23 May 2025
As we reach the end of a busy and successful half term, we’d like to wish all our families a restful and enjoyable break. May it be a time of relaxation, reflection, and quality moments with loved ones. We also wish you a joyful and meaningful Shavuot. Chag Sameach!
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Martin
Electric Umbrella is a Electric Umbrella is a charity that uses music to empower learning disabled and neurodivergent people. They provide opportunities for these individuals to participate in live music performances, workshops, and community events. The charity's mission is to create an inclusive society where everyone, regardless of ability, is seen, heard, and celebrated. We thoroughly enjoyed their performance when they visited us earlier in the year.
We are very excited to announce that Electric Umbrella's live Semi Final of Britain's Got Talent is this Saturday (10th May). It's another incredible opportunity for them to spread their message of kindness, inclusivity and acceptance with the nation and we'd love it if you would watch them and vote!
On Wednesday, some of our Year 3 and 4 children took part in an exciting football tournament. They all played brilliantly and showed great teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the day. A special congratulations to the Green Team, who did exceptionally well and made it through to the semi-finals! A big thank you to Mr Moscow for his excellent coaching, and to Mr Rosenfeld and Mrs Cowan for managing and supporting the teams on the day.
Also on Wednesday, we had our termly visit from our School Improvement Partner, who spent the day exploring what teaching and learning looks like across the school. It was a really positive day, and she was impressed by what she saw. She commented on how clearly teachers explained new learning and how quickly and confidently pupils got started on their tasks. She also noticed how well lessons were planned to help children make progress in writing and how success criteria were being used to help pupils understand what they needed to do to be successful. She was particularly pleased to see the high expectations in every classroom, the positive impact of our behaviour and reward systems and how teachers are using assessment to support every child’s learning. It was wonderful to hear such encouraging feedback, and we’re really proud of our staff and pupils.
Despite it only being a four day week this week there has still be a large amount of learning taking place all across the school. Reception have been continuing their theme of Space and have created labelled drawings of their own aliens and written speech bubbles predicting what they might say. This week Year 1 have looked at the four countries that make up the UK and have named them and located them on a map. Year 2 have enjoyed finding fractions of shapes and have been looking at halves, quarters and thirds. Year 4 have been looking closely at the characters in the book they have been reading and finding powerful adjectives to describe the dads appearance and personality. The children in Year 5 have spent time using co-ordinates to plot and translate shapes, they know which axis they need to focus on first. Today Year 6 were fantastic Circle Leaders, taking on their leadership role whole heartedly and leading their group with confidence.
PaJeS in collaboration with Jewish Women's Aid are delighted to offer a webinar to parents and carers focusing on Exploring the Themes Raised in the Netflix series Adolescence, 8th May 8-9.15pm online. In this session, they’ll explore some of the unique challenges of raising boys in our society and the ripple effects this can have on girls and women. We’ll look at how we can better understand the emotional worlds of boys and why connection, empathy, and a sense of belonging are so crucial to their development. You’ll leave with practical tools for opening up meaningful conversations with your children—especially your sons—and strategies to help them navigate the pressures and influences of today’s world with confidence and compassion. Please sign up here https://pajes.org.uk/training-and-events/exploring-the-parenting-themes-raised-in-the-netflix-series-adolescence/
Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Martin
25 April 2025
Congratulations to the following children for showing Educational Excellence in class this week and for joining me at my tea party:
Molly M, Celine R, Indi H, Tillie S, Illai E, Ava O and Lior D.
4 April 2025
London City Strikers, a dedicated girls’ youth football club in North London, is currently offering talented and enthusiastic young footballers the opportunity to attend trials for their teams, with a view to joining the club. They would love to extend this invitation to girls in our school who are passionate about football and eager to develop their skills in a competitive yet supportive environment. London City Strikers, pride themselves on providing UEFA-standard professional coaches, fostering teamwork, and helping players reach their full potential, both on and off the pitch. Trials are open to girls from Year 3 onwards, and they welcome players of all abilities to showcase their talent.
Trial Details:
Powerleague Barnet:
Mondays: U9 – U11 (5:30pm – 7:00pm)
Thursdays: U8 – U10 (4:00pm – 5:30pm)
Powerleague Finchley:
Mondays: U12 – U14 (5:00pm – 7:00pm)
The Totteridge Academy:
Wednesdays: All age groups (5:00pm – 6:30pm)
I am delighted to share with you a wonderful article about the Festival of Spoken Ivrit which we took part in last half term. It is always lovely to see our pupils and staff in print!
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/festival-of-spoken-ivrit-inspires-thousands-of-young-jewish-students/
On Wednesday we took a team of Year 5 and 6 girls to the Maccabi Netball Tournament. The girls looked extremely professional in their new kits and played exceptionally well as a team. The team participated in their first-ever tournament, showcasing impressive teamwork and skill throughout the afternoon. In their group stage, they played four games, securing two wins, one draw, and one loss, which earned them a spot in the semi-finals. There, they faced a tough challenge against a strong team from IJDS, who ultimately defeated them. Despite the setback, the girls remained positive and stayed on to cheer for the IJDS team as they went on to win the entire tournament. It was a fantastic learning experience for the team, and they left the event with pride and determination for the future.
