Appendix 7 – Letter to parents and carers

As we have received official confirmation that schools are to close to children on Friday I would like to clarify the following points to avoid unncecessary confusion and alarm.

As you may be aware all staff will report to work in Holy Family Primary on Monday to receive clarification as to what our role will be during this crisis. We will continue to communicate with you through our school website and twitter account.

Work suggestions will be posted there for each class and updated regularly by Miss Gallagher and Mrs Anderson who are confined to working from home. Please contact Miss Gallagher on gw10gallaghergillia2@glow.sch.uk

The tasks will be a mixture of open ended and set activities which can be completed at home and will cover revision tasks and new learning.

I am very aware that not all families have multiple laptops and that older children of high school age will have priority in their usage of ICT in relation to exam preparation. As a result we will ensure that we provide a range of activities that are not all internet based.

I am very aware that many of our children are highly anxious as to the current corona virus situation and that you yourselves will be juggling complex family situations including childcare. My intention is not to add to that stress by imposing a long list of school work.

Please be aware that not every task set by the teacher has to be completed and that most importantly NO-ONE will ” get into trouble” if work is not completed.

Our curriculum includes PE, eg.football in the garden, art, eg. junk modelling/painting/drawing, drama, eg role play of book characters, science, eg. cooking, growing plants from seeds and so much more. Play is also integral to  learning so let the children play imaginative games as well as old favourites such as hide and seek, tig, skipping ropes, hopscotch or board games, snakes and ladders, four in a row etc. Please tweet us pictures of your adventures if you can and help us all to stay connected in the weeks ahead.

The one thing I would ask is that the children keep a short daily journal stating what they have done each day as this will help their feeling of achievement and provide a great starting point for when we return to school. I would also hope that this will make an incredible keepsake of this most extraordinary time in all our lives.

You all have my email and I will be available there to help in any way I can as I continue to work in the school but very much in partnership with yourselves in this most challenging of times.

Please read this message from Pope Francis below

God Bless

Mrs F Wilson

“Tonight before falling asleep think about when we will return to the street.

When we hug again, when all the shopping together will seem like a party.

Let’s think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other.

We think about when it will be all a memory but normalcy will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift.

We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us. Every second will be precious.

Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts, laughter.

We will go back to laughing together.

Strength and courage.”

Please click on the link below to see our parental questionnaire responses.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/AnalysisPage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKSddDNdQA39Giw_xvMm-bF5UOEs2R0Y5SFVNNFcwQzNBRjVZQUs4NEc2Ni4u&AnalyzerToken=Vyy9yqEysxUImxSOBO8TbzkJW0gBRWkV

Please click on the link below to give us your feedback on this evening.

Thank you

Mrs Wilson