Dear Parents,
It has been enjoyable to see the temperature increasing this week as the ventilation throughout the school this term has meant a colder feel. Thank you again to all the staff for all their work this week in keeping the school as normal as possible for the children during this COVID spike. Staff have had to adapt to different roles and I am very grateful for their flexibility. As hoped, we have seen a gradual reduction in cases, however we are still seeing up to ten positive cases a day. Therefore, we need to still be very cautious as a school with all our measures. In some experiences, the LFDs are not picking up the positive cases- I would therefore encourage you to take a PCR with any slight symptoms. Most results seem to be coming back within 24 hours at the moment.
We are seeing variation in children being able to return on day six after two negative LFDs. On the whole, adults do not seem to be leaving isolation early and are having to do the full ten days.
Congratulations to the Y5/6 girls football team on an emphatic win on Wednesday in the league. I look forward to watching both the boys and girls teams in action next Friday.
Celebration assemblies
These have started again this term with a slightly different format. Each class shares a piece of work from their week - this could be an individual or a group. Each class teacher also nominates one child for the 'celebration book'- I read out their comment and they are presented with a Sheen Mount celebration book sticker - they are green.
We are very much looking forward to having these assemblies in person, but for now having them online still meets the purpose of a collective sharing and celebrating of the children's work. They are probably the highlight of my week and a great moment to bring the school community together. Currently, we have R, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 in one assembly and Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 in another.
PSA Collaboration with the school
I am looking forward to working with the PSA in a variety of capacities. You will see from their update below that there a range of events coming up. I look forward to meeting the committee and then the wider PSA body at upcoming meetings, as well as being involved in the various events.
PSA Corner
The PSA calendar is starting to fill in nicely for the next few months, so please put the below events and dates into your diaries. Thanks to all who have already come forward to help, but we still need more volunteers for these events, so please consider putting your hands up too! See the attached to drop us an email letting us know how you would like to get involved, particularly if any of the below events could benefit from your skills and energy!
6 February: PSA shed clean-up (see below for more detail)
4 March: PSA quiz night - See here for more information
Quiz Night Information
Early March: School grounds clean-up / gardening
16 March: PSA meeting
We Need You
PSA Shed clean-up – 6 February: WE NEED EQUIPMENT AND VOLUNTEERS
The shed needs sorting out so that people can actually see and use what’s in there. We NEED:
- metal or wooden shelving
- plastic or waterproof storage containers - big and small
- hooks
- anyone who is DIY handy who could potentially make some shelves, nail stuff on walls etc
- any Marie Kondo organisational fanatics who love sorting stuff out who could volunteer their skills and join Calli to sort it out.
Please see our Doodle poll to register your ability to help (https://doodle.com/poll/7xk9x9w2pgvamfhu).
Enter your email address therein so we can contact you or alternatively email Calli at sheenmountschoolpsa2021@gmail.com with what you have and we will sort out a drop date and location from there.
Finally, if you have anything left in the shed, perhaps following the Christmas Fair, that you would like back, please let us know so that we can ensure it isn’t “cleaned up.” Thank you!!
Classlist: one of the PSA’s key aims for this year is to improve our communication to the school community. Hopefully our messages are getting through to everyone, whether through the Head’s weekly newsletter or via the class reps, but we are going to trial a new method to hopefully streamline our communications. Please look out for further detail coming via the class reps, but we are going to begin trialling the app Classlist. This modern, app-based communication tool should streamline communications (so that you have the right information when you need it), better connect people, further build our community and raise money along the way.
As always, if you have any general PSA-related questions or want to get involved, please contact us via email (smpsachair@gmail.com) or through the class reps. Have a great weekend!
Hope you have a great weekend.
Tom Holmes - Headteacher
Maria O'Brien - Deputy Headteacher
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