Miss Hamalis’ Bulletin – Monday 27 January 2025

Posted: 27th January 2025

Miss Hamalis, Head Of Channing Junior School

Dear Parents

One of the many things I love about being Head of the Junior School is the delightful unpredictability of each day – there’s no such thing as a “normal” or “quiet” day! Our School is a vibrant hub of activity, where we’re constantly creating memories for the girls to cherish. Themed days and weeks are always a highlight, and this year’s Maths Week was no exception.

To align with our focus on Reading for Pleasure, our theme this year was ‘Maths Through Stories’. Last week, every form explored mathematical concepts using picture books carefully chosen for their year group, bringing Mathematics to life in an engaging and meaningful way. The girls also participated in a workshop, where they collaborated on solving challenging mathematical problems embedded within the story 365 Penguins. This sparked their curiosity and deepened their love for the subject.

On Friday, we embraced some extra fun with ‘Dress up for Digits’, raising money to support the NSPCC’s services such as Childline and the ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ programme. The girls arrived in a wonderful array of creative, sustainable and homemade costumes – from football shirts to dice and calculators. I joined in the fun, dressing as a penguin from 365 Penguins. The blue shoes completed my transformation into “Chilly” from the story! It was such a joy to see the girls’ reactions – some strolled past me without noticing, while others burst into laughter. I especially enjoyed being part of the penguin huddle at drop-off.

The magic continued this morning with the Year 4 assembly, where the girls, fully in role as a clowder of cats, transported us into the enchanting world of ‘Varjak Paw and the City of Cats’. Watching them bring the story to life was a true delight, showcasing their talent, dedication and creativity. Each girl contributed something special and it was heartwarming to see their enthusiasm shine so brightly.

From the confidently delivered narration to the captivating acting and lively singing, the girls drew us into Varjak’s journey of courage and self-discovery. Their seamless teamwork and evident pride in their performance was inspiring. It was clear how much thought and effort went into every detail, and the result was nothing short of magical.

Assemblies like these remind us of the incredible things our girls and staff achieve when they work together. We are so proud of their accomplishments and deeply grateful for the support of our families, who cheer them on every step of the way.

We are thrilled to welcome Year 4 parents into school to watch their daughters perform in their Year Group Assembly. The performance will take place in Fairseat Hall this Wednesday 29 January, from 8.30am to 9.00am. Please arrive no earlier than 8.25am, where you will be asked to sign in at the iron gates and escorted to Fairseat Hall by our Specialist Teachers.

In addition, following the launch of our strategic objectives for Channing 2035 last week, we are delighted to invite you to contribute to shaping our vision for the future. We will be hosting World Café-style facilitated sessions to gather your invaluable insights. These sessions will explore what you love most about Channing, what you feel could be improved and your ideas for change and innovation. If you would like to participate, please click here to sign up.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with school life. We are excited to share many more special moments with you in the months ahead.

I would like to extend my heartfelt wishes for a very happy Chinese New Year to all our families celebrating. May the Year of the Snake bring you an abundance of love, health and happiness. May it be a year filled with prosperity and joy for you and your loved ones.

With warm wishes

Miss Dina Hamalis
Head of the Junior School 

Calendar & Events

School Calendar

You can view all events for the year in the school calendar via our Parent Portal: SchoolBase login. Your calendar view should already be filtered to display the Junior School events and events which are specific to your daughter’s year group. 

The ‘School Calendar Parent View’ button shows the complete calendar, which can be viewed by each month, week or day. Events also appear on the right-hand side of the home page under ‘Forthcoming Events’ and the monthly view of the calendar also appears at the bottom of the home page.

140th Birthday Celebration Week: Monday 27 – Friday 31 January

To celebrate our School’s 140th Birthday, we have planned a range of exciting events.

Birthday Celebration Lunch: Tuesday 28 January ~ A special Birthday Celebration Lunch will be served, with Fairseat Hall and the surrounding corridors adorned with festive birthday bunting. 

Non-Uniform Slumber Party: Friday 31 January ~ Pupils are invited to come to school in their pyjamas to join in the fun of our slumber party theme, an idea put forward by Senior School students in the School Council. We can’t wait to see their cosy onesies!

