Newsletter 1 Autumn 2020

Welcome Back
Welcome back to the beginning of a new school year! I know that every member of school staff will wish to join me in expressing how delighted we are to be fully open again and how immensely proud and impressed we are with the attitude and behaviour of all the children. From our new 4 year olds who have started school having to leave their parents at the gate and carry all their own bags and equipment in, to our year 6 pupils many of whom haven’t been in school since March, every pupil has demonstrated remarkable resilience and good humour in the face of all the the challenges and changes. Thank you and well done to you all!

Class Blogs
The class blogs will be updated each week. Please visit them all to see some of the lovely activities and work that have been undertaken this week.

After School Clubs
In order to maintain the integrity of class ‘bubbles,’ we have made the decision not to start any after-school clubs in September. (SAINTS football clubs will still go ahead.) This will give us time to embed our systems within school and establish what clubs might be possible to run safely. Further information about this will follow towards the end of the month.

Health and Safety
On Thursday, we received a health and safety check from Joe Wood, The Dartmoor MAT lead for Health and Safety. Mr Wood checked that all our risk assessments and procedures were in place to maximise safety of children and staff and pronounced himself satisfied with all items. We discussed that the start of the week was very busy in the lane at pick up and drop off points and he asked me to reiterate to you the importance of arriving at the designated time slots and not earlier, of socially distancing from other carers in the lane and of departing as soon as you have dropped off/collected your children. 

Road Safety
On a related note, I have had complaints from residents of both Sticklepath and South Zeal of parents driving very fast through the villages at the start and end of the day. Please be aware that there are many children walking on the pavements and lanes at these times and drive with extreme caution. ​

Absence
If your child is going to be absent from school, please let us know ASAP by ringing or emailing the office. [email protected]

If your child or anyone in your household has a temperature, a new continuous cough or loses their sense of smell or taste, the whole family needs to self-isolate for 14 days and not come to school. In this situation, we strongly recommend that the person displaying symptoms is tested for COVID-19. Please let us know the outcome of any tests. In the event of a negative test of a family member, children can return tO school. If the child is displaying symptoms but has a negative test, they can return as soon as the symptoms are fully gone.

Request for absence for medical appointments
If your child has a medical or dental appointment, please let us know by filling in a Request for Absence form and returning this to the office wth a copy of the appointment letter.

School Gateway
For those of you who are new to the school, your school gateway account is where you can book your child’s lunches and book into breakfast club. If you have not yet signed up for an account, please visit https://login.schoolgateway.com/0/auth/register and register for an account using your child’s date of birth and your contact details.

Please could everyone ensure that they have booked either a school or a home packed lunch on gateway for each day at least one week in advance.

Homework
We believe that the most important homework you can do with you child at home is to read with them, hear them read, read to them and talk about what they have read. Please try and make time to do this every day however old your child is.

Additional homework for years 2-6 will begin in the week beginning the 21st September. Each class will have reading, maths and one other homework. Children who have IDL or Nessy logins will be asked to complete these tasks rather than those set each week, so that no child is overwhelmed by the amount of homework they receive. Homework will be set on a Wednesday and due back in class on the following Monday. It will be posted on the class blog pages to avoid the old problem of sheets getting lost on the way home! Each child will have a homework book in which to complete their homework.

Have a good weekend!
I’m sure that’s many of the children are extremely tired after their return to school. I hope you all have an very pleasant weekend and we’ll look forward to a full five days of school next week!