Friday 22nd May

Happy Friday all! Have you been blowing bubbles today?

If you had been in school, we would be breaking up today for half term. Because it is half term next week, school will be closed to all staff and children. There will no online learning next week, and we won’t be surprising you with any phone calls! All staff will return to work on Monday 1st June when online learning, phone calls and emails will resume. I know that all of the staff will be thinking about you over the week, but I also hope that they will take time for themselves. We have often mentioned looking after our mental health on the blog, and it is important that the adults are following the advice as well as you.

Today I spoke to all of the staff in a virtual meeting. I didn’t even try to remember everyone after the disaster I had last time! I thanked them all for the dedication that they have shown towards the children of Olive Hill and told them what a privilege it was to lead such an amazing team. I also gave them some more details about the phased return of more children to school and what it would mean for them.

Adults, please remember that you cannot just bring your child to school on Monday 1st June - it is a phased return and we have given you the proposed dates for each year group. You will need to let the school know if you intend to send your child back. The only children in school on Monday 1st June will be the children of keyworkers who we have spoken with and clarified their child’s space. I cannot emphasise enough how important this is - we are having to be really strict with the number in each bubble and how our staff members will be organised. This is not me being a mean headteacher, this is for the safety of our whole community. Our phased return is pretty complicated and I thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.

Back to you children, in our staff meeting today we also had to say goodbye to some people. Miss Wajid, who has been with us since September, will not return after the half term break. I am sure you will join me in saying a great big thank you to Miss Wajid for all of her hard work and in wishing her well for the future. Hazel Class, you were Miss Wajid’s first class and a teacher never forgets their first class. We also said goodbye to Miss Best, but only for a little while. Miss Best will now start her maternity leave and she is very much looking forward to becoming a mummy for the first time - we all know that she will make a fabulous mummy and we wish her all the best. She has promised us lots of pictures!

In other news, we had a fantastic video in our inbox this morning. Who knew that the children, and parents, of Olive Hill had such cool moves! The video really did make us all smile - we loved the costumes (I spotted a Sponge Bob and some great shell suits - children, shell suits were the fashion when I was your age. Imagine that!). Some families are super coordinated, either that or they had a lot of rehearsal time! What a fantastic memory you have all created with your siblings, mums, dads and carers - it is something you will be able to treasure and tell your own children about one day, maybe even your own grandchildren. I think that being able to spend so much time with your immediate family is one of the positives to come out of this uncertain situation.

I couldn’t write today’s blog without saying, ‘Eid Mubarak’. For all our families that will be celebrating, from all of us here at Olive Hill, we wish you and your families a happy and blessed Eid Mubarak. We know that your celebrations will be a little bit different this year and children, do send us an email after the half term to tell us how you celebrated whilst staying alert and staying safe.

A huge thank you to our Olive Hill community, the support that you have shown us has blown us away. Together we have got through lockdown, together we will move onto the next phase (providing the government tell us that it is safe to do so). Together we will create magical bubbles, whether that be at home or in school.

We miss you. Stay safe.