15.1.2021 Ms gita update
Dear Parents,
A couple of changes to online learning:
- All Y1 to Y6 online learning will start at 9am, breaktime will be 10.30-10.50am and lunchtime 12-1pm with lessons finishing at 3. This should help us all manage the different times of lessons better.
- Friday afternoons there will be no online learning. We are asking you to spend 1 hour between Friday lunchtime and Monday morning doing some physical activity with your children that will get them out of breath for at least 15 minutes! (It's good for us too and will support positive mental health). Teachers will also set some other independent learning activities.
All teachers will be spending this time, planning lessons for the following week based on how well the children have learned this week.
Have a good weekend and stay safe.
Ms Gita
14.1.2021 Ms Gita Parent letter
Dear Parents,
I am writing with a number of updates, and some important messages, but firstly, I just want to say how impressed we are, by what we are achieving together for your children’s education. My apologies for the length of my letters but there always seems a lot to share. If you are in a rush, please read the yellow bits and be ready to come to school to collect equipment for your child on Monday.
You are making sure your children are ready for us, but not only that, so many of you are able to support your children so well. You know your child’s personality, and you are being very encouraging so that they are concentrating well.
It is even more clear, under our present circumstances, that we, as a community, value education for our children and their futures. Your support is overwhelmingly positive, thank you. By the end of lockdown, with this continued partnership, your children’s education will not suffer unduly.
Improving Our Partnership - Children Learning At Home
We as teachers, can teach more effectively if we can see what your child writes and the work they complete. This helps us to understand how much your child has learned and very importantly remembered. We use this to shape our next lessons, and make sure your child practises a skill more if they need it, or give them extra challenge if they are mastering the learning. We therefore need you to collect and hand in the work that they do.
We are therefore asking you to come to school every MONDAY starting from next week – Monday 18th January.
For children learning at home: You can come anytime between 8.45am and 3.15pm. Only 1 adult per family, face masks/coverings must be worn otherwise entry will NOT be permitted. If you have given us a medical exemption, please arrange for another adult to collect on your behalf. You must maintain 2m distancing from other adults at all times. The collections will be from the hall.
On Monday, all teachers will have created packs for you to collect for your child if they are learning remotely at home. This will include equipment like mini whiteboards, books, pencils etc.
The following Monday, 25th January, you will need to bring back your child’s work book only (keep all the other equipment) and collect another book. The teacher will mark this book, and the following week we can swap the books over again.
In short, every Monday, an adult needs to come to school to collect / drop off school books during this isolation period.
If you are isolating or cannot attend for any other reason, please ask a friend or neighbour, or please contact us, office@shenton.leicester.sch.uk or phone 0116 2628778, and we will try to help.
If you do not visit on Mondays, we cannot guarantee your child’s work will be marked by the teacher. We will not encourage or allow visits on any other days as we all need to do this in the right way to make it work effectively. If your child’s book is late, we may already have moved onto different learning which means your child may not have learned something effectively which may cause probvlems for them in the future.
Nursery
The Government has asked all schools to open their Nursery classes. We have rung you this week to see whether you would like your child to come into school, and how this will work.
We cannot distance the children, they will be in close contact with each other. We are currently expecting over 20 children. It is not a law of this country that children attend Nursery as they are below 5 years of age. The choice is up to you. You need to think about any risk to your household and family. If you do not want to send your child you do not have to.Every family is different and the risks will therefore be different.
Depending on how many children come into school and how many stay at home, we will have to consider whether we can continue online learning, as of course, our teachers cannot be in 2 places at the same time. Online learning will therefore change from Monday, Ms Bailey will email you to inform you of how this may change and keep you updated. Please check your child’s emails.
Online Learning
Thank you to all of you for supporting your children however you can. Below is an idea of how many children are logging in to lessons during the first week of lockdown. It has been much higher this week with some classes reaching 100%, and overall averages starting to rise to 95%+. Last week’s attendance winners were 6 Australia for the older children, and 3 Poland for the younger children.
We are only aware of 8 children now who we are supporting to get online as quickly as we can.
Teachers have told me that so many of you have been not only very supportive but have the potential to be amazing teachers yourselves.
|
Group name |
Students |
% Attendance |
|
Nursery |
35 |
74% |
|
Reception |
55 |
77% |
|
1 Holland |
30 |
82% |
|
1 Japan |
30 |
83% |
|
2 Pakistan |
30 |
72% |
|
2 Spain |
30 |
80% |
|
3 Kenya |
27 |
85% |
|
3 Poland |
29 |
93% |
|
4 Brazil |
28 |
91% |
|
4 Canada |
30 |
93% |
|
4 Slovakia |
30 |
73% |
|
5 France |
30 |
90% |
|
5 Portugal |
30 |
83% |
|
6 Italy |
30 |
90% |
|
6Australia |
30 |
97% |
For the very few families who have told us the reason their child missed lessons was because they were asleep, please get them ready on time. You can see from the above that they are already falling behind every time they do not log in to lessons.
Lastly, please make sure you charge your child’s devices overnight so that they are ready for another full day of lessons.
COVID-19 Update
This link will provide you with current data for Leicester:
The infection rates are high in Leicester, and we are in a lockdown situation. We all need to take every precaution we can to minimise the risks of passing COVID-19 to others.
We should not be in each other's homes, we should not have visitors. We should only go out if we have to – work, grocery shopping or education, not social reasons. We should always wear masks in shops or other public indoor spaces. We should always stay 2m away from each other. We should keep our homes well ventilated.
Do not take risks.
We know the vaccine programme has begun, my father is due his tomorrow, I hope those vulnerable in your household are due soon too. Remember, the vaccine does not start working for 2-3 weeks, it also does not stop us getting COVID-19, it means we won’t get it badly. Someone vaccinated could still pass the virus to someone else. Therefore please continue to take steps to keep everyone safe.
Whilst there is a lot of speculation about when life may go back to normal, it is clear it still won’t be any time soon, with some suggesting Spring 2022 as a full return to the ‘old’ normal.
Unsafe Businesses and Employers
After the last lockdown, Leicester was in the newspapers because some employers, particularly in the sewing clothing industry, were still making their staff work in unsafe situations. I know this has directly affected our community. It isn’t just the textile industry though; it could happen in any industry and the building trade is another area where there have been lots of cases.
Below are some links in different languages to a phone number that you can ring if your work place is not safe and you need help. Your employer will not be told you have reported them, but they will then be investigated. In this country every person has the right to work for a minimum wage, no one should be working for less as we cannot survive on less.
Work place help Gujurati Hindi
Please use the links to help keep you and your family safe. Please contact us if you would like to talk confidentially, just phone us, or email and we will phone you back at a time that is convenient for you. 0116 2628778
Milk Money
If you have paid for milk for your child this term, the balance will be credited to you, this will show on any future pre-payment notices.
And finally......
When we phone for lessons, it is great to see so many children sat at tables ready to go. I know it can be quite noisy if you have more than one child, so spreading them around the house can sometimes help. Occasionally, we have children trying to work lying down on their beds but that doesn’t usually last long as it’s not a comfortable position for writing!
For our youngest children in Early Years, we have short bursts of teaching and the children can be anywhere as often they don’t need pencil and paper. This week, one of our children listened to story time whilst in a buggy going through the streets of Highfields. Another child was heard shouting numbers as they did some counting outside a shop!
Stay safe everyone,
Ms Gita
