Weekly Updates

Posted on 05/10/2020 by Rhian Whittle

AUTUMN TERM 2020

WEEKLY UPDATE – 4th December

Dear All,
We’ve had a very busy week, preparing for our virtual Christmas concerts, which we are hoping to send out to you next week.
Obviously, this year they are very different , but we felt it was important for the children to be able to do some of the ‘normal’ Christmas things and the children have had fun helping to prepare their plays. We really hope you enjoy them and they help to get you into the Christmas mood!
Thank you to everyone who attempted to join the happiness training on Monday evening. For those of you who couldn’t attend, we had to re-schedule, as Katie couldn’t connect and access TEAMS, so I am resending the link. Everyone is really welcome to join the training.

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Thank you to everyone who sent in hamper contributions. A letter and raffle tickets will be sent out next week explaining how the raffle will work.
Earlier today I sent out information received from Powys regarding arrangements for the end of term, if you wish to discuss this, or have made other plans, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Just a polite reminder that all Foundation Phase children need to be accompanied by an adult into school and collected from the classroom doors at the end of the day. Thank you for your support.
Dates/Events until the end of term:
Monday 7th 6:30-7:30pm-Happiness Training for parents/guardians/grandparents/ All welcome.
Tuesday 8th-Christmas Lunch
Tuesday 8th/Wednesday 9th-Christmas Concerts (to be sent out before the end of term)
Wednesday 9th-Last day to post Christmas cards
Friday 11th-Christmas Jumper Day (£1 donation to Save the Children)
Monday 14th December-Christingle (The children will be making their own Christingles)
Tuesday 15th Foundation Phase Christmas Party
Wednesday 16th December Y3/4 Christmas Party
Thursday 17th December Y5/6 Christmas Party

Friday 18th December-Last day of term

Have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,

Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – 27th November

Dear All,

Thank you to everyone for their very kind donations for our Christmas Hamper Raffle. If you have not yet donated and have anything suitable, all donations gratefully received. Please bring any items into school on Monday.
Christmas cards- Some children have been asking about our Christmas Postbox. We will be running a postbox this year, but all cards need to be ‘posted’ by Wednesday 9th December. All cards need to have children’s names and class written on the front and the children will be able to post their cards in the box. We will then ‘deliver’ the cards during the week of December 14th.
This week the weather has been particularly cold and as we are ensuring the classrooms are well ventilated it is really important the children are appropriately dressed, with layers of clothing, long trousers and tights/leggings. All children need to have a warm coat and gloves, as their hands are getting very cold at playtimes and lunchtimes.
Thank you to our Y3/4 children and their families, who have been working very hard from home over the last 2 weeks. We are really looking forward to having you back in school next week.
Happiness Training-Monday 30th November at 6:30pm
The link was sent out to everyone earlier today. Parents, guardians and grandparents are very welcome. We really hope you will be able to join us.
Next Week:
Monday
Y3/4 return to school
Happiness Training-Whole School
6:30pm Happiness Training for parents/guardians (TEAMS)
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – 20th November

Dear All,

A very busy week for everyone.

I have really enjoyed watching and listening to the Y6 Youth Speaks presentations and have learnt such a lot! They have worked really hard to put together great Powerpoints, full of lots of information. They have also shown how well they collaborate with each other. Thank you; a real treat!

As you know, we raised over £300 for Children in Need, and now we have also raised almost £210 for the Royal British Legion. Thank you for your amazing generosity.

Happiness Training

A reminder that we are offering a Happiness Training workshop on Monday 30th November at 6:30pm via TEAMs. If you would like to join, please reply to office@llangattock.powys.sch.uk

Thank you to everyone who has already replied. We will confirm arrangements closer to the time.

CHRISTMAS RAFFLE – PLEASE HELP!

Unfortunately, this year, due to COVID we have missed out on many school fundraising opportunities such as The Green Man and the Summer Fair. This is likely to continue for some time.

We are delighted to say that the Llangattock Community Education Trust has very kindly donated £5,000 towards the replacement of our Foundation Phase outdoor play equipment, which, together with PTA funds and money from School fund, will enable us to replace all of the play equipment this year. However, this will leave very little money for any other resources, workshops and activities the PTA usually support.

With this in mind we are planning a Christmas raffle and are hoping for donations from parents, guardians, grandparents and supporters of the school.

We would like to create 3 Christmas treat hampers, so we are looking for good quality new items, such as Christmas treats, drinks, decorations, seasonal items etc. which will be made into the 3 hampers.

Please can we have any donations by Monday 30th November.

I hope you feel you are able to support us with this, and of course support us by buying raffle tickets later in the term.

 Next week: 

  • Mon-Happiness Training Session 3-whole school

Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – 13th November 2020

Dear All,

Please see the Autumn newsletter. It does contain dates/events for this term, but they may well change over the coming weeks.

Thank you to everyone for supporting Children in Need today. The children were brilliant and really enjoyed their local walk and spending time in the school grounds. We just managed to keep dry! We will confirm the total raised on Monday.

Flu vaccinations went well and the school nurse team commented on how great the children were.

As previously mentioned, Katie, from Happiness Training, who has been working with the children to help develop well-being, is providing a parent workshop, via TEAMS on Monday 30th November at 6:30pm. The session will be fun, no pressure(!) and help you to support your child with the sessions and strategies they have been doing in school.
She is happy for you to join with/without mics and cameras and promises to make it a fun, relevant, workshop. If you would like to join this session, please respond by return email, so we can add you into the invite/send you a link to join the session.

I appreciate no time is perfect/convenient for everyone, but I hope you will be able to join her for this workshop.

Next week:
Monday – Happiness Training Session 3 (Whole School)
Thursday – Indian Dance Workshop KS2 & Bronze Ambassador Meeting

Have a lovely weekend.
Kind regards,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – 6th November 2020

 Dear All,

This week all of the children have been involved in Happiness training, with Katie. It was great fun and will teach the children strategies to help develop a positive mental attitude and resilience; particularly important at this strange time.

Katie will be training staff and offering a virtual parent workshop, so you can help support your children at home, with these strategies. As soon as the date is confirmed I will send it out. I hope you’ll be able to join us.

Thank you to everyone who bought poppy merchandise this week. We have a few pieces left, so if anyone has forgotten, or missed their day, but would like to buy something, then money can be sent in on Monday.

Next week is quite busy
Monday-Session 2 of Happiness Training for all children

Wednesday-Armistice Day. KS2 children will be walking to the park, where we will meet Reverend Morgan Llewellyn who will lead the 2 minute silence at 11 o’clock. Sadly, this year we are not asking adults to join us, so we can keep the children in their cohorts and ensure social distancing. Hopefully next year we will be able to once again run our Cuppa and Cake day.

Thursday-IMPORTANT Flu Vaccine. The school nurse has asked that parents of children with asthma inform the school, or the school nurse if their child has increased their use of inhalers 72 hours prior to the vaccination, or if they have been taking prescribed steroids in the last two weeks. If this is the case for any child with asthma, he/she will not be able to have the vaccination at this time.
The Risk Assessment supplied by the School Nurse Service is attached.

Friday-Children in Need. Children may come to school dressed in their own clothes (please ensure these are COVID friendly; no dressing up outfits/props etc). We will be doing a walk, weather permitting, followed by a hot chocolate and biscuit. We are asking for a minimum of £2 donation to Children in Need.

Finally, the Harvest Assemblies should be on the school website this weekend; we hope you enjoy them!

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – October 30th 2020

Dear All,

I hope you have enjoyed your half-term and are all safe and well.
Please find attached a press release issued by Cllr Phyl Davies.
In the light of the new restrictions in place by the Welsh Government, we have once again reviewed our risk assessments.
Fortunately, the guidance for primary school children has not changed and we are pleased to be returning to school on Monday, but a few reminders regarding our protocols to help keep everyone safe.
Isolation–
Self-isolation is for 10, or 14 days.
If anyone in your household develops COVID symptoms, or has a positive COVID test, he/she must isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms/or confirmed test result. All other household members must isolate for 14 days. During this time, we will provide online work for children, to ensure they do not fall behind their class.
If you/your child has been in immediate contact with anyone who has tested positive you/they must also isolate for 14 days.
Please let us know if you are isolating, or have a positive test. This information will be confidential, but it will help us to limit the spread as much as possible and ensure we provide suitable home learning experiences for anyone isolating.
Entering and Leaving the School Grounds
Can I politely ask that only 1 adult per family picks up/drop off each day, to help reduce the number of adults in the school grounds.  Also, please follow the guidance regarding contact with staff members and keep any discussion at the doors to a minimum and for emergency messages only. Staff will regularly check and respond to emails, so any information, or messages will be collected.
A member of staff will continue to be at each entrance to meet and greet children, but to help us with security and enable a prompt start to the day, please ensure children are inside the school building and all adults have left the site by 9:10, so lessons can start by 9:15am. The school gates will be locked at 9:15. Whilst Wales is in National lockdown, if at all possible, older children can be dropped off at the gates, to reduce the number of adults in the grounds at any time.
Apologies if this sounds unfriendly, this is not my intention, but we are just trying to support the recent more stringent measures in place.
As we move into winter, we are more likely to see more colds and bugs etc. Although the guidance remains the same in terms of COVID symptoms eg loss of taste/smell, temperature, new persistent cough, I am aware that for some people, particularly children, other symptoms may present. Please consider carefully if your child is well enough to be in school. I fully appreciate this is a difficult decision, but we will support your decision.
Finally, next week we will be selling poppy merchandise on behalf of The Royal British Legion. I have attached the information on how and when to buy any items, which was sent out on 16th October
Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – October 16th 2020

