Monday 22nd June

Hello you lovely lot! How are you? Did you have a good weekend?

On Friday evening during the daily coronavirus briefing (do you watch them?), the education secretary Gavin Williamson did mention the aim of all children returning to school in September. He has promised that schools will be provided with more detailed information over the next two weeks. We will keep our families informed of any developments. There are several ways that we are communicating with you at the moment, including the use of ParentMail. We would ask that all of our families ensure that their details are up-to-date on ParentMail, or you could miss out on important information. If you are having any difficulties with accessing ParentMail, please contact the school office so we can offer support.

This weekend I went for a bike ride. I thought it was a really good idea and I was very excited about the prospect of riding a bike for the first time in a very long time. Well today, I am regretting the bike ride as I am rather sore!

I do own a rather lovely mountain bike - it is very impressive. I purchased it about 7 years ago, when I decided I was going to start mountain biking as a hobby. I have not once used the bike for that reason! Oh dear! Anyway, I am not sure why I am telling you that story as I didn’t even use that bike. I used a child’s bike for my ride at the weekend. As well as a small bike, I also had a huge backpack. I do like to pack for all eventualities. In my backpack I had my phone, my purse, my makeup, a jacket, a drink, a packet of biscuits, a bag of sweets, a pack of crisps, hand gel, wet wipes and tissues.

At the start of my journey I did wobble around a little bit on the bike, but after a while I was able to ride in a straight line. The bike did have a few gears, but I didn’t touch them for fear that I would cause some damage to the bike. Have you got a bike? Are you able to ride a bike really well? Or do you wobble around a bit like me? Perhaps you have been on some bike rides during lockdown? Mr Patel has been riding his bike to school, he even comes up a really steep hill! Well done Mr Patel. There was a hill on my bike ride, I got off the bike and pushed it up the hill.

As usual, I have been doing some research to share with you - you’ve probably guessed what I have researched this time: bikes!

A bicycle, or bike, is a small, human powered land vehicle with a seat, two wheels, two pedals. and a metal chain connected to cogs on the pedals and rear wheel. A frame gives the bike strength, and other parts are attached to the frame. The name comes from these two words - the prefix ‘bi’ meaning two, and the suffix ‘cycle’ meaning wheel.

The first two-wheeled bicycle was created in 1817 by a German professor. It was made of wood and had two wheels. It did not have any pedals, so the rider would have to push their feet on the ground to make it move. In the 1860s, French inventors added pedals to the front wheels. Later inventors made bikes out of metal only, and made the front wheel very big, giving higher speed. This design was called the penny-farthing bicycle. It was difficult to ride, since it could fall easily. Over the decades, designers have continued to improve the design of bicycles - adding special steering, brakes, tires and gears.

Now you can get bikes for many different purposes: mountain bikes for riding on rough terrain; urban bikes for riding in cities; a tandem bicycle made for two people; folding bicycles for easy storage; electric bicycles that have electric motors and road bicycles that have very narrow wheels. I wonder what bikes of the future will look like?

If you are out riding a bike it is important that you keep yourself safe. Wearing a helmet makes bicycle riding a lot safer.

We miss you all. Stay safe.