Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome back to the new “term” at St Joseph’s. It seems very strange to be saying that at this time with everything that is going on in the country and indeed across the world. I hope everyone managed to do some family things over the Easter break, given the current restrictions.
School was open every day over the Easter break and my sincere thanks to all the staff who came in for part of their own break to look after the children who were here. A particular thanks to Gladys Mante our cook who has been every day during the lockdown to prepare meals for staff and pupils, Martin Couch our IT Manager who has also been in almost every day, even the week we were closed, to supervise and update online learning for our pupils at home among the many other things he has been doing in school and Jolande our agency cleaner who travels from Stamford Hill every morning to deep clean the areas of the school which we are using.
School continues to be open for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers and as before, I will manage the staff who are able to be here each day to ensure that the children we have are safe and getting as close to a normal day as possible, while at the same time protecting the welfare of the staff and their families. We are not sure how long this will last for, at least the next 3 to 4 weeks when the Government will review the current lockdown. As I have mentioned before it is my fervent wish that we get the children back at some point this term, especially our Year 6 pupils, but the key message must remain that this can only happen when it is safe to do so.
Free School Meals
During the partial closure of schools, the Government and Local Authority are keen to continue to support families eligible for free school meals, including the recent introduction of a national voucher scheme. It may well be that with the economic effect of the current crisis, more of our families may now be eligible for free school meals. We have put a link on our school website for parents to check if they might be eligible and to apply for it. Even if you have not been eligible in the past, if your circumstances have changed it would certainly be worth checking.
Bimpe Fuwa RIP
I had the difficult task last week of announcing the sad passing of our recent former colleague Bimpe Fuwa. I have been keeping in regular touch with her family over the last week, particularly her brother in law, and he has let me know that her funeral will be on 30th April but obviously at this time only for immediate family. It is our intention to hold a special memorial service of some kind later in the year for Bimpe.
Dance Stables
As you may be aware, the Dance Stables Company has been working in school for some time running both after school clubs and some lunchtime clubs, including the very popular Tuesday Dance Club. They are now offering to run school club sessions at home both for current DS members and anyone else who would be interested. See the details below.
- School club sessions will run for 45 minutes and will be held once a month.
- Cost per session is only £5 or free to DS Online members. More information on memberships, pay as you go classes and timetables can be found at www.dancestables.co.uk
- Parents can book sessions via our website https://www.dancestables.co.uk/bookings-checkout/ds-school-club/book or send their enquiries to us at info@dancestables.co.uk or dsteam@dancestables.co.uk
- Parents and Students Be Social – We offer a bundle of YouTube tutorials and follow us on our social media pages www.facebook.com/dancestables.uk and @dancestables.ukChildren will also be given tasks to complete after the lesson and will receive DS Certificates (gold, silver, bronze) for their progress!
- We will be commencing our first lesson for St Joseph’s Junior School on Tuesday 21st April 2020 @ 4.00pm – 4.45pm. A great opportunity to catch up with your classmates, recap skills, learn new routines and dances to practice at home.
Again can I finish this letter by reminding everyone to make sure you are following the Government guidelines on social distancing etc. With the on-going nice weather and the continued lockdown in place, it remains tempting to get out more than is wise or safe. The more restraint we show now and the bigger sacrifices we can make both as individuals and as families, the quicker we will get through this crisis and start to get back to some kind of normality, including getting all our schools fully open again.
Please remain safe and healthy and let’s help and look out for each other during these difficult few weeks until God willing we get through this.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Please see letter below regarding the recent consultation on the federation.
Dear Parents/Carers,
Consultation on Proposed Federation
As you will all be aware, the consultation period regarding the proposed hard federation with St Joseph’s Infant School ended recently. Our Chair of Governors then communicated the decision made by the Governing Body of the Junior School on 8th April to parents, staff and the wider community. As I mentioned in my newsletter of 9th April, this was a very difficult decision and the governors took note of both the reasons in favour of the federation as well as the many concerns before deciding not to go ahead with the federation.
Many of you may have seen a letter from St Joseph’s Infants last Monday which seems to indicate that the matter of the federation is not closed and is now in the hands of the Diocese and the Local Authority. I know this has caused upset and disquiet among all staff and many parents who are confused as to where we now stand on this matter. The letter also seemed to indicate that this decision may be detrimental to the education of the children and future stability in both schools. Can I reassure everyone that as far as the Governing Body of the Junior School is concerned, the decision has been made, it is final and has been communicated to both the Diocese and the Local Authority who have not indicated any desire to try and overturn it.
As I also stated in my newsletter of 9th April, I am now working with the governors to plan ahead for the future leadership of the school and to ensure stability and the best possible education for our children. My decision to delay my planned retirement in September is central to this and I repeat my promise not to leave St Joseph’s until the future leadership is in place and more importantly we have got through the current health crisis and the school is fully re-opened and back up and running smoothly. This needs to be our priority at this time.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
For and on behalf of the Governing Body of St Joseph’s Junior School
