Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• 23rd October 2020

  Fri 23 Oct 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents,

   

  I hope you are well.  We have successfully  arrived at half term with no positive Covid-19 cases which is such a relief for us all.  I am sure that all the measures in place at school are effective and worthwhile.  I will be updating our risk assessment next week and I will email parents once the updated version is on the website.  There will be two changes which I wish to explain now ready for after half term.  By next Monday there will be some markings painted by the entrance/exit points and we ask parents not to stop on them.  It is vital that staff and parents are able to keep at a two meter distance and I hope these markings will help.  We also ask parents to wear a mask if they are planning/hoping to speak to a member of staff.  

   

  I am aware that over the half term we have made a couple of changes to the timings of drop off and collection and this has been necessary to get it right.  I thank you for your co-operation with this.  I am concerned that a few children from the junior classes are collected late on a regular basis.  I am writing now to inform you that unless we have a phone call with a reason for late collection, at 3.25 we will send children to Beehive and ask for them to be registered for a half hive session at the cost of £6.  It is so difficult to manage clubs, changing for clubs, cleaning and bubbles, we need the children to be collected promptly and I thank you in advance for your support.

   

  Mr O'Reilly has been busy preparing for an exciting week of holiday club at school.  There are still spaces if you wish to book.  You need to register on the NSsport website and then you can choose the days you need or if you think your child would enjoy even if you don't need it!

   

  The learning this half term has been wonderful with lots of creative outdoor lessons, please take a moment to look at the photos on the website. Today we finished the half term with a dance outside which the children and staff loved!

   

  We hope that everyone will take some time out to have a rest and recharge next week. When you are out and about, please continue to follow social distancing guidelines. Remember the rule of six both indoors and outdoors, and that the less people you come into contact with, the less the virus will spread. We appreciate everyone’s commitment to adhering to the rules during term-time and it would be a shame to undo that hard work now.  

   

  Although I am looking forward to a rest myself I will be checking my emails daily.  If a child from our school tests positive for Covid-19 during the holiday there may be actions we need to take as school community; time is of the essence so please contact me on my email head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk as soon as possible if your child is being tested.

   

  I want to finish by thanking you all for the kindness and support you have shown, the weeks seem to have got busier as time has gone on. I wish you and the children a lovely week and I hope our staff have a well earned rest.  I cannot thank them enough for their committment and hard work at a time of change and worry.

   

  With kind regards

  Jacquie Vanstone

• 9th October

  Fri 09 Oct 2020 Jacquie Vanstone

  Dear Parents, 

  
  I hope you are well. I am pleased to have no further updates regarding Covid-19 cases at school.  We are of course following the procedures set out in our risk assessment to keep us all as safe as possible. I am incredibly grateful to see the distance and respect parents are showing at drop off and pick up times.

  
  Learning reviews have now started by telephone and will continue next week. I hope you find these calls helpful and informative.  We are very pleased how the term has begun.  Whilst making so many adjustments to school life, we remain focused on pupil engagement and progress.

  
  Next week I will be writing to inform you of any changes that we plan to implement from the start of next half term and our risk assessment will be adjusted accordingly.  In this evolving situation I thank the staff and governors for their hard work and support.

  
  Today we have celebrated ‘Hello Yellow day’ which is organised through YoungMinds.  We have sent the children home with a positive postcard to remind them of the importance of caring for our wellbeing and mental health.  So many of us rely on others to support us with our mental health which is invaluable but we also want our children growing up with their own positive outlook and strategies to flip negatives into positives.  I am passionate about supporting mental health through sport so today we did a distanced but whole school Cha Cha slide on the playground and the fun and togetherness was wonderful to see.

   

  We asked a few children today about happiness.  It is lovely to hear their views.

  'I felt really happy because we went into the playground and did the Cha Cha Slide.'Danny

  'I felt happy learning about Hello Yellow.  Yellow makes me happy.' Eli

  'I feel happy when I stroke my hamsters.' Evie

  
  Next week we will be celebrating harvest and thank you in advance for the gifts you bring in.  Mrs Dodds and Mrs Fox have organised this and I thank them for that as there is more thought and planning needed than usual due to Covid.

  
  Please can I remind you all that Mrs Lawrence uploads her office updates onto the website each Friday.  There is so much information posted, we hope you read them and find them helpful.

   

  I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.
  With kind regards
  Jacquie Vanstone