Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Friday briefing
Fri 27 Nov 2020Happy Friday everyone,
Another busy week here at Dovedale Primary School.
We have continued with our anti bullying week work and also focused on Diwali. Miss Bestwick and Miss Nadin have compiled another great video of all the lovely activities the children have completed. This can be found on a new tab in the children's section of the website. Scroll to the bottom of this tab and you will find 'Dovedale Videos'. It can also be accessed through Twitter.
We had our autumn full governor's meeting this week. I would like to say thank you to the Dovedale Governing body for their ongoing support, ensuring the school is held to account on all things policy and procedure ensuring the best outcomes for the children. If you would like to see who our governors are and what they do, go to the Governors tab on the website.
Next week is assessment week so the children's timetable will be slightly different. We are hoping to see more great progress as the children have been working so hard.
As we head into tier 3 I would like to thank all of our parents for being so diligent and understanding. We have been clear of cases for the last 3 weeks and we know this is due to your hard work as much as the systems we have in place in school.
As always do not hesitate to contact me if you are experiencing any difficulties. All conversations will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
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Friday update
Fri 20 Nov 2020Happy Friday all,
We have had a great week here at Dovedale.
The year 5s have completed bikability and we published our first class assembly online for this year. Thank you to Mrs Thorpe's class for their hard work on this.
We have also been doing some Anti Bullying week activities and these will continue in to next week and we learnt about Diwali.
The PTA held a virtual meeting this week and will be issuing a colouring competition for the children. This will be 50p to enter and there will be a prize per class. The templates will start to go out on Monday 7th December and should be returned to school by the 14th for judging. I will send a text reminder. We are very grateful that our PTA still continues to be proactive at such a difficult time.
With all the news around closures and covid we know that some of our young people are feeling quite stressed.
I have added a link below about supporting your child to deal with scary world news. There are some useful ideas that could help adults too!
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/talking-to-your-children-scary-world-news
On a similar note we know that there are added stresses for adults, particularly through job losses or the financial toll that the current situation has forced some families to face. If any of our families are concerned about food over the Christmas break please contact myself and we can talk together about ways to support you. I hope you realise that this will be done in a confidential and non judgemental way. Email on headteacher@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk or call the office and ask to speak with me.
On December 11th it is Christmas jumper day. Now whilst this may be tricky if things are not up and running completely after the 2nd, children can wear something festive on this day. This could be as simple as a tinsel crown, a festive badge, a jumper or a full on onesie. If families wish to and are able to make a donation for the Save the Children charity we will collect this in on the day.
Some parents have been asking about Christmas cards. If your child wishes to send cards to their friends please have them in school by Friday 11th December. They will be put into a box in the classroom ready for distribution the following week. If they wish to give to friends in a different bubble these will need to be collected in by their teacher and forwarded to the appropriate class.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
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Friday update
Fri 13 Nov 2020Happy Friday everyone!
A great week here at Dovedale Primary school yet again.
We are well on the way with our new curriculum and the children seem to be really enjoying their new knowledge blocks.
This week we have celebrated Remembrance-hop over to our Twitter page (click on the bird link at bottom of website homepage) to see the beautiful montage compiled by Miss Bestwick of all the lovely things the children have been doing.
Next week we shall be looking at Diwali and road safety in our assemblies.
Today we celebrated children in need, showing Dovedale respect for those who may need our support.
To make you aware, guidance on attendance published this week has stated that all children must continue to be in school and cannot be kept at home by parents unless they are ill or isolating due to a family member getting a test or testing positive. I will therefore be sending out attendance letters where attendance falls below the expected % as usual. Our attendance at Dovedale is usually very high-above national -and we will work with individual families to support them in getting their children in school. Days off school + lost learning and as there have been ( and may be) days when this is beyond our control we need to have the children in as much as possible if they are fit and well.
We thank you for your continued support in keeping our community safe and I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
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Friday update
Fri 06 Nov 2020Happy Friday everyone,
I hope you are all keeping well.
It has been a very positive return to the 2nd half term here at Dovedale. The children have come back positively and ready to learn and the staff are keen to get on with the new curriculum.
We have some activities planned over the next few weeks to engage the children in their wider learning. Next week we will be focusing on Remembrance -you may notice a display popping up over the weekend and there will be a video shared of children's work on this very important theme.
We are also celebrating Diwali and participating in Anti bullying week so we are looking forward to these wider themes.
Starting next week we will be conducting parent's updates by phone calls. This is obviously not ideal but will allow your child's class teacher to update you on your child's progress. Please be mindful that the teachers will be on the phone all day on their allocated day during the set times. The scheduling of these has meant that they have very little space between each call and so will need to end the calls promptly to move to their next call. If further time is required then this can be arranged separately with the class teacher. Thank you for your understanding with this.
We know there have been some people isolating this week and you are all in our thoughts and we hope you stay well. Remember we are here for anyone who may need a little support at this time so please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to help.
Next week it is Children in Need and it's fancy dress Friday.
Lastly, a big congratulations to Mr McCarthy who has become a father to baby Grace. We wish him and the family all the very best.
I wish you all a very lovely weekend.
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Autumn term 2 update
Sun 01 Nov 2020Dear Parents and Carers,
Firstly I hope that you and your families are keeping well.
As we head into the second half of the autumn term I thought I would just update you as to our continued efforts to keep everyone safe and well.
We will be continuing with our bubble system – with some adjustments to the year 6 bubbles. The two year 6 classes now need to line up separately on entry to school and will not be sharing the same playground space. The two classes will not be mixing at any time in school and we ask that you speak to the year 6 children about this prior to Monday. You will receive a dojo update from the class teacher. We have made these adjustments to entry, playtimes and lunchtimes as they will then be able to be completely separate as they do not share facilities including toilets.
Other year groups will need to remain as year group bubbles as they share a corridor and toilets. We will however limit contact as far as is feasibly possible.
We will continue with our sanitizing and hand washing routines, increased cleaning regime and ventilation - please make sure your child has a jumper or fleece in school for use in the classroom as we head in to the cooler months. Ventilation is a key factor in reducing the spread of the virus so we will be keeping windows and internal doors open.
I know there has been some question as to why one class, whole year group or small groups are chosen to isolate. All our decisions are based on Public Health England advice, our own risk assessments and a determination to prevent the spread as much as possible. I am not in a position to take a popularist approach and will not keep bubbles open when it does not seem safe to do so. Likewise I will not close classes if we have been advised that they are safe to stay open.
Although we are seeing an increase we still have a reasonably low turnover of cases at the present time and we will take every action needed to try and keep as many children in school as possible. I will not however, put anyone at risk and will continue closing classes or year groups where needed. We would ask that you continue to be extra vigilant with regard to any potential symptoms displayed in your child.
Due to track and trace and other issues beyond our control we are also seeing some staff needing to isolate and will address any staff shortages as they occur.
If children, groups or classes need to isolate, home learning will be provided. Any parents needing support with this should contact the class teacher or myself and we will be happy to support you. We are determined to minimise any further disruption to the children’s learning.
We are aware that this is a worrying and potentially stressful time but we will continue to work with the whole school community to do what is best for our children and their families.
Please ensure you inform us if anyone in your household presents symptoms or tests positive and follow all the guidelines with regard to this. If anyone needs any advice please contact the school and as always we will do our best to help. Please continue to distance on dropping off and picking up times, keep your children with you to avoid cross bubble exposure and we suggest the wearing of face masks for adults.
I will continue to update you with any further information or advice weekly or as necessary
Take Care
Sarah Houseman