Should you wish to translate this newsletter, please select from the languages at the bottom of the web page.
4th September 2020
Dear Parents/Carers
I am delighted that in a few days we will be welcoming back children and families to start a new academic year. As always, it is a time of great excitement as we wonder what this year may hold for us, we look forward to being reunited with friends and we eagerly wait to share stories and news with each other. I know that it is also a time of trepidation – and especially so this year as it has been many months since school was partially closed for lockdown. I know that there may be worries about how easily it will be to settle in or what school life will look like in this new era. However, please be assured that St John’s is ready and prepared for the start of this new term. We are very keen to capture the excitement of a full return to school and have plans in place to ensure that everybody can quickly settle back in to a routine and enjoy playing and learning with friends. Pray with us for a happy, healthy and productive year in our school where we ‘love to learn and learn to love.’
Covid-19 Update
We continue to follow all government and local guidance on matters relating to Covid-19. Our opening plans, which set out the control measures in place at St John’s, were sent home earlier in the holidays and are also available on the website. Please ensure that you have read this before your child returns to school.
Quarantine
As much as we are keen for all children to return to school on Monday, if you have been away over the holidays and returned from a country that requires you to quarantine upon arrival back in the UK, please follow the advice that you were given. We ask that you inform the office of the situation and provide evidence of the travel to ensure the absence is authorised.
School Routines
The opening plans outline the following temporary changes to school procedures and routines:
Uniform Purchase
Children will be expected to return in September in full school uniform. If you haven’t already done so, uniform can be purchased from the office – please phone your order ahead and arrange an appointment to collect it.
Parking Reminders
To ensure the safety of our pupils and families as well as members of the public, please ensure that you park legally and considerately when dropping off or collecting children. Please do not park on yellow lines, the zigzags outside of the school gate, over residents’ driveways, in front of residents’ garages, across the school gates or in the staff carpark – all of these put the safety and wellbeing of others at risk. Please support us by setting a good example to the children at St John’s by parking legally and considerately.
Safeguarding
A reminder that the designated safeguarding leads at St John’s are myself and Mrs Warren. If you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of any child, please contact us immediately.
School dinners
It is important that school dinners (which are packed lunches at the moment) are ordered at home via the Caterlink website. To manage the new routines at the start of the day, children will no longer be able to order in their classrooms. If you have any problems with this, please let me know.
Residentials
We had 2 residential trips booked for this academic year. The Year 6 trip in September and the Nethercott trip in March. Unfortunately the Year 6 has been cancelled as schools are not able to go ahead with residential trips in the autumn term. Year 6 parents/carers will be contacted about this shortly.
At the moment we are hopeful that the Nethercott trip will go ahead in March but we are monitoring the situation closely.
Contact Details
Please remember to update your child’s contact and/or medical details regularly. This can be done via the Sims Parent Lite App or through the office.
Year 6 Applications For Secondary Schools
Online applications for secondary schools open on Friday 11th September and close on October 31st.
Term Dates
The term dates can be found on the school website or requested from the office.
Thank you very much for your support over this challenging time.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher
DIARY DATES
September
Monday 7th School Opens for Years 1-6
October
Friday 23rd 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
November
Monday 2nd School Opens
Tuesday 3rd School Photos
Monday 23rd INSET Day
December
Friday 18th 1.30pm Christmas Holidays Begin
January
Monday 4th School Opens
February
Friday 12th 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
Monday 22nd School Opens
April
Thursday 1st 1.30pm Easter Holidays Begin
Monday 19th School Opens
May
Friday 28th 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
June
Monday 7th School Opens
Monday 28th INSET Day
July
Thursday 22nd 1.30pm Summer Holiday Begins
9th July 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope that this letter finds you well. It seems unbelievable that this academic year is about to end – and yet we are without our usual opportunities to celebrate, share, pray and reminisce together.
This year has indeed been a strange one, and whether we have enjoyed the precious family time together or found ourselves in challenging circumstances, it really will be a year that we won’t forget. I, like many of you, have experienced both of those scenarios, but as I reflect on the past few months, I am very grateful to have been part of this strong, compassionate and positive community which has continued to reflect God’s light in the darkness of the pandemic. I would like to thank the staff, children, families, governors and our parish who have all continued to pray for our school, offer their best to our school and shown love to one another when it was needed most. Thank-you!
Covid-19 Update
We are continuing to follow all government and local guidance on matters relating to Covid-19. School has continued to be open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children since lockdown and to children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 since June.
The government has said that schools should open to all pupils in September and so we are currently reviewing our health and safety procedures ready for this, as well as working with the local authority and diocese on an opening plan. As soon as we have a plan in place, I will send a copy to parents and carers. Please be aware that to adhere to the guidance, we may have to review how and when children arrive at school and are collected from school. This will be part of the adjustments that need to be made to reduce contact between class bubbles and between parents.
Year 6 Goodbye
It is with much sadness that we say goodbye to Year 6 at the end of term. They have been a really delightful class of children who have given so much to our community and brought such joy to our daily lives. We have invited them in to school on Monday 20th July so that we can say goodbye to them and let them know - in a Covid-appropriate way – just how proud we are of them. It is not the goodbye that they deserve, but we will make it special and it will be heartfelt. I’m sure that they will have bright, interesting and fulfilling lives ahead of them and I look forward to hearing all about the difference that they continue to make in their schools and communities.
