Message from Jo and Rachel

It has been a wonderful second week back at school, and we are delighted to see how quickly the children have settled into their routines. A very warm welcome goes to all our new children and families who have joined us this term – it has been lovely getting to know you and seeing you become part of our school community.

Our first family workshop of the year, What’s in My Book Bag?, was a great success. Thank you to everyone who came along – it was fantastic to see such enthusiasm for supporting reading at home. Please do keep an eye out for more upcoming events in the weeks ahead.

On Thursday, we were visited by our Executive Headteacher, Sian Davies, who was very impressed with how well the children have started the year and the excellent quality of their work so far.

Over the past two weeks, children across the school have been immersed in art, exploring self-portraits inspired by a range of artists: Years 1–2 studied Jawlensky, Years 3–4 explored the work of Amrita Sher-Gil, and Years 5–6 were inspired by Basquiat. They have studied art history, colour theory and learned a range of new artistic techniques. You can see a selection of their outstanding artwork in the gallery at the end of this newsletter – we are sure you’ll agree that we have some very talented artists in our school.

We are so proud of how our children are already showing our new school values in action. This half term’s focus on Valuing Others has been shining through – in the way children welcome new friends, support one another in class, and show kindness and respect around the school. Thank you, as always, for the support you give at home; together we are helping our children to grow as learners and as members of our community.

Jo and Rachel

Class Information

You can find information about what your child is learning this half term, PE days, home reading and homework on the year group pages of the website, links below:

What’s on next week:

Here are the events happening next week:

Thursday 18th September Meet the SENDCo 8:45am – families welcome

Friday 19th September Family Friday Nursery-Y3 8:45am – families welcome

Autumn 1 Community Events

See the images below for information about the events and workshops taking place during Autumn 1.

Hackney Junior Youth Choir

Is your child in Years 4 -6, and do they love to sing? Hackney Junior Youth Choir are recruiting for new members. They have an exciting programme of events coming up – including a big gala performance at the Hackney Empire in January. They will be holding a free taster session near Morningside on Wednesday 24th September, 4.30 – 5.30pm. See the flyer below to find out more details and to register for the session.

Safeguarding Focus – Supporting Children Online

As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping children safe, we want to remind families about the importance of knowing what your child may come across online. Children are naturally curious, and with so much content available at their fingertips it’s possible they may encounter material that is not age-appropriate.

Here are some simple steps you can take to support your child:

Talk regularly – ask your child what they are watching, playing or searching for online. Encourage them to share if they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Stay curious yourself – watch a video or play a game alongside them so you can see the content first-hand.

Set boundaries – use parental controls, filters and time limits on devices where possible.

Model safe behaviour – show your child how you check reliability of content and avoid unsuitable material.

Keep communication open – reassure your child they won’t be in trouble if they tell you about something worrying they’ve seen.

If you ever have concerns about your child’s online activity or want more advice, please speak to us in school. You can also find useful resources for families at Thinkuknow and NSPCC Online Safety.

Attendance Classes of The Week 

This week, we want to celebrate  3M and 5S who both have 100% 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.

Our school target is 97% attendance this year.

Class Attendance this week

At Morningside this week…