Month: February 2021

Weekly News for Families 26.02.21

Dear Parents and Carers
 
It certainly looks like Spring is on its way today!  I hope you will manage to find an opportunity to enjoy the lovely sunshine either today or over the weekend.
Following the government’s announcement regarding the full re-opening of schools on Monday 8th March, this letter will share with you the arrangements we have put into place so far. 
 
SPRING BACK 2 SCHOOL
Monday 8th March will launch our ‘Spring Back 2 School’ week.  We have planned a creative and fun week for all of the children.  This starts with our ‘World Book Day’ on the Monday and Wednesday will see the whole school taking their learning outside for the day.  Please see the attached information regarding these two days.
Learning will follow a less formal structure during this week, so that the children have fun whilst settling back into school life.  We understand that some families may be anxious about the return.  We would like to share a message from Cass Tait, who is one of our school governors:
 
I just wanted to reach out to you all as a parent governor following the Prime Minister’s announcement that all children will return to school on the 8th of March. I know that these are scary times and, as parents, we are all worried about our children’s safety and wellbeing.
I have been fortunate enough to have my children at school during this latest lockdown and I want to assure you all that the school staff have been working really hard to make sure that the children are being kept as safe as possible. As before, every effort is being made to ensure that regular hand-washing is taking place and children are remaining n their class bubbles.
These have been uncertain and scary times and the staff and governors at Yapton do understand the anxiety about all the children returning to school. Please know that you can contact the school to discuss your concerns, or feel free to contact me if you would rather. We can’t predict how the coming weeks will play out, but we can reassure you that as a school family, we care very much about the safety and wellbeing of all of our staff and children. 
 
I’d also like to take this opportunity to say how amazing all of the home learning has been and we have seen some fantastic examples of the work your children have been doing. Thank you for your support with this, I know it’s been difficult but you’ve done a great job.
 
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FULL RE-OPENING OF SCHOOL
We are going to continue with our staggered timetable.  This includes the start and end of the day, as well the different times for break and lunch.  Children will need to wear their PE kits on their PE days (apart from the two days mentioned above).   The children who have been learning at home will need to bring their Home Learning Books back into school.  There will be a box in each classroom, so that these books can be ‘quarantined’ before the work can be looked at.
We will continue to ask parents to follow the social distancing guidance, which includes mask wearing and keeping your distance away from others whilst on the school grounds.  We will continue the restriction of one family adult on the school grounds at drop off and pick up times.  It may be useful to know many of the school staff have not yet received an offer for a vaccination. 
 
BUILDING WORK: PATHWAY IN FRONT OF PEVENSEY AND ARUNDEL CLASSROOMS
We are pleased that our wobbly footpath in front of these classrooms is going to be replaced.  The work will begin on Monday 1st March and will potentially take two weeks to complete. From Monday 1st March, entry to the school for some classes will be different.
Arundel Class – The children will use the staff entrance to the right of their classroom.
Pevensey Class – The children will use the main office door.
Southsea Class – The children will use the playground door nearest their classroom at the back of the school.
Portchester Class – The children will use the side gate to the Victorian Garden at the back of the school.
Please can the parents of children in Portchester and Southsea Classes use the gates in the school car park to enter the school grounds.
 
CHARTWELLS
If you would normally pay for your child to have a hot meal, please can we remind you to log back onto their website to place your order before the end of the weekend.
 
YOUR SPACE THERAPIES FAMILY SUPPORT
Samantha Wright, our school counsellor, will be available for you to call on Monday between 9:30am and 10:30am. The number for your to you to call is 01903 209991.  Any conversation you have will remain confidential.  The school will not know of any specific calls but will be told the number of calls and any common themes will be highlighted. If you feel you need a listening ear, some help or advice please call Samantha.
 
Thank you to everyone for their continued support.  If we can help anyone, please use the office2@yaptonschool.org email address which is regularly checked by Mr Hughes and myself.
Have a lovely weekend
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
SPRING BACK 2 SCHOOL 8.3.2021

Weekly News for Families 11.2.21

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
HAPPY HALF TERM ! 
Well done to everyone both at home and in school for keeping going!  Please enjoy the half term week with your families. The children have worked hard whether they have been at home or in school and really deserve a break. I have attached some fun activities that you may want to complete together if you are looking for ideas to do together as a family.
 
DRESS TO EXPRESS
Our video of all the photos of ‘expressive dressing’ that were sent in to us, blended with the school photos is now on our website. Even Paddington makes an appearance!
 
TRACK AND TRACE 
For those children who have been in school, I will be supporting the Track and Trace process until 4pm on Saturday afternoon. This follows the guidance of reporting cases that may affect others if the contact has been within 48 hours. Please use the office2@yaptonschool.org email to let me know. Any family who have a positive case within their family at any point in the half term holiday are also invited to contact school so that we can update our data regarding COVID cases and to keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
 
PARENTAL SUPPORT FROM YOUR SPACE THERAPIES 
Our school works closely with Your Space Therapies who provide counselling and play therapy. We have purchased a 6-week service to support our parents through this difficult time. Samantha Wright, our School Counsellor, will be available for you to call on a Monday from 9.30am-10.30am. The number for you to call is 01903 209991. This is confidential and school will not know which parents have called.  Only the number of parents and any common themes that occur.  If you feel that you need a listening ear, some help or advice then please call Samantha. This service will begin on Monday 15th February 2021 (the first day of half term).  I really hope that you find this useful.
 
A MESSAGE FROM PENNY DAVEY OUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS 
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank You and Well Done!
On behalf of the Governors I’d like to say a big Thank You for your continued support this half term.
At the recent Governor’s meeting Mrs Huggett reported on everything that is happening in school. How the children’s learning is organised, how hard the staff are working to deliver it, and the extraordinary lengths they go to for the benefit of the children. Your support is vital however, to make everything run smoothly, so thank you again.
 Also Well Done!  It can’t be easy juggling either the daily school run or helping the children with their learning at home, as well as organising everyday life under Lockdown.
I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy some time over half term with your child/children, weather and restrictions permitting!
Take care and stay safe,
Yours sincerely,
Penny Davey.
Chair of Governors.
 
REMOTE LEARNING FOR AFTER HALF TERM
We have listened to your feedback and have made some changes to our Remote Learning provision-specifically the online aspect.
The week’s learning in Early Years and Key Stage 1 classes will be launched with a video which will be on the School Website and linked through Google Classroom.  These classes will also have a meeting via Zoom each week.  A learning challenge which all the children in the class, whether at home or in school, will be explained as part of this meeting. 
Children in the Key Stage 2 classes will have two Zoom sessions.  The first one will be at the beginning of the week and the second will be later on.  Both of these sessions will have a focus on a learning task which the children will then complete once the meeting has finished. 
The timetable for these Zoom meetings is attached.
 
RETURN TO SCHOOL
The second half of the Spring term begins on Monday 22nd February.  We will still be partially open, however the Prime Minister is expected to make an announcement regarding the route out of lockdown.  Before then, please use the office2@yaptonschool.org email address if you have any concerns or queries.  This email address will be monitored regularly over the half term break.
 
Have a restful half term.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
Spring 2 2021 Class Zoom Timetable
HALF TERM IDEAS FEBRUARY 21 LEARN OUTDOORS
HALF TERM IDEAS FEBRUARY 21 INVENTOR SCAVENGER HUNT

Weekly News For Families 05.02.21

Dear Parents & Carers,
 
We are nearly there… Half term is on the horizon!
I do not underestimate the pressures you must be at home trying to juggle home learning with family life and your own work commitments.  The staff team here are full of admiration for you and count ourselves lucky to have such amazing families within in our school community.
Dress to Express
Wow! Looking at the outfits the children have been wearing in school along with the pictures you have sent in from home it is clear we certainly know how to express ourselves!  During next week, we will release a photo montage of everyone who has taken part.  Look out for this on our school website.  Please be assured only photos of the children will be used – no names will be included.  If you still need to send a photo in, please do this using the office2@yaptonschool.org email address by midday on Monday.
Online Gallery
We have really enjoyed seeing the work the children have completed at home.  Highlights include poems, stories and maths work as well as more creative pieces like art and crafts and dances.  These are going to be uploaded onto the school website in a new section in our Remote Learning tab.  Look for the ‘Home Learning Gallery’ in the Spring 2021 section.
Safer Internet Day
This year’s Safer Internet Day is on Tuesday 9th February.  In these unusual times where we are needing to rely on a range of methods of virtual communication, we all need to be reminded on the importance of staying safe online and the ways we can do this.  I have attached two online safety guides for you to look at as a family.
Road Names
Thank you to the families who sent in their ideas for road names for the new housing development in North End Road.  These have been received by the developers and those in Arun District Council who will be making the final decisions.  Let’s hope some of these suggestions will be used.   If they are, we will be able to share the news with you.
Remote Learning Arrangements For After Half Term
Responding to feedback from families and staff, we are revising our home learning provision.  Further details of this will be shared next week.  Every school is approaching the demands of remote learning in a different way.  Here at Yapton, we currently have 41% of our children in school with us.  Our teachers are teaching their class each day as well as providing the online learning on Google Classroom and the feedback required.  We therefore do not have teams of teachers to be able to share the workload.  It has been great to see so many of you coming to school to collect additional exercise books for your children to use.  If your children only have a few pages left in their books, please let us know and we can organise new ones to be collected.
February Prayer
Please find attached our prayer for February.  As we approach the season of Lent, the words of the prayer encourage us to think about how we should live our lives.
INSET Day
Don’t forget Friday 12th February is an INSET day.  As school will be closed there will not be any learning set on Google Classroom on this day.
Potential Snow Disruption
Looking at the weather forecast, we may have some snow over the weekend.  If adverse weather conditions mean the school has to be shut, we will let you know using ParentMail and Twitter.  We will only contact you if the school is going to be shut.  Any Zoom meetings planned will be rescheduled.
Please remember we are here to help.  The office2@yaptonschool.org email address is regularly checked by the Senior Leadership Team.
Have a lovely weekend.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
Safer internet day
PRAYER FOR FEBRUARY 2021
Supporting Young People Online

Welcome to Children’s Mental Health week 2021

The theme this year is ‘EXPRESS YOURSELF!’ 
The week has been introduced by the Duchess of Cambridge. In her introduction she refers to the importance of parent’s mental health in order to support their children. 
 
 

DRESS TO EXPRESS DAY – Friday 5th February 2021 
 
 On Friday we are going to ‘Dress to Express!‘ Wear your favourite colour, favourite outfit, favourite accessory or favourite clothes that you feel ‘express’ you as a person. We would like everyone to take part in this whether you are at home or in school. The outfit can be as simple…or as complicated as you like! Whatever you have in your wardrobe. If you are at home, we would like you to send photos to either our school twitter or to office2@yaptonschool.org and we can compile a gallery with those children who are at school(and have photo permission).