Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope everyone is well and managing as best you can in these challenging and ever changing times. First of all can I apologise for not being in touch with you for some time. Unfortunately I was not well myself last weekend, not sure if it was a relatively mild version of the virus itself or a cold with some flu symptoms. However with 7 other people in my house I couldn’t take any chances and isolated myself for 7 days. I also took the decision to close the school last week as several other key staff were not available for a variety of reasons. St Joseph’s Infants kindly took any of our children who needed a place last week.
I am pleased to say that school has re-opened today for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers and 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 will remain open for the Easter break including Good Friday and Bank Holiday Monday and for as long as we need to afterwards. The Church has asked Catholic schools to continue to play a full part in supporting the national effort and in particular key workers from the NHS and other vital services. I will also ensure that any staff who come in to school over the Easter break get some time off themselves to be with their families. Of course the majority of our pupils are still being “schooled” from home so we have set out below some updates and reminders about online resources and support that we can offer.
Consultation on Proposed Hard Federation
As you will know the consultation period ended a couple of weeks ago and the Governing Body has met virtually a couple of times to look at the responses, discuss them and then come to a decision based on the responses. Unfortunately the ongoing health crisis has put back this timetable by a few days; however it is till our intention to communicate the decision to the school community this week.
Holy Week and Easter
It seems particularly strange to be in school during Holy Week and Easter. We are not going to be able to mark the most important week in our church year in the usual and traditional manner however there are still many things we can do as families etc. to take the children on their journey through Holy Week, towards the tragedy of Good Friday and then the great celebration of Easter Sunday. At this time with everything going on around us it is even more important to remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the Cross.
What we’ll continue doing while your child is at home.
Your child’s learning of course is important to us, so we’ll continue to help your child to learn. Packs were given out to the children who were in school containing work for at least the first two weeks. Teachers are busy preparing on-line consolidation teaching and tasks.
I cannot stress enough that ALL children must work at home on a daily basis to ensure that their life chances are not affected. The situation is fast changing and these circumstances are unprecedented so it is vital that we all play our part. We are setting work and ask that parents work with their child every day. There is an expectation that the children will do reading for around 30 minutes per day, Maths and Writing as well as handwriting each day as a minimum. I have also encouraged the children to keep a regular diary to record their experiences and feelings about learning at home. They can do projects, art work, music and other creative activities.
We are providing homework, specific to your class, using the on-line tools that your child should already be familiar with.
Details of this are on the message board for each Year Group accessible here:-
https://stjosephsjun.j2bloggy.com/classes/
The teachers are posting notices most days, so please check regularly.
You and your child can communicate with their class teachers via the temporary email boxes detailed on each Year Group’s front page.
On-line we are also listing some useful web-sites for you and your children to access.
If you have any problems accessing the work, please ring the office or e-mail the school e-mail and we will endeavor to support you.
You should be able to access most of the Home Learning on any device that has a built-in browser and an internet connection, whether it be games consoles, tablets or even smart TV’s, as well as computers and laptops.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
