Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school
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Enjoy your Summer Break
Fri 24 Jul 2020Dear Parents and Carers
What an emotional end of term that was for all of us. I am really pleased that I got to see every Year 2 leaver and tell you how amazing you have been. This was never the end of your time we envisaged with you but I hope you found it special and liked your books. We loved your video- it is beautiful. Thank you also for all your lovely cards and gifts and our bench for outside the classroom. We really have been spoiled!
Thank you also to all the Year 1 parents and children who came to say goodbye to your teachers too. I know many of you joined in your zoom story time with your new teachers. Everyone knows Miss Salter and Miss Apsey from assembly time, who are looking forward to getting to know you properly in September. Miss Whitehead stayed with Mrs Charles for the day, so children could meet her. Mrs Moth sends her best wishes to Otter class and hopefully you all managed to chat to Mrs Belton and Mrs Campone our Year 1 Leader. I would like to say a special thank you to Mrs Campone as she collated the Otter reports and made sure you all had well being zoom calls.
Thank you, also, to our Year R parents who came to say goodbye to our Year R team on your last day. It was also Mrs Wombell’s last day for now, as she is going on maternity leave from the beginning of September. She has been overwhelmed by your kind wishes.
We also bade Mrs Anderson farewell, with a socially distanced tea party at the end of the day. She has been a brilliant team member at BWIS and is one of the happiest, hardworking members of staff I have ever known in my teaching career. We wish her all the best for her retirement, and hope she manages to go away for a holiday in a term time soon!
It has been the strangest of times, and we all, children and staff, got used to our new way of working in school pretty quickly. We cannot wait to see you all again and to welcome our new children in September. We will keep you updated with any guidance, but will try not to overload you with information during this break. All your children were happy and we will continue to build on this when we come back. Their well being, setting in to new classrooms and changes, will be our priority. Although we cannot have long discussions at the door, with our new staggered drop offs and closed to visitors office, we are still available by email in September or call and we will get back to you. Please read the large FAQ document posted last week and the summary sheet as many of you asked questions about the new arrangements. Everything is in those 2 documents and Mrs Charles has also posted a risk assessment with them too.
We would all like to thank the many parents and children for the kind words and gifts you gave us at the end of term. We were quite overwhelmed and grateful. I would also like to thank my amazing staff. Every single member played an important part during our time working with keyworkers and opening wider. Mrs Palmer answered every query along with her office team, Mrs Ely, Miss Ely and team made sure the school was clean and looked after our wraparound care, our Senior Leadership Team, Mrs Charles, Miss Salter, Miss Turner, Mrs Campone and Miss Turner helped make decisions and organised their teams. Our younger members of staff helped teach everybody new IT skills (quickly). Every single member of staff have all been amazing. I cannot praise them enough and they were all superstars, putting our children first in every decision. They also surprised me (and made me cry) with a gardening gift card and a beautiful card with very kind words for leading them through the last few months. I have said it many times, but I do not mind saying it again. I am very lucky to work with such a brilliant staff, amazing inquisitive children and supportive parents and governors. BWIS is a unique and special school, where we all learn together, sprinkled with happiness.
On that note, I would like to wish you all a lovely summer.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Goodbye to our Year 2 Leavers
Wed 22 Jul 2020
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Update Monday 19th July
Mon 20 Jul 2020Dear Parents and Carers
Our end of term is nearly upon us and will soon be into summer break. It feels wrong calling it a holiday this year as it has, for many, been a stretching time as a parent or in your work, and we now have 6 weeks until we return on Thursday 3rd September. We look forward to welcoming our Year R and Year 1 children back to their new classes and to our new starters, who will start part time on Thursday 3rd.
School will be strange when you start back, either here or at the juniors. In BWIS there is more frequent handwashing and cleaning. We are eating lunches in our rooms. We are not mixing outside in different year groups and we will not be using the hall. Our clubs will not be starting back, only wraparound care. We will be continuing to use technology for our classes and for our meetings. We will continue to keep you updated with any changes or expectations as we transition through these different times.
I am pleased to announce that as well as Earlybird club, we will also be welcoming Treetops club back to site. We will therefore be operating wrap around care from 8am-6pm. Year Group bubbles will be separated in both clubs, with risk assessments revised as need arises/government guidance changes. Please see our Treetops page for details on how to book. We are very pleased to announce that we will be accepting childcare vouchers from September, so please contact the school office to ensure we are accepting your vouchers.
On Tuesday we will be saying goodbye to our Year R children. They will be seen out of class with their LSA and need to come to school with a bag for their bits and records of achievement. Your teachers will then be in the turning circle to say goodbye at the end of the day. If your child has not been in, please go to the turning circle after 2,45, where your teacher will have your child's record of achievement and books.
