Latest News

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 17.7.20

Fri 17 Jul 2020

Friday 17^th July

Dear Parents/ Carers,

I hope you are all well. Like you all I cannot believe we are now at the beginning our summer holidays and I have not had the opportunity to see so many of you since March. As I have said before I would never have expected to be still writing to you like this each week. What has happened since March has simply been beyond our imagination and something which I know we all hope will never be repeated.

I have gone back and re read the very first letter which I sent you way back in March. In it I reinforced the importance of the mental health of both yourselves and your child and that we would concentrate upon academic progress when everything was back to normal. Please be assured that is exactly what we will do. The curriculum for the children for September is planned and staff have identified exactly what the priorities are.

We totally understand how some children and parents will be anxious about the return to school. Our advice would be talk about it, discuss what is going to be happening and nearer the time talk about how the morning routine will be managed. Mrs Jackson has put together some information/ideas which could be used to support your child with the transition back to school. It is attached to the end of the letter. Our Facebook page Bee Kind Bee Happy will also continue to run over the summer holidays. If you have any concerns about your child’s emotional health please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Jackson through the Bee Kind Bee Happy page.

Looking ahead to September, as you know the usual rules about school uniform will apply. We have had a message from Clark’s Shoe’s asking us to inform you that if you want to buy new shoes for your child from their store please book online or call to make an appointment.

Finally, I would just like to take the opportunity yet again to thank you for all of your support and kind words over the last few months. Your ongoing support has made such a difficult, and at times stressful situation, so much easier to manage. I know I speak for all of the staff when I say we are looking forward so much to September and having our whole school community back together again. There is a message on the Distance Learning site from all of the teachers wishing the children a lovely holiday we would be very grateful if you could tell the children about it.

Take care and have a lovely summer.

Mrs S. McBeth

Preparing your child to return to school

It is helpful to recognise that the pandemic has triggered heightened emotions such as stress, anxiety and worry to an extent in us all. This is because there has been a danger and a risk identified, and linked to this even on the return to school some of those feelings may still be surfacing and very much present for your children.

“Children will only learn if they feel safe” and it is extremely important that both school and home work together to ensure this can happen. Education serves a far more important purpose than just academic learning. It can actually transform the lives of children. School will therefore continue to be a nurturing and emotionally supportive environment for all.

When it comes to the reality of your child returning to school this may trigger an emotional and heightened response for them. Children who are already overwhelmed will be triggered more easily and will find this transition difficult to manage.

What you might see:

A need to be close to a familiar adult
Seeking more adult contact (physically/emotionally)
Refusal to leave parents/carer’s
Refusal to go into school
Irritability/defiance/ anger outbursts
Difficulty concentrating/ focussing
Difficulty sleeping
Unable to self-regulate (calm themselves)
Quiet and withdrawn
Avoidant of contact
Regressive behaviour (thumb sucking, clothes chewing, soiling)

Remember that beneath every behaviour there is a feeling or a need. It is important that we recognise and meet the need rather than focussing on the behaviour. By doing this we deal with the cause not the symptom

It is crucial that children are seen, supported and understood. 55% of the way we communicate is through our body language. Therefore, you need to be alert to how your child is feeling and make the experience manageable for them. They need to feel safe. Adults should demonstrate being connected to the child through play and positivity. They should be curious and show a genuine interest in the child and how they are feeling (I wonder, I imagine and I notice) These phrases will support you to find out what is going on for them. Finally use empathy and let the child know that you understand (You know that sounds really hard)

Top tips:

Start talking – Discuss the return to school and identify how this feels for your child. Exploring any worries that may arise. You are then able to help them manage and solve their worries. Listen and acknowledge feelings without judgement. Reassure them that their feelings are natural and that you are there for them. Remember all children are individual and will experience things in their own way. Some suggested questions to use as a conversation starter could be: What are you looking forward to? What might be hard? What do you think will be ok?

Prepare them – Preparing children for change is always helpful. Involving them so they are aware in advance of when and why things will happen. As well as preparing them, this will help them make sense of the world around them and eliminate any surprises. This supports children to feel safe and secure.

Routine – Implementing a good routine to support children to wake up early and adjust gradually so they can be ready for their school day well in advance of their return.

Sleep routine – Start to get your child into s good sleep routine a few weeks before they are to return to school.

Talk about school – Remind them of the routine that they were once familiar with.

Acknowledge what has happened – It is important to recognise what we have all been through over the past few months. Do not avoid talking about this.

Reconnect with friends – Help them to reconnect with some school friends if possible. This can be virtually or meeting following government guidelines.

