Latest News | Bishops Waltham Infant School

Easter Egg Hunt

Thu 09 Apr 2020

Hi to all the children of Bishops Waltham Infant School!

I have been hiding Easter Eggs all over your website. I wonder if you can find them all. There are 15 to find in total! Happy Easter.

Happy Easter

Thu 09 Apr 2020

Dear Parents, Carers and Children

I hope you have all been enjoying the lovely sunshine in your gardens or on your daily exercise. We have all been excited to read your blogs to your teachers and see what you have been doing at home.

Next week, if you are in Year 2, you will be receiving an email confirming your junior school place, so please look out for it in your inbox and follow any instructions in the email. Mr Campbell and his team will be contacting you in the next few weeks to welcome you to the juniors. We don't know what transition is going to look like yet, and a lot will depend on when we are going to reopen. The Department For Education made it clear yesterday that schools will open when the scientists say it is safe to do so, despite what some newspaper headlines might say.

If you have a Year R child starting school in September 2020, you too will be informed next week about your child's school place next week. We will be contacting you over the next few weeks with the next steps you need to take to accept your place. Miss Turner, our Early Years Leader, and myself are working on a welcome pack for you, to introduce you to our school. Again, we don't know what transition will look like, and a lot will depend on when we can reopen. We will keep in touch with you when we know something different.

We also have some good news to share with you. Mrs Wombell is expecting her first baby in October. I am sure you will all join me in wishing Mrs Wombell congratulations. She said everything is going well so far, but she is missing Bat class lots and lots.

We hope you have all enjoyed speaking to your teachers on the telephone over the last few weeks. They have enjoyed talking to you. I know some of you have missed their call, and they want you to know that they will try again to chat. We are looking into ways we can keep in touch with you more.

Now for more important things. The Easter Bunny. I have been asked if the Easter Bunny is self isolating. I have also been asked if the Tooth Fairy is self isolating. I don't think they are. They might not be able to do their jobs as well as they normally do, but I think they are still about. I know the tooth fairy has managed to visit our house twice over the last few weeks, so I think it is business as usual. For everyone who likes looking for eggs, keep an eye on our website. Miss Apsey is working on a virtual egg hunt. Will you be able to find them all?

This week our school has been open for keyworkers, and we have had very low numbers. Next week, we are moving our provision from 13th April-17th April to Activeme 360 CIC at Swanmore College, with the other schools in the Swanmore Cluster. The parents who have been using our provision have let us know their days for next week. If you need emergency provision, please either email our school office or telephone/email Activeme 360 CIC directly on 02392 007523/ hello@activeme360.com.

Children attending will need to be dropped at the Community entrance to the college. Active360 is open from 8am until 6pm and a packed lunch and a drink is needed for the session. If your child takes any regular medication, this will also need to be taken with them.

Our provision for keyworker's children will be back at BWIS on the week starting 20th April at the later time of 8am. We will still be open until 6pm.

Children who are on our Free School Meal register should have received their first vouchercards from Mrs Palmer at the end of the second week of closure. We have now managed (after 3 frustrating days) to log in to the government Edenred voucher scheme for the Easter holiday period (You would have received an email yesterday/today with instructions on how to access the voucher). From Monday 20th April, from 10am-1pm we will be distributing the HC3S hamper from school. They will be freshly prepared by our brilliant cook, Gabi. This will continue every Monday between those times. We ask for social distancing to be observed when picking up your hampers.

Remember, if your circumstances have changed then you may me eligible for Free School Meals at school. Some people are being refused, because they are not meeting the criteria. Please read the application form carefully. The decision is instant on the government website here:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing staff at Bishops Waltham Infant School. Our teachers been busy keeping in touch with you, looking after keyworker children and making sure there is learning on our site, if you want to access it, as well as continuing to do all their planning and assessments.. Our LSAs and reception team have been coming in on rota to also do fun activities with keyworker children. Mrs Palmer and myself have had lots of sorting out to do, keeping up to date daily, including coordinating all our resources and our kitchen staff have continued to do lunches. Mrs Ely and Miss Ely have been looking after children before and after school and also cleaning alongside Mr Ely. Our governors have kept in touch too, to make sure everything is being done correctly. It has all been a very steep learning curve for us IT wise, but everyone has been trying their best and I am very proud of everyone. At the moment, we have all stayed well and I would like to reassure parents and children that we will continue to do our best for you all. We have been very grateful for your kind words of support.

