Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope everyone has had a good week and you are all staying safe. This Sunday marks the 1st Sunday of Advent and the beginning of one of the most important seasons and times in our church and school year. As we know this year is going to be different and many of the traditional things that we would be busy planning at the moment are going to have to wait for another time including Carol Concerts, productions and of course our Christmas Bazaar which would have been next Sunday. However we still plan to mark the season of Advent in school and do as many activities as we can, including filming some of the individual classes singing and fundraising for Christmas charities. I am also going to be meeting with Father Gerry early next week to plan what Masses or services we may be able to do in school during Advent. More details next week.
Federation of St Joseph’s Junior and Infant Schools
Thank you to everyone who sent in their response on the proposed federation. The Governing Bodies of both schools will meet next Tuesday 1st December to receive the report on the outcome of the consultation and will then make their decision. This will then be communicated to everyone in the school community next week.
Uniform
We are selling uniform every second week in school on Wednesday mornings from 8:30am to 9:30am. The next sale will be next Wednesday 2nd December. If you need an item of uniform in an emergency, please come to the school office.
With the current restrictions, we are trying to ventilate the classrooms and working areas as much as possible while ensuring that we maintain a comfortable learning environment for staff and pupils. This balance becomes harder as the weather gets colder so when we have very cold days I would recommend the children wearing an extra layer under their uniforms. All the rooms are heated but the advice remains to create as much ventilation as possible so we need to keep windows and doors open.
“November Harvest”
Many thanks to everyone who has donated food stuff and other items for our “November Harvest” appeal over the last couple of weeks. It is wonderful to see the display in the hall. As well as distributing some of the items to a local food bank, Father Gerry has asked us to donate some of the items to the parish Christmas Appeal which is being set up in the Jubilee Centre. This means your generosity will benefit families in our own parish and neighbourhood.
COVID-19
I sent out a brief information letter this week about how we can keep everyone safe in school and in our community. Parents are being very supportive of the measures we are taking in school at this time and I am truly appreciative of this. One area we still need help with is informing us straight away if your child is off school for any reason. We have several children off at the moment for a variety of reasons, not all COVID-19 related and we need to keep track of all absences (see the first bullet point below). After all the hard work we have done to get the children back into school this term and give them as normal a routine as possible, it would be good to get to the end of term with the minimum of interruptions to learning.
- If your child is not attending school for any reason, you must inform the school on the first day of absence before 9:00am with the reason for absence and how long they are likely to be off for. You should also send a note into school for the attention of the class teacher when they return to school. Obviously not all absences are going to be COVID-19 related but we need to know why pupils are off on any particular day.
- If your child shows any one of the symptoms of Coronavirus i.e. a high temperature, a new and continuous cough or a loss of taste and smell, you need to get them tested straight away. If the result of the test is positive they need to stay at home for 10 days from the day they were tested. If the result is negative they can return to school.
- If your child has come into contact with someone who has tested positive i.e. a family member, the child needs to self-isolate for 14 days from the day the test was carried out. If they show no symptoms during this period they can return to school after the 14 days. If they show symptoms at any point during this self-isolation, they need to get a test and if this is positive they will need to begin the 10 day period of isolation from the day of the test.
- If you have had your child tested, please share the results with us before they return to school. You can either bring this into the office or if it is more convenient you can forward the message to the school e-mail address.
- The school has to report every day to the Department for Education how many staff and pupils are absent and how many of these absences are COVID-19 related. This is why it is vital we have up to date information about all absences.
One of the keys to keeping the school running as smoothly and normally as possible at this time is regular communication between home and school. If you are unsure about any of the above or want some advice, please contact the school and I am happy to discuss with you. Many thanks again for your on-going support.
After School Clubs
Monday – Multi-Sports Club for pupils in Years 3 and 4 (3:00-4:00pm). Book this directly with PTC Sports. Book at https://ptcsports.class4kids.co.uk/term/28. For further information about the club you can contact Taskin from PTC Sports on 07513 522 896.
Tuesday – Dance Stables for all year groups (3:00-4:00pm). Book this directly with Dance Stables at ds.team@dancestables.co.uk.