Model coping strategies – the use of breathing techniques, grounding exercises, physical exercise, journaling etc

yourself available – Create regular opportunities for talking in different ways. This could be when you are out for a walk, baking together or during quiet time before bed.

Identify positives – Talk about what your child is looking forward to and help them to identify things they used to enjoy at school. Focus on looking to the future with confidence. Offer lots of reassurance.

Be mindful – getting them to focus on the present (right here right now) Not dwelling on the past or speculating about the future as this can make worries worse.

Arts and crafts – Creative arts are a great way to help us express feelings. Get your child to show you how they are feeling through the use of paint, drawing, writing, sand, playdough, pompoms etc

Self-care – Offer relaxation opportunities and quiet time. A nice bubble bath, massage, stories, meditation stories, build a den to relax in, breathing practice etc.

Keep talking – Once your child is back to school ask and be interested about their day. What was good about your day? What was difficult? What went ok? This breaks it down for the child and gives them a direction.

Remember to be repetitive and continuous with your support strategies until you can see them feel settled again

Here are some activities that will further support your children:

The following creative arts and play-based activities encourage connection and are particularly helpful for providing emotional containment and safety.

Breakfasting together: When schools reopens, a shared breakfast will create opportunities for chat, laughter and engagement before their day begins.

Mood thermometers: For children who may struggle to talk about and explain their feelings/ moods, try sticking selfie photos onto a ‘mood-o-meter’ with them. This will help them show and identify how they are feeling. Being aware of how children are feeling on different days and times will give an understanding of what they need from you.

Jigsaw: Each family member to draw and colour a jigsaw piece each for two different puzzles: one a representation of what they struggled with during lockdown; the other a representation of something they are proud of, something which helped them through it or a happy moment. By everyone placing their jigsaw pieces together as part of the ‘whole’ the children will gain a sense of connection and strength in togetherness alongside the celebrations of surviving the lockdown.

Mobile: Children create their own cardboard cut-out representation of themselves to be made into a hanging mobile. Children can be encouraged to attach their daily mood identifying if they are feeling sad or needing a bit of extra help or support.

Paper affirmation: Each family member writes their name on

the top of their blank sheet of paper. Taking turns on each person’s paper, write down a positive word or sentence about them. After each go, the paper must be folded over so the words can’t be seen. At the end, the words and sentences are shared together as a family.

Favourite music: Children create a decorated CD album cover that reflects the most important people and happy memories of their life. Other ideas that could be included on the cover for older children: their artist or group name; a title and design for the cover that represents how others see them; and eight songs to represent who they are, their philosophy of life, their safe space, their strengths, their life-goals, their family, what sort of friend they are and one of their own choice.

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 17.7.20

Fri 17 Jul 2020

Friday 17^th July 2020

To the Children of Jarrow Cross,

I hope you are all well. I can’t believe it is now the summer holidays!! We are all so sad that we have not seen so many of you since March. In the very first letter which I wrote to you all I said how quiet the school was without you. It has got a little bit noisier lately, but I am so looking forward to all of the classrooms being full again.

I know you will all know that school will be a little bit different in September. The time you start and go home might be different and also playtime and lunchtime will be a little different and your classroom might not look quite the same. That is nothing to worry about, the main thing is that we are all together again so please do not not worry.

Some of you might be a little bit worried about coming back to school. Attached to the letter I have sent to your parents this week I have attached some messages from Mrs Jackson to help you. Ask your parents to share that with you.

The teachers have all created a message for you to read, wishing you a lovely holiday. If you go onto the website you will find it in the Distance learning Section.

Well, all I have left to say is have a fabulous holiday, I hope the sun shines lots and lots and you are able to go out and have lots of fun.

Can’t wait to see you all in September. Take care and remember BE KIND!

Mrs McBeth

Photo message from us all!

Fri 17 Jul 2020

We just wanted to share with you a final message before the Summer holidays!

Take care, stay safe and most importantly, enjoy your Summer holidays!

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 10.7.20

Fri 10 Jul 2020

Friday 10^th July 2020

To the Children of Jarrow Cross,

I hope you are all well and have been keeping busy doing all of the daily fitness challenges this week.

I hope you were all pleased with your report when you received it this week and enjoyed reading the postcard from your teacher. If you haven’t had it yet it can still be picked up from the office before next Friday.

I have just sent out a really long letter to your parents telling them all about what will be happening in September. I know you already know about spending time with your old class and teacher for the first two weeks, but there are lots of other things like the start and end of the school day which will be different too. Your parents will tell you all about it.

For Home Leaning this week there are lots of fun activities for you to do both this week and over the summer holidays. They include watching films, making cakes, building a tower out of cards. I hope you enjoy them.

Have a lovely weekend. I hope the sun keeps shining. Remember BE KIND and look after each other.

