NEWSLETTERMichaelmas Term 2019

Issue 2 Thursday, 17 October 2019

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@WillowBrookGST

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to thank you all for your part in making Willow Brook and exceptional place of learning. It has been my privilege to work with you and the amazing staff who work tirelessly to give all children the very best start in life. The essential character at Willow Brook cannot change because everyone here believes in the Griffin Schools Trust

mission to offer the best in education in its broadest sense. I look forward to seeing you all at the many East London Collegiate (Lammas, Riverley and Willow Brooks schools) events which myself and Gemma Sant will be coordinating. Have a wonderful half term.

Very best wishes Graham CliffordHead

Willow Brook Primary School is a safe environment where we encourage online learning using recommended websites and school resourses. Please remember that children must be over 13 years old to have an account on social media or Instant Messaging.

Festival of DrawingMany thanks to our wonderful parents and PTA members, Charlotte and Pernille, who came in to coordinate our Festival of Drawing. It has been wonderful to see all out children, and some parents!, drawing together in the small hall. We all learnt from each other and enjoyed drawing rockets, castles, unicorns and countless other objects and patterns.

What an amazing Big Draw! We had over 200 people attend the drop-in event last Saturday and saw some truly inspirational creative work. The event was open to the public and we

welcomed families from both Riverley and Willow Brook schools, as well as friends and neighbours. Thank you to everyone who came to draw together and to our wonderful supporters who helped make this possible. Children and people of all ages were thoroughly engaged as there was so much on offer!

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We were thrilled to send 12 of our Year 6 Sporting Stars up to Nicolas Chamberline - one of our Northern Hub Griffin Schools - for the two-day Griffin Sports Festival. At this two-day event, our children competed in a range of activities: orienteering, boccia, seated volleyball, handball, running, swimming and others! At the opening ceremony, our children presented the Willow Brook banner and shared their pledge -

Griffin Sports Festival 2019

Climate Strike

undreds of local people spent a day calling for urgent action on climate

change instead of going to work or school. As part of a global climate strike that saw an estimated four million people take to the streets around the world, concerned residents gathered first at Waltham

H

Have your say! Take part in our readers' survey: Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk/survey

Forest Town Hall and then at Walthamstow Town Square – including many young children in their school uniforms. Among them was ten-year-old Billy Tomlinson, who told the Echo: “There is not much time left. The politicians are focused on Brexit when they should be focused on climate change.” Waltham Forest College student Naomi Bangolu said: “The Amazon rainforest is burning right now. If it was an important building –

by James Cracknelllike Notre Dame – they would be spending millions trying to fix it.” Thirteen-year-old Sophia, part of Extinction Rebellion Waltham Forest's youth group, added: “I saw what was happening to the planet and I knew I was responsible for some small part of it. I don't want to be part of it again – I've stopped using plastic straws and eating meat.” The rally in the town square was addressed by several young people demanding urgent action to curb

P . 15

InterviewFeatures Environment Arts & Culture Sport

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

Email WFEcho@socialspider.comFacebook /WalthamForestEchoTweet @WFEcho Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk

P . 7 P . 4 P . 9 P . 12

Flames founder talks about how he's using basketball to change lives

Survivor of Hoe Street 'flying bomb' reveals how he was blown out of pram

Could a Leytonstone lake be about to dry up because of climate change?

How a Walthamstow book club is celebrating the area's musical heritage

A local hockey club is helping to transform disability sport in the UK

FreeOctober 2019, No. 55

Your independent community newspaper

School strikers demand action on climatecarbon emissions. Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy and former Green Party MEP Jean Lambert also spoke in support of the climate strike. It came two days before Waltham Forest Council announced the launch of a 'Climate Emergency Commission' to help co-ordinate its own efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the borough. The council declared a climate emergency in April this year and was also the first UK local authority to pledge to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels. The commission will comprise a panel of environmental experts who will help the council draw up a ten-year climate change strategy. It is being co-chaired by sustainable energy experts Syed Ahmed, director of Energy for London, and Lucy Padfield, director of consultants Ramboll. The commission also includes representatives from local businesses, conservationists, waste and recycling experts and think tanks. Lucy said: “We’re pleased to see that Waltham Forest Council is looking to listen to its assembled team of experts about how it can improve itself and its impact, as well as work with residents, to help address the climate emergency.” The commission was launched at Walk-in-Stow, an event to mark World Car Free Day which saw Hoe Street closed to traffic. Enjoy Waltham Forest, the council's 'Mini Holland' cycling programme, has also encouraged people to ditch their cars and use the 16 miles of new cycle lanes built in the borough since 2014. However, the council has also been criticised over plans to chop

down dozens of mature trees in Walthamstow Town Square, plus scores more at Orient Way Pocket Park in Leyton. The council also supports building a new incinerator in Edmonton, while local recycling rates continue to decline. Responding to questions from the Echo about these issues, deputy leader Clyde Loakes said the commission would not consider them. “The Climate Emergency Comm-ission will inform the council’s climate emergency strategy and make recommendations for how we can all work together to tackle the biggest issue facing the planet in a local context in the future. “However, it is important that we focus on the real issues that need tackling... It is the future that needs our attention not the past.” None of the trees under threat have yet been chopped down, nor has building work begun on the incinerator. Cllr Loakes continued: “We are proud of our record in tackling the climate emergency to date but we all need to do so much more to ensure we have a sustainable borough fit for future generations.” The commission met for the first time in September and is now examining building standards and retrofitting. Eight meetings will be held this winter – local people are invited to submit their views.

