22 September 2020
Good afternoon,
Thank you for all the support over the first few weeks of the school year and for the positive messages that we have received. We are all working together to give our young people the best possible education in difficult times. A number of practical notices this week:
Classcharts: Over 450 parents & carers have accessed their child's Classcharts reports, which is great. We have 772 students on roll so, if you are one of those who have not accessed the online system so far please do so! It gives you live updates on the behaviour of your child in school, along with details of homework that has been set. Any issues with access please email classcharts@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk
ICT Support: With several students self-isolating for various reasons it is very important that every student can access Office 365 - which gives them access to Teams and their email. Teachers put the work for their lessons on Teams so that, if students are absent for any reason, they can keep learning. If your child has any issues accessing the school systems (the link is on the homepage of the website) then please email ICTSupport@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk for assistance.
Years 7 & 8: Our older students have taken to the new systems surprisingly well, partly because they have been part of the school for several years. Some of our Year 7 and 8 students are struggling to settle into life at Walton-le-Dale, in particular we are experiencing some silly behaviour at breaks, lunchtimes and, in particular, on the buses. We cannot mix them with the older students to settle them down, unfortunately. Please would you have a word with your son or daughter if they are in the early years of our school to remind them that we need them to be responsible and respectful at all times. In particular, on the buses they need to sit in their designated seat, seatbelt fastened and with face covering on. I appreciate that the freedom and responsibility that they have is something they have missed for the last 6 months, but we are at the stage of warning and then banning a number of students from the buses which will cause parents and carers great inconvenience - so please have a word with them before we have to do that. Thank you.
Coats and jumpers: I have written about this a lot because I know that the rules and regulations mean that students are outside a lot and that classrooms are colder than usual due to the requirement for ventilation. Coats are worn over blazers and are invaluable when standing outside while blocks and rooms are cleaned. School jumpers, available from the uniform shop, are extremely useful to keep warm in the classrooms. Only school jumpers can be worn under blazers, not hoodies or personal sweatshirts.
Year 7 parent/carers (notice from Mrs Knight): There are still a lot of data collection forms that have still not been handed in. It is important that we have this information should we need to contact you in case of an emergency. Please could you complete the forms and return to school soon as possible.
Wellbeing resource kit for parents (notice from Lancashire County Council): Please see the below link to the Every Mind Matters web based resource. This is aimed at parents, not only to help them to support their children and young people with wellbeing issues but also to help them seek guidance for themselves. It includes material on how to support children in their return to school and signs to look for in relation to their child's mental health and wellbeing, particularly in the context of Covid-19. https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/childrens-mental-health/
Communications: There have been a number of communications sent out this week - please register for the School Gateway app to get them in one place....
- COVID letters to parents from Public Health England;
- Dedicated ICT support email address for all ICT queries, password reminders etc: ICTSupport@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk
- Year 11 GCSE History students - link sent for Exam Boos Webinar on Monday 28th September
- Letter from Public Health England for Parents about Covid-19 symptoms - link here https://www.waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk/curriculum/coronavirus
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Best wishes for a good and safe week in these challenging times....
James Harris
Headteacher
Posted by James Harris
Category: WLD Updates