Dear All,

The end of a very long, but very successful half-term!
A huge thank you to everyone who donated food items for our Harvest Celebration Day; we collected in excess of 200 items! Thank you to Sarah for taking all of the donations to the foodbank today.
We will be sending out a short video over half-term, sharing some of the lovely activities completed by the children.
As previously mentioned, we will be supporting the Royal British Legion poppy appeal this year. I have attached a letter outlining how we will be selling the merchandise in a COVID friendly way!  (Poppy Appeal Letter)
Today we have said good-bye to Miss Bethany Hill, who has been working in our Y1/2 classroom. Miss Hill has been a great asset to the class and we wish her lots of luck in the future.
Thank you to Mr Grenfell, from Crickhowell for his very kind donation of cooking ingredients for the Y5/6 children to make apple pies today.
Thank you to everyone for their support this half-term. It has been a challenge, but everyone has worked well together and made a very difficult few weeks a positive experience.
Should any advice or guidance change over the next two weeks I will send updates as soon as possible.
Have a lovely 2 week break.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – October 10th 2020

Dear All,

I hope you are all well.
I have sent out some additional information this week including dates and the Governors’ Annual report to Parents.
If you have not received these, please let me know. Please send any questions regarding the report to me as soon as possible, for the Governors to discuss and respond to at the meeting on Tuesday evening.
Next week we will be celebrating Harvest on Tuesday 13th October. Children can come to school dressed in Autumn colours and we would like them to bring a food donation for the Abergavenny Food bank. Please put any donations of non-perishable items, packets, tins etc. in the boxes outside each classroom. Thank you.
Please find attached our updated complaints policy. This is also available on our website.
We were hoping to have further information regarding poppy merchandise, which we will be selling after half-term, but this has not yet been received.
Robins Class
Just a reminder that next week the Robins’ Class will be doing their Show and Tell. A letter has already been sent out, but if you need any further information, please contact Mrs Thomas.
Little Sparks
At the moment our numbers in Little Sparks are very low.
Please share the link below, as we are hoping to boost our numbers in order to maintain this lively, fun , caring pre-school setting.
Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend.
Kind regards,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – October 2nd 2020

Dear All,

Another lovely week. We all seem to be settling into the ‘new normal’ and things have gone really well this week.
On Monday I will be sending out updated Complaints and Safeguarding policies and a (short) date sheet for this half term.
KS2
Children in ks2 should bring in a pair of outdoor shoes, to wear on the field on wet days. These can be wellies, or any other shoes, but they do need to be waterproof. These can be left in school.
Dates
Due to the current restrictions in place we do not have many dates booked into the diary, but next week I will send out a list of planned dates and events, for this term. Please be aware these may change, if guidance/restrictions change.
COVID UPDATES
We are constantly reviewing our procedures and responding to Government Advice and Guidance. As a result, we have decided to split our ks2 into 2 separate cohorts. Hopefully this will mean, should we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 only 1 cohort will have to isolate, rather than the whole of KS2, allowing at least half of ks2 to continue attending school. The children will have different play areas and lunchtime seating areas. They are using the same toilets, as we don’t have an alternative, but we are controlling who is in the toilet at any one time. This also means that children are not mixing during breakfast club.
We have significantly reduced the number of visitors attending school, but in line with current guidance, we are having some visitors and volunteers. All visitors and volunteers will need to complete a COVID questionnaire and provide contact details, to help Track, Trace and Prevent. All visitors are fully informed of, and follow, our COVID procedures.
Have a great weekend.
Kind regards,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – September 25th 2020

