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Posted on: 28/05/2021A message from Caroline Lancey
A message from Caroline Lancey
Dear All,
Well May has been more than a little cold and wet. Who would have believed that at the same time last year during the first lockdown we could sit out in the sun!!! As always it has been a busy month. We have had visitors via zoom talking to the children about their jobs connected with science; a photographer in for Years 2, 6 and Reception, we have had two reviews; one for the curriculum and one for the school, after school clubs have started carefully and we have had an action packed Health Week.
Thank you so much for all the supportive comments we have had about the school review which was carried out by a trained OFSTED inspector. The highlights were:
This is a good school. It provides a calm, purposeful, organised learning environment for pupils to learn and grow. The school Team is fully aligned to the vision for teaching and learning and they talk positively and passionately about the vison for what the school should provide for pupils and families. Well done, the school is on an exciting journey. The foundations are well in place for the next phase of the school’s improvement. Your hard work and dedicated professionalism is ensuring that Priorswood will become a very good school.
The curriculum review also went really well, with the reviewer, Nick Hinds, saying the curriculum is ambitious and enriching.
The school has been on a tremendous journey. I remember talking during the Christmas Carol service just before Mrs Ellis joined us. I said then that I felt like the school had trekked through the foothills of the Himalayas and were now at Everest base camp. We are now at camp 2 which is half way up the mountain, we can see the summit but it will be hard work to get there. I have every confidence that we will get there, we are on the up and up.
Despite a horrible start to the week; weather-wise; we have had a great week. The children have had a lot of opportunities to try sports that they wouldn’t normally. I hope that they have enjoyed the balance of sporting activity and mental well-being sessions. A big Thank you to Mrs Cullen who has spent hours organising all the different groups and making sure that all the classes get to do all the activities.
I hope some of you have managed to get to Lyngford Park to make use of the Grass maze. Otter class have visited as part of their local study.
I am sure you have noticed the improvements that have slowly been happening to the grounds of the school. Mrs Collins always goes above and beyond but she has been helped by workers from the Community Payback service who have been painting, litter picking and gardening for us.
We are looking forward to the return of Mrs Ellis after the birth of her son. She will be back with us from the 7th June.
Posted on: 30/04/2021A message from Caroline Lancey
Dear All,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Holiday and it was lovely to see the children return looking so smart. I thank you all for your support. We are still observing Covid guidelines, making sure that the children wash their hands regularly, continue to have staggered breaks and lunches and we are maintaining our additional cleaning. We have been in a long dark tunnel but there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel. We will still have to continue to do things a little differently for the rest of this year but hopefully we will be able to return to the best of what we have done in the past whilst keeping some of the better things we have learnt this year.
Mrs Dee Alexander has joined Otter class from Wednesday to Fridays. Mrs Powell Thomas is still at the helm on Monday and Tuesdays. She really enjoyed her first week and I am sure is a wonderful addition to the school. Miss Casey Hickey will be joining Butterfly class next week. She is replacing Mrs Parsons who left before Easter.
We always have Health week in the last week before the May half term. This includes lots of sports activities, sessions on healthy eating and mental wellbeing as well as Sports day and Relationship and Health education. This year we are planning to continue this tradition. We will send you details on the relationship education nearer the time. As we won’t be fully out of lockdown we will have to do Sports day in a slightly different way. This year it will be for the children only, I appreciate this is disappointing but I am sure you understand that we are too close to the end to take a risk at this stage and we don’t want to have to cancel it completely. To make up for this we are hoping to be able to run some family sessions towards the end of the year. Mrs Cullen has organised an amazing week including, Tennis, Cricket, Dodgeball, American Football, Tai Chi, mental wellness and NHS nurses are going to do a session on Healthy Eating; I am sure that the children will have a wonderful week.
We are looking forward to the return of Mrs Ellis after the birth of her son. She will be back with us from the 7th June.
