We have had one ’elf ‘ of a day in school to finish the term. It brought an air of cheer to the school and I think that most of the children enjoyed the experience (even some of the Year 6). You can see what I looked like below as I posed in my outfit with the Year 1 Class. I would like to thank you all for all your donations for the food banks. With all that has happened this year there are more people than ever reliant on these banks to help them feed their families and it is good to think that our fun event will help these people to have a better Christmas.

We are lucky that we have made it through the term without any major disruptions. I am keeping my fingers crossed as I type this (very difficult) because I know other schools have not been as fortunate but I hope we will be as lucky next term. My husband has been told that once 2 million people are vaccinated it will have a major impact on reducing the spread of Covid 19 so let us hope that information is true and it means that we can get back to returning to the life that we had before this horrible virus descended upon us.

I do think that the children have enjoyed being back to school and, after a couple of weeks, did get used to following school routines again. As the autumn term is the longest one, the children are always quite tired by the end of it and do deserve a good rest so they feel re-energised and refreshed when they return in January. Even though they will not be getting the Christmas they are used to I am sure they will still all have a good time. I have told them to remember this Christmas because they are living through a memorable time in their history and, in years to come when they get to my age, they can retell to all their children what it was like to live through Christmas 2020 (or even the whole year).

To finish I would to thank all the people who sent me gifts – they are not necessary but very much appreciated. I hope you all remain safe and well during the holiday and you all have a good time – in spite of all the restrictions. I look forward to welcoming you all back in 2021 on Tuesday, January 5^th.

We are nearly there –as I have been discussing with the children in assembly this week – ‘There is light at the end of the tunnel.’  Fingers crossed that all goes well and we can finish as a whole school next week but we are still not in a position to take any chances. Although there is a vaccine here, with other vaccines due to follow, we still have to be vigilant. I would like to thank all those parents who are being vigilant and are socially distancing outside although there are still a minority standing around in groups, facing in, talking to each other. This is against all advice sent out about Covid-19 and I would like this practice to stop. Even one person getting the virus in our community could start a chain reaction which could mean that we have to close the whole school and we do not want that to happen.

It is Christmas in school though and the children have enjoyed a very festive day. It was Christmas Jumper Day and I would like to thank everyone for sending in their donations. Due to Covid restrictions we will count it next week and we will let you know how much we have raised – either through our newsletter or in my blog. The children also had their Christmas lunch today and although the majority of them had to have it in their classrooms it was still a very festive and enjoyable occasion.

You may have heard some rumblings through the press that schools are closing on December 17^th but we are not. To do this we would have to alter our INSET days and we did not want to do this because it would affect our dates for 2021 as well. The government were only doing this because Heads have to be responsible for informing members of their school community if there is an outbreak of Covid for six days after schools break up which means that we have to be contactable on Christmas Eve which a lot of the unions objected to. However, we have decided to close on December 18^th as planned. Due to Covid restrictions we cannot all leave at 2.00pm so we will be sending out our modified finish times for next Friday in our newsletter.

Next week it is Elf Day on Friday. I know all the children are looking forward to it and I hope you have all the outfits ready. Remember that all the children need to bring in a food donation to give to a food bank. Have a great weekend. I know I am going to because I was lucky enough to have won one of the PTA hampers so I will enjoy eating and drinking some of its contents. I hope you all have a great weekend too. 

 

Ugh! What a horrible end to the week with all the rain and cold weather. With all the Covid restrictions that we have had to put in place one of the worst things we can have is rain as it has a big impact on our PE timetable  We really should not be having many indoor PE sessions and  Mr Mills has been very good at adapting the timetable to meet the new restrictions (including making very good use of the outdoor classroom) but the rain does make things more difficult. As I have mentioned before it is vital that your children do have outdoor clothing for PE because they will be going outside and we do not want them feeling cold –this should include a long sleeve top and some long trousers/jogging bottoms.

Thank you for all the donations that were sent in today. As I type this all the children are enjoying a film as a way of a thank you. Next week the PTA are going to put together Christmas hampers which will be raffled on Friday. Remember you are able to purchase tickets for £1 each through the Raffall link: https://raffall.com/147716/enter-raffle-to-winchristmas-hamper-raffle-hosted-by-little-heath-pta. I have already purchased my tickets and I have got my fingers crossed that I am going to be lucky again. I have won one in the past and it was one of the highlights of my Christmas.

As well as the hamper raffle we also have Christmas Jumper Day next Friday. The children can wear a Christmas jumper as long as they bring in at least a pound for the ‘Save the Children’ charity. Next Friday is also the day we are having our Christmas lunch. Although the children cannot have their lunch all together as a school they will all be having their lunch together in the classroom with their teacher so it will still be a special occasion for them.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Even though we cannot go out as much I am finding the weekends busy with all the preparations for Christmas so I do hope you find some time to relax. I look forward to seeing you all again on Saturday morning.

 

We have been getting the decorations out of the loft today in preparation for Christmas. We always decorate the school from December 1^st but some of the children think this is too late. I had quite an animated discussion with one of the classes in an assembly about when is the correct time to put up your decorations as the they thought the school was a little slow in getting them up. I know that a lot of people have been putting up their decorations earlier this year to help bring a bit of cheer outside and I can see why they would do that but in school we have to be a little more careful as a lot of children, when they see us preparing for Christmas, see it as a sign for slowing down and we do not want that to happen. We will be looking festive next week though so let us hope it does not affect the children’s work ethic but does bring them a bit of good cheer which we all need at the end of a challenging year.

I am really pleased that practically all of our parents are wearing masks when they drop off their children and are remaining socially distanced from the school. However, can I remind you that you need to remain socially distanced from each other and not chat in groups. I know Lockdown is hard and it is great to see other people but we need to do all we can to minimise the spread of the virus in our community. Some teachers are having difficulty when handing over children to parents because parents are not looking at the gates because they are talking to their friends. Remember at drop off and pick up you need to stay apart from others and then go home immediately when you have dropped off or picked up your child/children.

Next week the children have a ‘Mufti Day’ to look forward to on Friday. In exchange for not wearing their uniform the children have to bring in a donation for their class Christmas hamper. The children will also be watching a film in the afternoon as a thank you from all the PTA for their support. The PTA have sent out information about how you can purchase raffle tickets and I do advise you to get some. I have won one of these hampers in the past it and they really do contain some good Christmas goodies that bring cheer to everyone at home.

Have a great weekend – I know it is cold but it is lovely weather to go walking in so do try and get out for a family walk – as Joe Wicks says, “You never regret a work out.”

