Communication

18.07.22

The Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

This is the information that we sent out last week:

Hi all

Just a reminder our last day of school is next Tuesday 19th July.

It is scheduled to be really hot on Monday and Tuesday so please remember suncream, hats and water bottles

Please wear loose cool clothing, PE kits are fine if these clothes are cooler than the uniform your child would wear. We will reduce the amount of time children are outside.

Further information has now come in:

At this stage schools are still being encouraged to stay open. But please keep an eye out for updates.

From the DFE:

During heatwaves it’s important that everyone stays safe and makes sure they drink plenty of water and avoids being exposed to the sun for too long – this is especially important for children.

We aren’t advising schools to close during high temperatures, but school leaders should make sure they take any steps necessary to make sure children are safe and comfortable.

Children should wear loose, light-coloured clothing to help keep cool and sunhats with wide brims and should stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunscreen should be used to protect skin and children should be provided with plenty of water.

The Ellis plan

Alongside ensuring children are regularly hydrated we will evaluate the use of our outdoor spaces in terms of shade and air and decide whether inside or outside is safer at different times of the day. We are most likely going to use outdoor in shade in the mornings and be inside at lunch.

We understand, just like on a snow day if you decide it is safer to keep your children at home then please do.

We have two important assemblies –

Monday is the Merit awards; this will now be at 1.15pm and we will only have the families and the children that are collecting the merits in the hall. We really do not want to cancel the event. However, the safest option is to reduce the amount of people in the hall.

All children can be collected from 2pm on Monday. The School Street gate and the Y5/6 gate will be open after the assembly, staff will be monitoring these. You will be sent round to class to collect your child. The normal time to collect is also fine.

The hottest part of the day is going to be 4pm.

Tuesday is the Y6 leavers assembly at 1.15pm.

Again, this is such a crucial event for our Y6s, we do not want to cancel. (unless we have to)

We will put on the assembly for the Y6 parents. This again will reduce the amount of people in the hall.

All children can be collected from 2.15pm on Tuesday. The School Street gate and the Y5/6 gate will be open after the assembly, staff will be monitoring these. You will be sent round to class to collect your child. The normal time to collect is also fine.

Tuesday morning, we are going to have an ‘optional’ mass water fight in school for Y1 to Y6. If you would like your children to take part, please bring a change of clothes, towel and if you have one a water pistol, please label the water pistol as there may be a few in school.

Foundation will ensure there is plenty of water play.

We will then be inside at lunchtime.

Finally, please note the Tuesday menu will not be hot roast pork, there will be a selection of less heavy food, for example, pizza and fish fingers. Please select the main option if your child would like this.

Thanks for all your support

Stay safe

Mrs Hurding

Young Voices

Dear Parents,

I am very excited to say we have 49 Young Voice children signed up which is fantastic. Today your child will be bringing home a letter confirming their place and a copy of the words for the songs. We don’t have printed sheets on the day so the more they can learn, the more they will enjoy the experience (please do not panic if they don’t know every single lyric). It would be really helpful if they could start listening to the songs and singing along over the summer so that we can get going in October. Here is the Spotify link with the tracks on (it is free to sign up).

https://open.spotify.com/album/1MrGxAUWIWd9ZRXelWwT9D?si=pRPcNgPcRkSMXXJKI78EFQ

I will send out information about ticket orders and t-shirt orders in September, but as mentioned before, in order to ensure they don’t sell out, I may only be able to give you a couple of week’s notice for full payment (I am still awaiting ticket prices but to give you an idea they were £20 each last year. The t-shirt bundles are £15 this year. Neither are compulsory) so I wanted to give you prior warning about this. It really is a fantastic experience. This is my 13th year and I still get goosebumps at 7pm when the lights go down!

I will let the children know when rehearsals commence, but for now…keep singing!

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

15.07.22

Publicity Consent Globe Form

Dear Parents,

I would like to share the children’s work on the globe on the Fusion website and on the Barnsley Museums and Culture website.

Please can you complete their publicity consent form that is attached and return to me to allow this to happen.

Publicity consent form

Many thanks

Maggi

13.07.22

Y6 Sleepover

On Thursday 14th July, children can return to school at 6:15pm for a sleepover. Children will set their beds up in the hall before going outside to enjoy some activities in the forest area. Once we have eaten, we will be settling down to enjoy a film and a ‘midnight feast’. Myself (Mrs Edwards), Mrs Brinkley, Mrs Trotter and Miss Batley will be the adults at the event.

Children will need the following:

Sleeping bag
Pillow
Sleeping mat
Snacks for a midnight feast (enough for themselves).
PJs
Toothbrush
Uniform for the next day

Food will be provided (both evening meal and breakfast), we kindly ask for a £3 donation towards this (this can be paid using ParentPay).

If your child requires a packed lunch for Friday this will need to be dropped off Friday morning please.

If your child is on Wath transition we will ensure they are ready for collection from 7:30am.

Mrs Edwards

No phones or electronics please.

Swimming Competition Friday 15th July

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a swimming competition ay Hoyland Leisure Centre on Friday 15th July.

Girls must wear a swimming costume (no bikinis) and boys must wear fitted trunks. For ease, these can be worn under a tracksuit that morning, but please remember to send their uniform to get changed into for the afternoon.

The children will also need to bring a swimming cap, towel and their water bottle.

The event will be held in the morning and the children will be back for lunch. Transport will be provided by Mrs Fiddes and Mrs Connelly.

Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them.

The cost of the trip will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant, therefore your child requires no money for the event.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Great Fire of London Workshop 12th October 2022

Dear Y1 and Y2 Parents, (from September)

We are really looking forward to welcoming your child into class 1 and 2 next year, we already have some exciting activities planned in.

We are pleased to let you know that, as part of our History, learning about The Great Fire of London, we have arranged for a workshop run by ‘Real History Alive’ to bring our learning to life and to give the children an interactive experience which they will enjoy and remember. Our visitors will be coming into school on the 12th of October to share an interactive show followed by hands on workshops. We have used this company several times before and have run this exact workshop with previous KS1 classes and the children really do gain so much from it.

We are asking for donations of £4.60 per pupil for us to be able to offer this valuable experience. Payments can be made on ParentPay straightaway. Please be aware that without sufficient donations the event will not be able to go ahead.

Many thanks for your continued support and we can’t wait to start this interesting topic with the children in September.

The Y1 and Y2 Team

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

What a busy year we have had and now we are coming to the end! We are so pleased with the amount of effort our children have put into their reading both at school and at home and thank you for your continued support. Please could we ask that you return any reading books you have at home next Monday so that we can do a stock check and prepare for September. This includes Read Write Inc books, book banded books and free reader chapter books. Please check book bags, book cases and any other places they may be hiding at home! We have spent a considerable amount of money on new books this year and want to ensure we get off to a flying start in September, ensuring we have everything we need for our children.

As we would like our children to continue reading over the summer, now is a perfect time to remind everyone about the annual Summer Reading Library Challenge! This year the theme is ‘Gadgeteers’ and the libraries have teamed up with the Science Museum Group for a special science-themed Challenge that will inspire our children to use their imagination and creativity! Any child who completes the challenge is welcome to bring in certificates in September which we will celebrate in our rewards assembly. Please see the website for more information.

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/news/general/gadgeteers-intro

Summer Reading Challenge

Introducing… Gadgeteers! We’re so excited to reveal the theme for the Summer Reading Challenge 2022! Get ready for Gadgeteers, arriving online and in your local library this summer.. Science is all around you!

summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

Secondly, your child will be bringing their wellies home on Friday. We love the outdoors and strongly believe learning outside is equally as powerful as learning in the classroom. With this in mind, please can you ensure your child brings back a pair of wellies in September, ready to start new outdoor learning adventures in their new class.

Finally, please send a carrier bag in with your child on Monday, as we will be sending things home and there is often a lot to carry!

Thank you for your help and support in these matters.

Charlotte Trotter

Whirlow Residential Trip (Y2 from September)

Dear Parents,

As some of you may be aware, we run an annual 2-night residential trip for our Y2 children to Whirlow Farm in Sheffield. We have just returned from taking all 30 Y2s and we had an absolutely brilliant time! (Feel free to visit our Y2 Twitter page where you will see all the recent tweets I posted whilst we were away and it will give you an idea of the things we got up to! @TheEllisY2)

Our Y2 Whirlow residential is a wonderful experience and one which our current Y6 children talk about fondly from when they visited all those years ago!

Whirlow Farm is a very popular place for Key Stage 1 children to visit and they run residential trips for children all year round (although the summer term books up very early as it is a lovely end of year experience). Their most popular age group is indeed Year 2 as it provides a welcoming, age-appropriate programme for children of this age. Many schools in Barnsley and other local authorities visit year after year and it becomes an annual favourite for Key Stage 1 children!

Whirlow Farm is a working farm with many animals, beautiful woodland and farm walks and space for children to play in the safety of enclosed gardens. It is set in acres of farmland, has a lovely play area and the views are spectacular! The farm staff are very experienced at working with primary school children and there is an onsite educational team who will work alongside the teachers and children during the day.

On the first day, the children will have the opportunity to take part in a farm tour where they will have the chance to meet lots of farm animals and to help out with the farm jobs (e.g; feeding the animals, grooming them and handling some of the smaller animals). On the second day, the school staff will walk the children to Forge Dam, approx. 1.2 miles away, which has a large duck pond, lovely play area, picnic spots, woodland area and stream which we love paddling in (it is very shallow only coming up to ankle-level and staff are in the water with the children). In the evenings, we will do lots of activities with the children, depending on the weather, including playing games and sports, baking and playing board games and quizzes together. The children will also work together (alongside the school teaching staff) to prepare meals, make packed lunches and wash up! It really is a big team effort but an amazing opportunity for the children to develop their independence in a small, safe environment.

With regards to sleeping arrangements; the farm can cater for 12 children and 2 teachers at a time, which would mean that one group would visit whilst the others are at school and on their return the other group would then visit. If we have more than 24 children, we will take smaller groups of approximately 10 and run three trips. (Any child who does not wish to take part in the residential will attend school as normal that week). The children will sleep in a converted hall which has recently been refurbished in two rooms of 6 children. (The two teachers will have their own rooms within the hall and will look after the children overnight).

As a parent myself with two children, I realise that it is hard to ever imagine that your own child will be ready for an overnight stay but this residential is a lovely way to let them experience an overnight stay with their friends and teachers they know well in a small, homely and calm environment. Having taught Year 2 for many years now, it still staggers me how much the children grow up and change between the end of Year 1 and the end of Year 2. They really do grow in confidence, independence and resilience over the year. Having run this trip for many years now (having taken over 140 children away) I can say first-hand that the children gain so much from such an experience and that it provides them with lasting memories. I will be personally accompanying each group with another member of staff from school.

With regards to the cost, we are unable to give an exact figure until we know how many children will be going (as the hall is a set price regardless of whether it is at full capacity of 12 children or not). I envisage that it will not cost more than £110 based on previous years and may be slightly lower depending on numbers. This will include 2 nights accommodation, food, return travel by minibus and all the activities children undertake whilst they are there. Payments can be spread throughout the year and once we have numbers, we will be able to send out a final price and a payment schedule.

As lots of schools are now starting to book residential visits for next year, we have provisionally booked the following dates for our visit, however I need to confirm these dates soon. If we have less than 24 children, then one of the dates will not be needed.

Mon 26^th June – Wed 28^th June 2023 (first group)

Mon 3^rd July – Wed 5^th July 2023 (second group)

Wed 5^th July – Fri 7^th July 2023 (third group)

NB – group 1 come home Wednesday lunchtime and group 2 and group 3 swap over on Wednesday lunchtime.

As we are only able to hold our provisional booking for a certain number of days, please can you reply to this email by Monday 18^thJuly 2022 confirming whether or not your child would like a place. When we have confirmed numbers, I will be able to confirm the exact price. I will then send out payment schedules and details of how to pay on Parent Pay.

Please note participation in this trip will be dependent on consistent good behaviour in school.

If you have any initial enquiries, please pop and see Mrs Trotter or email the office and I will answer any questions you might have. Alternatively, I am sure the current Y2 parents would be happy to speak to you at the gate about their experience of the residential.

Kind regards

Mrs Trotter (Y2 teacher and KS1 leader)

11.07.22

Y6 Photograph Plea

Dear Y6 Parents,

Could Mrs Edwards please borrow any photographs of the current Y6 children during their time in school.

Please can these be sent in before Friday.

Many thanks

Hot Dog and Ice Cream Day Monday 18th

Dear Parents,

We will be having a hot-dog and Ice cream day on Monday 18^th July. If you do not wish your child to take part in this activity please let a member of staff know.

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard & Mr. Grayhurst

Toy Day Tuesday 19th

Dear Parents,

We will be having a ‘Toy Day’ in class on Tuesday, the last day of school.

No electronics please, something easy for the children to share and something that isn’t too precious if anything drastic happens to it!

Many thanks

Mrs Pollard and Mr Grayhurst

Y6 Sex Education

Dear Y6 Parents,

We would like to inform you that we will be delivering the ‘Growing and Changing unit’ of the sex and relationships curriculum on Tuesday. We will be covering relationships, the male and female reproductive system, conception and pregnancy. If you do not wish your child to take part in this lesson please let me know so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Kind Regards,

Mrs E Edwards

08.07.22

Y5/6 Lino Printing

Dear Parents,

In our art lessons this half term we have been learning about lino printing. We have created our own lino tiles which we will be using to make prints next week. As this can be quite a messy process and we will be using printing ink, I thought it might be a good idea if our children brought an old t-shirt from home to pop on just in case!

Thank you.

Maggi Brinkley

HLTA/ Art Lead

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Reports

The children’s reports will be given to your children at the end of the day today, please look out for the envelope.

We are proud of all our children, they have all shown good learning behaviours and have really pushed themselves this year. We believe our children couldn’t have worked any harder. We are proud that the Ellis curriculum is about the whole child and that we have been able to give our children amazing experiences again as well as teach key academic skills and knowledge.

If you have any queries regarding the reports, please do not hesitate to ask the teachers, after school is better for a conversation. We would be very grateful if you could fill in the parent’s reply slip for us and return before the Summer holidays.

Residential

Well we have done it!

All residentials are completed thanks to the commitment of Team Ellis. Thank you to the 13 staff who agreed to come away and to all the other staff who helped with what at times was a logistical nightmare in school!

We have taken away 137 children this summer.

83 Y2s Y3s and Y4s to Whirlow and 54 Y5s and Y6s to PGL.

Every Y2 to Y6 child has had the opportunity to go on a residential, no one has missed out because of Covid.

It has all been worth it to see our children smiling and making memories.

Now that’s what I call Covid Catch-Up!

Jean Horner

We are saying farewell to Mrs Horner today. Mrs Horner has been a committed Governor for our school for over twenty years, including being our Chair of Governors. We have invited Mrs Horner to our VIP tea today to celebrate.

Prices increase

Governors are very committed to keeping prices as low as possible at school. However, we are having to increase the price of school lunches and breakfast club from September.

School lunches will be £2.10 per day, this includes a main meal, dessert and unlimited salad bar.

Breakfast club will be £2.65 per session, this includes breakfast and childcare until school starts.

Summer Gala

We are hoping the weather is kind to us for the Hemingfield Summer Gala on the 16^th July 1-4pm at school.

The PTFA are running the Rainbow stall to raise funds for school. We are so very grateful for the wonderful donations we have already had. If anyone wishes to donate anything we can sell, for example bubble bath, toys or chocolates, there is still time to do so, please donate to school by 14^th July.

Classes are having their own colour on the rainbow stall which will look very colourful when it is laid out as a rainbow. Nursery F1 Red

Reception F2 Orange

Y1 Yellow

Y2 Green

Y3 Blue

Y4 Purple

Y5 Pink

Y6 Any colour of the rainbow something with a rainbow on!

Or if you have any brightly coloured objects to donate that is fine too!

IF ANYONE IS AVAILABLE TO HELP HAG AND THE PTFA RUN A STALL for the gala– even for half an hour, please let Mrs Hurding, Mrs Ross or Ian Warhurst know. Thank you.

TRANSITION

Next Tuesday 12^th July and Wednesday 13^th July we are having our two full days of transition.

All of the children will need to go to their new classes in the mornings and be collected from their new classes at the end of the day.

Y1 and Y2s are to arrive for 8.45am via the School Street entrance and are to be collected at 3.15pm.

F2 children are to arrive for 8.50am via the School Street entrance and are to be collected at 3.10pm.

Y3 to Y6 are to arrive at 8.45am via the Garden Grove entrance and are to be collected at 3.15pm -Y3 parents must wait outside the main entrance. Y4 wait at the car park. Y5 and Y6 wait near the brick wall below the garage.

The current Y6 children will be using the ICT suite, hall and the Forest!

Current Y4s and Y6s have a trip to Elsecar Park on Wednesday 13^th July, a previous email has been sent.

MERITS

Every year each class chooses three Merit awards, one for Sports, one for a boy and one for a girl who have excelled in an area. The merit awards assembly will be held on Monday 18^th July at 2pm. Parents will be invited to attend by phone call or text.

This year, in honour of Jean Horner, our retiring Governor, we have set up a ‘Horner Prize’. Each year will be for a different curriculum area. This year it is to celebrate the setting up of Forest school, therefore, the Horner Prize will be for a ‘Forest Adventurer’.

Y6 LEAVERS ASSEMBLY

Tuesday 19^th July we will be celebrating our Y6s time at the Ellis with their leavers assembly. All Y6 parents are invited to come for 1:15pm.

Tuesday the 19^th July is the last day of term.

Children return to school on Monday 5^th September.

Thanks for everyone’s continued support.

I cannot believe we are heading into our last full week this year.

Mrs Hurding

07.07.22

Y6 Bowling and Cinema Trip

Dear Parents,

For our enterprise week treat the children have collectively raised enough money for them to have a bowling party, including an ‘adult sized’ meal and then go to the cinema afterwards to see Minions: The Rise of Gru. The only day we are all available is MONDAY 11^th JULY! So we need to act fast. We are trying to arrange it so that we are back as close to the end of the school day as possible but it may be nearer 4pm.

Apologies it’s a VERY short turn around. Mrs Fiddes will put consent forms on ParentPay as soon as we have booked it all.

Thanks so much

Mrs E

06.07.22

SEND Coffee Morning 21st September 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

As families of children on the SEND register, I would like to invite you to our first coffee and catch up meeting of the new academic year 21st of September at 2.15pm.

We will meet in the hall for tea, coffee and biscuits and have a chance to touch base with how transition into new classes is going, share a Thrive activity together and answer any questions you may have at the start of the new school year.

A further email will be sent in September, but we know it can be helpful to pop dates in the diary sooner. If you have any questions or concerns before this date then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes,

Mrs Wise

SENDCo

05.07.22

‘Mr Egypt’ Day

Dear Y3/4 Parents, (From September)

We are looking forward to welcoming your children into class 3 and 4 next year and we already have exciting activities planned in.

Our first topic will be the Ancient Egyptians: Pharaohs and Pyramids! To help the children understand what life was like in the ancient world, we have booked ‘Mr Egypt’ to come into school on Wednesday 7^th September to deliver a day of fun, learning and understanding.

The whole day will be run by ‘Mr Egypt’ (Philip), who has been an Egyptologist now for 41 years, working and studying the culture of Ancient Egypt. His knowledge and understanding have led him to want children to experience this wonderful land and its ancient inhabitants. He will deliver a full, fun packed day for the children where they will be busy from the minute they enter the building up to the end of the school day. Mr Egypt will let us embark on a journey of discovery starting with Geography and then growing up in Ancient Egypt. We will interactively look at culture, clothing, makeup, food, and there will be dancing, music, games and so much more, even sharing together an Egyptian breakfast.

The cost of the day will be £7 per child. This is payable via ParentPay straightaway but can be paid in instalments to spread the cost. Should not enough money be collected, we will unfortunately have to cancel the day.

Many thanks for your support and we look forward to meeting you and your children later in the term.

The Year 3/4 Team.

01.07.22

Huggy Wuggy E-Safety Alert

Dear Parents,

We are aware that ‘Huggy Wuggy’ toys are being marketed at the moment and are readily available. The toys are innocent but please read the article below so you are aware where the character comes from. Some of the clips form the game are becoming available on YouTube and TikTok, so please continue to monitor what your children are accessing and watching.

The game itself is a scary experience designed to thrill and unsettle. It has been rated as suitable for 13 year-olds by ESRB and for 12 year-olds by PEGI.

https://saferschoolsni.co.uk/huggy-wuggy-online-safety-review/#:~:text=Huggy%20Wuggy%20Warnings&text=The%20Dorset%20Police%20Cyber%20Protection,such%20as%20YouTube%20and%20TikTok.

At the same time we do not want to cause panic, it is important we are aware of what is happening on the internet.

Our understanding at this stage is that our children have the toys but are not playing the game. If your child hasn’t mentioned ‘Huggy Wuggy’ the best plan is not to, if they do mention it stay calm and find out the facts.

THIS INFORMATION I HAVE FOUND IS ALSO USEFUL:

‘⚠️ PARENT ALERT ⚠️

This is Huggy Wuggy – a sinister character that children are coming across online.

Parents are being urged not to let their children watch terrifying TikTok and YouTube videos of the killer teddy.

The bear sings about “hugging and killing” and asks those watching to “take their last breath”.

Police have issued a warning over the character after some kids have been seen recreating the bear’s actions on the playground.

One line says: “I could hug you here forever, til you breathe your last breath together.”

It continues: “My teeth sharp and ready, in my grasp, yeah they’re deadly”.

The blue bear also invites people to “lean in for a spine-breaking embrace”.

For further advice checkout the Safer Schools NI App:

Top Tips for helping your children :

If your child hasn’t mentioned Huggy Wuggy or Poppy Playtime, don’t name it. You may pique their curiosity which in turn could lead to them searching out the content for themselves on platforms they might have access to.

If you hear a child in your care mention Huggy Wuggy, pause and remain calm. It could be that they have overheard conversation about in school or online, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have viewed content or have a full understanding of who Huggy Wuggy is.

Ask them about the content they enjoy watching online, and if anything they’ve seen has ever made them or their friends upset or scared.

If they have seen anything upsetting, reassure them that they are safe. It’s important children know they can come and speak to you without fear of judgement. If necessary, ask them to show you the video or game, and follow appropriate reporting procedures if you are concerned.

If you see content on social media or in the news regarding Huggy Wuggy or Poppy Playtime, think before you share it publicly. It may be more helpful to share a credible article with practical advice privately, e.g. through private messaging.

Use our Trusted Adult Resources to teach young people about the importance of seeking help if something worries or upset them.

If your child is having nightmares or is anxious about something they’ve watched, it’s important to have a conversation about expressing their feelings. You can use our emotions journal to help your child express complex emotions.’

Please contact school if you need any support.

Thanks for your support

Mrs Hurding

County Finals Cricket Wednesday 6th July

Good Afternoon Parents,

Here is a quick reminder regarding the cricket county finals this week.

We will meet at the venue (see below) around 9am ready for games to begin around 9:30am.

VENUE – Hunslet Nelson CC, Leeds, LS11 5TT
DATE – Wednesday 6^th July 2022 (During Curricular Time)
START TIME / GAME TIME – 9:30am – 2:30/3pm

Thank you for letting us know about attendance and transport for your child. (Delaney, Matilda and Isla, please can you be in school for 8am prompt for your lift with Miss Cook and Mrs Connelly).

Children will require a packed lunch on the day and plenty of water. They will need to wear tracksuit bottoms and have a coat to wear if it is cold when spectating. We will provide the children with a school top when playing.

Thanks,

Miss Cook

Y6 Walk to Elsecar Park 13.07.22

Dear Y6 Parents,

On Wednesday 13th of July we would like to take Y6 to Elsecar Park for the day.

