The end of term is upon us. I know that back in January I did not think that we would get to this point with the children back at school for face to face teaching but we have and I hope they have had a really enjoyable three weeks. We have certainly been glad to have them all back in school and we are all looking forward to having them back for the whole summer term. We will be able to do more with the children during that term and we are starting with having the extra-curricular sports clubs running again when they return – I always think that these really help to improve the atmosphere in school.

 I hope you all have a brilliant holiday. You all deserve it because the children had to work very hard with their remote learning and you had to work very hard supporting them whilst doing your own job as well. It was not an easy situation for anyone but we have all got through it and for that everyone should feel proud of themselves.

Enjoy eating all the chocolate over Easter and I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday, 13^th April.

 

The children have been very excited today because it has been ’Red Nose Day’. They find it really exciting to wear a red nose - even this year when all the noses are a bit harder and a bit more difficult to keep on. The brains behind ‘Red Nose Day’ (or Comic Relief as it used to be known) are very clever because there are now lots of different designs for the children to purchase so they all want more than one. We even had to make a couple of trips to Sainsbury’s because we ran out but at least it is all for a good cause. So far we have raised £434 which is great and I would like to thank you all for your generous donations.

Next week is our last week at school before the Easter break. In one way it is difficult to believe because the children have only been in school for two weeks but, from another perspective, it has been a long time since Christmas and having to educate the children remotely was a lot more work than doing it face to face in the classroom so we are looking forward to the break. After Easter though (hopefully as we always have to think now) we will all return for the summer term, and, if the government plan goes as expected, we will be able to hold events such as Sports Day, which are exciting events that help to bring variety to the school calendar. We will be starting the after school clubs (with Covid restrictions in place) the first week back after the Easter holidays so that will be something for the children to look forward to. Please check the newsletter so that you know what clubs are running and how to sign your children up for them.

Remember that as next Friday is the last day of term we finish early. We normally all finish at 2.00pm but due to Covid restrictions we cannot all leave together so below is the staggered timetable of when the children will leave school:

Nursery - 1.15pm from Double gates at KS2 entrance

Reception - 1.30pm from Double gates at KS2 entrance

Year 1 - 1.30pm from KS1 playground gate

Year 2 - 1.35pm from KS1 playground gate

Year 3 - 1.40pm from Double gates at KS2 entrance

Year 4 - 1.50pm from Double gates at KS2 entrance

Year 5 - 1.40pm from KS1 playground gate

Year 6 - 1.50pm from pedestrian entrance to KS2 playground

Have a good weekend – it is going to be a little warmer than it has been and then the temperatures are going to continue to rise into next week. Hopefully this is a sign that Spring is definitely on its way.

 

Just three sleeps to go and we will all be together again. I cannot believe how quickly these last two weeks have gone – I hope they have gone as quickly for you. We are all really looking forward to everyone being reunited. Having Science Week and World Book Day to look forward to is also a great way for us all to come together again.

I know that your home routines will have been altered during lockdown (they had to be to cope with all the changes) but now is the time to start getting back in to the ‘coming to school’ routine and one thing that I would like you to do is to start getting the children back to their normal bedtime. We found that after the last lockdown the children were very tired so you really need to ensure they are getting enough sleep. Even if the children say they are not tired they can go to bed and read because then they will at least be resting. A doctor once informed me that sleep is a habit so it is something that can be altered and if the children are sent to bed at a regular time they will soon get used to falling asleep at that time.

I do not want to dampen the mood so I will not make any more requests here. We know it will take time to re-establish school routines with the children and we do not expect them to get everything done in a day. Have a great weekend and I really look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.