 

November is flying by – I cannot believe that December is looming. I keep putting off thoughts of Christmas because with the current situation it is difficult to make plans. However, I will have to start to make some preparations because Christmas will still arrive. Although we will not be holding our usual Christmas events in school we will be holding some Christmas activities (within Covid 19 restrictions of course) and I will be sending out details about them shortly.

I hope you have all managed to access the learning platform at home. I know there have been a couple of teething problems for a few people but please let your class teacher know and they will support you with this. The children will be practising how to use it in school (not the foundation stage) so hopefully they will be able to access it themselves at home. It is important that you are familiar with how to use it because if any class has to isolate this is what we will be using for the home learning. Since the last lockdown the government have set out very specific specifications for what they expect schools to do for home learning since and the best way for us to achieve this is through the learning platform. We have been fortunate in that we have had no positive cases in school so far but if one does occur the home learning has to start immediately and we do not want people being unable to access it. We are in a national lockdown so with very little else to do it is a good time to improve our IT skills and practise using the TEAMs learning platform.

It has been anti-bullying week in school. It is something we do every year as we want to get the message across that we will not tolerate bullying. Hopefully, by constantly repeating the message year after year the children will understand what behaviour we expect from them and they will know what to do if they have negative experiences at school. If your child feels they are suffering from any forms of unacceptable behaviour, please make sure the school knows either by your child telling an adult or you informing the school yourself. We will investigate and although it may not be actual bullying behaviour we will be able to resolve the issue.

I hope you all have a good weekend. I know there is not much to do at the moment but do remember that whatever the weather, do try and get outside –you will feel better for it.

 

I can honestly say that I am seeing spots before my eyes today. This is because today is ‘Children in Need’ and in honour of that we have let the children come to school in non-uniform which had to include something spotty. These sort of days help to lift the spirits in school and I think they are especially important at the moment as there is not much going on outside of school. ‘Children in Need’ is also an important fundraiser and again, this event is more important than ever because a lot of the charities it supports had not had the support they usually have because of the pandemic. I would like to thank everyone for their donations that were sent in today and I will let you know in my blog next week how much we raised. As I explained last week, we have to leave the money for a couple of days before we can count due to the pandemic.

I think that some people may have misunderstood something that we put in last week’s newsletter. As I explained in the letter we are having to keep the classrooms well ventilated because of Covid and this means that some children may find it cold during the winter months. To help alleviate this I said that children could wear either fleeces or their coats in the classroom to help keep them warm. However, I meant for these to be worn on top of their school jumpers and not instead of a school jumper. If children do not have on a school jumper, they will not be allowed to wear fleeces or coats in the classroom. Can I also ask that KS2 parents ensure that their children wear their ties to school? I have seen a number of children coming to school without them – remember that a tie is part of school uniform.

We have had a bitter sweet event in school this week. The good news is that Ms Davis has returned to school. However, because of her return Mr da Rocha is going to be leaving us (again). I know he has done a wonderful job in the Nursery and everyone at Little Heath would like to wish him all the best for the future – which may involve another return to Little Heath!

Next week in school is ‘Anti-Bullying Week’. The theme this year is ‘United Against Bullying’ underlying the important fact that it is everyone’s responsibility to stop bullying, even people who are just bystanders to the event. We are starting the week by having all the children coming into school wearing odd socks (they have to wear normal uniform apart from the socks). We do this event every year and we think it is very important that we keep repeating the message so that no child feels they have to tolerate bullying.

Have a great weekend. We have been fortunate to have some lovely weather this week but it does not look too good for the weekend. All the agencies who support us keep telling us how important being outside is for both the children’s physical and mental wellbeing so try to get your children outdoors if you can – even if it is just for a short time. See you all again on Monday.

I hope you all managed to have a great half term and your break was not spoilt too much by the news that we were going into a second national lockdown at the weekend. It certainly was not the news we wanted to hear but from all the data that has been presented to us (and there has been a lot) I think it is necessary. At least schools are still open this time and I think we are all happy with that. Home learning may have to come into operation at some point but I think we can all agree that children learn better in a school environment.

Saying that, we have made new preparations for if/when children do have to learn at home and you have had details of this sent home to you this week. We will be using the TEAMs learning platform to send out work in future and the reason that we have sent home the details now is so that any glitches can be sorted out before we have to use it. We have switched to this because it allows work to be sent backwards and forwards between the teacher and the pupils so the learning that takes place is more like the learning that takes place in school. This was a requirement set out by the government in the guidance they gave us for re-opening in September. It may take a little time to get used to this system but it will be better for your child’s education.

I was really impressed by all the entries for the pumpkin competition organised by the PTA. A few teachers and myself were asked to judge the competition and it was really difficult to judge because everyone had done such a good job with their pumpkin. We finally decided on the entry by Gracie in Year 4 because we felt her pumpkin demonstrated hard work, creativity and originality. All the entries can be seen on the ‘Friends of Little Heath’ Instagram account or Facebook page. I would like to thank the PTA for organising this event - these fun activities make such a difference to children’s lives when they cannot do many of the activities they are used to.

Next week we have ‘Children in Need’ to look forward to. This is a great fundraiser and I think it is an important charity for us to support. To help celebrate the day we want all the children to come to school wearing something spotty - they do not have to wear their uniform either. In exchange for not having to wear their uniform we would like the children to bring in a donation of at least £2 to give to ‘Children in Need’. We will not be able to count the donations straight away as we will have to leave the money over the weekend to enable it to be safe for us to handle.

I hope you all have a great weekend – remember that getting out for some exercise daily is good for you so try to do that over the weekend. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 

I know I say it most weeks but I cannot believe how quickly this week has gone. I have had a lot of meetings and conferences this week (all of them virtually) and the time has just flown. I must admit that spending so much time in front of a computer is not me and I will be much happier when we can return to meeting people in person although I do not think that that will happen for a long time yet.

However, the end of the half term is here and we have all got to the end of it successfully. I am really pleased with how everyone has pulled together to get us through these challenging times. There were lots of changes in the beginning of the term but we are all used to them now. I have to agree with the government that the best place for children is in school so I am sure that by continuing with these routines we will be able to help minimise the spread of the virus which will help to reduce the chances of us getting a case in school.

Over the last week and a half, we have held our telephone parent consultations. All the teachers have given me lots of positive feedback about them and I hope you found them useful and informative. It is obviously not as we would have liked to have done things but at least you all had the opportunity to touch base with the teachers about your child’s learning in school. Do remember though that if you have any concerns about your child you can contact your class teacher by email or telephone at any time.

