesday began with Year 2 leading our class assembly. They shared with the children and parents all the work they have done over the year, it was wonderful to see how proud they were of their leaning across a range of subjects including maths, English, History, Art and PSHE. At the end of the assembly all the children were presented with Secret Agent Training (SATs) certificates for the hard work they put into their Secret Agent work last term. Congratulation to all the children in Year 2 for being so committed to becoming Secret Agents.
On Thursday afternoon we were fortunate to be able to welcome Electric Umbrella in to school. Electric Umbrella create amazing, live interactive music experiences with professional musicians as well as learning disabled musicians. They delivered a fantastic performance for the whole school using songs, music, fun and games which challenged the children to think different about learning disabled people and to deliver the message to the children that 'there's no such thing as normal.'
On Friday we had educators from Jerusalem come and visit our school together with Rabbi David Meyer CEO of PaJeS and Esther Coleman PaJeS Primary Jewish Studies Consultant. We gave them a tour of the classrooms and they spent time in Kabbalat Shabbat with Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. They were blown away by curriculum we are offering our children asw ell as the knowledge they have. During their visit they thoroughly enjoyed speaking to a few of them in English and in Ivrit and getting a better understanding of how we teach at Etz Chaim.
Finally, I hope many of you say the piece on ITV London News on Tuesday highlightling the struggles we, along side numerous other Jewish schools, are having in providing the right lunch for our pupils. We are in conversation with some meal providers at present and hope to get further information out to you on this shortly.
23 June 2023
Monday began in an unusual way for us her as we had a reporter and camera man from ITV London News in for the morning. They came to interview parents, children and myself over the recent changes to our lunches and the difficulties we are facing as a community as a result of these changes. The children involved in the filming enjoyed seeing the extremely large camera and microphone in the lunch hall as well as watching whist Lila and Sadie were interviewed. Thank you to the three parents who came in to be interviewed and to our children who showed the journalist how lovely lunchtimes in school can be. We have been told that the piece should be on the ITV London News next Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon Mrs Osborne, Mrs Gishen and I met with two external moderators from Barnet to discuss our fantastic Year 6 writers. They were blown away by the volume and quality of the writing that had been produced this year as well as the 'amazing range and volume of writing.' They also noticed the 'distinct difference in pupils' writing ability from the beginning of the year to the end.' Congratulations to everyone in Year 6.
On Tuesday Year 1 and Year 2 took part in a scooter safety workshop. During the workshop the children learnt how to scoot safely on roads and pavements so that they are aware of the hazards around them and of any potential dangers. They then practised what they had been taught outside the school gates!
On Wednesday Year 4 went to the Arts Depot to take part in the Barnet music festival. The class had been working hard for many weeks leading up to the event learning songs and even recorder tunes to be played on stage. It was wonderful to see the children perform on stage, I was so proud of how the children all behaved on the night and how much they seemed to enjoy their time in the spotlight. Thank you to Ms Moshwe for all her hard work preparing the children for the event.
Thursday was the second of our annual sports days, this time the event was for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. The children thoroughly enjoyed taking part in field events as well as more traditional races. It was wonderful to see so many parents, grandparents and younger siblings supporting the event.
Finally, I would like to say a big well done to all the children during our fire drill today. We evacuated the whole school in record time, it was our fastest one ever!
Shabbat shalom.
Mrs Martin
16 June 2023
Even though last Sunday was a sweltering day, everyone who attended the Funday seemed to have the most amount of fun. It was wonderful to look around the playground and see so many people, young and older, enjoying spending time with each other and spending time in school. The atmosphere was so positive and had a real community buzz. Thank you once again to everyone who helped organise the event as well as the parents that helped to set up and clear away on the day. I am please to say that the day raised over £5000 which will be put towards new ICT equipment.
I have spent the last few weeks counting down to the Maths Quiz Club semi-finals which took place on Tuesday afternoon. Once again, the children had a fantastic time competing in the quiz and were up against numerous other schools across the country. The four Year 6 children competing threw themselves in to the competition and really gave it their all. Congratulations once again to Edward, Rafi, Jake and Noah for getting in to the semi finals and for finishing 22nd out of 110 teams. This has resulted in our team qualifying for the Grand Final taking place at Oxford University in a few weeks time. I am really looking forward to competing and for our trip to Oxford.
On Monday Year 3 went to the inaugural Barnet School’ WCET (Whole Class Ensemble Tuition) festival which took place at the Arts Depot. This provided the children with the opportunity for children from Etz Chaim as well as a number of other schools to share one or two pieces on the ukulele that they have been learning in their whole class instrumental lessons. They then all played a mass piece together that was taught on the day. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to come with us and for supporting the pupils throughout the afternoon.
