January 2026 Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the New Year and what a start to 2026 we have had in school! There has been lots of learning opportunities for the children through baking, art and story telling. On our first day back in January, Year Two was transformed into Pudding Lane, with children making bread as a start to our Great Fire of London learning. There were lovely smells wafting through the corridors as the bread baked! We also had an immersive workshop from Open Box theatre company, where children in Kingfisher and Woodpecker class were transported back to 1666, imagining what it might have been like in London at the time of the Great Fire.

Cygnets also made their own gingerbread people to start their Traditional Tales topic: The children carefully weighed and measured all the ingredients, and counted the buttons to go on each person – and none of the gingerbread people ran away! To enhance the children’s learning of stories through drama, Lou’s Story Suitcase workshop included a wolf who features in many traditional stories – the children had great fun using their drama skills and props to retell these tales.

There has been both cold, wet and windy weather this month, and Year One investigated our grounds on a frosty day, which provided the springboard for lots of super writing, art and science learning. We hope you enjoy looking at the photographs of their exploration in this newsletter.

After the excitement of snow on our return at the beginning of the month, I have noticed birdsong in the mornings, and other signs that Spring is on its way. A huge thank you to School Council, who helped to put beautiful daffodils in our dining room. It’s been lovely to see the children sat eating their lunch, discussing how they have seen them bloom over the last few days.

We are looking forward to finding other signs of Spring over the coming weeks! What will you spot when you are on a walk?

It has been a privilege to see the children living out our values every day in school. From stacking trays at lunchtime so it is easier for the kitchen cooks to carry, to holding doors open for friends, raising money for charity and looking after the environment by weeding and sweeping. Thank you so much, Emmbrook Infants!

With Warmest Wishes

Grace Massarella