“IT was simply wonderful to spend this week with your children as they reopened the school with us. The ways in which they embraced the new systems, absorbed the need to maintain distance and protect their “bubble” and meanwhile engage in face to face learning was heartening to see. We are very grateful to have enjoyed a healthy first week of the new year for our community.
“As the week progressed, we continued to tweak things to suit the children, the staff and all of you. We will be continuing to make adjustments where they seem prudent. Some of you have been using ‘walking gate’ and will have seen that, having previously asked you to wait for the children on the pavement, we recently asked you to come onto the field so you could better socially distance from one another. Please consider wearing face coverings at busy collection times because we are all too conscious that it is possible that if we have Covid cases emerge, we will be required to close a year group or groups and move to distance learning, which would be such a shame after our joyful reopening.
“On September 10th, we celebrated with the boys in Ely Cathedral Boys’ Choir as our new Full Probationers (Oliver Bungard and Rowan Chadwick-Redfarn) and our new choristers (Harry Shepherd, Alastair Wright and Albert Walker) were admitted to the Cathedral Foundation at Evensong. We also wished Nelson Cuthbert-Jacques well as he formally left the Choir, having now moved to Year 9. We also visited the Cathedral in year group bubbles for short services this week and reminded ourselves of the awe and wonder we feel in that special space. For our eight new Heads of House the visits had greater significance because they were presented with their badges by Mr Attwater as part of September 10th’s service. We wish them every success as they lead their Houses this year.
“We look forward to another full week ahead and the start of clubs and activities for the children. Congratulations to everyone on making such a positive start to the year at school!”