With the announcement of a return to full days as of Monday 24 May, there is a mixture of excitement and trepidation in the air. Will this be the last shift of the school year? How will the students, teachers and parents handle another change to our ways of working? What happens if…
If there is anything we’ve learned over the last year it is that we need to stick with the knowns and hope for the best.
Monday 24 May will see Primary doing a complete 360 back to the schedule we had running over September to November 2020. A full day schedule means a more balanced schedule in that we don’t have to ensure all specialist lessons occur in the morning. This allows for more flexibility across the day.
Our six-day cycle served us well to ensure that all students received equal provision and maintained regular interaction with all aspects of the curriculum. We will hold onto this one and keep it on the back burner.
Your child’s class teacher will reach out over the next week either via the ESF App, Seesaw or to your child directly through Google Classroom to remind them (and you) which days are PE days.
Please remember to send your child to school with everything they will need throughout the day: water bottle, snack, lunch and their hat for play times are must-haves. We will not be able to lend items from the nurse as mentioned in previous Explorer articles.
This shift in schedule, although one we are familiar with, will still bring with it another change. Please be sure to start talking to your child about the return to full days at school. Ask them what they are most excited about and what they might be worried about. Having these conversations before it actually happens can help ease any anxiety they might be feeling.
Additionally, although we still currently have a hybrid full day, a face to face full day is going to be tiring. Please help ensure your child is having a balanced breakfast, drinking plenty of water and going to bed at a developmentally appropriate time to ensure they are well-rested and ready for the day ahead.
Along with the return to school for full days, I’d like to just take a moment to acknowledge another change coming up for us in the Primary sector. Tracey Chitty, the ‘talkabout it lady’ and our primary counsellor, will be starting a secondment to the English Schools Foundation as Student Welfare Advisor for the next two years, starting Tuesday 1 June. Tracey has been a valuable member of the DC community as a whole and I know you join me in wishing her the very best for this amazing opportunity.
We have appointed a student counsellor for Primary who will begin in August. In the interim, as of Tuesday 1 June, if you have questions or concerns that you would normally reach out to Tracey about, please reach out directly to your child’s phase Vice Principal – Mr Jason Boon for Years 1-3 and Mr Andy Eastwood for Years 4-6.
Thank you for your continued support.
Josh Blue
Head of Primary