"Politicians are focused on Brexit when they should be focused on climate change"

Local primary school pupils gather in Walthamstow Town Square as part of the global climate strike last month Credit Penny Dampier

undreds of local people spent a day calling for urgent action on climate

change instead of going to work or school. As part of a global climate strike that saw an estimated four million people take to the streets around the world, concerned residents gathered first at Waltham

H

Have your say! Take part in our readers' survey: Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk/survey

Forest Town Hall and then at Walthamstow Town Square – including many young children in their school uniforms. Among them was ten-year-old Billy Tomlinson, who told the Echo: “There is not much time left. The politicians are focused on Brexit when they should be focused on climate change.” Waltham Forest College student Naomi Bangolu said: “The Amazon rainforest is burning right now. If it was an important building –

by James Cracknelllike Notre Dame – they would be spending millions trying to fix it.” Thirteen-year-old Sophia, part of Extinction Rebellion Waltham Forest's youth group, added: “I saw what was happening to the planet and I knew I was responsible for some small part of it. I don't want to be part of it again – I've stopped using plastic straws and eating meat.” The rally in the town square was addressed by several young people demanding urgent action to curb

P . 15

InterviewFeatures Environment Arts & Culture Sport

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

Email WFEcho@socialspider.comFacebook /WalthamForestEchoTweet @WFEcho Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk

P . 7 P . 4 P . 9 P . 12

Flames founder talks about how he's using basketball to change lives

Survivor of Hoe Street 'flying bomb' reveals how he was blown out of pram

Could a Leytonstone lake be about to dry up because of climate change?

How a Walthamstow book club is celebrating the area's musical heritage

A local hockey club is helping to transform disability sport in the UK

FreeOctober 2019, No. 55

Your independent community newspaper

School strikers demand action on climatecarbon emissions. Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy and former Green Party MEP Jean Lambert also spoke in support of the climate strike. It came two days before Waltham Forest Council announced the launch of a 'Climate Emergency Commission' to help co-ordinate its own efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the borough. The council declared a climate emergency in April this year and was also the first UK local authority to pledge to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels. The commission will comprise a panel of environmental experts who will help the council draw up a ten-year climate change strategy. It is being co-chaired by sustainable energy experts Syed Ahmed, director of Energy for London, and Lucy Padfield, director of consultants Ramboll. The commission also includes representatives from local businesses, conservationists, waste and recycling experts and think tanks. Lucy said: “We’re pleased to see that Waltham Forest Council is looking to listen to its assembled team of experts about how it can improve itself and its impact, as well as work with residents, to help address the climate emergency.” The commission was launched at Walk-in-Stow, an event to mark World Car Free Day which saw Hoe Street closed to traffic. Enjoy Waltham Forest, the council's 'Mini Holland' cycling programme, has also encouraged people to ditch their cars and use the 16 miles of new cycle lanes built in the borough since 2014. However, the council has also been criticised over plans to chop

down dozens of mature trees in Walthamstow Town Square, plus scores more at Orient Way Pocket Park in Leyton. The council also supports building a new incinerator in Edmonton, while local recycling rates continue to decline. Responding to questions from the Echo about these issues, deputy leader Clyde Loakes said the commission would not consider them. “The Climate Emergency Comm-ission will inform the council’s climate emergency strategy and make recommendations for how we can all work together to tackle the biggest issue facing the planet in a local context in the future. “However, it is important that we focus on the real issues that need tackling... It is the future that needs our attention not the past.” None of the trees under threat have yet been chopped down, nor has building work begun on the incinerator. Cllr Loakes continued: “We are proud of our record in tackling the climate emergency to date but we all need to do so much more to ensure we have a sustainable borough fit for future generations.” The commission met for the first time in September and is now examining building standards and retrofitting. Eight meetings will be held this winter – local people are invited to submit their views.

"Politicians are focused on Brexit when they should be focused on climate change"

Local primary school pupils gather in Walthamstow Town Square as part of the global climate strike last month Credit Penny Dampier

Our pupils were pictured on the front of the Waltham Forest Echo in the October 2019 issue.

written themselves. They stayed true to their pledge and were noted for their excellent teamwork and sportsmanship. Overall, Willow Brook came seventh, out of fourteen schools. We are very proud of their sporting prowess, and even more so, their sporting attitude.

Well done Year 6!

We are so proud of our pupils, but especially our Year 6 ambassadors who represented Willow Brook Primary school at the Waltham Forest Town Hall demonstration, on Friday 20 September.

Our pupils felt so strongly they wrote speeches, made placards and even paraded around the school, bringing all classes out to the playground to show support for Greta Thunberg and insist that change happens.

We are sure to hear more from our pupils more as they will not let us forget there is work to be done to save the world!

WILLOW BROOK PRIMARY SCHOOL190 Church Road, Leyton, London, E10 7BH

T. 020 8539 1428 | F. 020 8558 1925school@willowbrook.waltham.sch.uk | www.willowbrook-gst.org | @WillowBrookGST

SafetyOnline

Please remember all the messages we have been sending this year regarding keeping your children safe online. At all times, adults must be aware of what children are accessing online, and be especially vigilant regarding social media.

No primary-aged pupil can use social media sites. Mobile phones must be regulated and checked by parents ensure appropriate sites and communication is allowed only.

If your child has a medical condition, please ensure you have provided the office with new medication this month.

Please note that without current medication your child will be unable to attend any educational visits out of school.

Key Dates 2019-2020

Michaelmas Term (Autumn)

Staff training (School Closed) Friday 18 October 2019Half term Mon 21 - 25 October 2019International Evening Thursday 7 November 2019

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Singing l Dancing l Traditional Fashion l Drama l Music l Sharing

InternationalEveningThursday, 7 November 16:00 - 18:00