Laurel’s update

I am feeling uplifted, having just celebrated our achievement assembly with year 1 and 2 in the hall (distanced and well ventilated!). Thank you to Sofia (year 3) who shared a brilliant performance of Shark Soup on the piano and Tommy (year 1) who talked about his football team winning medals in their league. Both Sofia and Tommy told the children how practice helps them improve.

I hope you all enjoyed the sunshine over the half term break. Now we are enjoying warmer weather, please apply sun cream before school. Children can bring a named sun cream bottle into school to reapply through the day and wear hats in the playground for extra protection.

On Monday, all our staff engaged in brilliant training delivered by The Black Curriculum. We reflected on why it is important to teach Black British History and how to do this with respect and empathy. We learnt how to embed Black History in our new curriculum and normalise conversations about race. Our training also covered unconscious bias and intersectionality. I am planning to set up a working party of parents, staff and governors to develop this at Brookfield, please email admin@brookfield.camden.sch.uk if you would like to get involved.

Gardening Club

Last half term the Year 2 Gardening Club were very busy. At the beginning of term they sowed beans, peas, sunflowers and pumpkins and have now planted these seedlings out at our school allotment in Waterlow Park. They have sown a bee-friendly flower bed in the infant playground and learnt all about the importance of pollinators, have made wildflower seed bombs to green up an unloved area close to home and even made their own bug hotels and child-sized watering cans.

This term we will be running the club slightly differently to give any interested families a chance to get involved with our growing patch at Waterlow Park. Each Thursday between 3.30 and 5.30 I will be available to show interested families around the garden, talk about what is growing and get you involved in some planting and maintenance tasks. You can drop in for as long as you like. We’ll be offering this to different year groups each week as follows:

Thursday 17th June – Nursery and Reception

Thursday 24th June – Year 1 and 2

Thursday 1st July – Year 3 and 4

Thursday 8th July – Year 5 and 6

Please be aware that if large numbers of families want to come along, we may need to take turns spending time in the garden as it’s not a huge space and we need to be respectful of other plot holders. You can of course visit our plot at any time. It’s plot number 8 in the kitchen garden – the one with the huge bay tree in the middle. Volunteer weeders, waterers and strawberry eaters are always welcome!

Charlotte, Nursery Teacher

Parent/Carer Workshops

Here is our full programme of workshops for this term which are at 11am on Thursday via Zoom each week.

17th June: Year 6 coffee morning with Laurel
24th June: Nursery, Reception and Year 1 maths with Lucy (Maths Lead) and Seren (EYFS Lead)
1st July: Art with Emily (Art Lead)
8th July: Head teacher and Chair of Governor’s drop in

Zoom meeting ID: 718 2430 4068, Password: xxsL5B
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71824304068?pwd=QzkvR2RFMERzZGZGT1JXdVNGVkg5QT09

Year 5 Parents and Carers

As you know, the School has been very proud to have participated in the artist Steve McQueen’s Year 3 Project, which saw our year 3 class photographs included in an exhibition at Tate Britain alongside thousands of other class photographs from across London as part of an artwork.

We are pleased to announce that the class photographs taken by Tate in 2018-2019 of our Year 3 class(es) have been selected for inclusion in a book alongside essays that reflect on the artwork and the themes of identity, citizenship, racial equality, community and belonging.

Our class photos will appear alongside around 300 other class photographs in a section separate from the essays. As with the artwork, the photographs do not include the name of the school or any pupil. Tate will gift a copy of the book to the school and it will also be available for sale online and in bookstores. As a non-commercial project, profits generated from sales (if any) will support Tate’s ongoing public and charitable work.

Please could you let admin@brookfield.camden.sch.uk by Monday 14th June if you object to use of your child’s image in the class photograph which will appear in the book, for example if your circumstances have changed.​

Be Internet Legends

Be Internet Legends is Brookfield’s KS2 program that teaches children to be safe, confident users of the internet world. Through games, activities and more the children are how to be Sharp, Alert, Secure, Kind and Brave users of the internet. By the end they will be Legends!

At the end of last term, some of our KS2 helped record a live Be Internet Legends assembly. You can relive the adventure they took here

Book of the Week

Let’s kick off this half term with a disco in the kitchen! My book of the Week this week is “Kitchen Disco” by Clare Foges and Al Murphy. Many children and adults alike already seem to know this book but I didn’t until World Book Day! Rita from nursery’s family, including parents Chrissie and Andrew, celebrated by dressing as the fruit from the story (they won the costume prize for best adults at home). This picture book is fun, silly, brightly illustrated and brings a little bit of joy. What better way could there be to begin this final half term of the year as the weather finally turns for the better?!

Louise
(Literacy and Oracy Lead)

Woodwork Bench in Reception

A huge thank you to everyone who came to Reception’s plant sale and made it such a successful and enjoyable event. We sold nearly all the plants that the children had grown and, combined with some very generous donations, we raised enough money to buy the woodwork bench and a set of tools. The bench was delivered on Tuesday and we hope to start using it next week! If you are able to donate any of the following items to enable the children to make more interesting models, it would be very much appreciated: old CDs, corks, buttons, nails, beads, offcuts of softer woods such as balsa and pine.

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Camden Covid Update

Here is the latest Covid-19 update from Camden New Journal

TV show – applicants wanted

‘Don’t Unleash the Beast’ are looking for children aged 10-12 to take part in the new series of the show. Please check out the flyer below if your child is interested.

PTA News

New Chair of the PTA

We are delighted that Sophie Wong has stepped forward to head up the PTA as chair. We are still looking for a co-chair to work alongside Sophie. Could it be you? If you are thinking about it, let us know. Sharing the Chair responsibilities is both fun and makes the job far easier, so please do consider it.

Summer Fair

Put the date in the diary: it’s Saturday 17th of July, 12 – 3pm.

The theme this year is STAYCATION.

We will be making as much of the Fair as free as possible – free refreshments, free games, free fun.

Each year group will be allocated a stall next week – your reps will be in touch.

Tickets – in order to maintain some social distance and to help any need for track and trace, we will have three entry times. Tickets will be FREE – you can make a donation when you book. We will also hold some spaces on the door. We are keeping the Fair as outdoor as possible, and will have a one-way system to prevent crowding. Details to follow.

Raffle – We need donations for raffle prizes. Anything along the lines of:
Vouchers for restaurants, local shops, delis, hampers, wine, pet services, photography, wellness, massages. All donations gratefully received. If you are in a shop or other business, do ask for the school – you’d be amazed at how many say yes.  

Open mic – we will be running an open stage this year, so get rehearsing. Please contact us if you want to perform so we can help – are you a kids band / adult band? Do you want to sing, do stand-up, or a dance? We aren’t going to have a strict running order, so we will be flexible.

Above all – any ideas, suggestions, advice, volunteers – contact us on the usual email.