Dear Parents/Guardians,
We would like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your understanding and patience during these last few days. As you already know today is the last day of school for most of our children and there are some key messages we need to share with you. Each class has an email address and teachers will try to send regular messages to their classes. Please keep in touch! On our website there is some home learning for the children to do. If we are still closed after the Easter holidays we will start to post weekly packs for each year group. The government has issued clear guidance for schools, some of the key points are: • If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be. • Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions. • Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults. I will send out a separate letter to those parents who we have identified as a key worker and whose children will be in school from Monday detailing the arrangements we have made. Please note that we are trying to limit the amount of contact we have with people and would really appreciate it if you do not come into the school building. I will be outside at the end of the school day if you have any questions. The staff and I would like to this opportunity to wish you well; we will do our best to stay in touch with all of you via email/text in the coming weeks. Kindest regards, Miss Digweed Dear Parents/Guardians,
Further to the announcement that all schools should close from today but should provide childcare for vulnerable children and those who have parents who are key workers, the government and Buckinghamshire County Council have issued guidance to support schools and families with who should access school provision from Monday. The full guidance, including the detail around which employees are classed as key workers, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision Please see the guidance below for parents and carers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers The key principles behind the provision are:
Every effort will be made to meet the needs of the community with regards to childcare provision based on the principles above but, as I am sure you will understand, such measures will be reviewed daily based on the school’s capacity due to staff illness. Thank you for your continued support. Kind regards Miss Digweed Dear Parents,
As you know the government is closing all schools to most children. However, we will be open for the children of key workers, children who have an EHC plan or who are vulnerable. If you feel that you fall into the category of a key worker and wish for your child to attend IVJS, please either call the school or email the office at admin@ivervillage-jun.bucks.sch.uk as soon as possible but please make sure you have done so by 9am on Friday 20th March. Thank you for your continued support. Miss Digweed In these uncertain times it has been lovely to see our school community pulling together and we would like to thank you for your continued support. Your children have been positive and resilient during these difficult last few weeks.
I am writing to you as it seems inevitable that schools will be closed at some point soon and we have put together some home learning for the children. For those children who are in school today, we are sending home an exercise book and a pack of work for them. We have sent these home today as a precautionary measure as each day fewer children are present in school. On our website we have put some things for children to do so if your child is already at home then they won’t miss out! On the front page of our website (scroll down to find it) there is a home learning area, just click on the year group you need. We have also created class email addresses so that you are able to email your child’s teacher any questions you may have while we are closed. Teachers will do their best to reply promptly but please remember there may come a time when they can’t due to illness.
Please note, these email accounts will only be managed during any period we are asked to close. They will not operate when the school is open normally. Please do not use this email unless we are officially asked to close. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding at this time. It’s at times like these we realise how lucky we are to be in such a supportive community. Best Wishes, Miss Digweed This Week In School… Year 3 – have been writing letters to the princess from the story of the Singing, Ringing Tree while in Maths, they have been interpreting data and graphs. Year 4 – have been looking at the features of a narrative and planning to write the next chapter of Noah Barleywater Runs Away. In Maths, we have been solving lots of word division problems. In Science, we have been investigating how a plug keeps us safe. Donaldson Class took on the role of news reporters in computing and Dahl put on an amazing class assembly about the importance of recycling. In Humanities, we have journeyed to the Egyptian afterlife and encountered a few year four mummies. Year 5 – have been composing an email based around their class book, Cosmic in English while in Maths they have been tackling decimals, fractions and percentages and how to convert between them. In Science, they are looking at the planets in our solar system and investigating different time zones. Year 6 – have read a good deal more of their book, Rooftoppers and have been planning and starting to write their own endings to the story. In Humanities, they looked at crime and punishment during the Tudor, Early Modern and Victorian periods. The children have continued to look at electricity in Science and have learnt how to draw diagrams using the correct electrical symbols. We have provisionally booked a 4-night residential visit to the Windmill Hill near Hailsham, Sussex from Monday 19th October – Friday 23rd October 2021. The visit includes a full programme of activities and is similar to those we have run in the past. The group will be accompanied by teaching staff from the school and fully qualified instructors at the centre supervise each activity. The cost will include travel to and from the PGL centre and full board while they are away. Whilst the trip is not essential for curriculum purposes, it provides an excellent opportunity for children to extend their learning and to refine their personal and social skills. A meeting for parents giving detailed arrangements will be held nearer the time. The Year 6 residential trip is at beginning of the year to allow children to bond with their new teacher ready for the remainder of Year 6. It is also an opportunity for teachers to identify different strengths in children that we can build on throughout the year. In order to help organise and plan this trip in advance, we would need to get an idea of the numbers of pupils who would like to attend. Therefore, for the visit to take place a payment of £410.00 per child is required. A non-refundable deposit of £50.00 must be paid via School Money with the form below returned in order to secure a place by 7th May 2020. The full cost must be paid by monthly instalments of £36 a month (for 10 months) via School Money from June 2020 and fully settled by 31st March 2021, although we would appreciate it if payments could be made as early as possible. Cash and cheques will also be accepted. Cheques should be made payable to Buckinghamshire Council Receipts Account. If you receive Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Child Tax Credit (not entitled to Working Tax Credit and with an income below £16040pa) please feel free to contact us if there are any difficulties involving the cost. Only a limited number of places are available and we ask that completed forms and deposits are returned to school no later than 7th May 2020 to avoid disappointment. Payments: £410 total Non-refundable Deposit of £50 by 7/05/20 Ten Monthly payments of £36 starting on 1/6/20 until 1/3/21 via School Money This Week In School… Year 3 – have finished writing their stories about the Heavenly Elephant and been working very hard learning to tell the time. They have also started looking at different types on skeletons in Science! Year 4 – have been using their multiplication knowledge to solve reasoning problems and word problems in Maths. In English, they have finished writing their newspaper articles about Noah's trial. In Science, they have been busy making different electronic circuits and testing to see if they were complete or incomplete circuits. Year 5 – have been continuing to learn about Space and the different planets and are getting very excited about their Virtual Reality visit. They have completed their leaflets on 'EPCOT' in America and have really enjoyed learning about the place. In Maths, Year 5 have started to move onto learning about decimal numbers and understanding where they fit on a number line. Year 6 – have been investigating the relationship between the amount of batteries in a circuit and the brightness of a bulb. They enjoyed making their own circuits and drawing the diagrams of their creations. In English, the children have been completing and publishing their newspaper reports linked to the book they have been reading. In Humanities, they have looked at crime and punishment during the viking, anglo saxon and medieval periods! Dear Parents,
Re: Monitoring visit from OFSTED In January we had ‘the call’ to say that we were to have our monitoring visit from OFSTED. As part of the cycle of inspection, we knew that 2019-2020 was the ‘OFSTED year’ as our previous inspection had been in June 2016. The inspection report is now available and will be published on the OFSTED website from today (Monday 2nd March) and it is all incredibly positive. I feel enormously proud to be the Headteacher of IVJS and be able to work in such a friendly and supportive school. It is very pleasing to read such positive things about our school and I would like to thank everyone in our school community for all their support, especially our children who spoke with such pride about our school. The inspector was very impressed with how keen our children were to speak to him! The whole monitoring visit was a very positive experience for the school and highlighted the nurturing and caring ethos that the school has. I have listed the key points from the report below.
The full report is available here and on the OFSTED page on our website. If you have any questions about the OFSTED visit, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely, J Digweed |
School NewsThis is where we'll post all school news and updates. If you require paper copies of any information on our website then please contact Miss Lainsbury in our school reception. Archives
March 2024
|