Laurel’s Update
Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you and your families health and happiness in the year of the ox.
Thank you to all the parents and carers who filled out our Home Learning Survey. It has helped us understand what is working and what we can develop in this period when most children are learning from home. We will share some of the insights after half term. If you haven’t filled it in, there’s still time – it’s here.
Please see our exciting World Book Day plans below, and a range of great things to do over Half Term.
Lastly, here is a selection of the books I have read or will be reading for 3pm story time on the theme of kindness. Check Google Classrooms for the Meet link. Hope to see you there!
World Book Day
In challenging times it’s important to find joy! Brookfield’s World Book Day on March 4th will bring joy to children and adults alike. We have united as a community of families, staff, local businesses, performers, writing professionals and children to put together a wonderful day to celebrate reading, books and storytelling that is special to us.
While we’ve adapted ordinary World Book Day plans to our different circumstances, the powerful and positive message about reading remains at its heart. World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, it’s a celebration of reading. (In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.)
The Brookfield plans for the day are still developing but here’s what exciting things are happening so far:
- Costumes!
Dress as a book character for the day. There will be a book voucher prize for the best whole year group in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Extra prizes will be awarded this year for the best adult costume in school and at home! Adults could win a prize of a free delicious meal from Kleftiko, a local Greek restaurant, or the choice of a bottle of wine, chocolates or a signed Helen Grace series novel. (Special thanks to Kleftiko for their kind offer – I’ve heard amazing things about their food!) - Prizes!
We have also been kindly offered a voucher from the Map Gift shop, a quirky gift & homewares shop on Junction Road with a community focus, supporting local designers and artists. (We are yet to decide where this fantastic prize should be awarded). We also have Audible books of your choice to be gifted. The prize list keeps growing! Do you know anyone who can contribute? Thank you to the wonderful offers of support from all the brilliant local businesses and individuals. - Book cover design competition!
Design a book cover for your favourite book. There will be individual book voucher prizes for children in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Closing date 25th February. - World Book Day Character Trail – see separate exciting plans for this wonderful (and safe!) local event put together by our fantastic group of Brookfield families and the PTA.
- Book Tokens – you will receive a £1 Book Token gifted by booksellers towards a book – these have been sent with your home learning packs for Spring 2 Week 2.
- Special online interviews with authors and writing professionals with Louise asking all the questions you want to know to be a great writer! There will also be some special guest hotseating interviews with famous literary characters! To be or not to be…
- Keep your ears peeled if you’re in school or around locally in the morning for the sound of the bagpipes from Toad of Toad Hall!
- Storytelling from local performers available online who have given their time to entertain you!
- A special lesson available online on the day called, When We Were Young, where children will see the Brookfield staff as children themselves with their favourite books! Can you guess who is who?
- Whole school storytelling and reading session at 3pm. There will also be an assembly throughout the day announcing prize winners (to be announced).
We hope that these exciting plans bring you much positivity as we celebrate the wonderful world of books. It’s time to start thinking about costumes! (I have mine planned – it involves a crown and a tail…).
Wishing you strength, calm and kindness. And many, many books!
Louise Gaunson (Literacy leader)
World Book Day plans – from the PTA:
Help us make Brookfield’s World Book Day 2021 celebrations fantastic by helping your children to tell us who their favourite book characters are, via this form: https://forms.gle/CYmEheuucjQjYkW69
(No personal data will be collected, only their book character preferences)
This information will inform which book characters appear on the Book Character Trail around the neighbourhood, after school, on World Book Day, Thursday 4th March. There will be prizes for children who complete the trail by finding all the book characters along the way. And bonus points will be awarded to children who dress as one of the trail characters.
World book day trail
As part of Brookfield’s World Book Day celebrations this year, the PTA is organising a Brookfield Book Character Trail which will take place after school on Thursday 4th March, from 3.30pm until dark, around our neighbourhood.
Here’s how you can help or take part…
- We need volunteer homes/families to display a book character from their window – this must be visible from the pavement. Please contact us if you can home a character on the trail (and we’ll get the character to you)-
- We need volunteer artists – big and small – to colour or paint the book characters over half term. Please contact us if you’re willing and we’ll get the character to you.
- We want to invite our broader community to take part in the trail too. Let’s make this World Book Day as memorable as we can, not just for our kids but for the community. We all need some much needed fun, and safe, outdoor interaction and pursuit. So help us spread the word and share our poster (below) far and wide.
- Get planning your World Book Day costume to wear on the trail! Adults, teachers and kids can dress as their favourite book character. And if you spot your character on the trail you’ll receive bonus points and win one of our prize goody bags once you’ve completed the trail
- Look out for Trail Check List which will be circulated via class reps, and via the school newsletter, the week before the Brookfield Book Character Trail . You will need to submit your completed Check List in order to be eligible for a prize goody bag!
Thank you and let’s make World Book Day 2021 a standout lockdown day for everyone at Brookfield to remember!
Creative Kids
Chinese New Year
Snow and tell
Half Term things to do
Although travel isn’t an option, half term need not be dull. Here are some great kids activities and ideas:
– Fun science and a £250 prize
Our Science Lead Carla says:
“If you are looking for things to do over the half-term break, look no further. The Francis Crick Institute have provided a pack of activities to keep you and the family entertained:
The pack is full of fun, hands-on science experiments that can be carried out using items commonly found at home or in a supermarket.
There is a short survey linked to the pack that can help the school raise £250 worth of science resources and equipment! The school with the highest proportional number of responses to the survey will win! The closing date to complete a survey response is 3rd March. Here is the link to follow for the survey.
Let’s be the school with the most responses!”
Also:
Are you ready for Making Mayhem: the mega science quiz? Register now to take part in the live online quiz, and test your science knowledge in ways you’ve never imagined. An explosive time guaranteed! The Mega Science Quiz will be taking place live on Thursday 18th February at 11am.
– Maths challenge
Lucy, our Maths lead, says:
“We use maths everyday, often without realising. We use it to tell the time, to weigh out ingredients and to share things with our family. We have numbers on our front doors and there are numbers all over the shops to tell us how much things cost. I wonder how many different places you can find numbers in half term?
As I love maths so much, I thought it would be fun to set you a half term challenge. All you need is some pasta.
Can you make your name using exactly 50 pieces of pasta? If you manage this, what other words can you make? Are there any words it is impossible to make?
When you have had a go, email a photo of your pasta name creation to your teacher, or upload on Google Classroom, and they will then share with me. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!”
– Junk Orchestra half term sessions
Join the Junk Orchestra online every morning this half term for a jam session using your household recycling around your kitchen table! 9.30-10.15am.
Sign up here at Popular Union or Eventbrite.
– Other suggestions for half term:
- Online Chinese New Year 2021 celebrations: Chinese New Year 2021 in London – Special Event – visitlondon.com
- Free online children’s events during half term Free Kids events | The List
- Wildlife Trust nature based activities Activities | Wildlife Watch
– vPlus Festival
The vPlus Festival is Open for Registration!
The Festival for curious minds runs from 15th – 26th February. There will be a whole array of fantastic presenters on topics of interest to Potential Plus UK members and the festival is free.
With over 50 Events including:
Making Zines; Design a Themed Playground; Eating Insects; The Titanic; Science Experiments; Music; Drawing Sounds; Writing Poetry; Stop Frame Animation; Being Peter Pan; Monster Design; Art and Science; Mathematics of Black Holes; Political Theory in Action; Alan Turing; Critical Thinking; Einstein’s Theory of Relativity; Quantum Computing; Philosophical questions; Maths; Canadian history; Building Bridges…
Free School Meals
The government are not providing Edenred supermarket vouchers during half term – so Camden are. They will email these out directly to parents and carers. We are not allowed to order vouchers for after half term until the first Monday back. This means that you may receive your Edenred voucher later in the week than the Monday for the week starting 22nd February.
Safer Streets
In January, Urban Movement hosted two Community Conversations online. These sessions were aimed at gathering local opinion on traffic and streetscape issues in Dartmouth Park. Urban Movement will be presenting the draft charter in detail in a final Draft Design Charter Workshop, and attendees will be able to give their feedback, discuss the contents and add anything we have missed, should they wish. Dartmouth residents are welcome to join – the session will be hosted on Zoom again, and is scheduled for the 23rd of February 6-8pm, the sign up link is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMscuuqqjIuE9XFrCJxuZctxZNyX9b_o6zv. It doesn’t matter if you were able to attend the previous sessions or not, and all are welcome.
Covid Symptoms – reminder
If your child has been attending school and develops COVID 19 symptoms this weekend, please email admin@brookfield.camden.sch.uk before 4pm on Sunday. School is responsible up to this point for contact tracing.