Greenhill Primary School
Gallwn Gyda'n Gilydd Together We Can
Welcome
October newsletter
To parents/guardians of Greenhill Primary School pupils
Well half-term is nearly here... as is another lockdown!
It has been a long and strange half-term. It has been very different for us, and I think the children have missed seeing their friends and the adults in other classes as much as they usually would. And of course, there’s been no assemblies, lunchtime clubs and after-school activities either… and we’ve missed out on our usual Halloween party!
However, the children have coped very well. I just wish I could tell them - and you - that it won’t be for much longer, but unfortunately, it looks like we are in this for the foreseeable future.
I can update you on a few issues through:
School Times
The staggered starts and finishes have worked very well. In fact, I believe we are now in a position to shorten the stagger slightly. After half-term, class times will be as follows:
|
Class |
Start time |
Finish time |
Collected from |
|
Enfys/Rainbow |
8:50 |
2:50 |
Infant yard side gate |
|
Glas/Blue |
8:50 |
2:50 |
Junior yard side gate |
|
Coch/Red |
9:00 |
12:00 |
Infant yard side gate |
|
Arian/Silver |
9:00 |
3:15 |
SNRB gate |
|
Aur/Gold |
9:00 |
3:15 |
SNRB gate |
|
Gwyrdd/Green |
9:10 |
3:10 |
Infant yard side gate |
|
Fioled/Violet |
9:10 |
3:10 |
Junior yard side gate |
|
Melyn/Yellow |
9:20 |
3:20 |
Infant side gate |
|
Indigo/Indigo |
9:20 |
3:20 |
Junior side gate |
Breakfast Club
Currently we have no plans to resume Breakfast Club. At present we have no way of holding a breakfast club that would not involve children from different contact groups mixing, and that is clearly something we wish to avoid right now.
School Dinners
School dinners will resume after half-term. These have to be ordered in advance, so if you pay for school dinners, please let us know if you wish your child to receive dinners at the beginning of the week. See attached letter from Mrs. Davies for more details.
Parents’ Evening
Unfortunately we are not able to hold our usual Autumn term Parents’ Evening. However, we would like to discuss your child’s progress with you. The class teacher will contact you after half-term to arrange this.
Whole Class Isolation
If a child or staff member in the contact group tests positive for Covid-19, the whole contact group will have to self-isolate for 14 days. During that time, the class will take part in ‘distance learning’ as in the previous lockdown. SeeSaw is our preferred means of communication during this time so please ensure you have this up and running, as we could have to close a class very quickly. In order to ‘test-run’ this system, we are currently setting homework via SeeSaw (or Google Classrooms for some of the older children). Check your child is able to use these systems and please let us know if there are any problems.
Halloween
I know the children are disappointed that Halloween and Bonfire Night won’t take place as usual this year. Unfortunately, because we are trying to limit the number of items being brought into school from home, this also means that the children will not be able to ‘dress up’ in their Halloween costumes as many of these are not machine-washable and come with a number of plastic props - wands, masks, pitchforks, etc - that would need continual wiping. While the number of Covid-19 cases in the Caerphilly borough remains high, we feel it is necessary to take these extra precautions.
A note of thanks
I understand that this new system must cause some of you considerable inconvenience. I very much appreciate all the understanding and cooperation you have shown during this time.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my staff - I could not ask for a more dedicated, hard-working and compassionate team. They truly deserve their break this half-term.
If you have any queries, questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Lisa Jones
Headteacher