Congratulations to the following children for showing Educational Excellence in class this week and attending my tea party:
Mia S, Ella I, Milly S, Hannah G, Celine S and Zevi M.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
14 March 2025
It was wonderful to see so many adults and special visitors at our Purim Teas this week. Thank you to everyone the attended, we hope you enjoyed getting to see a little of what goes on in school.. Also, a huge thank you to Mrs Rubin for writing the script and helping the children learn the songs, as well as two of our governors, Ian Aarons and Natalie Alexander for planning and running the teas so well.
Purim Sameach and Shabbat Shalom
Is your Year 5 or 6 child an expert baker? If so this could be for you! Applications for the 11th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain, have recently opened. Budding bakers aged 9-15 years old are invited to apply to be on the series. Filming would take place from July 2025, but applications close on Sunday 23rd March 2025. Interested bakers can apply online at - www.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk
Congratulation to the following children for showing Academic Excellence and coming to my tea party today:
Scarlett S, Rachel S, Eliana B, Max B, Eden I, Shulamit B and Sonny C.
It was wonderful to see so many children come to school today with a fabulous accessory to make the start of Adar, the month that Purim falls in. I also enjoyed being told some fantastic jokes by the children to add to the joy of the day. We can't wait to celebrate Purim in a few weeks time and look forward to see many special family members at our Purim teas in the run up to the actual day.
Shabbat shalom.
Mrs Martin
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin
24/01/25
We announced our new library monitors during Tuesday morning’s assembly. It was wonderful to hear from the teachers how many children put themselves forward for election this term. I also noticed the many thoughtful posters in each class about what makes a good library monitor. It must have been a very difficult choice for the children and teachers when deciding who to vote for!
On Wednesday a group of Year 5 and 6 girls represented Etz Chaim at the Maccabi Football Tournament. The girls performed brilliant on the day and managed to win 2 matches, draw 1 and loose 1. They scored 6 tremendous goals during the matched and only didn't qualify for the quarter finals due to goal difference. Congratulations to the following girls for competing so well Katie A, Tali B, Shulamit B, Ava G, Sophia G, Sylvie K, Ruby L and Madeline W. As always, a huge thank you to Mr King for training the girls each week and for managing them on the day.
The PaJeS website has a Parents section which include recordings of all of their talks and webinars. They are a great resource for parents on different topics including Smartphones, ADHD, Food and Understanding Girls-managing anxiety, friendships and striving for perfection. All sessions can be found here:
https://pajes.org.uk/wellbeing/for-parents/parent-resources/.
The most recent PaJeS Wellbeing webinar for parents focused on EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance). They had over 200 parent register and know many have watched the recording since. Parents felt it was very reassuring and informative and said “I felt less alone, that my child was not the only one struggling and that there is help and support out there.” And “I learnt a huge amount - really found it exceptionally useful.”
Barnet are offering free Dr Bike sessions to all. The Dr Bike sessions are run by qualified bicycle mechanics and are there for members of the public to take along their bicycles to have a free, full safety check, which includes the condition of tyres, rims, gears, brake function and tyre pressure, any necessary adjustments can be made if required. the whole process is free and available for both adult and child bicycles to have the free safety check and adjustments.
Location Name |
Location Description |
Date |
Time |
Middlesex University |
Pavement on The Burroughs, outside Middlesex University adjacent to Hendon Fire Station, 91 The Burroughs, NW4 4BL |
12/02/25 |
4pm to 7pm |
High Barnet, Stapylton Rd car park |
Area immediately to the right of carpark entrance (EN5 4LR) |
19/2/25 |
4pm to 7pm |
Finchley, Lodge Lane car park |
Yellow chevrons immediately to the right of the entrance to the Car Park (opposite NL Auction Rooms N12 8JH) |
12/03/25 |
4pm to 7pm |
Temple Fortune |
By Bike racks outside entrance to M&S Food Hall at 820 Finchley Road, NW11 6XL |
19/3/25 |
4pm to 7pm |
Congratulation to Ayla I, Mola S, Brooke R, Lulu B, Emily W, Izac A and Samson L who came to my tea party this week for showing Academic Excellence in class. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing all the off line games they like to play at home, Uno was the clear winner!
Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom,
Mrs Martin
Congratulations to the following children for working hard this week in class and demonstrating educational excellence:
Ariel S, Blake K, Eliana B, Immy F, Raffie G, Gracie C and Sylvie K.
Towards the end of this morning Years 1 to 6 took part in one of their regular Circle Meetings. The focus of todays session was to think about playground games and learn to play some games which they would enjoy taking part in during morning and lunch breaks. We hope that the children will then enjoy playing them together during their free time.
Shabbat shalom,
Mrs Martin