Dear parents and carers,
Wow, what a wonderful Christmassy week we have had! All around school we have had Rudolph jumpers, Santa
hats, sparkle, glitter, holly, elves, and Christmas stockings, to name but a few. The children have taken part in
many Christmas activities, including a fun Christmas Dinner on Wednesday, which was full of merriment.
I am very pleased to report that Ainslie class have saved Christmas. As you know, Rudolph had been a
bit naughty and escaped, but luckily Ainslie class found him on the recreation ground in Brighstone
and told him that he needs to go back to the North Pole. At first he shook his head, which was a bit
cheeky, but after they had sang ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ to him, it cheered him up and he
made his way back to Santa in plenty of time for Christmas. Well done, Ainslie class!
Every year Santa always takes time out of his busy schedule to visit us here in Brighstone, and today he made a
flying visit to deliver some presents for the children. Due to Covid restrictions, he wasn’t able to come into school,
but he asked me to pass on his presents to the children, which I gladly did. He also created a very special personal
message to each class, which the children watched today. Thank you, Santa (and the BSA!)
We are very proud to present our very own film “Nativity: The Lockdown” that we have shared on the school
website—we hope you enjoy watching it. I would like to thank all the children and staff who have been working
extremely hard to put it all together; I would especially like to thank Mrs Sharp for writing the script, Mr Stroud
for helping with sound enhancement for some of the songs, Mrs Feltham for uploading it to the website, and Mr
Goldsmith and Mrs Aram for editing and putting it all together, which took a lot of dedication and many hours!
The depth of compassion and generosity from all the families and staff here at Brighstone always warms my
heart. This half term alone we have raised an astonishing £721.50 for different charities, including Children in
Need, the Poppy Appeal, IW Radio Toy Appeal, IW Zoo and Place2Be. However, our compassion and generosity
doesn’t just stop at monetary values—the children have also donated food for the IW Foodbank at Harvest time,
boxes and boxes of fruit and vegetables to the IW Zoo, supported Natasha Lambert on her Atlantic voyage, and
created over 200 cards, pictures and Hearts for Homes messages for local residents in the village community and
Brighstone Grange Care Home. We have had some lovely messages in return, and we hope to have many more
opportunities to build the links and spread the cheer!
On the subject of generosity, I would like to extend a huge thank you to the BSA who have
tirelessly supported the school through organising fundraising events and fun experiences
for the children. Thank you.
I hope you all have a safe, fun and enjoyable Christmas and New Year, and we look
forward to seeing you once again on Monday 4th January 2021.
With very best wishes, Mrs Lennon and the Brighstone Team