11-10-21
Dear Parents/Carers,
The assemblies last week introduced themes of equality related to Black History Month. The children were introduced to the life of Martin Luther King and his quest for equality through peaceful protest. Around the school other aspects of our curriculum are starting to take root. At the heart of this is our encouragement for children to develop their love of reading but you will also see on our social feeds some year groups using virtual reality. It was also lovely to see that Year 4 have started to visit and help in the Link Café in the Community Centre. I am acutely aware that Year 5 and some of Year 6 have missed out on this last year and we will be organising for them to help as well.
Parents Association Meeting
We still have minimal cases of Covid in school and thank you to everyone who is helping to reduce infection through following the guidelines. This week we are having our first limited Parents Association Meeting for Reception and Year 1 parents. I am aware that parents in Reception and Year 1 have had the most unusual introduction into school life at St. Bridget’s and we hope to invite you into school over the next term to see school in action.
Online Safety
I seem to be mentioning this in every newsletter and I make no apology for this. If your child has access to an iPad, phone or digital device please take time to consider how you keep them safe. Increasingly, we have parents and children who have frustrating and worrying experiences with digital devices in the home. Please don’t adopt the attitude of ‘it won’t happen to my child’ but instead engage them in conversation with the apps they are using or the websites they are accessing.
- How do they know they are using the internet safely?
- Do they know all the people they talk to online?
- What would they do if they saw something that worried them?
These are simple questions worth asking and starting with. The following link takes you to information from Wirral which has guidance for all ages. E-safety link For example, it is worth noting that the age limit for accessing YouTube is 13 with parental permission and popular streaming services such as Netflix have content that is not suitable for children.
Cross Country
Last week was the start of the school’s cross country and not only did we have the largest team of runners but our girls team came first and our boys team came sixth. Thank you to Mr Green and Mr Conroy who have organise and encourage the children to take part.
Celebrate reading at our Book Fair!
The Book Fair will be arriving in school this week, containing hundreds of new and exciting children's books to browse and buy. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, we are unable to invite adults into school at the end of the day to purchase the books. However, each class will have the opportunity to spend time browsing the selection and every child will complete a 'Wish List' to take home. Along with the list (and a very persistent child) will be a set of instructions detailing how an online payment can be made to the Fair. Once this payment is received, the books can be delivered to the children in school. The Fair leaves on Friday 15th October, so the payment window is tight.
Our school earns free books for every book sold at the Fair, so this is a brilliant opportunity for classrooms to be stocked with new, high-quality resources. These events have always been well supported by parents in the past, so I thank you in advance for making the extra effort to make this Fair just as successful.
Curriculum Evening online (Website link)
Information for each year group is now on the website under curriculum. Some of these files are large and you may need to wait for a successful download.
Parents Evening (week commencing 18th October)
Parent evening sign up will be live from 4pm today. We will again be using school cloud to meet online. These meetings will be short pastoral meetings which will give you an update as to how your child has begun the new school year. We realise these meetings are short and most of the feedback to school suggests that they have been effective. Where parents identify the need for extra time to discuss matters with the class teacher please contact us before these meetings so we can address issues promptly. The week before we will send you the links to sign up.
Key dates (Please check)
Inset Days 2021-22
- Friday 22nd October 2021
- Monday 28th February 2022
- Tuesday 4th January 2022
- Friday 27th May 2022
New Term dates adopted by Wirral, Liverpool and Cheshire
New term and holiday dates for 2022-23 and 2023-24 have been adopted by Wirral, Liverpool and Cheshire. There are not many changes but you will notice that the October half term for Wirral is now the same as the other two Local Authorities. They are attached for you and the Wirral website has now been updated to reflect this. www.wirral.gov.uk/termdates
There is an additional day’s holiday for schools next year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This will be on Thursday 21st July 2022. School will now finish on Wednesday 20th July 2022.
Thank you for your continued support,
Neil Le Feuvre
