Friday 23rd October
Happy Friday!
We have made it through our first half term. This has certainly been a half term like no other and the circumstances that we continue to face have been unprecedented.
Today, I met with some of our year six prefects. I asked them to think about how they’d found the return to school. I wanted to know about the good aspects and the things they had found more challenging given our current situation. I must say that it was an absolute pleasure to listen to what they had to say and the mature attitude that they displayed melted my heart.
They have all enjoyed coming back to school and being back with their friends. They have enjoyed seeing their teachers and other school staff. They are glad to be learning new stuff after six months off and being able to help out around school in their role as a prefect. They also mentioned that they like coming to school in their PE kit.
Some of the things that they’ve have found more challenging include: not being able to mix with the younger children and supporting them with their reading; not being able to sing indoors; not being able to see the guinea pigs; not being able to use the playground equipment; not being able to have assemblies, especially Star of the Week and the year six privilege of sitting on the benches; not being able to do our enrichment sessions and they were most annoyed about school trips, especially Kingswood. Children, this is your school and I will definitely reflect on what you have said and see what we can do. We all agreed that we would like coronavirus to go away!
Thank you to all of the families who responded to Mr Priest’s Harvest appeal, in support of Your Local Pantry Manna House - a social supermarket in Blackheath. We have been overwhelmed with donations. Mr Priest had planned to take everything in his car (and he has a big car) but it wouldn’t fit, so Mr Weston made the delivery in the minibus instead. Thank you to everyone who has supported the community in this way, your generosity has been amazing.
The Pantry supports vulnerable families in our local community who struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table by giving them access to heavily subsidised grocery and household goods. The services they provide have an enormous impact on the people who use them, giving peace of mind and easing worries about being able to afford food. The coronavirus pandemic had impacted on us all in different ways; if you have found yourself struggling financially, you can find out more about the support they provide on their website: www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk/mannahouse.
Many of our children had their flu vaccination this week. The NHS staff who attended school to administer the vaccination were wonderful, and very thorough in checking that parental consent had been given. The children were all very sensible and our youngest children loved the sticker they received at the end. Many of them told me that the spray was very cold and it tickled their nose!
The school will now be closed for one week. The children will return to school on Monday 2nd November. There has been a delay on the installation of our new gates, but the other work will go ahead. We have an INSET day on Friday 4th December and will be closed to all children.
If your child should develop symptoms of COVID-19 and/or test positive for COVID-19 over the half term break, please email the school at covidreporting@olive.dudley.sch.uk. This is a temporary email address that will allow us to take any actions that are necessary. The email account is for providing information only and there is an automated reply. If you are concerned about your child’s health then you need to contact your GP, or phone 119 if you are concerned about Covid-19 and want to request a test.
Thank you for your continued support, it is very much appreciated. All of the staff at Olive Hill work incredibly hard to provide your children with a high quality education, this academic year we have faced the added responsibility of the Covid-19 pandemic. We often say that working in a school is a lifestyle choice, not a job and that is so true. I am sure you will all join me in instructing all of the staff to take a break and switch off.
We all wish you a happy week, filled with lots of fun and possibly a few pumpkins!
Stay safe