On Tuesday Year 6 went to the Barnet schools Junior Citizen Child Safety Event. Junior Citizen is a multi-agency safety event aimed at Year 6 pupils and designed to provide pupils with life skills that will enable them to keep themselves and others safe. The aim of the Junior Citizen event is to raise each participant's awareness of threats and dangers, in a fun and interactive way. The event also encourages model behaviour and good citizenship through active participation in a range of health and safety activities. Professionals from the combined Emergency Services and local agencies were on hand to instruct children on matters that promote good citizenship and teach community values. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to come with us and for supporting the pupils throughout the morning.
On Wednesday the whole school had the most amazing time taking part in K'z Bollywood Dance Workshops. During the day the classes all took part in a workshop during which they worked at learning 3 dance routines which were then showcased and enjoyed by all children (and staff) in a whole school dance session at the end of the day. The children were also treated to a brief introduction to Indian dance and culture in order to help them get into the Bollywood mood. I think they were most taken by the dance teachers traditional costume and to his positive energy.
Thursday was another exciting day for Years 3 to 6 as it was their annual sports day. The children were excited to go to the park and take part in a variety of sporting challenges in their circle group. They took part in a range of athletic events such as triple jump, shot put and javelin and enjoyed the challenge of beating their own score.
On Friday we welcomed Team Rubicon into school who ran amazing scooter and skateboard workshops for each class. With skateboarding's incredible debut in the Olympics last Summer and with more children today riding scooters than bicycles - there has never been a better time to introduce these sports to our school in a safe and exciting way. The children were shown how to use scooters and skateboards in a safe but engaging way. It was fantastic to see how the children grew in confidence during each session as well as hopefully helping to encourage healthy active lifestyles and positive mental attitudes.
I am sure that you will agree that the teachers at our school do a fantastic job and are dedicated to helping each and every pupil in every way possible. In light of this, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is National Thank a Teacher Day on 21st June. It would be great if as many of you as possible would use the following link to send free personalised and illustrated e-cards thanking a staff member, giving them recognition and appreciation for the work they do https://thankateacher.co.uk/thank-a-teacher/thank-a-teacher-form/ We are excited for parents to champion our teachers and support staff for their dedication to ensuring our children get the best possible education and care.
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Martin
9 June 2023
Over half term the school building was used to host the first Jewish School Chess Tournament. The tournament was attended by a number of schools and I am pleased to announce that Etz Chaim finished in second and third place on the day.
The Reception children returned after the half term break and were overjoyed to see the transformation of the Foundation Stage outdoor learning area over the half term holidays. Miss Genn, Miss Roberts, Mrs Fraser and I spent time in school during the holidays building and creating new areas for the Reception children to learn in. The look on the children's faces when they saw the updated area on Monday morning was priceless and added to our excitement in creating such a wonderful space for our children. Our outdoor environment now offers so many more opportunities for children to learn through exploration and curiosity and allows them to develop holistically. We were fortunate enough to secure a charitable donation to transform this area, as well as our outdoor classroom, and are extremely grateful to the Trust for this.
On Wednesday we had the finals of the Talent Show. Myself and the other judges were blown away by the talent and skills on offer and found it extremely hard to choose the final winners. We have some fantastic musicians, singers, dancers and joke tellers in our school. Congratulations to all the children that took part and to Jaxson Randall, Mason Moscow, Saul Baron, Noga Teretz and Mia Ashkenazi who were the overall winners. We look forward to seeing them perform again at the School Fair on Sunday.
On Thursday Year 6 spent the day Kayaking and Raft Building at the Phoenix Canoe Club and Outdoor Centre. During the day the children learnt new skills in and out of the water including working as a team and tying specific knots. They had a lot of fun but also worked on building their confidence, self-esteem and life skills. Initially the children we a little shocked at getting wet and dirt in the water but it didn't take them long to embrace the environment they were in and 'let their hair down'.
We have had members of the PTA popping in all week carrying various boxes and items for the Funday this weekend. The Funday is a fantastic opportunity to come together as a school community to enjoy the fun activities and stalls, delicious food and drink as well as the brilliant British sunshine (fingers crossed). As an added bonus, it is also an opportunity to help raise additional funds for our school so that we can continue providing our pupils with additional resources to enhance their learning and time in school. Thank you to all those who have worked so hard to organise what sounds like a fantastic event for us all.
Shabbat Shalom, see you at the Funday,
Mrs Martin
