Wednesday 8th July

Good afternoon all. One hopes that you have had a most splendid day and one wishes you a tremendous evening.

Apologies, I have just received a keyring that says I am the ‘Queen of Olive Hill’ and now I am talking like the actual queen. I shall snap out of it and get down to business.

Families, I have just watched the most wonderful video. It was called ‘The Grand Finale’. It starred the most amazing actors and actresses - I feel they all deserve an Oscar! I have a sneaky suspicion that some of you may have seen it, or even made an appearance in the video. Needless to say, I needed my tissues to watch it. On behalf of all of the staff here at Olive Hill, a massive THANK YOU for keeping us all in high spirits through what has been a very challenging time. My absolute favourite part of the video was seeing all the memories that you have been creating at home. I can see that so many of you have used this opportunity to spend lots of time together as a family. I love to jump in puddles; the waterslide looks so much fun; I will be looking out for those butterflies; I wish my dance moves were as good as yours; there is nothing better than giving your family a hug and your dogs are super cute.

We can’t wait for you to return in September. I have started to write a very long letter explaining what will be happening at the start of the autumn term and this will be published on the website and posted to your home along with your reports. Miss Walters has been busy setting up a production line in the small hall as there are quite a few things to fit in the envelopes.

At this time of year we always get a little bit of movement of staff, although for a school of our size it is a relatively small amount of movement. That is because our value of happiness extends beyond the children and incorporates the staff as well.

Next week we will be saying goodbye to Miss Homer (Y3) . Miss Homer has been with us for the academic year to cover Mrs Tansley’s maternity leave. Thank you Miss Homer for supporting our children and working incredibly hard in very different circumstances - she even agreed to stay a little bit longer so we could keep our bubbles from popping!

Mr Holder has been seconded to the Central Team at SVAT for the coming academic year. Mr Holder will be supporting all of the students and new teachers across the MAT. Although we won’t see Mr Holder everyday, he won’t be a stranger to us. Mr Holder is going to have a very important job supporting a new generation of teachers and he is going to be fantastic at it.

We will also be saying goodbye to Mrs Brady. Mrs Brady has worked at Olive Hill for a VERY long time. She is a very special lady who has made a difference in the lives of many children here at Olive Hill. She cares deeply about the children, staff and families of Olive Hill and it has been privilege to work alongside her. Mrs Brady is incredibly loyal and will do anything for anyone. Mrs Brady is going to be retiring. but I am sure she will be busy than ever - she has assured us that Mr Brady is now very good at making his own sandwiches! The Olive Hill community is really going to miss Mrs Brady and I am sure you will all join me in wishing her well in the future.

We have appointed three new members of teaching staff for next academic year. Miss Frost and Miss Care will be joining our team for the year and Mr Powell will be covering Miss Jenkins’ maternity leave. I am sure you will all enjoy meeting them when we return in September.

It is time for me to sign off now, I need to continue writing this rather long letter to you all.

We miss you. Stay safe.