On Wednesday we will be saying good bye yo our Year 2s, who will be leaving for the juniors, and our Year 1s for the summer break. Both Year groups will need to come in through the brown gate by reception and go around the one way system to their class, accompanied by a grown up. Bring a large bag for your books and records of achievement. Year 1 children will then be signposted to exit through the carpark (the large gates by the kitchen), whilst Year 2 parents can exit by the Year 2 gate.Hopefully we will see everybody to say goodbye to. If you don't think you are going to make it and would like someone else to collect, please let us know in writing prior to the day. If you do not have anyone to collect, please let us know asap, so that we can get your belongings to you.
I am also pleased to announce that Mrs Atkinson will still be with us in September in 1-1 capacity part time.
I am sure there will be more updates through the summer and nearer to the start of term, and that there may be questions or worries that will come nearer to that time. I hope that you may be able to have some family time where you aren't trying to juggle life and work. We look forward to seeing many of you again soon.
Best wishes
Ginene Riches
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To Year 2
Fri 17 Jul 2020Hello to all Year 2
We are really sorry that the server crashed during our meeting- we did get to see you all before it did and your singing was amazing! We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday and thank you for the lovely surprise presents this morning- the fruit baskets are gorgeous!
See you soon me hearties!yohoho!
Mrs Riches and year 2 team
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Summer Reading Challenge 2020
Wed 15 Jul 2020The summer holidays are fast approaching!
We would like you to keep reading at home as much as possible.
To keep you going you could join in with the Summer Reading Challenge and meet The Silly Squad. Follow the links below to find out more.
https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/
https://www.bwis.org.uk/english-1/
Have a fun and safe summer!
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Update 14/07/2020
Tue 14 Jul 2020Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you for being patient with us regarding our organisation for us reopening in September. I am sure you will appreciate there is a lot to get organised and think through from an operations point of view. We will be running our Early Bird session from the hall from 8am at £4 per session. We will be accepting childcare vouchers from September as payment.
Treetops will also be running from the hall. I am meeting with the owner this week, and as soon as their risk assessment is submitted and approved they will be in touch with parents..
Below is a link to our organisation based on current government guidance. This could change before September, and if it does, will be updated accordingly. If you are unsure of anything, please do ring us. We have made a summary sheet, which is a much quicker read, which can answer any immediate questions.
https://www.bwis.org.uk/information-letterspamphlets/
Our Goodbye Day is creeping up on us very quickly. Our special Leavers Books have arrived ready for all our Year 2 children. They are beautiful and made myself and the Year 2 teachers cry when we looked at them. I will try not to cry next Wednesday when I see all Year 2 children! It is such a strange end to such a strange year, but I hope that you have booked your time to come and see us.
We are also saying goodbye to three staff members on Wednesday. Mrs Atkinson, who started as a mum at the school and then worked in Year R, Mrs Goodridge who has been with us for a few years and Mrs Anderson, who is retiring, has been with us for a very long time. We will be sad to say goodbye to all three, but wish them well in their future endeavours. If anybody would like to leave a goodbye card or message, you can leave them with any teacher and they will be passed on.
We hope you are all keeping well. Please do call us if you need to know anything before the summer holiday. We will be available to answer any questions up until the end of next Wednesday.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Update 2/7/2020
Thu 02 Jul 2020Dear Parents and Carers
You will find an email in your inbox today, detailing the End of Year Arrangements for your year group. Our last day in school for Year R children will be on Tuesday 21st July (pick up normal time). We will be sending out times for Year 1 and 2 children to come to our 'Goodbye Day' next week. If there are any questions about the arrangements please telephone and talk to us.
The government guidelines are changing rapidly. The 'Guidance for Schools' for September was released today. We now need to look at this and make plans for what this will look like in our school and what we will need to do. Once we have done this, we will email it to you. if anyone would like to read the guidance, please click on the link below.
Guidance on Coronavirus and any other questions are on the government website below. From 4th July restrictions, in most of England, are being lifted. It will still be wise to check the guidelines, as they do lay out more information.
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
We hope that the new section of video introductions on the website to introduce the learning for the week is proving helpful. There is also a new 'stories for reflection' section too. Over the next few weeks, your child's next Year Group will be creating a 'Welcome to Year 1/Year 2' page to replace the meetings usually held in school in September. We are bringing these forward into the virtual world. Year R children who have not been attending will have a story with their new class teacher via zoom. For Year 1 children going into Year 2, there will be a zoom session with your new teacher and for Year 2 children there will be a goodbye class zoom with your teacher.
Keyworker groups for Year 1 and 2 will continue to run on Wednesday 22nd July. However, we are asking all parents to only use it on this day if you absolutely need it as our teachers will be busy saying goodbye to Year 1 and 2 children. For Year R, we ask that you see Tuesday 21st July as your last day as our Year R teachers will be busy making 1-1 zoom calls with children coming to our school in September.
I hope you are all keeping well. Thank you for the lovely emails I have been receiving from you. One said 'I wouldn't want your job'. I have to admit, it wasn't something I ever imagined! Your teachers have also loved having lovely emails too, so thank you very much.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