We wish you all well and please get in touch if you need us. We will try to get back to you as soon as we can.

Best Wishes

Mrs Riches

Easter

Tue 07 Apr 2020

Our Easter opening is going well so far for essential Key Workers who are fighting COVID-19. Mrs Ely opens and closes, then there is a teacher in charge every day and 2 members of staff.

Please find below a link to Hampshire’s latest help pages and pass it on if you know of anybody who needs any of the services on there. Thank you.

Mrs Riches

https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/coronavirus/volunteer-welfare

NHS Advice for Parents

Mon 06 Apr 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

One of our Dr mums has sent us an updated 'at a glance' advice for parents regarding COVID-19. I know lots of you are very worried, and I hope this will help recognise symptoms in your children.

Best wishes

Mrs Riches

A Phonecall from your Teacher

Wed 01 Apr 2020

To all the children

Over the next few weeks, your teachers will be ringing you to say hello. This will come up as the school number or a no number, depending on where your teacher is working. They will leave a message for you, if you didn't manage to answer.

We are all missing you very much.

With lots of love

Mrs Riches and your teachers xxx

A Little Help Where Needed

Mon 30 Mar 2020

Dear Families of Bishops Waltham

I have been contacted by Reverend Hunt regarding a grant that the church is putting together to help families who need it at this time. As we are not currently seeing you every day, if you feel this would help in a time of unexpected hardship, please email the school office explaining your current situation. All emails will be held in the strictest confidence. Each case will be looked at individually by the church.

For families who need to use the food bank, it is now doing deliveries instead of being open to pop in. Please also contact us, including your address and telephone number, for this service and we will fill in the relevant forms and pass them on.

If you would like to donate food to the food bank, please put it in the trolley outside Budgens, where it will be collected.

Can I also remind parents that they can apply at any time for ‘Free School Meals Pupil Premium’ if you are affected by financial hardship. This will ensure that there will be some help available for food during term time.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

We are aware that some families are finding the lockdown very hard. It is tough, especially on families who have only children, or are trying to juggle work commitments from home too. Children are finding it hard not seeing their extended families and friends in person. I know many of you are coming up with online meets ('zoom' and 'houseparty' are a couple we have tried).

In line with the government guidelines, we are running on skeleton staff in the school building, looking after key worker’s children. However, teaching staff are still available 9-3.10 daily during term time, working at home. If anyone needs to speak to a teacher urgently, please ring the school office and leave a message, with your telephone number or email in and someone will get back to you as soon as they can. We are currently exploring safe internet/phone solutions for us to keep in touch even more. The teachers are loving all the blogs and seeing what you are getting up to!

Thank you all again for bearing with us. We are all upskilling as fast as we can regarding teaching in a virtual world and hopefully we will get better week by week.

Best wishes

Ginene Riches

Free School Meal Voucher Scam - Be Aware

Wed 25 Mar 2020

Dear Parents,

It has come to our attention that there is a free school meal voucher scam which is sent to email addresses.

Please do not act upon this email it is a scam, delete it.

We are currently in the process of sorting out vouchers for those children who are eligible for free school meals, we should have more information by Friday, when we will contact those parents directly by telephone.

Kind regards

School Office

A really good website

Wed 25 Mar 2020

To all the Parents, Carers and Children

I hope you are all adjusting to this strange time. All of the teachers are very busy either in school or at home uploading to our website. We are all trying our very best to ensure you have support to help your children at home.

For those of you who have not found 'BBC Bitesize' yet, it is being rapidly updated with different subjects to support at home. Key Stage 1 is for Year 1 and Year 2. Key Stage 2 is for Year 3,4,5 and 6. This is a rough guide, and if your child is finding something really easy, you may want to look at the next Key Stage for a bit of a challenge.