Take care,

Mrs McBeth

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 10.7.20

Fri 10 Jul 2020

Friday 10^th July

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are all well. Please find below important information regarding school reopening in September.

School will reopen for all pupils on Tuesday 8^th September. As I have stated previously all children will return to their current class and teacher on reopening. This will enable all children to get back in to school routines and cover important aspects of their current curriculum before moving to their new year group and class on Monday 21^st September. Further details regarding this will be sent out nearer the time. During those two weeks they will also take part in transition activities and meet their new class teacher. We are mindful that for many children returning to school to meet up with friends and teachers will be a happy and exciting experience, but for some this may be a cause of anxiety. We hope by beginning the school year as described above that this will support all children to settle back in with ease.

Start and End of School Day Procedures

As per DFE Guidelines the beginning and ending of the school day will continue to be staggered. See table below for guidance. As described above the children are staying in their current year groups for a two week period, therefore for example children currently in Year 2 will follow the Year 2 start and finish times for the first 2 weeks of school term.

	Start time	Entrance and Exit door	Hometime
Rec	8:45	Usual door Reception Yard	3:10
Y1	9:15	Usual door Year 1 Yard	3:30
Y2	9:00	Small Hall Door	3:20
Y3	8:45	Usual door in KS2 Yard	3:10
Y4/5	9:15	Usual door in KS2 Yard	3:30

Please ensure you are on the school grounds for the correct times. There will be a clearly signed entry to exit from the school grounds which will ensure a one-way system. It is essential for social distancing that parents and children arrive on time not early or late. Siblings may enter school with the child who starts the earliest, they will simply enter school through the appropriate door and make their way to their classroom.

I appreciate that due to the staggered end of the school day that you may have to wait for siblings to finish school, unfortunately at the moment due to the Guidance there is no way around this. Children cannot be collected early. Please maintain social distancing formalities whilst you are waiting and ensure you are not blocking entrances or exits.

Playtimes and lunchtimes

In line with the beginning and end of the school day playtimes and lunchtimes will be staggered. Pupils will stay in their year groups in order to limit the number of pupils and staff with whom they have contact and each group will go outside separately onto the yard and into the dining hall. The school kitchen will be operating as normal and the usual choice will be available. The cost of school lunch per day will be £2.20.

Please note that once children enter Year 3 they are no longer eligible for Universal Infant Free School Meals. This means that from September the children who return to their Year 2 class but will move to Year 3 on Monday 21^st September must pay for their lunches from the first day of term Tuesday 8^th September. Please note if you received Free School Meal vouchers your child will still receive a Free School Meal.

After School Clubs

Initially there will be no After School Clubs in the Autumn Term. This will be reviewed.

Packed Lunches

In September the usual dinner/ packed lunches procedures will apply. Therefore, if your child was not already on the packed lunch list and you wish your child to bring a packed lunch to school you must contact the school office as soon as possible as there are limited spaces available.

Learning Environments

All teachers and staff can operate across different classes and year groups in order to facilitate the delivery of the school curriculum. Pupils will be seated side by side and facing forwards and unnecessary furniture will be removed to create more space. For children old enough they will be supported to maintain distance and not touch staff and peers where possible. Pupils will be supplied with a pencil cases to reduce the sharing of equipment. Classroom based resources such as books, games etc will be cleaned frequently along with classroom surfaces.

Attendance

I am sure you will by now have heard and read that school attendance will again become compulsory in September. Schools will be expected to follow their usual attendance procedures including the issuing of fines for non-attendance. I do understand that many of you will be anxious about your child returning. Please contact school so we can discuss your concerns and reassure you that we are taking all of the correct precautions to keep the whole school community safe. The issuing of fines is something we dearly want to prevent.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will be running in September, however in order to follow guidelines the maximum number will be 30 children each day. If you do require your child to attend in September, please contact the office as soon as possible before the end of term to register a place. Unfortunately, once we have allocated those 30 places to children no more spaces will be available.

School Uniform

School uniform will again be required in September. The new guidance states that uniforms do not now need to be cleaned any more often than usual, nor do they need to be cleaned using methods which are different from normal. Please note that uniform consists of a yellow polo shirt, red jumper, red cardigan, grey trousers or skirt and black shoes or trainers.

PE

As the Guidance states outdoor sports should be prioritised therefore could you please ensure that alongside their PE Kit your child has jogging pants, jacket and trainers which they can wear outdoors. We will be encouraging the children to leave these in school.

