Many people think winter is a quiet time. They picture bare branches, empty flowerbeds and cold, dark, wet days where the daylight disappears almost as soon as it arrives. But in our school’s wildlife garden, winter is anything but dull!

There is always lots to do, and our Gardening Club members—led by our brilliant volunteers, Emily and Natalie—work hard every Friday lunchtime. This half‑term, children from 3G, 4J, 5J and 6J have been our eco‑champions, keeping the garden healthy and ready for spring.

So far, we have cleaned out the bird feeders (very important for stopping our birds from getting sick), scrubbed the mosaic leaf table, and laid new fence hoops made from pruned willow branches. These hoops help protect the wildflower meadow from being stepped on by curious feet! Every week we also refill the bird feeders so small birds—like Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Blackbirds and Chaffinches—have enough food to survive the coldest days.

Laying fence hoops to protect the more delicate areas.

When we’re not cleaning and fixing things, we love searching for signs of the animals that call our garden home.
Who might be sleeping inside a bamboo cane?
Who did we spot curled up behind the log pile at the start of one session? (Hint: she had a long, orange, fluffy tail with a white tip!)
And who nibbled an acorn on the mosaic table, leaving only the empty shell behind?

Our garden is full of different habitats: logs for animals to shelter under, thick plants for insects to hide in over winter, and maybe even a hedgehog or two! Our wildlife rangers know the importance of “treading lightly” and always leave space for nature by not clearing away all the fallen leaves and twigs.

Even our pond is starting to wake up. After being restored in late autumn and early winter, the plants we moved are now growing new leaves and spreading around the edges.

‘Choirboys’ – Winter Aconite – giving a beautiful flash of cheery yellow to brighten up the dull days.

The rest of the garden is also showing signs of life. Bright yellow Winter Aconites—also known as “Choirboys” because of their ruffled green collars—are making a glowing yellow border around the wildflower meadow. Snowdrops have magically appeared and are already in full bloom, even though we didn’t see them the week before! Hellebores are flowering beautifully, and the Primroses have pushed up their wrinkled green leaves and will soon be in bloom too.

Every week brings something new to discover, and our enthusiastic gardeners make the most of every minute outside. All classes get to experience the garden across different seasons, with two half‑term slots each year to enjoy it and help look after this very special place. The J classes and 3G will return in the second half of the summer term, when the garden will look completely different!

Cleaning the bird table – an essential job.

Each class took part in a workshop to learn about Tudor trade and how sailors like Sir Francis Drake navigated their way around the globe in search of new commodities such as spices, tea and precious metals.  The children spent time admiring the architecture and tapestries in the magnificent Great Hall. They also saw a replica of King Henry’s crown in his chapel and explored the vast Tudor kitchens which served hundreds of courtiers every day. 

They were able to look at and admire the beautiful courtyards, intriguing herb garden and manicured lawns.  They really felt part of the Tudor story.   

They enjoyed creating their own games using real film props in their instructional writing workshop before heading off on a tour around the studios. Using greenscreens and CGI, the children also created their own Quidditch photos.

The tour ended with a 360 walk around the model of Hogwarts, which was decorated in snow for the 'Hogwarts in the Snow' event. It was a truly magical day and the children had a fantastic time.

They reminded the school about how to stay visible in the darker winter months and about how to stay safe on the roads as a pedestrian.

This week and next, children will be decorating bags in classes during golden time, using florescent and reflective materials to make them more visible. The top entry from each class will be sent to Barnet Council to be judged.

Using Lego and their imagination, the children worked collaboratively to create their own short animations, adding titles and music before showing them to their class. 

Every year, bullying impacts the lives of countless young people and silence helps it grow. That’s why, this Anti-Bullying Week, we’re empowering young people to use their Power for Good to safely speak up and raise awareness when they see bullying, face to face or online.  

Lasting change needs all of us. From playgrounds to parliament, our homes to our phones — we all have a part to play.  Together, we can use our Power for Good to end bullying — for good.

We talked about the meaning of ‘power’ and looked at different ways that the children could choose to use their power to prevent bullying.

It was a wonderful day full of curiosity, learning, and appreciation for the diversity that makes our school community so special.

Prior to this, the children discussed the origin of the poppy symbol and the importance of marking the event.

This Road Safety Week, we want to make sure that every time we get in a vehicle we are as safe as possible, whoever we are and however we travel.

Because safe vehicles save lives!

What is a safe vehicle?

Safe vehicles are designed to prevent road crashes and protect people inside and outside the vehicle if a crash does happen.

Safe vehicles...

• Prevent crashes - Automated driver assistance systems keep vehicles in the right lane and below speed limits, detect hazards and brake in an emergency.
• Protect people inside and outside the vehicle - Seatbelts, airbags and ‘forgiving’ vehicle parts protect people inside and outside the vehicle in a crash. Vehicles must pass stringent crash tests.
• Manage driver safety - Vehicle technology detects unsafe driving behaviour (e.g. due to tiredness) and informs authorities.
• Are roadworthy - Vehicles are maintained to the highest standards and drivers carry out checks before every journey.
• Record crashes - Event data recorders record what happens in a crash and notify emergency services immediately.

Safe vehicles are an important part of the safe systems approach to road safety – a shared approach to prevent death and serious injury from road crashes.

If you or someone you know is interested in Bikeability training, check out the website below:

https://www.bikeability.org.uk/get-cycling/cycle-training-for-children/

We are asking children to complete a sheet about where they could cycle to in different areas of the world.  This could be about a country that is important to them, one they have visited before or one that they would really like to go to.

Completed sheets should be returned to our Travel Ambassador, Miss Clarke (3S) and winning entries will be displayed across the school.

At Garden Suburb Junior School, we have focused on Black History month for many years. We now incorporate aspects of black history throughout the year across the curriculum.

All year groups began their focus on an aspect of Black History in October:

Year 3 – Inspirational black figures including:

- Desmond Tutu who was once the curate at Golders Green Parish Church.

- Benjamin Zephaniah's with a focus on his book ‘The Nature Trail’.

- Jacob Lawrence who is an artist.

Year 4 - Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend an all-white public elementary school in the American South.

Year 5 - Floella Benjamin’s book ‘Coming to England’ and also ‘The Windrush’.

Year 6 - Slavery and injustice with a focus on Dido Belle and her impact at Kenwood House.

Talk on Tuesday: Please encourage your child to discuss the theme, for example, with the family at dinner time.

The theme this week is:

Who is a famous black figure alive today that you find inspirational? Why?

The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. We are delighted to have been recognised for our success.

We are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of school sport, including those young volunteers, leaders and officials who made our competitions possible. As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.

A special thanks to Miss Gardner our PE Co-ordinator. We look forward to applying once again in 2026!

In our Ancient Greece workshop, the children dressed up in clothes of the period and took on typical roles found in the Agora (marketplace) as wax tablet makers, pottery painters, fresco painters and jewellers, among many others. They truly immersed themselves in the world of an ancient Athenian. As everybody went about their daily lives, rumours and news from the Battle of Marathon spread around town. After word finally arrived of an Athenian victory, we all celebrated with a feast and theatre performances in the afternoon.

We had a wonderful day and learned a huge amount at the same time. Thank you to all the parent helpers for giving up your time to make it happen!

Here the children got to experience a real bit of Stone Age life to link in with their current history topic. First, the children made their very own tools, using sticks, raffia, charcoal and flint. They discussed how the tools would be used and had interesting conversations about the ingenuity of the Stone Age people. The children impressed the workshop leaders with their expert knowledge!

After that, the children got to forage in the forest for parsnips, make their own little fire, hunt a deer, build a den using animal hides and finally create their own drawings with charcoal.

The children had a wonderful day and impressed everyone with their excellent knowledge and behaviour.

During our Science Week, we invited some scientists into school to talk about their jobs. The children had inspirational talks from the following scientists:

• Gemma Rutter, a former GSJS pupil, gave an overview of her career as a civil engineer. She discussed the main causes and effects of climate change and actions children can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

• Marziyeh Bahmani gave an overview of her career as an architect and research for her masters which focused on climate change, specifically sustainability and energy efficiency in UK office buildings using AI.

• Néstor Rueda Vallejo (Maxim’s dad 3G) talked about the importance of reducing greenhouse gases and about his job as an engineer. He also talked about the pioneering work of his company Bluemethane, to extract the gas methane so that it can be used as a sustainable form of energy.

The children were also lucky to experience a display in the hall, when Bird Man came in to do a presentation; This included meeting a hawk, bald eagle, falcon and barn owl. They learnt about topics like life cycles, food chains, adaptation and evolution. Thank you to the PTA who have funded this engaging experience.

Thank you also to the staff for supervising the children.

The discos were a great success and your children's behaviour and participation was outstanding!

Thank you everyone for supporting this event.

The children enjoyed immersing themselves in the story of ‘Ava’s Journey’, a story that was first introduced at school and then came to life during the visit. To help Ava on her journey, the students completed various activities that encouraged them to understand and appreciate nature. Following our visit, the students have continued the learning by completing nature activities as part of their homework. Year 4 students are excited to have been given the responsibility of being Guardians of the Wild.

Anayah wrote, "we experienced a 1940's classroom, learning intriguing facts all about evacuation. That that, we learnt what a child our age would do in case of a bombing raid, in a real school bomb shelter. We ended the day visiting a 1940's house where we saw a wedding cake designed in the style of a real rationing style cake and a wedding dress made from a used parachute collected by soldiers. It was one of the most fascinating field trips at Garden Suburb."

Chloe stated that it was "an exciting and educational experience that greatly increased our knowledge of WWII. There were plenty of things to learn and actual exhibitions; we saw an Anderson and a Morrisson shelter."

Ethan added "Lincolnsfield centre offered a detailed and interactive look at World War II history. The exhibits covered various aspects of the war, from weapons and transport to everyday civilian life. One highlight was learning how to defuse an incendiary bomb using water and seeing an unexploded one up close. Overall, the museum provided a well-rounded view of WWII with a mix of historical arifacts and interactive experiences."