Half term is now before us and I think we are all looking forward to the break even though perhaps we are not going to be spending it as we expected we would – I know I am certainly not but I am looking forward to the break. May I remind all KS2 parents that the children will need to come back after the holiday in their winter uniform so some of them may need to practise tying their ties during the holiday. May I also say that one of our procedures for keeping the spread of the virus down is to ventilate the classrooms well so I will be allowing the children to wear their fleeces in class or coats if they need to so that they can stay warm in class. We will have the heating on as well but the children may still feel a little cold because of us needing to keep some of the windows open.

I hope you all have a great holiday – remember to keep yourself safe by following all the Covid 19 guidelines and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, November 2^nd.

 

It has been a bit of an emotional day in school today because Mrs Ilott has left us after working at the school for 14 years. She has been a wonderful asset to the school and we are really sorry to see her go. I am sure that you will join with me in thanking her for her services to the school and wishing her every success for the future.

We have started running some of the extra-curricular clubs this week and they have been very popular with the children. I am glad that we have been able to do this because I do think that school should be about more than just teaching the national curriculum. However, our after school clubs have been affected by the fact that ’Kids ’n’ Clubs’ now has to operate in the main school hall to allow for social distancing so we will now have to cancel clubs if it is raining as we now cannot move the club indoors.

As has been the norm since the beginning of term we have had members of the school community being tested for Covid 19 because they are displaying the symptoms or they have had to isolate because someone in their household has been displaying the symptoms. As yet we have not had a positive case reported this term which has meant that we have not had to send any classes home which is great. May I just remind parents that if your child is displaying any of the symptoms of Covid 19 which are:

• a high temperature

• a new continuous cough

• a loss or change in normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

then you must keep your child at home and arrange for them to have a test. You can book a test by going to ‘www.nhs.uk/coronavirus’ or by calling 119. If you are unsure you can check their symptoms on the NHS website or contact 111. Can I emphasize that whilst you are unsure of the symptoms all members of the household need to isolate and that includes siblings in the school. I know that if we all follow this guidance we will be able to help minimise the spread of the virus in the community.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday. I cannot believe that this time next week we will be breaking up for half term – the time has just flown by.

 

As you know it has been ‘Walk to School Week‘ in school. Thank you to all of you who helped your children support this project this week. I do think that the benefits of walking, cycling or ‘scootering’ to school are extremely beneficial and we should be focussed on supporting children to use ‘sustainable’ transport all year round. As well as being good for the children’s health and wellbeing it helps protect their future health. There is good statistical evidence that demonstrates that higher exposure to air pollution increases rates of neurodegenerative diseases and we do not want to expose the children to something now that could impact on their future life. If we use less cars, buses and trains we can help reduce the chances of this happening. I have been doing assemblies about this all week and the children have all been quite amazed at how children in other parts of the world travel to school. They were particularly stunned at the picture of a nine-year-old girl using a pulley on a piece of rope to cross a river whilst carrying her younger brother in a mesh sack across her body. If children in other parts of the world are travelling to school like that I am sure that we can all organise ourselves to leave a little earlier in the morning so that our children can get to school without using a car. Even if we do need to use a car to get the children to school it would be good if you could park at a distance from the school and walk the last part of the journey so you are at least keeping pollution away from the school environment whilst helping to improve your children’s health.

I mentioned in my blog last week that we were filming a virtual tour for prospective parents. This is now complete and has been put onto the front page of our website and I thought as existing parents you may like to see it as you have not been inside the school for quite a while. I am really pleased with it apart from the opening sequence which has me in it –or at least I think it is me. If it is true that the camera never lies I need to find a plastic surgeon fast to get rid of the extra baggage around my eyes and the jowls that have developed around my chin! Let us hope I do not put off new parents coming to the school.

Next week we are starting our parent consultations. Unfortunately, because of Covid 19, we cannot do them in person so we are doing them by telephone this term. You can still book appointments in advance, and, as I always ask you, please stick to your allocated amount of time. If something needs to be discussed in more depth the class teacher will contact you at a later date to discuss it in more detail. Hopefully, at some time in the not too distant future, we will be able to welcome you in person again but in the meantime we have to do all we can to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus in school.

Have a great weekend. It may be getting colder but at least we are not expected to get the rain that we had last weekend (although it does not appear that way this afternoon).

 

I find it hard to believe that it is October – it does not feel like 2 minutes since we were preparing for the start of term and all the changes we had to implement because of Covid. Everyone seems used to the new routines now and we really have got used to the ‘new normal’. Now that we are settled we are looking into being able to start some after school clubs for the children. It means that the clubs will not run as regularly as they used to but at least we will be able to offer some of the children some extra-curricular provision. When we have made a decision we will let you know – it will also be dependent on any new government guidance which we receive.

This year, due to the pandemic we are not holding guided tours for prospective parents around the school. Instead we will be uploading a virtual tour of the school so prospective parents can see how the school looks. I am mentioning this in my blog because I know some established parents have not been in the school for a while now and may like to look at this tour so they can see how the school looks now. I will let you all know when I put it on the website.   

That is all for now. The weather for the weekend is not looking too promising but I hope you will not let it dampen your spirits. See you all on Monday.

 

The children all looked very impressive this morning - I can tell that they had all taken extra care with their appearance in preparation for their photographs. It all went very smoothly and hopefully when we see the results all the effort will have been worthwhile. They could only do individual photographs in school this year because of the pandemic.

It has been another week where Covid 19 has dominated the headlines – I do not think I can remember a time when it was not in the news –I now look longingly back on the days when Brexit dominated the headlines. The good news that came from all the announcements is that schools are going to carry on as they are which makes all of us in Little Heath very happy. I would like to remind parents though that they do need to socially distance whilst they are waiting to pick up their children. I have had some people contact me to tell me that they are concerned about groups of adults talking together whilst waiting for their children to come out. All parents should try to come as near to the collection time for their child as possible and then leave as soon as they have picked up their child. I would also like to remind parents not to park their cars in School Road during this time. We need the road as empty as possible to allow parents to socially distance. Unfortunately, the staff carpark is next to the school so staff will need to use the road but that is all. I hope we can all follow this guidance because if we all do our part we will be able to keep the spread of the infection down to a minimum.

Next week we are starting to serve hot meals in school again. I know a lot of the children are very happy about this and the kitchen staff are also happy to be making something other than packed lunches. The majority of the children will still be eating their lunches in the classroom but, as with all our procedures, we will be reviewing it to see if we need to make any adjustments.

That is all for now. I know the temperature has dropped and we have had some rain but it does look like we will have some sunshine over the weekend. Remember to all keep yourselves safe and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

 

The weather this week has been great and it does make me feel like it is summer and not the beginning of autumn. As I mentioned last week this has made it particularly good for the Year 6 who have been doing their cycling proficiency this week. It was lovely having this activity in school because it gave me a reminder of how school used to be with lots of extra activities and sports taking place –let us hope that we can return to those again in the not-too-distant future.