Children and staff who show symptoms

We hope that by keeping the children in smaller groups this will minimise the risk of the virus spreading. However, this can’t be guaranteed. The following steps will be put in place:

• NO adult or child should come onto the school site if they, or someone within their household, is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or has been diagnosed. If in doubt regarding symptoms contact 111. They will not be able to return to school for at least 7 days, however a negative test result means the child can return sooner. If another member of the household is diagnosed/has symptoms, then the pupil must isolate for 14 days. This is in accordance with the Government advice.

• If a child becomes unwell at school, or displays symptoms, they will be removed from their group by an adult wearing PPE. They will be kept isolated until they are collected. It is expected they will be collected immediately and a test is arranged by parents.

Hygiene

Pupils must wash their hands regularly. Large hand sanitizers will be available at each entrance. Pupils must wash/sanitize their hands when arriving at school, on returning from breaks, when changing rooms and before and after eating. A cleaning schedule will be in place which ensures more frequent cleaning of rooms, shared areas and frequently touched surfaces such as tables.

I understand this is an awful lot of information to take on board, but I thought it very important for you to receive as much information as possible before the summer break. I cannot stress enough how much we are looking forward to our school community being back together again. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Take care,

Mrs McBeth

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 3.7.20

Fri 03 Jul 2020

Friday 3^rd July

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are well. Here is an update regarding new information.

Yesterday we received the new DFE Guidance regarding school opening in September. We are delighted to say that as predicted school will be opening to all Year Groups in September. This is obviously fantastic news to us and I am sure it will be to you too. There are still lots of guidelines for us to follow not only regarding hygiene and cleaning, but also drop of and pick up times. We will obviously send you out more detailed information before the summer break, but what I can say is that amongst other things the timings of the school day will be altered very similarly to what they are at the moment which will allow a staggered start and ending of the school day.

I know you will be concerned about your child moving to new year groups and meeting their new teacher. Can I just confirm that for the first two weeks back after the holidays the children will remain in their current class. This will allow a settling back in to school period and also a planned transition to their new year group.

We also have updated information regarding Free School Meal Vouchers. Please note they will not be delivered weekly in the summer holidays, but in 3 instalments. The instalments will be as follows £30 on 22^nd July, £30 on 5^th August and finally £45 on 14^th August. If you have any issues with your vouchers during this period please email info@jarrowcross-pri.s-tyneside.sch.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Your child’s report will be available this week. All children who are currently in school will receive their report to take home. All other reports will be available to pick up from the main office at the following times.

	9.45-10.45	11-12	1-2
Wed 8^th	Reception	Y1	Y4
Thurs 9^th	Y2	Y5
Fri 10^th	Y6	Y3

For the children who have unfortunately not been able to return to school there will be a postcard inside the envelope from their teacher with a little message. Obviously if parents have siblings in school they are able to pick up all children’s reports during one visit. Parents will also be offered the opportunity of a telephone call to discuss their child’s report should they so wish.

Just to let you know that the usual uniform rules will apply from September. Don’t forget you can order uniform online from www.totstoteams.com. Please make sure you order in plenty of time to allow for summer delivery.

We hope you have been enjoying our “Fitness Fortnight”. Check out the website for more activities in the following week.

Can I please urge you to contact school if there are any changes to your contact details. We may need to contact you during the summer break so it is vital we have up to date details.

Please be assured that more detail around the opening of school in September will be communicated with yourselves before the summer break. Again thank you for your patience and support and I will continue to keep in touch.

Take care,

Mrs S. McBeth

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 3.7.20

Fri 03 Jul 2020

Friday 3^rd July 2020

To the Children of Jarrow Cross,

Well the weather certainly hasn’t been that good this week has it? I hope you have all managed to keep yourselves busy.

I hope you have been taking part in the daily challenges. We have been doing that in school and there has certainly been some very tired children and teachers.

We finally got the news yesterday that all children can return to school in September. We are delighted and can’t wait to see you all. I hope you all feel the same! Things will be a little bit different, you may start school and leave school at a different time than normal but don’t worry it will all be sorted out and you will know what is happening before the summer holidays.

Also when you all come back in September for the first two weeks you will all go back to your old classes and teachers. This will be lovely as you will have time to see all of your friends again and get used to being back at school. During that two weeks you will also get to meet your new teacher, before moving onto your new class properly.

Next week all of your reports will be handed out. If you haven’t been at school, you will find a postcard from your teacher with a nice message. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Have a lovely weekend. I hope the sun keeps shining. Remember BE KIND and look after each other.

Take care,

Mrs McBeth

Interactive Bar

Google Services

Translate

Search

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 17.7.20

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 17.7.20

Photo message from us all!

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 10.7.20

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 10.7.20

Letter to Parents from Mrs Mcbeth 3.7.20

Letter to Children from Mrs McBeth 3.7.20