We will be walking to the park and having a picnic lunch which your child will need to bring with them. If your child has free school meals, please let Mrs Fiddes know and a packed lunch can be provided by school.

Uniform needs to be worn, along with appropriate footwear. Please ensure that suncream is applied at home if it is a sunny day and pack a shower proof jacket if it looks like there could be showers.

Your child will need to bring a rucksack/bag on the day to carry their lunch and drink.

There will be an opportunity to buy an ice-cream or lolly whilst we are in the park, it will be your child’s responsibility to look after their own money.

Please log on to ParentPay to give your online consent for this trip and pray for a lovely sunny day!

Many thanks,

The Y6 Team

Y4 Walk to Elsecar Park 13.07.22

Dear Y4 Parents,

As part of our transition days, we would like to take Y4 (soon to be Y5) to Elsecar Park on Wednesday 13th of July.

Uniform needs to be worn, along with appropriate footwear. Please ensure that suncream is applied at home if it is a sunny day and pack a shower proof jacket if it looks like there could be showers.

Your child will need to bring a rucksack/bag on the day to carry their lunch and drink.

There will be an opportunity to buy an ice-cream or lolly whilst we are in the park, it will be your child’s responsibility to look after their own money.

Please log on to ParentPay to give your online consent for this trip and pray for a lovely sunny day!

Many thanks,

The soon to be Y5 team!

Y5/6 ‘Real History Alive’ Experience

Dear Y5 and Y6 Parents, (from September)

We are really looking forward to welcoming your child into class 5 and 6 next year, we already have some exciting activities planned in.

We are pleased to let you know that, as part of our History, learning about The Tudors, we have arranged for a workshop run by ‘Real History Alive’ to bring our learning to life and to give the children an interactive experience which they will enjoy and remember. Our visitors will be coming into school on the 15th of September to share an interactive show followed by hands on workshops about Tudor Fashion and Dance and all about Crime and Punishment.

Many thanks for your continued support and we can’t wait to start this interesting topic with the children in September.

The Y5 and Y6 Team

SEND Reviews

Dear Parent/Carer,

As the school year draws to an end and we look forward to the next, we’d like to invite you to meet with your child’s class teacher to review their progress and begin to set targets for the autumn term.

Please speak to your child’s class teacher to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

SENDCo

29.06.22

Parking Grumbles

Dear Parents,

PARKING

We know parking at drop off and collection is a constant pressure for everyone and that traffic in the area is increasing.

Please remember if you are late we will always wait with your children. If you are late in the morning, please bring children to the front desk. We have sadly had further complaints from neighbours whose cars have been blocked in and they have been unable to get out of their driveways. Please be considerate to all our community when you park your cars.

If you are parked up and waiting for school to open, please wait in your cars rather than with doors open, as this impacts on traffic flow. We continue to recommend parking a 5 minute walk away from school. This is healthier for us, kinder to the environment and supports the overcrowding around school during these crucial times. We need the environment to be as safe as possible for our children.

Let’s continue to help keep everyone safe during our busy times.

Thank you for your support. We are delighted school is so busy, our school numbers have increased and attendance continues to improve.

Mrs Hurding

28.06.22

Tri Golf Competition 01.07.22

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Tri Golf Competition at Birdwell Primary School on Friday (1st July). The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish around 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:50pm. Mrs Connelly and Mrs Fiddes will transport the children to and from the event.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms and trainers and will be given a school shirt to compete in. As the event will be held outdoors, your child will need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating. Please also remember their water bottle on the day.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them.

The cost of the trip will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant and therefore your child requires no money for the event.

The Extra Curriculum Sporting Event consent form will be used for this trip so no further permission is required.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

Parent Governor Ballot Result

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to announce the result of the Parent Governor Ballot.

Mark Farnsworth is our new Parent Governor and he will be a real asset to The Ellis. We were lucky to have three excellent candidates for the Parent Governor role, this shows us what a wonderful supportive community we have at The Ellis.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hurding

Y2 Summer Reading Recommendations

Dear Parents,

Book Titles

My VIPERS group have just finished our final book for the year entitled ‘Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure’ and we have absolutely LOVED IT!

The children were desperate to find out if there are other books in the series – which there are. If you are looking for a good summer read to keep your child engaged in reading over the summer, I can recommend the others books in the series (please see the attached images). They are reasonably priced at roughly £5.94 for a good meaty book. I suggested that they could do some jobs around the house for you and maybe earn some money to buy one! Or I suspect that the local libraries may have copies. Amazon also do very quick delivery!

Happy summer reading!

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

Year 1 Curriculum Evening Monday 11th July

Dear FS2 Parents,

I would like to invite you to a Curriculum evening on Monday 11^th July at 5pm.

This meeting will be covering all the information you will need for your child to move from Foundation Stage into Year 1 smoothly. There will be information about expectations, home learning, routines and curriculum etc. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and hopefully address any issues you may have regarding the transition. Please could you email Mrs Fiddes to let her know if you are interested in attending the meeting.

Kind regards

Mrs D Broadbent

Year 1 Teacher

27.06.22

Y5 Puberty Talk

Dear Parents/Carers,

As part of our PSHE curriculum, we have a responsibility to educate our children about puberty. Therefore, as part of our PSHE work we will be having a talk and completing some work on puberty which will be delivered by myself.

This will take place over the next few Mondays. There will be a general talk to all pupils and then the boys and girls will have separate sessions dealing with issues specifically aimed at them. We will be using our PSHE scheme to help with the delivery.

If you do not wish your child to take part in this work, please could you email Mrs Fiddes.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Jaques

Y5 Class Teacher

County Finals Cricket Wednesday 6th July

Dear Parent,

As a result of winning the District Cricket finals we now have a confirmation date for the County finals.

The format will be a group stage with all schools participating in a minimum of 3 games each. This will then progress to later rounds leading up to a final to determine a winner. Please note that registration is from 9:00am with play beginning at 9:30am and the finish time will be approximately 3:30pm.

Information on the venue is below:

VENUE – Hunslet Nelson CC, Leeds, LS11 5TT
DATE – Wednesday 6^th July 2022 (During Curricular Time)
REGISTRATION – 9:00am
START TIME / GAME TIME – 9:30am – 2:30/3pm

We would love for you to be able to come and support your child. Please let Mrs Fiddes know if you can provide transport or if you are unable to transport your child so we can ensure everyone can get there.

Please can you arrive at the venue as close to 9am as possible. Children and adults will need a packed lunch on the day along with water bottles and PE kits.

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

Themed Carnival Menu

Dear Parents and Staff,

The kitchen will be offering a delicious themed menu on Friday 15th July – please see the attached. Carnival Menu

If your child would like to order this, we would really appreciate it if you could take the time to log on to ParentPay and pre-order. This will help the kitchen to know numbers for ordering the produce. Let’s face it, we need to make sure there are enough doughnuts!

Thanks,

Hayley

24.06.22

Young Voices 3rd Feb 2023

Dear Parent/Carer,

It seems like two minutes since we got back, but I have just received the date for our 2023 Young Voice event! With this in mind, we would like to offer the children in Key Stage 2 (Y3 – Y6) the opportunity to take part in “Young Voices” which is a concert for primary school children. It involves over 1 million children all over the country and is quite simply – awesome! Our school has been part of it for the past 12 years and it is an event which children in Year 6 often refer to as one of their lasting memories from their time at The Ellis.

The concert we will be taking part in is at Sheffield Arena on Friday 3^rd February 2023 at 7.00pm. Before then there is a lot to do! We will practise the songs and the dance moves one lunchtime each week from October onwards and will send lyrics home for the children to begin learning the songs as soon as I receive the music pack (which is usually just before the summer break).

There is no cost for your child to take part in Young Voices. The children will be transported to and from the concert by coach which will be funded by school. On the day of the concert, children will take part in an afternoon rehearsal at the arena and will be required to bring a packed tea. Staff will then bring the children back to school after the concert. (A letter with further details outlining all the arrangements will be sent out nearer the time).

You will be able to buy tickets for the concert (last year they were £20 each but we do not have the price yet for this year and the price is set by Young Voices, not school). The children need either a plain white T-shirt or a ‘Young Voices’ T-shirt (this year they are £15 for the t-shirt bundle). Once we have received permission via email, we will send out order forms for tickets and t-shirts. Please note, there is no obligation to buy either of these. Tickets ordered through school will be allocated seats together; however parents are welcome to purchase tickets directly from the arena right up until the concert date (although these will not necessarily be near parents from our school and cost more than ordering through school). I like to prewar about the ticket price as when they do go on sale straight after the summer holidays we have to order quickly so that they don’t sell out so I often end up asking for full payment of tickets with only a couple of weeks’ notice, hence I am giving everyone plenty of advanced warning!

You can find out more on the website www.youngvoices.co.uk where there is a dedicated Parents section.

Final choir numbers are needed before 30^th September so if you would like your child to take part please respond as soon as possible, before we break up for the summer. We have 63 places available this year as we have booked a larger coach. Please could everybody respond via email to Mrs Fiddes to ensure places are allocated fairly and names are kept on a list in one place.

Before replying, we ask that you speak to your child and explain that they are making a commitment to attend one lunchtime practise every week from October up until the concert date. We have sometimes ended up with a waiting list of children who desperately want to do Young Voices and then have other children who have been given a place, but a few weeks in drop out as they do not want to miss their lunchtime playtime. We welcome everyone, but do ask that you check that your child genuinely wants to be involved in Young Voices and will show this by turning up once a week to a lunchtime rehearsal willingly.

Thank you and we look forward to starting rehearsals in October. We will send out a confirmation letter for those who have a place and a photocopy of the words so they can get started learning them over the summer holidays!

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Trotter (KS1 lead and music co-ordinator)

Final Whirlow Reminders

Dear Y2 Parents,

So we are now only 5 days away from our first group leaving! We are getting very excited in class! I just thought I would send out this email with a summary of the key things which children need as I know it has been a while since we had our meeting.

Sleeping bag
Pillowcase
Clothes in suitcase or bag they can carry
At least 2 pairs of shoes (one which they can get wet in the water, this could be wellies, old trainers or water shoes and another for the rest of the time)
An extra pair of trousers and socks they can take to Forge Dam for when they inevitably get wet in 10cm depth of water!
Coat in case of rain
Sun cream and sun hat if temperatures continue as they are
Rucksack or bag to carry their picnic lunch in for the day trip to Forge Dam
Water bottle to carry around during the day
Packed lunch for the first day (unless ordered from school already)
Any medication or inhalers in a bag clearly named
£3 spending money (optional) in a bag clearly named
NO electronic devices or mobile phones please
A FEW sweets (optional – please do not send masses!)

It is really important on their return day that you either order their required school lunch online or bring a packed lunch up to school. We need this to help the kitchen and it saves Mrs Fiddes having to ring round all the parents to see what their child would like. We would hate to bring tired, hungry children back to school in time for lunch only to find that they haven’t had a meal ordered. Thank you

Arrangements for drop off and collection day

On the day of your child’s residential, please could you bring your child with their suitcase round to the main entrance where a member of staff will be waiting for them by the disabled parking bays. You can either access this through the large gates on Garden Grove or come up the path next to the pond from School Street and follow the path past nursery. On Wed 29^th June and Mon 4^th July Mrs Trotter will be the member of staff waiting and on Wed 6^th July it will be Mrs Andrews. This way we can collect in any medicines and can then take the children straight into the hall and sort them out, rather than going into class and the cloakrooms getting blocked up with lots of suitcases. If your child is in breakfast club, please just take their suitcase into the hall at 8am and we will collect the children at 8:45am and keep them with the residential group until it is time to leave.

On the day of their return, as previously mentioned, children will be allowed to be picked up at 1:15pm onwards and will still receive their afternoon mark. Please come to the main entrance to Mrs Fiddes and we will bring your child and their suitcase to you. If you are collecting at 3:15pm as normal, we will bring the children out to the ordinary little gate outside FS2 with their suitcase.

So all that remains for me to say is I hope you have a lovely weekend and I can’t wait for our Whirlow Adventures to begin next week!

Kind Regards

Mrs Trotter

Y2 Spellings

Dear Parents,

All Rec Y1 Y2 word grids

Just a quick email to update you on spellings for the rest of this year.

We have currently covered all of the units for this year and our upcoming Whirlow adventures will mean that children are in and out of school on different days. Therefore, I will not be setting weekly spellings. Please use the remaining weeks and summer to go over any of the FS2/Y1/Y2 high frequency words and the Y1/Y2 common exception words on the lists attached. Knowing as many of these by heart before moving into KS2 is really important. I have also sent home physical copies of the list today so you can have them out to see.

Thank you for your support this year with our weekly spellings.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

23.06.22

Y6 Enterprise Week

Dear Parents,

Your child may have already mentioned that as part of their learning we are holding an enterprise week this half term. This is an ‘IKIC style’ learning opportunity where the children create and run a business in small groups or independently. There are several prizes and awards on offer to recognise the hard work of the children and the profits we make will be used to pay for an experience before the end of the school year.

I have already introduced the project to the children and they have decided their business ideas and ordered their raw materials. I know some children have already started making their products however, next week is our official enterprise week so please do not panic if you weren’t aware of this yet. Pupils will be selling from Tuesday to Friday and some may request that they can stay after school to run their stalls, these will close at 3:30pm.

The children can choose to run their business outside of school if they wish, however, there will be many selling opportunities next week in school so this is not a requirement of the project.

To get the businesses started school has offered each team an investment of £10 for each team. If you have already bought materials/ingredients you must ensure your child keeps a record of what has been spent so that it can be paid back from any earnings. It is not compulsory for parents to contribute, so please don’t worry if you can’t. One of the key aims of the project is to help children handle real life situations and problem solving such as budgeting and making decisions around money.

The last time we did IKIC, we had some very successful teams and we raised a significant amount of money for the class to spend on making some amazing end of Y6 memories. I will be in touch again once I know what the celebratory event will be.

If, at any time during the project, you have any questions please don’t hesitate to pop in and see me or email school.

Kind Regards

Mrs E Edwards

Italian Tasting Week

Dear FS Parents,

As part of our themed ‘Italy’ week, this Friday our children will have the opportunity to taste pizza, garlic bread and ice cream.

If you would prefer that your child does not take part, please inform your child’s class teacher.

Thank you

Mrs Pollard

22.06.22

PGL Information

Hi Everyone,

It’s finally PGL week!

I thought I’d send you an email with a few reminders and hopefully answer any last minute queries.

First of all, if you still need to meet with me regarding any medical issues could you please do so asap. If your child needs medication please ensure it is clearly labelled and in a separate bag which needs to be handed to a member of staff directly on Friday morning.

Money- Please remember there is a £10 limit on spending money. We will have one slot to visit the shop so to help it go smoothly, could you send the money in a named purse/wallet and ensure it is handed to a member of staff on Friday morning. This will be kept safe until it is needed.

Electricals and Phones- Please remember these are NOT PERMITTED.

Snacks- Just a reminder that PGL is a NUT FREE site so please don’t send your child with any snacks containing nuts.

Sleeping- Your child will need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow (these can be in a separate bag to your child’s case if needed but please make sure your child can carry them).

Towels- Towels are not provided by PGL so please ensure your child has 2- one for showering and I’d recommend an old one to take when we do the raft building.

Twitter-

As we know you will want to see what your child is up to, we will be tweeting all weekend. Tweets will come from 3 different accounts: @theellisprimary, @The Ellis_Y6 and @TheEllisY5. However please bear with us as certain parts of the site have limited signal so tweets may be updated later in the day (usually at meal times as the signal is best near the reception where the food hall is).

I will tweet from The Ellis account when we are setting off back and also with any traffic updates to try and make the pick-up process as smooth as possible. I am anticipating that we will arrive back at school between 3pm and half past 3pm but this is dependent on traffic.

Friday-

Your child does not need to come in uniform, please send them ready for PGL activities. Please bring your child and their suitcase to the Y6 area for the normal time on Friday. Mrs Edwards and the PGL team will be there to collect money and medication. We will also make a note of how many bags your child has (and note the colour/brand) so that we can check we’re bringing the same back from the centre. This can be a slow process but we thank you in advance for your patience with this. I would recommend sending your child’s water bottle and packed lunch in a rucksack so that it is easy for them to find as well as we will have lunch and then be heading straight on to activities when we arrive.

I would like to ask that parents say their goodbyes as soon as we have completed the bag checks and not stay to wave off the coach as we will be able to settle the children more quickly and ensure our nervous travellers are ok.

Please make sure children have had any travel sickness pills or that instructions have been given to staff with a time to administer.

I will tweet from the coach when we set off and also when we arrive on the centre.

Sunday-

We are hoping to be back at school between 3 and 3:30pm but we are reliant on traffic being kind to us. When we return to school we will need to fully unload the coach and ensure each child is reunited with their belongings. Again, this can be a slow process and I know you will be desperate to get your child back but please do not go until you have been ticked off the list by a member of staff.

Monday-

We are sure the children will be tired out from the weekend’s events (probably the staff too!) however we understand that they may be very tired on Monday morning. With this in mind, we are offering the option of a slightly delayed start and will only mark a child as late if they arrive after 10:30am.

As I said in the meeting, thank you for trusting us to take your child to PGL- it really is such a valuable experience and I’m sure they will come home with lots of happy memories and maybe some very silly songs!

Please get in touch with me if you do have any other questions,

Mrs Edwards

21.06.22

Visit to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster

Dear Parents,

Our Key Stage 1 topic this half term is ‘Go Wild’ and we will be learning all about animals and habitats. We would like to take the Year 1 children on a school trip to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, in Doncaster on Friday 15^th July.

The visit will provide the children with lots of opportunities to develop their knowledge of animals and their habitats, interdependence and adaptation. The children will love learning about the animals and it will be a lovely end to a busy year.

There is a lot more information on their website, should you wish to read more about the Yorkshire Wildlife Park visit https://www.yorkshirewildlifepark.com/

The coach company we will be using is Beewise which will leave school at 8:55am prompt and is expected to return to school by 3:10pm ready for home time. Please make sure your child is at school ready for registration at 8:45am. If your child suffers from travel sickness we would suggest that tablets are taken before school. There will be 6 staff accompanying the children.

The cost will be £18.75 per pupil, this includes entry into the park and the coach. We must point out that if insufficient money is collected, the trip will have to be cancelled. Payment will be via ParentPay, this will be put on later tonight or tomorrow. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties covering the cost of the trip, please contact Mrs Hurding.

Please ensure school uniform is worn on the day with suitable footwear for a mixture of outdoor and indoor activities along with a light waterproof coat, sunhat and a bottle of water. Sun cream can be applied on the morning of the visit in case of hot weather and travel sickness pills can be taken prior to school for those children who suffer. A packed lunch will be required. As part of the Universal Infant Free School Meals, packed lunches can be provided by school but must be ordered with Mrs Fiddes prior to the trip or alternatively brought from home.

£5 spending money will be allowed for the trip. Please make sure this is in a named envelope.

We are looking forward to a fantastic day out!

Kind regards

Mrs Broadbent and the Year 1 Team

17.06.22

F2 Starter Information

Home info for parents to complete

Dear Parents/Carers,

Following on from my previous email regarding starting school, we would like to invite you for an afternoon visit to school on Monday 11^th July from 1pm-3pm. This will be in addition to your child’s full day transition visits on Tuesday 12^th and Wednesday 13^th July.

On the day of the visit, please bring your child to the main entrance at 1pm where you will be greeted by our school secretary Mrs Fiddes who will bring you round to our F2 classroom. You will be able to stay with your child until 1.45pm during which time you will have the opportunity to see our learning environment as well as meeting both myself and our F2 Teaching Assistant Mrs Beevers. You will also have the chance to ask any questions and share any key information that we may need to know about your child. Could you please also complete the two page attachment and bring it with you to your visit or drop it into Mrs Fiddes beforehand.

By 1.45pm we hope that you feel happy enough to leave your child for a short period of time so that they can meet and play with some of children from our school Nursery who will also be moving in to F2 in September. To avoid the home-time rush at the end of the school day, please arrive back at 3pm to collect your child at the main entrance. Both myself and Mrs Beevers will be there to greet you.

We hope that you are able to join us and we are looking forward to meeting you.

Kind regards,

Mr D Grayhurst

EYFS Teacher

16.06.22

PGL Residential Trip Information

Dear Parents,

Just an update regarding PGL-

I have now received the provisional activity itinerary. PGL will try and stick to this, however, due to staffing it may change slightly whilst we are on site.

Our activities are as follows:

Trapeze

All Aboard

Abseiling

Vertical Challenge

Raft Building*

Sensory Trail

Passport to the World

Capture the Flag

*Please note your child will get wet during the raft building task and they will be advised to remove glasses (if possible) to avoid them getting lost in the water.

Our evening entertainment will be:

Quiz Show and Snap Shot

These events are fantastic and give children an opportunity to succeed at something.

Please don’t forget to see me prior to the trip if your child has a medical need that we haven’t already discussed.

Just one week to go… The staff and I can’t wait!

Emily Edwards

Sports Week Events

Dear Parents,

Over the next few days we have some very exciting sporting events happening in school. Here is a list of all events happening and key information for children and parents.

Friday 17^th June – Scotty’s Heroes are bringing giant inflatables into school. Children need to be in comfortable uniform, trainers and socks. All classes from Y1-Y6 will have the opportunity to take part.

Monday 20^th June – Sports Day for Y1-Y6. Children can come to school in PE kits and remain in them all day.

Parents are welcome to spectate and refreshments (tea/coffee, cold drinks and ice pops) will be on sale throughout the day. Please make your way to the field through the main entrance and use the gate near the bins.

Provisional Timings are:

Years 1/2 – 9am – 10:30am
Years 3/4 – 10:30am – 12pm
Years 5/6 – 1pm – 2:45pm

Tuesday 21^st June:

Foundation Stage Sports Day – Children can come to school in PE kits and remain in them for the duration of the day.

4:30pm-6:30pm – Bear Grylls night (Outdoor Education Evening). Children can come in clothing suitable for playing outdoors. We had lots of interest for this evening and all places have now been allocated.

Wednesday 22^nd June:

Soccer Aid – Children can come to school in sports wear including football kits. We are asking for a £1 donation. Children will have the opportunity to take part in an obstacle course throughout the day. Buns will also be on sale.

If any parents would like to take part then you can come to the playground with your child before or after school on Wednesday and pay £1 to take part on the course. Children can help design the course. Any designs need to be given to Mrs Beever by Monday 20^th June.

Y6 Walk to Wentworth – Y6 children are to come in uniform on this day as they will be going on a trip for the day, but they will have opportunity to take part in the Soccer Aid obstacle course before they go. They will do this in their uniform.

2:45pm – Guest Speaker in assembly for all children.

Monday 4^th July – Cricket session for all children from FS2-Y6 – more information to follow at a later date.

I hope this helps clarify all the events happening during Sports Week and hope the children are as excited as I am. Let’s just pray the beautiful weather continues.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/Y3 Teacher

15.06.22

Local Offer Live Week : Direct Invite to parents/carers

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to share the following email. Thank you.

Sent on behalf of Family Information Service

Good Morning,

Please forward the following information to all parents and carers

Families Information Service (part of BMBC) is holding Local Offer Live Week from Monday 20th to Saturday 25th June 2022.

This is a week-long showcase with many events about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). If you are a parent, carer, or family member of a young person with SEND, this week is for you!

There are lots of free events to get involved with to help you understand the SEND services and support available in Barnsley. Plus fun FREE family centre activities for the whole family

Some are drop-in sessions, and some you need to book via the Local Offer Website

The week of events kicks off with ‘Market Place Monday’ on Monday 20^th June 2022 @ Priory Campus, Lundwood 10am – 6pm

To view the full timetable, book events and for more information visit:

https://barnsley.cloud.servelec-synergy.com/Synergy/Local_Offer/LocalOfferLiveLandingPage.aspx

Or follow Barnsley SEND Local Offer on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/barnsleysendlocaloffer

Thanks!

Gemma Cosgrave

Family Involvement and Information Officer (Disabled Children & Young People)

Early Start and Family Services

Education, Early Start & Prevention

People Directorate

Tel: 0800 0345 340

Email: Infofis@barnsley.gov.uk

14.06.22

Y6 Walk to Wentworth

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday 22^nd June, Y6 will be going on an art walk. We will walk to Elsecar Heritage Centre, into Elsecar Park and then on to Wentworth where we will eat lunch. On our walk we will be making numerous stops to sketch a variety of interesting objects and views.

We will leave school at 9:30am and will return for 15:10pm. Your child will need a packed lunch, if your child has free school meals, please let Mrs Fiddes know and a packed lunch can be provided by school. Uniform needs to be worn, along with appropriate footwear. Please ensure that suncream is applied at home before school if it is a sunny day and pack a shower proof jacket if it looks like there could be showers.

Your child will need to bring a rucksack/bag on the day to carry their lunch and also their art equipment.

There will be an opportunity to buy an ice-cream or lolly whilst we are in Wentworth, it will be your child’s responsibility to look after their own money.

Please log on to ParentPay to give your online consent for this trip and pray for a lovely sunny day!

Maggi Brinkley

HLTA/ Art Lead

13.06.22

Foundation Stage Coffee Morning 1st July 9-10:15am

Dear Parents,

We will be holding a Summer coffee morning on Friday 1^st July, 9:00am-10:15am to which all family members are invited.

If you would like to attend please make your way into the school hall via the main school entrance after you have dropped your child off in class. Afternoon children are invited to attend the morning session on this day so that they can also be part of this celebration event (please let Mrs. Pollard know if you wish for your child to attend the morning session instead of the afternoon session).

Doors will open at approximately 9am.This will give you ample opportunity to get your tea, coffee and cakes and purchase the gifts your child has made in class before the children come in to sing (approximately 9:30am). Raffle tickets will also be on sale.

The children will be brought into the hall by staff at approximately 9:30am to sing some songs on stage. You will be able to video and take photographs of your child but please remember not to upload any to social media if they contain images of other children.

Nursery children can be picked up from outside nursery after the event if parents wish, however, nursery is still open as usual.

F2 children will remain in school for the remainder of the day.

All proceeds from this coffee morning will be spent purchasing new equipment to enhance our outdoor learning environment.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher.

We look forward to seeing you there,

Foundation Stage Team

09.06.22

Y5 Forest School

Dear Y5 Parents,

Our children will be having the exciting opportunity to learn in Forest School with Miss Batley this half term on Monday afternoons. Half the class will join Miss Batley each week, so your child will be in the forest every other week. Your child will know which group they are in.

Please ensure your child has suitable footwear and clothing for the weather (waterproof or sunhat depending on how the weather is).

Many thanks

Mrs Jaques

08.06.22

Y4/5 Curriculum Swimming Lessons

Your child’s module of Curriculum swimming lessons is due to begin next term. Please look out for the Parental Consent Form that is being sent home tonight. This will need to be completed and returned as soon as possible please so we can send them to the swimming baths before we break up for Summer. Thank you.

Swimming sessions begin on Friday 9th September 2022 for 7 weeks until Friday 21^st October. We will then break up for October half term and the swimming lessons will recommence on Friday 4^th November for a further 5 weeks until Friday 2nd December 2022.

Your child will need to bring a swimming bag containing:

Swimming costume or trunks

Girls should have a one piece bathing suit, no Bikinis or Tankinis.

Boys should wear swimming shorts, but these should be tight fitting and should not be longer than the middle of the thigh.

Bath towel

Swimming Cap (for all children)

Goggles (optional, however, not advised unless for medical reasons, eg. Prescription goggles).
Jewellery No jewellery can be worn. This includes earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc.
Ear Piercing. Any children who have their ears pierced in the 12 week programme will not be allowed to attend lessons unless they take the earrings out.

If your child does not have a swimming cap, please send £2 in a labelled envelope on the day to purchase one at the centre. All monies should be handed to reception before registration.

Any medication your child may require, such as asthma medication, will be taken to the pool. Please ensure that, if your child has asthma, a spare reliever inhaler is available for them to use during the school day, by leaving one with our office staff.

Parents are not allowed to come along to spectate during the swimming lessons.

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact the following individuals:

Anne Thacker/ Course Coordinator

annethacker@pfpleisure.org

01709 870120

Karen Ann Parker/Place maker

karenannparker@pfpleisure.org

01709 870120

New F2 Starter Letter

Dear Parent/Carers,

We are delighted that your child has been offered a place at our school for September 2022 and we are very much looking forward to working with you. With this in mind, we are currently making plans to offer transition visits for all our children before the Summer holidays so that they can meet both Mr Grayhurst, the class teacher and Mrs Beevers, the teaching assistant.

Your child will have two full transition visits on Tuesday 12^th July and Wednesday 13^th July. On this day your child will need to come straight to their new classroom using the F2 entrance door which can be located at the top of the path from School Street. Mr Grayhurst will be waiting to greet the children and take them inside. The drop off time is 8:55am and the pick-up time at the end of the day is 3:10pm. Your child will also have the option of staying for a school meal on both of these days and we encourage you to take this up as school meals are free until your child turns 7 years of age. You will need to let us know your child’s meal order for each of these days by contacting Mrs Fiddes in the office directly via email h.fiddes@theellis.org or via telephone on the number at the top of this letter.

The menu choices are:

Tuesday

Vegetarian korma with rice and a naan bread

Macaroni cheese and a crusty roll

Jacket potato with a choice of hot and cold fillings.

Angel delight, fruit or yoghurt.

Wednesday

Roast gammon with pineapple, roast potatoes, carrots and cauliflower

Southern style burger in a bun

Assorted sandwiches

Cookie, fruit or yoghurt.

Your child is welcome to bring a packed lunch instead of ordering a school meal.

You will also be able to attend a new Parent’s Meeting in school on Monday 4^th July at 5pm. This will be hosted by Mr Grayhurst, our Early Years Leader, Mrs Pollard, our Nursery teacher and our F2 teaching assistant Mrs Beevers. This meeting will consist of a short presentation about key information about the ‘Reception Year’ including daily routines, the provision we have on offer and our Early Years Curriculum.

We will also offer an additional afternoon session where our new children, who are currently at a different nursery setting, can visit with their parents, details about this afternoon visit will be sent out in a separate letter in the next couple of weeks. We will also offer further transition days for all children at the start of the new academic year to help them settle in to school after the long Summer holiday. Our plan of action is as follows:

On Monday 5^th September our children who are totally new to our school (who previously attended a different nursery setting) will be able to attend school for the day. Parents will receive a personal letter inviting them to come into school with their child for a specific time in the morning. Parents will be able to stay for 10 minutes to see the provision and ask staff any questions and children will be able to stay for the whole school day until collection time at 3:10pm.
On Tuesday 6^th September a group of our children who previously attended The Ellis nursery will be invited into school for the day. Parents will receive a personal letter inviting them to come into school with their child for a specific time in the morning. Parents will be able to stay for 10 minutes to see the provision and ask staff any questions and children will be able to stay for the rest of the day.
On Wednesday 7^th September the remaining group of our children who previously attended The Ellis Nursery will be invited into school for the day and you will receive a personal letter with a specific time to come into school.
Please note that for that those three consecutive dates your child will only attend school for one day as this will allow all children and parents to have a transition visit for a day. All children will begin full-time from Thursday 8^th September 2022 onwards.

A few additional pieces of information

ParentPay

If you are unfamiliar with our online payment system, ParentPay, you will be issued with a username and a password once your child has started. This will enable you to access your child’s own personal account in order to pay for trips etc. Menus are uploaded onto ParentPay for you to look at and help your child choose their lunch each week.

School Uniform

If you wish to purchase school uniform with our school logo on, this is ordered online from Vortex using the following link. www.vortexschoolwear.co.uk/Primary-Schools/The-Ellis-CE-Primary-School

School uniform does not need to be worn on transition days before the start of school in September.

Illness

If your child has been unwell and requires medicine when they are well enough to return to school, we are insured to administer antibiotics if they have been prescribed to be given four times a day only. Please complete a form at the office.

Milk

School Milk UK is the provider of school milk at our school. The process of ordering and paying for your child’s milk is quick and easy and you can pay for each term (3 times a year) or for the full academic year September – July. If you would like your child to enjoy milk at school as a snack, you can register on-line at www.schoolmilkuk.co.uk. Once you have registered, there is no need to register again. Please note that you should only register if you need to pay for your child’s milk. If you are in receipt of benefits, please speak to the school office as milk may be free for your child and school will also receive extra funding.

Milk is free until the beginning of the term in which your child turns five. Please see below for a list of dates:

Autumn 01.09.22 to 16.12.22 If your child’s 5^th birthday is within these dates you should pay for all three terms.

Spring 17.12.22 to 31.03.23 If your child’s 5^th birthday is within these dates you should pay for Spring & Summer terms.

Summer 01.04.23 to 21.07.23 If your child’s 5^th birthday is within these dates you should pay for the Summer term.

If your child’s 5^th birthday is after the 22nd July 2023, then milk is free for the entire school year.

Snacks

Fruit is provided free for your child to enjoy as a mid-morning snack.

Jewellery

Our jewellery policy is that children are allowed to wear a watch and one pair of single stud earrings through the earlobe only. No other piercings are permissible. Pupils are asked to remove all of their jewellery for PE. If your child is unable to remove their jewellery by themselves please do not send them into school on PE days with earrings in.

We look forward to meeting you very soon. In the meantime, we have provided you with a copy of our ‘Welcome to F2’ booklet that provides you with an overview of key information about F2. However, if you have any questions or concerns then please do not hesitate contacting school and we will be happy to help in any way that we can.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr D Grayhurst & Mrs C Beever

EYFS Teacher Teaching Assistant

Ellis Information

Dear All,

We hope you had a good half term break and enjoyed the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Last half term

I can’t believe we are now heading into Mrs H’s last half term at The Ellis. I am beyond proud of the incredible school the Ellis has become and Team Ellis will continue the amazing journey. Mrs Hurding is working hard with Mrs Edwards to ensure everything is left raring to go in September. Mrs Edwards will be a fantastic Acting Head for The Ellis.

NEW STICKERS

We are delighted with the additions to school that bring our Curriculum alive. We now have a Rainbow Values board at the entrance and a fantastic timeline that goes around the length of the hall as well as a World Map and Great Britain Map showing us where Hemingfield is. The children are already knowing more and remembering more through the discussions we are having.

SUMMER GALA SATURDAY 16^th July

HAG and the PTFA had a fantastic planning meeting this morning and the Summer Gala is going to be a wonderful celebration for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and for the community. The event is running from 1pm to 4pm.

We hope as many families as possible are able to come to celebrate with us.

There will be plenty of food, drinks and games to play. We definitely have some alpacas coming to join us too.

There will be a ‘design a garden tray’ competition if any of the children would like to enter, just bring the garden tray to the event with a clear label on as to who has made it.

School is going to run a RAINBOW Stall so it would be fantastic if families could donate a gift of your classes colour e.g bubble bath, toys or chocolates, anything that will sell. It will look a very colourful stall when it is all laid out as a RAINBOW.

Nursery F1 Red

Reception F2 Orange

Y1 Yellow

Y2 Green

Y3 Blue

Y4 Purple

Y5 Pink

Y6 Any colour of the rainbow something with a rainbow on!

Or if you have any brightly coloured objects to donate that is fine too!

Alongside HAG we will also be running the TOMBOLA stall – so any prizes that we can use for this will be gratefully received.

We are also jointly running a raffle so if anyone has any connections with businesses where we could get vouchers or raffle prizes that would be amazing too.

But most of all WE NEED YOU! To run the GALA we need lots of adult help so if you can help for an hour or so on the day please let either Mrs H, Karen Ross or Ian Warhurst (Booits) know ASAP please so we can work out how many games etc we can run.

Also if anyone has any spare Jubilee decorations we could reuse that would be fantastic too.

COULD WE HAVE THE DONATIONS BY 15^th JULY

Thank you for your support we think it will be a great afternoon out.

SUMMER 2 DATES

EVENT	DATE
Sports Day KS1 and KS2	20^th June Years 1/2 – 9:00am – 10:30am Years 3/4 – 10:30am – 12:00 Years 5/6 – 1:00pm – 2:45pm
Foundation Sports day	21^st June – 9-15am – 10.15am
PGL residential – Y5/6	24^th June – 26^th June
Y2 Whirlow trips	between 29^th June and 8^th July
Summer GALA	16^th July 1pm – 4pm
Merits Awards	18^th July afternoon
Y6 Leavers assembly	Afternoon 19^th July
last day of the Summer term	Tuesday 19^th July
Return to school	Monday 5^th September

Mrs Hurding

07.06.22

Election of Parent Governor

Dear F2-Y6 Parents,

ELECTION OF PARENT GOVERNOR TO THE GOVERNING BODY

A parent governor vacancy has arisen on the School Governing Body.

Parent governor election letter and nomination form June 2022

If you are interested in taking up this position please ensure that the attached nomination form is completed as indicated and returned to the school by the date and time shown. If you would prefer a paper copy of the nomination form, please contact the school office.

Thank you

After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

Here is the list of our clubs that will be running from next week. All clubs run straight after school until 4:20pm.

As the weather is improving, clubs may be outdoors, so please ensure your child brings appropriate sports kit for either inside or outside.

If your child will not be attending the club one week, please inform us to avoid any confusion and also so we can make sure they do not get changed at the end of the school day. Thank you.

Monday

(June 13^th, 20^th, 27^th, July 4^th, 11^th)

KS1 (Y1/2) Multi Sports Free of charge with a coach from Complete Coaching Solutions

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Tuesday

(June 14^th, 21st, 28^th, July 5^th, 12^th)

Y4/5 Athletics Free of charge with a coach from Complete Coaching Solutions

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Wednesday

(June 15^th, 22nd, 29^th, July 6^th, 13^th)

Y3/4 Cricket Free of charge run by coaches following the ‘Chance to Shine’ programme

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Wednesday

(June 15^th, 22nd, 29^th, July 6^th, 13^th)

F2/Y1 Footie Stars, £2.50 paid to coach Adrian on the night

Attendees continuing from last half term.

Thursday

(June 16^th, 23rd, 30^th, July 7^th, 14^th)

Y2/3 Athletics Free of charge with Dan from The Active Club

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Thursday

(June 16^th, 23rd, 30^th, July 7^th, 14^th)

Y5 Lego Club Free of charge with Mrs Willis

Lego club is a great way to showcase your imaginative and creative side whilst also developing your social skills. There are a maximum of 15 places available.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Y3 Teacher & Wider Curriculum Lead

Cricket Event 10.06.22

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child’s class has been selected to represent the school in a cricket competition at Rockingham on Friday 10th June 2022. The event will start at 1pm and will finish for 3:00pm. Children should arrive back at school around 3:20pm.

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:30pm.

Children will travel to and from the venue via Beewise Coaches. Unfortunately due to space constraints, parents are not allowed to attend the event.

Your child will need to bring suitable trainers, their PE kit, a drink of water, a bag for their belongings and suitable clothing to wear when not participating. If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them. The cost of the trip will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant and therefore your child requires no money for the event.

As we are able to use the annual extra-curricular consent form for this type of trip no additional consent is required.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

27.05.22

Y3/4 Parents Whirlow Update

Dear Parents,

So we did it! 53 children to and from Whirlow in 4 days! What an adventure we all had! It was so wonderful to see our Y3 and Y4 children blossom and grow during their time there and I am sure they will be very ready to take on a 2 night residential when they get into UKS2! I think many would have stayed a few more nights if we had let them! The children were a credit to you all and I hope the memories they made keep them smiling not only in the coming weeks, but in years to come!

A massive thank you to Mrs Beever, Mrs Edwards, Mrs Wise, Miss Batley, Mrs Law and Miss Turton for accompanying the children and for caring for them so well whilst we were there. Of course thank you to Mrs Hurding for supporting the trip in the first place and for her regular visits to check in on children and staff alike and also thank you to all the staff at school who juggled timetables and staffing immensely to accommodate children coming and going.

Finally to our Y3 and Y4 children, you were brilliant farm hands and a joy to spend time with.

On a practical note, we did everything we could to ensure the children brought the right things home but as I am sure you can imagine, changing over 22 children quickly day after day was very busy! We checked the hall and barn thoroughly on our final departure and no items were left. If you do happen to find something which does not belong to your child, please could you return it to school so we can reunite it with its owner. It may also be worth checking inside your child’s sleeping bag for any lost items as I retrieved quite a few socks and slippers when I tipped them up to pack!

I will speak to the ICT technician on the first week back and get the photos uploaded and a link sent out to you after the holiday.

Thank you again for supporting us. We know how much our children had taken from them during covid and we are so pleased that The Ellis managed to provide this opportunity to our LKS2 children.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

25.05.22

Improving the Health and Wellbeing of our Community

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to share the attached posters. Unique Me & Beyond Your voice

Thank you

24.05.22

Football League – Friday 27th May 2022

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a football competition at Birdwell Primary School on Friday 27^th May 2022. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before travelling to the venue, by minibus, at 12:50pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, on grass, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating and can choose to wear trainers or football boots. Your child WILL need a pair of shin pads so please make school aware before Friday if you need some. Parents are unable to spectate on this occasion.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them. The cost of the trip will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant and therefore your child requires no money for the event.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

23.05.22

Outdoor Education Evening

Dear KS2 Parents,

On Tuesday 21^st June, from 4:30-6:30pm, I will be running an outdoor team building evening! At The Ellis we strongly believe in giving children a range of opportunities and ways to succeed both in and out of the classroom. It has been proven that outdoor learning and being active greatly benefits children both academically and physically.

Children will complete a range of fun, non-competitive challenges and activities that involve problem solving, team work, communication and resilience. The event will be run as a carousel of activities such as wacky races, orienteering, fire pit and team building games. There may also be some edible insects to try as well but this will be completely your child’s choice!

Burgers or hot dogs will also be offered as part of the evening so please email Mrs Fiddes any specific dietary requirements your child may have.

Children will need to wear appropriate clothing as all the event will be outdoors. There will be no cost for the event.

If you would like your child to take part then places will be given on a first come first served basis.

We will let you know after the holidays the children who have received a place. As always, attendance at these events is dependent on good behaviour in school.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

F2 Sports Day

Dear Parents,

We hope that you are ok and you are keeping well.

We have made a few alterations to our Sports Day event.

Our Foundation Stage Sports day will be held on Tuesday 21^st June at 9.15am until approximately 10.15am. Children will need to come to school at the usual time of 8.50am. Parents can then make their way up to the school field and the children will follow after register. Children will need to wear shorts and t/shirt and trainers- please send them to school in them instead of their uniform. They will need sun cream on if it is warm, a sunhat and a water bottle.

During the sports day you are welcome to take photos but do not post any photo of another child on any social media site.

After the event the children will be taken back to class and the day will commence as usual.

If you have any further queries then please do not hesitate to come and speak to a member of the F2 Team.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr D Grayhurst and Mrs C Beevers

20.05.22

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Another busy week at The Ellis.

Ellis has got Talent

We have certainly shown that we have a great deal of talent. It was wonderful to be able to open our doors to everyone last night. The children were incredible and we are proud of each and every one of them.

We managed to raise £389.35 for school which we will put towards improving our music PA system to enable us to improve the sound quality of our events. Thank you to Mrs Broadbent and team for organising and a huge thank you to our fantastic audience.

Sponsored Walk

We are overwhelmed by the community’s response to the Y5s sponsored walk for the Ukraine. W have raised £4762.09, an extraordinary community effort, thank you so much for everyone’s support.

Whirlow Y3/4

Whirlow residentials are going to be in full swing next week. Thank you to Mrs Trotter for her time and commitment in making sure that none of our children miss out on this amazing life experience and thank you for everyone’s patience with staffing next week to enable the trips to happen.

Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Friday 27^th May – we are celebrating by wearing red, white and blue and we will have our lunch outside (weather permitting). Don’t forget the crown competition!

Dates for Summer 2

Sports Days – 20^th June – KS1 and KS2

– 21^st June – Foundation

PGL residential – Y5/6 24^th June – 26^th June

Y2 Whirlow trips between 29^th June and 8^th July

REPORTS OUT – 8^th July

TRANSITION into next class all day on the 12th and 13th July – details to follow

Summer GALA – 16^th July

Merits Awards – 18^th July

Y6 Leavers assembly – 19^th July

19^th July is the last day of the Summer term.

Thank you for everyone’s support

Mrs Hurding

19.05.22

Y6 Wath Transition Information

Dear Parents, Parent Letter – Wath Curriculum Proposal and Enrichment

We have been asked to share the attached letter from Wath with Y6 parents today.

Thank you

Y3/4 Whirlow Information

Dear Y3 and Y4 Parents,

I can’t believe it but I can now officially count on one hand the number of sleeps until The Ellis take over Whirlow Farm for 4 days! Here are just a couple of reminders before I see you all next week.

Please ensure your child remembers a sleeping bag and pillow. No electronic toys, devices or mobile phones.

Any medication needs to be handed to a member of staff who will be out in the drive way on the morning of the residential. Please ensure the bag or box is named.

Pocket money (no more than £3) must be in a purse, wallet or named envelope.

Could all children bring a pair of shoes which they do not mind getting splashed, wet and dirty! On one of the days, there is a beautiful nature walk to Whirlow Brook Hall and park and during this walk there are some lovely running (very shallow) trickly streams with stepping stones and areas where you can walk through it! We would like to let children explore this and have no doubt that their shoes will end up wet so please could you send either a pair of wellies, water shoes or a pair of trainers you do not mind getting wet; a carrier bag to put them in and a change of shoes for afterwards (e.g. a dry pair)! I will be in the stream with the children at all times and it is very shallow (not even up to ankles) but also lots of fun as my two daughters found out when we went for a family walk there last weekend!

I met with the children today to explain how next week will work as I am aware with different groups coming and going each day it could be confusing for children to know where they need to be. So on the day of their residential a member of staff will be on the school driveway ready to meet the children. (This is outlined below). These members of staff will then take the children into the hall and look after them until the coach arrives to depart school at 10:30am. They will be back at school in time for lunch the day after and will spend the afternoon back in class. I will be around Monday morning if there are any last minute questions but am then staying at Whirlow until I return on Thursday.

Mon 23^rd Y3 – Mrs Law Y4 – Mrs Edwards

Tues 24^th Y3 – Mrs Beever Y4 – Mrs Wise

Wed 25^th Y4 – Miss Turton

If your child is not going to Whirlow on that day, they should enter the school gates and go round to their Y3/Y4 cloakroom as normal and members of staff will be in class ready to register them and teach them for the day.

Just a reminder that your child needs a packed lunch on the day they go to Whirlow and please pre order a lunch online for their return the day after or bring a packed lunch to school on the morning they return and hand to a member of staff on the gate or Mrs Fiddes at the office. This will ensure every child has a lunch ready for them when they return and also helps the kitchen out with numbers. Thank you.

Finally, this is the phone number of the mobile phone which I will have turned on throughout the stay in case you urgently need to let me know something which you may have forgotten or missed off the forms: 07825 549688

So, all that is left to say is see you next week for our first residential trip since 2019! Memories ready to be made and cherished!

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Nursery Sports Day

Dear Parents,

We have made a few alterations to our Sports Day event.

Our Foundation Stage Sports day will be held on Tuesday 21^st June at 9.15am until approximately 10.15am. Children will need to come to nursery at the usual time of 8.45am. Parents can then make their way up to the school field and the children will follow after register. Children will need to wear shorts and t/shirt and trainers- please send them to nursery in them instead of their uniform. They will need suncream on if it is warm, a sunhat and a water bottle.