As with everywhere, we cannot avoid the Covid conversation because it is dominating our lives at the moment (much as I wish it was not). You may have heard that there are some members of the school community who are or who have been self-isolating at home due to possible symptoms of the coronavirus (COVID-19). As you will be aware, many of the symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19 (cough, high temperature), are common in children and can occur in a variety of infections.  Therefore, as advised by Public Health England we will only ask a whole class to self-isolate at home if a child or staff member of their class has had a positive test confirming COVID-19 and we have had none of those in Little Heath so far. If this is the case, we will be informing parents of children within the class at the earliest opportunity, and will be advising them to self-isolate at home for 14 days.  The rest of the household of the contacts will not need to self-isolate, unless a member of their household is displaying symptoms (or has had a positive test result with or without symptoms). Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings .

As always, any child or staff member who has any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 needs to: inform the school; arrange a test via www.nhs.uk/coronavirus and self-isolate at home whilst awaiting the results.  Symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 are a new continuous cough and/or high temperature and/or a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell. If you are unsure if the symptoms are Covid-related please contact 111 for guidance. I know there has been a massive backlog with the tests and we have had people complain to us about the wait which means that children cannot be in school. However, if a child needs to isolate for any reason the school will provide home learning for them so that their education does not get too disrupted.

Next week in school we have the photographer coming in on Friday to take individual pictures of the children so you may want to take extra care with their appearance on that day. Have a good weekend – the weather looks set to last so we should enjoy it while we can.

 

As always, even though we have only been back a week, it feels as though we have never been away. That is especially strange since we have not all been together since March –it is amazing how quickly you can get used to a routine even when it is a new one.

The children all appear happy in school - it is lovely to see them all on the playground at lunchtime running around and playing with all their friends – we certainly hope that we do not have to take that away from them in the coming months. In class they are all getting used to the workings of school although I do think that a couple of them are finding some of the conditions of school learning difficult to get used to again. We were expecting this and we know they will get used to school life again but if your child is feeling a little anxious please reassure them that this is perfectly normal and they will soon get used to school routines again. If you find that these feelings persist after a couple of weeks, please speak to their class teacher. Remember that if you need to speak to any member of the school staff that you must contact them by either email or telephone as parents are not allowed on site at the moment.

I know we have made a few changes to the beginning and end of the school day in how parents drop off and pick up their children and we are all getting used to new routines but I am surprised that some parents are still trying to drive up to the school entrance to drop off and pick up their children. We have always actively discouraged this practice as it makes it an unsafe environment for the parents and children but I am especially surprised that people are still doing it now when due to social distancing parents and children are having to use the road. Although I have no legal right to stop this I think it is our moral duty to unite together during these challenging times to keep everyone as safe as possible. I hope I do not see people driving down School Road from next week to drop off and pick up their children.

May I also remind parents that children from Nursery to Year 4 must be collected from the teacher by an adult and they will not be allowed to walk across to where their parents are parked. Can I also ask that if you want your child picked up by an adult other than yourself that you inform the class teacher or school office. Without this permission, children will not be allowed to go home with that adult.

Looking forward to next week we have the Year 6 taking part in cycling proficiency which is great so please take care on Monday as there will be more children coming to school on bikes. The forecast also looks very good for next week so they could not have picked a better week to do their cycling proficiency in. Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

It has been really great welcoming everyone back this week. I know all the staff have been very excited about returning and I hope the children and yourselves have felt the same. I am sure that some of the you were feeling a little anxious about the children coming back but let me reassure you all that from our perspective all of the children have appeared very happy and glad to be back which makes us really happy. As I mentioned in one of my previous letters we did say that we would review all of the strategies that we have put in place to help make the school a safer place during Covid and we have decided to change one strategy already. We introduced staggered starts and ends to the day to try and help manage the flow of parents to make it easier for social distancing but this has not happened as we expected – if anything I think there were more parents waiting outside than there have ever been. Therefore, from Monday 7th September we are going to go back to the regular way which was explained to you in a letter sent out today. I am sorry if any inconvenience has been caused but there may be a few other things that we have to change to ensure that things run as safely as they can for the children and we thank you for your patience during these unusual times. I was pleased to see the children returning to school looking very smart in their uniforms. However, we have had one or two children not wearing the appropriate footwear. We do ask children to wear formal, waterproof black shoes which are not sneakers or canvas – can you please ensure that they do have the correct footwear in school. That is all for now. We are having a themed week in school next week based around ‘Chemin a Papeete’ by Gaugin and I am sure that the children will be telling you all about it. Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning – it is great to be actually able to write that again.

Mrs Custis' end of term blog

We have certainly seen a change in the weather this week – thankfully the forecast for next week is better and it looks like the summer is set to return. I am hoping that this is the case as I have been invited to my first summer barbeque this summer outside of my garden – the thought of watching someone else cook for me is very exciting.

I have spent a lot of my week sorting out the action plan and making arrangements for the return of the whole school in September. I have completed it and I will be discussing the arrangements with the Governing Body on Monday and so hopefully I will be able to send you the arrangements on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week so that you and the children know what to expect in September. Everybody here is looking forward to welcoming the whole school back.

I know that I keep mentioning it but can all parents who are using their cars to bring the children to and from school please park away from the school entrance. Most parents are doing this and I thank them for that but we have a persistent few who are still driving right up to the school and are then reversing round to drive back down School Road. This is very dangerous, especially now that some parents and children are having to be on the road to maintain social distancing. One parent did this at home time when the foundation children were going home and it made the teacher in charge very concerned for their safety. I would hate there to be an accident before everyone heeds this advice.

As this is such an unusual year it is very hard to believe that next week is the last week of term before we break up for the summer holiday. Unfortunately for the children (and especially the Year 6) they have missed out on a lot of the end of year events such as Sports Day but it has been a case of ‘needs must’. Keeping safe has been the priority and hopefully in the months to come we will reap the benefits of all the sacrifices we have had to make. Historically we have always managed to take control of diseases so let us hope that this latest one is no exception.

As it is the end of term we will be finishing early next Friday but because of safety we will not all be finishing at the same time. With the children present we are going to clap the Year 6 off the premises as usual but this time we will open the double gates at the front so the children walk out through them to meet their parents. We will then close these gates and then the rest of the children will return to their classrooms before they leave the premises. The end time for the different groups are listed below:

1.45pm –Year 6 (double gates at the front of the school)

2.00pm – Year 1 (KS1 playground)

2.00pm – Reception and Key worker children in Years 2,3,4 &5 (main entrance)

2.15pm – Nursery (main entrance)

 

I hope you all have a great weekend. The weather is expected to improve so hopefully we will be able to enjoy some sunshine.

July 3rd 2020

You will all know by now that the guidance for the return of children to school in September was officially published yesterday. We have read it and are starting our preparations for how we will run the school in September. As soon as we have written these and had them approved by the governors we will inform you of what the arrangements are. I know that these have been very trying times for everyone and I would like to thank everyone for the support they have shown the school over the last couple of months. As I mentioned last week in my blog that as we are having more children returning to school we have more cars outside of the school. Whilst this is entirely understandable I did ask that parents follow the usual transport rules and do not park in the area in front of the school. This is especially important with social distancing as some parents are having to stand on the road outside of the school to ensure that they keep a safe distance from other people. Unfortunately, one or two parents are driving right up to the school gates when they are dropping their children off and I would ask that they stop. As I also said last week in my blog the church car park is still open for parents to use at drop off and pick up times. I know that for many of you that having a break from home learning will be a welcome relief when the summer holidays arrive. I do think that many of you have done a really good job and it is certainly not easy being a parent and a teacher. Even when the holidays come though I would ask that you try and sustain the reading with your children. It only has to be for 5 or 10 minutes at a time for a few days each week. We will be making modifications to our curriculum in September to help accommodate for the fact that the children have not been in full time education for a couple of months but it will support us if the children’s reading skills are as good as they can be. Although many children in Little Heath love reading I am aware of the challenge this could be for some of you but if you stick with it will have a positive impact on your children’s learning when they return in September. You could encourage them to take part in this year’s reading challenge which is called Silly Squad- details about it are in our latest newsletter. I hope you all have a great weekend. I am looking forward to meeting up with the Year 3 next week. Remember that the starting time for the ‘additional class’ each week is 9.15 am and that they finish at 3.15pm. Drop off and pick up is from the infant playground.

You will all know by now that the guidance for the return of children to school in September was officially published yesterday. We have read it and are starting our preparations for how we will run the school in September. As soon as we have written these and had them approved by the governors we will inform you of what the arrangements are. I know that these have been very trying times for everyone and I would like to thank everyone for the support they have shown the school over the last couple of months. As I mentioned last week in my blog that as we are having more children returning to school we have more cars outside of the school. Whilst this is entirely understandable I did ask that parents follow the usual transport rules and do not park in the area in front of the school. This is especially important with social distancing as some parents are having to stand on the road outside of the school to ensure that they keep a safe distance from other people. Unfortunately, one or two parents are driving right up to the school gates when they are dropping their children off and I would ask that they stop. As I also said last week in my blog the church car park is still open for parents to use at drop off and pick up times. I know that for many of you that having a break from home learning will be a welcome relief when the summer holidays arrive. I do think that many of you have done a really good job and it is certainly not easy being a parent and a teacher. Even when the holidays come though I would ask that you try and sustain the reading with your children. It only has to be for 5 or 10 minutes at a time for a few days each week. We will be making modifications to our curriculum in September to help accommodate for the fact that the children have not been in full time education for a couple of months but it will support us if the children’s reading skills are as good as they can be. Although many children in Little Heath love reading I am aware of the challenge this could be for some of you but if you stick with it will have a positive impact on your children’s learning when they return in September. You could encourage them to take part in this year’s reading challenge which is called Silly Squad- details about it are in our latest newsletter. I hope you all have a great weekend. I am looking forward to meeting up with the Year 3 next week. Remember that the starting time for the ‘additional class’ each week is 9.15 am and that they finish at 3.15pm. Drop off and pick up is from the infant playground.

We welcomed the Year 5 back this week and all those who attended appear to have had a good time – they all certainly appeared very happy when they were outside. Next week it is the turn of the Year 4 children and I hope they are looking forward to it because we are certainly looking forward to seeing them. All those that returned our Google forms have been given a place and will have received a notification about their child having a place. As I said in a previous letter, we cannot guarantee that they will have their class teacher but even the children who were not with their class teacher this week had a good time. May I ask that if parents change their minds about their child attending school that they inform the school as soon as possible so we can make sure that the children are as evenly distributed as possible between the two groups.

As we are having more children in school (which is great) we have noticed that there are more cars starting to pull up in front of the school. Whilst we are not full due to social distancing, parents are having to be more spread out whilst dropping off and picking up their children so can I please ask that parents who are using cars to transport their children to and from school do follow our usual rules for cars by not parking in front of the school. We can still use the church car park for parking at the beginning and the end of the school day.

I sent out the new teacher list yesterday. As I explained in the letter, we cannot have the usual class transition because of the current situation but we will try and ensure that all children have some preparation for September and do get to see their new teacher (even if it is by video link). We have been told that we will have full classes in September (thank goodness) but I do not want to say too much about what will happen until I see the official guidance. Hopefully though, we will be allowed to have parents back on site and if we can, we will hold our ‘Meet the Teacher‘ sessions then. If this is not possible we may try something ’interactive’.

I hope you all have a great weekend. After some of the glorious weather of this week we are expected to have some more thunderstorms over the weekend. However, the weather looks good for next week even if it’s not going to be as hot as it was this week.

It has been a very busy week for me – trying to manage all these government guidelines is proving very trying for me. As you know we have now made arrangements for Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 to join us for a few days to allow them to have a little ‘closure’ with the school year. It has been very complex to organise whilst still following regulations and I know there was a glitch with the form that we sent out which did not help things. Some parents have thought that our timeframes for collecting information have been a little tight but unfortunately this is how we have to operate at the moment. All I can say is that we have really tried to please as many people as possible and I hope that the children who do come into school have an enjoyable time.

I have some sad news to share with you in that we are losing some of our teachers this term. Miss Bradford, Mr da Rocha, Mrs Pittson and Mrs Zegallo are leaving us. I am sure that you will join me in thanking them all for all their hard work and dedication that they have given Little Heath and wish them all every success for their futures. We have appointed new teachers to replace them and they are Miss Hannah Huntley and Mrs Andri-Anna Bidder. I will be sending out the new class list soon so you will know which teacher your child will have next year. As yet the government have not sent out any guidance relating to September so how we will operate then is still a mystery to us. Some people seem to think that we receive this information before the announcement is made by the government but I can assure you that this is not the case – very often we hear the announcements at the same time as you and then we have to wait for the guidance to be sent to us to inform us about how they want us to implement the changes. It is very frustrating but I suppose we all have to make allowances during these unchartered times.

I hope you all have a good weekend –the weather is a little mixed but the good news is that summer appears to return next week. It is something to look forward to as well as welcoming back some of our Year 5 children.

