I never knew the earth had so much gold—
Louis Untermeyer
The fields run over with it, and this hill
Hoary and old,
Is young with buoyant blooms that flame and thrill.
Despite the changeable weather, we have been cheered this week by the growing signs of spring, especially the lovely flowers that are starting to bloom in our playground. Even better, we were delighted to welcome the children back after the half-term holiday. We hope you all had a pleasant break and weren’t affected by the recent storms.
Rehearsals for our productions of Macbeth have gathered pace this week. We welcomed dance specialists who have continued their workshops with several classes, and the school has echoed with Shakespearean language! As the nationwide Covid situation continues to improve, we remain optimistic that we will be able to welcome parents to see live Shakespeare performances next month.
You are no doubt aware from the news that the Government has removed the last legal restrictions in England as part of the ‘Living With Covid’ plan. This will of course be welcomed by many people, but please also rest assured that we as a school will continue closely to follow guidance from the Department for Education and do all we can to keep our school community healthy and safe. We will maintain, for example, the high standards of hand hygiene, ventilation and cleaning, while also enjoying the greater freedom of classes working together increasingly often. For instance, it was lovely to have all of Key Stage 2 together on Friday for hymn practice, something we have not been able to do for a long time!
Covid Guidelines
From 24th February, the Government has removed the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive Covid test. However, if you have any of the main Covid-19 symptoms or a positive test result, the public health advice remains to stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
Children or adults who have Covid symptoms should:
- Do a PCR test and continue to self-isolate while awaiting results until 31st March;
- If the PCR test is negative, your child can return to school.
Children or adults with a positive PCR or LFD result should:
- Self-isolate for a least 5 days from symptoms onset/date of test (if no symptoms);
- Take a LFD test day on day 5 and another LFD test on the following day 24 hours later;
- If both these tests are negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end self-isolation after the second negative test result.
Close contacts will no longer be required to self-isolate or be advised to take daily LFD tests. Children who are close contacts, should attend school as usual, but remain vigilant to signs and symptoms of Covid-19.
Please see latest guidance below:
Sporting News
Because they finished second in their league earlier this year, our girls’ football team progressed to the borough finals, which took place on Tuesday this week. They lost 3-0 to Gospel Oak and 2-1 to St Dominics, then drew 1-1 with St Mary & St Pancras. While these results were sadly not enough to get through to the semi-final, we are immensely proud of all their efforts, and Tuesday’s heroics draw to a close a fantastic season. As always, they played brilliantly – special mentions are due to Betty and Skye as goal scorers – but even more importantly they were wonderful representatives of our school, showing care, courage and co-operation throughout, towards each other and towards children from competing teams. Their trophy as runners up in their league is proudly on display in the downstairs hall. Well done girls! Thank you also to the parents who came and cheered the children on.
Zones of Regulation Parent Workshop
It was great to see so many parents and carers at the Zones of Regulation workshop on Tuesday. The feedback we received was very positive, with lots of attendees saying that they found the workshop helpful in understanding the school’s approach to emotional regulation and wellbeing. If you were not able to come but would like to know more about this, you could ask your child’s class teacher in the parents’ meetings, which take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. You may also notice a Zones of Regulation display in each classroom.
Parents Evening Sign-up
There are still a few parents/carers who have not yet signed up for a meeting slot next week – please do this as soon as possible. Please see Ms Stenmark’s several texts and emails for access to the Doodle Poll. All parents are expected to attend a meeting but parents can request a Zoom meeting if they prefer.
Wellbeing Tip of the Week: Coping with feelings of low mood
Everyone can experience changes in their mood and we can all feel low at times, so it’s completely normal to feel down or unhappy, without any explanation. You may feel sad more often or feel lethargic (less motivated or energetic than usual), or you may feel indifferent or shut off from your emotions. These are all normal human responses, especially considering what we’ve all gone through since March 2020.
Here are some tips to help you cope with difficult feelings:
- Give yourself a break! It’s responsible and sensible, not selfish, to look after yourself. If you don’t look after yourself, then you won’t have the energy to look after anyone else.
