Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I cannot believe the end of the year is fast approaching and we only have 11 weeks left! Despite two years of disrupted learning, the children have achieved to our high expectations and there are now limited gaps in knowledge as a result of the pandemic. The emotional impact of covid may take longer for some children and we will continue to support these children.

Our aim is to go back to pre covid times in the summer term and invite our parents in for sports days, performances and the whole school picnic/RUWALJOG. Dates to follow.

 

After a very long two years, I am so pleased to announce that school trips have resumed and already children have returned from them excited to share the experience. I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that we do not invite parents on trips unless a child has additional needs and there would be a risk of them not taking part in the trip unless their parents attended. It applies to all year groups across the school. In addition to this, if a child is not able to go on the trip we are not in a position to refund the cost. All trips have to be paid in advance of the trip taking place. If you would like more information on why we take this approach, please come and talk to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

In addition to trips, I am keen to reintroduce some pre covid events. On the 30th June we will be holding our ‘A Morning in Our World’. This is an opportunity for one member of a family to come in for an hour in the morning and join in the lessons. In the past, this has been really successful and I look forward to seeing lots of family members in school on this day. (please note we will be only able to accommodate one member of each family during the morning) More information and a booking form will be sent at the start of next term.

The Shoe Box Appeal was such a big success and with the support of a parent, the boxes have been shipped to Poland. At the time of writing this update, I am waiting for confirmation of the expected date of arrival at their destination; as soon as I know this I will share it with our community. Mr Robinson, with the support of Mr Barclay, have produced videos which have documented the support our school community has shown to the families in Ukraine – these can be found on our website.

 

Our Year 6 children are sitting their SATs this week and our Year 2 children will be doing their SATs throughout May. Despite two years where their education has been disrupted, the children and staff have worked incredibly hard to ensure they are prepared as well as they could be to succeed – good luck to them all!

 

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is fast approaching and we have been planning with staff and the Head Pupils how we will commemorate this significant event. I am now in a position to share the plans with you and have listed the events below:

 

Commemorative Plate Each child will be working with an art company to decorate and glaze a plate to keep as a reminder of this special occasion. (Donation of £4:00 required) The workshops will be taking place week commencing 16.5.22. Street Party We will be holding a whole school street party on Thursday 26th May. In the morning the children will be making sandwiches and decorations and weather permitting, in the afternoon the children will have a street party on the playground – if the weather is not good the children will have a ‘street party’ in their classrooms. We will be asking parents for a £2:00 contribution for this party. We have decided to ask for a monetary contribution instead of parents bringing in certain foods; this is due to a number of children having allergies.

 

Circus A circus will also be entertaining the children during the day on Thursday 26th May. We are heavily subsidising all the jubilee events, but would ask our parents to pay the contributions required. If we do not receive the contributions, we will need to revisit whether we can offer these events to the children. All the above events will hopefully ensure the children, when they grow older, remember how we as a school celebrated this occasion.

 

Our Digital Strategy has been very successful this year and other schools have visited us to observe good practice and how we incorporate technology into teaching to enhance the children’s learning. With the continued expertise and commitment from Miss Poynter, our aim is to continue to roll out the Digital Strategy into Years 4 & 6 next year. As part of our digital strategy, we have been looking at improving the ways we use technology. We have now transferred our weekly Newsletters onto a web page that can be accessed by all our parents. The link to the page will be shared with parents via our school app and website on a Friday. In addition to this, our Mental Health and Wellbeing days continue to be a success, with both the children and staff saying how much they enjoy and benefit from these.

 

Below are some key dates up to the end of term

 

Myself and SLT continue to be on the gates at the beginning and the end of the day and enjoy the regular communication with our parents,  Should you have any questions, please come and have a chat with us.

 

Take care

 

Mrs Snowden