Dear parents and carers,
Christmas and New Year seems so long ago, but I hope that you all managed to have a restful and enjoyable time with your families where
possible.
We hope that you are all keeping safe and well in this very tumultuous and strange week. I heard someone say “What a year this week has
been” and I think that pretty much sums it up. After one day back at school, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday
evening our lives changed once again. I would like to thank you all for your understanding when we contacted you that evening about
school places for the next day. Further to the ’emergency home learning packs’ that were given out for this week in line with guidance from
the Department for Education, over the past few days we have been putting into place plans for more robust
remote education provision for the rest of this half term, which will start on Monday 11th. This has included the
staff learning all about Google Classroom (every day is a school day!).
We hope you will enjoy using this multifunctional online learning platform to receive and submit work; we think it will make your child’s home learning a
bit easier to manage. More information about this was emailed out to you all, and further details can be found on
our school website.
If anyone has any questions about your child’s remote learning, or if you need support with access to adequate technology, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our Collective Worship theme for this half term is ‘courage’, which I think is apt in these times of worry and uncertainty. Seeing the recent
news and statistics about the increase in Covid cases has led to greater anxiety, especially if there is someone close to us who has been
affected by Covid. We all need to support each other to find greater courage within these difficult times. You will all be trying to juggle home
learning with work pressures, and we are here to support you with this, either through practical advice or providing support for the mental
health and wellbeing of you and your children. We will get through this together.
The new lockdown laws came into force on Wednesday 6th January, and it is so important that these are followed by everyone to help
minimise the transmission of Covid and keep our families and staff safe:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home
We hope you manage to have a good weekend. Stay safe and keep warm!
Best wishes,
Mrs Lennon and the Brighstone Team