We invite our afternoon children to join us too instead of the afternoon session ( this means they will attend 8.45am-11.45am on this day instead of their usual afternoon session). Please let a member of the nursery staff know if you wish to take this AM slot for today please.

During the sports day you are welcome to take photos but do not post any photo of another child on any social media site.

After the event the children will be taken back to nursery. If you would like to collect your child at this time please wait at the nursery gates and we will send them to you after we have taken another register.

Nursery will be open as usual if you wish to keep your child in nursery.

Thank you

The Nursery Team

17.05.22

Football Team Support

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child will be walking to Jump Primary School on Friday 20^th May 2022 to support our girl’s football team in their football tournament. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before walking to the venue at 12:30pm.

Please make sure your child has their inhaler in school to take with them(if required) and a water bottle.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

Y4 Achievement

Dear Y4 Parents,

I’m delighted to let you know that your children have been working so hard that as a class they have reached a total of 5000 dojos! To celebrate this achievement we will be having a Y4 only non-uniform day on Thursday 19th May.

We will be continuing with our normal school routines on the day so please help them select clothing that can be worn comfortably in the classroom and on the playground.

Many thanks

Mrs Wise

Sports at The Ellis

Dear Parents,

The week commencing Monday 20^th June onwards is National Sports Week for schools and the theme for 2022 is Belonging – a place in sport for every child.

During this week we have many sporting activities planned, sports day, an outdoor adventure evening, a giant inflatable obstacle course, Soccer Aid and also guest speakers in school. More information will follow about these events later.

KS1/KS2 Sports Day

Monday 20^th June will be our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 sports day. I’m delighted to say that this year parents are welcome to spectate at the event. The day will be run in 3 different sessions. Provisional timings are as follows:

Years 1 / 2 – 9:00am – 10:30am

Years 3 / 4 – 10:30am – 12:00pm

Years 5 / 6 – 1:00pm – 2:45pm

Refreshments will be available to buy throughout the day.

Foundation Stage Sports Day

We will be holding our foundation stage sports day on Tuesday 21^st June at 9.15am. (1.15pm for the afternoon nursery children).

Please can children come to school in their PE kit and apply sun-cream before school if the weather is hot?

A more detailed plan of the day will be sent nearer the time however I wanted to make you all aware of the date and hope to welcome many parents back to school again.

PE at The Ellis

PE is an important part of The Ellis and we want all children to enjoy sport and to develop healthy, active lifestyles. May I take this opportunity to remind you that it is vital your child takes part in PE sessions and wears appropriate kit including footwear. Children completing PE outdoors should be in trainers. Please see below.

Shoes/Trainers

School shoes can be expensive, therefore children are welcome to wear plain coloured trainers to school that can double up for outdoor PE. We do ask that KS1 and KS2 children have pumps in school that they can wear inside.

Please only get ear piercings in the summer holidays otherwise your child will miss a whole half term of PE. Please see our jewellery policy for more details. Jewellery Policy Apr20-Apr24

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

11.05.22

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

SATS this week

We are beyond proud of the attitude to learning our Y6s and Y2s have shown this week.

The Y6 SATS tests get sent off for marking and results are out early July, the Y2 SATS tests are kept in school but we do not find out the pass rate until early June. The Y2s have been learning detectives all week and showing their teachers in small groups that they can be the best they can be, when having a go at the special booklets. Whatever happens with the results, we hold on to the fact that all our children have had a disruptive education the last few years as we all know. We take pride that our attitude to learning is a strength of our school and that we celebrate all achievements alongside academic. So in conclusion, be proud of all your wonderful children, they have all pushed themselves and shown great determination.

Our diaries are getting busy

Some of our Y5s and Y6s are going with Mrs Trotter, Mrs Edwards and Mrs Broadbent today to Young Voices at the Arena.

We have the Ellis has got Talent on the 19^th May at 6pm – tickets are available from the Office. There will be a raffle and interval refreshments on the night.

The Y3s and Y4s have their Whirlow trips the last week of this half term.

We will all celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on the last day of half term on the 27^th May. We plan to have lunch outside (weather permitting) like a garden party and will dress in red, white and blue to celebrate. It would be fantastic if you get time to make a crown fit for the queen! We will have a prize for the winning crown from each class organised by the PTFA.

We break up on the 27^th May and the children return on the 7^th June.

It is wonderful that all these events can now happen, more signs of the return to normality.

School Uniform

We love that our Y6s get to wear different colours for their final two terms in school, it is part of the Y6 culture now.

However, we have noticed that other year groups are wearing different colours.

Can we remind you that we do have our school uniform that is a white or red t-shirt with a red cardigan or jumper.

We understand we have a lot of learning outside and that children need extra layers and hoodies and need changes of clothing but wherever possible, can they be school colours. If you do need extra layers then plain black and grey still fits with the school colours. Thank you for your support.

Rainbow garden

We continue to use and develop Rainbow Garden. The upkeep is an ongoing project that Mrs Willis and Miss Batley are overseeing. We currently need more wood to re-do the borders, if anyone has any contacts that can help us with free or cheaper supplies that would be amazing. Thank you.

SAVE THE DATE

Remember the 16^th July is our School Summer Gala that we are running jointly with HAG (Hemingfield Action Group).

Thank you for all the support

Mrs Hurding

10.05.22

PGL Residential Trip Meeting 18.05.22 5pm

Dear Parents,

I am writing to invite you to the parents’ meeting for the Y5/6 children coming to PGL. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 18th May, 5pm in the hall- your children are more than welcome to attend with you.

During this meeting I will provide you all with an information pack which will have details about what they need to bring, the type of activities we will be allocated and the facilities on site. I will explain how the residential will run and answer any questions you may have. I will issue everyone with a medical and general consent form which will need returning to school before we travel. Full information will be sent home with the children for those who are unable to attend- please let me know so that I can arrange this.

We are so excited to be able to offer this to our children and know that they will absolutely love the experience. I look forward to seeing you next week.

Kind Regards,

Mrs Edwards

All Stars Crickets Y1-3

Good Afternoon All,

Please find attached an informational poster ECCallstars for our ‘All Stars’ cricket opportunity this month at Elsecar CC.

We are local to you and are offering a fantastic introduction to cricket programme for 5-8 year old students at your school.

We have been running this programme for the last few years and it has always been a great success. We are trying to spread the word as far and wide as we can this year to boost the numbers in our junior cricket section.

If you could pass the message on via this email to the relevant class teachers/parents or by printing the attached poster for your eligible students, that would be greatly appreciated. Alternatively, I can deliver some pre printed copies to school at a date and time that suits you. Just let me know if you would like me to do this.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me

Thanks in advance

Kind regards

Many Thanks,

Molly Whittaker

Funding Development Officer & Lead Sports Coach

Scarlet Fever

Dear Parents,

We have been alerted that we have several cases of Scarlet Fever in school.

Please keep an eye out for symptoms.

From the NHS:

Scarlet fever is a contagious infection that mostly affects young children. It’s easily treated with antibiotics.

Check if you have scarlet fever

The first signs of scarlet fever can be flu-like symptoms, including a high temperature, a sore throat and swollen neck glands (a large lump on the side of your neck).

A rash appears 12 to 48 hours later. It looks like small, raised bumps and starts on the chest and tummy, then spreads. The rash makes your skin feel rough, like sandpaper.

Kind regards

Mrs Hurding

09.05.22

Message sent on behalf of Alex Taylor (SEND Participation Officer)

Hello all,

The sleep pathway group are meeting on Tuesday 10.5.22 and will be looking at the responses from the Parent/Carer survey arounds sleep services.

Children, Young People and Families Services are looking to improve sleep support.

We want to find out:

🌙 What sleep services you are aware of

🌙 Your experience of any sleep support you might have accessed for you and your family.

We want to hear from:

👪 Children, young people and families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

👨‍👧 Children, young people and families on the waiting list for specialist assessment pathways.

We will use this information to help the planning of sleep support services across Barnsley.

https://surveys.barnsley.gov.uk/s/SleepServices/

06.05.22

Y1 Phonics Screening

Dear Y1 Parents,

Just a reminder that Y1 children will be undertaking the Y1 phonics screening test week commencing 7^th June (6^th is an inset day). Please endeavour to ensure your child is in school that week.

We are proud of how hard our Y1 children are working in their phonics and are sure they will take this opportunity to be ‘The best they can be’.

Thank you

Mrs Broadbent

Y6 SATs Information

Dear Parents,

As you will be well aware, our SATs tests start on Monday. Please see below for the full timetable:

Monday- English- Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (45 mins paper 1: questions, 15 mins paper 2: spelling)

Tuesday- English- Reading (60 mins)

Wednesday- Maths- Arithmetic and Paper 2: Reasoning (30 mins paper 1: arithmetic, 40 mins paper 2: reasoning)

Thursday- Maths- Paper 3: Reasoning (40 mins paper 3: reasoning)

Please note the tests will start promptly at 9am. Could we please ask you to inform us immediately if your child is ill as we need to make alternative arrangements for your child to catch up with any missed papers.

We want your child to feel ready for their tests and to facilitate this we are offering a light breakfast which will be available from 8:15am each day. It comprises of toast (with a topping) and a fruit juice/drink. Your child has already ordered their selection. In order to prepare furniture, the last toast will be served at 8:45am.

We are very proud of how hard all the year sixes have worked to be ready and regardless of results we are immensely impressed by the resilience they have shown this year.

I would like to remind you that the SATs only test your child’s English and maths skills. They do not take into account how good they are at sport, art or their other hobbies. They do not test how amazingly kind they are or how they help each other. These things are all remarkably valuable skills and our children show us that they are fantastic every day.

Please reassure your child that they are more than ready for the SATs and all we ask is that they ‘be the best they can be’. We will make sure that they have time in the afternoons to relax and get ready for the following day.

Thank you so much for your support,

Mrs E

05.05.22

Nursery Activity Board Request

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Please see the attached picture. nursery request

We are planning on making a new activity board for the children. We are in need of locks, latches, bolts etc. If you have any of the items that you see on the attached picture that you no longer need, please send them into nursery.

Thank you for your help

Mrs. Pollard & Mrs. Kelly

Y5 Forest School

Dear Y5 Parents,

Our children will be having the exciting opportunity to learn in Forest School next week whilst our Y6s do their SATs. Your child will be in the forest for part of every morning (Monday -Thursday)

Please ensure your child has suitable footwear and clothing for the weather (waterproofs or sunhats depending on how the weather is).

Many thanks,

Mrs Jaques

Dear Y5 Parents,

29.04.22

Cereal Box Request for Topic Work

Dear Y1 Parents,

Please could you send your child to school next week with an empty (relatively intact) cereal box please. It is for a project on Castles.

Thank you

Mrs Broadbent

Available Young Voices Tickets

Dear Y5/6 Parents,

A parent has five Young Voices tickets which are no longer needed for the 13th May, sitting with the other parents from our school. If anyone would like to purchase an additional ticket please let me know and I will sort this for you. (c.trotter@theellis.org).

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

FS Topic Support – Where we Live

This half term’s topic is called ‘Where we Live’.

To support your child with the activities we will be doing in this topic please could you send a photo of your child’s house/ street etc if possible so we can talk about it with friends in class.

Please talk to your child about where you live. Please send the following information into class so your child can share with friends.

What is your address?

What type of house do you live in?

Who lives with you?

How do you get to school?

Can you remember some of the things you drive/ walk past on your way to school?

Please help your child draw a map of their journey to school for them to bring into class and share with friends.

These details will be used within your child’s class only. We will not be sharing the details with anyone else or displaying the photographs. If you do not want to share any details such as house number, street name, family members etc we fully understand.

Thank you

Foundation Stage

Barnsley Catering Update

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the Summer term!

We hope your children will enjoy our new summer menu, we’ve been really excited for them to try all of the delicious choices we have on offer.

Please also find attached our parent update. Parent Update – Spring 2022

Many thanks,

The Barnsley Schools Catering Team

28.04.22

Bun Sale

Dear Y1-Y6 Parents,

Buns will be on sale to children for 50p on Friday morning break – all proceeds will be added to the ‘Help the children of Ukraine’ fundraising.

Thank you

25.04.22

Welcome Back Newsletter

Dear parents,

Welcome back, we hope you all had a wonderful Easter break.

It is our final term together and it is action packed. We are delighted we have been able to honour all our residential trips this term.

UKRAINE sponsored walk tomorrow – 26^th April

We are all going to wear something yellow and blue tomorrow and do our sponsored walk straight after the register.

If you are walking with us please can you wait at the front of school for your child’s class to come out. Please make sure the child’s class teacher knows you are joining the walk.

The Y5s are leading as it is their project, then it will be Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y6 and then F2 as they are returning back to school after the cemetery. The F1 children will be walking around the nursery field together.

The coffee morning will be happening in the back play ground after the walk. Please walk through the Y6 gate for about 10.30am. We do not know the exact timings the children will return. If you have come for the walk please follow on the return into the back playground for a cuppa and well deserved slice of cake if you would like to join us.

We will also have some beautiful crocheted blue and yellow flowers for sale at the coffee morning to raise additional funds for the Ukraine as well as a wonderful colourful handmade blanket that has been made for us to raffle at the coffee morning too.

If you can donate cakes or biscuits for us to sell can you hand them in to the class or school office before we go on the walk so that our volunteers can help set up the coffee morning whilst we are walking.

Thank you for all your support in getting sponsors. Can all sponsorship money be returned to school by the 13^th May, so we can send the money to the Ukraine. We will update you on the final total before we send the money.

Whirlow meeting for Y3/4 parents

Mrs Trotter will be leading the meeting at 5pm in the Y2 class for parents to find out about the trip.

Bank holiday Monday

We are not in school on the 2^nd May as it is a bank holiday.

Thanks for everyone’s support.

Mrs Hurding

08.04.22

Footie Stars

Dear Parent,

Your child had their name down for Footie Stars when unfortunately Adrian broke his leg. He has been in touch and will start the club again after Easter, the first Wednesday back on the 27th April.

You do not need to put your child’s name down again, they will automatically be able to attend.

Thank you

Hayley

Nursery Closure

Dear Nursery Parents,

Nursery will be closed on Thursday, 5^th May 2022 as it is being used for the community Polling station.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Mrs Hurding

Bikeability

Dear Parents,

Your child has had an amazing time joining in with bikeability and has been an excellent representative of The Ellis during their time doing the course.

Each child will bring home a certificate and a booklet today. The certificate will show what they have achieved and explain the next steps they might need to take to be fully road ready. The accompanying booklet shows the skills.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

Y5 Writing

Dear Y5 Parents,

Your children are trying so hard with their writing and have made us so proud this half term.

Today, we have enjoyed being inspired by some short clips by well known authors. Some of them enjoyed it so much they asked for the link to be sent home so that they can explore new authors and be inspired to write at home.

The link to the website is below. It is free to make an account and the 10 minute challenges are brilliant.

We’d love the children to share any writing they do at home.

https://authorfy.com/

Happy Easter to you and your families.

Many thanks for your ongoing support,

Mrs Wise

06.04.22

Attendance and Punctuality

Dear All Parents,

Please take the time to read the attached attendance and punctuality letter which contains latest information and guidance on school times, absence and holidays. Attendance and Punctuality letter April 2022

Thank you,

Mrs Gay

05.04.22

New After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

Here is the list of our clubs that will be running after half term. All clubs run straight after school until 4:20pm.

As the weather is hopefully set to improve, clubs may be outdoors, so please ensure your child wears appropriate sports kit for either inside or outside.

If your child will not be attending the club one week, please inform us to avoid any confusion and also so we can make sure they do not get changed at the end of the school day. Thank you.

Monday

(April 25^th, May 9^th, 16^th, 23rd)

KS1 (Y1/2) Multi Sports Free of charge with Mr Plume

Tuesday

(April 26th, May 3rd, 10^th, 17th, 24^th)

Y3/4/5 Multi Sports (e.g. Tennis, rounders, foot golf, volley ball) Free of charge with Mr Plume

Thursday

(April 28th, May 5^th, 12^th, 19^th, 26th)

Y4/5 Cricket Free of charge with Dan from The Active Club

Thursday

(April 28th, May 5^th, 12^th, 19^th, 26th)

Y2 Lego Club Free of charge with Mrs Willis

Lego club is a great way to showcase your imaginative and creative side whilst also developing your social skills. There are a maximum of 15 places available.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Y3 Teacher & Wider Curriculum Lead

Easter Gifts

Dear F2 Parent,

Your child has been busy making Easter Gifts in class.

If you would like to purchase your child’s creations, they are £3.50 for both. Please see the attached photos. (Example only).

F2 Easter Gifts

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Kind regards

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

School Milk

Dear F2 Parents,

As all children will be 5 in this next term, if your child would like to be offered school milk, it will now need to be paid for. Please do this online by registering at the following link.

https://www.freshpastures.co.uk/school-milk-home.php

Please pay in advance of the new term so that your child will receive milk the first day we return after Easter. The deadline for payment is Wednesday 20th April.

Thank you

Hayley

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

EASTER SERVICE

This Wednesday the Y1s and Y6s will be walking to St Mary’s church in Wombwell to celebrate Easter. The service will start at 10.00am (hopefully) and Rev Armstrong will be attending the service too.

We are mindful that this year we did not organise the PTFA Easter bonnet and Easter egg competitions, instead we will hold a crown competition to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. If your children would like to get creative in the holidays, designing and making crowns, that would be fantastic. The crown competition will be on the last day of next half term Friday 27^th May. (see below for more information)

UPDATED Guidance COVID 19

‘Adults with a positive COVID-19 test result should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days, which is when they are most infectious. For children and young people aged 18 and under, the advice will be 3 days.’

Staffing Update

Mrs Kaskiewicz, our Y4 supply teacher, who has been covering Miss Saunders’ maternity leave has taken on a new job to start after Easter. As the Year 4 children have had changes of staff this year we have decided to give the Y4 children their Y5 teacher early. Mrs Wise will be teaching the Y4s for the Summer term and will take them through to Y5 in September. Mrs Jaques who has been working regularly with the current Y5s will be taking the Y5 class after Easter.

Ukraine Walk

The Y5s, as part of their Archie project (Arch Bishop of York Youth leadership Project), are organising a sponsored walk for Ukraine after the holidays on Tuesday 26^th April. An emails with more information has been sent out today.

The Ellis Church

Thursday 7^th April is our next Ellis church in the school hall at 3.30pm – everyone is welcome.

Crazy Crafts – Pop-up shop

The Y5 Craft Shop volunteers are going to be holding a pop-up craft shop from 3pm outside the main entrance on Thursday 7^th April.

Easter Bunny

Miss Hickey has donated a large new Easter Bunny for school to raffle. We will be selling the tickets at £1 a strip on Thursday 7^th April at playtimes and after school at the Craft shop. We will draw the raffle at our Gold Awards assembly on Friday 8^th April.

Y2/Y6 SATs

Y6 are doing their SATs papers the week beginning 9^th May – 12th May. The children have been working incredibly hard to be ready and we will continue to support and look after their well-being in addition to boosting their learning to be ready.

The Y2s will be doing their special booklets in the class and we explain that it is an opportunity to be the best you can be!

WHIRLOW -Y3/4

We are delighted that the residential trips can go ahead and that next half term the Y3s and Y4s will be going to Whirlow. Mrs Trotter is sorting all the details and is running a parent’s meeting at 5pm on the Tuesday 26^th April.

Platinum Jubilee

We will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on the Friday 27^th May, the last day before the holidays. We will have a party day menu and it would be fantastic if everyone could dress up in red, white and blue ready for a party. We will have the crown competition as mentioned earlier too.

Summer GALA 16^th July

WE NEED YOU !

We will also be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at our Summer GALA. We are working with HAG (Hemingfield Action Group) to put on a spectacular Summer GALA. We need lots of adult help to put all our ideas into action. If you are available to help run stalls and games on the day please can you let Mrs Hurding, Mrs Ross or Ian from Hemingfield know that you can help out. The more helpers we have the more we can do.

Easter Holidays

We wish all our families a happy Easter. The holidays are Saturday 9^th April – Sunday 24^th April. We return to school on Monday 25^th April.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

Walk for the children of Ukraine (Nursery)

Dear Nursery Parents,

Your child will be bringing a sponsor sheet home with them today, please help them to get sponsorship for this heart-breaking cause. Any sponsorship/donations are welcome no matter how small.

Our FS1 children will be walking laps of the nursery field with Mrs Pollard and Mrs Kelly. Children are welcome to wear blue and yellow on the day to represent the colours of the Ukraine flag, or wear normal school uniform.

Mrs Brinkley

Walk for the children of Ukraine F2-Y6

Dear F2-Y6 Parents,

On Tuesday 26^th April the Y5 children have organised a whole school sponsored walk followed by a coffee morning. The children are working towards the Archbishop of York’s Young Leader award and ‘being the change that they want to see’. All monies raised through sponsorship and proceeds from the coffee morning will be donated to UNICEF who are working to provide aid for the children of Ukraine. We would like this to be a community event so please feel free to accompany your child on the walk (grandparents are invited too!). Please let your child’s class teacher know if you are attending so we can have an idea of numbers.

Your child will be bringing a sponsor sheet home with them today, please help them to get sponsorship for this heart-breaking cause. Any sponsorship/donations are welcome no matter how small. If you would like to donate any buns, cakes or biscuits for sale on the day please drop them off at the office or with your child’s teacher.

Children are welcome to wear blue and yellow on the day to represent the colours of the Ukraine flag, or wear normal school uniform.

I hope the weather will be kind to us, and I look forward to seeing you on the day.

Mrs Brinkley

Ellis Has Got Talent Competition

Dear Parents,

Please find attached information about our upcoming and exciting ‘The Ellis Has Got Talent’ Competition!

Letter for Parents

Thank you

01.04.22

F1 Easter Gifts

Dear Nursery Parents,

Your child has been busy in Nursery.

If you would like to purchase your child’s creations, they are £2 each, please see the attached photos. (Example only).

F1 Easter Gifts

Thank you for your support,

The Nursery Team

30.03.22

Y2 Whirlow Parents Meeting

Dear Y2 Parents,

I am writing to let you know the date of the parents’ meeting for the Y2 children coming to Whirlow. We know this is still quite a few weeks away, but wanted to give you the date in advance. The meeting for parents will take place on Thursday 26^th May, 5pm in the Y2 classroom.

During this meeting I will provide you all with a pack which will have the date your child will attend the residential, what they need to bring and some forms for you to fill in. I will also explain how the residential will run and answer any questions you may have.

We are so excited to be able to offer this to our children and are sure that when the time comes, they will love every minute of it and it will provide them with lifelong memories.

Kind Regards

Mrs C Trotter

Football for Girls

Dear Y6 Parents,

Steve Gates, the Strategic lead of the FA Barnsley school girls partnership, is looking for any girls who would like to play in a football team.

Teams play on Saturday mornings in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women and Girls League at U11 (year 6), U10 (year 5), U9 (year 4), and U8 (year 2/3).

There is also FA Wildcats 5-11 introductory programme. This operates on Wednesdays at Holy Trinity School, next month on Saturday mornings at the Barnsley College and at Rockingham, Hoyland.

If either of these is something that your child would be interested in please contact Steve direct on 07841 511532.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Leadership announcement

We are delighted to announce the Governors have made the decision for the new leadership of school. From September, Mrs E Edwards will be Acting Head and Mrs B Wise will be taking the role of Acting Deputy. We feel this is absolutely the right decision for our school and they both look forward to continuing the amazing work we have been doing for the last 6 years. Mrs Wise will continue to be the SENDCo. This enables us to now plan staffing for September and we will inform you as soon as we have finalised the plan.

