It has been a very challenging week this week with lots of poorly children and staff. We currently have two very nasty bugs doing the rounds; a horrible cough that lasts for ages and Norovirus. We are monitoring the numbers of cases of Norovirus we have and liaising with the public health team for advice. You will have received a letter with guidance about what we can all do to prevent infection spreading.
In school we’ve responded by ensuring that children wash their hands regularly (all toilet facilities have soap and hot water); our cleaning team are disinfecting high contact areas such as door handles and light switches throughout the day; classes have removed soft toys and messy play until further notice and toys are disinfected after use. We urge families to ensure that children remain at home for at least 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting to help prevent further cases.
Parents Evenings
You should have received a communication from our school office this week offering you the opportunity to book a Parents’ Evening appointment week commencing 5th February. Please note that although bookings are done virtually, meetings are face to face in your child’s classroom. This is a chance for you to discuss your child’s progress since the start of the year and to find out more about the aspects of school that they enjoy. We will also share with you some examples of children’s learning and discuss targets to help them progress further.
If your child has an Individual Education Plan, this will be shared with you at this meeting. Appointments last 10 minutes. In order that the appointments run on time, please help us to stick to timings as much as possible. If you have a more detailed issue you wish to discuss, please make an appointment with your child’s teacher at another time.
This week in Collective Worship our theme has been our value Agapé. This value is central to our vision ‘Growing Happy Caring Hearts and Minds’. Children were able to discuss what Agapé means and can identify how they can show love both at home and school.
Withy’s Wild Tribe!
It’s been a chilly and wet week but the children haven’t seemed to notice! As the cold spell continues, please consider sending your child with gloves and a hat as well as their coat. As you know, we try to get children outside for their learning in addition to their normal break times. Our ‘Wild Tribe’ area is used come rain or shine and this is an aspect of the timetable that children really enjoy.
As an accredited Wild Tribe School, we’re very excited to be involved with
'The Wild Tribe Bronze Award' created by Arena Schools.
This is an optional award that should be completed at home and school. The aim of this award is for children to learn, try new experiences, have fun, build self-confidence, be resilient, work with and help others to appreciate nature through a series of tasks and challenges. Some are quite easy and straightforward, others will require determination, resilience, courage and perseverance. The award is divided into 3 levels, Bronze Silver and Gold and within each level there are 4 strands:
• Health and Wellbeing – to enable children to be happy, safe and healthy.
• Volunteering and Leading – to develop a sense of personal power and to understand how volunteering can help others in our school and community.
• Life Skills – skills that are needed throughout life such as riding a bike, lighting a fire, cooking.
• Respecting and Enjoying the Natural Environment - learning how to appreciate nature and all that it offers.
For further information about the award, please contact Mrs B Rhodes (Year 6 Teacher)
Lastly – please would dog owners who walk their dogs at school drop-off and pick-up be vigilant about picking up their dog’s poo near the school (dog owners should be doing this anyway) as we have had complaints. Thank you!
Have a great weekend, Mrs. E Jones