Month: February 2022

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW 1.3.2022

Dear Parents and Carers,
We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to school tomorrow. We have an exciting week ahead of us!
As you are aware, the current conflict occurring in the Ukraine really calls us to show empathy and consideration for not only those that live there, but those who live here in the UK who have relatives and friends that are affected.
To this end, our March Prayer is centred around the value of ‘Peace’.
I have attached some information for families that gives guidance around helping children to understand ‘World Conflict’. It looks to support children’s mental wellbeing at this time.
See you tomorrow.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
Prayer for March 2022
Supporting Mental Health

WEEKLY NEWS FOR FAMILIES 18.02.2022

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
HAPPY HALF TERM!
 
Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone in our school family for their understanding as we have navigated our way through this last half term! It has certainly thrown some curveballs at us! We were faced with the highest number of Covid cases that included both children and staff. Although we use two Supply Teacher Agencies, on many days there was no-one available. The children have been amazingly resilient putting up with a mixture of supply teachers in addition to  Mrs Hayes, Mr Hughes and myself. We covered the extra-curricular clubs between us so that we didn’t have to cancel and disappoint the children. On some occasions, we have joined classes within the same bubble together in the hall to watch a film together for the afternoon so that we didn’t have to send classes home. I realise that this is not ideal, but we have worked creatively to ensure that the children remained in school. We did have to shut Portchester class for one day. I am hoping that when we return on Tuesday 1st March that we will be able to go back to normal due to the lower case number that we currently have. We will make a decision about this when we return and know how many cases we have. Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
 
WORLD BOOK DAY 3.3.22
As you know, we will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. There will be not be any PE lessons that day, nor will there be Forest School. Pevensey class will have their Forest School day rearranged.
 
REPORTS TO PARENTS
The children have been busy this week contributing to their school report. They have considered how they see themselves as a learner, how they think, what motivates them and how they engage in their learning. These principles are based on the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’. The children have thought about their profile as a reader, a writer and as a mathematician. The teachers are writing the reports directly to the children so that it is more meaningful for them. They will be sent home to families in early March. At the end of the school year in July you will receive a numerical report based on the children’s attainment and progress accompanied by a ‘Parents Evening’ to celebrate and review the school year whilst looking ahead to the transition to the next academic year.
 
LOOKING AHEAD – LAUNCHING OUR LEARNING
When we return after half term, we have our new ‘Learning Journey’s’ ready to launch.
Lewes, Camber, Amberley and Bramber classes will be travelling through time.
Portchester, Pevensey and Southsea classes will be ‘SIZZLING’ & ‘SHIVERING’.
Arundel, Bodiam and Hastings classes will begin a theatrical experience.
Please see the attached documents for further information.
 
Have a fabulous holiday.
Take care
Kim Huggett
THEATRE WEEK ARUNDEL, BODIAM & HASTINGS CLASSES SPRING 2
SIZZLE & SHIVER PORTCHESTER, PEVENSEY & SOUTHSEA CLASSES SPRING 2
TIME TRAVELLERS LEWES,CAMBER, AMBERLEY & BRAMBER CLASSES SPRING 2

ROAD SAFETY – E SCOOTERS

Dear Parents and Carers,
We have received the following information from the ‘Road Safety’ department at West Sussex County Council.
In recent months, it has been brought to our attention that there is an increasing number of individuals riding e-scooters on the public highway, pavements and in public open spaces, often causing a nuisance to other road and pavement users.
 
E-scooters are a relatively new mode of transport and as such the Government is trialling various schemes and developing the guidance around their safe use. However, (at the time of writing this letter) many are still unaware e-scooters are classed as ‘Personal Light Electric Vehicles’ (PLEVs), which means they are treated as motor vehicles and subject to the same legal requirements such as:
 
  • Driving licence
  • Insurance
  • Number plates
  • Lighting
  • Brakes
  • Type approval
  • Road tax
  • Crash helmets etc. 
 
Without these, e-scooters cannot be used legally on the road and certainly not until legislation has been put in place. In no circumstances is it legal to ride on an e-scooter with a passenger(s) and is considered extremely dangerous. The illegal use of an e-scooter, on the public highway or pavement, is considered a criminal offence and can potentially bring about criminal proceedings.
 
The Government is currently trialling the use of approved rental e-scooters as environmentally friendly modes of transport in some specific locations in the UK (find out more here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-users).

Only approved rental e-scooters may be used in the Government-led trial areas, in line with specific terms of use. For the rest of the country, under current law, e-scooters can only be used on private land.

