Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
We have had a number of queries as to when pupils will be returning to school.
Unfortunately, we have no further information to share on this.
We will be keeping an eye on government responses and the input/advice from the local authority. As soon as we have any news or updates, we will share them with you.
I hope you are all managing to keep safe and well.
Please visit our 2 extra class pages entitled
1.Outdoor Learning, exercise and PE
2. Independent learning for all ages
to see the latest additions of ideas to keep you busy and active.
Stay safe, have fun!
We wish to send a very BIG thank you to Mr Robert Jenkins, an ex-parent, who has very generously donated a tablet and phone to the school for pupils to use during lock-down. What a very generous offer! We have created a list of pupils who would benefit from this device on loan through nominations from the teachers and we will draw a lucky name this week.
Thank you very, very much for thinking of us and for your continued support - we cannot wait to make someone's day as they will now be able to access their home learning. Your donation will make a massive difference.
As we enter Week 3 of this lock-down, I am aware that some families are struggling to keep up and to keep positive.
PLEASE DO NOT STRESS OVER THE HOME LEARNING.
Some of you may be putting undue pressure on yourselves and your health and sanity is much more important. Whilst it is great that some families are working through the home learning on a daily basis, for others it is just not possible for many, many reasons.
To keep it simple and manageable, here are some options for you:
If you need to take a day off, do so.
If you need to do just some of the activities, then pick the ones you feel your child can do/ will enjoy.
If you cannot sit with your child, use some of the independent learning as listed on the class page entitled 'Independent learning for all ages'.
Never underestimate reading time, Times Tables Rock Stars, handwriting, working on spellings
If you are struggling to share devices, order a home pack from school.
If you not know how to structure the whole day, just spend one hour a day supervising some work with your child.
Other activities are allowed - cookery, jigsaws, BBC bitesize, music, PE tasks, nature, languages
Don't forget things like shopping games, making lists, keeping a diary, wordsearches, spelling games, project work to research something you are interested in such as football, lions or cars.
Be kind to yourself - stay safe, stay healthy
I am pleased to announce that we have been working with catering to enhance the choice of meals available. From next week, we will move to another menu bringing back some of the old favourites such as Big Breakfast and Chicken Curry. I know many of us are very excited about this!
I will be updating the menu and posting it on the website over the weekend. However, I can confirm that on Monday the meal is coated chicken, pasta with sauce option and veg.
As we reach the end of the first week, it has been another long week filled with issues to solve and ways to make learning accessible.
PLEASE DO NOT STRESS OVER THE HOME LEARNING - simply do what you can. There are no expectations. There is no pressure, especially for those parents having to work from home. It is very difficult, near impossible, to try to do both of these things at the same time and we recognise this. There may also be conflict over bandwidth, access to devices and space to work at home with everyone being there together.
The powerpoints do have audio clips and your children should be familiar with this as it is what we use in class. Simply hover over the speaker, or click to hear the instruction. Work can be recorded in one notebook or on paper. We will also be saving worksheets in Word to enable pupils to record directly onto them rather than rely on a printer. Please send photos of work to the teacher on dojo so we can see how well you are doing and give feedback and the praise deserved.
We do not have broadband in school so cannot live stream at present. However, we are trying to find a way to have some interaction with pupils at home over the next few weeks to make contact with all pupils and to check how they are.
We are able to give hard copies of work if needed, and will be collating a list of interactive sources of work ideas and include more creative aspects for pupils to use independently. We have ordered workbooks too that we aim to make available for those who prefer this option. Please inform your teacher via dojo if you feel you need or would like this option.
I fully realise how difficult this situation may be for families at home and we aim to make this as easy as we can. Any learning that your child does - reading, watching educational TV/internet clips, drawing, using maths, writing diaries/list/letters to their teacher, baking, exercising - is good for them. But I also do not want parents to feel under pressure when things are already difficult enough.
Take care, stay safe, stay healthy.
SCHOOL IS CLOSED FOR ALL PUPILS TOMORROW - TUESDAY 5TH JANUARY.
You may have seen tonight the announcement by the government of the closing of schools from tomorrow (Tuesday 5th January) until after February half term.
Tomorrow we will be contacting all families to see if you qualify for provision during this new lock-down period - this is if you are a listed key worker or if your child is receiving additional support by external services.
Please send a response back to this request which will be sent from your class teacher tomorrow morning via the dojo so that we can plan the new 'pods' and ensure safety.
We will send further details tomorrow.
Pupils who are not eligible will have work set via the website under the Children tab, scroll to the class page to find the work.
You may have seen tonight the announcement by the government of the closing of schools from tomorrow until February half term.
Due to the speed of the commencement of the government announcement and new guidance re lock-down, school will have to be closed tomorrow to allow staff to plan and organise safe provision for this lock-down period.
Work will be posted online from tomorrow for all pupils who are remaining at home.
Key worker children and vulnerable children will be identified and the families of these children contacted. For these eligible pupils, provision at school will commence again from Wednesday 6th January. This will, however, not include wrap around care.
These arrangements have been made in consultation and agreement with Parklands School.
We would ask for your patience tomorrow and ask you to refer to the website and dojo for updates. Your co-operation and support is appreciated.
As we currently stand - we will be open to pupils tomorrow, in line with the government requirements. This is, however, subject to change with very little notice.
Please remember that we will need to be introducing a new, tighter control of access into school. All pupils must be left at the wooden gates to enter the playground on their own. If you need to attend other schools, you will need to allow time to walk round - there will be no access through our playground. I will be at the Briar Gate entrance from 8:40 to allow pupils access and to therefore allow parents more time to walk to other schools. Staff may be wearing masks and we would ask all adults to wear face coverings too.
Pupils will be met and greeted by staff in the playground where they will be shown where to wait - an area identified for each class. Mixing of classes will not be permitted.
The playground will need be open for collection at the end of the day as we have to ensure pupils get safely to their families. Please wear a face covering when collecting your child and keep 2m away from others.
Please try to use the dojo to communicate with the class teacher as much as is possible to prevent unnecessary contact with staff.
I will be following the situation carefully and will inform you of any changes or updates. At present there is no news on provision for key worker children as primary schools are required to be open.
I appreciate this is a very frustrating time for us all and everyone will have their own opinion. All we can do is to try to keep our children, families and staff as safe as possible and would ask you to support us in this difficult time.