Another week has gone by … but we have nearly reached February! The staff are so proud of all the children for continuing the enthusiasm, rigour and commitment to their learning, and again, we can’t thank families enough for making so many adaptations to ensure that the children are not disadvantaged by missing any sessions. The feedback from the questionnaire is sent out with this newsletter. The struggles with multiple siblings and managing home and work are absolutely clear for you all, but the positivity and kindness you have passed on to our staff – teaching and support staff – is very much appreciated.  

Following the announcement made by our Prime Minister on Wednesday night, we know that schools will not be back before the 8th March. We know that we are planning for another 4 school weeks (at least) of Remote Learning: 2 weeks, then half term, then a further 2 weeks. It will not be known for a few weeks yet what the return to school will look like. There is always speculation in these circumstances, but we will let you know the plan when we officially know ourselves. 

Staff have also had their first experience of the Lateral Flow Device Testing. Much gagging, coughing, laughter and sneezes were had! For our first round of testing, we were all thankfully negative! This will continue every Sunday and Wednesday evening, and will only affect the children who are using the provision at school if there were a positive case. 

Next week is National Children’s Mental Health week. All teachers will be addressing this throughout the week, as well as it being discussed in assembly. There are many resources available for you to support in the public domain, and we will put some of these on our website next week. 

As always, we are always contactable if you, or your children, need any support in this difficult time. Please look after yourselves!

Ms Teagle

Remote Learning Questionnaire Jan 2021

Face2Face Meetings – Years 1-6

Now more than ever, our teaching staff are keen to go ahead with our Face2face meetings. There has been an inevitable increase in contact between families and the class teacher, through Zoom, reminding of passwords and general email exchange; however, it is felt by us all, that a 10 minute conversation, with you and your child, focused on their learning, progress and their wellbeing is crucial to moving forward in the times ahead. 

We are putting aside the week beginning 8th February to have your Face to Face meeting. The usual schedule of learning will be in place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, you will have a year group Zoom at 9am and another at 2.30, with the usual times for assemblies. This will introduce the days’ learning, round off the day, and then leave the rest of the day for parents/carers to book appointments. If you cannot attend a day time meeting, then teachers can be available for some evening sessions as well.     

The meetings will be held over Zoom and will last 10 minutes. The same invite will be applied for all meetings and be put on the weekly timetable. The teacher will admit you from the waiting room at the start of your appointment.

On Monday 1st February, a Google Form  will be emailed out to you via ParentPay, which will ask you to state your preference of timings of the meeting. The class teacher will then contact you via the home learning email address with a time and date, hopefully fitting with your prior commitments. If you have not used the home learning email address yet, please do so to make the contact easier. 

YearXhomelearning@threemilestone.cornwall.sch.uk

(Please replace X with your year group)

If your child is on the Record of Need, Mrs Ewart (SENDCo) and your class teacher, will contact you for an additional meeting after half term, where we allocate a longer time to talk through progress towards IEP targets.

EYFS

We have made the decision not to have allocated Face2Face meetings with the EYFS staff this side of half term. The majority of parents/carers are having regular contact with Mrs Brown through Tapestry, or phone calls which give you an opportunity to talk through progress and achievements constantly. Mrs Brown is currently working alongside 60 children’s families due to Mrs Beckett sadly still being off work. 

However, if you would like a more in depth conversation with Mrs Brown, please contact her through Tapestry and she can arrange a time. 

Mrs Brown is also hosting 2 Zoom evenings – last night (Thursday 28th) it was lovely to see so many of you there, and there will also be another one on Thursday 4th February at 8pm. These meetings cover much of what usually is talked about in EYFS meetings – pencil grip, letter formation, basic number learning and phonics,  so please come along if you can. Links will be sent out via Tapestry and Parent Pay.

Updated information on Covid-19

We have updated all our information on the website giving advice on many aspects of the global pandemic. CLICK HERE  for up to date information. 

For updated information about Remote Learning and our guide for parents and carers CLICK HERE.

Budding Gardeners!

Following the donations we received last week to inspire the next generation of botanists, we have had primroses, a plum tree and a pear tree to add to our collection from Tescos. Many thanks for your kindness. Our children in school have had great fun planting them, so that all children can appreciate them on their return. 

Free School Meals

The next block of vouchers to cover the 2 week period before half term (week beginning 1st Feb and week beginning 8th Feb) will be sent out via email on Monday 1st February. There will be no vouchers over half term

Everyone in EYFS, Year 1 and 2 are entitled to Universal School Meals – a free meal when they are at school. This is not the same as claiming additional support if you are on benefits. If you are unsure how the system works and whether you could be entitled, please phone the office to talk it through. In times when you are away from school, it is crucial to ensure that families have all the support you need, and everything everyone is entitled to. 

Many family situations are changing due to this ongoing pandemic. If you are needing support and unsure whether you are eligible to claim for Free School meals, click on the link below to find out more. We currently have 20% of our children eligible for Free School meals – the current economic crisis is tough – please seek help if you need it. CLICK HERE

Laptops/Chromebooks

If your child has limited access to a device to enable them to access online learning then we have a small number of laptops/chromebooks available and we may be able to lend you one.

Please complete the form here if you need to borrow a machine and we will do our best to help.

KS2 Maths Zoom check in with Mr Hick!

We all know how much Mr Hick enjoys maths! Well, he is keen to spread mathematical love to families too! Responding to a few questions from families whose subject knowledge when dealing with KS2 maths is a little sketchy, he has decided to put on weekly sessions up to half term on Monday evenings at 7pm. The sessions will be very much responsive to your needs. It will not be a presentation, but an opportunity to bring questions and to work through things together. The link will be on the KS2 timetables for next week as well as being sent via ParentPay.  Please join him – he is very excited about this! The focus this week will be on Addition and Subtraction.