Congratulations to pupils, parents and staff for getting to the end of this half-term. Each time we are all faced with a new challenge I wonder how we are all going to cope, but the way everybody has risen to the latest situation has been amazing. Thank you for your support over the last few weeks, particularly the words (and biscuits) of encouragement to the school staff – they mean a great deal.
The feedback from many of you about what has worked with remote learning and what has proved a challenge to incorporate in your lives has been very helpful. At time of writing, we are not sure what the educational landscape will look like beyond 8th March and whilst I realise that no solution will suit everybody, I try to take into account as many viewpoints as practical. I anticipate being able to make some decisions following the Prime Minister’s briefing on Monday 22nd February and will communicate them as soon as I am able. It may be that he will say that all children will be coming back to school, it may be that there will be a phased return, or it may be that the existing arrangements will continue for a while longer. If it is anything other than a rapid full return, I will look to make some changes in terms of the support we can provide those of you with your children at home full time, but I will obviously need to work within the guidelines laid down by the government, which at the moment are very restrictive. Thank you for your understanding during this extremely difficult time.
Mental Health
Thank you for your support this week. The feedback from the children has been very encouraging, and we will look to include similar events longer term. As something to think about over the holiday, I give you some thoughts from Stephen Scott, CBE, Professor of Child Health and Behaviour at King’s College London.
Try keeping clear routines, and both adults and children should try to engage in one each of PACE activities per day:
Physical – going outside, or even doing a Joe Wicks type video exercise at home together promotes well-being, releases endorphins and reduces cortisol and other stress hormones.
Achieve – doing something that leads to a sense of achievement, be it for the child completing homework, or for the parent tidying a room. It is important to name the activity before and congratulate each other on getting it done.
Connect – planning and then chatting to somebody important to you, even if it is online. Yes, it is not the same as face-to-face but it does make everybody feel better.
Enjoyment – do something that you really like, and it doesn’t have to be virtuous. It could be eating a slice of your favourite cake! Again, celebrating that you have done it is important.
We live in hard times, and all of these activities will take effort. Sometimes we may fail, so we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. The good news is if we can implement the strategies described above, it will help our children’s general well-being and also reduce their risks for developing more serious mental health difficulties, such as feeling depressed or developing persistent behaviour problems.
Soup Lunch and Talent Show
I hope you enjoyed it! The children had great fun preparing and hopefully even greater fun watching. Thank you to those who helped them prepare. Thank you also to the staff for taking part with such good grace. Particular thanks to Matt Nicholson for putting it all together and getting it ready.
Our Christian value for the term has been Wisdom. We have thought about people who are wise, how wisdom is demonstrated, and about people from different religions who have shown wisdom.
Dates for the year (provisional)
15/02/2021 Half term week
31/03/2021 End of term
19/04/2021 Start of term
03/05/2021 Bank Holiday – school closed
28/05/2021 May Day
31/05/2021 Half term week
07/06/2021 Beech Class residential
01/07/2021 Sports Day
07/07/2021 Ash/Willow production (afternoon)
15/07/2021 Oak/Beech production (evening)
21/07/2021 Leavers’ Service
End of term
22/07/2021 INSET Day – school closed
01/09/2021 INSET Day – school closed
02/09/2021 Start of term