June 26th 2020 Mehefin 26ain

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you all remain well, positive and cautiously hopeful as we see restrictions being lifted slowly and the virus seemingly in retreat.

It is now over three months since our schools became very different places, but we are finally in a position to reopen, albeit for significantly fewer pupils. I am very much looking forward to being able to talk about what our pupils have been doing at school in the weekly newsletter from now on. It’ll be great to include some pictures of smiling children, excited about being reunited with their teachers and being able to see some of their classmates, even if it is from a social distance.

The contents of the letter set last week have been complemented by a video which I hope helps you visualise where to go and what to do in order to ensure a safe and organised reopening. Many thanks for the positive feedback regarding the video. I am pleased you have found it helpful.

I have attached the guidance letter once again and made a couple of amendments, following further considerations this week. They include these slight changes and clarifications:
1. As shown in the video, Foundation Phase pick-up for Reception, Years 1 and 2 will now be straight from the classes cloakroom door. Please enter the site via the bottom gate and path and exit via the top Nursery gate. Clear signage shows where you should stand, socially distanced.
2. Any child arriving on their bike and needing help, can pass their bike onto a member of staff, who will place it by the rack. There will be staff at the front of the school to assist.
3. Staff will also be on hand to escort childen of parents with buggies.
4. The climbing frame and wooden mushrooms in the Foundation Phase area have been made out of bounds.

I am really looking forward to seeing you next week and as I said in my letter last week, I’d be grateful if you could have a positive chat with your children to reassure them about coming back, but also help them understand the rules they need to follow to keep themselves and everybody safe. If they haven’t seen the video yet please show it to them, as I included a message for all of them at the beginning.

I am sure it will be a really positive experience for everybody who attends and will be a very useful exercise in the lead up to the Summer holidays which as I informed you earlier this week, has now been confirmed to start on Friday, July 17th. We were aware that the situation with the extra week at the end could potentially change, so planned for each week’s arrangements to mirror one another, giving regular weekly check-ins rather than a block of days, so thankfully the timetable shared with you remains the same, minus the cancelled final week of course.

May I thank you for your trust in us, your anticipated co-operation and support in these challenging times. Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Yours sincerely,

Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher