Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome back to the summer term. We hope that we are able to have an uninterrupted summer term spent in school! Let’s keep our fingers crossed and work together to make sure that the route out of lockdown is not waylaid.

Due to the strange circumstances we find ourselves in, we have adapted our summer term curriculum.

We do not want to talk about catch up. This implies that something has been lost and we know that it isn’t that simple. All children have had very different experiences and we need to recognise this. 

We need to ensure that by the end of the summer term, our children have re-engaged with learning, that they are confident in the basics of maths and literacy, they have reinforced friendships and social skills, and that they have regained their work ethic and have adapted fully to being back in school. We need to make sure that they are ready for the new school year in September. They also need to have fun! 

During the summer term, all classes will focus on these aspects but they may do it in different ways. Year 3 children are going to focus on settling in, establishing routines, mindfulness, independence, and resilience, alongside the basic skills in Literacy and Maths. Year 4 will be focusing on the breadth of the curriculum, Elmhurst Etiquette, and presentation, alongside times tables, reading percentages, and writing activities. Year 5 will be concentrating their work on maths and literacy (presentation and standards) but also on the creative curriculum and lots of outdoor activity. Year 6 will be focusing on preparing for transition, Elmhurst Etiquette, and making sure that the core elements of English and maths are in place. They will all be very busy!

We will all try to make sure that we are outside learning as much as possible, as well and enjoying the sunshine!

We are also planning sports days, possible year 6 activities and so much more – we just need to wait for updated guidance. As soon as we have plans in place we will let you know.

We thank you for your ongoing support

Tracy and Mike

Website posts you may have missed:

News items and updates

Attendance at Elmhurst – w/c 22nd March 2021

Whole school = 95.9%

Year 3 – 95.3%

Year 4 – 95.6%

Year 5 – 97.0%

Year 6 – 95.7%

OFSTED report

We are now able to share the Ofsted report with you all. We are all pleased with the postitive result.

Social distancing reminder at the school gates:

It’s really good to be back at school, see infection rates dropping and have a bit more freedom to get out and about now some of the restrictions have been lifted.

However, we still need to be cautious and the guidance still states ‘Social distancing is still very important. You should stay 2 metres apart from anyone who is not in your household or support bubble where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings) if you cannot stay 2 metres apart.‘ Please be aware of this when dropping off or collecting children and we are asking that all parents/carers respect this and continue wear a mask at the school gates regardless of distance. This is to protect our children and the community. This is especially relevant at the traffic lights gate where there is less room to wait. If your children do use this gate please do not wait on the corner of Elmhurst Lane and Somerton Road and this can cause a bottleneck and has been highlighted by the County Covid Warden, there is plenty of room further along the Somerton Road pavement.

We also realise that parking is tricky but please do not drive into the car park to drop off children as this is in constant use by children from 8.15am to 9.15am. This is for thier safety.

Also, there is an area near the traffic lights where people park to drop off children. Please be careful when maneuvering here as there have been some near misses with cars reversing and turning, especially with children exiting the footpath.

Thank you for your understanding and support. Working together will get us through this.

Bikeability

We need your help! We have the bikeability sessions booked for 4th/5th May and the 17th/18th May. We really can’t do it, though, without adult support.

You will need to have access to your own bike and helmet and be available for both days. If you can do all four days it will be even better!

Please let Yvonne James (school office) know if you are able to help. Thank you in advance!

Reading at Elmhurst

Well done to Yew and Elm class in reaching the reading target for the week before Easter. This means that all children in the class read to an adult on at least four occasions. Something that we are aiming for all children to do.

Let’s all aim for 100% across all classes. Thank you for your support in this.

Street Library

From Monday 12^th April Street Community Library will be open for browsing.  

Our opening times will be:

Monday 9.30am-5pm,

Tuesday CLOSED,

Wednesday and Thursday 9.30am-4.30pm,

Friday 9.30am-5pm,

Saturday 9.30am-1pm. 

Numbers entering the building are limited. There are 2 public computers which we advise to book via strlib@somerset.gov.uk, by coming into the library or ringing Somerset Direct on 0300 123 2224. Sessions are limited to 60 minutes per customer.  

Staff are available to help with your reading and information enquiries and it’s free to join. To keep everyone safe, please wear a face covering and respect social distancing when in the library. 

Staff look forward to welcoming customers old and new. 

Women’s rights at Elmhurst

A group of our year 6 girls would like to raise awareness about Women’s rights. We are fully supportive of this and are proud of them for being empowered and showing great leadership.

On Tuesday 27th, they would like to ask children to support them by drawing stars and hearts on their hands. This is only with parental permission. The children will need to come to school with the stars and hearts already drawn. Children will be able to find more information on the posters displayed around the school.

The girls have also made a short film which will be shared with the classes before Tuesday.

And finally...

Headship at Elmhurst

The Governors, with the support from external agencies and the leadership team (not Mike and I), are conducting the interviews for the Headship today and tomorrow. Exciting times! Hopefully, all being well, we will be able to share more news in next week’s newsletter.

Work from the week:

In a change to the gallery work, we will now be including examples of work in the weekly newsletter. Here are some of the things we have being doing at Elmhurst this week.