Head's Blog

Staying safe online

Many of us are online a lot more at the moment, and while there are many benefits to this method of communication, there are also cautions too.

Please visit our online safety resources page for tips using various games/platforms.

Sports opportunities

Cornwall School Games

This year, due to the current situation, the annual Cornwall School Games is unable to take place in person. This is a shame as Darite is so sporty. However, the games have gone online!

During the week beginning the 22nd June, each day there will be a chance to undertake a different sporting activity either in school or at home and earn points for the school.

Each day until the games take place, the activity cards that show how the different events will look, the rules and some top tips will be uploaded onto this blog for you to practise at home (or at school). During the week, photos and scores can be submitted to see which school and pupils are keeping active. The details of how to do this will be released closer to the event.

The school has signed up for this but we need as many people to take part. What a good way for those children in school to leep in touch with The activity cards of the first two events are attached to the blog.

Image Gallery

Documents

Athletics - Speed Bounce Activity Card.pdf

Athletics - Standing High Jump Activity Card.pdf

Athletics - Standing Long Jump Activity Card.pdf

Bowls and Boccia - Knockem Down Activity Card.pdf

Bowls and Boccia - The Target Activity Card.pdf

Thank-you and updates

Thank you and updates

Good morning and welcome to the second week of the summer second term! I hope you are all well and safe if you are at home.

We were incredibly impressed by the behaviour and attitude of all pupils last week; both those whom have been a part of our Educare provision and those Year 6 who have came back. The comments from parents and pupils have been heart warming and have made all the hard work of the staff worthwhile. Pupil levels of respect for themselves, their peers and their teachers has been really reassuring and I know that I speak for every member of staff when I say that we have had a lovely week.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming back a number of Year 1 pupils on today. We can assure you that the same levels of planning have taken place and exactly the same rules that are in place for Year 6s and the Educare bubbles, are in place for Year 1. We have never used so much soap, but given the very carefully completed cleaning logs for each Bubble, this is not a surprise.

Next week we are moving on to planning the possible and hopeful return of those Reception pupils who would like to come back to school perhaps during the week of 15 June; thank you very much to all those parents who have let us know if you hope for your child to return (or not). This of course depends totally on the situation with numbers and staffing and we will keep you in the loop as always. Just a reminder that as new year groups return, the bubbles will shift. For instance, those Year 1 children who have accessed Educare last week, will now be part of the bubble in Class 1. Although this will release space in the educare bubble, they are in high demand and the government guidance remains that the safest place to be is at home if possible. Please only request a place for educare if your child fits the category of key worker or vulnerable. Please contact the school if you are unsure.

We hope that you have managed to read the letter sent to all parents and carers on Thursday from Mr Massey stating not only that Year 1s were definitely going to be welcomed back but also that the school is closing after lunch on Friday afternoons from next Friday 12th June for a weekly deep clean. Please refer to the letter from school and the newsletter last week with times for pickups as they do change. At the moment, we are sorry, but we are unable to look after ANY child on a Friday afternoon.

We hope that you are continuing to enjoy the Home Learning and please do keep sending us in all of your wonderful work, pictures and photos. Most teachers are now back in school and teaching in a Bubble however, so please bear with us if home learning is not updated first thing on Monday. We are always going to put new things up. Class teachers will of course still respond to any emails and will be delighted to hear from you, but it may not be quite as rapid as it was before Half Term.

You all continue to be brilliant and we really appreciate it. THANK YOU. Stay safe and look after yourselves.

Mr Whipps

Welcome Back

I hope you are all safe and well and managed to get some rest in the wonderful weather last week. I've added a few photos that have been sent in of all the fun.

Today we welcome back Year 6 pupils, vulnerable children and children of key workers. The staff met yesterday to prepare the school and make sure all the plans are in place to safeguard pupils, staff and parents to the best of our ability. If you do need to drop children off, please follow the signage and one way system that is in place. Please make sure you have read the letters sent out last week to familiarise yourself with the timings and logistics for the day. At the moment we can only offer packed lunches made by the school to pupils eligible for free school meals. If you are unsure if your child is eligible, please contact secretary@dariteprimary.co.uk.

For those children not attending school, the home learning has been updated on the blogs. Once again, please do what you feel you can and there is no pressure to complete anything. The welfare of the children is paramount. If you read and practise times tables with the children, that would be wonderful.

Thank you to those parents who have send in confirmation of their reports and the wonderful comments. It makes us smile to ready what you and the children think of the comments. Please keep them coming in.

As always, we will keep you informed about changes and updates to school.

Stay safe and please keep well.

Mr Whipps and all the Darite staff.

Half term wellbeing

Half Term Challenge
I hope you are all safe and well. Thank you for your comments and messages about the potential reopening on the 2nd and the reports.

Can we please ask anyone who has not completed the questionnaire sent out with the letters last week to do so. It will really help us with our organisation.

As this week would have been half term, we will not be updating the home learning this week. Please take the time to be with each other in the forecasted good weather.

The picture has a week of activities that you could try to keep smiling and happy.

We will update everyone this week once we know more about the potential reopening.

Stay safe.

Mr Whipps.

Update

Further information

Happy Wednesday to you all – I hope that you are able to at least see the sunshine out of your windows or whilst in your gardens or outside. I hope you are all well and safe. I thought I would take the opportunity to update you following on from the letter about potentially reopening the school to key year groups, vulnerable and key worker children.