- Change perspective. When feeling low, our thinking can change to think very negatively about ourselves, the world around us and our future. Thoughts are powerful and they influence how we feel and what we do. We can challenge our thoughts so that we feel and behave differently. Here are some of the most common, unhelpful thinking patterns we can all get into from time-to-time:
UnhelpfulThinkingHabitsWithAlternatives.pdf
- Take care of your physical health. This has a huge impact on our emotional wellbeing and our general mood, so it’s important that we continue to: stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water each day; exercise and move our bodies for at least 20 minutes each day; ensure we are eating three balanced meals each day.
Christian Values – Forgiveness
Forgiving others for the hurt they have caused us is one of the most difficult things we can be asked to do. Not only that, but forgiving too quickly or too easily carries with it the danger of turning us into an easy target for others’ unkindness, rather than someone who can be assertive and stand up for themselves. On the surface of it, Jesus’ injunction to ‘turn the other cheek’ might seem to encourage exactly this kind of passive victimhood. However, there is a more proactive and empowering conception of forgiveness. As well as in the Bible, it is perhaps best expressed by the extraordinary Eva Kor, a survivor of the Holocaust. She wrote, “The question of justice is separate from the issue of forgiveness. This concept of forgiveness has little or nothing to do with the perpetrator. It has everything to do with the need of victims to be free from the pain inflicted upon them. We become victims involuntarily, when a person with power takes away our power…The conscious choice to forgive provides healing, liberation, and reclamation of this lost power.”
We pray in particular for those who are affected by the fighting in Ukraine, and hope first that peace is established, so that justice, forgiveness and healing can follow.
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9
Attendance and Punctuality
Our overall attendance has picked up to 98% this week; well done everyone!
Attendance Bears are awarded to:
KS1: Reception at 98% KS2: Y5 at 99%
Early Birds are awarded to: KS1: Y2 KS2: Y3
Uniform Sale
We are having school stock uniform sales again the week after next on Tuesday 8th March and Wednesday 9th March after school. There is a 10% discount applied to most uniform items so make sure to get what you need while stock lasts.
Camden Music Services
From Y1 onwards, you can sign your child up to learn an instrument in school. For more information and to download the Camden Music Service application form, please click here.
Girls Football Development Class (with Coach Steve)
Where: Fleet Primary School, Agincourt Rd, NW3 2QT
When: Every Tuesday Time: 5.30-6.30pm Age: 6-10 year olds (Year 2 to Year 5)
Cost: First class is FREE (£6 per class thereafter)
For more info, please email Coach Steve – prorevolution.development@gmail.com
Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Webinar Series for Parents/Carers of Primary and Secondary School aged Young People
The MHST are pleased to offer parents/carers a series of workshops to support their children’s wellbeing.
Webinars that are for both Parents/Carers of Primary and Secondary aged children and young people
- Why Early Intervention Matters: Introducing the MHST
- All about sleep
- Therapeutic conversations with your child and young person
- Screen Time
Webinars for Parents/Carers of Primary aged children
- Parent-child interactions
- Managing child worries
Each workshop will last up to 60 minutes and have an optional follow-up of 30 minutes for parents/carers to ask questions or discuss the topic further.
Parents and carers can register for any webinars through Eventbrite by clicking here.
The scheduled topics, dates and times are:
| Webinar topic | Intended Parent Audience | Date | Time |
| Supporting your Young Person with Anxiety | Secondary | Thursday 3rd February 2022 | 12.00 to 13:00 Q and A 13:00 to 13.30 |
| Understanding Adolescent Development | Secondary | Thursday 10th February 2022 | 12.00 to 13:00 Q and A 13:00 to 13.30 |
| Therapeutic conversations with your Child and Young Person. | Primary & Secondary | Thursday 24th February 2022 | 12.00 to 13:00 Q and A 13:00 to 13.30 |
| Screen Time | Primary & Secondary | Thursday 3rd March 2022 | 12.00 to 13:00 Q and A 13:00 to 13.30 |
| All about sleep | Primary & Secondary | Thursday 10th March 2022 | 12.00 to 13:00 Q and A 13:00 to 13.30 |
Term dates for 2021 – 2022
| First day of autumn term | Friday 3rd September |
| Half term | Monday 25th – Friday 29th October |
| Last day of autumn term | Friday 17th December |
| First day of spring term | Wednesday 5th January 2022 |
| Half term | Monday 14th – Friday 18th February |
| Last day of spring term | Friday 1st April |
| First day of summer term | Tuesday 19th April |
| Half term | Monday 30th May – Friday 3rd June |
| Last day of summer term | Wednesday 20th July |
