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.