Laycock School's Letters

NO SCHOOL – WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER

Dear Parents,

Firstly, a little about me: my name is Caroline Barranco, and I work at Nature Publishing Group, where I supervise a team of seven editors who work on the eight clinical Nature Reviews titles — journals for academic doctors and specialists, covering a wide range of medical topics, including cancer, heart disease and neurological disorders.

I’ve been coming toLaycockSchoolon almost a daily basis for over a decade now, as my three children have all been educated here – my eldest son, Antonio entered the Nursery in the year 2000, and was followed by my other son, Alejandro, two years later. Both made the most of their time here atLaycockSchool, and I’m pleased to say they are doing really well in their secondary school (Central Foundation Boys’ School).

Fast forward to November 2011, and my daughter Isabela has just moved up from the Nursery to Reception class, and I’m looking forward to seeing her continue to develop and grow through her primary school years. I’m grateful for all thatLaycockPrimary Schooland its teachers have done for my children, and I hope that I will be offered the opportunity to give something back, by serving as a parent governor for the school.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this,

Caroline Barranco

Dear Parents ofLaycockSchool

My name is Simon Revere.  I’m father to Piper Revere who is in Reception with the Deaf Unit.

I thought I’d give you a little of my background, what I’m doing now and how I would like to help all the children, parents and teachers atLaycockSchool. I would really like to become a parent governor to help the school to continue its activities and also help it to grow and develop in the future.

I live De Beauvoir N1 about 20 minutes from the school with my wife Kate, daughter Piper and rather large basset hound Bunty.  I have always been a keen sportsman and have always liked to push myself into doing the slightly extreme.  I decided to get into running so put myself into run the London Marathon (never again well maybe one more time!)  I have skied, snowboarded, skateboarded, surfed and kite surfed from a very young age and at any opportunity (when my knees let me these days!)  At weekends, I can usually be found taking the family off to the beach.  I grew up in and aroundLondonand my parents not only put an emphasis on my state education but on all the amazing culture our city has to offer.  I was taught that there is so much to get from the area that we live in that doesn’t always cost a fortune to do and this is something I want to show my daughter.

I run my own business in Recruitment and Training so not only do I feel that I’d be able to lend any of these HR qualities to the school but I’m also used to planning budgets and doing accounts in what has been the most difficult of financial times and the most trying.  My main strength in winning contracts and securing funding and I would be happy to undertake these activities on behalf of the school.  My job has taken me around the world to different countries and cultures and has given me the ability to adapt and understand how people do things differently and most of all listen and understand other people’s opinions and beliefs, because everybody has a voice and a right to their say.

After Piper was born my family and I moved toBathin the South West where we set up a charity for deaf children and their hearing siblings/friends so they could all meet, socialize and most importantly have fun.  This also gave the parents an opportunity to share ideas and experiences which was very beneficial.  I’m very proud of the charity that still runs today even though my family and I decided we missedLondontoo much and had to come back after two years.

I thinkLaycockSchoolis an extremely good school with great teaches and most importantly fantastic children and I want to lend all my skills and enthusiasm to continue this and make sure that we take good advantage of every opportunity for all the children across all age ranges and abilities.

As my job is now firmly based inLondonI can be flexible with my time and come into the school when ever needed.

Simon

My name is Anyi Hobson and my five year-old son Marcus is in Ms Scutchings’ Reception Class. I would like to be a Parent Governor because I believe strongly in the difference that parents and carers can make to their children’s education.

My family is from theDominican Republic, but I was born and raised inNew York City.  My two sisters and I spoke Spanish with our mother and we learned English at school, from television and from each other.  My mother was never able to help us do our homework but she always stressed how important it was for us to have the education she never had.  Because of her efforts, support and encouragement, all three of us went toYaleUniversityon scholarships.  Since then, I have spent a lot of time learning about different approaches to education and languages.  During the ‘90s I lived inGermanyand for several years I was Yale’s Admissions School Coordinator for German applicants as a volunteer, interviewing students and visiting German schools.  I have lived inBritainfor over a decade and for the last couple of years I have been trying to learn everything I can about the system in which my half-British son is being educated.  The initial challenge of having to be bilingual as a child has made it easier for me to learn other languages.  I also have a particular interest in English as an additional language because I only speak Spanish with Marcus.

As a parent governor, I would hope to make suggestion to the learning process based on parents’ and carers’ contributions, as well as their knowledge of their children’s abilities and interests.  In my experience, it goes well beyond parents and carers helping with the actual homework.