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.