Can we please remind parents of the importance of being considerate when parking to drop-off or collect children.  Please do not park on the narrow road behind the Station Rd houses, and please don’t park on the grassy area at the end of this row.

Brown Clee YFC are holding a fundraising night on Saturday 14th May at the Village Hall. Entry is £10 to include a hot meal. More details can be found on the attached poster including contact details.

Brown Clee YFC Frog Racing

Please note that we have had to rearrange our planned Sports morning – it is now on Tuesday 28th June – not 5th July.

Can we kindly request that parents in the village spread the word that school kindly requests that all dogs are kept off the school grounds at all times – as we have had some recent instances of dog foulling.  This is totally unacceptable, and is also a health issue, and is unfair on the children, who love playing on the school fields.

We are looking forward to our afternoon tea party on Thursday 26^th May at 2pm, to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Year.  In order to plan for this we do need to know numbers in advance.  Therefore, if you and your family are planning on joining us can you please complete the attached reply slip and return to the School Office by Friday 20^th May at the latest please.

Letter to Confirm Attendance at Tea Party

The Village Hall Social Committee have asked us to share their plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. They are holding a Jubilee crown competition and would like as many people to design and make a crown and then join them on Sunday 5th June where they will be holding a picnic on the Pavilion Field. There are prizes for the best crown in each age group.

The procession of the crowns will start at 1.45pm from the Village Hall and they are asking that people wear Red, White and Blue or vintage dress. Please see the attached poster for more information.

Village Hall Social Committee Jubilee Celebration

Below is the the latest NHS advice for children affected by Covid-19.

“Children and young people aged 18 and under can get coronavirus (COVID-19), but it’s usually a mild illness and most get better in a few days.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
an aching body
a headache
a sore throat
a blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick
The symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, such as colds and flu.

What to do if your child has symptoms
Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:

have a high temperature
do not feel well enough to go to school, college or childcare, or do their normal activities
They can go back to school, college or childcare when they feel better or do not have a high temperature.

Encourage your child to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze, and to wash their hands after using or throwing away tissues.

Most children who are unwell will recover in a few days with rest and plenty of fluids.”

The information can be found at –

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/coronavirus-in-children/

Please find a letter providing useful information as well as important dates for the summer term 2022.

Welcome Back Summer 2022

Good Morning Brown Clee!  Welcome back to the school at the beginning of the summer term and we hope that everyone had a restful and relaxing Easter holiday.  We were so lucky with the weather!

I always enjoy this time of year – when we are truly immersed in the midst of Spring – the days are longer, lighter and hopefully warmer, the colours of nature and the countryside are vibrant and rich and there is a sense of optimism and hope, that seems to lift everyone’s spirits.  This is also reflected in school as we start the last term of the academic year; we continue to teach and learn together, well and truly settled into established routines , all knowing what is expected of us, with each class working together as strong units within the Brown Clee team.

So today I would like to focus on the importance of being a team – on why working, playing and learning together in a harmonious, happy and supporting environment is so important for everyone – and that includes adults as well as children!

A successful team is one where different people work together and aim to help one another.  It is where EVERYONE supports and encourages each other to be the best they can be, so that the team can operate successfully.

I am going to share 2 video stories of the same story – the story from the Bible of Jesus and his first disciples – have a watch and think what this story teaches us about the importance of working together as a team….

So now you know the story of Jesus and his first disciples, a story which teaches us about the importance of helping each other, supporting each other, and working together, …have a watch now of the story from a different perspective…

Can you identify the different ways that ‘help’ was given in the story……

– Peter allowing Jesus to use his boat
– Jesus encouraging and helping the fishermen to land a large catch
– James and John responding to Peter’s request for help by helping to pull in the net of fish and helping one another safely back to shore
– Jesus asking the fishermen to help and follow him
– The fishermen agreeing to join his team

Have a think now about why asking for help and being ready to help others might be important in school today.  Can you share any examples?

Let’s take a moment now to reflect ….have a think about a time when you helped someone else; how did it make you feel?  What did it achieve?  Can you think of a time when someone helped you?  How did that make you feel?  Let us appreciate that working and learning together only works successfully if everyone helps and supports each other – if we are friendly and kind, respectful and forgiving…

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for all the people who help us in our lives.
Thank you for the people who have already helped us today.
Please help us to help one another.
Please help us to remember that it is good to work together in a team.
Amen.

It has been brought to our attention that there is a new online horror game which some children are talking about in school.  It is called Poppy’s playtime and is based on a toy which chases you around a toy factory.  There is not an official rating for the game; however, it is causing some of our older children to have nightmares.

