I would like to start my blog by wishing you all a happy new year. Unfortunately, I was not around at the end of term to wish you a merry Christmas which was why I did not write a blog on the last day as my father was very ill. Thankfully, after being in hospital for the whole of the Christmas holiday, he is now recovering but still very weak. When I did return to my office I got a lovely surprise though as I had received many gifts and cards for Christmas. I would like to thank everyone who sent me gifts for their kindness -  they certainly helped to put a smile on my face.

Moving on to more cheerful topics we have had a very good start to the term. The children all appear quite happy, although one or two of them have told me that they are finding the early starts difficult to get used to – I am sure that by next week they will be used to getting up early again. The dark mornings do not help but I like to try and remain positive by knowing that the days are getting longer and we will soon have the light mornings back.

All the extra - curricular clubs start next week so if your child attends one of these please ensure that they bring in all the equipment they need for the activity. Can you also ensure that your children have their PE kits in school for the whole week. Some children did not bring in their PE kits when they returned on Wednesday even though PE lessons started as normal on this day.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.