A Message from Mrs Herbert
I'm so proud of all of the staff at Newtown Primary School. Normal school life has been thrown up in the air and somehow our fabulous team of teachers, TAs and admin staff are just getting on with it and making things happen.
It's strange to think back to last week - the school was full of children and life was pretty normal. Today we have 4 children in school, a teacher, 2 TAs, me and Mrs Maynard.
However, I've just been looking through the ClassDojo pages for every class and it's great to see how everyone is adapting to the challenges that we are all having to address. Our teachers are at home trying to bring a sense of normality to everything - creating videos, setting work, responding to messages. We are trying to get the balance right with our expectations for the work that is set; we might not have managed that yet, but stick with us - we're learning too! We ask that you try your best with the work that is set but don't be hard on yourselves if you can't/don't get everything done, can't get online or simply want to have a break and do something completely different. See this as an opportunity to do things differently - you know your children better than anyone. If you are lucky enough to have a garden - get them out in it and enjoy the sunshine whilst it's here. Children love to identify plants/animals, do a bit of gardening, get muddy etc. Also, limit screen time and take the time to talk and do things together e.g. play board games, sing songs, learn a new skill, get crafty, share books, draw, write letters to loved ones, prepare meals together... Do the things that we usually say 'it would be nice but I just don't have the time'.
I'm sure most of you have been on the same emotional roller coaster that I have over the last couple of weeks - concern, anxiety, exhaustion ... But, as history has shown over and over, it's in these times of difficulty that amazing things can happen.
Stay strong! Stay safe! Stay sane!
It's strange to think back to last week - the school was full of children and life was pretty normal. Today we have 4 children in school, a teacher, 2 TAs, me and Mrs Maynard.
However, I've just been looking through the ClassDojo pages for every class and it's great to see how everyone is adapting to the challenges that we are all having to address. Our teachers are at home trying to bring a sense of normality to everything - creating videos, setting work, responding to messages. We are trying to get the balance right with our expectations for the work that is set; we might not have managed that yet, but stick with us - we're learning too! We ask that you try your best with the work that is set but don't be hard on yourselves if you can't/don't get everything done, can't get online or simply want to have a break and do something completely different. See this as an opportunity to do things differently - you know your children better than anyone. If you are lucky enough to have a garden - get them out in it and enjoy the sunshine whilst it's here. Children love to identify plants/animals, do a bit of gardening, get muddy etc. Also, limit screen time and take the time to talk and do things together e.g. play board games, sing songs, learn a new skill, get crafty, share books, draw, write letters to loved ones, prepare meals together... Do the things that we usually say 'it would be nice but I just don't have the time'.
I'm sure most of you have been on the same emotional roller coaster that I have over the last couple of weeks - concern, anxiety, exhaustion ... But, as history has shown over and over, it's in these times of difficulty that amazing things can happen.
Stay strong! Stay safe! Stay sane!