| Key Events | Dates |
| Strike day – school closed | Wednesday 1st February |
| Year 3 PAC Maths | Thursday 2nd February |
| Brookfield Community Breakfast, Infant Playground, followed by PTA meeting | Friday 3rd February 8.15am |
| Year 5 to Science Museum Wonderlab & Space Gallery | Friday 3rd February |
| Children’s Mental Health Week | Monday 6th – Friday 10th February |
| Year 3 to Waitrose Cookery School | Tuesday 7th February |
| Year 4 FAB Performance for parents | Wednesday 8th February |
| Daisy Drumming Performance | Wednesday 8th February 2pm |
| Bluebell Drumming Performance | Wednesday 8th February 3pm |
| Year 3 FAB Performance for parents | Thursday 9th February |
| Dress to Express Day | Friday 10th February |
| Last day of half term | Friday 10th February |
| Half term | Monday 13th – Friday 17th February |
| School begins | Monday 20th February |
| Year 4 PAC Maths | Thursday 23rd february |
| Year 4 to Camden Learning Centre | Friday 24th February |
| World Book Day | Thursday 2nd March |
| Quiz Night | Thursday 9th March |
| Year 1 Omved Gardens | Thursday 16th March |
| INSET Day | Friday 17th March |
| Year 1 PAC Maths | Tuesday 21st March |
| Year 2 PAC Maths | Tuesday 28th March |
| Year 2 FAB Performance for Parents | Wednesday 29th March |
| Year 1 FAB Performance for Parents | Thursday 30th March |
| Community Volunteering Day | Saturday 25th March, 10-1pm |
| Last Day of Term | Friday 31st March |
| Spring Holiday | Monday 3rd – Friday 14th April |
Laurel’s Update
Thanks to all the parents and carers who attended Open Afternoon meetings yesterday to find out about their children’s well-being and academic progress. If you were not able to see your child’s class teacher, please make another time. School will be closed next Wednesday due to the National Education Union strike action. Click here
We have asked the PTA to raise some money for new playground equipment for the Infant Playground such as crates, planks and wooden boxes. The target is £400, which could be increased to £500 with government money if you gift aid any donations!
We thought that a simple GoFundMe fundraiser would be the easiest way for you to decide if you or other family members wish to donate to this. As soon as we raise the money, the equipment can be bought, so your children can benefit from it as soon as possible.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/infant-playground-improvements
Next week, we will be celebrating staff well-being week. At Brookfield, the well-being of our staff and children is incredibly important to us, and each term we run a well-being week for our brilliant Brookfield staff. We encourage staff to avoid booking meetings and ask that they aim to leave school by 4pm, so please do be aware of this. Of course there is no expectation, but if there is anything you would like to do to express your gratitude towards the Brookfield Team in the way of cakes/cards.. anything.. this would be welcomed!
The final week of this half term is Children’s Mental Health Week with the theme of ‘Let’s connect!’ Children will be learning about how we can make meaningful connections that support our mental health. This will include a ‘Dress to Express’ day on the Friday where the children will be invited to wear any clothes that represent them!
For our Chinese families, I hope you enjoyed the celebrations last Sunday and kung hei fat choy!
Year 2 at Hampstead Heath
Year 2 enjoyed their time creating maps when they went to Hampstead Heath on Thursday 19th January. A huge thank you to all of the parents and carers that came, it was a lovely morning!
Music News
Year 4: Please remember to bring your recorders every Tuesday and don't forget to practise!
Year 5: Here is the link for, 'Love Shines a Light' that we are learning on the ukulele.
https://camdenmusic.org/rah-2023-wider-ops-ukuleles/
Pupil Voice:
Sustainable Schools
Thank you so much last year's Eco Committee who today, shared their application in assembly for a 'Secret Garden' at Brookfield. The children applied to the Sustainable Schools Competition and, we are pleased to say...the children won! This means they have won £1000 for the school to develop an area of the KS2 garden and invest in a greenhouse. The children worked brilliantly as part of a team to write, edit and film their video. They even created their own music. Thank you to Rob, our Forest School Gardener, for motivating the children and working with them to create the winning application!
Well done Eco Committee!
Punctuality and Attendance
Congratulations to Bramble and Bluebell class who have both been working so hard on their attendance this week! They achieved the highest totals in KS1 and KS2 for the first time and we are so proud of them!
