September 4, 2020

Weekly News – Friday 4th September

This week's featured image is of a Year 5 and 6 'dance-off' as part of Games Day today.

Message from the Headmistress

Dear Parents,

What a joy it has been to have the pupils back in school and to hear their excited chatter! It has felt very positive and we are delighted by how receptive the pupils have been to our transition days. These have enabled the children to remember the social norms of being around other pupils and of collaborative learning. Friendships have been rekindled or made new and we have a better understanding of where all are emotionally. As I write I have a regular beat emanating from the hall as the pupils are doing some dancing!

For the staff, organisationally these three days have provided much challenge but all have worked hard to ensure the pupils are safe and that procedures are being followed. We were now ready to kick start the curriculum on Monday.

Please click here for a supplementary information sheet to be read in conjunction with the Parent Handbook about the rules and expectations regarding Coronavirus. Please contact us if you have any queries. I anticipate there being supplementary information weekly, sent with the Weekly News on a Friday. It will be more frequent if there is any urgency.

If you haven’t already done so, please can I remind you to fill in the Covid-specific medical survey linked below. We would be grateful if you could fill this in even if you already completed a form last term.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xAWfEV3QMkWb-RU-K65QKJouReBTjF1Oib0flVFdXoBUQzgyRDkyRUg0RVRGN0k1U0lZOEhIMUJCVy4u

We have welcomed (on my big-brother type assembly to the senior classrooms) all our pupils back, and all our new pupils especially. We hope all are ready to start afresh and to enjoy the term. It is different, but not unrecognisable. Should you need us we are all here to help and all new parents will be contacted by tutor mentors shortly to update you on settling in and establish what I hope will be a regular and open line of communication.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hutley
Headmistress

Message from the Head of Juniors

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to everyone! It has been just lovely to see parents, children and staff this week. The children are so happy to be back with their friends and we are enjoying hearing about trips they have been on, and new skills they have learnt over the period of school closure. A special welcome to new pupils who are settling in well and we hope they will be very happy here.

These first three days of term have given children the opportunity to catch up with friends, get to know new rules and routines, take part in team building and today, sports and fitness activities.  We have given the children lots of opportunities to talk about any anxieties they have coming back to school and will, of course, continue to support children with this.

Yesterday, for our Nottingham Day, children worked with Nottingham City Council and the Urban Room Partnership debating future improvements around the Broadmarsh area. The engagement was part of the Big Conversation launched by the City Council.

All year groups had a presentation showing how the city’s public realm has been transformed over the years and what the future of the city looks like. The presentation included a range of images of inspiring environments and child-friendly cities around the world. Pupils were made aware of their citizen’s rights regarding planning issues and how they can become involved in engagement processes for placemaking, and they contributed to shaping the vision for the Broadmarsh area. For further information on these topics or to participate in shaping Nottingham City, you can visit the following websites:

www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/information-for-business/planning-and-building-control/building-a-better-nottingham/broadmarsh-area-transformation

www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/big-conversation-future-broadmarsh-promised-4400728?fbclid=IwAR0IVZRi1quj8SGIZaYQot2h0RZ7_MrmzNL1f5F5yfKliaurdwlqaknoODE

https://co-place.org/engage-now

Thank you Dr Alvarez for giving up your time to deliver these workshops which we all found extremely interesting.

Next week, Form Teachers will be delivering online welcome meetings to all parents. You will receive an email from them with the details of these.

From Monday, please could children come to school in their PE kits on PE days. They will remain in kit all day so there is no need to bring uniform, but blazers should be in school at all times.

On Thursday 10th September, we will be celebrating Roald Dahl Day and are inviting all children to come to school dressed as a character from one of the author’s many books or poems.  Alternatively, children can simply ‘wear something yellow’.  During the week, we will also be completing various activities within class, all based on the theme of Roald Dahl and his love for creative writing.

Finally, if you have any questions at all, please contact me by email or telephone.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend,

Mrs Wright
Head of Juniors