It has been a busy week

Here we are at the end of a very busy week at school. It’s the first full week back, and there have been some amazing things going on in school.

Our new Reception and Nursery children have blown me away - they are already confident walking in to school and are showing great independent skills in their lessons. I watched a counting lesson in Reception this week, the children all sat beautifully, they were all smiling and they were loving learning. They were also very kind to me, and invited me to join in with their games at playtime. I was very impressed with their skills, a fantastic start for them all.

In fact, all the children have impressed me this week. They are all keen to learn and have already completed lots of work in their books. They have settled beautifully into their new classes, and you should be very proud of how well they have adapted to the new structure. We already have seen amazing fraction work, superb reading and wonderful writing across the school. Brilliant!

I am a strong believer that children flourish in routine and structure, and from the children’s perspective, school is normal, despite the Covid regulations. We have had a couple of tears and there are few colds around, but this is to be expected at the beginning of the school year. It has been a tiring week for everyone, but I am pleased with how we have all adapted to the new routines. I am optimistic, that the children are going to have a fabulous year. Thank you to all the staff for working so hard, welcoming the children back, and making it feel “normal”.

Thank you to all of you too, for your patience with the new collection routine. I think we have cracked it - so thank you for doing your bit, to help keep us all safe and healthy.

As you know, the Covid precautions, mean that we can’t have parents in school, however I am determined that we still involve parents in the school community. We are hoping to have some Zoom Story time sessions in the next couple of weeks, so if you haven’t yet downloaded the Zoom App, please do so soon. More details about the story time sessions will be sent out soon.

I have been thinking about Parents Evenings and how these could work - if anyone has any great ideas, then please feel free to email/contact me with your suggestions. At the moment, I am thinking maybe a combination of social distanced meetings and phone calls, but I will finalise thoughts nearer the time.

This week, we started Clubs, however most were cancelled, due to a lack of interest. We will try again on Monday, so please sign up at the office on Monday morning. Please encourage your child to sign up, as it is a great opportunity to plug some of those Maths and English gaps. The clubs are:

Tuesday: Phonics for Years 1&2 and Maths for Years 3&4

Wednesday: Reading for Years 5&6 and Maths for Years 1 &2

Thursday: Reading for Years 3&4 and Maths for Years 5&6

Have a look out this week for year group videos and blogs - they will be full of useful information, and if nothing else, it will remind you of what all the teachers look like! In all seriousness, thank you for bearing with us in these strange times - none of us have taught in a pandemic before, and we are all doing the best that we can. I am sure that we will prevail, by continuing to support each other. Thank you for the positive feedback and the words of encouragement, since we have been back.

The teacher videos can be found in the class sections of the website. Here is my video message!

… and here is a message from our Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs. Claxton:

Remember, if your child cannot attend school because they are self-isolating or are in quarantine, please let us know and we can supply them with work and a food hamper (if you have free school meals).

Congratulations to our “Stars of the Week”

Key Stage 1: Jake, Ellie, Sky, Emelie

Key Stage 2: Roxy, Taye, Ben, Stephen, Koree

Headteacher’s Awards: Ophelia and Zach

Please continue to check the website and the Facebook and Twitter pages for updates, we are trying to avoid sending out too much paperwork.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Stay Safe

Miss Goodson