Dear parents and carers,
We have come to the end of our first full week back, and I would like to thank you all for your support in ensuring that the
children have had an enjoyable transition back to school. Despite all the extra health and safety measures that we have in place,
we are trying to make their experience in school as normal as possible, with lots of fun learning activities. The one-way system
in the mornings and afternoons seems to be working well, so we are going to return to opening the gates at 8.15am and
2.40pm. The morning gate will close at 8.25am as usual. The social distancing measures are still in place, and we will monitor the
timings to see how it goes.
We had our first experiences of Collective Worship via Zoom this term! The bubbles are taking it in turns to attend worship in
the hall, while the other bubbles watch via Zoom. Other than a few technical issues to start with (plus a very short power cut!),
they went well. We welcomed back Andy Dorning from South Wight Area Youth (SWAY) this week, who led the worship on
Wednesday along with Jack, who has joined SWAY. We wish Jack a very warm welcome and we look forward to working
alongside him (at a suitable social distance!) over the coming year.
Robertson class (Y3/4) had a very exciting day on Tuesday. They were very privileged to host their namesake – Shirley Robertson
– in class, via Zoom. The children had thought of some great questions, including, ‘What is the most interesting thing you have
seen in the water?’ and, ‘What was it like to meet the Queen?’ She duly answered these questions with such charisma and
enthusiasm, and the children were captivated. She even showed us her two Olympic gold medals. It was a super opportunity to
learn more about ‘yngling’ class boats and how Shirley’s perseverance and dedication was key to her success. They had a very
inspiring morning. Thank you, Shirley.
As part of our learning in school, as well as to support remote learning at home, we are looking to purchase DoodleMaths,
which is an online learning app, whose digital learning platforms create individual work plans for children from Reception to
Year 6, intelligently tailored to their strengths and areas for development. It is designed to reinforce existing knowledge while
gradually introducing new concepts, and is ideal for supplementing school learning at home. We will be trialling it for the next
couple of weeks, and would love your feedback on it, as this will help to inform our decision. Please see the separate email and
letter for further information.
Tomorrow (Saturday) sees our Round the Island Relay Race against Nine Acres Primary School. Brighstone Team have been
successful winners the last two years, and we are determined to win again! We have a range of staff, parents and grandparents
taking part, and we encourage you to follow our progress on the BSA Facebook page tomorrow. It starts at 5am and is expected
to finish mid-afternoon. All monies raised go towards supporting your child’s education, including reducing the cost of trips for
parents, so if you would like to donate please visit the BSA Facebook page, call the office or speak with Lucy Brodie. We wish
everyone the best of luck!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all again between 8.15 and 8.25 on Monday
morning.
Best wishes,
Mrs Lennon and the Brighstone Team
Caterlink IOW Autumn 2020 menu