We are all still finding our way and trying to help as much as we can. The teacher blogs are set up for children only, to stay in touch with their teachers. Any adult conversation/questions need to be emailed to the office and we will do our best to answer you within the week. If ill, this may not be possible but we will try our best.

We are all missing you. Remember to keep washing our hands and keep safe

Lots of love

Mrs Riches

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

A Message For Parents and Carers

Tue 24 Mar 2020 Mrs Campone

Dear Parents and Carers

I just wanted to write a not of reassurance in these strange times ahead. From emails, the Blog and even Facebook let me say you are all doing an amazing job!

I am sure you are all feeling a bit lost, overwhelmed and sad. I know I do! The children will be feeling this too but might not be able to put these feelings into words but show it in their behaviour. They have lost their routine, their friends, school, clubs and even seeing extended family, and you have too! It will take a while for you all to settle into your new routines.

At school there are lots of opportunities to 'play', chat, create, read stories and make choices. Lots of our learning is 'hands on' and practical with no recording or even sitting down! So play games, read to them, make models, cook and talk!

Allow the children and yourselves to grow into a routine which suits you all! It doesn't need to be a rigid timetable as the internet suggest, unless that works for you! Getting bored at times stimulates the imagination, creativity and independence. Have a cuppa and let them chose what to do next.

The wellbeing of you, your children and family is vitally important! Stress and confrontation of learning is not a solution for anyone. I can remember myself and my daughter shouting at each other and crying over homework. It really isn't worth that! So... STOP. Walk away. Change the activity. Try again tomorrow!

Best of luck to everyone and try to enjoy this special home time together.

Love to you all

Penny Campone

Help during this stressful time

Tue 24 Mar 2020

Tuesday 24th March 2020

Dear Parents/carers,

We all find ourselves in a position where we are taking on new roles and thinking about how best to support our children, ourselves and each other through this uncertain time. We have put together some ideas and suggestions for approaching days at home and managing worries and anxiety.

Talking with your children

Talking to our children about anxieties and worries is important – watching Newsround or a clip such as this: https://www.brainpop.com/health/diseasesinjuriesandconditions/coronavirus/

together and exploring afterwards can be a great way to dismiss myths and focus on the facts – follow these tips to guide your children:

· Don’t bottle up worries – talk to a trusted adult

· If you’re worried about elderly neighbours, find different ways to keep in touch

· Get your information from trusted sources

· Don’t worry about what you can’t control, but do what you can to help, for example washing your hands regularly or offering support to others

· Do things that you enjoy to keep yourself busy.

If you would like further advice on this, these websites give some really useful advice: https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/ https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/anxiety-stress-panic/worries-about-the-world/#coronavirus. Sometimes children are more forthcoming when they are playing a game, making something or sharing a story.

Structuring your days

All children find routines reassuring so try to create a flexible structure to each day. It is best if it takes into account their need to learn, to exercise, to have fun, and connect safely with others (online platforms and apps such as skype, zoom and houseparty can be great for this). Different children will need different coping strategies so try to help them find ideas that work for them.

Mindfulness activities

Family mindfulness activities can be a great way to come together, get away from technology and focus on the here and now – why not have a go at some of the below:

-Make jars of happiness and gratefulness – fill a box or jar with slips of paper saying all the things you can be thankful about

- A lovely activity to do at home with your child is to create a box of calm or self-soothe box, which is filled with meaningful items and things that appeal to all the senses. They can be decorated in any way your child would like. For ideas, you can watch this short clip from Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyfgodSSdV4

-Run a comb or pencil down your backs – draw a picture and see if you can guess what it is!

-Simple and short breathing and meditation exercises – breathe deeply and slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth; body scans; mindful eating – really notice what you are eating!

