Welcome back to school, and (sadly) to Lockdown 2…
Guidance for schools about the new national restrictions was released just the day before the lockdown kicked in, so we’re still working through any changes – we don’t anticipate too many, thankfully. You may have read headlines about teachers claiming that schools should close. The arguments stem from one particular union, and others disagree. As we said earlier this week, we fully support the decision to keep schools open – children need to be in school to learn and socialise. We can assure you that Sphere Federation schools have been working as hard as we can to keep our schools safe places to learn.
Your child’s a historian this half-term!
With the start of a new half-term comes the start of a new topic. Across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, children are becoming historians this half-term:
- children in Years 1 and 2 will learn about the Great Fire of London
- children in Years 3 and 4 will become experts on Ancient Greece
- children in Years 5 and 6 will compare the Stone Age and Iron Age in Britain with what was going on in Ancient Egypt at around the same time
Read this one page list of History learning for the half-term ahead – it contains the core learning in terms of both knowledge and skills. (Be aware, though, that because of the closure of schools in Lockdown 1, teachers are being more flexible in their approach to the expectations set out in this document, making sure that missed learning and gaps are being addressed in Reading, Writing and Maths.)
And now, a message from Miss Beatson…
We’ve had a really positive start to the half term; the children have come back eager to learn and happy to be with their friends. These are such challenging times for all of us but our children have shown great resilience and we’re all very proud of how well they continue to cope with the changes to school life. This half term, our Christian value is perseverance and I don’t think I can think of a more suitable value to focus on in these current times.
I’m really pleased to say that we’ve reviewed our school lunch grab bags and we’re now able to provide a hot meal option each day. I know this is something many of you have been asking about and our catering staff have been eager to provide, particularly now the weather is getting colder. Check out the menu on our website page or on the notice board in the playground if you’re considering a school meal for your child.
Our bagel bar is proving very popular and the children are enjoying meeting with their friends over breakfast before their day of learning begins. If you’d like your child to attend, then bring them to school between 8.30am and 8.45am.
I’d just like to finish by thanking you for your kind, supportive comments and messages that I know the staff in school really appreciate at this time. I’d also like to thank you for your support as you continue to wear face coverings and keep your distance in the school grounds to ensure we keep everyone as safe as we possibly can.