Friday 18th September
Happy Friday all!
I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend. This week we welcomed our reception children into their new environment and we have had some new children start in nursery. The children have settled really well and are enjoying many new experiences. Our reception children certainly love their fruit and vegetables - we have all been super impressed with their eagerness to try the vegetables at lunch time. I am surprised they left any for the rest of the school!
Talking of school dinners, Dudley Catering have introduced some new foods to the menu, including falafel, lamb and lentil pie, and couscous. Some children have been really adventurous and given the new items a try, others have stuck with their favourites such as spaghetti bolognaise, cheese and potato pie, and of course the Olive Hill favourites of chicken wrap or pizza and chips. I frequently eat our school dinners and my favourite from this week was the Quorn and bean hot pot. I am always ready for a hot dinner following the lunchtime rush, along with Mr Priest and Miss Walters we now all do a lunchtime duty each day - I have become an expert at wiping tables, Mr Priest an expert at sweeping the floor and Miss Walters an expert at remembering which class needs to be coming down to collect their dinner (she is getting lots of steps on her Fitbit).
Another thing about lunchtimes, not only do the school staff now start the day 15 minutes earlier, we have also shortened their lunch break by 15 minutes to ensure that we can put everything in place in response to the Covid19 situation. Despite their lunch break being shorter the class teachers do continue to give up their time to support the children. All of the reception staff have stayed with the reception children to help them learn the new routines; the year one staff always come into the hall to the check the children are happy; the year two staff have children come to the classrooms to eat with them for a special treat; the year three staff have to be forced to take a break away from the children; the year four staff quickly eat their own lunch and return to their classrooms to set up for the afternoon; the year five staff, after some persuasion, will now take a short break in the Chestnut room so they can be their for the children if they are needed and the year 6 staff don’t often appear in the staffroom because they also like to support the children and make sure everything is ready for the afternoon. If your teachers and teaching assistants are looking tired on a Friday, you know why!
School is constantly having to respond to the Covid19 situation, it has certainly added an extra layer to all of the other things we usually do. With guidance changing all of the time we do endeavour to keep the same routines for our children and the community. If we do have to change anything we will let you know. Please remember that if you are using public transport, you must follow the rules about keeping yourself and others safe - including the wearing of masks where appropriate. Please see the latest government guidance for full details of what is expected and report any concerns to the travel operator.
Over the October half term we are going to have electronic gates installed at the front of the school. From a safeguarding point of view this is going to make the school more secure for our children. It will also mean that I don’t have to come running out if I’ve forgotten to open or close the gates, as it will all be controlled from the school office. Both the pedestrian and vehicular access gates will be electronic and there will be a camera in the school office so Mrs Carpenter and Miss Lee can check the identify of anyone trying to enter the school site during the day. This is something that we have been wanting to do for a long time, but unfortunately the current situation has meant it had to be postponed. We will also be altering the layout of the main entrance area inside the building, Mrs Carpenter and Miss Lee are very excited about having their own hatch!
My computer is about to log off, so I must dash. I am also very hungry as I missed out on the pizza and chips today.
Have a wonderful weekend all. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces on Monday.