Ana commented that it "was a new and enjoyable way of learning about WWII. From being on the homefront, to a student, to a soldier, we were able to live the life of many different roles during this time, which added depth to the experience."

Drama workshops took place in the afternoon. They included an Ancient Egyptian celebration and feast where the First High Priest of Aten was appointed. Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti also attended.

Thank you to the Year 3 parents for supporting this event. It is especially important that we bring our history curriculum alive to enhance the children’s ‘cultural capital’. Immersion in a history topic like this develops understanding, enhances remembering of learning and develops your children’s historical skills and vocabulary.

Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety. Each year we cover an online issue or theme that speaks about the things young people are seeing and experiencing online. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on the issue of scams online and for young people, how to protect themselves and others, as well as what support is available to them.

To celebrate at Garden Suburb Junior School, the children took part in an assembly and watched a live lesson, hosted by BBC - we even got a shout out on live TV! Additionally, the children created Lego characters, linked to a story about false information.

It is important to continue these conversations at home. For further tips on internet safety, please check out the Pupil Zone of our website.

The children enjoyed getting to fully immerse themselves in their science unit, exploring exhibits on rocks, minerals and fossils. They particularly liked seeing Mary Anning's fossils scaled to size and seeing the famous T-Rex in his seasonal jumper.

They also got a closer look into the world of earthquakes and volcanoes, making links to their recent geography unit. The children experienced what an earthquake would feel like in the earthquake simulator, showing what it was like during the real 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake.

Thank you to all the volunteers that made the trip so successful.

The whole school will be marking the silence together at 11:00am this morning.

Over the course of the week, they took part in several exhilarating events from archery and fencing, to rock climbing, the 'leap of faith' and the 3G swing.

The children were very well behaved, demonstrating resilience, kindness and excellent teamwork skills. 

The children learnt about the importance of focusing on their feelings and that they should tell a trusted adult if they felt worried or sad.

Click below for some top tips on managing mental health:

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/our-best-mental-health-tips

Black History Month has been marked in the UK for more than 30 years. It takes place during the month of October. It happens because so often in the past, the contributions to the community made by black people were ignored or played down. Black History Month aims to address this unfairness, by celebrating the achievements and contributions of the black community over the years.

At Garden Suburb Junior School, we have focused on Black History month for many years. We now incorporate aspects of black history throughout the year across the curriculum. All year groups began their focus on an aspect of Black History in October:

Year 3 - Desmond Tutu who was once the curate at Golders Green Parish Church. They will also look at Benjamin Zephaniah's book "The Nature Trail" and also Jacob Lawrence's art.

Year 4 - Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend an all-white public elementary school in the American South.

Year 5 - Floella Benjamin’s book ‘Coming to England’ and also a unit of work surrounding ‘The Windrush’.

Year 6 - Slavery and injustice - this includes their trip to Kenwood where they learnt about the life of Dido Belle and her uncle William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield.

They explored the gallery of ancient Roman artefacts and mosaics, which showcased the Roman Empire’s impact on Britain, before heading to an Artefacts and Archeology workshop. The workshop enabled our Year 4 pupils to handle genuine Roman artefacts to help build a picture of daily life in the ancient town of Verulamium. They role played as archaeologists, and were encouraged to consider the similarities and differences between Roman times and their own lives today. Some children even dressed up as Romans!

The trip ended with a walk around the Roman Theatre of Verulamium, an excavated site built in 140AD.

We had over 110 entries into our competition with a total of 31 countries being represented. Thank you to every who took part!

Every year, we ask parents to make a pledge to go car-free for the day. This year, over 45 families took place. Thank you to everyone who took part - a little goes a long way on our mission to reduce pollution in Barnet and a special congratulations to 4S who made the most pledegs across the school.

https://www.jeansforgenes.org/

This year's theme is "Dance in Denim" and each of the classes took part in a class dance which has been shared on Showbie for their families to view.

A huge congratulations to Coates, who won the most points overall! 

Thank you to Mr McGwinn, PE Co-ordinator and all the staff who made this day so special. It was lovely to see so many parents today too!

Here the children got to experience a real bit of Stone age life to link in with their topic. First, the children made their very own tools, using sticks, raffia, charcoal and slate. They discussed how the tools would be used. The children impressed the workshop leaders with their expert knowledge! After that, the children got to forage in the forest for parsnips, make their own little fire, hunt a mammoth, build a den using animal hides, and finally create their own stone age drawings with charcoal.

Luckily the weather was fantastic and the children had a great time. 

In the afternoon, everybody enjoyed a grand banquet, accompanied by a full suite of performances presented by the children themselves. There was song, poetry, dance and a number of short plays which explored ancient Greek culture and history in the most entertaining way possible. What a fun and immersive way to learn!

Thanks again to all our parent helpers – we can’t run these days without you.

Thank you to all the families who took part. Keep us the excellent work!