Dear parents, carers and children,
As I type this, the sun is shining and children are having fun playing outside at lunchtime. I have just been participating in Macarthur class
Zoom, which had a wellbeing focus as part of Children’s Mental Health Week. I really enjoyed hearing the children
talk about what they were going to be doing this afternoon and evening to help themselves feel good. We heard
about the children planning on going for walks to the beach, around the village and up to the downs (we are very
lucky that we live in such a beautiful place), having a movie night, reading a book and playing games, and most
children are hoping for a snow weekend (let’s wait and see!).
What are you going to do this weekend to help your wellbeing? You have all been working incredibly hard and I will reiterate what I said in last week’s Buzz: do your best, but don’t be afraid to take a step back and do something else if it isn’t going to plan. Most importantly of all, don’t beat yourself up. We are all in this together and are here to help.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the parent survey about remote learning. It is lovely to read so many positive
comments, so thank you. We will collate the responses, see what can be (or is already being) addressed and provide
some feedback, which I hope will help to address any queries. Schools have been provided with lots of information
and training over the last few weeks, and staff have had to learn many new skills. It has been a steep learning curve
for all of us and we have been sharing ideas, successes and improvements within school as well as across schools.
(Remote education provision is different in every school depending on each context and circumstances and there is no ‘one size fits all’.) I
am sure that you will join me in taking this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our extremely hard-working team here at Brighstone.
In their emails or in Google Classroom or Tapestry, teachers often share top tips and advice about helping your child with
their learning. I have included some of these tips on p5 of the Buzz that you may find helpful in supporting your child’s
independence, perseverance and resilience.
Our Brighstone Primary community always shows lots of generosity and compassion; did you know
that, since September 2020, we have all raised over £1,500 for charity! That is incredible and you all deserve to give
yourselves a big ‘well done’. You will see in this week’s Buzz a charity challenge for Captain Sir Tom Moore, who sadly
passed away this week. He set out to raise £1,000 by his 100th birthday, but ending up raising £39 million! He took small
steps but look how much he achieved. We can all learn from his perseverance and determination when going for a goal or facing a
challenge.
Tuesday 9th February brings Safer Internet Day and some of your child’s learning will be based around this.
Being safe on the internet is extremely important, and even more so during these days of remote learning. We
all need to play our part in protecting children when they are online. There is advice on pages 4-5 of this week’s
Buzz.
There is only one week to go until the half term holiday, so hang on in there! I would like to wish you all a wonderful
weekend and I look forward to seeing you next week, either in person or via Zoom.
With very best wishes,
Mrs Lennon and the Brighstone team