The weather has certainly changed this week and it does seem a long time since we had that lovely sunny weather that made us believe that summer has truly arrived. However, we did need some rain and at least the farmers are glad to have it. The wet weather has not dampened the spirits of the children in school though and all those that are here appear very happy which makes us happy.

You will all know by now that the government have scrapped their plans to have all primary age children return to school before the summer. I know that there has been a mixed reaction to this and we are still awaiting further guidance on how we are to proceed –we just find out the information at the same time as you. In fact, since we are in school you sometimes hear it first! There is still the possibility that some year groups may be able to return before the summer but we are waiting for the guidance before we make any decisions.

I know that home schooling can be a challenge and that some parents are worried that their children are going to ‘fall behind’ but as all children are in the same position this is not going to happen. When children do return to school we will assess where they are and then make the necessary provision to help them move forward with their learning. We are going to review home learning and see if we can make any adjustments to help support parents and children at home with this but it is impossible to provide the same service that the children would get in the classroom. If you are experiencing any difficulties with the home learning may I remind you that you can email the class teachers and they will get back to you with some support. Please can I just remind you though, that when addressing members of staff, that you do so in a respectful manner as we are all working incredibly hard at this time.

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend. I know that the weather is not as good as it has been but I do hope that you can get out for some walks because being in touch with nature does help lift the spirits.

It feels strange writing my blog in my school office because I have not done that for a very long time – it makes me feel that everything is back to the way it was although we are still far from that.  Since Monday we have had more staff and children in school which is great. We have all had to get used to the new ‘Covid 19‘ measures that are now in place but everyone appears to be doing very well with this. Parents have also been very good in following these although can I remind parents who do have children in school that they are only allowed on the school premises by invitation and if they do have any queries they should contact the school by email or telephone. School staff will bring children to the school gates at the end of the day so parents do not need to come onto the site to collect them. I know the staggered start and finish times can take a bit of getting used to but in a couple of weeks it will feel like we have been running school like this forever. May I also remind you that if you have not reserved a place for your child in school and they are in one of the eligible year groups to attend you must contact the office before you bring them in and we will then let you know when we have made the necessary arrangements to allow them to return.

For the children who still cannot come into school I hope they are still getting on well with their home learning. Now they have been doing that for a while I am sure they are getting used to learning in this style. If a good routine for carrying out the learning has been established I know that children will be accepting of this as their ‘new norm’. All the teachers will all be carrying out more ’Zoom’ sessions with the children next week so it will be good if all of the children can have some learning to share with the teachers on this so the teacher can support them personally with their learning.

At the moment there are no plans to have any more year groups return to school so I think we will be continuing as we are for now but who knows how things are going to develop –there are so many reports and guidance out there that it is difficult to know what is the best course of action. We will keep you up to date though of any new notifications that we receive.

I hope you have a good weekend. The weather is not as good as it has been but as we do need rain we should not complain –we do not want to have to deal with a water shortage on top of everything else.

I hope you have enjoyed watching the latest staff performance which has been uploaded onto our website. It is a much longer offering than we gave you last time but we do feel it is good for the children to see us in a positive way that will hopefully make them smile.

The majority of my week has been spent in preparations for the possibility that we could be opening the school to more children on June 1^st. I know that there has been a lot of discussion about this and there are many different theories whether it is the right thing or not which can be very confusing for parents. I hope it will reassure you to know that we have spent a lot of time making the school ‘COVID 19’ safe and there is not anything more that we could have done to prepare for your children’s return.

Next week is half term and so there will be no home learning for the children. I am sure that the children (and you) will be glad of the break. At least some of the restrictions have been lifted so we can travel further afield for our daily exercise – it does make a difference being able to look at different scenery.

Whatever you do I hope you all have a great time. I look forward to welcoming more of you back after half term. How many that is will depend on whether the government endorses the opening of the school to more children or not – I am sure that you will find out at the same time as us but we will contact you ourselves to ensure that you are clear about which children will be allowed to come in on June 1^st.

I would like to start by apologising for the late publication of my blog last week. As I communicated by ‘film’ last week there were a few technical hitches but we did manage to resolve them so I could go live. You will have seen from my video that my hair is in definite need of attention – I have actually built up the courage to allow my daughter to trim my fringe later today and I may do another video presentation next week so you can see the results! The big news this week of course is the possibility that schools may open to children other than those of key workers from June 1st. I have been inundated with information from county and the DfE since the government announcement on Sunday and I have been working through it all week in preparation for us possibly opening the school to more children from June 1st. We have sent out information gathering forms to parents who may be affected but I have not sent out a general notification to all parents yet and I will not do this until I know what offer the school will be able to make from June 1st.  Let me be very clear, all of us at Little Heath want to get more pupils back into school as soon as it is safe to do so. Our staff are devoted to the care and education of the young people in this school and they do not want to see classrooms empty for a day longer than they need to be. However, in making our decision we have to ensure that pupil and staff safety remains our primary concern and that it may not be possible to welcome back all pupils on June 1st in the way the prime minister described. Once we have carried out all the necessary risk assessments and health and safety checks I will contact all parents about how we are going to move forward. In the short term though nothing has changed and the children’s education is still being provided through our online learning packages which can be accessed on our website. I hope that the children are becoming more used to accessing their education from home - remember if they have a regular routine to follow it makes the home learning process a lot easier. I hope you enjoy the weekend. The government have relaxed some of the restrictions of Lockdown so we can enjoy a few more pursuits and see a few more people - all at the correct social distance of course. The weather is going to get warmer again which also makes people feel better as well.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who sent me kind messages about how much they liked our 'catch up’ message that we sent out to everyone. We thought it would be a good idea for the children to see our faces again so that they know we are still around. We are going to try and do more in the future so that the children can keep seeing us and do not feel that we are so far away. We are also missing the children so any pictures or work that they are completing is much appreciated.

I hope the home learning is going well. As I said last week all the children can do is their best and if they are really struggling with anything, either contact the class teacher by email or move onto something else. We are going to have to modify the curriculum whenever the children return and we can always catch up with any ‘gaps’ then. The important thing is that the children experience ‘learning’ every day so that the transition back to full time schooling will not be so much of a shock when we do return - whenever that will be.

As yet I have received no information about schools re-opening. Please do not pay too much attention to what is written in the papers about schools re-opening. For some reason journalists appear to want schools to re-open but no education body is going to let that happen until the safety of both children and staff can be guaranteed as far as possible during these challenging times.

That is all for now. Keep safe and well and let us all hope for the return of the warm weather.

