“THERE are bubbles of anticipation in the air at Acremont today. Is that because it is ‘fabulous, fish Friday’? It is certainly not because the sun is shining. And then I heard some voices from the staff room saying, ‘We’re nearly there, we are nearly back together’. And that was it! That was the fizz that has got us all busily preparing and saying goodbye to Zoom conversations, hopefully for the last time. With humour, warmth, fortitude and resilience, we have made it!
“We will carefully and sensitively support all children returning to school, understanding each child’s lived experience and, most importantly, give all children the opportunity to talk about their feelings and be listened to. For parents and carers too, this will be a strange time. Dropping off in the morning, on the best of days, can sometimes feel like a wrench and so we understand the next few days may be difficult, on top of the impact Coronavirus may have already had in your household or those close to you.
“Early in the week, I spent a valuable day attending online the Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Summit 2021. One of the webinars was led by a mental health trainer from the Charlie Waller Trust, Gemma Fieldsend. Gemma talked, with valuable insight, about the need to nourish and protect the wellbeing of adult and carers in order to successfully support our children, as well as giving some advice about the dynamics of family life during the pandemic. I contacted Gemma and she was very pleased to offer a Zoom session with our parents next week. Whilst Gemma’s work relates primarily to school age children, should Nursery parents with older siblings be interested to participate, they are very welcome. The Zoom invitation will be sent to you once you have indicated your interest, on a form that will be sent to you all.
“The children enjoyed meeting our guest local author, Eden Jones, yesterday. Her illustrations were rich in detail and inspiring both to would-be young authors and illustrators.
“Thank you to the Year 2 parents whom I spoke to this morning, during our online ‘At Homes’. The communication between home and school is always important and never more so than now. I will certainly pass on your thanks to our teaching teams for their considerable support and efforts over the term.
“With much joy, I can finally say to all parents, carers and children, both in Nursery and in Pre-Prep, that we very much look forward to seeing you in person on Monday!
“Wishing you all a super weekend.”