Dear Parents, Carers and friends,
We are now into our second full week and we couldn’t be prouder of the children. They are doing amazingly well and adapting to the new normal brilliantly. They are, on the whole, really happy to be back in and getting on with things. As are we!
We couldn’t have got to this point, though, without your support. Thank you so much for everything you have done to support the changes we have had to put in place: the new drop off and pick up routines, the staggered start times and the anti-bacterial hand gel etc. You have also been brilliant. THANK YOU!
There is much more that we may need to do differently this term. We already know that we aren’t able to do our Harvest Service, the Remembrance Service, and Christmas performances. We also need to think about how we do parent and teacher meetings differently, whether we can, after half term, return to serving hot dinners, whether we can start to use the library again and how we do PE inside once the weather changes. There are so many everyday routines that we have to think extra hard about – knowing that we have your support makes this much easier!
Tracy and Mike
Attendance for the week beginning: 7th September 2020
Whole school – 98.1% – well above target and a great start to the school year.
Year 3 – 94.9%
Year 4 – 99.5%
Year 5 – 99.5% – well done to year 5 – top of the leaderboard this week!
Year 6 – 98.0%
Well done to Holly and Hazel classes who both have 100% attendance for last week. An amazing start to the school year, especially during the pandemic. An extra playtime is coming your way!
What’s happening next week? w/b 21st September: (click on the date to go to the school calendar)
Much is going on in school but, once again, there isn’t much that we can invite you to at this point!
News items and updates
Coughs and colds, sneezes and blocked noses.
As in any year, as schools go back, children (and staff) may pick up common colds or feel unwell with a sore throat, stomach upset or a headache. These children may need to stay off school and parents/carers should call their GP or dial 111 to seek medical advice if they are concerned about their child’s health. This site may be of help:
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
What to do if your child has symptoms
If your child has any of the main symptoms of coronavirus:
- Get a test to check if they have coronavirus as soon as possible.
- Stay at home and do not have visitors until you get the test result – only leave your home to have a test.
Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also stay at home until you get the result.
Get advice from NHS 111 if you’re worried about your child or not sure what to do.
- For children aged 5 or over – use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service.
Somerset has also produced this very handy Covid Checker:
Flu vaccination
This year all children in years Reception, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will be offered flu vaccination in school. It is expected that the school-based program will commence in Somerset early in October 2020. Our provisional date is Tuesday 24th November.
This is the sixth year of the school-based Flu programme. This year it is even more important to encourage children in schools to receive the flu vaccine in order to support the NHS through a winter where it is highly likely that COVID will continue to circulate in our communities.
A specific leaflet for this year’s extraordinary programme has been published by Public Health with information for parents. This will be sent home to you. More information can also be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flu-vaccination-in-schools
Foodbanks
During the COVID—19 crisis, The Salvation Army in Street set up an emergency food bank to support the community. It has now become permanent. Families can be referred to the Foodbank by various agencies, including school. In fact, many of our families have already benefitted from their support.
We do appreciate that times are hard for many families but, if you are in a position to help out, the Foodbank is in need of donations. Please refer to their Facebook page for donations needed: https://www.facebook.com/The-Salvation-Army-Street-Corps-105742381264291
Glastonbury/ Street Bridging the Gap (covering BA6 and BA16) are also in need of donations. If you would like to donate food to help support local people in crisis, please ask for the latest needs list and drop the items off at any of the churches in the area, or in the collection box in Morrison’s store in Glastonbury. They can e-mail you a copy of this list or it can be found in the leaflet holder on the Morrison’s box or on the Churches Together website: http://together.ourchurchweb.org.uk/glastonbury/features/needs/
Normally, around this time of the year, the year 4 children would host a wonderful Harvest Show and your kind donations would then be delivered to the Foodbanks. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, neither of these can happen.
Secondary school applications for current year 6 children.
Even though we have just started the new school year, secondary school applications for next year will be starting very soon. We have been asked to share the following with you. We will share the information from other secondaries as and when we hear from them.
Crispin has made some changes to their transition events in light of the COVID – 19 guidance. All Open Mornings and the Open Evening will now take place virtually. Please see the attached letter for more information:
Huish Episcopi Academy will be hosting an online open evening on Wednesday 16 September. The evening will involve a live “TEDx” style presentation followed by a Q&A session – using questions sent in by parents in advance. Could parents email any questions they have to: openevequestions@huishepiscopi.net. The live presentations will be 5pm, 5.45pm & 6.30pm, a link will be displayed on the school Facebook page and the school website https://www.huishepiscopi.net/news/?pid=3&nid=1&storyid=8 early next week.
