Next week, we hope you can enjoy the May half-term holiday.  Please remember: the school is closed in order to allow staff time to prepare for the school’s re-opening and teachers will not be setting nor uploading any work for children to do onto the school website, during the half-term break. 

Please be mindful that the teachers will be preparing for the school’s re-opening so will not be able to reply to contact from parents.  There is no need to contact your child’s class teacher, during this week.

We would like to encourage all our children and their families as well as their ‘home teachers’ to enjoy a little bit of a rest before the school possibly re-opens on Monday 1^st June for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 as well as continue to offer Emergency Childcare provision for those identified children and those children of Critical Key Workers. 

As you know, we are currently planning for the possible school re-opening on Monday 1^st June.  The government have identified eligible year groups which are strongly encouraged to return to school, on this date, unless they are self-isolating or they are clinically vulnerable.  The Government have stipulated the reasons for their return as:

• Reception: support early development through child-initiated play;
• Year 1: support Reading development; and
• Year 6: support English and Mathematics as well as prepare students for transition to secondary school.

So, when your child returns to school, they will be placed into one of the newly organised ‘class bubbles:’

• Mrs Banfield                              Reception                                
• Mrs Eggleston                           Reception                                
• Mrs Tinkley/Mr Liversidge         Year 1                                     
• Miss Sugden                             Year 1                                     
• Mrs Webster                              Reception and Year 1               
• Mr Caton                                   Critical Key Workers                 
• Miss Kirk                                    Year 6                                     
• Miss Swatton                             Year 6                                     
• Miss Lees                                   Year 6

These groups will be supported by their own teacher, teaching assistant/supporting adult as well as their own dinner supervisor.  The adults will remain with this group and will not be moving between the ‘class bubbles’ in order to minimise social contact. 

Later today, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will be notified which ‘class bubble’ they have been allocated, when they return to school.

A reminder of the key points for all pupils who return to school on Monday 1^st June:

• Pupils should wear their full-school uniform, although girls have the option of wearing a summer dress with ankle socks and boys have the option to wear mid-grey tailored shorts, rather than trousers.
• Pupils should only wear their indoor black shoes to and from school. Trainers or plimsolls will not be permitted to be worn throughout the day. 
• Pupils do not need to bring to school their ‘outdoor shoes’ or  their PE kit.  We would ask that these are kept at home until otherwise notified.

Children should only bring to school a coat, their book bag,

lunchbox with packed lunch and water bottle.

For those children returning, on Monday 1^st June, the drop off arrangements are as follows:

If parents have booked the Breakfast Club: children can be dropped off at school between 7.45am and 8.15am and will be cared for by the Breakfast Supervisors Mrs Rafferty and Mrs Hands. The After-School Club will remain open from 3.15pm until 5.30pm.  Please visit the school website to learn more about this provision:  Breakfast Club and/or After School Club.

We ask that only 1 parent accompanies their child/ren to school from 1^st June 2020.  Parents should accompany their child to school and wait with their child, at the designated entrance points to the school:

• Reception-Line up on the church path-8.45am – 9.00am
• Year 6-Line up on the school’s path- 8.45am – 9.00am
• Year 1-Line up on the church path-9.00am – 915am
• Keyworker children-Main Entrance-Foyer-8.45am – 9.00am

There will be school staff on hand to advise parents each morning and to encourage the parents and children to observe and maintain the social distancing measures rather than waiting, as a group on the road and path outside the school gate. 

Parents will be asked to remain and supervise their children until they are collected, 1 at a time from the entrance points, by a member of staff.  This is to enable us to ensure that the children maintain, as much as possible, the social distancing measures in the school corridors, cloakrooms and classrooms.

At the end of the day, we would ask that parents again line up, in the designated areas-socially distancing.  Collection times are:

• Reception Parents-Line up on the church path-3.00 – 3.15pm
• Year 6 Parents-Line up on the school’s path-3.15pm – 3.30pm
• Year 1 Parents-Line up on the church path-3.15pm – 3.30pm
• Keyworker Parents-Main Entrance-Foyer-Times throughout the day

Staff will be on hand again to greet you and to collect your child/ren for you. Please be mindful that ‘school drop off’ and collection will take slightly longer than normal, during this period.  I would ask for your patience and understanding as we implement these new arrangements.

On Monday 1^st June, we look forward to welcoming back to school those pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 who return.  For those who are unable to return to school, on Monday 1^st June the teachers will upload the ‘weekly bite’ for completion at home, as part of your ongoing ‘Home-Learning.’

Thank you to all those children and parents who have contacted their class teachers, this week.  It has been lovely to hear from you, either to:

• confirm that ‘all is well’ at home and your child is happy with the tasks that they are doing;
• to share some work with your child’s teacher; as well as
• to ask for further support around a particular activity.

Today, once again, we would like to acknowledge the work completed at home by awarding our ‘Home Learning: Stars of the Week’ certificates. 

These are awarded to children who have worked hard at home and have shared their work with their class teacher throughout the week. 

This week’s Stars are:

Home Learning: Stars of the Week

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your work.

We would also like to recognise the Rock Legends who have continued to learn and revise the times tables and associate division facts, using Times Tables Rockstars.  This week, certificates are awarded for those children with the highest studio speed, in their class. 

This week’s Rock Legends are:

Home Learning: Times Tables Rockstars

Your class teacher will be sending you your certificate on Monday 1^st June.  Keep up the good work.

Please visit the Class Pages to view work that children have undertaken whilst at home, this week:

• Mrs Banfield                                         Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Mrs Eggleston                                      Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Mrs Tinkley and Mr Liversidge             Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Miss Sugden                                        Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Year 3                                                  Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Year 4                                                  Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Year 5                                                  Celebrating pupil’s work at home
• Year 6                                                  Celebrating pupil’s work at home

Please be aware that if you send photographs of children or of their work, we would like to use these in ‘slideshows’ which will be viewed on each class page of the school website, as a way of sharing and celebrating pupil’s work, at home unless you state otherwise. 

Can you help?  When the school re-opens on the 1^st June, we are looking to borrow approximately 30 ‘traffic cones’ or plain cones/bollards to help demarcate the social distance guidance along both the school paths and the Church path. 

For those of you who have been coming to school, I have been using chalk to ‘mark out’ the measures.  I was hoping to source a solution that didn’t require ‘chalking’ lines onto the paths, perhaps daily. If you think you might be able to loan the school cones then please email: enquiries@barrowby.lincs.sch.uk tell us how many and supply a picture of your cones.

Please could we ask that cones are delivered to school in readiness for the 1^st June.  Please place cones behind the school’s stone wall, at the front of the school.

Thank you for your support-fingers crossed.

NEW TODAY:

Half-Term Quiz

Why not have a look at this fun quiz, featuring all our school staff?  Can you guess what they've been up to, in their spare time?

Open the link and follow the clues...good luck.

• Half-Term Quiz
• Half term Quiz Answer Sheet

I look forward to welcoming ‘back to school’ many of our Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children, from Monday 1^st June, if the school re-opens as well as continuing to support our Year 2, 3, 4 and 5 pupils with their ongoing ‘home-learning.’

Stay safe, enjoy your weekend and your half-term break.