KS2 Recital Evening: Thursday 6 February, 4pm

The next KS2 Recital Evening is on Thursday 6 February at 4pm in the Music Room. This is a chance for our pupils to develop their performance skills in front of a supportive audience. If your daughter has a polished piece ready to show off, please apply here by Thursday 30 January. Please note, slots will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

ABRSM Practical Music Exams: SPRING TERM w/c 31 March - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

We will be holding Spring Term Practical music examinations over two or three days during w/c 31 March for candidates in both the Junior and Senior School. These examinations are also open to candidates who have practical music tuition outside of school, providing their teacher has stated that they are ready to take an ABRSM Practical examination this term.

We need parental consent before we enter candidates, therefore parents need to complete the online form by 4pm on Wednesday 12 February. Regrettably, we will be unable to process late applications.

Spears Foodbank: Monday 3 February - Friday 14 February

This term, we will continue to support the Alexandra Wylie Tower Foundation (AWTF) food bank. The AWTF provides emergency food parcels to families in need and serves hot meals with fresh fruit and vegetables to over 200 homeless people in the local area.

From Monday 3 February to Friday 14 February, if your daughter is in Spears House,  please ensure she places donations in one of the blue, labelled Food Bank collection bins in the courtyard. There will be collection drives for all the Houses throughout the year, with girls from each House asked to contribute. However, donations from all members of the community are welcome at any time!

Suggested items for donations include: washing tablets, tinned/canned produce, pasta (and sauces), rice, spices, olive oil, juices, stocks, cereals, sugar, salt, tea and coffee. Please ensure all items are long-life produce, as regrettably, fresh items cannot be donated. 

Many thanks in advance to Spears House  for all your support!

beeAWTF

Cancelled Clubs

Due to the Specialist Parents’ Evening for pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1, the following clubs will be cancelled: 

Wednesday 29 January: 

  • Years 3&4 Lights, Camera, Act! 
  • Years 4&5 Samba
  • Years 5&6 Design & Technology 

Additionally the following clubs will also be cancelled:

Thursday 30 January: 

  • Years 3&4 Junior Choir 
  • KS2 Spears String Orchestra 

Friday 31 January: 

  • Years 4-6 Folk Band 

Thursday 6 February: 

  • Years 4-6 Gymnastics (Senior School)  

Please liaise with Miss Radford to sign your daughter(s) up to Mini or Late Owls, should you require this: jsreceptionist@channing.co.uk

LDCA Cheerleading Camp: February Half Term

Join LDCA Cheerleading Club during February half-term camp running from Monday 17 to Friday 21

February, 10.00 am – 3.00 pm, at their new venue: Queens Park Community School, NW6 7BQ.

  • Cost: £260 for the full week or £55 per day
  • Open to: Pupils from Reception to Year 6

Secure your daughter’s spot today by booking via the LDCA website.

TooledUp Courses for Parents

We have collaborated with TooledUp Education: an invaluable digital library of evidence-based resources on all aspects of parenting, education and family life. Founder, Dr Kathy Weston, has collated the best and most up-to-date research from around the world and distilled it into usable, easy to understand resources which can be instantly applied to daily life. Channing Pin: cha0706

For more information about this resource, see the dedicated section below. 

For upcoming TooledUp courses and events please click here

  • Thursday 30 January 7.30pm ~ Parental Engagement in Learning – Small Things, Big Impact
  • Wednesday 19 February 12.30pm ~ Helping Children & Young People Accept Themselves and their Autism Diagnosis
  • Monday 24 February 7.30pm ~ A Parents’ and Educators’ Guide to Medication for Autism and Anxiety

Communication

Staff Contact Information

Please find the email contact details of the staff: JS Key Contact information. Please could we ask that your specific query is directed to the appropriate individual and anything of a more serious nature is directed to a member of the Senior Team. Please note that Miss Hamalis needs to approve all requests for absences so please send them via the Junior School Office: jsoffice@channing.co.uk

In order to prevent unnecessary awkwardness and/or embarrassment, please remember to address members of staff by their title and surname. 

