✨ This Week at Morningside ✨

What a busy final week of half term it has been at Morningside! There has been so much to celebrate, from children’s achievements and new skills to the wonderful diversity of our school community.

Throughout the week, children have been enjoying their Black History Month learning, including some fantastic dance workshops with Ebony. It has been lovely to see children exploring Black history, culture and creativity in different ways, and we are looking forward to sharing more of their learning with families after half term.

We were particularly proud to celebrate our first Spelling Bee champions of the year in assembly this morning! Our winners received their medals in recognition of their hard work and achievement. Congratulations to everyone who took part, whether they won a medal or not. Learning spellings, practising and having the confidence to compete all take effort, and we are proud of you all.

Year 6 also received their Bikeability certificates this morning, recognising the cycling skills and road safety awareness they have developed over the past few weeks. And there has been more cycling success elsewhere in school! Some of the children attending our Balance Bike Club have managed to ride bikes with pedals for the very first time this week. What an achievement! It is a wonderful reminder of what children can accomplish with practice, encouragement and determination.

Thursday’s Cultural Heritage Awareness Day was another highlight of the week. It was amazing to see so many children arriving in their fabulous outfits, proudly celebrating the cultures and traditions that are part of their identities. Our school community is made up of families with so many different backgrounds, languages and experiences, and celebrating this diversity is one of the things that makes Morningside such a special place.

Thank you, too, to everyone who wore pink today and made a donation in support of the fight against breast cancer. It was lovely to see so many children and adults taking part and showing their support for such an important cause.

Today, we are also saying a sad farewell to Miss Athene, who is leaving the Sunshine Room to explore some new and exciting creative opportunities. We would like to thank her for everything she has contributed to Morningside and wish her every success and happiness in her next chapter.

After half term, we are looking forward to welcoming Miss Skyelynn to the Sunshine Room. She is a very experienced teacher who is excited about getting to know the children and becoming part of our Morningside community. We know you will make her feel very welcome.

We are also pleased to confirm that our postponed Black History Month celebration event will now take place on Thursday 12th November, alongside our parents’ evening. The exhibition of children’s learning will be in the bottom hall from 2:15pm to 6:00pm, and food will be available to buy from 3:30pm. We hope this will give as many families as possible the opportunity to come along, enjoy the exhibition and celebrate the children’s work.

At the beginning of September, we talked about how every child, family and member of staff helps to write the Morningside story. Looking back over these first seven weeks, there have already been so many chapters: new friendships, challenges overcome, skills learned, achievements celebrated and opportunities to understand one another a little better. This week has been a particularly good reminder that every child brings something unique to our school, and that together we make Morningside what it is.

Thank you to all our children, families and staff for everything you have contributed to this first half term. I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable break, and we look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday 3rd November for the next chapter of our Morningside story.

Have a wonderful half term

Jo and Rachel

Next week at Morningside:

Tue 3rd Nov 8:45am School opens for all pupils

Wed 4th Nov 9-11am OPAL Parents Morning Come along and help us develop the playground

Fri 6th Nov 9:15-10:00am PTA Christmas Bazaar Planning meeting Everyone welcome

Next Half Term at Morningside

Support this autumn half term

Half term can bring extra costs. The holiday food voucher that some families received ended on 30 September, but support is still available, and you do not need to have everything ready before you get in touch.

– Hackney’s Here to Help service can offer a Crisis Payment, a one-off payment for essential costs such as food or heating your home. You will be asked about your income and savings, and not everyone will be eligible. Even if you are not, the team can look at other ways to help, such as a benefits check.
– Free and low-cost food: food pantries, community meals and food banks are still running.
– School uniform grant: £100 for children starting Year 7, if you qualify.
– The Council’s cost of living webpage has help with energy bills, benefits and debt advice.

To find out more or to apply, visit Here to Help. You can also call 020 8356 3111, or speak to the school office and we will help you get in touch.

 Free Breakfast Club

We are delighted to now be offering the Government’s free breakfast club at Morningside.

The breakfast club is available from 8:15am, free of charge, for children in Reception to Year 6. It’s a great way to help children start the day positively, enjoy a calm breakfast and get into good morning routines. We do have limited places available for children in Rainbow nursery and in the school nursery too, these are payable at £5 per day.

If you need to drop your child off from 8:00am, this will also be free until December when it will be reviewed by the school governors.

If you would like to apply for a place, please contact the school office. We will then contact you once your place has been approved. This is not because places are limited, but because we need to make sure that we have the correct staffing ratios in place to keep everyone safe.

We look forward to welcoming more of our children to breakfast club!

 Thinking About Reception?

It might feel like starting Reception is still a long way off, but the Reception application deadline is in early January. If your child will be 4 before 31st August 2027, you can book an individual tour by speaking to the school office or using the link on our website.

You can also join us for a Stay and Play on Thursday 20th October, Thursday 19th November or Thursday 10th December, to find out more about starting reception at Morningside.

OPaL Playground Wishlist

As part of our OPaL (Outdoor Play and Learning) programme, we are continuing to develop our playground to give children richer, more creative and more adventurous play opportunities.

We have created an Amazon Wishlist with items that would really enhance our play offer. If you would like to support, you can do so by purchasing an item from the list and having it sent directly to school.

There is absolutely no expectation to contribute, but we are very grateful for any support. These small additions make a big difference to children’s play experiences every day.

https://amzn.eu/03Ls5B1g 

Attendance this week

This week, we want to celebrate 1S who have 98.9% attendance . A HUGE congratulations and keep up the excellent work; it has a great impact on learning and progress. You can help your child’s class win the weekly fruit platter by making sure they are at school everyday.

Whole School attendance this week: 94%

Our school target is  96% attendance this year.

Class attendance this week