Thursday 17th February half term newsletter
Article 2
All children have these rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what their parents do, what language they speak, what their religion is, whether they are a boy or a girl, what their culture is, whether they have a disability, whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.
Well what an extremely busy and hectic half term it has been! There has been so much new and updated/revised guidance released to schools over the past seven weeks. We have needed to read, retain and communicate to families the ever changing guidance!
Both before the Christmas break and over the past seven weeks, we have had so many children, families and staff needing to isolate due to the Omicron variant. But thankfully, we have been able to continue to provide teaching and learning to our children, who have been in school, and those who have worked remotely. This has extremely challenging and certainly not been an easy task. We have rearranged staff timetables and sought supply staff to ensure that the school has remained open throughout the past seven weeks – we have come very close to needing to close parts of the school, but we have managed to keep the school open and not close classes or year groups - phew!
The children have been resilient and embraced the learning opportunities provided within school – well done to all of them!
We would like to thank you for your continued support in extremely challenging times. We also appreciate parents following the guidance and regularly testing their children, this has enabled the virus to be kept under control within the setting and to keep our children, staff and community, as safe as possible.
We would also like to thank all of the staff for their relentless commitment to providing the best learning opportunities for our children – we wish them all a well-deserved half term break.
The children have had a lots of exciting learning opportunities, which we have shared in the newsletters with you over the past seven weeks.
Mrs Miller's Retirement - please read the letter that was emailed to parents yesterday:
Dear Parents,I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring at the end of this academic year. In March, I will have been a Headteacher for 30 years and by July 2022, I will have completed 24 academic years as Headteacher of Blanford Mere. Now feels the right time to handover the responsibility for the school to someone new.Over the coming weeks, the Governing Body will be working to recruit a replacement Headteacher. I know that they will keep parents and carers updated throughout this process.I will work closely with the Governors and staff to ensure that the transition is a smooth one.Thank you for your ongoing support for your children and the school.Kind regards,Mrs Miller.
Pen licences
Well done to the following children on gaining their pen licence this half term:
Yr 3/4
Sophie H
Sienna-Rose D
Enqi
Jonty
Aurora
Zara F
Dylan
Darcey
Cross Country
On Thursday 17th February, children from Year 6 represented the school in the Dudley School Cross Country Competition at Summerhill School. This event was attended by 27 other schools, with over 150 children running in the event. The race itself was 3 laps around Summerhill School's huge playing fields, which measured over 3Km long. The children had to contend with high winds and the soft soggy ground. They all performed exceptionally well and tried their best. Kamran performed outstandingly well and finished 12th, which is an impressive achievement considering how many participants there were.
I'm sure everyone can appreciate how demanding a run over this kind of distance can be, but the 12 children from Blanford Mere represented the school with enthusiasm, resilience, and pride. They not only gave each other moral support to keep going, but they also helped supported the other competitors from other schools. One of the event organisers commented that they thought the children were a credit to the school, as they showed impeccable manners and behaviour throughout the whole event. Overall we came 14th in the competition.