Please be mindful that staff may not pick up emails immediately (teachers will, of course, not be checking emails when they are teaching, running clubs or supervising pupils at break and lunchtimes) and may choose to take time to investigate the matter before responding. However, they will endeavour to answer your queries within 24 hours. Please do not think that a lack of instant response means a lack of interest on the part of the member of staff. 

Please note that staff are not expected to reply to emails outside normal school hours, weekends or during school holidays. If you have an emergency which needs to be dealt with before school next opens, please email: jsoffice@channing.co.uk. Please do not send communications or information to communication@channing.co.uk or info@channing.co.uk

 

Curriculum: Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHE)

PSHE & Emotional Management Curriculum Evening

Thank you to all of our parents who attended the recent PSHE and Emotional Management curriculum evening. We hope you found the session insightful and left with a range of practical strategies to support your child’s emotional well-being in alignment with the approaches we use at school.

For those who were unable to attend, Ms Merritt provided an in-depth overview of our PSHE curriculum, Jigsaw. She highlighted key units within the scheme, explaining how each year builds upon and consolidates the girls’ understanding of important topics like relationships, dreams and goals, and celebrating differences. Ms Merritt also discussed how we have carefully integrated Kimochis into our curriculum to help pupils recognise and understand how different emotions manifest in their bodies, as well as providing them with strategies to regulate those emotions. Lastly, she shared the specific terminology used in our Friendology sessions, which empowers children to navigate and resolve conflicts within their friendship groups. If you would like to learn more about how we approach PSHE and emotional management in school, please access the slides from the evening here.

PSHE & Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

We value PSHE as one way to support children’s development as human beings, to enable them to understand and respect who they are, to empower them with a voice and to equip them for life and learning. 

We use Jigsaw as a progressive and spiral scheme of learning. It ensures that learning from previous years is revisited and extended, adding new concepts, knowledge and skills, year on year as appropriate. Parents are encouraged to view the skills progression within each of the Jigsaw units of work, on your daughter’s year group page on Firefly. This information includes the key vocabulary used in each year group and suggestions for Family Learning. 

We include the statutory Relationships and Sex Education within our whole-school PSHE Programme; however, this content is not taught until the Summer Term. Further information will be shared later in the Spring Term because “Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory Relationships and Sex Education” DfE Guidance p.17

Puberty is taught as a statutory requirement of Health Education and covered by our Jigsaw PSHE Programme in the ‘Changing Me’ Puzzle (unit) in the Summer Term. We conclude that sex education refers to Human Reproduction, and therefore inform parents of their right to request their child be withdrawn from the PSHE lessons that explicitly teach this i.e. the Jigsaw Changing Me Puzzle (unit):

  • Year 4, Lesson 2 (Having a baby)
  • Year 5, Lesson 4 (Conception)
  • Year 6, Lesson 3 (Conception, birth)

Ahead of the Summer Term, we will ask that you please inform your daughter’s Form Teacher, as well as Ms Merritt (PSHE & Emotional Management Lead) via email if you wish to withdraw her from the specific lessons listed above. To inform Ms Merritt please use the following email address: emerritt@channing.co.uk

Channing Character Books for Sale: New Stock has Arrived

Information & Purchasing

Since publishing our series of storybooks based on the Channing Characters, we’ve been delighted by the many requests from families to purchase a set. We have received a restock and the books are now available to order if you missed out the first time. 

The complete set is available for £30 which will be added to your termly bill. Any profits will support partnerships and bursaries at Channing, helping to extend the gift of a Channing education to more young people.

If you would like to order a set, simply complete the Google Form. And if it’s meant to be a surprise, let us know, and we’ll keep it secret so your daughters don’t find out!

You can also listen to the stories being read aloud here: Character Education stories.

Competitions & Challenges for the Girls

Young Artists' Summer Show at The Royal Academy: Reception - Year 6

Whilst we await news of our ‘Young Art’ competition entries, pupils are now invited to create a masterpiece fit for the prestigious Royal Academy as part of the Young Artists’ Summer Show 2025. This competition is open to people aged between 4 and 18 years old. Submission is done online by parents (for free) and closes at 5pm on 5 March. 

