We are looking forwards to celebrating the Platinum Jubilee tomorrow afternoon!

Don’t forget to bring your picnic blankets or chairs, and that children can wear red/white/blue clothing tomorrow instead of school uniform.

It is a very informal afternoon – simply a chance for the school community to get together, share a coffee, cake and chat.  Children will initially sit in their classes, but are welcome to join families when you arrive.  We will be playing the National Anthem at about 2.15pm, which will be the signal for children to go and play on the coned off area of the field if they wish to do so.

At 3pm, children will return to the classrooms for a normal end of day procedure.  IMPORTANT: Please let us know if you are planning on collecting your child if they are usually on the bus.

We have had an amazing response from families wishing to join us for afternoon tea on Thursday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!

Due to the numbers we are going to hold the event as a giant picnic…so please bring along your picnic chairs or blankets, and we will provide refreshments. This is a perfect opportunity for us all to get together informally and enjoy celebrating such a special occasion.

The tea party will be held on the junior playground and field from 2-3pm. Children will initially sit with their class but are welcome to join families when you arrive. This will be a lovely opportunity for everyone to socialise for the first time in over 2 years!

At 3pm, children will go back to their classrooms for a normal end of day collection. If your child usually goes home on the bus and you are joining us for the afternoon and would like to collect your child at 3.15 rather than they return home on the bus, please do let us know in advance!

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.

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

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/

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.