You will also have the opportunity to watch videos and interviews with members of staff and pupils to get a sense of the academy.
We will share information from St Dunstan’s when we receive it.
The applications website is now open for secondary applications. The deadline is 31st October. Applications are made via the link below:
Year 3 applications for September 2021
Normally, we would be inviting year 2 parents into the school during this term for a visit before parents/ carers submit their applications for the next academic year. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, we are unable to hold those coffee mornings this year.
Instead, Mr. Lawrence will be producing a virtual tour film to give you some indication of the school. We aim to get this out to Year 2 parents/carers via the Hindhayes website by the end of October. The closing date for Junior school admissions is 15th January. Applications are made via the link below:
Data collection sheets – Year 3
Please can all parents/ carers send in their data collection sheets as a matter of urgency. The information provided on this sheet is vital in the case of an emergency. If you have misplaced the data collection sheet, please contact the school office.
Blended learning
We are already making contingency plans in case we need to go into a local lockdown. The children will continue to use Google classroom in class, and at home, to help them continue with their learning if we are unable to open the school or they, or a family member, are asked to self isolate due to a positive test result.
Throughout September, all staff will be making sure that children can access Google classroom at home and that they remember their passwords and how to log in. We will also start to ask them to do little activities at home throughout September, using the classroom, just to keep it fresh in their minds. The year 3 children will need lots of support with this as it is very new to them!
Miss House has produced these images. It would be helpful to see if your child can log on using the device you have at home. There were many teething problems when we first went into lockdown. Many parents came up with solutions, though, so we will need to help each other! Class dojo is the easiest way to contact the class teachers in case help is needed.
Nb. their email address will be j.bloggs@ejsch.co.uk
We will send out more information about Google classroom and how it works next week. First things first, check that your child can log in and can see where to access the classroom. Codes will be sent out later!
We do understand, though, that not everyone has internet access or appropriate devices and so we will continue to provide paper copies for those children and families who need it.
In order to help us with this contingency planning, it would be very helpful for class teachers to know who has internet access/ suitable devices at home and who would require paper copies. Please could you message the class teacher asap with this information? You can contact them either through Class Dojo, email, or by calling the school office who will pass the message on.
Just for information: The Department for Education has teamed up with BT to give children and young people free access to BT wifi hotspots. BT has created 10,000 hotspot log-ins that can be activated through name/password combinations. It calls these combinations ‘vouchers’. This is being trialed in some schools at the moment but, unfortunately, we are not one of the pilot schools. We will keep you posted as and when we hear more!
Okehampton
As you will know from last week’s newsletter, we have had to change the date for the current year 6s trip to Okehampton from this week to May 2021.
Just to add to the confusion, we also need to start promoting the Okehampton residential for September 2021 to the current year 5 children!
We thought it may be useful to share with you all the video we made of last year’s trip.
We will send a letter home to the Year 5 parents and carers over the next couple of weeks with more details.
Bookings for Wrap Around Provision
We are so pleased that the WAP club is back up and running – albeit in a limited capacity. If you do need to book, please download the booking form and email to: ALaffan@ejsch.co.uk. Bookings will not be processed if they are sent to the WAP Facebook group or to Abbie’s personal Facebook page or email. Bookings will only be processed if they are received through Abbie’s school email: ALaffan@ejsch.co.uk. Thank you.
On that note, we are unable to take bookings unless payment is made in advance. The booking form states:
“The cost is payable in advance by the Friday of the previous week.”
Your child’s place is not secured until the payment has been received. We do accept that this cannot always be the case in an emergency.
Items of property
Please make sure that all items of clothing are named. This is even more important in the current climate.
Car park entrance
Please could parents and children using the car park entrance refrain from sitting on or leaning on the cars? Thank you.
School vacancies
There are a couple of vacancies in the school.
School Business Manager (closing date is tomorrow!)
Mrs Smith, our Finance Officer, will be leaving us at the end of September. Karen has been at Elmhurst for the last twenty three years and will be missed but we all wish her the every best for her future journies! (Travel is beckoning!)
Please see the vacancies page for more details and an application form.
School cleaner
We also have a vacancy for an additional cleaner. If you are interested, please contact the school office for an application form or download it here:
The job will be 11.25 hours per week. Grade 17 – £9.00 per hour and is paid for 45.3980 weeks per year and paid over 12 months. This includes two weeks holiday deep clean.
If you would like to know more, before completing an application form, please contact Mike Lawrence. The closing date for this vacancy is Monday 21st September.
And finally…
“Give people the benefit of the doubt”