Dear Parents & Carers

I would like to thank everyone at Woodlands for their time & efforts over the past half term: children, parents/carers, teachers working remotely & all the staff who have been in school. Everyone has faced this latest lockdown with such a positive manner; it can be easy to nit-pick & find fault, but the way our community has worked together, & made the best of a situation none of us wanted to be in, has been wonderful to witness. Over the half term break, I hope you manage to get plenty of rest, plenty of fresh air, & plenty of time to switch off, relax & recharge your batteries.

For World Book Day on 4 March, we’d like your children to create a “Book in a Box”. They will need a box, which can be a cereal box, shoe box or equivalent. Ask your children to choose their favourite book & decorate the box (inside and out) to represent the book:

• draw, cut out pictures or make models of the characters or significant objects from the book;
• they could recreate a particular scene from the book;
• include interesting quotes from the text;
• don’t forget to include the title and author of the book too;
• make it as colourful and exciting as it can be.

Please send a photograph of their “Book in a Box” to your child’s class teacher via Google Classroom by 4 March. The photos will be posted on the class pages of the school website. You can create a separate “Book in a Box” for each child you have at Woodlands or you can produce one “Book in a Box” from your family – it’s entirely up to you. Feel free to Google “Book in a Box” for inspiration!
 
I’ve copied a link to the YOUNGMiNDS website with tips, advice & details of where to get support for your child's mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents/supporting-your-child-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
 
I’ve also been asked to share (attached to this ParentMail) the following resources with you - they are a series of Social Emotional and Mental Health Posters which you may find useful to use with your children:

• 8 ways to help children struggling during lockdown
• 10 things to say instead of stop crying
• The emotional cup
• Anxiety presents itself in many different ways
• The stress relief giraffe
• Comforting at a distance
• Helping your child back to school
• Structure and Routine
• Support your child’s wellbeing while schools are closed
• Online Resources
• Types of self-care
• Managing stress
• Emergency care wall
• Self-care and mental health for kids

 
If anyone in your household does test positive for Covid-19 during half term, please use the emergency contact email to inform school. If it is a child who attends Woodlands, please provide the following information:

• Name of child
• Date symptoms began
• Date & time of positive test

This email address should be used for this purpose only & I will endeavour to check the email account at each day at 6pm. emergencycontact@woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk This email address can also be found on the Contact Details page of our school website. In the case of a positive test, please also phone the school office & leave a message [01704 876444].
 
On Monday 22 February, the Government should publish its plan for how children will return to school from 8 March.
 

I’m off to lie down in a darkened room for wee while…

Take care

KD Williams

Headteacher

Last word

People said I’d never get over my obsession with Phil Collins…

But take a look at me now.