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Welcome to Friday ! I hope you have had a good week and enjoyed the 'chilly' bank holiday and 4 day week (if you weren't working !). It is still really chilly so please ensure your child (of any age) has their coat in school. Could we also ask that ALL children have a pair of wellies in school (we will send home any that are at the end of their life) and wellies for all will be an on-going expectation beyond the end of this year.
1. 'Gradual easing' in school - class groups have started mixing at break and lunchtimes (same year groups each session) and it has worked well after initial suspicion of each other ! - some classes have used areas they may not have used for a year e.g the Trim Trail. - Year 1 and Year R eat in the hall again on separate tables.
Mixing is still very limited, classes have their own entrances/exits to school and we will keep our toileting arrangements until the end of term.
Nothing else will change at the moment (for at least the next two weeks) within school and the 'flow and go' and masks for parents/carers will be in place for quite a long time. The current national situation is really positive and numbers are down but we still need to be sensible and cautious.
2. Gardening and the benefits - Forest school, gardening and using the outdoors are really good for children and adults and are not an 'add on' at Madley. They are a really important part of our learning for all children. I have attached a flier with the benefits of gardening. Attached is a photo collage of an area outside of Class 3 that Year 4 built a bed for Year 1 and then tidied the area. Year 1 have been busy planting. The Year 3 classroom has had the slope replaced with a concrete one (the old one was about to fall apart).
3. Standards and the curriculum - we are currently looking at and reviewing all of our curriculum areas. This week we were looking at maths as the expectations of knowledge, skills and vocabulary has risen dramatically over the past few years and children are now expected to do work and achieve in areas that were previously two years or more ahead e.g Year 6 doing previous Year 8 expectations. That also applies to the vocabulary that is used. We will need to plan some work with parents/carers over the next year to ensure everyone is using the correct vocabulary, methods and understanding.
4. Independence (really important) - Please could we ask that ALL children carry their own book bags, drink and lunchbox into and out of school. All of our children are more than capable of doing it and can demonstrate a lot more independence than this on a daily basis. It may seem minor but it has a big effect on mindset, self awareness and organisation and expectations.
Have a good weekend. regards Mr Batstone Attachments |