Here is a breakdown of the classes attendance:
| Nursery Catkin | 77.4% |
| Rec Acorn | 76.1% |
| Rec Conker | 94.4% |
| 1 Bluebell | 96% |
| 1 Daisy | 92.9% |
| 2 Dandelion | 95.6% |
| 2 Poppy | 96.7% |
| 3 Fern | 93% |
| 3 Heather | 95.7% |
| 4 Bramble | 98.3% |
| 4 Ivy | 93% |
| 5 Ash | 98.1% |
| 5 willow | 90.5% |
| 6 Elm | 94.7% |
| 6 Oak | 92.6% |
Our whole school attendance figure for years 1-6 is 94.07%. We have changed our attendance target to 95% in line with other Camden schools. The children are very excited to reach this!
This week, attendance was shared in parents evening. Below is a breakdown of how many days each percentage relates to:
Playground Champion Update
As part of our commitment to pupil voice, some of our Year 6 Playground Champions have presented during our Friday and Monday assemblies.
Last Friday, Playground Champions explained that we will have two days of music on the KS2 playground.
Lyla: "Please remember to put 3 music suggestions in our purple music suggestion box, which we have put underneath the bell by the KS2 playground door. Please make sure you don't crowd around the speaker, but dance around the playground instead! We hope you enjoy it and we can't wait to play your songs"
A special thanks to Vesper, Lyla, Marianne and George for all of their hard work on this big improvement to the playground.
On Monday, we were really lucky to have Rex, Josh, Bo and Bella spoke to the school about their observations of the playground.
Josh: "We have seen lots of children being kind and making friends in other year groups. People are trying to include everyone and no one is sitting on their own"
Rex: "Remember that we are looking out for people being calm and sensible outside. Please make sure you are sharing. We really want to see sportsmanship in all of our games including football, basketball and 4 square. If you are feeling in the red or blue zone, try to take a few deep breaths and then carry on. Have fun!"
Bo: "Please bring in any old or unwanted costumes into school because we would love to have fun and do some acting on the playground. Any old halloween costumes, funny hats or glasses and other accessories would be brilliant. We want to put on random shows throughout the day! Thank you."
Reminder for drop off and pick up - children must not use the climbing frame on either playground at drop off and pick up. They should wait with their adult until their class line up with their teachers.
Upcoming PTA Events
Next Week:
Friday 3rd February - We are holding a Community Breakfast event from 8.15am in the Infant Playground, followed by a PTA chat in the Lower Hall.
Come a little earlier to drop off, hang out with fellow parents while the kids have a play. Just a chance to chat, make some new friends or connect with old ones with free tea, coffee, hot chocolate and a bite to eat!
Then join us in the Lower Hall for a conversation about the upcoming PTA events. We are looking for any help and ideas for the Disco and Auction. We are also looking for a few helpers for the upcoming quiz night.
Things we are looking for help with include:
Disco:
- DJ
- Face painting
- BBQ Team
- Run the bar
- Run the tuck shop
- Decorate the hall
- Any Eco ideas for fun extras for the kids
Auction (aiming for Summer Term, but planning starts NOW):
- Run the Bar
- Food Options
- Decorating the hall
- Any contacts for donations
Next Term:
Thursday 9th March - Quiz night
Quizmaster is Rob - but for the last time. Want to take over? Get in touch. It's the most fun you can have without winning. He also needs 3 helpers:
- Bar
- Quiz sheets and scoring
- Bit of both of the above
We are also planning some events around World Book Day including a Sponsored Reading fundraiser, Bake Sale and Costume Swap.
The Open Day Bake Sale raised a fantastic £382.50. Thank you so to everyone that helped out, baked and came to the sale. Any leftover crockery, containers, etc. can be collected from the office.
Don’t forget we are still looking for a couple of people to take on the co-chair role next year. If you want to find out more please email us at brookfieldschoolpta@gmail.com we are very happy to meet and have a chat about what the role entails.
Lastly, we have been asked to raise some money for new playground equipment for the Infant Playground such as crates, planks and wooden boxes. The target is £400, which could be increased to £500 with government money if you gift aid any donations!
We thought that a simple GoFundMe fundraiser would be the easiest way for you to decide if you or other family members wish to donate to this. As soon as we raise the money, the equipment can be bought, so your children can benefit from it as soon as possible. Thank you.
Introduction to Breathwork
This introduction is on Saturday 4th March from 4-6pm. The spaces are limited. Click here for more information.
Good Work Camden Job Hub
Last week we held a coffee morning which gave information about Employment in Camden. The session was very helpful, giving information on: updating you CV, short qualifications and apprenticeship schemes. For further information please visit: https://www.camden.gov.uk/employment-support
We look forward to hosting another coffee morning with the team after half term.