Days like today, when we come together to wear red and support charities such as Comic Relief are joyous occasions to behold. I always like to be able to share a joke with people because smiles can make such a difference. For those that also like a joke…

I heard that there is a new restaurant opening called ‘Karma’. 

Apparently there is no menu; you get served what you deserve.

School Finishing Times

I am very pleased that we have been able to move the pick up times later for our younger children (14:30) but I have heard it is causing some issues outside of school grounds. The difficulties are about limited parking and social distancing due to some crossover. We will be reflecting on these issues but we really do not want to be making the end of day an earlier pick up again for our younger children and a later finish is not an option with St. Paul’s and staff hours. Please feel free to share solutions as you drop off and pick up next week. 

A reminder that there should be no parents coming into school grounds and parking in bays without a pass. We will soon have an electronic gate stopping anybody from entering at any point in the day without permitted access so it would be worth getting into the habit of parking and walking in. For the exceptional circumstances where parents are able to come into the shared drive, a pass is given and a specific bay number. 

The final reminder on drop-off and pickup times, always follow the one-way system otherwise access to the site will be officially removed. The risk assessment and procedures are in place to help stop the spread of coronavirus. We will officially pursue having any parents not adhering to the procedures, being unable to come onto site – this you will appreciate, will cause those parents a significant issue.

Lunch Bookings, Payments and Snacks

I am pleased that everybody has got back into the habit of making their bookings in time for the week ahead. Please continue to do so and remember to go into Arbor to top up your balances, as required. We currently have £186.70 owed. Those parents need to clear the amount or be ready to pick their children up on Monday for the duration of lunch. 

A reminder that the only snacks permitted at school is a piece of fruit. Please do not send your child in with anything else as it will be upsetting when they are unable to eat it. 

Punctuality

Being punctual is very important, whether it is the time you arrive or the time you leave. Things do sometimes happen but these should be very rare. This week I have noticed a few children arriving as late as 08:15. To be on time, children should be in school before 08:00 so that they are able to be sat down in class by 08:00. We have not been recording things as we would normally be in these first two weeks back, but we will be from Monday. Children who arrive in class late will receive a late mark and you will receive communications confirming this. These matters will be discussed in our termly meetings with the Education Welfare Officer and where we see regular late arrivals, the EWO will take this further.  Please do work hard to help your child arrive on time and set good habits that will help in their future employment. 

Mrs Tank and Mrs Surani

Many of you may well be aware that Mrs Tank is expecting a baby. Today is her last day with us and she goes with our very best wishes. Lockdown has meant the usual connections are unable to occur and for many, Mrs Tank’s ‘bump’ will not have been seen. The baby is expected in the next few weeks and we look forward to hearing all about the new addition, when he or she arrives. 

Mrs Surani has a ‘bump’ that is a little less noticeable – congratulations too! Mrs Surani will be off on maternity from the 1st May, which is three weeks after the Easter break. We have learnt so much over the past year so covering Mrs Surani is reasonably simple as we can get Year 6 Mayapur to go back to Remote Learning – simple enough. I am sure you will support this strategy whole-heartedly… It is Comic Relief so please bear with us… Mrs Chauhan will take the class for the remainder of the year; we will not be using the Remote Learning idea. 

Again, congratulations to both Mrs Tank and Mrs Surani. 

Tech Challenge

Our Tech Challenge has changed due to the lack of everybody being able to use the device at the same time. It will be continuing but as a piece of homework for the week ahead. 

This week’s Tech Challenge is to access a class ‘Padlet’ via Google Classroom. Each class’s Padlet will have an invitation to contribute to it, preparing some resources or thinking prior to a lesson next week. 

I did mention in an earlier Friday Update that we are looking at how we set homework and this kind of  pre-learning/preparation is part of it. 

Focus on…

The 23rd Focus on… Kahoot is complete. Well done to all that made it to the end and especially the podium. View the animated podium by clicking here. 

Thank you all for your continued support.

Take care and stay safe.