Coronavirus Update 10.06.20
Dear parents/carers and wider community of St Bernadette’s,
Congratulations
I am delighted to inform you that our Year 1 teacher Mrs Mannion has been appointed as Assistant headteacher of St Therese of Lisieux, Ingelby Barwick. This post is a promotion for Mrs Mannion and reward for the work and impact she has had in her teaching and leadership duties at St Bernadette’s in the last 10 years. We will be sad to lose her skills but wish her all the best in her new role which starts in September. Please be reassured that she will maintain her dedication to our current Year 1 class until the end of this academic year and is looking forward to welcoming them back next week. We are in the process of appointing a new teacher and will inform you in due course of this.
We now have an open Facebook page (St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School, Nunthorpe). Initially this will be used to share communications and become an outward looking face for the school. It will evolve over the coming months. We will not share any pictures of children via this medium unless we gain your consent. When we all return to school we will review all our various platforms and issue new guidance and agreements in relation to them. Please check out our new page and share feel free to share information with friends: ‘St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School, Nunthorpe’.
School Fence!
We are very proud of how our school fence has been received by the local community – The Northern Echo and The Evening Gazette featured the article last week and this week the Mayor, Andy Preston, came to visit school to discuss how we have tried to spread the message of hope throughout this uncertain time. If you haven’t seen the article please click the link below:
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/teesside/18496802.nunthorpe-pupils-create-wall-hope/
Year 6 return!
How wonderful it has been to see our Year 6 children join our regular key worker children this week. We have missed their happy faces and we look forward to spending the remaining weeks of the term together. School is different but the welcoming face of the school is not! The Year 6 class have already demonstrated their resilience and adaptability to the new safety systems we have in place and we cannot wait for Year 1 to join us next week!
Class videos
Year 1 and Year 6 classes have videos which have been shared with parents and are available to view on our Twitter and Facebook page. This videos displayed how we will be entering school, the new classroom set up and other logistical information.
Returning groups
- This week, we will only be receiving Year 6 children and children of critical workers in school.
- From Monday 15th June, we will be receiving Year 1, Year 6 and children of critical workers in school.
- We have not set a date for children in Nursery and Reception to return as yet.
- There is no clear directive as yet to return children in other year groups but as this changes we will inform you immediately.
To manage social distancing we would like children to arrive at the agreed staggered times. Only in exceptional circumstances can a child be in school beyond these hours. Mr Conway/Miss Brady must authorise these cases prior to commencement of each week (where agreed normal charges will apply).
Finally, it is expected that all children in school wear freshly cleaned school uniform daily (no tie necessary); trainers are fine as there will be regular outdoor provision in this interim period. No protective face masks are permitted for children. Please limit all additional items to school eg no PE kit; packed lunches if required; water bottle (only water allowed); coat if necessary; no bags if possible.
Packed lunches
Please note that our school kitchen service will resume cold packed lunches again from 15th June for anyone who would prefer a school packed lunch. Please let us know by Wednesday each week if your child will require a school packed lunch for the week beginning 15th June. Please email [email protected]
Key Stage 1 children and those on free school meals can receive a school lunch for free. The usual charges will apply for other children.
Key workers
The definition for key workers has remained unchanged. I would ask that if you need to go to work to support the country’s fight to tackle coronavirus to contact myself, Miss Brady or school office by 3pm THURSDAY 11th JUNE to request a place in our school for wb 15.06.20. Children may only come to school if you have first authorised this with Mr Conway/Miss Brady. If you do not fulfil the criteria for key workers we will unfortunately have to decline a place for your child.
Home learning
Resources for home learning have again been updated for all year groups this week. The work the returning children are doing will be similar to the work we set on the class pages. If your children are remaining at home, we will keep in touch.
RSE (Relationships and Sex Education)
This year as we are not all in school, we will be sharing appropriate Relationships and Sex Education resources via the learning platform on wc 22nd June. Children in Y1 or Y6 will also receive this input in school. As we are not all in school this year, we are asking you to cover the aspects outlined on the individual class pages.
As part of their ‘Journey in Love’ week, Year 5 and Year 6 will be able to view a Puberty video. The video is available on request for parents in Y5/6. I would encourage all Y5/6 parents to watch the video with their children. This, along with the teaching resources, outlines how their bodies change during puberty, what menstruation is and how babies are born.
If anyone would like to discuss the content of the ‘Journey in Love’ input or any of the above please do not hesitate to make contact with Mr Conway or Miss Brady.
General
WOW! Thank you all the kind donations for our ‘Run for Reading’ fundrasier. We have rasied over £900 so far. The PTA have also donated an additional £1000. Mrs Harris is really excited to spend this on new books….as the monies raised means we can purchase our first round of new EYFS/KS1 individual reading books. Thank you so much! If anyone else would like to make a donation please do so via Parentpay or drop your cash donation into school.
FSM
Those in reciept of FSM vouchers will be receiving your weekly voucher this week as normal. If anyone would like to see if they are are eligible for Government funding please contact me directly.
SVP support
The St Bernadette’s Parish SVP have provided school with emergency funds. I have vouchers in school available for any families (FSM or not) who are concerned about providing necessary provisions for their families. Please reach out if you are in need of any support financially and we will help immediately.
And finally,
Virtual Sports week (wc 15th June)
Next week is ‘Virtual Sports week!’ As we are not able to partake in our annual Sports day in school, Tees Valley Active are trying to ensure we can all still enjoy a series of sporting activities in June. The clip below demonstrates the challenges for you to practise at home individually or as a family: https://www.teesvalleysport.co.uk/young-people/school-games/virtual-school-games/
We would really like you ALL to get involved to show how sporty we all are. The more entries the better. There are 2 Challenges for you to try per day, all have varying degrees of difficulty so there is something for everyone: Standing Long Jump, Speed Bounce, Bucket ball, Target battle, Shuttle run, Speed Pass, Agility Course and Boccia Throw.
Send your own individual/family clips to Mrs Smith, our PE lead, who will display your efforts on Twitter (please send either photos or short video clips with the name of your child and an explanation of their activity to: [email protected] )
God Bless,
Mr P Conway [email protected] / [email protected]
St Bernadette, Patron of our School, Pray for Us and Help Us
Blessed Nicholas Postgate, Pray for Us
