This week has been a week of endings for the school. Yesterday we said goodbye to our Big Acorns, Year 1s and Year 6 children who have been in our provision. It has been so lovely to have them in school during the last few weeks. We are just sad that we could not have all our classes back with us.
Year 6 had their leavers assembly, out on the field. EVERY Year 6 child and their parents were there. It was great to have them all together and to have the opportunity to celebrate all they have achieved in Primary school. The words they said about each other were spot on- they know each other so well. The songs they sang were beautiful and I know that teary eyes were everywhere as we listened to them. We will all miss them and we wish them well as they go on to Secondary school.
Today we say goodbye to our Key Worker Pods. The children in these pods, some of whom have been with us since lockdown, have been a complete delight to have in the school. I know that the parents of these children have been very brave to entrust their children to us during this time, especially at the start. Thank you for letting them be with us. They have been a group that have formed real friendships across the age ranges and every member of staff who have worked with them over these months have really enjoyed their time with them. I want to thank the parents of these children who arrived en masse the other evening with crates of goodies for the team- thank you for your thoughtfulness.
Today the Year 5s and Year 2s have joined us for transition and it has been lovely to welcome them back, even if only for a short time. They have grown so much and have been so eager to talk and share their experiences.
So as this chapter ends, I would like to say some thank yous:
Thanks to my staff
They have been incredible. They have worked tirelessly throughout this period to try and support parents and children as much as they could. They have set learning, provided feedback, emailed, made story videos, made phone calls, done home visits, met children at the school gates to talk things through, held TEAMS transition meetings with year groups not able to get into school and tried to do all they could to make this manageable. Jayne Edwards and Jenny Adesina have worked throughout this time, remotely, managing all the things they normally do and much much more and I am so grateful to them for all they have done and continue to do.
Alongside this, staff have been in school throughout this time, planning and leading teaching and learning for the children we could have in school, cleaning, decluttering, cleaning some more and they have done all this with humour and positivity throughout.
It hasn’t always been easy, and we have had to learn as we go but each one of them have tried their best, in very challenging circumstances, with families and children of their own to care for. Each one of my team has been totally committed and dedicated to making sure we strive to keep the children at the heart of all we do.
Thank you, team, for your ongoing hard work, you have been amazing :)
Thanks to the children
Thank you to the children of my school, both the children who have been in with us and those of you who we have not been able to open our doors to. You have done so well during this time. You have worked hard at home, completing remote learning and asking lots of questions and trying your best in a very very difficult time, one I know will have felt very scary at times as well. So many of you have chosen to keep motivated and stay engaged in your learning throughout this time- you should be so proud of yourselves. I am really proud of you.
I am so looking forward to having you all back in September. Not seeing you all has been very hard and something I hope I don’t have to ever do again. Well done to you all and I will see you soon.
Thanks to the parents
Thank you, parents and carers, for all you have done to support your children throughout this time. I know it has been hard work. I know having to home educate your children while needing to work has been a HUGE challenge and I am grateful to all of you who have worked tirelessly to motivate and teach your child/children every day. Your hard work will pay off. We know in September there will be gaps that cannot be helped, but those parents who have striven to support their child learn throughout this time please know your hard work and commitment will have ensured these gaps are not so big that we cannot fill them. Thank you.
To those of you who have taken to the time to email or contact me personally with kind words, thank you, I have so appreciated it.
Mr Guy thank you, for standing up yesterday and saying what you did, not only did I value that but so did my team.
Thanks to the governors
Throughout this time, I have been supported by my Governing Board. They have challenged and asked questions, just as they should and each one has been a real support to me and I am so grateful to them. Thank you.
I know that I have not been perfect in all this, I know there are things, that on reflection, I could have done differently or better, but I have never had to lead a school through a pandemic before. Like everyone else, I could not have not anticipated this. I do know, like everyone, I have tried my best to make the right decisions to keep my staff and children safe and to give them the best we could during this time with the knowledge and experience we had at the time. I have tried to keep parents informed as best as I could while trawling through daily government guidance. It won’t have been perfect, but I tried.
I will be sending out information about September next week so please do keep your eye out for this. It is likely to be a lengthy document as in September we will still need to do things differently so please read it.
Thank you all for your patience and support throughout this time and I hope you have a good holiday.
The Magic Box
I will put in the box,
Jasper throwing the ball really high
A laugh from Millie when she catches the green ball
The bouncing of the ball as it leaves Henry’s hands
I will put in the box,
A wet Mrs Wannell from a water balloon thrown by Millie
A swirl from the hoop spinning around Annabelle’s waist
The crackling of pinecones when they hit the bucket
I will put in the box,
Alma getting her first ever reading certificate at this school
A flutter of pages from one of Eddie’s books
Florence playing on CBBC iPlayer
I will put in the box,
The slippery, slimy soap from never ending hand washing
The shimmying of Emmie May’s dance moves as she performs “one last time”
I will put in the box,
Jack digging dirt to make a bug hotel
Ben sitting on the mat to listen to the story
An energetic warm up getting ready for our run
Belle whizzing around the track leaving us behind
I will put in the box,
The funny giggles from James
The football skills from Bertie
Aurelia playing ttrockstars
Archie wearing his own clothes
Year 6 had their leavers assembly, out on the field. EVERY Year 6 child and their parents were there. It was great to have them all together and to have the opportunity to celebrate all they have achieved in Primary school. The words they said about each other were spot on- they know each other so well. The songs they sang were beautiful and I know that teary eyes were everywhere as we listened to them. We will all miss them and we wish them well as they go on to Secondary school.