The toy in this game is called Huggy Wuggy and he looks like this:

Online safety experts have been alerted to a video game, being described by some users as an “introduction to horror.” Videos, versions of the game, and associated material are becoming increasingly popular on YouTube, Roblox, and other platforms used by young children.

Poppy Playtime features frightening images and themes that are paired with child-friendly items. This may be especially upsetting to children who have not yet developed the resilience to deal with disturbing content.

• Added anxiety and stress – Children and young people are still growing and learning. They may not be at a level of emotional maturity that would be able to process frightening content, even if it is intentional. Horror games could hamper that growth by creating unnecessary anxiety and stress.
• Intrusive thoughts – Everyone has the ‘thing that goes bump in the night.’ If children play this game or watch it, the Boogeyman could easily be replaced with characters like Huggy Wuggy. This could cause children to lose focus or sleep and could interrupt family rest cycles.
• New fears – The manipulation of child-friendly items into threatening characters exploits the sense of security a child would feel around these things. They may suddenly be terrified of something that had never been a worry before.

To help parents and carers better understand these issues, you can find out more information here:-

Poppy Playtime: Online Safety Review

School Reports are being sent out today so please check your child’s bag.  We always appreciate feedback so have attached a feedback form to the reports – it would be great if parents could complete and return to the School Office.

We understand that all the children had great fun at the KS1 and KS2 discos last Friday. Thank you to the parents who kindly organised the discos and those who helped.

The grand total raised from tickets sales and tuck shop purchases is £584.87 and this will be paid into the DEC Ukraine appeal. Thank you for your generosity and we are pleased to let you know that the final total raised when added to our fundraising day in school is £1630.98.

The School Lunch Menu will be changing for the Summer Term and has been uploaded to ParentPay. This is now live and you can log on and make bookings for meals up until May half term. The menu is attached and will begin on Week 2 when we return.

Summer Menu

Changes to measures and guidance for managing COVID-19 in education and childcare settings from Friday 1 April

On Tuesday 29 March, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, set out the next steps for living with COVID-19 in England from Friday 1 April.

Free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available for specific groups, including eligible patients and NHS staff, once the universal testing offer ends on Friday 1 April.

Updated guidance will advise:

It’s with great sadness to tell everyone that Michelle will be leaving Pre-School for a very deserved rest after 18 years of being Deputy Manager at Pre-School, starting at Burwarton Pre-school in 2004 joining Wende and moving to Ditton in 2014.

Over the years Michelle has had a major part to play in Pre-School’s success, through her vision to provide the very best Early Years’ experience to all the children that have attended. Her practice, knowledge, commitment and love of children has a real positive impact on all of the children that have attended over the years.

Michelle is going to be missed very much by all the staff, especially Wende and of course all the children, therefore as Michelle has taught many children over many years, we thought the children who remember her in Brown Clee and maybe some parents would like to send her their best wishes, therefore any cards or notes can be left at Brown Clee School’s office, put in Little Explorers Post box or by emailing littleexplorers.ditton@gmail.com

Michelle’s last day will be Tuesday 5th April.

Thank you.

Wende

Don’t forget about the Discos to fundraise for the DEC Ukraine Appeal being held next Friday 1st April at Ditton Priors Village Hall. The KS1 Disco for Fireflies and Grasshoppers is from 4.30pm to 5.30pm and the KS2 disco for Dragonflies and Scorpions is 6pm to 7.30pm. There will be a tuck shop available on the night. The cost is £3 per child, please can you make your payment in cash in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name to the school office.

All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult, although they can accompany a school friend as long as the adult who brings them is staying.

The organisers of the KS2 Disco are also looking for help on the night and if you are able to help please let Kat Shotton know (her details are on the poster) or speak to the school office.

We recently had our SIAMS Inspection (9th March) and we have now received our final report.  We are really pleased with the observations that the Inspector, Father Jeremy Hellier, noted, in particular the following comments:-

“The vision is promoted through strong innovative and collaborative leadership ensuring that the whole school community flourishes.”

“The school has significant impact on the spirituality of the wider community through daily ‘Thought for the day’ emails. This supports and sustains adults and pupils especially in this time of pandemic.”

“Governors and staff are a highly effective team. This is evident in clear strategic planning for future development as a church school ensuring the continuing impact of the vision.”

“The vision is truly lived by pupils through associated Christian values and is apparent in positive relationships and good behaviour.”

The full report can be read here:-  SIAMS Report – Brown Clee C of E Primary School 

A big thank you to those parents who contributed to feedback for the Inspector.