Dear All,

Thank you
A massive thank you to Jennie Edwards who, once again, has donated over £700 to school, from her plant stall. We are always appreciative of Jennie’s generosity, but this year in particular, as we have obviously not been able to hold any of our usual fund-raising activities, which will have a huge impact on what we are able to buy for the children.
Parent Consultation Meeting
This week we had our Virtual Parent Consultations, which I hope you found useful. If you did not make an appointment, or need a further appointment to discuss any other issues, please contact your child’s teacher.
Governors
Our Governors’ AGM has been arranged for October 13th. The report will be sent out in advance.
Reading Books
In line with Welsh Government Guidance, we are quarantining books for 72 hours, once they have been returned to school. It is important that all books returned to school are left in the quarantine boxes, as this will ensure they are not sent home with another child within 72 hours.
This system means we have less books available to send home with children. However, in response to some parents’ concerns over reading, we will endeavour to ensure all children have a current reading book, every night. This will be dependent on how many of each book we have available. Children can of course read any other material eg comics, online books etc.
Hand sanitiser
Powys have advised us to only use the hand sanitiser they are providing, to ensure it meets minimum standards, and contains 70% alcohol, so please do not send sanitiser into school, unless your child needs a specific make due to allergies etc. If this is the case, please let your child’s class teacher know, so we can keep it somewhere safe and out of the reach of other children. Thank you.
Clothing
Please ensure all clothes are clearly labelled. We have a lot of unidentifiable jumpers/cardigans etc left in school.
Polite reminder 
Please email teachers with any issues, rather than pass messages on at the door. We need to keep entrances/exits clear, to ensure social distancing, but also, all staff need to be supervising children entering and leaving the building to support children with handwashing and sanitising.
Please do not drive into school, or park on the hill leading to school, as children are moving around at various times during the day.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support in these strange times. Current procedures are working really well, which is down to everyone’s co-operation.
Have a lovely weekend.
Kind regards,

WEEKLY UPDATE – September 18th 2020

Dear All,

Another great week. Thank you to everyone for their continued support.
I have attached some information regarding illness and Covid symptoms, which you may find helpful when deciding if you should send your child to school.
Next week we are holding the first of our Virtual Parent Consultation Meetings. You should have received confirmation of the date and time of your appointment, but please contact your child’s class teacher, if you have not yet received yours. This will be new for all of us, so please bear with us. In order to ensure everyone gets their meeting on time, staff will be ending the meetings after 10mins. If you need a longer meeting, please contact your child’s class teacher, using the email above; they will be happy to arrange a further meeting, at a convenient time.
Breakfast club is up and running smoothly and all of the COVID safety procedures are working well. If you haven’t yet accessed this provision and you need to, or would like to, all children are welcome.
Unfortunately, for us, Mrs Jo Caines, Little Sparks Lead, is leaving us at the end of this half -term. Jo has been an amazing asset to the setting and we are very sad to be losing her, but wish her lots of luck in her new post.
Miss Kate Dykes will be covering the Lead role, on a temporary basis.
A polite reminder that all children with long hair should have their hair tied back. We have had a few ‘near miss’ incidents on the play equipment, due to long hair getting caught. It presents a hygiene risk, particularly at the moment, but is also a safety issue.
Thank you for your support.
Have a lovely weekend.
Kind regards,
Kathryn Marshall

WEEKLY UPDATE – September 4th 2020

Dear All,
These two days have been pretty busy, and presented some challenges, but it has been great to have everyone back in school and see all of the children playing so happily with each other.
A big welcome to our new children in Reception; a very strange start to school life, but they have taken it in their stride and had a lovely two days.
We have reviewed our procedures and feel, on the whole things have run smoothly, but will be making a slight change to pick up times. We have found that reducing the day by 30 minutes is having an impact on the amount of learning time children have, so from Monday children can be collected between 3:15 and 3:40pm. This will still allow parents to socially distance and avoid any congestion with parking.
Class letters will be sent home next week, providing information about individual classes, homework, PE days etc.
Parent Consultation Meetings-Powys have advised that face to face meetings should not take place, so we will be arranging TEAMs meetings, or phone calls to catch up. These will take place week beginning 21st September. Further information will be sent home next week.
Dates:
The dates for October Half-Term have now been confirmed as Monday 19th to Friday 30th October. All children return to school on Monday 2nd November.
We had planned school photographs for 9th November, but we have cancelled these, as advice is to limit the number of people coming into school. I have re-booked the photographer for the Spring Term.
Y1/2 reading books will be sent home next week, as we are still assessing reading levels and sorting out books.
Homework will start next week for all classes.
Reminders:
Please can you check that all clothes are clearly labelled.
There are still a lot of reading books which have not been returned. These need to be returned , before we can send out new books.
Children do not need PE kits in school at the moment, as they can come to school dressed in kit (plain leggings/tracksuit bottoms/t-shirt/trainers) on their PE days, which will be confirmed next week.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall

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