Friday 27th November

Happy Friday!

Can you believe we only have three weeks left of the autumn term? Today I received my first Christmas card, and it was from one of our wonderful children here at Olive Hill.

As we creep ever closer to the festive period that also means I need to start my Christmas shopping. For the first time, I am going to have to do most of it online. I am also hoping to support smaller businesses during this difficult time.

Speaking of things online, e-safety is very much a part of our curriculum here at Olive Hill. We do aim to educate our children about the importance of keeping themselves safe online. It is really important that, as parents and carers, you remain vigilant about what your children are accessing and doing online. Most apps have an appropriate age rating.

As a school, we would discourage the use of mobile phones on drop-off and collection. It is far better for you to be solely focused on your child at this time. I do love to observe the warm embraces our children receive at the start and end of each day. Hugs from those you love are just the best! If you are using a mobile phone on the school grounds, from a safeguarding point of view, you should not be capturing any images that could contain images (either still or moving) of children other than your own. We have had reports of some adults using video calling, this could unintentionally result in you capturing an image of a child.

As always, there has been a lot going on in school this week. Many of our classes have started making their traditional Christmas Hoop decorations. There has been a lot of glitter everywhere, including all over Mrs White! On Wednesday, year two had a special topic morning where drama was the focus of their learning. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Reception have been learning about Eid celebrations this week and have even been doing some cooking (not that I got to taste anything). Year three had their very own pyjama day today, they all looked very snuggly as they arrived in school this morning. Talking of dressing up, we are inviting our children to wear festive jumpers on Wednesday 9th December (Christmas dinner day) and Friday 18th December (our last day of term).

The Friends of Olive Hill are an amazing group of parents, carers and grandparents, who aim to raise money for the school so we can buy those special little extras for our children. Unfortunately, due to Covid19, they have not been able to undertake their usual fundraising activities so far this year. Although, they do have a few ‘covid-secure’ ideas that we hope you will support. Charlotte Clarke has been a dedicated member of the Friends of Olive Hill for a long time, both of her children have now gone onto secondary school and as a result she has made the decision to step down. I am sure you will all join me in thanking Charlotte for the commitment she has shown to the children of Olive Hill.

A very short note about hope…

You will all know that, following the end of lockdown, Dudley will be in Tier 3 regarding restrictions that are in place to limit the spread of Covid19. Both Dudley and Sandwell have some of the highest rates of infection in the country. Sometimes, it can feel that the hope of ever returning to normal is dwindling. Just last week, a book entitled' ‘The Book of Hopes’ landed on Mr Priest’s desk. The book has been edited by one of my favourite authors, Katherine Rundell, and in her introduction she writes the following:

Real true hope isn’t the promise that everything will be all right - but it’s a belief that the world has so many strangenesses and possibilities that giving up would be a mistake; that we live in a universe shot through with the unexpected. there’s never been a single decade in human history when we have not taken ourselves by surprise: we, the ungainly, wonky-toothed human species, have an endless potential for change. I am not an optimist, or a pessimist; I am a possibilityist. The possibilities out there for discovery, for knowledge, for transforming the world, are literally infinite - there are spectacular ideas that we will have in the next ten years that we can’t even begin to dream of now.

Reading this gave me hope, hope of a better future, hope of a better world, hope that our children will create this change. Our children need to be given the opportunity to create this change, therefore it is important that we protect their education now. As a community we need to keep each other safe.

It is time for me to go home - I need to finish putting my Christmas decorations up (yes, I am one of those people who puts their decorations up in November). Sadly, I am not allowed any visitors in my house but seeing the lights twinkling on my tree makes me smile.

From me and all of the wonderful staff here at Olive Hill, have a great weekend. Enjoy the small things in life.

Stay safe

Reminder: we have an INSET day next Friday 4th December.