Headmaster's Message
Dear Parents
One thing we have all learned during the recent lockdown period is that although it is often not impossible to do many of the things that we normally do, it is always considerably more complicated. A very good example is yesterday evening’s welcome session. We felt it was important to carry on with the evening as it is such a useful way of sharing information and engaging with parents ahead of the new academic year. Many schools run these during the first few weeks of term, but I believe it works much better to have them in the final week or so of the preceding year. Hopefully it gives everyone an idea of what lies ahead and we can all go into the new academic year focused on our goals and with a shared vision.
Doing this through Teams meetings and events did provide some challenges. I know that there is a delay in sharing the recordings of the from teachers meetings, but we have a solution in place and they will be with you very soon. A number of parents submitted questions in advance of the meeting and I hope I was able to deal with them either during my talk or in the Q&A session at the end. If questions do remain please feel free to contact me, or the right person here in school, and we will do our very best to answer them.
The two classes who came into school for their sessions this week have had a wonderful time. It has been lovely to see so many smiling faces and happy children. It does bring home the impact of so many weeks out of school and the release and relief that it provides when we can finally start getting back to normal. We have two more classes due to come in next week and I do hope they have a similar experience. As I mentioned in the session yesterday, we will be looking closely at how we integrate the children back into school next term, always mindful of the potential effects the lockdown may have had on them socially, as well as academically.
Next week is also the final few days in school for our current Year 6. I will be saying this a number of times over the next few days, but they have been a wonderful year group and we will miss them very much. However, we have worked hard to put together what we hope will be a fitting send off in the best traditions of the school. This will culminate in the leavers’ service on the final day. All of the children and families can look forward to a video of this event very soon following the end of term, hopefully within a matter of a few days. On a similar theme, we will also be running our usual end of term assembly on Friday morning where we recognise the achievements of children outside of Year 6. This will go out to the children with their Seesaw lessons on Friday morning.
The changeable weather forecast for the weekend might come as a welcome relief to many people following the soaring temperatures of recent days. It might even give me a break from having to water the vegetables. Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you enjoy some quality time with your children.
