Wednesday 15th July
Happy Wednesday all!
We have one more day left with our limited number of children before we break up for the summer. If someone had asked me in September what the year ahead would look like I never would have predicted the current situation we find ourselves in.
Nobody could have foreseen that we would be unable to watch our reception children graduate; unable to wish our year six children all the best as they move to their new secondary school; unable to see the joy in children’s faces when they find out who their new teacher is going to be; unable to laugh with the children as they help us move all the classroom furniture ready for the next year; unable to look back at the children’s learning with them; unable to listen to the children talk about their memories of the year…I could go on and on, but I am making myself really sad.
Despite the difficult circumstances we have all found ourselves in and the many changes we have experienced, there continues to be many positives. For me, the way our community has come together gives me an immense sense of pride. The staff of Olive Hill have been outstanding; the families of our children wonderful and our children have simply been amazing! A huge thank you to you all. You make the hard work worth it.
We cannot wait for you to return in September. After such a long time away from us I know that our community is going to be experiencing a mixture of emotions: excitement, joy, apprehension, worry.
When you return to us in September our expectations of behaviour will remain the same for our whole school community, ‘READY, RESPECTFUL, SAFE'.’ Our team of wonderful staff remains largely unchanged, we will still be smiling and we want to be the best we can be for you. The building remains the same or even better in the places that have been painted or refurbished. The routines will be different: parts of our day will be staggered, there will be no bells, you will have to remain in your class/year group and only a limited number of staff will work closely with you. You will still come to school to learn, there will be some things that you have forgotten and new knowledge that you will have gained - we will support you from whatever your starting point is.
Today children I have one final quiz for you. Yesterday, all of the staff at Olive Hill received a gift from one of our families and we are all grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland (I wonder why I keep making references to that book, it could possibly have something to do with the fancy dress tomorrow). Anyway, two of our beautiful children made all of the staff at Olive Hill a bracelet - they must have been super busy, there are a lot of us! Today we have all been modelling our new jewellery whilst holding an object that partly gives away our school identity. Can you guess who is who?
Good luck. We miss you. Stay safe.