Today we say goodbye to our Key Worker Pods. The children in these pods, some of whom have been with us since lockdown, have been a complete delight to have in the school. I know that the parents of these children have been very brave to entrust their children to us during this time, especially at the start. Thank you for letting them be with us. They have been a group that have formed real friendships across the age ranges and every member of staff who have worked with them over these months have really enjoyed their time with them. I want to thank the parents of these children who arrived en masse the other evening with crates of goodies for the team- thank you for your thoughtfulness.
Today the Year 5s and Year 2s have joined us for transition and it has been lovely to welcome them back, even if only for a short time. They have grown so much and have been so eager to talk and share their experiences.
So as this chapter ends, I would like to say some thank yous:
Thanks to my staff
They have been incredible. They have worked tirelessly throughout this period to try and support parents and children as much as they could. They have set learning, provided feedback, emailed, made story videos, made phone calls, done home visits, met children at the school gates to talk things through, held TEAMS transition meetings with year groups not able to get into school and tried to do all they could to make this manageable. Jayne Edwards and Jenny Adesina have worked throughout this time, remotely, managing all the things they normally do and much much more and I am so grateful to them for all they have done and continue to do.
Alongside this, staff have been in school throughout this time, planning and leading teaching and learning for the children we could have in school, cleaning, decluttering, cleaning some more and they have done all this with humour and positivity throughout.
It hasn’t always been easy, and we have had to learn as we go but each one of them have tried their best, in very challenging circumstances, with families and children of their own to care for. Each one of my team has been totally committed and dedicated to making sure we strive to keep the children at the heart of all we do.
Thank you, team, for your ongoing hard work, you have been amazing :)
Thanks to the children
Thank you to the children of my school, both the children who have been in with us and those of you who we have not been able to open our doors to. You have done so well during this time. You have worked hard at home, completing remote learning and asking lots of questions and trying your best in a very very difficult time, one I know will have felt very scary at times as well. So many of you have chosen to keep motivated and stay engaged in your learning throughout this time- you should be so proud of yourselves. I am really proud of you.
I am so looking forward to having you all back in September. Not seeing you all has been very hard and something I hope I don’t have to ever do again. Well done to you all and I will see you soon.
Thanks to the parents
Thank you, parents and carers, for all you have done to support your children throughout this time. I know it has been hard work. I know having to home educate your children while needing to work has been a HUGE challenge and I am grateful to all of you who have worked tirelessly to motivate and teach your child/children every day. Your hard work will pay off. We know in September there will be gaps that cannot be helped, but those parents who have striven to support their child learn throughout this time please know your hard work and commitment will have ensured these gaps are not so big that we cannot fill them. Thank you.
To those of you who have taken to the time to email or contact me personally with kind words, thank you, I have so appreciated it.
Mr Guy thank you, for standing up yesterday and saying what you did, not only did I value that but so did my team.
Thanks to the governors
Throughout this time, I have been supported by my Governing Board. They have challenged and asked questions, just as they should and each one has been a real support to me and I am so grateful to them. Thank you.
I know that I have not been perfect in all this, I know there are things, that on reflection, I could have done differently or better, but I have never had to lead a school through a pandemic before. Like everyone else, I could not have not anticipated this. I do know, like everyone, I have tried my best to make the right decisions to keep my staff and children safe and to give them the best we could during this time with the knowledge and experience we had at the time. I have tried to keep parents informed as best as I could while trawling through daily government guidance. It won’t have been perfect, but I tried.
I will be sending out information about September next week so please do keep your eye out for this. It is likely to be a lengthy document as in September we will still need to do things differently so please read it.
Thank you all for your patience and support throughout this time and I hope you have a good holiday.
The Magic Box
I will put in the box,
Jasper throwing the ball really high
A laugh from Millie when she catches the green ball
The bouncing of the ball as it leaves Henry’s hands
I will put in the box,
A wet Mrs Wannell from a water balloon thrown by Millie
A swirl from the hoop spinning around Annabelle’s waist
The crackling of pinecones when they hit the bucket
I will put in the box,
Alma getting her first ever reading certificate at this school
A flutter of pages from one of Eddie’s books
Florence playing on CBBC iPlayer
I will put in the box,
The slippery, slimy soap from never ending hand washing
The shimmying of Emmie May’s dance moves as she performs “one last time”
I will put in the box,
Jack digging dirt to make a bug hotel
Ben sitting on the mat to listen to the story
An energetic warm up getting ready for our run
Belle whizzing around the track leaving us behind
I will put in the box,
The funny giggles from James
The football skills from Bertie
Aurelia playing ttrockstars
Archie wearing his own clothes