Well done to the following children - the teams were as follows:
Boys - Ethan T, Kamran, Dan W, Ethan M, Dexter P, Tate J
Girls - Lacie W, Hannah B, Bella W, Laila-Mai, Poppy W, Libby H
Half termly PE competition
As part of our PE curriculum, all classes take part in a half termly competition based on the topic they have been focusing on. This challenges them to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills in a competitive situation, which contributes to their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social learning. The children showed enthusiasm and competed to the best of their ability. The lucky winners are as follows:
Class 1J – 1st Isabella
2nd Scarlett
3rd David
Class 1C – 1st Georgia
2nd Frankie
3rd Raymond
Competition: Dance
Class 2W – 1st Amelia, Cole-James, Autumn, Isla, Harry H, Halle and Charlie
2nd Harry B, Jamie, Eleanor, Abigail, Harley and Kian
3rd Lucas, Eesha, Deedee, Abel, Daisy, Mya and Marilyn
Class 2B – 1st Amelia, Balraj, Everly, Joseph
2nd Celina, Maddison, Arjun, Scarlett, Cole, Thomas
3rd Olivia S, Olivia, Darcey, Hugo, Matthew, Abigail, Enzo, Emily, Noah, Luca
Competition: Dance
Class 3/4C – 1st Annabelle D
2nd Eden A
3rd Mason D
Competition: Gymnastic landings
Class 3/4 O – 1st Liam H
2nd Freya S
3rd Ariell A
Competition: Dance
Class 3/4M – 1st Joseph W
2nd Willow C
3rd Frankie R
Competition: OAA cross the river
Class 5/6R – 1st Harry F and Dan W
2nd Harrison G and Seth D
3rd Olivia M and Emily C
Class 5/6B – 1st Libby
2nd Araya
3rd Olivia M
Class 5/6D – 1st Krishna
2nd Xavi
3rd Lacie
Competition: Gymnastics
Places in Nursery for September 2022
Places for Nursery I September are filling up quickly. We offer morning and afternoon session (dependent on the child’s age), as well as wraparound care at lunchtime to support working parents. We also have a limited number of the 30 hour free child care places available. If you have a child or know anybody who may be interested in a Nursery place – please contact the school office on 01384 818365 or email info’blanford.dudley.sch.uk for more information.
Perimeter Fencing
We are pleased to announce that we are raising the height of the perimeter fence at the front of the school – KS1 play area. The work is due to start on Monday 28th February or Tuesday 1st March and will take 2-3 days to complete. The workers will need access to the fencing via the public footpath at the front and side – near the KS1 entrance. Can we please ask that you drop and collect your child from school as promptly as you can to avoid congestion in these areas. For the duration of this work, KS1 children will only be using the KS1 playground area to ensure that the children are as safe as possible.
School Meals
The cost of a school meal is usually reviewed in April each year. We have received notification from Dolce that the cost of a school meal will rise from 25th April 2022 (start of the summer term) from £2.20 to £2.28.
In their letter to us, Dolce have made it very clear that raising their prices at this time is the last thing they want to do, however, with the rising costs of food currently they are at the point where they have no choice. Dolce are very aware of the financial pressures facing both parents and schools in these difficult times and were able to avoid a price increase last year. They have kept the increase as low as possible and this still represents good value for a main meal and pudding.
Future dates
Friday 18th February – INSET day school closed to all pupils
Monday 21st February – Friday 25th February – Half term break
Monday 28th February - school re-opens at the usual time.
Thursday 3rd March – World Book Day World Book Day celebrations!
On Thursday 3rd March, we will be celebrating World Book Day. On this day, the children may come dressed in their pyjamas to reflect the idea of a bed time story. World Book Day tokens will be given out in school today. These can be used to purchase a £1 book for free, or used to get £1 off a book of your choice. Full details can be found here; https://www.worldbookday.com/books/. Please spend some time discussing with your child which book they would most enjoy.
To celebrate reading, on Thursday 3rd March, we would like everyone to bring in the book that they have purchased with their £1 token, as well as dressing in their pyjamas. Activities across this day in school will be based around the books that children bring in, and the stories they enjoy in class.
In the words of Walt Disney; “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.”
Friday 18th March – Red Nose Day – wear anything red and donate £1 – no red noses will be sold in school. Unfortunately, due to Covid we ask that children do not bring a red nose into school this day for health and safety reasons. However, you may wish use ‘face paint’ to paint your child’s nose!
Wednesday 23rd March – Friday 25th March – Year 6 Residential trip to Condover Hall.
Thursday 7th April – TTRS dress up Day
Friday 8th April – school closes at the usual time for Easter break
Monday 25th April – Return to school – Summer uniform can be worn from today
W/C Tuesday 3rd May - KS1 SATs begins
W/C Monday 9th May - Year 6 SATs week
Thursday 26th May - School closes to pupils for half term
Friday 27th May - INSET day - school closed to pupils
W/C Monday 6th June - Year 4 Multiplication Timestables Check begin
W/C Monday 6th June - Year 1 Phonic Screen Checks begin and Year 2 recheck
Thursday 21st July - School closes for the Summer break
Thank you for your continued support, have a wonderful half term break. We look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Monday 28th February 2022.
Mrs Miller and Miss Stanton
