Digital Portfolios

Today you will have received an email with a link to your child's digital portfolios for years 1-6.

We hope you enjoy looking through these with your child and seeing all the fantastic learning captured in class - with a particular focus on the foundation subjects: Geography, Art, DT, French etc. As maths and literacy work is shown in books, we use the sites to capture oracy/ drama opportunities, performances and maths investigations.

If you are having trouble accessing the digital portfolios please check:

- That you are using 'chrome' as your browser.

-That you have logged in via your child's school google account.

Any problems, please speak to the class teacher. We hope you enjoy them!

Performances and Sharing sessions

We have enjoyed having lots of parents and carers visit us this week to see the beautiful work the children have been doing - including, the Year 4 Wind in the Willows show, Year 3 Tea party, Year 1 Poetry sharing, and Year 4 drumming. We hope you enjoyed watching them if you were able to come along. We've included lots of wonderful pictures from the events below in our image gallery.

Year 5 Debate

As part of our topic on Ancient Greece, Year 5 had a debate about whether Spartan Education or Athenian education was better. We spent the morning thinking about what a good education system looks like and then learning about and comparing Athenian and Spartan education. Children then split into two groups and worked on their arguments for the proposition and opposition. The Spartan team were the most convincing with 4 out of the 7 audience members voting that Spartan education was better than Athenian! We also had a Greek feast with some traditional Greek food! See some of the pictures from our debate below

Reception FAB

This half term reception have been working with the brilliant dance company, Place To Be, to choreograph their own dances. We would like to invite parents and carers to watch one of their sessions the first week back after half term on Tuesday 6th June (Conker at 9.30am, and Acorn at 10.45am)

Science Club at Channing

Children from Key stage 2 have been really enjoying science Club at Channing school this term - each week they explore a new project. They have been exploring the cells of a plant, creating exploding volcanos using chemicals and enjoying working with students from another primary school and with the help of Channing senior schools students. Here's what some of our children had to say about the sessions...

"Science club is really fun - I enjoyed Bunson burners with the teacher"

"I loved the volcano's the mixed colours made it look real"

" I enjoyed making the volcanos because we got to use different chemicals"

Take a look at the pictures in our image gallery below

Music News

On Thursday 6th July there will be a Year 5 Ukulele sharing session in the Top Hall at 11.30am. We hope to see you there!

On Thursday 6th July, the Junior Choir will be going to sing at Kentish Town primary School at a Camden Cluster Festival. We will leave at 1pm and be back at about 4pm. We will then have a short choir party, and then finish at 4.30pm as usual. We will not be performing to an audience, but if you are available to help take the children there and back, please let me know: j.reid@brookfield.camden.sch.uk

Both the Infant and Junior Choirs will be performing in the Summer Fair, on Saturday 1st July. Times TBC

Attendance and Punctuality

​Well done to the following classes for the highest attendance:

KS1 Daisy
KS2 Ivy

Bonus points also awarded for the least amount of lates: Bluebell and Ivy class. 

Extra bonus point for most improved attendance: Heather class. 

Clothing requests

If you are having a sort out of clothes, we would appreciate any donations of the following items:

• Trousers, joggers and leggings from ages 5 - 12 years
• t-shirts and jumpers from ages 5-12 years

If your child has had a change of clothes, we would really appreciate if you are able to wash and return them to us (not underwear) so that they can be used again.

After School Club bookings

Here are a few reminders and top tips for making your After School Club bookings:

• You can book up to 30 days in advance on a rolling basis - we suggest a weekly diary reminder to make your bookings for the week ahead.
• We have put some useful information on the school website to help you make your bookings including a key on which code to use https://www.brookfield.camden.sch.uk/about/extended-school/ 
• If you want a 4.30pm booking, select 'CL' for Clubs, or, if you want a 6pm booking, select 'PC' for Playcentre
• Bookings cannot be made on the day, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please call the office if you have a childcare emergency, and require an on the day booking

Auction Tickets - on sale now!

The auction tickets are live! Follow this link o buy one of these hot tickets:

https://www.brookfield.camden.sch.uk/auction-2023/

Have a great night out while supporting the fantastic Brookfield Forest Garden Project!

Grab yourselves a bargain at the Auction while enjoying some delicious food and drink.

There are already some fabulous items to bid on such as holiday homes, sports tickets, meals out, fitness and wellbeing classes and much more.

The Auction will be held in the School on Thursday 15th June from 7pm for a 7.45pm start.

Tickets are £20 per person which includes dinner and 2 glasses of Prosecco. If you buy a table for 10 people you get 1 ticket FREE (making it £180 for 10).

You can also pre-order wine for your table!

Summer Fair - Saturday 1st July

Thank you to everyone that came to the planning meeting. There were some great ideas shared. Don't worry if you missed it, we will be holding another one soon.

RAFFLE PRIZES - SHOUT OUT

Do you have anything to donate big or small?

We are looking for raffle prizes for the Summer Fair Raffle. Please get in touch brookfieldschoolpta@gmail.com

Thank you

Toys and Books donations

Half term is the perfect time to have a rummage for any unwanted or outgrown books & toys (please no baby stuff).

We are also always looking for ways to make the fair more eco-friendly, so we are asking if anyone has any preloved party bag type items that could be donated as prizes for the Pea Fair.

Due to lack of storage space, we won’t be collecting anything until after the Auction, but please keep it ready to donate! Thank you.

Forest Garden

If you are unable to help with the Auction or Summer Fair there are also other ways you can support us in making the Forest Garden a reality: Don’t forget we also have the crowdfunding campaign!

Thank you to everyone who has donated and shared the forest garden crowdfunding page so far. We ask that you carry on sharing with friends and family. Perhaps you know a local business that would like to donate, or you have contacts that could too.

To donate directly towards the new forest garden area visit: https://gofund.me/fcc81626

We will continue to keep you informed via our dedicated page on the website, with pictures, updates and information about the progress of the garden

https://www.brookfield.camden.sch.uk/pta-home/brookfield-forest-garden/

PTA - Help Still Needed for Next Year

Thank you to the amazing people who have offered to take on some of next year’s events so far.

We are still looking for more PTA volunteers

This could be for something as small as running a costume swap, to being in charge of a fair or even taking on the role as co-chair.

If you want to find out more, please email us a brookfieldschoolpta@gmail.com we are very happy to meet and have a chat.

Families for Life Healthy Eating Programme

We are very excited to be delivering the Families for Life Healthy Eating Programme in partnership with the Camden Health and Wellbeing Team after half-term. The programme is for parents and carers of children in Blossom, Catkin, Acorn and Conker classes and is designed to help families learn about healthy eating, how to avoid a sweet tooth and strategies for fussy eaters. It will take place on 4 consecutive Thursdays starting on 15th June. The first part of each session will be directed at parents and carers only and will take place from 2.45pm (while the children are still in class). The second part of the session will be aimed at getting you and your child involved in preparing and trying new foods together and will take place straight after pick up. If your child has an older sibling, they are very welcome to join too. Please see the attached flyer for more details and contact me if you would like to book a place.

Families for Life - Brookfield

Mental Health Support

If you're feeling down, anxious or worries, help is available:

• Speak to your GP about how you are feeling
• Refer yourself to iCope. this is a free NHS service in Camden and Islington giving confidential support and therapies. iCope also offers intercultural therapy in different languages
• Read more about mental health services in Camden

Camden Early Help

Everyone needs a little help sometimes. If you're feeling worried about your child, or you want to make a change in your life, Camden Early Help is here for you, your children and your whole family.

What we offer

• Free support service for families with children aged 0 to 19 in Camden
• Practical and emotional support with a range of life issues
• Working with you and your family to help make changes
• Helping you and your family to feel connected in your community. ​

Please click here for further information

Managing Debt

If you owe money and you’re struggling to pay your bills:

• get in touch with an organisation like Debtline for free and confidential advice
• speak to the organisation you owe money to – for Council Tax arrears, call 020 7974 6414
• ask your energy supplier for temporary credit if you cannot top-up a pre-payment meter
• use Citizens Advice's budgeting tool to set out your income and expenditure
• do not ignore letters or bills about money you owe. Contact a local organisation in the Camden Advice Network or call a national advice organisation such as StepChange

Energy suppliers might be able to let you pay in smaller amounts or take a break from payments. You might also be able to apply for a grant to pay off energy debts.

If you need to take out a loan, do not approach a loan shark or take out a payday loan. Consider credit unions or other ethical loan providers. Find out more at credit-union.coop, call 020 7561 1786 or email info@credit-union.coop.

If you owe a loan shark money, or if you’re being threatened, get confidential help from Stop Loan Sharks.

If you don’t know where to turn, call us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9) or contact Citizens Advice Camden.

Cost of living Crisis Fund

If you're struggling to afford essentials such as food, energy bills or housing, you may be eligible for a £500 payment through our Cost of Living Crisis Fund.

How to apply:

There are several ways to apply for support from our Cost of Living Crisis Fund. you can

• call Citizens Advice Camden on 0808 278 7835
• if you're a council tenant, you can also speak to your neighbourhood housing officer 
• if you're a private renter, you can also email us COLprivaterenter@camden.gov.uk or contact Camden Federation of Private Tenants on 020 7383 0151
• Contact one of the organisations in Camden Advice Network

Please see : https://www.camden.gov.uk/financial-support-for-residents1​ for further information.

Just in time for half term, next week is the National Children's Gardening Week!

Get your children interested in the garden and invested in nature. "Children love growing plants, love being in the garden but they're often impatient, wanting to see instant results. National Children's Gardening Week aims to capture children's enthusiasm at a time when results are immediate. National Children's Gardening Week takes place annually in the 'warm' week at the end of May". there are lots of tips and activities online https://www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk/

Cycle for the Planet

Camden Council is offering free cycle training courses for kids aged 5 and up over the half term (Camden prioritises those over 8). check the link for times and locations:

https://www.camden.gov.uk/cycle-skills-and-bike-maintenance-courses#lyyy