Dear parents and carers,
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you and well done to you all for everything that you are
doing to support your child’s education at home and in school. I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the
staff in school for all the extra hours that they have put in to sorting out these new systems for remote
education.
I know that these school closures have had a huge impact on everyone, and we understand how
difficult it must be to ‘juggle’ your child’s remote learning with your own work, as well as the staff juggling the
preparation and provision of learning for children in school and at home.
The new systems that we have set up through the use of Google Classroom will seem overwhelming at first (we know how you feel as we are also
learning how to use this!) but once we all become more confident with it then hopefully it will alleviate some of the pressure. Do what you
can, but please don’t worry if something gets missed occasionally—we fully understand. We are also aware of technical difficulties at times,
and where we can we try to fix them or provide appropriate support as soon as possible. We thank you for your understanding with this.
The children and staff all look forward to their daily Zoom calls (despite the technical difficulties!) and we are starting to build in some more
throughout the week. These may take the form of small group or one-to-one calls focusing on a certain aspect of learning, or a social
interaction game, or a story. Lessons form part of a sequence of learning, and there will also be lots of recapping, retrieval practice, quizzes,
discussions and activities around what has been learnt previously. Our remote learning provision will evolve and be refined according to
children’s needs. We have all come so far so quickly — the children are becoming so proficient at using this technology and adapting to
remote learning – so well done to you all!
On the subject of technology, we have today received our allocation of laptops from the government and we will be in touch with those of
you who don’t currently have access to adequate technology.
You will have seen my email about Collective Worship. Each week, a Collective Worship PPT will be
available on the ‘Church Links’ page of our school website, along with a video recording from the church
and South Wight Area Youth (SWAY) leaders. These are for you to view and talk through with your child if
and when you wish. More information about this is in on the school website.
I have been enjoying seeing the learning that the children have been taking part in at home and in school. Robertson
class have been learning all about London and have created a 3D map of London buildings and monuments. Clover
class have started reading Holes by Louis Sachar. I read this last year and loved it—I couldn’t put it down! I hope that
you will love it, too. This morning I was treated to a poetry reading by three children in Lambert class. They have
been learning about the Great Fire of London and using pictures to generate descriptive language, which they then
used to create poems. I was very impressed by all the children’s use of language—well done to you all.
Please remember that we are here for you and will support you in whatever way we can. We hope you all have a relaxing and well-deserved
weekend.
With very best wishes, Mrs Lennon and the Brighstone Team