When I realised that it was time for me to do a blog again I was amazed because I cannot believe that it is officially a week since the end of the Easter holidays - it made me realise that even in lockdown time can fly. I hope that you are all keeping well and that time is passing quite quickly for you as well. I am sure that you are all like me and find there are times when everything is fine and there are other times when you just want to go back to your former life. When I feel like that I just tell myself that there is no point in going through everything that we have for it all to be undone by returning to our former ‘normality’ too quickly.

I hope you are not finding the home schooling too challenging. I know it can be difficult for you to ensure that your children are completing their daily learning whilst trying to do your own job from home. We are aware of the difficulties and so is everyone in education - modifications will be  made to the curriculum when the children return so please do not panic that your children may fall behind. Remember the important thing at the moment is to keep everyone happy and healthy during a difficult time in our lives.

A good way to do this to ensure that children are happy and settled is to give them a daily routine. Limit their time online and also to the amount of news they see as this can cause them to have unnecessary anxiety. If you think your children are really struggling we have been told to advise you to use ‘Mind Ed’ for guidance on how to support your child. Advice has also been given out that you should try and limit the amount of sweet treats that you give your children as it does not do them any good but I must admit I find this a difficult one to stick to myself!

Remember we would love you to share anything you do at home to keep spirits up whilst everyone is at home - an example of a really creative piece of work or a picture of something interesting you may have seen on a family walk.

That is all for now. I hope we can all be together soon as all the staff are missing the sound of children’s laughter whilst we are in school. Please stay safe and I will be in contact again soon.

I hope you are all well and have survived your second week of lockdown –I never thought that I would be in a position where a visit to the supermarket is both terrifying and exciting.  I am unfortunately not one of those people who had previously signed up for online shopping and it has so far proved impossible to get signed up now so I will have to continue with the weekly visit to the supermarket – at least you do find items on the shelves now.

I hope that the home learning is going well - remember that if you have any problems that the school staff are contactable by email. As it is officially the Easter holidays we are not setting the daily learning that we have been doing for the next two weeks although we are going to ask the children to write or draw pictures for NHS staff (please see Class Pages for more information) to help give them a morale boost at this difficult time. I do not think that we can thank enough all the NHS staff and carers who are in the front line helping to fight this awful virus and I will do anything I can to support them.

That is all for now. Remember to keep yourself safe by going out as little as possible and to keep washing your hands. I will speak to you all again in a couple of weeks.

Dear Everyone

I hope you are all well and not finding the lockdown too difficult. It is a different way to live and I am sure we have all been going through a week of readjustment this week. My husband (who is also working from home) keeps suggesting all the jobs that we can get done and I am now finding that the reason all those jobs do no get done is not just because I do not have the time - I really just do not want to do them!

I hope the children are all managing their work well and it is not proving too much of a challenge to motivate them to do it. It is a period of re-adjustment for them as well and it may take some of them longer to adapt to their new routine. Remember if you do need any support with their learning you can contact all the teachers by email. Please do not come to the school for support. We do have a skeleton staff in school to provide childcare for critical and key workers but we need to keep these numbers as low as possible to enable us to manage this horrible virus.

I am sure that many of you, like me, joined in with the national clapping to show our appreciation of all the NHS workers who are at the front line in fighting this virus. It made me feel quite emotional to hear all the noise and I hope they do feel appreciated. I also feel that we should show our appreciation for all the people who are continuing to work at this difficult time such as shopkeepers, delivery drivers and cleaners. I know the list is much longer than this but without all these dedicated people the country would fall apart and we do not need that at this critical time.

Keep yourself safe and remember to keep washing your hands and observe social distancing.

I am not going to include much in my blog this week because I have already shared many communications with you. These are indeed extraordinary times and they are certainly circumstances that I never expected to find myself in but then everyone is feeling like that. I do not know when the school will be open as normal again but let us hope that it is soon. I think it is only today that it has really hit home to the children that school is actually going to finish and whilst some of them appear excited at the prospect I know they are going to miss being here and we will miss seeing them.

We have sent many communications out about the work that we are going to provide for them so I will not discuss it again but do try to get them into a routine so they are completing some work every day. This will ensure that they maintain good learning practices for when they return to school. Staff can be communicated with by email (during normal school hours which are 8.20am – 3.20pm) but please remember that the work will not be exactly the same as they do in the school because the teachers are not there to teach them in person. Also remember that reading is very important and so it is also important that they read something every single day.

We will be sending you regular updates about the situation so please keep checking the website. I will see a few of you next week but to everybody else I hope you all keep well and I look forward to seeing you all again in the not too distance future.

Looking out of my window today it looks like I am working in a sports centre as everyone is dressed in sportswear. As you all know it is Sports Relief Day which explains the clothes and the children have been taking part in extra sports activities today which I would like to thank Mr Mills for organising. I would also like to thank you all for the donations that you sent in. We have not got the final total yet but I will let you know how much we raised next week.

My week started early as I was at the Albert Hall on Sunday with some of the choir members. It was a very impressive event and all the children really enjoyed performing in such an impressive venue. Although it was an early start for everybody for a Sunday (8.00am) the children all did themselves and the school proud – it was a pleasure to be with them for the day. I would like to thank Mrs Lawrence, Miss Bradford and Mrs Robinson for preparing the children for the event and for supporting them on the day.

The Coronavirus has been dominating the news again and has entered into our school community again. Public Health England are now advising people with flu like symptoms to self-isolate and I have sent a letter home about this today. As I have informed you I am following Public Health England advice all of the time and I will contact you if anything needs to change about the way we are responding to the Coronavirus.

Fortunately, the children in school appear to be unaffected by the situation caused by the Coronavirus and are going about their daily lives in the usual way. We finished second in the Potters Bar School Indoor Athletic Tournament this week and the girls have got a football match against Brookmans Park next week. We also have the Year 2 assembly taking place next week so there is plenty to look forward to.  All these events will take place unless we get guidance advising us not to do so.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

The big excitement in school this week was ‘World Book Day’. All of the children looked really great in their costumes and we have put some pictures up on our webpage so you can see them. All of the staff followed a theme this year in that we all wore t-shirts with quotes from books that we have enjoyed reading. The idea for ‘World Book Day’ this year was to share a million stories as they want everyone to share stories they have enjoyed with their families and friends. Hopefully, by us all sharing quotes from books we have enjoyed we will encourage the children to extend their reading selection.

Next week is another exciting week in school because it is Science Week. We are staring off the week with children all planting trees around the grounds on Monday morning. They will need some outdoor footwear such as wellingtons as it will probably be muddy due to all the rain we have had recently. On Thursday all the classes will be taking part in a ‘Science CSI’ experience where they will be using scientific investigational approaches to solve problems. They will also be carrying out a number of other STEM investigations in class. We believe in promoting science because it encourages children to find solutions to problems through investigation which is a great life skill to have.

