Welcome to the end of the week ! 

The 'normal' flow of school at the beginning of a school year  is intial excitement in the first two weeks then the early morning/different routines 'kick in' and there is tiredness/tears and then it settles again ! You may or may not be experiencing this. Please do not take for granted the disruption and constant changes in the outside world that the children see daily (masks/no masks/restrictions etc). This also applies to school adults !

As a school we will take things very slowly. The children mix outside but very little inside (there won't be discos or indoor events this term until we are sure of the infection rates etc). You may or may not have seen that a Herefordshire Primary School has closed for 12-14 days due to 19 infections of staff and children, we would prefer that didn't happen to us ! If too many school adults were ill we would not be able to safely open. Staff still test twice a week and come to work with a lot of trust placed in you to keep them safe ! 

The rules for testing/isolation and family members have also changed and we place a lot of trust in parents/carers with regard to positive tests and the start of symptoms. Other members of your family who you live with may be suffering from Covid but, with testing, you can still carry on as normal. 

Other information/news

1. Swimming -

Year 3 have started swimming and will continue for most of the year. As a school we tend to target one year group (no classes have been swimming for a few years) then take Year 6 at the end of the year. Swimming is really important but takes a whole morning, coach costs (a rare experience for our children) and there are limited times that the pool offer. 

2. Uniform/jewellery -

The only earrings that children are allowed are plain studs. 

Children should only have plain hair accessories and one charity wristband. 

Uniform is important for preserving your own clothes, being part of a team and having a sense of shared identity. Thank you for helping us to focus on learning and experiences instead of moaning about uniform. 

3. Values this month 

'Inspiration and Excellence' have been chosen by Year 6 as a our first values for September. They explained, in assembly, that 'inspiration' is part of everyday learning at Madley and 'excellence' should be our aim in everything we do. What mature, sensible and responsible thinking from Year 6. 

4.   Forest school clothing

Hats - we encourage children to wear a cap in the summer/now as there are still 'midges' around (hence the itching heads) and a warm hat in the Autumn/winter. Our mantra is always 'function over fashion.' 

Every class does forest school every week either in our on-site woods or at our forest school site. 

Have a good weekend

Regards

Mr Batstone