Reports
Like everything else, our ability to produce comprehensive end of year reports this year has been impacted by school closures. We have therefore produced a more basic report this year that is guided by information available at the point of lockdown and predictions that staff made earlier in the year. These reports will be emailed to parents/carers before the end of
term or, if your child is attending school, will be sent home with them before their last day.
Reception Baseline
You may have heard in the news that the government has decided to suspend the Reception Baseline Assessment that was planned for autumn 2020. It is now planned to begin in autumn 2021.
Residentials
We have 2 residential trips booked for the next academic year. The Year 6 trip in September and the Nethercott trip in March. We are currently trying to contact both organisations to discuss arrangements and options in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
OFSTED
OFSTED have announced that they have suspended their visits for the autumn term to allow schools the opportunity to focus on their response to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure that a suitable recovery programme is in place to address gaps in learning that resulted from the lockdown.
Challenge Partners
For the past couple of years, we have been part of the Challenge Partners programme which allows us the opportunity to review our teaching and learning alongside other senior leaders from across the country. Last year, we were graded as a ‘leading school’ reflecting our commitment to meeting the needs of our children and setting high expectations for all. This year, as a school that has been identified as having consistently high standards, we have been invited to be part of a programme called ‘Growing the Top’ which offers high performing schools the opportunity to work together to explore systemic excellence. I am sure that this will be a hugely interesting and positive opportunity for St John’s and I will keep you updated on our work within the programme.
School Uniform
Children will be expected to return in September in full school uniform. This can be purchased from the office on the afternoon of Thursday 3rd September or between 9am and 3pm on Friday 4th September. If you are able to phone ahead and let us know your order, we will get it ready for you.
Classes for September
Unfortunately we haven’t been able to do our usual transition with children but please find below the class teachers for September:
Nursery – Mrs White
Reception – Mrs Brown
Year 1 – Miss Brien
Year 2 – Miss Phillips
Year 3 – Miss Minall
Year 4 – Mrs Kahraman
Year 5 – Mrs Munns and Mrs Cornborough
Year 6 – Mrs Bailey and Mrs Leaman
Mrs Beaton will be sending home some social stories for children who she has been working with. These will help them to prepare for their new classes.
Contact Details
Please remember to update your child’s contact and/or medical details regularly. This can be done via the Sims Parent Lite App or through the office.
Term Dates
The term dates can be found on the school website or requested from the office.
The school and nursery will close for the summer on Friday 17th July.
Thank you once again for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher
DIARY DATES
September
Thursday 3rd INSET Day
Friday 4th INSET Day
Monday 7th School Opens for Years 1-6
October
Friday 23rd 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
November
Monday 2nd School Opens
Tuesday 3rd School Photos
Monday 23rd INSET Day
December
Friday 18th 1.30pm Christmas Holidays Begin
January
Monday 4th School Opens
February
Friday 12th 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
Monday 22nd School Opens
April
Thursday 1st 1.30pm Easter Holidays Begin
Monday 19th School Opens
May
Friday 28th 3.30pm Half-Term Begins
June
Monday 7th School Opens
Monday 28th INSET Day
July
Thursday 22nd 1.30pm Summer Holiday Begins
15th June 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope that this letter finds you and your family safe and well. We are now in the final half term of this academic year when we would usually be preparing for our end of year activities but are instead wondering how and when schools might fully open. As strange as it is to be in our current situation, please remember that our school community continues to thrive and school staff are still here to support you and your child through this tough time.
School Reports
To adhere to government guidelines on reporting to parents, a shortened school report will be written for each child. The information will include end of year predictions, rather than assessments, informed by how your child was performing before the national lockdown in March. Reports will be emailed to you before the end of term. There will be an opportunity to discuss the report by phone or at the parents evening that we are planning for September.
Home Learning
Thank you very much for all support and hard work with the home learning. As you will have seen, we have now moved towards a topic themed approach so that if you have more than one child in school, they will all have similar activities. Our home learning staff are doing a fantastic job of setting and marking work as well as contacting families – your child is able to contact them through the class blog or 2email on purple mash.
Children Currently Attending School
We have remained open for the children of keyworkers and vulnerable children since lockdown and are grateful for the positive feedback that we have had on this provision.
Since the 1st June, we have welcomed back children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 and they have now settled in to their new routines.
With the new guidelines, staff rotas and routines, please be reminded that it may take up to 2 weeks from you contacting us for an eligible child to be able to return to school.
Food Parcels
From time to time, we are being offered food parcels to distribute to families that may welcome them. Please let me know if it would be helpful to you to receive one.
Year 6 Hoodies
As staff and governors, we recognise how sad it is that Year 6 will be leaving us this year without their anticipated show, assembly or trip. We have therefore decided to order a leaver’s sweatshirt as a gift for each of them as a reminder of their time at St John’s. If you have a child in Year 6, please look out for the text and let the office know the size that you require.
Term Dates
We were due to have an INSET day on Monday 29th June but have decided to move this to Monday 20th July. This means that term ends for children at 1.30 pm on Friday 17th July.
Although we do not yet know what the government intends to do about social distancing and therefore the opening of schools in September, our planned term dates for September are:
Thursday 3rd September – INSET Day
Friday 4th September – INSET Day
Monday 7th September – First day of the autumn term
Thank you once again for your continued support of our school and of each other. Please be assured of our prayers and thoughts at this time and do let me know if there is anything further that we can do to support you and your family.
Yours sincerely,
L. Park
Head Teacher