Next Friday is Sports Relief Day and all the children can come into school in sports kit if they make a contribution of at least a £1 towards the Sports Relief fund. All classes will also be taking part in a fitness circuit to help celebrate the fact that it is ‘Sports Relief Day’.

I would like to take this opportunity to mention how we are responding to the Coronavirus outbreak. As I mentioned in my letter earlier in the week no-one associated with the school had contracted the Coronavirus. We will keep you up to date with any developments but it has been made clear to all heads that no school can close unless directed by Public Health England – even if there is a case of Coronavirus in the school. We have also been asked to point out that most people who contract the virus will only suffer mild symptoms and that children are least affected by it. We have been told that the symptoms are very similar to having flu. Also remember that the best way to stop the spread of the virus is through good hand hygiene and using and disposing of tissues when you cough or sneeze i.e – ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it.’

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend. I am going with the choir to the Albert Hall on Sunday and I am very much looking forward to that as are the children – it will be a wonderful experience for all those taking part.

I hope you all had a great half term and are glad to be back at school. As usual everyone has settled back into their routine very quickly but I would have liked better weather to welcome us back. I am bored with the dark mornings and wet weather so I hope as March arrives we can experience some fresh, spring weather.

I know that with all the news coverage that some parents are getting very anxious about the coronavirus but I would like to reassure everyone that we are following all the guidance and sending you updates as we receive them. We have been told that the risk of catching it is still very low in England and if you follow good basic hygiene you reduce the risk of all viruses spreading dramatically – good hand cleaning is especially important and to support this we are putting hand sanitisers in all the classrooms.

Next week is another busy week in school. On Tuesday we have the NSPCC coming into school to talk to the children in KS1 and KS2 about how they can keep themselves safe. Thursday is World Book Day when we would like all the children to come into school dressed as their favourite book character. We would also like them to bring in a book they enjoy reading as we are going to have a whole school reading session during the morning. This is a very important day for us at Little Heath as we love to promote the importance of reading.

Some members of the choir are also going to perform at the Albert Hall on Sunday 8^th March. This is a great event for them to attend and I know they are looking forward to taking part. I would like to thank Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs Robinson and Miss Bradford for all their hard work in preparing them for this concert.

I hope you have a lovely weekend – more rain is forecast but I hope you will not let it dampen your spirits. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

I feel that I do not need to write this blog to inform you of what has happened in school because we have had a lot of parents in school this week. On Monday we had a Sharing Assembly and lots of parents were in school to see their children present work that they were proud of. I know each child only does this once a year but they do get excited when they know their parents are coming into school to see something they have done. It is also good to see parents being very supportive of all the children and not just their own because it is nerve-wracking to present your work in front of a large crowd and it is good to have a strong positive vibe when you do it. Presenting to a large crowd though is a good life skill to master which is why we have the children do this.

On Wednesday we had our Open Afternoon and loads of parents came into school to see their child’s learning from the last half term. Although it has been a short half term the children have covered a lot of learning and I know that this is another event the children really look forward to as they are proud to share their work with their parents. I have got lots of positive feedback from that event but if you do have any queries after seeing your child’s work please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher or myself.

Although it has been cold recently this has not stopped the children taking off their coats and jackets outside when they get hot from running around. This in itself is not a problem but when we try to return them to the correct children we are still finding many items with no name labels inside. Can I please ask that over the half term holiday that you check your children’s uniform to ensure that all items are clearly labelled?

We now have the half term holiday to look forward to. I cannot believe that the last holiday we had was Christmas as that seems a long time ago and yet it was only six weeks since we started the new term. I hope you all have a great time and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, 24^th February.

I got a real shock when I was setting the dates for next week when I realised that we break up for half term on Friday - where has the time gone? We have even had some lovely sunny weather this week which could allow us to believe that spring is on its way although I think some of the weather we are expected to experience this weekend will let us know that it is still winter.

As some of you know, I am using our sports premium money this year to pay for the children to attend an ‘outdoor and adventurous’ activity. The Reception children and Years 1-3 have been signed up to attend the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead for a ‘rubber tubing’ experience. The Reception children went on Wednesday and even though a couple of them were a little timid and frightened at first they all really enjoyed themselves. I do think it is good that we can provide the children with these adventures outside of their normal experiences as it is good to extend their experiences in all areas of their lives. Next week the children in Year 2 will get the chance to go to the Snow Centre.

Next week is a busy week in school. On Monday morning we have one of our Sharing Assemblies and if your child is taking part in this one you will have been notified by letter this week. On Wednesday afternoon it is an ‘Open Afternoon’ for parents. This means that parents with children in Years 1 – 6 are allowed to come into school to look at their children’s learning over the last half term. We run these afternoons from 3.00pm – 4.30pm to enable parents to share the learning with their children.

I hope that if the expected wind comes this weekend that you do not get blown away.  Excuse me if I come out dancing on Monday morning but I am going to watch the ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ tour this weekend and it may give me some ideas that I want to try for myself. For those romantics amongst you it is Valentine’s Day next Friday so if you want to be well prepared for the day you will need to organise something this weekend to ensure that your loved one feels loved and cherished. Have a good weekend.

I cannot believe that it is the last day of January –where did that month go? Thankfully that means that winter is flying by and before we know it Spring will be upon us –let us hope that it means an end to the dark skies and the rain – I think I can manage anything rather than the endless rainy weather that we have been experiencing recently.

However, enough about the weather and let us turn to more pleasant things. This morning we all had a treat in school because it was the Year 3 assembly. They gave us a great presentation of the learning that they have covered so far in Year 3 – they did an excellent job and should all be very proud of themselves. I would also like to thank Miss Davis, Mrs Reynolds and Mrs Ameen for all their hard work in helping them put the assembly together.

When I was writing my blog last week you will remember me telling you that I was getting ready to go to the 02 with the choir to perform in a Young Voices concert. This year we were lucky enough to be put into two of the boxes to perform so it meant that we all got to experience a little bit of VIP treatment. The parents who came to watch were not so lucky because their seats were high up but they still managed to see all of us. There was a great atmosphere and the children really enjoyed being part of such a large show. I would like to thank them all for representing the school so well and I would also like to thank Miss Bradford, Mrs Lawrence and Mrs Robinson for all their hard work in preparing the choir for this - they have been practising for this since September. The next big thing for the choir is getting ready for a performance at the Albert Hall in March –this showbiz life is very exciting.

You may also remember that we had a Mufti day last Friday to help raise money for those affected by the Australian bushfires. I am glad to say that we managed to raise an impressive £354.29 towards the fund and I would like to thank all of you who gave so generously.

That is all for now. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.