Dear all,
I hope you had a pleasant weekend and enjoyed the burst of snow (enough for a bit of sledging and some snow building as well).
1. Chromebooks - if you need a one then please ask (don't be too proud as they are there to help people) , we are now at Phase 3 (as we work fast !). Please e-mail admin@madley.hereford.sch.uk and I will bring one to you or you can collect from the front of school. They are yours for the duration of lockdown to enable home learning.
Seesaw is better than 'live' lessons as families with multiple children would have struggled for multiple lessons with one or two devices. Seesaw gives some flexibility to when work is completed.
2. Return to school - there is no more news except that they will give schools and parents two weeks notice. You receive information at the same time as us so we are all in the same boat ! The rumours and gossip will start to build towards half term again. We want to get the children back to school as soon as possible.
School is not closed and we are working harder than ever on multiple fronts !
3. Covid testing in schools - last week we received our lateral flow testing kits, these are used by all staff (though it is voluntary) to test themselves at home. This will not help a return to school but it does help to identify people who may not have any symptoms.
4. Social media - most things get back to school in some way (both positive and negative, thankfully more positive than negative) so could we please ask that people are mindful of the 'impact' that your gossip/comments have on others, especially members of staff who are trying their best and working hard (positive comments boost people and negative comments deflate). Social media is a great tool of support, encouragement and connection if it is used in the right way.
Everyone is making the best of the situation so please exemplify the values of the school and be kind, thoughtful and considerate during these difficult times.
On-line safety - please make sure you monitor your children on-line and are aware of what they are on, messaging and how they are using the internet.
5. Numbers in school this week (across the 2 Key Stage 'bubbles').
Monday = 24
Tuesday = 28
Wednesday =24
Thursday = 28
Friday = 22
Numbers have stabilised and sincere thanks goes to those parents/carers who have changed shifts, made other arrangements and been a real help, it is really appreciated as we balance in school supervision, remote learning and everything else in between. We also have a few staff absent for medical and personal reasons (not Covid related).
6. Mental well being
We are all very aware of the potential impact of staying at home, long periods on screens, less social interaction, less playing with friends and the nature of what is happening around us. I have added a few links of websites that may be able to help/advise people and give some ideas -
https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters
https://youtu.be/nCrjevx3-Js (You Tube child centred film about mental health suitable for older primary age children) - this could give ideas for developing their own methods (drawing, writing it down, creating a film etc).
Attached is a leaflet with some useful tips.
But there are also some potential positive aspects -
- more family time.
- potential to do more cooking, baking, art, music and enjoy more time outside.
Each individual family will have their own views of the positives and negatives !
Have a good start to the week. English and Maths are vital each day and they need to be completed to enable the sequence of learning to work properly.
Regards
Mr Batstone