Wednesday – Multi-Sports Club for pupils in Year 6 (3:15-4:15pm)
Thursday – Multi-Sports Club for pupils in Year 5 (3:15-4:15pm)
Please note the clubs will run for 2 more weeks and will not run in the last week of term.
Book Fair
Our autumn term book fair ended this week and the great news is that we £925 worth of books over the 5 days it was open. Even with the 99p discount on all books, this is still one of the best sales we have ever had in the 10 or so years we have been running a book fair. The good news is we have been able to get around £600 worth of free books for the school. Well done everyone and thank you for supporting it so well.
Governors Fund
We sent out a letter asking families to make a contribution towards our Governors Fund for this academic year 2020-21. The letter outlines what the fund is used for and how to pay it. I have not increased it this year, again to try and make it easier for our families to contribute. Please note if you have already paid your contribution for this year, you do not need to pay again.
Parental Consultation
Several parents have been enquiring about parental consultations. At the moment we cannot do the traditional face to face meetings but we are looking at setting up phone consultations between teachers and parents for the start of next term. By then we will have assessed all the pupils to see what progress they have made in literacy and numeracy and drawn up revised targets for each pupil. I know in the past we have held meetings at the end of the autumn term but there is a lot going on in school at the moment and my staff are getting quite tired and weary now with what has been a long and draining term. I think we all need a break over Christmas and to comeback refreshed. I am looking at the week of 18th January for the consultations (each year group will be on a different day). We will send out letters in advance with the exact dates and times so you can book a telephone appointment with your child’s teacher.
Friday Assembly Awards (Week of 23rd to 27th November)
The awards presented at the Friday assemblies today. Congratulations to everyone.
Golden Book Awards:
Class 3K – Sloan, Dijon and Victor
Class 3H – Lorenzo, Owen and Alexandra
Class 4P – Whole class for their wonderful writing during November.
Class 4RC – Oliwia, Dominik and Patryk
Class 5L – Malgorzata, Billion and Olivia
Class 5O – Ashley, Kacper and Lina
Class 6PM – Kyrell, Klara and Jolene
Class 6C – Kacper, Keziah and Vanessa
Team of the Week – St Teresa’s with 5,845 points. Well done.
Class of the Week – Class 6PM for their consistent commitment to learning and Class 3H and Class 4P for their wonderful creative writing during November. Well done.
Attendance of the Week – Class 5L with 97% attendance this week.
Pupils of the Week – Ivan 3H, Anthonia 3K, Mia 4RC, Kieran 5O and Vanessa 6C.
Advent Charity Support
During Advent we traditionally support 2 charities, the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (BCCS) Advent Appeal and the Save the Children “Christmas Jumper Day”. Despite the fact that Advent in school will be different this year, we are still going to raise money for both charities over the next couple of Fridays. On Friday 4th December our non-uniform day will be for the BCCS Advent Appeal which supports many needy and vulnerable families in our Diocese. On Friday 11th December we will have our Christmas Jumper Day for Save the Children who supports families across the world. These charities are important in any year but particularly at this time.
End of term
Just to give everyone advance notice that school will be finishing earlier on the last day of term on Friday 18th December. We will still have the two staggered endings but an hour earlier than normal. Year 3 and 4 will finish at 1:45pm and Year 5 and 6 at 2:00pm. This is to tie in with the earlier finishing times at the infant school that day and to allow parents time to pick up siblings from both schools.
Confirmed COVID-19 Case
Unfortunately since putting this newsletter together, we have had our first confirmed case of COVID-19 among our pupils. I have contacted the parents of the pupils and the staff who will now need to self-isolate for 14 days and arrangements will now be put in place for remote learning to take place for the pupils having to stay at home. The rest of the school will carry on as normal and we hope and pray that we don’t have other cases in school.
I hope everyone has a restful and safe weekend and wishing you all a happy St Andrew’s Day in advance of next Monday 30th November!
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Dates for this term (will be added to and updated each week)
Friday 4th December – non-uniform day for Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society Advent Appeal (bring £1)
Friday 11th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children (non-uniform day, bring £1)
Wednesday 16th December – Christmas lunch for pupils
Friday 18th December – last day of term (Year 3 and 4 end at 1:45pm, Year 5 and 6 end at 2:00pm)
