Sherborne Primary School www.sherbornepri.dorset.sch.uk
2020 – 1st Half - Autumn Term Bulletin – No.52
NEWSLETTER NEWS
EVENTS
DATES
REMINDERS
Welcome To Our New School Year - Autumn Term 2020 - ‘The New Normal’ Welcome back to Sherborne Primary School! We hope everyone has had a lovely summer holiday and have returned to some sort of ‘normal’ (whatever that is!) I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your amazing support and resilience through the pandemic and school closure. We have complete admiration for all your engagement with home learning, communication and patience during this very challenging time. We are really pleased that SPS is now open to all from the Autumn Term, although things might be a little different to our usual operations (hopefully everyone will have received our communication & video re September operations). We will be grouping the children into safe ‘bubbles’ (as before), although they will now be much larger (EYFS classes / yrs 1 & 2 / yrs 3 & 4 / yrs 5 & 6). This does mean we will all have to be extra vigilant as if just one adult or child contracts COVID-19 this may disrupt many. As always, we will endeavour to offer an exciting range of educational experiences (although as I’m sure you will understand, this will be with your child’s safety in mind first). I know all of my team can’t wait to support our children & families in whatever way possible to ensure we have the best year possible! Best wishes, Mr Bartle Welcome The new school year welcomes our new Reception children who start their school careers at Sherborne Primary. We also extend a warm welcome return to Mrs Saunders from her maternity leave who will be working within KS2. Mrs Babiy will now be working alongside Mrs Rose within Grasshoppers Class. Additionally, we would like to say good-bye and a big thank you to Miss Bright (TA - Ladybirds) & Mrs Gledhill (PE - TA) for all their efforts during their time at Sherborne Primary and wish them both every success in the future. Finally, a huge thank you to Mrs Coleman, who is sadly leaving us after over 15 years at Sherborne Primary School. She will be sadly missed by all and everyone wishes her good health and good luck for the future! Mrs Bentley will be taking over from Mrs Coleman, supporting our speech & language programme. COVID-19 Updates & Reminders I recognise this is an anxious time for families, particularly as children start to show symptoms of common illnesses that would normally occur as schools come back together again. There will inevitably be colds, runny noses, sore throats and possibly upset tummies. It is important that we distinguish these from the Coronavirus symptoms outlined in the current government guidance. Coronavirus Symptoms are: - A new persistent cough - A high temperature - A loss of taste or smell Please DO NOT send your child to school if they or anyone in your household has any of the above symptoms. Please ring 119 for testing & 111 (https://111.nhs.uk/) for advice & support. A useful parent information link is also below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance For medical advice relating to actual Covid-19 symptoms, please use the 111 helpline or online service as we are currently receiving a high number of calls, which should be answered by medical professionals rather than our school office team. All other illnesses and their symptoms should be dealt with in the usual way and we can provide guidance on this when you notify us of your child's illness. As we have explained previously, if any adult or child presents with COVID-19 symptoms whilst at school, they need to be collected and then tested as soon as possible (please ensure your contact details are up to date). If the test is confirmed as positive, it is possible that ALL the adults & children within their bubble may be sent home to isolate for 14 days (this also includes anyone within your household). The school will immediately seek advice from Public Health England for our response. We will still be operating our ONE WAY SYSTEM at the start of the Autumn Term (to avoid everyone crossing on our paths) & a gentle reminder to kindly NOT use ANY of the outdoor play equipment before or after school as it is carefully timetabled for safety reasons.