The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I am pleased that we have now reached the end of remote learning and that children and staff may return to school permanently from Monday.  We are obviously still being extremely cautious at school and thorough risk assessments have been carried out, taking into consideration all school activities.  I would like to reassure you that staff are carrying out twice weekly lateral flow tests and visitors to school are asked to do the same so that we can continue to provide a safe environment for all.   If, as a family, you wish to take a lateral flow test, this can be done by following one of the links in my recent letter to you regarding the return to school.

This afternoon, staff returned to school to make sure classes are ready for the children on Monday and to be fully briefed on the changes that have been put in place and I know that they are very keen to begin teaching in the classroom on Monday.  The timetable will revert back to our pre-Christmas timetable, early birds and after care will resume, hot lunches will be served in the school hall for Junior 1 to Junior 6 and extra-curricular clubs will also resume as per Mrs Vaughan’s recent communication.  Nursery and Reception will have their hot lunches taken to their rooms.  Assemblies, Mass and other gatherings will remain online until further notice as children must remain in their ‘bubbles’.

I hope you were able to watch this morning’s assembly where I announced our Stars of the Week:  Ciara, Hugo, all of Junior 1, Hardaya, Amelia, Phoebe, Arthur, Lexi, Arisha, Alex, Carolina, Isabella and Alyx.  In Junior 5, Bronze Awards were presented to Elle, Mikey and Isabella for their effort, good manners and following school rules.  Well done everyone and your certificates will be ready for you on Monday. 

There were more Junior da Vinci’s awarded this week.  In Junior 4, Joseph achieved his award for mathematics with 3 strands achieved for different pieces of work.  Mairen (J4) for her fable in English, Isabella and Jay in Junior 4 achieved their award for geography after completing research on pollution and a presentation to the class and Ralph, also Junior 4, received his da Vinci award for his English work. Olivia, Elsie, George, Aaron (all in J5) received their awards for their fantastic creative writing in English.  

There was some excellent news this morning received from the ISA.  Julia in Junior 4 took part in the Musical Theatre Competition which was held during lockdown and it has been announced today that she was placed 2nd in this national competition with her entry ‘If only I had a brain’.  There will be more news on this in next week’s Chronicle but congratulations to Julia!

I have seen some wonderful photographs from World Book Day which took place yesterday.  There were some fabulous creations across all year groups and I hope you enjoy looking at the photographs later on.  Thank you to everyone who took part and to Mrs Horan for her efforts too.  Book vouchers will be available to collect from school on Monday.

As some parents will have read online, our current Junior 2 class will be split into two classes from September.  This is the normal procedure when pupils move into Junior 3 at Crackley Hall.  Decisions on which class children will go to will be made later in the Trinity term after full consultation with the staff involved and just prior to ‘moving up day’ in late June; this day will provide the opportunity for children to visit their new classrooms.  From past experience, I can confirm that pupils will still stay in close contact, and maintain very close friendships, with their current classmates.

As normality begins to return to the school day, I would like to remind you about arrival and collection protocol.  Please arrive at the allocated time and place for your child so that we may keep the traffic flowing and children safe.  The local police have contacted me this week with a timely reminder about parking in the area, requesting that parents park legally and responsibly.  They have issued the attached visual which I have been asked to forward to all parents as we continue to work with the local residents.

I am pleased to confirm that holiday club will be held throughout the Easter break from 8.30am until 5.00pm, starting on Wednesday 31 March and the last day will be Friday 16 April.  We will not be having holiday club on Good Friday or Easter Monday.  Booking forms will be available next week.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and preparing for school on Monday.

God bless,

Mr Duigan