Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 2nd July 2021
Date: 2nd Jul 2021 @ 1:06pm
Sports Sessions
This week and next the children have been enjoying an extra PE session within their class bubbles. As you will realise, we have been unable to hold our usual Sports Day due to the government’s restrictions and how they would work within our smaller school environment, but we hope that the children have enjoyed having some competition within their bubbles and felt that they haven’t missed out on the opportunity.
September Arrangements
There has been a lot in the media this week about whether the bubble system will remain in place in September and speculation that it won’t. As schools, we have not yet received any formal notification of this, which is why, even though we only have two weeks left, I have been unable to clarify the arrangements for September for you all. I am sincerely hoping that we will be able to stop operating in bubbles and end the self-isolation of classes where there have been positive cases. As things stand, ‘Freedom Day’ is going ahead on 19th July, so I would hope that schools get some clarification before then for September.
Just to remind you as I shared in last week’s blog, if we are to cease operating as bubbles, we will return to our whole school pre-pandemic start and finish times of 8.45am (with a difference!) and 3pm, but I will clarify this for you as soon as I am able.
School Uniform
As thoughts turn to September, please may I take this opportunity to remind you of our School Uniform Policy as children grow out of things and new items are purchased in preparation.
Over St. John’s CE Primary School’s uniform consists of:
- Light blue polo shirt
- Blue school sweatshirt or cardigan with school logo
- Grey skirt or trousers
- Sensible black shoes (not trainers) which are flat and offer support
- Grey or white socks or grey tights
- In summer, a blue checked school dress or grey shorts may be worn.
Sweatshirts and cardigans with the school logo are available locally via Julie Clare Schoolwear on the market or from the Uniform Exchange Winsford. For storage reasons, we no longer hold stock of pre-loved items but send these to the uniform exchange if we receive any.
Premises Staff
We are currently advertising for a new caretaker to look after our lovely school. If you know of anyone who may be interested in this role, please may you refer them to the following advert – it does involve early mornings!
In the meantime, if you or anyone you know is able to volunteer an hour or two here and there to help with some external jobs, I would be very grateful! Please contact Mrs McFarland on 01606 592608 or admin@overstjohns.cheshire.sch.uk Thank you.
#WakeUpWednesday
TikTok ‘blew up’ (to borrow its own terminology) in 2018 and quickly became one of the world’s most downloaded apps. There are now around 800 million TikTok users worldwide, almost half of them (41%) in the 16–24 age bracket. TikTok itself advises a minimum age of 13 to access the platform, but some children as young as 10 are known to use it.
With such a young user-base, TikTok has faced problems with internet predators attempting to contact children on the platform. As this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide highlights, however, that is far from the only concern – with inappropriate videos, songs featuring explicit lyrics and in-app purchases all on the list of potential risks. Take a look at National Online Safety’s guide to TikTok below.
Parking - Reminder
Please may I ask you to be considerate when parking to drop off and collect children from school? We have had a couple of occasions where cars have blocked the pavement, particularly in front of the shops by the cross and also blocked access to the service area behind the shops, making it difficult for pavement users and those with buggies and prams to get past or deliveries to arrive. I absolutely appreciate that this could be other members of the public and not our considerate adults, but every little helps.
Informing School of a Positive Result - Reminder
With the rise in cases in the Winsford and Northwich areas due to the Delta variant, please may I remind you that if any of your children have to take a COVID test and the result comes back positive, we need to know this at school as a matter of urgency, whether it is evenings or weekends, to enable us time to organise things in school and contact the relevant people. During school hours, please call the office on 01606 592608 – do not leave an answer phone message – please continue to ring until you speak to someone. If it is the evenings or weekends, please e mail your child’s name and class to positiveresult@overstjohns.cheshire.sch.uk This is for positive results in our children only. If your child needs to isolate as a direct contact because someone in your household, childcare or support bubble or someone somewhere they have been has tested positive, please e mail the normal admin@overstjohns.cheshire.sch.uk address.
Confirmed Dates for the Summer Term 2021
Friday 9th July End of year reports to be sent out electronically
Friday 16th July Year 6 Leaver’s Service at 9am. Link to follow to adults of Year 6.
Friday 16th July School closes for summer with bubble closure times as follows:
Blakemere at 1:45pm
Linmere at 1:45pm
Oakmere at 1:50pm
Delamere at 1.55pm
Sandymere at 2pm
Hatchmere at 2.05pm
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs E Snowdon