Please check your child’s hair for unwelcome visitors and treat if necessary.
Thanks
School News
Change to lunch menu
There is a slight change to this Thursday’s menu.
Instead of chicken wrap the kitchen staff will be preparing beef burgers or Quorn burgers. The rest of the menu will remain the same.
Thanks
Kickstart Job Opportunities
St Mary’s CE Primary School is supporting the Kickstart Scheme which offers six-month jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 years old who are currently claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
While at St Mary’s, they will access specific training to support them to develop transferable skills that are aimed at increasing their chances of sustained employment.
If you know anyone who would be interested, please use the link below to access the job details.
https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/7806099
Head’s Update
Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to inform you that Miss Leech has decided to leave St Mary’s Primary School. Having been with us for 20 years, Miss Leech has been a valued member of our team and shown great dedication, hard work and commitment to our school community. She is leaving us to seek new opportunities and will be sorely missed. I’m sure you will join me in wishing her well for the future.
The post is currently being advertised and we will be welcoming potential candidates to look around the school in the next couple of weeks.
Your child may have told you that we have had members of the governing body, Trust representatives and external visitors in school this week. The visitors have been in classrooms, hearing the children read and listening to the children talk about their learning. It has been wonderful to hear first-hand and from other adults how your children have talked with confidence about their learning when asked questions. The visitors wanted me to say how impressed they were and to pass on their thanks.
As part of celebration worship, the house and vice captains announced to the children the running total of house points collected. It was great to hear all house captains speak so clearly and passionately about their houses. Currently, we have Peake House in the lead with 886 points. Webster, Rashford and Thunberg Houses are on a mission next week to close the points gap by demonstrating the school values in their learning and behaviour next week.
A few children have asked if we could have a St Mary’s prayer as well as saying The Lord’s Prayer. This is a wonderful idea from the children and it would be fabulous to give everyone the opportunity to write a school prayer which takes into consideration our school vision and values. The winning entry to the ‘Prayer Competition’ will receive a prize and have their prayer displayed in the school hall. Closing date is Thursday 17th February.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love Oswestry Festival
Please open the links below to read details about Love Oswestry Festival.
Positive LFD test result in Class 5 & 8
We have had a confirmed case in class 5 and in class 8.
Please find below a ‘warn and inform’ letter giving advice to all parents.
Online Safety Update
Hi,
With so many children having easy access to the internet it is worth considering what they might be accessing.
At school, we have become aware of young children coming across a game called Huggy Wuggy. This is not a game you would want your child to play.
With shriek-inducing jump scares, unbearable suspense and nauseating levels of gore, the sources of distress that children might find in a horror game are self-evident. Most commercially released titles have an age certificate high enough to alert parents to the possible dangers, but download-only titles don’t require a rating and therefore often push the boundaries even further.
Around since the 80s, horror games initially gained traction as tie-ins to movies (including Alien and Friday the 13th), alongside more original creations like Castlevania and Splatterhouse. That era’s rudimentary graphics and animation could never be truly frightening – but as technology improved, titles such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill brought genuine chills into gamers’ homes.
Those hits ushered in a new wave of horror games, which are increasingly able to match the frightening realism of scary movies: Dead Space, the Amnesia and Outlast series, The Last of Us, and so on. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide peeks out from behind its fingers and gives trusted adults all the gory details about the risks that can be found in popular horror games.
Mr Chiverton
Positive LFT test in Class 6
We have had a confirmed case in class 6.
Please find below a ‘warn and inform’ letter giving advice to all parents.
Changes to self isolation rules
Special Education Notice
COVID-19 – Changes to self isolation rules
On Thursday 13 January 2022 the Health Secretary announced changes to isolation rules for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. In order that people who have had and recovered from the virus can get back to their normal lives as soon as possible, isolation time has been cut to 5 full days (from the date of their first positive test) for anyone who has recorded two consecutive daily negative lateral flow tests.
This will help to reduce the disruption the virus causes in schools for both pupils and staff.
But what will this mean in practice for children, families, schools and other education settings? Here we answer your questions.
My child has tested positive for COVID-19 – how long do they have to stay away from school/college for?
All people – including pupils parents and teachers – have to isolate for a minimum of five full days after the day of a positive test before then going back to school if they have tested negative twice.
The first full day of isolation is considered to be the day following the positive test. Following the fifth full day of isolation – on the sixth day – it will be possible for people who have received two negative LFD tests on consecutive days to go back to school.
People who have tested positive can now take two LFD tests on day 5 and day 6, and if both are negative and they do not have a temperature, they can end their self-isolation on day 6 and return to their education setting immediately.
If either test is positive, they should continue to self-isolate until they get negative results from two LFD tests on consecutive days or until they have completed 10 full days of self-isolation, whichever is earliest
In practice it means that if a child or teacher tests positive on a Saturday, that would be considered day 0. They could then take tests on the morning of Thursday (day 5) and Friday (day 6). If they tested negative on both days and did not have a temperature they would be then able to return to school on the Friday.
What about if someone else in the house has tested positive? Can my child go to school/college?
Yes – and they should. They should continue going to school but test daily. If they test positive they should isolate.
What are the rules for teachers and school staff?
They’re exactly the same. If a teacher or member of school staff tests positive they should isolate for at least 5 full days. If they have 2 consecutive daily negative lateral flow tests at that point and no temperature they can and should return to work on day 6. If someone in a teacher’s household has tested positive the teacher should test daily and as long as they are negative they should continue to go to work. If they test positive they should isolate.
What are the rules for early years settings like nurseries and childminders?
They’re the same. If a child or a member of staff tests positive they should isolate for a minimum of 5 full days. If by that point they have recorded two consecutive daily negative lateral flow tests and no temperature they can return to their setting on day 6.
St Mary’s Superstars
Take a look at St Mary’s Superstars for this week; congratulations to all the children who received a certificate.