Things you need to know:

  • Pupils can submit one artwork of any type and there is no theme. 
  • The artwork can be made using any medium. It can be a painting (including digital), sculpture, photograph, installation, video, drawing, or a combination. 
  • Parents submit their own child’s work on the Royal Academy website. Simply:
  • Register for an account
  • Select ‘Channing School: The Bank, London, N6 5HF’ in the school finder
  • Share the necessary details and submit jpeg photos of the artwork
  • The artwork will be seen by a panel of judges and selected pieces will be shown in an online exhibition. Some of the artworks will also be displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts in July and August.

Good luck to all entrants!

IAPS & ISEB Time to Write Competition: Year 3 - Year 6

This week, teachers will be giving Years 3 to 6 pupils a chance to unleash their creativity and take part in this year’s Time to Write competition! This year’s theme is “Light”. This competition provides a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to explore their imaginations and demonstrate everything they have learnt in English so far. For more information please see the information posted by your daughter’s Form Teacher on Firefly.

Competition rules:

  • Entries must be typed. Unfortunately, hand-written submissions cannot be accepted.
  • Do not include the writer’s name or any mention of Channing Junior/Senior School in the story or its title.
  • All entries must be in English.
  • Drawings or diagrams are not permitted.

All stories will be submitted by staff on Sunday 2 February. The winning authors will get the opportunity to see their story in print, as each winning entry will be turned into an illustrated book. Good luck!

Channing Association News

Preloved Uniform Sale Tomorrow: Tuesday 28 January, 7.45am- 8.30am

The CA is running a preloved uniform sale tomorrow, Tuesday 28 January from 7.45am until 8.30am in the Courtyard. They are still taking donations, so please leave any unwanted, clean and unlabelled uniform (especially PE kit) in plastic bags in the blue bins in the courtyard.

CA Charity Swimathon in Aid of Magic Breakfast: Saturday 15 March - Sign Up Now!

The Charity Swimathon will take place on Saturday 15 March and is now open for all Junior School girls who would like to participate. You can find details of the event, including a sign-up sheet and a sponsorship form, below. All girls are welcome to take part, although for safety reasons it is recommended for those who can swim at least one length (18m).

We’re raising funds for Magic Breakfast that provides breakfast for children across the UK to tackle morning hunger in schools. Please download a sponsorship form from Classlist.com.

Venue: Poolside Manor Swimming Pool, Lyndhurst Gardens N3 1TD

Time: Saturday 15 March, 4.30pm – 6.30pm

Sign Up Form: 2025 Channing Swimathon Sign Up 

Event details (including sponsorship form): Classlist.com

Sponsorship Form

Charity: Magic Breakfast

North London Laughs Charity Comedy Night: Buy Tickets Now

There are still tickets available for North London Laughs, the now annual charity comedy evening in Alexandra Palace Theatre, where Channing parents get exclusive first-access to the best seats. Acts include: Ed Gamble, Emmanuel Sonubi, Viggo Venn, Bella Hull, Josh Weller and Mark Maier. 100% of funds raised will be donated to the Squirrel Ward (Gastroenterology Dept) at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Buy tickets: North London Laughs

CA Diary Dates

  • Tuesday 28 January, 7.45am – 8.30am: PreLoved Uniform Sale
  • Sunday 9 February, evening: North London Laughs Charity Comedy Night, buy tickets now: North London Laughs 
  • Saturday 15 March, 4.30pm  – 6.30pm: Charity Swimathon in Poolside Manor, see Classlist.com
  • Sunday 18 May: Summer Fair ‘Chanfest’, held in the Junior School grounds

Chatting with Channing

Duke of Edinburgh Award at Channing

Listen on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Channing Website

In this episode, we dive into the world of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Join Ms Yun, Channing’s Duke of Edinburgh Manager and four of our Year 12 students –  Maika, Sereny, Elise and Ava – as they share their personal stories, favourite moments and the life-changing skills they’ve gained through the programme.

Discover how the award fosters teamwork, resilience, and independence as students navigate expeditions, volunteering, and skill-building, often in challenging (and hilarious!) circumstances.

Listen now to hear about wild camping anecdotes, leadership lessons and how even the toughest moments can turn into laugh-out-loud memories.