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Dear Parents/Carers,
Congratulations to Rebecca and Pam
Both of our staff on maternity leave have had beautiful bouncing babies in the last week and both mums are well.Pam had a cute little boy named Yashpreet who weighed 5lb 10oz and Rebecca had a cute big boy named Blake who weighed 9lb 4oz .We wish them great joy!
School Budget cuts
I would like to thank Gillespie parent Vicky for highlighting the impact of the proposed National Funding Formula on Gillespie and on schools around the country in her campaigning letter to parents this week . Parents will know that we had to make staffing and other cuts at Gillespie last financial year . I am currently working hard with governors to set a budget for the coming financial year and will inform you of the outcomes when that process is complete . There is no doubt whatsover that if the proposed National formula is implemented then over the next two to three years I will be forced to make staffing cuts which could make it extremely difficult to maintain the quality of education and provision we currently have for our children . We need to change the government’s mind on this and I know that your voice as parents, is likely to be more powerful than people working in education at the current time. Vicky held a parent meeting this morning at the school about school funding and is planning to organise a larger meeting to which we will invite guest speakers, in the coming weeks. Can I urge all parents to go online to sign the petition to stop school funding cuts on www.fairfundingforallschools.org.
Easter Egg Competition
Once again, we are running that old Gillespie favourite Easter Egg competition. The theme for this year willl be ‘People who inspire us’. Please encourage children to bring in their creations next Friday 31st March. There will be two winning eggs chosen (by the Easter bunny as usual),for each year group.
Red Nose Day
We discovered that Gillespie really does have talent! A number of adventurous children performed songs, dances, juggling Diablos, played the piano, cello and told horrible jokes (but not too horrible). All to raise money for Comic Relief. We also talked in assembly this week, about the real need for famine relief in so many regions of central and east Africa because of the terrible drought. A big thank you to parents and children who have baked, cakes, biscuits and tarts for our cake sale today.
Gillespie raised £826.92 for the NSPCC
A big thank you to all our families – this is by far the most we have ever raised for the NSPCC Number Day.
Sporting Excellence at Gillespie
There has been a lot of sport going on at Gillespie over the past few months and I thought it was about time I put something in the newsletter.
Cricket:
The cricket team have done phenomenally well. Back in January they won the Islington round of the Capital Kids cricket competition which took them on to the Regional Finals in February. The day had a nail biting finish with our group coming down to run rate. Thankfully we batted well and made it through to the Grand Finals at Lords on Friday 17th March.
In total 150 schools entered this competition and only 8 go through to the Grand Finals and Gillespie were one of them. On the day we were up against teams who all have players who play for clubs and county and we were outplayed but it was amazing to play such phenomenal cricket teams and it definitely gave the children an insight into what a difference a club makes.
Gymnastics
We have been focusing on gymnastics in Gillespie and the children have had PE sessions and coaching from the wonderful coach Rochelle. A few children have also been training with Rochelle for the Islington competition which was early in March. Gillespie have never entered this competition but the team (Isla, Ahlam, Sam and Ahmed) had been working hard on their routines and moves. They were phenomenal on the day and came away with silver medals – a fantastic achievement.
Football:
The mixed football team played in the Arsenal Premier League competition back in February. They were amazing on the day with Ethan scoring 15 goals in the tournament (the most by any player out of the 32 schools.) The team made it all the way to the semi-finals where we lost to Ashmount who went on to win the competition.
League
Both the girls and the boys’ teams have been doing well in the league with the girls registering their first win and the boys getting a win and a draw in the last 2 games.
I do put all the sporting news on the website so please do check it out for more detailed reports. Thanks, Angela
Science Spacetacular
A huge thank you to Carole and Lab_13 committee for organising and presenting a wonderful evening with fantastic guests from the world of science. The children saw a comet made before their very eyes and were able to see pieces of actual moon rock loaned to us by NASA, we had to keep this information top secret. As Carole pointed out, nobody has been to the moon in over 40 years. The children also tested out the correct balance of hydrogen, oxygen and water to produce rocket fuel. We also had a wonderful science dome in the top hall during British Science Week, which provided exciting visual learning experiences for children across the school.
Attendance Matters
Class attendance winners this term:
Attendance Winner / Punctuality Winner04/01/2017
Year 4 / Year 3
24/03/2017
Year 2 / Years 1
Leave of Absence in Term Time
We would like to remind parents/carers that if you are requesting leave during term time, tickets for travel, etc., should be booked after the request has been submitted and you have received a letter with the outcome of your request.
Next week is the last week of Spring Term, it has rushed by! We wish all of our parents/carers a happy Easter holiday and remind you that children return to school on Wednesday 19th April.