Dear Parents,

This week, lower school children have taken home a reading book and reading record.  Upper school children will be taking home a book next week.  The reading book is to be read at home during the week and returned to school on Fridays if your child has finished reading it.  Please keep the purple reading record at home and record your child's reading in it and then return it to us, with their homework book, in the last week of the half term.

In order to prevent the spread of any germs, when your child returns their book on a Friday morning, it will be 'quarantined' for 72 hours before being returned to the book box.
On a Monday afternoon, your child will be able to select a new book to read at home for the week. Children will not have a school reading book to read over the weekend but we encourage you to read books you have at home and record it in their purple reading record. If your child has not finished their book by Friday, they may keep it for another week. However, they will not be able to choose a new book until they have returned their old book.

Your child will also have a reading book in school that they will read to adults in school regularly.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child's class teacher directly.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Digweed

Dear Parents,
As usual, in September we have lots of colds and sore throats spreading through the school.  It is obviously very difficult to distinguish between symptoms of a cold and COVID - 19.
The current guidance from the government (see link below) is that anyone with symptoms of COVID – 19 should isolate for at least 10 days and be tested.  The symptoms of COVID-19 are: High temperature, new and persistent dry cough or loss of sense of smell and taste. You only need to display one of these symptoms to be tested. 
If your child displays any one of the symptoms, then please keep your child at home and book a test.
If a member of your household tests positive, then everyone in the household needs to isolate for 14 days. 

Latest Government Guidance: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Dear Parents,
It is so lovely to see everyone return to school!  Hearing the children playing, laughing and talking in school is an absolute pleasure and it has been wonderful to catch up with them today.
There are just a couple of points that we really need your help with.
Firstly, please don’t block the path outside the school.  We know that it is hard and that you are keen to wave your child off but please come in and stand on the grass.  Once your child has gone into school please leave so that there is space for the next group of parents.   
Secondly, please try to stick to the staggered start time.  Each year group has been allocated a start time so that we don’t have too many parents and children arriving at the same time.  There is no need for you to be early!
Thank you for all your support so far.  We have been very touched by how caring you have been towards us and really appreciate all the support you have given us. 
Stay safe,
Miss Digweed

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Please see the Parental Agreement for the safe return of pupils to school in September. Please be aware, if you are sending your child into school, then we will presume that you are in agreement with, and will follow, the points in the parental agreement.

Below is a summary of the other key changes from September:
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• ONLY Year 3 will start on Wednesday 2nd September. Years 4, 5 and 6 will start on Thursday 3rd September.
• Start and finish times are staggered for each year group:

We would like to wish you a happy and a safe summer holiday as we come to the end of this academic year.
We are saying goodbye to Miss Meikle and Mr Openshaw today as they are both heading off to start their teacher training. Congratulations to both of them, we know they will go on to be wonderful teachers!
We will be welcoming Mrs Chalk as a teacher in Morpurgo Class (Year 5) who will be job sharing with Miss James.
Although this has been an incredibly challenging year for pupils, parents and staff alike, again, we are very grateful to have such wonderful parents supporting us.
Information about the new systems for September will be sent out to you next week.  Have a great weekend!

The last few months have been very difficult and we know that you might be feeling unsure about September.
At IVJS we have an excellent staff who are going to make sure that all of your child’s needs are catered for when they return in September. We know that the start of the new school year is going to be difficult for some children and we are currently changing our curriculum plans to ensure that all children’s needs are met. There will be a focus on wellbeing when we return and we will be planning lots of activities outside.
Your class teacher will be having ‘handover’ meetings with your child’s new teacher during the next few weeks to make sure that there is a smooth transition to their new class. If there is any information about how your child has been during lockdown, that you think would be useful for us to know, please email your current class teacher so that they can pass it on to the new teacher.
It is going to be a very different start to the school year and we will do everything we can to look after your child and ensure that they get back to enjoying school as quickly as possible
There are a couple of points about the next school year that we are still trying to work out.
Firstly, is there a way we can have some sort of transition so that children can say goodbye to their old teacher and meet their new teacher. This may be possible with a staggered start back to school which would mean not all children would start back at the same time. Please keep this in mind when you are thinking about child care and work arrangements for the first two weeks of September.
Secondly, clubs are also causing us some worries. If we are keeping the children in class bubbles all day to limit the spread of any germs, then mixing the children in a club seems to make no sense. However, we know that many of you use our breakfast and after school clubs for child care so that you are able to work and so, we are waiting to get further advice on this as at the moment there are mixed messages. Please be prepared for clubs not to start straight away at the beginning of term.
Please remember that school life will be different in September and in the next couple of weeks we will send out more details once we have had time to digest the guidance from the government. It is important to remember, that just like you, the staff have also had personal challenges during the pandemic. We are very excited to get everyone back into school but we know that there will still be challenges ahead. By working together, we can get through this!
Classes for September: