 So the last day of term has arrived and we say goodbye to some of our friends and families as they move on to the next stage in their lives. It is a time of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, sadness and joy as we reflect on the journeys we have made together. This post just collates some of the wonderful things parents and children have said and written to our wonderful team this week: "They say all good things must come to an end. I truly hope next year will be exciting and enjoyable as you have made this year for me. You have earned a special place in my heart and I will never forget you. You have truly made a difference in my life." "The last two years have been an amazing experience. Thank you very much for the kindness, warmth and love shown to Maira." "Thank you for supporting Hannah with her learning this year. After returning as a parent after 20 years, I am so proud that Rachel Keeling has kept up its standards." "I thought you would keep him safe, but you taught Zachary how to live!" "It is without a doubt , that one of the best decisions we ever made was to send Charlotta to Rachel Keeling." "Rachel Keeling is the pillar of our community." "You have made Ariana feel right at home and helped her develop into an even more fabulous little person." "We will never forget the friends we made here at Rachel Keeling." "Thank you so much for everything over the past year. Bessie has thrived being with you and we are so happy to have been part of the nursery." "Great thinkers, leaders, influencers and inventors are not born. They are taught, motivated, inspired and guided to do great things by brilliant teachers like you!" "Thank you so much for a wonderful year and a magical, fun filled introduction to the world of learning." "We are very proud of Ana. It has been great to witness how she has blossomed @ Rachel Keeling. Thank you for the support and care to help her grow in to the confident child that she is. It has been a very special journey for the whole family." "The stories and warmth she shares with us about the friends and staff tell us that she is really happy here." "I will continue to support my child's growth and learning any way I can now." "We are so proud of her progress at Rachel Keeling. She has enjoyed every single day." "Ayan is now so self dependent. He has learned lots of things and such a nice environment for him." Our leavers and our families who will return in the autumn, have wonderful summers... run free and be wild! Take your Rachel Keeling Values with you.  This morning we welcomed London Borough of Tower Hamlets Mayor, John Biggs and Councillor Danny Hassell to Rachel Keeling Nursery School. They spent time touring the nursery, looking at the wonderful provision children experience every day, discussing the exceptional outcomes for our children as a result of this engagement and meeting children, families, staff and governors.
The Mayor and Councillor Hassell were very impressed with what they saw and the conversations they had with families who shared the impact of our community school in their children and families. Many families shared their concerns about our future and the impact of the funding cuts we are experiencing. The Mayor and Councillor Hassell were keen to engage with children and staff too and asked many questions around our funding, special educational needs and our families. Having the opportunity to showcase our wonderful school is always wonderful and it is very exciting when visitors understand our ethos and recognise the importance of our role in the lives of young people in Tower Hamlets. After they left the excitement of the visit has obviously spread to the children: Romy spotted another child wasting cereal at the breakfast table and told them "Don't waste food, we need money to keep our school open. That's why the Mayor was here this morning!" And another child, Max, piped up "I think the Mayor lives in a submarine!" Romy said "He lives in a castle!" The future Mayors and Councillors may be already attending Rachel Keeling! As funding cuts threaten the existence of nursery schools across the country, Rachel Keeling Nursery School held a silent vigil to protest the cuts in a way its East End sufragette's namesake, Rachel Keeling, might approve.
100 years on from women winning the vote, the fight to give everyone a voice continues and was honoured yesterday by this gathering of children, families, staff and community members past, present and future. Nursery education has been the foundation step of learning and a jewel of social change and social mobility. Our cohesive community, together, formed a protective ring around our school, symbolically safeguarding this local resource. This year alone we have suffered a 12% reduction in funding - this is set to continue. With huge cuts to an already small budget we have lost a much loved, talented teacher and a wonderful sport's coach. Our future is under threat. It was an incredibly moving event and a reminder we can all be agents of change. As our Rachel Keeling Values teach us 'We Have a Voice'. At the time of going to press we are awaiting kick off in tonight's World Cup semi final with England facing Croatia. Our Rachel Keeling family are fortunate enough to come from the four corners of the world and many nations have been represented in this World Cup in Russia. With England, France and Croatia still standing we are behind England (we do have French connections too it has to be said!)
Children have been enjoying football this week, with new nets Maria picked up. They have problem solved sharing the footballs and kept a tally of the number of goals scored. Children have also been supported to prepare refreshing snacks for friends to share in the garden: with watermelon, apple and orange being most popular. Some children and many families have shared their experiences of watching the matches so far - the joy and the pain (Russia, Japan, Brazil, Spain.) Just as we were preparing for the big match, we were visited by Rachel Keeling regular Penny, our local police horse and Regal Blue (RB for short). They were out exercising before the match and awaiting a call out to Hyde Park later this evening. We enjoyed observing the giants up close and children and staff who wanted to were able to stroke them. After a few apples, we bid them farewell. Today we have enjoyed singing football songs, the national anthem, our Police horse visitors and England face painting. This has been a long time coming and having enjoyed weeks of blistering sunshine, yesterday's fly past of the RAF, we simply cannot contain our excitement and optimism about tonight's match - come on England! A gloriously hot day was spent at Southend on Sea on Friday: families and staff thoroughly enjoyed the sandy beach, fountains and ice cream. Sadly the tide was out and although some families bravely battled the mud flats to venture out to sea, they were defeated!
Sun, water fountains, delicious packed lunches, crabs, seaweed and laughs later, we enjoyed a quiet journey home with many sleepy children! Thank you those who joined us and we missed those who were unable to come. The generosity and kindness of our families, staff and local community was epitomised by our Annual Rachel Keeling Summer Fete last week. Families rallied, baking, cooking, donating, gathering raffle prizes from local businesses, donating money and their time and by showing up to support us.
Hook a duck, face painting, Little Treasures, hair braiding, the bouncy castle, delicious food and ice lollies, cakes and drinks, smoothies, Toys, Lucky Dip, henna tattoos, disc drop and many more! We raised £1184.84! This money will be used to provide enrichment experiences for children across the year. apologies for the lack of photographs this year. We were too busy running stalls! Remember you can access Governor's Annual Report to Parents on our Governors tab above! Many thanks to Morpeth Secondary School's Drummers who kicked off proceedings and almost managed to drown out the sounds from the exhaust pipes of the Year 11 NRA Celebration Evening next door! Also thank you to the many businesses who donated raffle prizes:
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Rachel Keeling Nursery School - Bullard's Place - Morpeth Street - London - E2 0PS Tel: 020 89805856 Email: admin@rachelkeeling.towerhamlets.sch.uk
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