I hope that you have been able to read Mr Massey’s update letter sent on Friday afternoon. Please read it if you can. It gives a really useful update on what we are trying to plan, but the main points that I would like to reiterate are:

• The school will be closed to ALL pupils over Half Term and on Monday 1 June
• We are planning a gradual return to school, starting with Year 6 from Tuesday 2 June.
• The School will be open from Tuesday 2 June for children of Key Worker Parents and to pupils who have been regularly coming in over the lockdown period
• The first Year 6 pupils will start to return to school on Tuesday 2 June
• The school will constantly be evaluating the process and will update their plan as and when is necessary to accomodate other key year groups
• The safety of pupils and staff is paramount

I really want to highlight this point. We in school have spent a long time thinking about (and reading about!) what questions we need to ask ourselves before 2 June and how best we can make the transition back to school for our pupils, parents and staff. When thinking about any aspect, we ALWAYS refer back to ‘what is safe?’

Please take the time to read the letter sent from school yesterday about reopening. There is a copy below this blog. The link to the survey (it can be found here) is really important to follow and complete – it will ask you if you are wanting to send your child back if and when we can accommodate them and what year group they are in. We are of course aware that some key worker parents, such as those who work in other schools, may also need to use the ‘Educare’ provision that we currently share with St Cleer school. The hope is to move this back to Darite on the 2nd.

Image Gallery

Documents

Darite Reopening Letter 19th May.pdf

Weekly Update

Update for the 18th May 2020

As we draw to the end of what would have been the first half of the summer term, I'd like to thank you all for you kind words, understanding and support in what has been a very busy weekand half term.

Thanks so much for continuing to send in your home learning. We've had some amazing work from projects on worms, more baking (my stomach always rumbles when the pictures come in) and some amazing writing. I've put just a few examples below. Thanks also to the children who got involved in the limerick day. Your attempts were miles better than mine! At the end of the week we will pause the home learning for a week (May half term) to allow you all to fully focus on enjoying time with your family in (hopefully) good weather. It will also allow the staff to move forward with planning for the second half of the term.

Remember: If your child would like to write a comment for their report, please email it to secretary@dariteprimary.co.uk so we can include it. Thanks a lot to all those children who have done this, they really make us smile.

Riddle Number 4: What's really easy to get into but hard to get out of?

Wellbeing activity of the week: Turn on all your senses when you are outside and go on a safari. How many animals, insects and birds can you spot. You will have to use all your senses to help you! Did you spot anything you have never seen before?

We are all thinking of you and hope you stay well and safe.

Mr Whipps and all the staff at Darite.

Image Gallery

Documents

Floras story.docx

Limerick Challenge

Limerick Challenge!

Today (12th May) is National Limerick Day. I thought I would set a challenge of who can write the most creative limerick.

Limericks are a very popular style of poem. They always rhyme but can be funny or serious. Find out how to write one here.

Your limerick can be about anything, funny, serious or just strange. It must be suitable for school. Email your writing to secretary@dariteprimary.co.uk and we'll put the best ones on the blog. I'm sure you can do better than me!

Good luck and happy writing!

Mr Whipps' Attempt
There once was a girl from Darite
Who stayed up eating sweets every night,
She guzzled up chocs,
By the tin, tub and box,
By the morning, her teeth were a fright!

We've had some amazing entries so far, please keep them coming in!

There once was a lad called Reuben,
Who made a very large haven.
He ate many a trout,
But as it turned out,
His den was more of a coven.

Reuben was stuck on the moor,
He felt very insecure,
But when he found
This wonderful hound,
He was happy, that's for sure.

There once was a girl called Willow
Who liked to sleep on a pillow
One night there was a lump
So she got in a grump
And shouted out the window

Weekly Update

Updates for the week

All the staff hope that you are safe and well in these times. We are sure that like us, you have lots of questions following the Prime Minister's announcement last night. At the moment, for us in school, there is no change to the guidance, so we will be continuing to operate as we have over the last few weeks. We will continue to provide essential child care for key worker families as well as vulnerable children through the hub at St Cleer school. The message remains that it is safer to stay at home. We appreciate this is a confusing time. Once we have received further information and reviewed the guidance on how to manage a safe, phased return we will of course keep you informed. Please stay safe and take care.

Thank-you to everyone who has been sending pictures and stories in this week. VE day was still celebrated in amazing style with lots of baking, singing and dancing. Some children found out about their family history in the war which really made it personal to them.

The home learning has again been updated. There are some changes to some areas this week so please, ask for help if you need it.

The assembly theme this week is based on National Conversation Week. This week follows a theme each time (this year is financial) but in these strange times, it highlights the need to keep talking. It is ok to find things hard but talking to someone either in your family or with friends really can make a difference. There is lots of support you can access on the Wellbeing page of the website.

Riddle 3: What has a mouth but can't eat?

Please stay safe and well. We will continue to update this blog with any developments from the government.

Mr Whipps

VE Day

75th Anniversary of V.E. Day

As you know, this Friday marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) day. The official day where the second world war ended in Europe. Fighting continued in the Far East for several more months.

This year would have been a bank holiday to celebrate this anniversary and, although the schools and shops are still closed, we would like you to think about what it would have been like. Take some time this week to reflect on the challenges of the time along with why it was a time for celebration.

I've added a few weblinks below to some sites you could look at. Why not have a go at cooking some recipes from the time? Make some bunting to put up in your room!

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4TrqYDyf4PMdLypxzyTwGDg/great-british-bunting
www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-ve-day/z7xtmfr

Stay well.

Mr Whipps