Dear Parents & Carers

Nearly there…

I apologise for the length of this ParentMail but there is a lot to get through today &, to be honest, I’ve needed to immerse myself in a protracted task to stop me thinking about Liverpool’s form since Christmas.

I hope this is the last time I write I have to ‘write lockdown thank yous’ but I wanted to acknowledge everyone for pulling together over the past couple of months. I’d like to thank the children who have been tackling home-learning from their kitchens, living rooms, sheds, etc. They have been wonderful throughout, engaging with the work each day under highly unusual circumstances. Huge thanks also to the children who have been learning in school (some every day, others when their parents/carers were in work) – not only have they worked their socks off, they have behaved impeccably each & every day & have been a real credit to their families. I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all of our parents & carers – without your support none of this would have been possible. We are fully aware of the pressures home learning puts on families & we are thankful to have parents & carers who care so much about their children’s education. There will have been times when you were driven to distraction & wondered whether this would ever end. Well it has. Give yourself a treat over the weekend to celebrate – you could go for a walk, or a bike ride, or a jog, or a walk, or a bike ride, or a jog, or a walk… Thank you to the teachers who have been able to remotely deliver high quality learning opportunities & give valuable feedback to their pupils to help them improve – I am lucky to have such dedicated teachers here at Woodlands. Finally, I would like to thank all of the Woodlands staff who have been in school throughout this latest lockdown: TAs & teachers facilitating learning for the children who have been in school – always making sure the pupils in their care are supported, always ensuring they are greeted warmly each morning; Mr Inskip, our site manager, for ensuring the school is running smoothly & safely every single day; our office staff who, at times, have been rushed off their feet (chairs?) & have managed to keep smiling no matter what & keep me on the straight & narrow; Holly & her wonderful team in the kitchen for working throughout this period; our cleaners who have kept the school looking spick & span as usual; last, but by no means least, our wonderful lunchtime welfare assistants who look after the children over dinnertime – they are always positive, always happy to engage with our children & always take care of them. Woodlands motto is ‘Working Together, Achieving More’ – I think our whole school community has really lived up to this.

If any of you have run out of paint to watch dry, or you need help going to sleep, you can read our ‘Return to school: protocol & procedures March 2021’ full risk assessment by following the link below:

https://www.woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk/return-to-school-risk-assessment-8th-march-2021/

If you have better things to do with your time, I have recapped the important information you need for the return to school on Monday (8 March):

• School uniform should be worn as normal from when the children return to school.
   
• Children to bring PE/Games kit into school on the first day.
   
• Junior children (Y3-Y6) to bring a pair of trainers into school for when we are able to go back on to the field at lunchtime (please don’t send in their best/favourite pair).
   
• Children to bring their reading records back to school.
   
• We kindly request that all adults wear a face covering when visiting or entering the school site (unless they are medically exempt). We would request that only one parent/carer per family accompanies their child/children onto the school grounds. Whilst parents/carers are on the school grounds, social distancing must be adhered to.
   
• Children can be dropped off at their classroom entrance between 8.45am & 8.55am at the start of each day.
   
• The end time of school will vary for each phase bubble:
   
             Reception [Red & Blue classes]: 3.00pm
             Year 1 & Year 2 [Green, Purple & Yellow classes]: 3.00pm
             Year 3 & Year 4 [3A, 3/4M & 4G]: 3.10pm
             Year 5 & Year 6 [5D, 5/6P & 6R]: 3.20pm
   
• Woodlands Nursery class will continue to have fixed drop-off & pick-up times:

 
Nursery am: 9.05am – 11.30am
Nursery pm: 12.30pm – 2.50pm
 

• Parents must not enter the school building at any time. If parents need to contact teachers, a telephone consultation must be arranged through the school office [01704 87644 / admin@woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk]. The school office should not be accessed by parents unless through prior arrangement via a call or email.

 
A reminder to parents of children in Year 5 & 6 about the equipment your child needs to bring to school:

• HB pencil x2
• 30cm ruler
• Coloured pencils (small pack)
• Highlighters x2 (not pink)
• Glue stick e.g. Pritt Sticks (or similar)
• Pencil sharpener
• Eraser
• Whiteboard pen
• Pencil case (no bigger than 20cm x 15cm x 4cm) - the pencil case must fit into the child's tray under their desk. There is no need to buy an expensive pencil case. Some brands may well think they are 'the ultimate creators of colourful, fun and fashion-forward stationery' but they are extremely expensive too! The pencil case will be squashed into a tray and will become battered and bruised very quickly. It is pointless spending money on an over-priced brand.

 
Other news

We have been asked by Maria Simpson, Sefton’s SEN & Inclusion Policy Development Officer, to share the following with you:

Thank you to all the families who took part in ‘Book in a Box’ to celebrate World Book Day – there were many incredible creations turned in. Check out the Class Pages on the school website to see a collection of photos for each phase https://www.woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk/topic/class-pages

If your children haven’t had a go at our World Book Day Mystery Reader Quiz, please follow the link to view the videos & then try & guess which members of staff are behind the mask - “I know exactly who this is!” https://www.woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk/world-book-day-2021/

A final piece of very good news: Holly, our wonderful school chef, has just taken delivery of 2 incredible pieces of kitchen equipment that, as a result of Holly’s success in LACA School Chef of the Year competition, have been kindly donated by Rational (the makers of crème de la crème kitchen appliances). One is a combination oven which is replacing a very temperamental oven that would only cook if it felt like it – or sometimes it would start cooking & then simply give up – the culinary equivalent of Homer Simpson. The other appliance is called an iVario Pro, which is like something out of Star Trek! This is genuinely worth looking up on YouTube – we have been reliably told that we are the only state school in the country to have one of these in our kitchen. I will be putting an article on the school website when we find out exactly what these appliance can do – we are amazed by what we’ve seen already. Holly & her team have today been working with a chef from Rational, learning how to programme each cooker. Our meals are going to get even better!

We can’t wait to see everyone again on Monday – only 3 sleeps to go!

Take care

KD Williams

Headteacher

Last word

I’m bad at four things:

remembering, counting and remembering.