The police are obliged to take action against anyone who is caught repeatedly using an e-scooter illegally or in a way that causes a nuisance to others. In these circumstances, the police have the power to seize the e-scooter under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act/165 of the Road Traffic Act. There will be more and more police presence in the coming weeks and months specifically targeting e-scooter users in West Sussex.
For further detailed information regarding e-scooters please visit GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/powered-transporters/information-sheet-guidance-on-powered-transporters
 
County Road Safety Team
West Sussex County Council

CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,
We have been taking part in ‘Children’s Mental Health Week 2022’ here in school.
The theme was ‘Growing Together’.
I have attached an overview of the focus and a link to a website that you may find helpful.
Don’t forget we are here to support you and your families at any time.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
CHILDRENS MENTAL HEALTH WEEK 2022

WEEKLY NEWS FOR FAMILIES 11.2.2022

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
Thank you to all of the families who came to our ‘Time To Shine’ this afternoon. The children were really excited to share their work.
Spring is on its way! There are many signs of Spring around the school at the moment…snowdrops, catkins, daffodils, tulips. Have you seen them?
 
BIKEABILITY YEAR 6
Congratulations to our Y6 children who completed their Bikeability this week. The instructors commented on the exemplary behaviour and manners displayed by the children. Well done to all of our young bikers who took part.
 
CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE
We have a final total from our Reindeer Run in December. We have raised the amazing total of £2,190.00!! This is incredible. Thank you so much for all of the donations.
 
WORLD BOOK DAY – 3rd March 2022
We are really excited to be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. We would like to invite the children to dress up as a character from their favourite book.
The costume does not need to be expensive or brand new so please don’t worry.
The teachers are going to share their favourite book and plan the learning from their chosen text.
 
We look forward to seeing you all on Monday, please remember that we finish for half term on Thursday 17th February at the normal time.
 
Have a great weekend.
Take care
Kim Huggett

TIME TO SHINE TODAY

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
We are looking forward to seeing you for ‘TIME TO SHINE’ at 3.15pm and 3.20pm today. The sun is indeed shining as well!
We will have all of our doors and windows open as per the guidance.
Any adults attending this event must wear a mask as it will be inside the school building. This is in line with the guidance that the school grown ups will be following.
We ask that this is respected by all who are attending.
 
Thank you
Kim Huggett

COVID update

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
It has been lovely to welcome back many of our children following their recent absence with Covid.  I’m pleased to inform you that our covid cases today have dropped to 10 cases across the school in comparison to last weeks high numbers.  There is only one new case today which is included in the 10.  We continue to sanitise and ventilate as per the guidance here in school.  Please continue to test at home if your child is unwell or displaying any covid symptoms.
In order for child to return to school, we would suggest that you complete a LFT on day 5 and if this is negative, test again early on day 6.  If this test is also negative they will be able to return to school at the normal time for morning registration.
 
Take care
Shelley Farrell
Attendance and Family Support

Weekly News for Families 4.02.2022

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
It has been another busy week in school with children sharing their highlights of the week in worship today. Our younger children talked enthusiastically about describing aliens and planets ready to create their own space stories next week, while the older children talked very proudly about the biographies they have finished, the explanatory texts they have published and the art work they have created in the style of Peter Thorpe and Chris Mould. 
 
FEBRUARY PRAYER
Please find attached our February Prayer.
This month, our prayer is taken from 1 Corinthian 13 and is based on love. With Valentines day in a couple of weeks time,  it seemed the perfect opportunity to reflect on the words written by Saint Paul in one of his letters to the people of Corinth. 
 
THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
In their Key Stage worships on Thursday, the children considered how 70 years of being a monarch was an outstanding achievement and worth celebrating. We talked about street parties and how the nation might be celebrating on the extra Bank Holiday. The children were excited to hear about the Platinum Jubilee competition, so I have attached details of this below. As part of our worship, we have added our own special pudding bowl and spoon to our Worship table as a way of starting to generate our ideas about the ‘perfect pudding’ for the Queen. 
 
JUNIOR BAKE OFF
The popular television show, The Great British Bake Off, is now looking for the UK’s best young bakers to take part in their competition. Children aged 9 – 12 are invited to apply by Sunday 13th March 2022 if they would like to take part. 
Have a fabulous weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett
Platinum Jubilee competition
Prayer for February 2022
Junior Bake Off Flyer

COVID19 UPDATE 31.1.22

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
Over the weekend we have had a rise in positive cases across our school family.
32 confirmed cases
6 possible cases awaiting confirmation
3 cases whereby a member of the family within the household have tested positive
Currently the majority of cases are with our oldest children across Arundel, Bodiam and Hastings classes (22 confirmed cases).
Currently we have 8 confirmed cases across Portchester, Pevensey and Southsea classes.
Currently we have 2 cases across Lewes, Camber, Amberley and Bramber classes.
I have contacted the UK Health Security Agency today and am awaiting a response regarding any further action that we may need to take as a school. I will of course update you.
If your child is well, the expectation from the DFE  is that they are in school learning. If your child is unwell, they need to rest and recover, we will not be setting work for children who are at home ill. If your child is at home because there is no-one available to bring them to school due to COVID in the household, we will set work for them.
We continue to ventilate, sanitise/wash hands in school and operate as two bubbles. Each classroom was ‘fogged’ on Saturday. Staff are still wearing masks in corridors and areas that are less easy to ventilate.
Please continue to be vigilant and test as appropriate.
Thank you for your continued support.
 
Take care
Kim Huggett