Dear Parents and children,
How lovely it has been for us to speak to you all this week on the phone. It has great to listen to all that has been going on with your home learning routines and how you are keeping yourself entertained with activities such as arts and crafts, sports, dog walks, gardening and cooking.
Just a reminder that when we call our contact may appear as ‘No caller ID’ so if it is convenient, please could you answer the call so that we can make contact with your family and have a catch-up with your child. It is so important that we remain in contact as a school and class community. We have had such lovely feedback from families that this contact is appreciated and as teachers we do miss our daily contact with our class and in times such as these, it is made even more apparent to us.
In answer to a few common queries that have been asked over the last few days:
- If your child was not in school for the final day before closure any books, PE kits or pencil cases will be stored in school until it is safe/allowed to be returned. The school is following the government’s guidelines for strict social distancing and non-essential journeys.
- If any child has requested any login details for My Maths, Sumdog or TT Rock Stars – these will be emailed to you directly.
- If your child is doing any arithmetic tests on the Maths sites, the answers should be displayed as you answer the questions – please check with your child the answers to identify any areas to practise. Thank you.
- If you did not receive any books from school for home learning, please use any paper, notebooks or scrapbooks you have at home to record any home learning.
- When speaking to children they have all said that they really value keeping in contact with their friends and many have formed groups to stay in contact with each other from a distance. Can we just remind you of the post from The Headteacher’s blog page last week: “Firstly, may I launch the very first (of many!) St Peter’s Phone Call Fridays. Unlike teenagers in secondary schools, the vast majority of our pupils do not own mobile phones, and nowadays most children and teens who do own them don’t actually use them for making calls. But this needs to change, and we can make that difference for our children. I would ask that at least every Friday, you take the time to allow your child to call up, or if you have the facility Face Time, one of their friends for a proper conversation and catch up. This is not messaging on Roblox or Fortnite (which primary aged children should not be playing anyway), but a chance for a natter and a giggle with friends. If parents are willing, perhaps some more numbers can be swapped between adults so that more and more children have the means to have conversations each Friday. Obviously, sharing numbers is entirely at a parent’s discretion and should only be done between adults using adult and not pupil phones, with the usual sensible safeguarding measures in place. However, the gradual building up of some trusted communication networks could be a great way to help the children feel a part of St Peter’s even when we are forced apart.”
Thank you again for your time this week and if you need to contact the school for any reason, please phone or email and someone will get back to you.
Stay safe and well,
Best wishes,
The Year 5 Team