-The Headspace and Calm are popular apps for adults and many do have links for children too: children’s section: https://www.headspace.com/meditation/kids https://kidsapp.stopbreathethink.com/parent;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOHcGF1Tmc

-Anxiety hacks from Dr Pooky Knightsmith covering topics such as using music to flip your mood, using positive affirmations, creating 5 minute mindful moments in your day and calming breathing exercises for children: https://www.pookyknightsmith.com/post/anxiety-resources-worth-sharing-exciting-news

- Colouring/painting/sewing/ Zentangles doodling – ideas and resources on Pinterest/anything creative

- Big Life Journal – a great resource for building emotionally resilient children. If you sign up to their list they will send you a free printable activity every Friday https://biglifejournal-uk.co.uk/pages/freebies

- Acts of kindness: this is a great time for children to think about how they can make a difference by phoning a neighbour or relative, drawing a picture or writing a letter/email or helping to deliver shopping or donating to a foodbank.

- Listen to music!

Stories

-Free ebooks and audiobooks available through Hampshire libraries app https://www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/library/whatyoucanborrow/ebooksaudiobooks

-Audible have also announced free audiobooks for children during school closures https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

Keeping Active

-Change 4 Life - A website with healthy dinner ideas and some sporting activities https://www.nhs.uk/change4life https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/activities

-The Body Coach - Joe Wicks will be posting daily PE lesson style workout routines – perfect to keep your children active! Everyday at 9am. There’s workouts for kids and adults on this Youtube channel! https://m.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

-BBC Supermovers - A website jam-packed with fun videos which link to your child’s learning and getting them moving. Suitable for KS1 and KS2 – this will support their physical health and keep them learning! https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers Yoga for kids - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X655B4ISakg

Looking After Ourselves

Don’t forget about looking after yourself!

-A coping calendar – 30 actions to look after ourselves and others during this global crisis https://www.actionforhappiness.org/media/863032/coping_calendar.jpg

-NHS Every Mind Matters has lots of ideas and resources for looking after your mental wellbeing while staying at home. Click here for advice on healthy habits, relaxation techniques and staying on top of difficult feelings: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-staying-at-home-tips/

and https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/ https://www.annafreud.org/on-my-mind/self-care/

Support

At times, all of us can feel under strain and need a little extra support. In these challenging circumstances affecting our daily lives, you may wish to talk things through and seek guidance or support – the following organisations provide free, confidential helplines for parents and families:

· Family Lives offers a confidential and free helpline service for families in England and Wales (previously known as Parentline). Please call us on 0808 800 2222 for emotional support, information, advice and guidance on any aspect of parenting and family life. Our helpline service is open 9am – 9pm, Monday to Friday and 10am – 3pm Saturday and Sunday. https://www.familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/confidential-helpline/

· Shout (in partnership with Place2Be) Text CONNECT to 85258 for anyone in the UK, available free, 24 hours a day. More info: giveusashout.org · https://www.mind.org.uk/ 0300 123 3393 Email: info@mind.org.uk Text:86463. Information line is open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays) and provides an information and signposting service · https://www.barnardos.org.uk/what-we-do/helping-families · https://documents.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/SFP-SupportingFamiliesleaflet.pdf

· Family Support Services or Family Support Hubs in Hampshrie are available for families to self-refer if you feel you and your family need Early Help services. For enquiries phone 0300 555 1384. · Samaritans – Free, confidential listening service. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

Meon Valley Food Bank

Many families make use of food banks to support them. If you or your neighbours are struggling with food shortages when finances are even more of a worry than normal, please consider making contact. Our local food bank is the Meon Valley Food Bank and serves the Meon Valley area of Hampshire, including Bishops Waltham, Wickham, Droxford, West Meon and other villages in the area. They are open every Tuesday from 10am to 3pm, based in the Bishops Waltham Youth Hall, Malt Lane, opposite Budgens.

To access and obtain food vouchers, contact one of the following organisations: · Bishops Waltham Citizens Advice · Home Start Meon Valley · Bishops Waltham Surgery · Wickham Surgery · Winchester Council Housing Benefits Department · Vivid Homes

We wish you and your families all the very best. Take care and stay safe,