Friday 26th February
Happy Friday!
Have you been enjoying the sunshine today? It has certainly been a mood changer and put on smile on the face of many. Our year five children have been enjoying the great outdoors today. They have been building dens in the forest area and getting rather muddy in the process (apologies to those parents and carers who now have to wash their clothes, I can assure you they had lots of fun getting that muddy!).
On Monday it was confirmed that there would be full return to school on Monday 8th March. Earlier in the week we sent a letter, via text, detailing what the return to school would look like from a logistical viewpoint and I hope that all our families have had the opportunity to read this. Please do contact the school if you have any questions regarding the full return to school. From Monday 8th March attendance at school will be compulsory for all. We are all very excited about the children returning.
Today, we had an extended leadership team meeting where we looked at the full return to school and what this would mean for our curriculum. We started the meeting by asking the following question of our senior and middle leaders: What are you looking forward to most about the full return to school? Detailed below are some of the responses:
The children returning.
Having the children back.
Seeing children and parents.
Welcoming the children back.
Finally getting to have my class!
Being able to make a difference to all of our children and being able to see it.
Knowing that our teaching is having an impact on progress.
No longer maintaining and preparing two routes of learning.
Speaking to parents face-to-face.
Being able to see engagement.
Seeing the children’s work.
Seeing the reaction of children who haven’t seen their friends for a long time.
Having a real learning environment being used by lots of children.
I am sure you have been discussing the return to school at home as well. This week the younger children in Wales all returned to school, it has been lovely to see photographs on social media of lots of very happy children dressed in their uniform and excited about their return. The parents also looked very happy!
We understand that for some families there will be some anxieties about the full return to school, for a variety of reasons. We cannot promise anyone that they are protected from Covid19, nobody can do that. However, I can reassure you that our systems of control are robust. The measures that we have in place will remain and we will only reduce the number of restrictions when we are advised that it is safe to do so.
It is certainly very important that everyone continues to follow the rules regarding Covid19 in the hope we can prevent another lockdown. I am now in the habit of constantly washing my hands, standing at a distance and wearing my mask - in fact, it will be rather strange when we are no longer required to do this.
We have a new member of staff starting with us on Monday - Mr Watchorn. Mr Watchorn is going to be our School Business Manager. He is also going to be the School Business Manager at Newton Primary, one of our other primary schools. He will be with us for two days one week and three days the next. Mr Watchorn is very much looking forward to starting with us at Olive Hill. He will be responsible for personnel management, estate management, financial management, and matters that do not directly relate to teaching and learning. He will be working alongside our office angels (Mrs Carpenter and Miss Lee), Mr Weston and Mr Patel to ensure that we have everything in place to best support a high quality education for all our children. His appointment will mean that I have more time to work with the teaching staff to continue to develop our curriculum, I am also hoping that it will mean I can spend more time with our wonderful children. You will all get to meet him, from a distance, on your full return to school.
Next week, we will also welcome Mrs Isit to our teaching team. Mrs Isit is going to cover for Mrs Honey whilst she is on maternity leave. Mrs Isit has previously worked at Olive Hill and is looking forward to returning. Mrs Whitely will also be joining the reception team as a teaching assistant for the remainder of this term.
I must go now as Mr Weston is about to lock me in school! Have a wonderful weekend all.
Stay safe.