Parents Evening

Thank you for attending, it was so wonderful to be able to have face to face meetings and we really appreciate the completed questionnaires. If you didn’t get chance to fill one in and would like to, we have plenty of spare, so please pop in and collect one from the main office. They will also be available at the F1 consultations and the SEND REVIEW meetings too. We are always grateful for parental feedback.

CHURCH – Please see our previous email with details.

We are delighted to be able to walk to church again next Wednesday. As we will be attending whatever the weather (if safe) please ensure children dress appropriately, especially with good footwear for the walk. The Y1-Y6 singing sounds amazing and I know we will all feel emotional hearing our children sing in church again.

The Sheffield Half Marathon

A huge thank you to Mr Mark Farnsworth for running the half marathon last Sunday. He has raised £320 for us to buy non-fiction books for school, which is amazing. We will continue the Go-funding until the Easter holidays if anyone else would like to contribute an Easter gift to school.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nonfiction-books-for-the-ellis-primary

Thank you for your continued support

Mrs Hurding

28.03.22

Rucksack for Crich Trip

Dear Parents,

As we will be walking around the museum on Wednesday, please can the children bring a rucksack or a bag to pop on their backs to carry their packed lunch and water bottle in. It will be so much easier for the children and far more enjoyable if they haven’t got to hold their belongings in their hands and of course there is far less chance of it being put down somewhere and left behind!

Many thanks

Mrs Trotter

KS1 Crich Trip

Dear Parents,

We are very excited that our trip to Crich is only 2 days away! Here are a few reminders to ensure the day runs smoothly:

Please ensure your child is at school promptly at 8.45am on Wednesday (30^th March) as we aim to leave by 9am at the latest. We will return to school for our usual home time of 3.15pm.
Children will need a warm coat, comfortable shoes and school uniform.
They will also require a packed lunch and water bottle (no fizzy drinks please). If you require a packed lunch from school, please respond to this email requesting one by midday on Tuesday (the sandwich options are cheese, tuna or egg).
No spending money is required.

We are sure that the children will have a fantastic day and will gain such a lot from it.

Thank you for your support.

Kind Regards

KS1 team

23.03.22

Y1-Y6 Easter Service

Dear Y1 – Y6 Parents,

We will be walking the children to St Mary’s Church for a 10am Easter service on Wednesday, 6th April. As we haven’t been able to do this for a couple of years, we thought we would share a little more information about the service.

The children will leave school just after 9am and parents are welcome to meet us there – seating will be available on a first come, first served basis, however, the children will be sitting in the main pews directly in front of the altar so please don’t sit there. Children will need to stay with their class throughout the service. Each class will have prepared a short performance based on a section of the Easter story and there will be plenty of songs to join in with.

At the end of the service we will walk the children back to school and we usually arrive back in plenty of time for lunch.

Please do get in touch if you need further clarification on anything or have any other questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Mrs Edwards

22.03.22

KS2 Dance Competition

Dear Parent,

Your child has been invited to take part in a KS2 dance competition at Tankersley Primary School on Friday 25^th March 2022. Your child has shown excellent dedication and has been practising their dance during lunch times, ready for the competition.

Children DO NOT need to find outfits/ costumes. They need comfortable leggings/ tracksuit bottoms and will be given a school t-shirt to represent the school in. Unfortunately, parents are unable to spectate at this event.

Children will travel to the event at 12:50pm after having their lunch and return before the end of the school day. They will need water bottles and inhalers if they have them. No money will be needed for this event as the cost will be covered out of the Sports Fund.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

17.03.22

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel

Dear Y1-Y6 Parents,

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel is the UK’s largest inter-school walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling challenge. It aims to inspire hundreds of thousands of pupils to get active on the school run. This year’s challenge will take place from 21 March to 1 April 2022.

The school challenge has now been running for 11 years and the school has been very successful in previous years winning bike shelters and scooter pods for school.

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel has inspired hundreds of thousands of families to make active journeys to school and continue these long after the competition has ended. We will be recording the amount of active journeys made by our children, parents and staff during this period and the winning schools in Barnsley are in with a chance to win some great prizes for school. Let’s hope the weather continues to shine and let’s have some walking, wheeling and scooting to school. This also helps with the congestion around the school gates as parking 5 minutes away from school and walking/ scooting the rest of the way counts as an active journey.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

15.03.22

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Parent Consultations

We are delighted to say we will be holding face to face parent consultations in the school hall for F2-Y5 on Monday, 21^st March and Tuesday, 22^nd March, 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

To book your 10 minute appointment please use the Cloud system (https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk). It is important to arrive on time for your allocated slot to reduce the amount of people waiting in the hall. There will also be chairs placed outside the main entrance if needed. Appointment times will be strictly adhered to.

F1 parent meetings will be held during the day on Monday, 21st March in the Headteacher’s office. These appointments will be for 15 minutes each.

Y6 parent meetings will be held during the day on Monday, 28^th March in the Headteacher’s office and will include the Y6 child too. These appointments will be for 20 minutes each.

Please note: if your child is in F1 or Y6 and is on our SEND register the review will be part of the parent consultation. If more time is needed after this meeting for your child’s SEND needs the teacher will ensure this happens.

SEND

If your child is on our SEND register, parent consultations will be combined to include their SEND review.

F2, Y1 and Y2

Your child’s class teacher will phone you to arrange a mutually convenient time for your consultation, these will be held the week commencing Monday, 4^th April.

Y3 consultations will be held on Tuesday, 5^th April and Wednesday, 6^th April 3.30pm-5.30pm. Please book using the Cloud system (https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk).

Y4 consultations will be held during the day on Tuesday, 5^th April. Please book using the Cloud system (https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk).

Y5 consultations will be held during the afternoons on Monday, 4^th April and Tuesday, 5^th April. Please book using the Cloud system (https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk).

COMIC RELIEF – this Friday – Super Heroes Day!

Dress as a super hero, an everyday hero, or wear Comic Relief items. Please ensure any red noses are named. If you would like to donate to ‘Comic Relief’ a link will be placed on Facebook on Friday. We totally understand that due to the current situation families may prefer to donate to the Ukraine.

Dogs on School Premises

We understand that rules were relaxed during Covid, however, may we please remind you that dogs are now no longer allowed on school grounds.

Mrs Rachel Hurding

Headteacher

The Ellis C of E Primary school

11.03.22

Cleaning Supervisor Vacancy at The Ellis CE Primary School

12.5 hrs per week Monday to Friday 3.15pm start.

Permanent position.

£10 per hour.

Must be able to provide us with a passport or Birth certificate as a DBS will need to be applied for the right candidate.

Must be reliable and trustworthy.

For further information or to apply please contact Pam Hickson on 07703 608846.

Bulloughs Cleaning Services Ltd.

National Dental Survey

Dear Parent,

National Dental Programme Information for Parents

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), previously Public Health England (PHE), and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council are undertaking an upcoming dental survey of 5 year old children in reception and year 1 classes across England.

Schools are selected to participate at random and our school has been chosen to participate this year. The survey is usually undertaken every 2 years and provides information on the oral health of children. The aim is to support actions to improve oral health and reduce health inequalities and improve the provision of treatment services.

Your child has been selected randomly to participate in this year’s survey and will be bringing home a consent form today (Friday). If you agree to your child having a dental check as part of the national dental survey then please complete and return the form back to school. Our participation in the survey is vital to its success.

Please see the attached information leaflet for more detail.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

Y5/6 Handball Competition 18.03.22

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Year 5/6 Handball Competition event at West Meadows Primary School on Friday 18^th March. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:50pm.

Please can your child bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms and trainers on the day , they will be given a school shirt. As the event will be held outdoors, your child will need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating. Please also remember their water bottle on the day.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them.

The cost of the trip will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant, therefore your child requires no money for the event.

The Extra Curriculum Sporting Event consent form will be used for this trip so please ensure you have given consent for this via ParentPay.

Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

Y5 Forest School

Dear Y5 Parents,

On Monday and Tuesday next week, Y5 will be using our Forest School during our English lessons. Please can you ensure your child has a warm coat and appropriate footwear in school for these days.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

Whirlow and PGL Payments

Dear Parents,

If your child is going on a trip to either Whirlow or PGL, the interim payments MUST be paid by the due dates specified on ParentPay.We cannot send your payment if it has not been paid and your child will lose their place along with any monies already paid.

Thank you
Hayley Fiddes

10.03.22

F2 Home Learning

Dear Parents,

We hope you are all keeping well.

We have recently noticed that some of you are not completing the weekly homework or are forgetting to put an entry in their home learning journey. We would like to remind you how important your input is so we would really appreciate it if you could complete the activities each week.

The children have made so much progress so far and that is also down to your continued support and commitment.

A quick reminder also that library books need returning tomorrow (Friday), if they are not brought in the children will not be able to have a new book.

If you need any advice or support then please see a member of the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) Team.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

09.03.22

Extra-Curricular Consent Form

Dear Y1 – Y6 Parents,

As the children will be walking to St Mary’s Church for an Easter service (date and times to be confirmed), it is important that the extra-curricular form on Parent Pay is ticked. Thank you to those who have already given consent.

Without this consent your child will be unable to attend. The form only needs to be ticked once and it will follow your child throughout their time at school.

You will always be notified if your child is going to be taken out of school for any local walk or sporting event.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

Seesaw Documents

Dear Nursery Parents,

I have placed some documents on Seesaw which you may find helpful.

1,000,000 word gap
What to Expect in the EYFS
Universally Speaking – ICAN
Developing Children’s Language and Understanding

Thank you

Mrs T Pollard

08.03.22

Y3/4 Handball Competition

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Year 3/4 Handball Competition event at West Meadows Primary School this Friday (11^th March). The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:50pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms and trainers and will be given a school shirt. As the event will be held outdoors, your child will need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating. Please also remember their water bottle on the day.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them.

Y5 Bikeability Letter to Parents Bike Check Notes for Parents

Dear Y5 Parents,

We are delighted to let you know that Active Barnsley will be delivering Bikeability Level 1 and Level 2 cycle training for our Y5 children during the week commencing Monday, 4th April 2022.

Please see the attached information for further details.

Your child will be bringing home a consent form that needs completing and returning to school please as the instructors will not allow any children to participate without this.

Many thanks

Hayley Fiddes

07.03.22

F1 DT boxes and tubes

Dear Nursery Parents,

Thank you for all the boxes and tubes you have sent in, we now have enough for the children to create some lovely structures!

Mrs Pollard

Y3 Newsletter Topic Mind Map Adventurers and Explorers Home Learning Letter

Dear Parents,

We hope you all had a lovely half term are ready for spring and hopefully the weather starting to improve. Thank you for all the support you are giving to help your children learn at home. It has been fabulous to see most children reading at least three times a week and practising their spelling. We have also had some amazing home learning projects over the last term so we are excited to see what this half term has to bring. Please continue to support your child to learn their times tables using either TT Rockstars or other platforms. It is vital your child has a good recall of times tables as this will help them across so many areas within Maths.

Your child’s PE days are Monday and Wednesday.

Please find attached the topic overview and some home learning ideas which shows an outline of the learning your child will be doing this half term. We are so proud of all of the children in Y3 and can’t wait to see all their learning and progress in this coming half term.

Many thanks,

The Y3 Team

04.03.22

Ellis Update

Dear Parents

WORLD BOOK DAY

We had a wonderful cosy day in our PJs, everyone enjoyed sharing books, some children made reading dens and the highlight of the day for me was seeing our Y6s read with our Y2s and the Y5s reading with our Y1s. More signs that school is getting back to normal and we can mix again.

PHOTOS

We are so pleased we can offer siblings photos again. All children will have their photos taken individually and with their siblings that are in school. You will be able to choose which photos you wish to purchase. Please look out for the card that your child will bring home tonight with the ordering details on.

PARKING

We know parking at drop off and collection is a constant pressure for everyone and that traffic in the area is increasing. Please remember if you are late we will always wait with your children. If you are late in the morning, please bring the children to the front desk. We have sadly had complaints from neighbours that cars are blocking their driveways. Please be considerate to all our community when you park your cars. If you are parked up waiting for the school to be open please wait in the cars rather than with doors open as this also impacts on the traffic flow. We continue to recommend parking a 5 minute walk away from school, this is healthier for us and better for the environment too and supports the overcrowding around school during these crucial times. We want the environment to be as safe as possible for our children. As the weather gets better and our children get older, the amount of children walking by themselves will increase. As adults we need to be aware of the impact our parking can have on others. Thank you for your support, we are delighted school is so busy, our school numbers have increased and everyone is coming to school, our attendance continues to improve.

SMOKING

We know smoking is a personal choice, part of our curriculum is to encourage healthy life styles, so children are more aware of the harmful aspects of smoking.

Smoking is not allowed on school property, we would also ask that at busy times if you smoke you are considerate when children are walking past.

BREAKFAST CLUB

We are delighted so many children attend our breakfast club, it is part of our thriving community.

Can I remind parents not to drive onto school to drop off unless it has been arranged. Many children walk by themselves and it is the time staff arrive and deliveries arrive so we need to try and reduce the amount of cars at all times. It is fine to walk and drop your children at the school gate and watch them walk down to the main entrance.

Thank you for all your support,

Mrs Hurding

Y2 Newsletter Newsletter for Y2

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back after a very blustery half term! Hopefully now spring is here, we will be able to enjoy some more sunshine and dry days!

We are excited to announce that the reading tunnel has been built and the writing table arrived this week and will be put together ready for use very soon. We are waiting for the tarpaulin to arrive so that we can put a cover over the reading den and we hope to train the ivy to grow over the top and around the sides. We are sure that very soon our reading den will be a hideaway covered in ivy – a perfect place to get lost in a book. We continue to develop our outdoor writing area and again would like to thank you all for your nativity support, as this has enabled us to purchase these items.

The children have made an excellent start to the half term and enjoying our new topic ‘Zoom!’ We have a busy half term ahead and are excited that we are able to get back to a little more normality! We hope the newsletter attached will explain what we are learning about as well as giving you some ideas for your home learning projects. Please remember that we do ask children to complete some home learning each half term and to bring / send it into school. This could be one longer piece or a few shorter pieces. We look forward to seeing what they get up to!

Here are some quick reminders for the coming weeks ahead:

Please read with your child at least 3 times a week and record this in their reading diary. We ask that book bags are brought to school every day with their reading diary in it.
Spellings will be given out on a Friday (please ensure their pirate spelling book is in their book bag on a Friday) and will also be on Spelling Shed. We will have our weekly spelling test every Friday.
Please ensure your child has a pair of wellies and pumps in school which fit as we will be taking part in Forest School this half term.
Our PE days are Tuesday and Wednesday so please ensure they have their PE kit in school on these days and earrings are removed as children are not able to do PE with earrings in. Our Tuesday PE lesson is outside so we ask that children have a pair of trainers and would suggest jogging bottoms or tracksuit books and a jumper or jacket as it is a bit cold in shorts and t-shirt this time of the year!
A quick reminder that toys should not be brought to school please as we do not want them to get lost or broken and that watches with cameras are not allowed in school.

Finally, please do look out for an email about our trip to Crich on Wednesday 30^th March! Our first trip in 2 years! A letter with final details will be sent out nearer the time.

We will keep in touch over the coming weeks and if you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kindest Regards

Y2 team

F2 DT Topic Work

Dear Parents,

This half term we will be learning about different houses and homes, therefore, for our DT work, we will be making different structures. Please could you send a few boxes and tubes to help us with our model-making. We will let you know when we have collected enough!

Many thanks for your ongoing support.

Kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

03.03.22

Y1 Y2 Trip to Crich Tramway Village

Visit to Crich Tramway Museums, Matlock

Dear Parents,

Our Key Stage 1 topic this half term is ‘Zoom’ and we will be learning all about transport and journeys. We would like to take the Year 1 and Year 2 children on a school trip to Crich Tramway Village (Matlock) on Wednesday 30^th March. We are very excited as it will be our first trip in KS1 for two years and we know what a valuable learning experience they are!

The visit will provide the children with lots of opportunities to develop their knowledge of transport from the past and how it has changed and evolved over the years. Whilst there, children will have the chance to see what villages and streets were like many years ago as the street has been recreated to reflect life in the past. They will have the chance to take a ride on an old tram (all within the complex itself) and will be able to ask the Crich staff lots of questions and really delve into life years ago! In the museum part, there are many old trams which children can see and touch and it will enable us to really bring history to life.

The fun doesn’t stop there as the village has a woodland walk with lots of learning opportunities to support our KS1 science units of work and amazing sculptures made out of natural materials.

There is a lot more information on their website, should you wish to read more about Crich (https://www.tramway.co.uk/).

The coach company we will be using is Globe which will leave school at 8:55am prompt and is expected to return to school by 3.10pm ready for home time. Please make sure your child is at school ready for registration at 8:45am. If your child suffers from travel sickness we would suggest that appropriate travel sickness tablets are taken before school. There will be 8 staff accompanying the children.

The cost will be £12.50 per pupil to include entry into Crich and the coach. We must point out that if insufficient money is collected, the trip will have to be cancelled. Payment will be via Parent Pay. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties covering the cost of the trip, please contact Mrs Hurding.

Please ensure school uniform is worn on the day with suitable footwear for a mixture of outdoor and indoor activities along with a warm coat and a bottle of water. A packed lunch will be required. As part of the Universal Infant Free School Meals packed lunches can be provided by school but must be ordered with Mrs Fiddes prior to the trip or alternatively brought from home.

No spending money will be needed for the trip.

We are looking forward to a fantastic day out!

Mrs Broadbent and Mrs Trotter

01.03.22

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Welcome back.

We hope you all had a good half term holiday.

COVID – 19 update

Restrictions have been updated and staff no longer have to test twice weekly or wear masks in communal areas, however, staff are still able to wear masks if they so wish. The guidance still says that rooms need to be well ventilated.

We no longer have to isolate, however, the recommendations are to isolate for 5 days if you are positive, once you have two days of negative tests you are able to come out of isolation and day 10 continues to be the end of isolation, regardless of the test result.

This is all good news in terms of school returning to normal and will enable us to go ahead with our planned residentials to PGL and Whirlow. We will also be able to have face to face parents evenings too.

Ukraine and Russia

As a school we will always talk to your children about concerns and understandably, many of our older children are needing to talk about the sad situation. Where needed, we have been sharing Newsround and answering any questions the children may have. We are explaining that in the world there are leaders who make wrong choices and use their power for wrong rather than kindness. Please let us know if your child needs a more direct conversation to support them. We will always be honest but pitch our conversation at the right level for the children and answer their questions.

Y6s – School Places for High school

It is a big day for our Y6s today as they find out which Secondary school they will be going to, we will support them every step of the way!

Y6 Boosters

Due to staff shortages we have had to cancel Y6 boosters after school on Wednesday, however, Mrs Edwards will put the booster work on to Seesaw.

The Ellis Church

The next Ellis Church will be on the Thursday, 7th April at 3:30pm in the school hall. All welcome.

School Uniform

We have a large amount of school uniform in our lost property that has been in school for a while.

We will place this on the playground every day this week for parents to look through.

Please take what would be useful before we put it in the clothes bank.

World Book Day

If you would like to support school on World Book day, please make a donation to Mark Farnsworth who is raising money for new non-fiction books for school by running the half marathon. The link to follow is below:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nonfiction-books-for-the-ellis-primary?member=14655745&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2Binvitesupporters

Mark would like to wear a specially designed Ellis T-shirt for the half marathon. The best designs will be printed and ironed onto the special Ellis running shirt, to make a unique one-off design. Please can you send your children’s designs into school for Mrs Hurding by Friday 4^th March?

The Ellis Has Got Talent

We are delighted to announce that we can bring back ‘THE ELLIS HAS GOT TALENT’ on Thursday, 19th May. Mrs Broadbent will be arranging auditions for our Y2 to Y6 children (more information to follow).

Summer GALA

The date is all set for Saturday, 16^th July for our joint event with the PTFA and the Hemingfield Action Group – HAG.

All help will be gratefully received, we will let you know when we have dates for the planning meetings.

Diary Dates for Spring 2

THIS THURSDAY

3/3/22 WORLD BOOK DAY

Celebrating 25 years

Dress in PJs and we will celebrate and enjoy sharing books in school.

We will open up our school bookshop from 3pm and hold it outside.

We gladly accept donations for our school bookshop if you are having a clear out. All of the money is used to buy more books for school.

THIS FRIDAY

4/3/22 INDIVIDUAL and SIBLING photos

Sadly, we were not able to organise this before Christmas due to outbreaks but we are delighted we can now offer this opportunity to have the classic school photographs taken for you.

Week 14^th to 18^th March

Science week

We will celebrate Science week by having Science assemblies on the 15^th/16^th and 17^th March.

18/3/22 Comic Relief

Dress as a super hero or an everyday hero, or wear Comic Relief items.

If your child brings a red nose in to school, please make sure it is named.

If you would like to donate please do so on line.

The week of the 21^st March to 24^th March Parents Evenings

We will be offering face to face meetings in the hall on the Monday and Tuesday, appointments will be organised next week for you.

F1 and Y6 will have a parents consultation day where you will be able to book an appointment, we will let you know these dates by next week.

30/3/22 Y1/Y2 trip

KS1 Trip to Crich Tramway museum

The week of the 4^th April to 8^th April

SEND reviews to include Parents Evening

SEND reviews will also now be able to be face to face. We will let you know the dates when each teacher will be available ASAP.

Easter Holidays

9^th April-24^th April

Return to school on Monday, 25^th April

28.02.22

FS Information

Dear F1 Parents,

Shrove Tuesday

We will be making and tasting pancakes on Tuesday. If you do not wish for your child to take part in this activity please let a member of the nursery staff know. Thank you.

DT (Design and Technology)

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard

Y5 News Conversation

Dear Parents,

Many children have come to school with questions and concerns about the current situation in the Ukraine. We have watched some Newsround clips together and discussed their worries, questions and concerns.

As it is a complex and upsetting situation, I felt it was important to let you know what we had discussed so that you could be prepared for them needing to continue the conversation at home.

Many thanks,

Beth Wise

15.02.22

After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

Here is the list of our clubs that will be running after half term. All clubs run straight after school until 4:20pm with the exception of Footie Stars.

If your child will not be attending the club one week, please inform us to avoid any confusion and also so we can make sure they do not get changed at the end of the school day.

Monday

(February 28^th, March 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, 28^th, April 4^th)

KS1 (Y1/2) Multi Sports Free of charge with Mr Plume

This multi sports club may be held outside so children will need to bring appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather outside as well as indoor kit.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Tuesday

(March 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th, April 5^th)

Y4/5/6 Tag Rugby Free of charge with Mr Plume

This club is run by a qualified rugby coach with over 20 year’s experience.

The club may be held outside so children will need to bring appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather outside as well as indoor kit.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Wednesday

(March 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th, April 6^th)

F2/Y1 Footie Stars £2.50 payable direct to the coach

Please note:

The existing F2 children who attend can continue to attend, there is no need to put your child’s name down each half term. There are 6 places available that we are offering to Y1 on a first come first served basis.

This club runs each half term in the school hall by Adrian Barnard who is a qualified football coach. The cost is £2.50 weekly and is paid in cash directly to Adrian. There are a maximum of 12 places available and an adult will need to be present with their child.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your Y1 child would like a place at this club.

Thursday

(March 3^rd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th, 31^st, April 7^th)

Y5/6 Table Tennis Free of charge with Dan from The Active Club

This club will be held in the hall and a maximum of 12 places are available on a first come first served basis. Children do not need to get changed for this activity unless they would like to.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Thursday

(March 3^rd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th, 31^st, April 7^th)

Y3/4 Lego Club Free of charge with Mrs Willis

Lego club is a great way to showcase your imaginative and creative side whilst also developing your social skills. There are a maximum of 15 places available.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Y3 Teacher & Wider Curriculum Lead

The Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Half Term

As we reach the end of this busy half term we all continue to be so proud of your children’s learning. It has been the hardest term yet for staff being off sick (who said COVID has gone away?). Team Ellis continue to ensure learning continues for all, a huge thank you to all our staff team for keeping going. We hope everyone enjoys a well-deserved rest.

We finish on Friday 18^th February and we return to school on Monday 28^th February. Sheffield and a few other places have half term this week, so you might find that museums and other places to visit are quieter next week.

Governors

I am delighted to say that our two experienced SISG (School Improvement Strategy Governors) have agreed to Co-Chair for us. This is a fantastic decision for the continuity of school. Congratulations to Marcus Wood and Davina Hulme our Co-Chairs, and Dean Clarke who has been voted in as our Vice-Chair. We have a strong Governing body in school and they are currently working hard on the new Headteacher recruitment, to give plenty of time to ensure everything is ready for September 2022.

Thank You

A heartfelt thank you for all the wonderful emails and messages I have had regarding leaving The Ellis. I continue to be so proud of the school The Ellis has become, it will always be a very special place to me. I will ensure everything is in order for the new Headteacher to continue with The Ellis’ amazing journey ‘to be the best it can be!’

World Book Day

Wow – It’s March the first week back after half term.

We are so proud of our reading in school and that visitors recognise that we have a strong vision for reading and an excellent reading culture and environment in school.

This year for world book day we are going to enjoy a PJ day to celebrate The Ellis’ love of reading. So come in your PJs on Thursday 3^rd March and we will enjoy some extra reading time.

Raising Money for Non-Fiction Books

One of our parents, Mark Farnsworth has agreed to run the Sheffield Half Marathon on 27^th March, to raise money for Non-Fiction books in school.

It would be fantastic if you could support Mark, and the school, and help us to reach our target.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nonfiction-books-for-the-ellis-primary?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet+spider1v&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Mark would like to wear a specially designed Ellis T- shirt for the Half Marathon. The best designs will be printed and ironed onto the special Ellis running shirt, to make a unique one-off design. It would be a fantastic half term activity for your children to come up with an Ellis design for Mark’s shirt. Please can you send designs into school for Mrs Hurding by Friday 4^th March?

Comic Relief is on Friday 18^th March

We are following the theme that everyone is a Super hero.

Come dressed as a Super hero or one of your Favourite ‘everyday heroes’ or dress in one of the Comic relief T- Shirts. If your child brings a ‘red nose’ into school, please put their name inside, so it can be returned.

The Ellis Church

We are running The Ellis church in the school hall this Thursday 17^th February, all are welcome.

Summer GALA

A date for everyone’s diary. On Saturday 16^th July, we are planning a joint Gala Celebration with the PTFA (Parents and Teachers and Friends Association) and HAG (Hemingfield Action Group). We also thought it would be nice to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, 70 Years of our Queen, by being able to finally have a gathering together after so long. We would like to make this a fantastic celebration.

As our PTFA has not met for so long and many of our PTFA parents have now left, they would welcome new members. Karen Ross is the Chair of the PTFA and there will be a meeting arranged after half-term. All are welcome to join and help with the gala. I have an initial meeting with Ian Warhurst from HAG this Wednesday to start our plans.

PTFA Treasurer

The Ellis PTFA are also looking for a new treasurer. They are a very friendly, relaxed group of parents/carers who raise money for school to fund equipment, coaches for trips and other treats for the children. They have a private Facebook group to keep in touch with each other. There is an established book keeping system and bank account in place. If you think you would be interested please email Mrs Fiddes or Davina Hulme at d.hulme@theellis.org

Parents’ Evenings and SEN Reviews

We hope to have face to face parents’ evenings and SEN reviews towards the end of next half term. We will update you with the details the first week back after half term.

Thank you for your continued support

Mrs Hurding

09.02.22

Humankind Free Service

We have been asked to share this information with all of our parents and families. Thank you, Tracey Gay.

Umbrella offers wellbeing support to people living in Barnsley, who are over the age of 18. Our aim is to help improve emotional wellbeing and develop a knowledge and strength to allow an individual to overcome emotional challenges they may face.

We have a range of support available depending on your needs including:

Counselling
Wellbeing groups
One2one support sessions

Our one2one support sessions are designed to help the individual in making simple changes and taking actions that can have a positive impact on their day-to-day wellbeing. Our Counselling Service can offer up to 12 sessions of counselling to for those who may require an opportunity to explore concerns or issues in a safe, non-judgmental, and empathic environment. While our wellbeing support groups help to connect service users with those around them.

Referrals can be made by a professional or you can self-refer. An assessment will then be offered to establish if we are the best service to fit your needs. Our service is free of charge and confidential.

Please note if someone is already under the care of any other mental health team including being on the waiting list, then as a service we would not

be able to offer support.

Interventions are currently being offered, face2face, telephone and zoom. Monday – Friday 9-5.

If anyone wants to find out more, please drop us an email at referrals.eipssbarnsley@nhs.net of give us a call on 01226 704090

Kind regards

SEND Ellis Survey

Dear Parents,

We would love to hear about your experiences of being a parent of a child on the SEND register in our school.

We would like to hear about what you find helpful, what extra help you might like and have the opportunity to celebrate your child’s successes and find out more about the times when things are not working well for your child.

Please complete the survey below to share your views.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

https://forms.office.com/r/PThNuU8d9R

Fill | SEND at The Ellis Survey

We’d love to hear about your experiences of being a parent of a child on the SEND register in our school. We’d like to hear about what you find helpful and what extra help you might like. We want an opportunity to celebrate your child’s successes and find out more about times things are not working well for you child.

forms.office.com

03.02.22

Important Ellis News

Dear Parents,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this email to you today.

Mrs Hurding, Mrs H has a new Head teacher job starting in September 2022.

It is at a bigger school and the deciding factor for me is, it is the school local to my home in Sheffield. The school is Lydgate Junior school and I have previously been the Assistant Head and Deputy at Lydgate Infant school.

I was not looking for another job, as I have been and am so happy at The Ellis. However, this opportunity came up due to the current head retiring and I had to push the door. I really was not expecting to get the job!

Being able to walk to work will have a huge impact on my well-being.

However, I do write this with tears in my eyes as I love the Ellis and everything The Ellis stands for. I am beyond proud of the amazing school The Ellis has become and I have every confidence that the staff team, children and Governors will continue to make the Ellis the best it can be!

We have another 6 months and Mrs H will continue to give her everything to The Ellis.

So sadly, I will be leaving with the class of 2022, maybe I need to buy a hoodie.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Ellis would not be the amazing community it is without our supportive parents.

I am going to talk to the children (Y1 to Y6) in assembly today to explain.

With much fondness

Mrs H

02.02.22

Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Covid-19

I am sure you are aware that Covid is continuing to impact on staff and children being able to attend school. Currently we have the most cases in Y3. The children are still having their lunch in the classroom, however, we have decided that they can now be with the rest of the school at playtime as they are all outside. We hope to continue to keep everyone as safe as possible, alongside enabling normal school life to continue as much as possible.

Seesaw

Our teachers continue to work hard to ensure that children who are isolating have learning on Seesaw that links as much as possible to the learning taking place in class. If your child has Covid and is well enough, it is an expectation that they complete their learning on Seesaw. We notice a huge difference in the children who have been completing their learning online, as they quickly re-engage into the learning in class and have less to catch up on. We really appreciate your support as it helps your child make the best progress.

Chair of Governors

David Schofield, our Chair of Governors, has resigned from his post. David has shown great commitment to the Ellis and has been our Chair since 2015. We are very grateful for all the time and commitment David has given to The Ellis and we will be having a school collection to thank David for his support and his many years of service. If anyone would like to contribute please can you hand donations to Mrs Hurding or Mrs Fiddes in the office before half term.

Mr Marcus Wood our Vice Chair has stepped up to be the Acting Chair for our Governors.

We have a strong group of Governors who will continue to support The Ellis to ‘be the best it can be’!

The Ellis Church

Our next Service will be held on the 17^th February in the school hall, 3:30 – 4:30pm, all are welcome.

The Multi Sports club will be held outside on that day so please make sure your children bring warm PE clothes suitable for outdoors. Thank you.

Valentine’s Day Menu

The kitchen is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu on Monday 14^th February. Please see the attached menu for details.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

01.02.22

Young Voices New Date – Friday 13th May 2022

Dear Parents,

We have now received our new date for the Young Voices concert at Sheffield Arena. It is Friday 13th May 2022. In terms of Y6 SATS, this is the Friday of SATS week, but the last day of Y6 SATS is Thursday 12th May, so it does not clash and will be a lovely event to look forward to at the end of a busy week!

Here is the information I have received from Young Voices themselves.

As promised here is the date of your rescheduled concert at Utilita Arena Sheffield.

YOUR NEW DATE IS: 13-05-2022

ALL of the schools from your previous date have been transferred along with all of the tickets for that date.

KEY INFORMATION FOR THESE STEPS IN THE PROCESS:

· The hard copies of your old tickets will be valid for the new date so just bring them along. Even though the date is wrong they will still be accepted on the door and the seat row/number remains the same.

· If you haven’t received your tickets yet. We will send these out as soon as we have completed the date change process. (tickets to be sent home by the school at a later date).

· Please try and tell all of your parents (whether they have bought tickets or not) that you have a new concert date. Some of your parents may have bought tickets directly with the box office (or may wish to do so) and some parents may not realise or understand the date change process as well as you do. Please note, parents are not to contact the YV office as they will only be referred back to the account holder i.e. The School.

· If we do have tickets left for the rescheduled concert once the changes have been made then we will go on sale with them direct from the box office. Unfortunately we are not reopening schools bulk ordering via the teacher centre.

· NB: If a parent therefore requests a refund and then wishes to buy a ticket at a later date it will be more expensive due to box office charges. In addition, some concerts are also sold out so the ability to re-book tickets is not guaranteed.

We have not yet received our physical tickets, but please be assured they have all been ordered and will be sent out in due course. The tickets have been transferred to our new date and we sincerely hope that all the children who signed up for the event originally will be available on Fri 13th May to take part in the event.

If your child is now UNAVAILABLE for the new date, please let Mrs Fiddes know by email ASAP and when we receive the information needed about how to request a refund on your tickets, we will do this on your behalf. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that your child will still be taking part in Young Voices and you will be requiring the same number of tickets which you originally ordered.

We will resume lunchtime rehearsals nearer the date, but your child has the link needed to keep practising at home in the meantime!

Thank you for your patience and support. We are desperately hoping that this new date happens and that we can once again give our Y5 and Y6s the magical experience of Young Voices!

We will continue to be in touch as we receive updated information from Young Voices. We are sure it is a huge logistical nightmare for them as they have many concerts to re-arrange in large arenas up and down the country! We appreciate what they are doing behind the scenes to make this happen!

Kind Regards

Mrs Trotter and Mrs Edwards

Florence Nightingale Workshop – Wednesday 9th February 2022

Dear Parents,

Y1 and Y2 are halfway through their topic on Heroes and are really enjoying the historical element of learning about real life heroes who made a difference to others. One of the figures we have studied in depth is Florence Nightingale.

We have just booked a virtual workshop on Wednesday 9^th February, 9.30am with a company called Real Life History who we have used many times before. During the workshop, the children will be able to watch a live virtual performance, take part in some activities before ending with the chance to interview the actors (in their historical roles). It is a wonderful way to help bring history to life and to give the children chance to further develop their knowledge of this wonderful lady from over 200 years ago!

The workshop itself costs £100 and we are asking for a £1 donation please to help us cover the cost. This can be paid on Parent Pay and we will cover the difference using some of the money raised from our nativity.

We are also planning a school trip for Y1 and Y2 later in the academic year (which of course we will update you on nearer the time), but we thought this would be a lovely way to end our topic.

Thank you as always for your ongoing support.

Kind Regards

KS1 Team

31.01.22

Dear F2 Parents,

Seesaw

The SeeSaw home learning codes for F2 have had to be reset, the new codes will be printed and sent out to all children this week.

Chinese New Year

This week F2 will be learning about Chinese New Year and will be tasting some Chinese snacks. If you have any worries and do not wish your child to participate, please let either myself or Mrs Beevers know.

Many thanks

Mr Grayhurst

F1 Chinese New Year

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we are learning about Chinese New Year and we will be tasting some Chinese food.

If you do not wish your child to take part in this activity please let a member of the F1 team know.

Thank you

Mrs Pollard

25.1.22 Y5 Science – Eye Exploration

Dear Y5 Parents/Carers,

As part of our science topic this half term (Light), we will be looking at how we see and how the eye works.

Following on from the success of the heart dissection, we are delighted and very excited to be able to offer your child the opportunity to explore an eye. At some point later in the term we will be dissecting an eye. The children will have an eye to dissect in pairs using scalpels. Before the dissection the children will be briefed on health and safety issues and they will wear gloves and aprons.

If you do not wish your child to take part in this valuable learning experience, please let school know before 8th February. Additionally, if your child takes part but does not wish to carry on, they will be able to leave.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Jaques or the office.

Mrs Rachel Jaques

Year 5 Teacher

25.1.22 Womens Euro England 2022

Dear Parents,

This year sees an exciting event coming to South Yorkshire. The UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 is being hosted at local stadiums and we have the opportunity to secure tickets to this summer’s tournament ahead of general sale.

Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and start from just £5 Concessions (U16s) and £10 Adults. This presale offer to schools closes on Tuesday 8^th February, therefore if you would like me to take advantage of the early tickets please bring your money to the school office by Friday 4^th February.

We will need to know how many tickets you would like (adults or concessions) and which game(s) you would like to attend. A schedule of the games can be seen on the attachment.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/Y3 Teacher

25.1.22 Mini Pod School

Dear Parents,

We have had an increase of cases of Covid-19 in Y3 and Y5, as a result of this information we do need to operate a mini-pod school for Y3 and Y5.

Pod school means they will have their lunches in the classroom and they will be on the Muga (multi-use games area) at playtimes. We are going to divide an area for Y3 and an area for Y5 to play on the Muga. Y3s and Y5s will not be attending whole school assembly for the rest of the week.

We strongly recommend you test Y3 and Y5 children everyday in case they have been in close contact with positive cases.

I am sorry for the inconvenience, however, I do need to cancel forest school and Lego club (for all year groups), tag rugby and multi sports will go ahead, but without Y5.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Mrs Hurding

24.1.22 Important Nursery Information

Dear Parents,

Covid -19

We have increased cases of Covid throughout school from the weekend. There are several cases in Y3 and Y5 but not enough to make them a POD class. We will continue to keep you posted. Thank you for your support, regular testing is helping us to keep on top of the spread of Covid.

Panto/Trip

We are delighted that we are returning to normality a little now, we have had our first trip and the pantomime has been back in school. Both were greatly enjoyed by all and it was a pleasure to be able to offer these to the children.

Thanks for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

20.1.22 Nursery Important Information

Dear Nursery Parents,

All the nursery children really enjoyed the pantomime this morning.

I am really sorry but I will have to close nursery tomorrow afternoon. Please can all full time children be collected at 11.45am tomorrow. Nursery will not be open for afternoon children tomorrow.

I am really sorry for the inconvenience, I have all three nursery staff off with Covid. I have managed to cover nursery with our staff today and tomorrow morning, however, I do not have the staff to cover tomorrow afternoon and there are no supply teachers available from our supply agency.

We will still have the teddy bears picnic tomorrow morning so please bring your bear.

Please keep an eye on your children as there are cases of covid in nursery.

Thank you for your support,

Mrs Hurding

19.1.22 Wombwell Main Cricket Club Juniors

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to promote the attached information from Wombwell Main Cricket Club. Wombwell Main Cricket Club Juniors

Thank you

17.1.22 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Calendar and Inset Days

Please find attached our calendar for 2022/2023 along with inset days. Calendar 22-23

Our inset days are:

01.09.2022

02.09.2022

03.01.2023

05.06.2023

21.07.2023

Safe Parking

Please be mindful when parking at drop off and pick up times, it is very tight, especially at the bottom of Garden Grove. It is all our responsibility to keep the surrounding area as safe as possible.

Thank you

Mrs Hurding

17.1.22 Important Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Covid–isolation update

Further changes to Covid minimum self-isolation period rules

The Covid self-isolation period in England will be cut to five full days from Monday (17 January 2022) Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced.

Anyone who develops symptoms or tests positive from Covid must immediately self-isolate.

From Monday 17 January 2022, people who test positive will be able to leave self-isolation after five full days, subject to having two negative LFT results, 24 hours apart.

The self-isolation period starts at 12.01am the day after your positive test or the beginning of symptoms. This means that the day symptoms begin or test positive is day zero. The next day is day one of your isolation period.

You can take your first test on day five. If it is negative, you can take another test 24 hours later on day six.

Assuming this is also negative – and you do not have symptoms – you can immediately leave isolation.

If the result is positive, you must keep self-isolating until you have two negative results taken 24 hours apart. The whole isolation period is ten full days.

The rules apply whether you are vaccinated or not.

After School Clubs (All are back up and running this week)

We are delighted we are able to offer so many after school clubs. Can I remind you not to drive into school to collect from the after school clubs. Many children are leaving on foot at this time as well as by car and we need to continue to be as safe as possible. Please park outside of school and arrange to meet your child or walk onto the school grounds to collect. All the KS1 and KS2 clubs finish at 4.20pm.

Pantomime

All is looking hopeful for the Panto on Thursday. Children are welcome to dress up for Cinderella in fancy dress or non-uniform, however, the children will need to still be able to play outside. We would really appreciate a £3 contribution via ParentPay to support school paying for the show. Thank you.

Nursery

Nursery will be closed on Thursday 5th May due to the building being used as a polling station.

Y3/4 Jorvik Trip

The Y3/4 trip is going ahead on Wednesday. Children MUST be in school for registration at 8:10am to avoid missing the coach – it will not delay leaving due to rush hour traffic. Unfortunately, due to space restraints in the gift shop at Jorvik, we will not be able to visit, please ensure your child DOES NOT bring any money. Remember packed lunches, water bottles and full school uniform please.

School Absence

It is very important that you notify us if your child is not going to be in school for any reason. You can do this either by emailing h.fiddes@theellis.org or t.gay@theellis.org or by telephone using our school number 01226 753383 and pressing option 1.

Thank you for all your support

Mrs Hurding

11.1.22 F2 Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Show and Tell

Dear Parents,

We hope you are keeping well and have had a good start to the New Year. As part of our current topic about toys, we will be learning about the different types of toys that children like to play with. Could we please ask that your child brings in a toy next Monday 17^th January as we will be having a show and tell session about our favourite toys.

We will also be having a ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ on Friday 21^st January. Please can you child bring their teddy bear to school that day so that we can have a little tea party together.

We hope this is ok. If you have any questions or queries then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

11.1.22 Menu Change for Census Day

Dear F2, Y1 and Y2 Parents,

Thursday 20th January is our school Census Day.

Part of this Census day includes free infant school meals Government funding (F2, Y1, Y2 children).

It would really help us if your child could try a school meal on census day to increase our uptake. We will order a meal for all F2, Y1 and Y2 children, however, if your child does not normally stop for school lunches, please feel free to send a packed lunch in case they do not like the choices on offer.

The class teacher will read out the menu on the morning and ask any children whose parents have not ordered at home to make a choice. If you have not ordered from home before on ParentPay and need some help doing so, please let me know. You will possibly be taken to a payment screen at the end but you will not be charged as all meals for F2, Y1 and Y2 children are free of charge.

The menu on census day is:

Fish Fingers and chips, macaroni cheese or a jacket potato with a choice of hot and cold fillings.

Lemon iced cake square, fruit or yoghurt.

Thank you for your support.

10.1.22 Important Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Covid – 19

We do have a few cases of Covid in school but non that are connected to each other at school, at this stage.

We do have three of our staff currently off and have sorted the cover. We will continue to keep you posted, but as ever we will continue to do everything we can to keep school open.

There has been a new update this week regarding testing. This starts tomorrow, Tuesday 11^th January.

‘Confirmatory PCR tests to be temporarily suspended for positive lateral flow device (LFD) test results

Confirmatory PCR tests following a positive lateral flow device (LFD) test result are to be temporarily suspended from Tuesday 11 January. This will mean that anyone who receives a positive LFD test result will be required to self-isolate immediately and will not be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.’

Pantomime – Cinderella

Traditionally at The Ellis we have a pantomime that comes into school in January. The theatre company transform the hall into a theatre and it has always been an amazing experience for our children. We have had it booked in for a long time, but we have decided to go for it this year with all the doors and windows open. The company have agreed to come as long as we are not having a school Covid outbreak. Obviously I will continue to assess the Covid situation for everyone. So hopefully the show will go on! Cinderella is booked for Thursday 20^th January. We do need to ask for a voluntary contribution of £3 per child as our PTFA have had no opportunity to fund raise over the last two years. The performance is in the morning so our afternoon nursery children are invited to attend if they would like to come. We also dress up for the theatre, come in your favourite costume or dress in your favourite going out, party outfit, that is suitable for school and still going out to play.

After school clubs

All the KS1 and KS2 After school clubs will finish at 4.20pm. Please collect from the front of school.

Regards

Mrs R Hurding

10.1.22 Teddy Bears Picnic

Dear Parents,

We will be having a teddy bears picnic on Friday 21st January for both morning and afternoon sessions.

Please can your child bring their teddy to nursery so we can give them a biscuit, a drink and sing songs to them!

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard & Mrs. Kelly

10.1.22 Y5 Information

Dear Y5 Parents,

Homework

Each week, starting this week, we will be uploading a piece of reading comprehension homework and maths homework onto Seesaw so that your children have the opportunity to secure their learning at home.

The homework will become available on Monday and we will mark it together the following Monday. We will allow any children who have not completed their homework at home the opportunity to do so in school during their lunchtime on Monday.

We hope that this will be a good opportunity to help children practise their learning and also prepare for the future, when they will need to manage homework expectations in Y6 and in Secondary school.

Forest School

This half term, Y5 will have the opportunity to take part in Forest School with Mrs Trotter on Friday afternoons.

The class will be split in half and will take part in the forest session every other week. The children will know which is their week to bring in a change of clothing, suitable footwear and a coat to be able to take part.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Mrs Wise

7.1.22 Y6 SATs Boosters

Dear Y6 Parents,

As our SATs tests are fast approaching, we would like to offer all Y6 pupils the opportunity to attend an after school booster club on a Wednesday to consolidate their Maths learning.

The club will end at 4:15pm and light refreshments will be provided; please could you let me know if your child will be attending for numbers so I can buy enough snacks!

I am aware that there is a clash with Forest School Club, however, if your child would also like to attend the boosters, alternative booster sessions will be provided during a lunchtime each week (the day to be confirmed).

The sessions will begin on the 12th January and run until the beginning of May. We will inform you as soon as possible if there are any weeks the boosters cannot go ahead.

Previous classes have found these really useful and have given them confidence for their SATs, therefore, it would be beneficial if everyone could attend.

Kind regards,

Mrs E and The KS2 Team

6.1.22 Y6 Leavers Hoodies

Dear Y6 Parents,

Our Ellis leavers hoodies are now available to purchase, the link below will take you direct to the listing on the Vortex website.

Don’t forget to choose the preferred colour and also add initials or a nickname to be printed on the front of the hoody.

Thank you.

https://www.vortexschoolwear.co.uk/The-Ellis-CE-Primary-Leavers-Hoody-2022-1-1

5.1.22 After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

Please see below our list of after school clubs that will be running this half term.

If your child did not receive a place at the last club they requested, we will ensure they have their name put down as priority this time. Please email Mrs Fiddes to reserve a place for your child.

If your child will not be attending the club one week, please inform us to avoid any confusion and also so we can make sure they do not get changed at the end of the school day.

All of the following clubs will start from next week (w/c 10th Jan) and run up to and including the week before half term (w/c 14th Feb).

Monday – KS1 Multi Sports with coach Mr Plume. (Free of charge).

Tuesday – Y4/5/6 Tag Rugby with coach Mr Plume. (Free of charge).

Wednesday – F2 Footie Stars. £2.50 payable to coach Adrian per week and a parent needs to remain.

Wednesday – Forest and Outdoor Learning with Miss Batley Y5/6. £2.50 per week paid via ParentPay.

Thursday- Y4/5/6 Multi Sports with coach Dan. (Free of charge).

Thursday – Y3 Lego Club with Mrs Willis. (Free of charge).

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

5.1.22 Important Information

Dear Parents / Carers,

We are looking forward to welcoming all staff and children back into school today, we had a useful curriculum Inset for teachers yesterday on the Computing and Music Curriculum.

We hope that you have had a healthy Christmas and been able to spend some time with your families.

Please see my attached letter with further details on the Covid situation in schools. Parent Letter 5.1.22

Mrs Hurding

17.12.21 Young Voices

Dear Parents,

We are very disappointed to inform you that due to the new restrictions, Young Voices has been postponed until the Summer. Please see the email below from the YV Team. We will keep you updated and be in touch when we have more information. Until then keep singing!

Mrs Edwards and Mrs Trotter.

Please see the following email update from Young Voices:

We understand that during the rising tension around the Omicron variant and the outlook for January that there are questions being raised regarding YV 2022.

As always, our priority here at Young Voices is the health, both physical and mental, of our children, teachers and the families who attend our concerts. It is therefore our decision to postpone all of our concerts to Spring/Summer 2022. We tried so hard to give this every opportunity to go ahead but we had to make this decision in the end and as a result we would also like to apologise for not being able to make the call any sooner.

We are currently working hard alongside our venues to make sure all of our original dates can be accommodated within this new timeframe and we will be in touch early next year with your new concert date. All ticket orders will be transferable and remain valid for these new dates and t-shirt orders will continue to be processed as usual.

Until then please enjoy your Christmas break and know that the Young Voices team will be doing everything behind the scenes to make sure your concert experience is worth all of the wait!

See you in 2022
Best wishes
The YV Team

13.12.21 F1 Information

Dear F1 Parents,

Library

There will be no library this Wednesday as it is party day. The folders will be kept at nursery when they have been returned and library will begin again after the Christmas break.

Toy Day – Friday

Friday is toy day, nothing breakable or too precious please and something that they will share.

Thank you

The Nursery Team

10.12.21 Y3/4 Jorvik Trip

Dear Parent/Carer,

Jorvik Viking Centre

In support of the children’s topic, The Vikings, we would like to take Years 3 and 4 to the Jorvik Viking Centre in York on Wednesday, 19^th January 2022 to experience what life was like during Viking times. The children will take part in a tour of the Jorvik and a Viking battle tactics workshop.

The coach company we will be using is Globe Holidays. The coach will leave school at 8:15am and is expected to return to school by 3:30pm. Children will need to be at school for no later than 8:10am for registration. If your child suffers from travel sickness we would suggest that appropriate travel sickness tablets are taken before school.

The cost will be £13.60 per pupil to include the tour, workshop and also the coach. We must point out that if insufficient money is collected, the trip will have to be cancelled. Payment will be made via Parent Pay. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties covering the cost of the trip, please contact Mrs Hurding.

Please ensure school uniform is worn on the day with suitable footwear and an appropriate coat. A packed lunch will be required and can be provided by school for children who are entitled to Scheme of Aid. Please let us know if your child requires a school packed lunch prior to the trip.

There is a gift shop on site and the children can bring a small amount of money (no more than £5) if they wish, in a named envelope, however the children are responsible for looking after it.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Cook, Miss Beresford and Mrs Kaskiewicz.

KS1 Nativity Arrangements

Dear Parents,

We are so excited about our Nativity next week, we know our children will be shining super stars!

Here is the information for our 6pm performances:

Please drop your child off at the KS1 cloakroom door at 5:30pm, no earlier, as staff will not be available to look after them until then. We envisage that the performance will last approximately 45 minutes, therefore, if you are not watching please return for them at 6:45pm. If a person not known to us is collecting your child please let staff know beforehand. Raffle tickets will be available on the night, £1 a strip and there are some amazing prizes to be won. We will be holding a separate raffle every night. All monies raised from our Nativity are used in KS1 to continue developing our outdoor area and to purchase new resources for the children. We really appreciate your generosity!

Please see the whole school newsletter regarding face masks, lateral flow tests and seating arrangements.

Our children have worked incredibly hard and are desperate to show you our Nativity, we know you will be proud of each and everyone of them.

Kind regards,

The KS1 Team.

10.12.21 F2 Christmas Gifts

Dear F2 Parents,

Your child has been busy in class.

If you would like to purchase your child’s gifts they are £2 each.

Thank you for your support,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beever

6.12.21 Nursery Christmas Gifts

Dear Nursery Parents,

Your child has been busy in Nursery.

If you would like to purchase your child’s creations, they are £5 for all three.

Thank you for your support,

The Nursery Team

30.11.21 Y3/4 Whirlow Residential Trip

Dear Parents,

Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to our Year 3/4 residential to Whirlow Farm next year, I can now inform you that we have 53 children going, which is very exciting news! Now we have these numbers, I can give you some more information. We plan to take the groups of children on the following dates:-

Group 1: Mon 23^rd – Tues 24^th May 2022 (1 group of Y3 and 1 group of Y4 children)

Group 2: Tues 24^th – Wed 25^th May 2022 (1 group of Y3 and 1 group of Y4 children)

Group 3: Wed 25^th – Thurs 26^th May 2022 (1 group of Y4 children)

The Y3 children will share one accommodation and the Y4 children will share a different accommodation.

When your child is not on their residential trip, they should attend school as normal. 2 members of staff will stay with each group of residential children and other staff members will teach the children who are at school.

The cost of the trip will be £54 which includes overnight accommodation, return travel, food and all activities whilst we are there.

We ask that payments be made via Parent Pay. The total amount will appear on your child’s page and parents are then able to pay off small amounts at a time (the total amount left will decrease as payments are made) or should you wish to, you can pay the full amount in one go.

We ask that all parents meet the following payment deadlines as we have to pay Whirlow Farm in advance. Should you wish to pay the balance before these dates that is fine.

Initial deposit to secure your child’s place of £14 to be paid by Wed 15^th Dec 2021

Second payment of £20 to be paid by Fri 4^th Feb 2022

Third payment of £20 to be paid by Fri 18^th March 2022

Parents will be invited to a meeting during the end of Spring term (2022) to discuss what your child will need to bring and to give you more information. Should you have any questions prior to this time, please do not hesitate to pop in and see me.

Kind Regards,

Mrs C Trotter (Year 2 teacher and KS1 Leader)

30.11.21 Y2 Whirlow Residential Trip

Dear Parents,

Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to our Year 2 residential to Whirlow Farm next year, I can now inform you that all 30 children are going, which is very exciting news! Now we have these numbers, I can give you some more information. We plan to take the 3 groups of children on the following dates:-

Group 1: Wed 29^th June – Fri 1^st July 2022 (10 children)

Group 2: Mon 4^th July – Wed 6^th July 2022 (they will return to school by approx. 10.30am so we can collect the next group). (10 children)

Group 3: Wed 6^th July – Fri 8^th July 2022 (10 children)

The cost of the trip will be £102 which includes 2 night’s accommodation, return travel, food and all activities whilst we are there.

We ask that all parents meet the following payment deadlines as we have to pay Whirlow Farm in advance. Should you wish to pay the balance before these dates that is fine.

Initial deposit to secure your child’s place of £12 to be paid by Wed 15^th Dec 2021

Second payment of £30 to be paid by Fri 4^th Feb 2022

Third payment of £30 to be paid by Fri 18^th March 2022

Final payment of £30 to be paid by Fri 6^th May 2022

Parents will be invited to a meeting during the beginning of the summer term (2022) to discuss what your child will need to bring and to give you more information. Should you have any questions prior to this time, please do not hesitate to pop in and see me.

Kind Regards,

Mrs C Trotter (Year 2 teacher and KS1 Leader)

30.11.21 Pyjamas for Swimming Friday

Dear Parent / Carer

On Friday, when your child goes swimming they will need to bring their usual swimming kit plus a pair of pyjamas. If they do not have pyjamas they can swim in shorts and tee-shirt.

Please note they can not wear jeans / onesies / joggers (these are too hard to swim in and difficult to remove in the water.)

The children have also been asked by the pool staff to bring a separate carrier bag to put their wet pyjamas in.

Any questions or queries please do not hesitate to speak to me.

Mrs Rachel Jaques

Year 5 Teacher

29.11.21 A Couple of Ellis Notices

Dear Parents,

Y5 Craft Shop

The Y5 Craft shop will be running outside the main entrance tomorrow after school.

Y4 Lego Club

We are sorry that we are having to cancel lego club again this week due to staff shortages.

Thank for your support,

Mrs Hurding

29.11.21 Football Friendly

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a football friendly match on Friday 3^rd December. Our game is against Springwood and will be played at our school on the field. Children will kick off around 2pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, on grass, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating and can choose to wear trainers or football boots. Your child will need a pair of shin pads so please make school aware before Friday if you need some. Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

If your child requires an inhaler they will need to bring this along with them. The cost of the game will be funded using the Sports Premium Grant and therefore your child requires no money for the event.

Please ensure that you have ticked the consent box on the Extra curricular and Sporting Events trip form on ParentPay to allow your child to participate.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

26.11.21 Nativity Tickets

Dear Parents,

Nativity Tickets

We have 100 tickets per performance so to make sure all children have tickets, we are going to allow each child to purchase 2 tickets initially (this could be 2 tickets for the same performance or 1 ticket for one performance and 1 ticket for a different performance). The tickets will go on sale on Monday 29^th November. Please send the correct money in an envelope and write on the envelope which performance(s) you are buying the tickets for. Please give the envelope to your child to pass to their child’s teacher.

The following week on Monday 6^th December, all remaining tickets will go on sale. More details to follow when we know exactly how many available tickets there are for each performance.

Tickets are priced £2 each and there will be a raffle for each performance as well. All money raised goes straight back into KS1 to enhance our outdoor area and to purchase new reading books and other classroom resources. We are so grateful for everyone’s support.

Please find a letter in your child’s book bag tonight about costumes and drop off / pick up times.

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

26.11.21 Darfield Cricket Club Holiday Club

Dear Parents,

Darfield Cricket Club are running FREE Christmas holiday camps, funded by the council, for children who are in receipt of free school meals.

The booking link is below.

https://forms.office.com/r/LJWvG10NS0

All their staff are suitably qualified, experienced working with children and have a current DBS Check and First Aid qualification.

Thank you

24.11.21 Football League

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Football League starting on Friday 26th November. Our first games are against West Meadows and Birdwell Primary School, we will be leaving school at 12:50 and returning back for home time.

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, on grass, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating and can choose to wear trainers or football boots. Your child will need a pair of shin pads so please make school aware before Friday if you need some. Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

Please ensure that you have ticked the consent box on the Extra curricular and Sporting Events trip form on ParentPay to allow your child to participate.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

24.11.21 Email from Barnsley Schools Catering Service

Parent Consultation

Important: Barnsley Schools Catering Service Parent Consultation Autumn Winter 2021

Dear Parents,

Barnsley Schools Catering would like your feedback. Their Autumn Winter 2021 parent consultation is a key time for you to give input on all areas relating to your child/children’s school meals.

They use the results of this consultation to shape all areas of the service – from what’s on the menu to how they get in touch with you throughout the year.

The survey takes 5 minutes to complete and will be significant in helping Barnsley Schools Catering shape the future of the service to meet the needs of you and your children.

Click on this link https://surveys.barnsley.gov.uk/s/BarnsleySchoolsCatering/ to have your say.

The survey will close on Friday 17^th December 2021. In the new year we will be in touch to share the findings of the parent consultation.

Many thanks,

Barnsley Schools Catering Service

22.11.21 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

We are hopeful we have now turned a corner with the CV-19 cases in school, everything crossed. We will continue to keep Y3 and Y4 as a separate Pod this week.

Thank you for everyone’s support. I imagine we will see further spikes in different classes, we will keep you informed when we have linked increases of cases. Since September we have had one off cases in school too.

Book Fair – reminder

Thank you for the support from Foundation today for the book fair.

Tuesday is the book fair day for Y1 and Y2

Wednesday – is the book fair for Y5 and Y6 (please note we have changed the date so Y3 and Y4 go last)

Thursday – is the book fair day for Y3 and Y4

Please note there is NO BOOKSHOP THIS WEEK on Tuesday.

Climbing Wall

We are delighted Miss Cook has organised this experience for Y2 to Y6 this Wednesday, an email was sent out about it on Friday.

Craft Shop

Sorry for the change of date but due to an appointment Mrs Hurding has, we need to delay the Craft pop up shop scheduled for tomorrow (23^rd November) to the following Tuesday (30^th November).

The shop will run after school from 3pm and will be run by some of our Y5 girls.

Covid Memorial

We are delighted that some of our Y6 children’s designs (then Y5s) won in a competition and are now being used as part of the Covid Memorial, which is being unveiled in Barnsley today. Mrs Brinkley and Mrs Connelly have taken the children to the unveiling event in Barnsley town centre today.

Odd Socks and Children in Need

Thank you for everyone’s support last week wearing odd socks on Monday and dressing for Pudsey on Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hurding

18.11.21 Y2-6 Climbing Wall Enrichment Activity

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday 24^th November all children from Years 2-6 will have the opportunity to take part in a mobile climbing wall experience.

Each class will receive one hour on the wall. As part of our wider curriculum I try to organise enrichment activities each half term that are additional to the curriculum and give children a chance to try something they might not have previously. With the introduction of climbing to the Tokyo Olympics there has never been a more exciting time to introduce people to climbing.

Children will need a pair of trainers and a waterproof coat in case it is raining, as it will still go ahead. Children do not need any other special clothing, however, loose fitting clothing such as jogging bottoms are preferable. More information regarding the climbing wall can be found on this link.

https://www.outdooreducationcompany.co.uk/activities/mobile-climbing-wall

If any children do not wish to take part that is perfectly fine, however, we will encourage all children to give it a go.

If your child finds that they have a love for climbing then why not take advantage of this offer from the Foundry Climbing in Sheffield? You can enrol your child onto the Junior Introduction session, and they will teach the basic safety techniques over the first 6-12 weeks then encourage them to move on to Level 1 coaching.

This code will give 10% off the Junior Introduction sessions: SCHOOLINTRO

More information can be found on the link below.

https://www.foundryclimbing.com/junior-introduction

Thank you for your support and we would love to hear from any children who have taken up the offer.

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

18.11.21 SEND Review and Parents Meetings

Dear Parent/Carer,

In the next week, you will be attending a parents’ meeting and review session for your child (if you have not yet booked this then please do so through school cloud https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk).

Teachers are really looking forward to having the opportunity to meet with you and share how your child has settled into their new year group. It will also be a chance to talk about the successes of the previous School Focus Plan (SFP) or EHCP monitoring form, which is the document we use in school to support the individual learning journey your child is on, and to start looking at the new document for the coming term. You will also have the opportunity to share any changes, moments of pride or concerns with your child’s class teacher.

Please understand that these are draft plans and that you will have opportunity to talk through the document at the meeting to add your ideas or support amendments. The SFP/EHCP monitoring forms are working documents which are used to plan, implement and review provision in school and we really value your input in their development. If it would be helpful to see the document before the meeting then please email Mrs Fiddes and ask for it to be sent either via a secure email address or collected in person.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

18.11.21 F2 Letters to Santa

Dear Parents,

As part of our writing next week we will be writing to Santa via Royal Mail.

As we will be posting these letters next week could we please ask you to send a first class stamp into school by Monday 22nd November.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

16.11.21 Y3/4 Communication

Dear Parents,

A huge thank you for your co-operation. The number of CV-19 cases has increased in Y4. We also have three staff who are currently positive at home and another awaiting a PCR result, as well as Miss Saunders needing to isolate. We are doing everything we can to keep the classes going.

Can I say your children are being a credit to you and are supporting the teachers brilliantly by listening and making the right choices. Miss Cook is teaching Y3 and Mrs Beever is teaching Y4.

We are setting Seesaw work for your child to access but only when they are well enough.

We ask that you continue to test children in Y3 and Y4 along with family members, as Covid has been spreading quickly. We are continuing to ensure the Y3 and Y4 classes are cleaned regularly and the windows and doors are open so please make sure children bring in a sweatshirt or fleece to keep warm.

Please don’t hesitate to phone us if you have any concerns.

Thank you

Mrs Hurding

15.11.21 Y3 PSHE Topic, Relationships

Dear Y3 Parents/Carers,

Our next topic for PSHE in Y3 is all about Relationships.

As part of this topic we will be talking about personal boundaries, exploring the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch and who they can seek help from if they feel uncomfortable about any situations they might find themselves in. We will also be learning the correct names for different parts of the human body, including their private parts. I have included the Topic overview for Y3 which lets you know which words we will be discussing.

I wanted to let you know beforehand just in case you wish to talk about this with your child prior to the lessons, as they usually lead to further discussions at home that you might not be ready for.

If you are unsure or have any questions about this topic you can always email myself on j.beever@theellis.org or Mrs Hurding on r.hurding@theellis.org

Alternatively you might want to check out the 1decision website on www.1decision.co.uk where you can find further information about this subject.

Thank you.

Julie Beever

HLTA/PSHE Lead

15.11.21 Y4 Remote Learning

Good morning,

As you may be aware, we have had a number of recent positive Covid-19 cases in Year Four.

I will be uploading work on Seesaw for those children who are already isolating and are well enough to complete work at home. The health and well-being of our pupils and their families is important to us at The Ellis. Please do not feel any pressure to upload work if your child is needing to rest and recover.

Please could you let Mrs Fiddes know if your child requires any work uploading.

Please stay safe and take care,

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

15.11.21 CV-19

Dear Parents,

We have had increased cases of CV-19 over the weekend in Y4. Attached is the official letter. Letter to whole school CV-19

We are going to be operating Pod School for Y3s and Y4s as much as we can this week.

If you have child with a sibling in Y3 and Y4 we strongly recommend that you keep an eye on symptoms and LFT (lateral flow test) if your child is feeling unwell or you are concerned. We appreciate your support in this matter.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.

Kind regards,

Mrs Hurding

15.11.21 Y3/4 CV-19

Dear Y3 and Y4 Parents,

Attached is the official letter regarding CV-19 cases increasing in Y4. CV-19 Threshold met letter Y3 Y4 (003)

As we have had a case in Y3 too, I have made the decision to keep Y3 and Y4 as a separate Pod as much as we can in school this week. The children will have their lunch and assemblies in the classroom like they did in Pod school.

We strongly recommend that if your child has symptoms, or if you are concerned at all, to do a LFT (lateral flow test).

As a result of the situation Miss Saunders will be working at home this week and Seesaw activities will be set up for those children at home but please only do them if your child is well enough.

We thank you for your support.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.

Kind regards,

Mrs Hurding

12.11.21 The New South Yorkshire NHS Website

information about South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (SYB) Healthier Together Website

Dear Parents,

Since September there has been a notable increase in common infections and illnesses amongst children and young people. To help the NHS and to helpmaintain good attendance whilst safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our school community, it is now more important than ever that families become familiar with the different illnesses and how to deal with them in the best way.

On the new South Yorkshire NHS website www.sybhealthiertogether.nhs.uk families and young people will find advice on what ‘red-flag’ signs to look out for, where to seek help if required, what to do to keep an unwell child comfortable and how long symptoms should last, for a wide range of health conditions, including rashes, coughs, asthma, bronchiolitis, fever and many others.

Healthier Together was launched to provide families, children and young people across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw with consistent and high-quality advice from local health and care professionals.

The website will help families become aware of the common winter illnesses and as a result give them the necessary information to make the right decisions. The more people who know about the website the bigger the difference it will make to children and families receiving the right care in the right place

Healthier Together gives patients consistent, high-quality advice and puts their needs at the heart of the website.

For any queries or more information about the website please contact:

sheffieldccg.sybhealthiertogether@nhs.net

Thank you in anticipation of your support.

Kind regards, The SYB Healthier Together Team

12.11.21 Barnsley School Catering Job Vacancies

Dear Parents, please see the email below from Barnsley School Catering Team.

We currently have job vacancies for a number of kitchen staff relief worker positions. We are looking for flexible and reliable relief staff members to work across a number of schools.

Visit https://barnsley.engageats.co.uk and search for Catering Assistant/Cook 1 to apply.

Many thanks,

The Barnsley Schools Catering Team

Tel: 01226 774577

Location: Westgate Plaza One, Barnsley, S70 2DR

12.11.21 Y3/4 Whirlow Residential Trip

Dear Y3/4 Parents,

We know how disappointed your children (and staff) were that our Y2 Whirlow Farm Residential trip had to be cancelled and we are delighted to let you know that Whirlow Farm have now started to take bookings for 2022! Due to certain changes at the farm, they are no longer offering pony rides and Whirlow Farm are now doing a standard 1-night residential trip, but in true Ellis style, we intend to make the most of every minute there!

As a guide, children will leave school at approx. 10am on the day of their residential trip and will arrive at the farm approx. 10.45am. They will settle into their accommodation, enjoy playing in the outdoor farmland space and the playground at the farm, before eating lunch. In the afternoon the children will do a farm tour (1 ½ hours) and also complete farm jobs as it is a working farm so the jobs need doing daily! These take roughly 45 minutes. We will then have tea and enjoy lots of activities in the evening (led by school staff either in the accommodation or out in the fields next to the accommodation, weather dependent).

The next morning we will have an early breakfast and walk the children to Whirlow Brook Hall where there is a wood which children can enjoy den building in and exploring together. This takes about 15 minutes to walk to down a bridal path which runs alongside Whirlow Farm itself. The coach will then pick the children up at approx. 11am and return them to school in time for lunch.

As both our Y3 and Y4 children missed out on their Whirlow residential trip, we are offering this one-night stay to both classes. Whirlow Farm has 2 different accommodations on site (hall and barn) which each hold 12 children and 2 staff so we have provisionally reserved both accommodations for 3 nights enabling us to take all the Y3 and Y4 children in groups, should they wish to go. (When not at Whirlow, the children will attend school as normal). I am unable to give an exact cost until I have exact numbers as the accommodation is a set price (whether full or under-occupancy) but I don’t envisage it going over £55 including coach travel, food and activities.

The dates we have provisionally booked for are Monday 23^rd May 2022 – Thursday 26^th May (to accommodate all 58 children if needed) and so your child would go for one night between these dates.

If you would like your child to attend please reply to this email by Friday 19^th November so that we can confirm the coach and finalise our booking with Whirlow Farm. As soon as we have confirmed numbers I will be able to confirm the exact price. I will then send out payment schedules and details of how to pay the deposit to secure your place.

Please note participation in this trip will be dependent on consistent good behaviour in school.

King Regards,

Mrs Trotter

12.11.21 Y2 Whirlow Residential Trip

Dear Y2 Parents,

As some of you may be aware, pre-covid, we ran 2-night residential trips for our Y2 children to Whirlow Farm in Sheffield. Unfortunately, this has not been able to take place for the past 2 classes, but we are very excited to be able to run it again this year for our current Y2 children! It really is a wonderful experience and one which our current Y5 and Y6 children talk about fondly from when they visited all those years ago!

During the first day, the children will have the opportunity to take part in a farm tour where they will have the chance to meet lots of farm animals and to help out with the farm jobs (e.g; feeding the animals, collecting and grading eggs and holding and grooming some of the smaller animals). On the second day, the school staff will walk the children to Forge Dam approx. 1 mile away where there is a large duck pond, lovely play area, picnic spots, woodland area and stream which in previous years we have loved getting our wellies on and paddling in (it is very shallow only coming up to ankle-level). In the evenings, we will do lots of activities with the children, depending on the weather, including playing games and sports, baking and playing board games and quizzes together. The children will also work together (alongside the school teaching staff) to prepare meals, make packed lunches and wash up! It really is a big team effort but an amazing opportunity for the children to develop their independence in a small, safe environment.

With regards to sleeping arrangements; the farm can cater for 12 children and 2 teachers at a time, which would mean that one group would visit whilst the others are at school and on their return the other group would then visit. If we have more than 24 children, we will take smaller groups of approximately 10 and run three trips. (Any child who does not wish to take part in the residential will attend school as normal that week). The children will sleep in a converted hall which is currently being refurbished into two rooms of 6 children. (The two teachers will have their own rooms within the hall and will look after the children overnight).

As a parent myself with two children, I realise that it is hard to ever imagine that your own child will be ready for an overnight stay but this residential is a lovely way to let them experience an overnight stay with their friends and teachers they know well in a small, homely and calm environment. Having taught Year 2 for many years now, it still staggers me how much the children grow up and change between the end of Year 1 and the end of Year 2. They really do grow in confidence, independence and resilience over the year. Having now run this trip for a few years I can say first-hand that the children gain so much from such an experience and that it provides them with lasting memories. I will be personally accompanying each group with another member of staff from school.

With regards to cost, we are unable to give an exact figure until we know how many children will be going (as the hall is a set price regardless of whether it is at full capacity of 12 children or not). I envisage that it will not cost more than £110 based on previous years. This will include 2 night’s accommodation, food, return travel by minibus and all the activities children undertake whilst they are there. Payments can be spread throughout the year (although a deposit will be needed upfront to secure your place) and once we have numbers, we will be able to send out a final price and a payment schedule.

As lots of schools are now starting to book residential visits again and many are wanting to take more classes as they have missed out during the last 2 years, we have provisionally booked the following dates for our visit. If we have less than 24 children, then one of the dates will not be needed.

Wed 29^th June – Fri 1^st July 2022 (first group)

Mon 4^th July – Wed 6^th July 2022 (second group)

Wed 6^th July – Fri 8^th July 2022 (third group)

NB – group 1 come home Friday lunchtime and group 2 and group 3 swap over on Wednesday lunchtime.

As we are only able to hold our provisional booking for a certain number of days, please can you reply to this email by Friday 19^th November confirming whether or not your child would like a place. When we have confirmed numbers, I will be able to confirm the exact price. I will then send out payment schedules and details of how to pay the deposit to secure your place.

Please note participation in this trip will be dependent on consistent good behaviour in school.

If you have any initial enquiries, please pop and see Mrs Trotter or email the office and I will answer any questions you might have.

Kind regards

Mrs Trotter (Y2 teacher and KS1 leader)

12.11.21 ParentPay Arrears

Dear All Parents,

A reminder that ParentPay should ALWAYS be in credit. Debit balances are not permitted.

Please keep an eye on your child’s ParentPay account for both dinners and breakfast club and ensure they are kept in credit.

If you have an outstanding balance on your child’s account please arrange to clear this as soon as possible.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

11.11.21 SEND Coffee Afternoon

Dear Parents/Carers,

As families of children on the SEND register, we would like to invite you to our next meeting on the 12th of January at 5pm. The plan is to invite adults to meet in the hall for tea, coffee and biscuits and a member of staff will host children in a classroom with a film, lego and colouring activities.

It would be helpful if you could please let us know if you will be attending and of any children who will be joining us too.

If you are unable to attend but would like to touch base with either myself or Mrs Gay then please don’t hesitate about getting in touch.

Best wishes,

Mrs Wise

8.11.21 Football Event

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Year 5/6 Football Competition at Hoyland Common Primary School on Friday 19^th November 2021. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:50pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, on grass, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating and can choose to wear trainers or football boots. Your child will need a pair of shin pads so please make school aware before next Friday if you need some. Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

10.11.21 Christmas Dinner Day and Party Day at The Ellis

Dear All Parents,

Christmas Dinner / Christmas Jumper Day 8^th December

On Wednesday, 8th December, we will be having our combined Christmas Dinner and Wear your Christmas Jumper Day. There will be no alternative food on this day so if your child would not like a school Christmas dinner please send them to school with a packed lunch.

Full time nursery children are also invited to wear their Christmas jumpers and order a Christmas lunch. Payment is paid via ParentPay and costs £2.

Part time nursery children are welcome to wear their Christmas jumpers that day.

Christmas Party Day 15^th December

This will be on Wednesday, 15th December and all children are welcome to come in their party clothes but please be mindful of outdoor play.

Party food costs £2 and is ordered using the lunch option on Parent Pay. It will consist of ham and cheese sandwiches, carrot and cucumber sticks, crisps, a sausage roll, pizza slice, a decorated muffin and a tub of ice cream all washed down with orange squash!

Party Food includes all nursery children (morning and afternoon) and is paid via ParentPay. If you need any help using ParentPay please email and I can help you with this.

Please remember, if your child does not wish to purchase party food, a packed lunch will need to be brought from home as there will be no alternative school lunch on this day.

Hayley Fiddes

10.11.21 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

CV-19

We do currently have several cases of CV-19 in different year groups, not enough to officially email. Please continue to be vigilant and if your child has symptoms we strongly recommend a PCR test. Please can you let us know the results ASAP. If you know your child has had contact with a positive case we recommend regular LFT Lateral Flow Tests. We really do appreciate the amazing support we have from you all.

Parents’ Evenings and SEN Reviews.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BOOK ON THE CLOUD https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk

F1, F2, Y1 and Y2 have two different slots for their parents’ evenings which you choose from. They will contact any parents regarding SEN reviews separately.

Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 have parents evening appointments available from the 15^th November and SEN review appointments available from the 22^nd November. Please check the school cloud for available times (they go quickly) and contact Mrs Fiddes in the office if you have any problems trying to book.

Crafty Crew

The Crafty Crew have decided they would like the money they raise to go to charity. Their chosen charities are Cancer Research and the RSPCA.

They will also be running a raffle next Wednesday 17^th November. Each ticket is 10p and there are two prizes – a very cute Pikachu puppet and a long loom band skipping rope. We will run the raffle in school at break times.

Anti – bullying week commencing 15^th November

On Monday 15^th November please support anti-bullying week by wearing ‘wear odd socks’ to demonstrate our support that we are all different but important. The theme is choose Kind. Please join in if you would like to.

Children in Need 19^th November

On Friday 19^th November, please support Children in Need by wearing something spotty, Pudsey or your PJs.

Like last year, if you wish to donate as a family please do so online.

Many thanks for all your support,

Mrs Hurding

8.11.21 Football Event

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Year 3/4 Football Competition at Hoyland Common Primary School on Friday 12^th November 2021. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:50pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, on grass, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating and can choose to wear trainers or football boots. Your child will need a pair of shin pads so please make school aware before Friday if you need some. Unfortunately parents are unable to spectate.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

5.11.21 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

We hope you all had a good half term break. We are getting ourselves ready for the busy run up to Christmas.

IMPORTANT DATES this half term:

11^th November

3.30 – 4pm is our first Ellis church in the school hall for families to come and enjoy worship together, led by Rev Armstrong.

15^th – 19^th November, Parent meetings for parents evening catch ups.

We are setting up the school cloud again and the appointments for parents’ evenings will be available from this weekend. https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk

If you are unable to make any of the allocated times to meet your child’s class teacher, please let us know so we can arrange another mutually convenient time to meet.

22^nd -26^th November, SEN reviews for Y2 to Y6

Please note if you are having SEN reviews, you will be allocated a longer time slot as this includes your parents evening appointment too.

These will be set up on the school cloud next week and available for you by the end of next week.

15^th November – supporting Anti-Bullying week

On Monday please do join in if you would like to. The theme is ‘wear odd socks’ to demonstrate our support that we are all different but important. The theme is choose Kind.

19^th November – Children In Need

Please support Children in Need by wearing something spotty, Pudsey or your PJs.

Like last year, if you wish to donate as a family please do so online.

TUESDAY’S bookshop will be open every Tuesday except for the week where we will be holding the school book Fair.

School Book Fair is 22^nd November- 25^th November

The children may bring money in for the book fair on their allocated day.

22^nd November – Foundation

23^rd November – Y1/2

24^th November – Y3/4

25^th November – Y5/6

Christmas at The Ellis

8^th December – Christmas dinner and jumper day – please wear a festive top and enjoy your lunch! More details to follow.

13^th and 14^th December –KS1 Nativity

15^th December – Christmas party day – please wear party clothes but be mindful of outdoor play. More details to follow.

17^th December – 1.30pm Christingle – we will set up a zoom live link for parents to watch at home.

17^th December – last day of school

4^th January – is an inset day

Children return on the 5^th January.

Miss Saunders is starting her maternity leave from the 29^th November, we wish Miss Saunders all the best at this exciting time. Mrs Kaskiewicz will be covering Miss Saunders’ maternity leave and will be teaching in Y4 for the rest of the year. Mrs Kaskiewicz will also be working a couple of days a week over the next three weeks to support transition. We are so proud of how our Year 4s are engaging in learning and we will continue to support their wonderful learning journey in school.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

5.11.21 Y6 Newsletter

Dear Y6 Parents, Through the Decades

Please find attached the topic overview which shows an outline of the learning your child will be doing this half term.

Could I take this opportunity to say thank you for all the support you are giving to help your children learn at home. Please remember to encourage your children to read at least 3 times a week as we know this has a real impact on learning. Spellings will continue to be set weekly and it really helps if children practice these in their spelling diaries as well as on Spelling Shed. We continue to be really impressed with the enthusiasm Y6 are showing for TTRockstars- please continue to encourage regular practice of times tables and related division facts.

The children have had a great start to being in Y6 and we look forward to talking to you about their progress during our upcoming Parents’ Meetings, which will be held on School Cloud in the coming weeks.

Many thanks,

The Y6 Team

5.11.21 Y6 Publicity Consent Form

Dear Parents, Where we Belong Child Consent Form

Your child has volunteered to be part of the BBC’s ‘Where We Belong’ video. Please see the link for more details.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2dvlZWfHQK1zBn380nRcQFC/where-we-belong

I have already videoed some of the children lip syncing to parts of the song however before they can be sent could we please ask for the attached consent form to be returned by MONDAY 8th NOVEMBER. Your child will be coming home tonight with a paper version incase you are unable to complete this online.

The BBC have asked for this additional consent as the film is going to appear on their social media and on the BBC Website and might be shown at a public screening. Parents/ guardians are advised that giving permission for their child to take part in the project does mean that they are likely to be seen by thousands of people.

We are obviously not going to identify the children by naming any of them but they could be identified by the place where they are being filmed so if anyone has any doubts about this we would ask that the child is not filmed for the project.

The BBC’s child protection policy and code of conduct can be found here: https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/policies/childprotection

Kind Regards

Mrs Edwards

5.11.21 Y6 Crucial Crew

Y6 Visit to Crucial Crew- Monday 15th November 2021

Dear Parent/Carer,

As part of the year 6 curriculum we are taking the children to Crucial Crew, an initiative run by South Yorkshire Police and Fire services, on Monday 15th November 2021.

The visit leader on the trip will be Mrs Jaques and the accompanying staff with her will be Mrs Brinkley and Mrs Connelly.

The coach company we will be using is Beewise. The coach will leave school at 9:00am and is expected to return to school by 3.20pm. If your child suffers from travel sickness we would suggest that appropriate travel sickness tablets are taken. A further tablet for the return journey can be brought into school in a named envelope.

This trip will be fully funded by school as it is designed to help children to develop an understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe in a variety of scenarios.

A packed lunch will be required and can be provided by school for children who are entitled to Scheme of Aid. Please contact the office to order this.

Please give your consent on ParentPay before Friday 12^th November; apologies for the short notice.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Edwards

5.11.21 Y3 Newsletter

Dear Y3 Parents, Y3 India Newsletter Topic Mind Map India Home Learning Letter

Thank you for all of the support you have given your children last half term to help them learn at home. The children have made a great start to Year 3 and we are looking forward to seeing more fantastic learning from them this half term. Please find attached the topic overview which shows an outline of the learning in school as well as some home learning ideas.

Many thanks,

The Year 3 Team.

5.11.21 Y2 Newsletter

Dear Y2 Parents, Y2 Newsletter

Here is the newsletter for this half term with lots of information on which I hope will be useful. It is shaping up to a be a busy and fun one! May I take this opportunity to say how well the children have settled into Y2 and to thank you as parents for the way you have helped them to do so. I am proud of them all and look forward to spending this magical, festive half term with them.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

4.11.21 Y5 Newsletter

Dear Y5 Parents, Through the Decades

Please find attached the topic overview which shows an outline of the learning your child will be doing this half term.

Thank you for all the support you are giving to help your children learn at home. It is fabulous that all our Y5 children are reading at least 3 times a week (and many of them more) and we can see this having a real impact on their learning. Spellings will continue to be set weekly and it really helps if children practice these in their spelling diaries as well as on Spelling Shed. We are really impressed with the enthusiasm Y5 are showing for TTRockstars- please do keep encouraging regular practice of times table facts (learning the related division facts is important too).

The children have had a great start to being in Y5 and we look forward to talking to you about their progress during our upcoming Parents’ Meetings, which will be held on School Cloud in the coming weeks.

Many thanks,

The Y5 Team

3.11.21 Book Fair

Dear Parent/Carer,

Celebrate reading at our Book Fair!

It’s coming up to that time of year again where we have the Scholastic Book Fair in school but as with everything this year, it will be quite a bit different to how we usually run the event.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, we are unable to have parents in school. However, you are able to send your child in with some money if you would like them to browse and purchase any books.

Children will only be able to browse the wide selection of books in their year groups, each class has been allocated a slot (please see below for more information).

Monday 22^ndNovember: Foundation Stage

Tuesday 23^rdNovember: KS1 (Years 1 and 2)

Wednesday 24^th November: LKS2 (Years 3 and 4)

Thursday 25^thNovember: UKS2 (Years 5 and 6)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

2.11.21 Y4 India Newsletter

Dear Y4 Parents,

The Fantastic Foxes have settled into life in Year Four brilliantly and we are proud of each and every one of them for all that they have achieved during the first half term. We cannot wait for the busy half term ahead of us.

Please find attached our newsletter for this half term. Y4 India Newsletter

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

2.11.21 Barnsley School Catering Service

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to forward the following information to you from Barnsley Catering Services.

We are delighted to launch our rebrand! Today, the kitchen staff at your school will be modelling our brand new look and wearing their new uniform with pride.

We have a few updates in reference to our new name and branding:

Our email address is now BSC@barnsley.gov.uk. Do not panic if you have sent an email to our old address, we will still receive it.
Our Facebook account is now @barnsleyschoolscatering or you can find us at www.facebook.com/barnsleyschoolscatering
Our Twitter account is now @BarnsleySC or you can find us at www.twitter.com/BarnsleySC
Our Instagram account is now @barnsleyschoolscatering or you can find us at www.instagram.com/barnsleyschoolscatering

Many thanks,

The Barnsley Schools Catering Team

22.10.21 Y6 Maths Booklets

Dear Parents,

I will be sending some maths booklets home today for the children to complete over half term. These are to consolidate the maths learning we have done in Y6 so far.

There are 3 tasks in total: one is a place value booklet and there are two different four operations ones to try. If they could be returned to school by Friday 5^th November that would be helpful.

Please do what you can, I will offer additional support during lunchtimes the first week back for any children that find it particularly tricky.

Mrs Brinkley has put them on Seesaw for our children who are absent today.

Hope you have a lovely half term.

Mrs E and the Y6 Team.

20.10.21 New Ellis Church

Dear Parents,

The first monthly Ellis Church meet up will be held in the school hall on Thursday, 11th November 2021, 3:30-4:30pm.

Please see the attached poster for more information.

Mrs Hurding

19.10.21 Y6 Forest School and Garden

Dear Y6 Parents,

Please can you send your child with suitable footwear and a coat on Thursday ready for use in forest school and the garden. A spare set of clothes is not needed.

Thank you

Mrs Jaques

18.10.21 Y4 Lego Club next Half Term

New Year 4 After School Lego Club

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to offer a new Year 4 after school Lego Club running from 3:15-4:15pm every Thursday.

The club will run for 6 weeks from 4th November 2021 until 9th December with a maximum of 15 places available.

The club will be organised and run by Mrs Willis. Each week will have a different theme to give the children opportunity to show their creative side.

The club is free of charge. Please email Mrs Fiddes to express your child’s interest and once we have an idea of numbers we will decide how to proceed with allocating spaces.

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead

15.10.21 After School Clubs next Half Term

Dear Parents,

We are delighted to be able to offer a range of after school clubs after half term.

Monday November 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th. December 6^th.

KS1 Gross Motor Skills Free of charge

This club will work on fundamental skills such as throwing, catching, running and jumping.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Tuesday November 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th. December 7^th.

Y4/5 Tag Rugby Free of charge

This club is run by a qualified rugby coach with over 20 year’s experience.

The club will be held outside on the field so children will need to bring appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather.

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Wednesday November 3^rd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th. December 1^st, 8^th.

Y3/4 Forest School £2.50 weekly payable on ParentPay

This new outdoor learning, Forest School and Rainbow Garden club will be run by Miss Batley. For safety reasons numbers are limited to 15 for this club. The charge of £2.50 will be paid on ParentPay and all the funds will be used to enhance our outdoor areas.

This club is now full.

Wednesday November 3^rd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th. December 1^st, 8^th.

F2 Footie Stars £2.50 payable direct to the coach

This club will be run by Adrian Barnard who is a qualified football coach and will be held in the school hall. The cost is £2.50 weekly and is to be paid in cash directly to Adrian. There will be a maximum of 12 places available and an adult will need to be present with their child.

Thursday November 4^th, 11^th, 18^th, 25^th. December 2^nd, 9^th.

Y5/6 Handball Free of charge

Please email Mrs Fiddes if your child would like a place at this club.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Y3 Teacher & Wider Curriculum Lead

15.10.21 F2 Autumn Gifts

Dear Parents, Autumn Gift Email for Parents

We have been busy making our Autumn gifts in F2. Please see the attached for more information.

Thank you

The F2 Team

14.10.21 Extra Curricular and Sporting Trips Consent

Dear Parents,

Throughout the year the school organises local visits/trips away from the school site as part of the children’s learning experiences. These visits are approved by the headteacher and are an extension to classroom activities and present no significant risk to the health and safety of the pupils. Participation is always dependent on good behaviour.

The purpose of the extra curricular consent form is to enable parents to give their child permission to participate in these local visits/trips away from school without the need to sign a separate consent each time.

Full details of the visit will be explained prior to the trip, including any activities to be undertaken, what they will need and the time they will be expected to return.

Examples of these extra curricular visits/trips are:

Walks around the local area: e.g. Jump cenotaph, Hemingfield, Elsecar Park, Wombwell Church.

Inter-School Sports Competitions: e.g. Shafton, Kirk Balk, Netherwood, English Institute of Sport.

Local Schools: Transition visits, Inter-School Competitions.

I have placed a consent form on ParentPay for you to give consent for your child. The end date for the form is the year your child finishes in Year 6, this will allow the consent form to follow your child through school, meaning consent only needs to be given once throughout their time with us.

Thank you,

Hayley Fiddes

14.10.21 F1 Autumn Gifts

Dear Parents,

We have been busy making our Autumn gifts in Nursery. Please see the attached for more information.

Thank you

The F1 Team

14.10.21 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

We are heading towards the last week of a wonderful busy half term in school. We are beyond proud of all your children, their attitude to learning and each other has been a joy to see.

CV-19 update

As you are aware CV-19 is still around and we are beginning to have new cases in school as of today. We officially inform you when we have 5 or more cases. The increase of cases in school in Y6 was hard for everyone, children, staff and parents. I contacted Public Health every day and followed advice given. It was my decision to keep the Y6 class separate and for staff to wear masks in shared spaces and to encourage lateral flow testing. We are so grateful for our parents support as everyone has been willing to do lateral flow tests when they have been in close contact with Covid. We never had contact from Track and Trace. This week Public Health have updated guidance to say we can encourage Primary schools to do lateral flow tests. So I am delighted we were already encouraging this as it seems like the safest option we have.

UPDATED ADVICE FROM PUBLIC HEALTH:

Primary: advise that primary schools can also suggest that their pupils who are identified by NHS Test and Trace as close or household contacts undertake daily LFD testing while awaiting the results of a PCR. This is left to parental discretion and test kits for primary aged pupils can be accessed via gov.uk or their local pharmacy.

We do also understand that as a result of CV-19 in school other family members may get CV-19 and this is a stressful situation. We are not allowed to close down classes now, it is seen as the last resort. The only time classes have closed in the area since September is due to not having enough staff due to them having CV-19 to safely run a class. We can agree or disagree with this but this is the current guidance from Public Health I have to follow.

I really don’t think the guidance will change much now as the main goal is to keep children in school.

School Development

On Tuesday we had our first visit since Covid from a School Evaluation Officer and are proud to say he agreed with our judgements that school is good. We have not stopped improving our wonderful school and we are delighted with the result. This is down to everyone’s support to make The Ellis ‘the best it can be’.

Bookshop

The Y6 book shop crew have been so motivated organising and getting the shop ready over the last few weeks. They did us all proud on their first shop on Tuesday and raised over £109 pounds for us to buy more books for the bookshop!

If you are ever clearing out books we willingly take them as we can use them either in school or to sell in the bookshop.

SEESAW

A reminder that Curriculum information for F1, F2 and Y2 to Y6 is available on Seesaw for you to listen to.

By the end of next week your child’s class will have put on a Harvest celebration video for you to enjoy at home.

The Y1 curriculum evening was held online in the Summer term before the children started in Y1. Any questions regarding the curriculum please don’t hesitate to contact the class teacher.

HARVEST gifts

We will be sending any donations of food to the local foodbank, however, as a family, you may prefer to donate to a charity or leave food in the supermarket for the foodbanks. If you would like to bring a donation to school, please can you do so on the 20th October.

Parents evenings and SEN reviews

We have decided the safest option is to keep these virtual.

We will organise the appointment system to be set up for the first week back and will let you know which days and times your teacher has appointments.

Parents evening appointments will be the week beginning 15^th November.

SEN reviews appointments will be the week beginning 22^nd November – these will be longer appointments and will include your parents evening too.

INSET

The 1^st November is a school INSET day so our children will not be in school.

Thanks for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

14.10.21 Y2 Local Walk

Dear Parents and Carers,

This half term we have been reading the story ‘The Jolly Postman’ and have been learning about the journey of a letter. We have also been studying aerial photographs of Hemingfield and looking at street maps of the surrounding roads.

In order to bring our topic to a close and to carry out some local area geography field work, we would like to walk the children to the post box outside Mick’s Plaice fish and chip shop on the corner of Cemetery Road on the afternoon of Tuesday 19th October. The children will be accompanied by Mrs Trotter, Mrs Andrews and Miss Batley. We will take 15 children in the first group (Mrs Beever will do PE with the other half of the class) and then we will come back to school and swap groups so that all children have walked there on Tuesday. We are going to address our own envelopes at school (having enclosed something inside it!) and then post our letters and see how long they take to arrive at our houses! Whilst posting letters is something lots of us take for granted, in today’s ‘fast technology world’ of emails and text messages, sending and receiving letters is less common and it will a lovely way to round off our learning this half term.

The walk is covered under our ‘local walks’ permission form so there is no need for a separate signature on this occasion if you have completed the form on ParentPay. Please ensure your child has a coat and sensible shoes on the day. Should the weather make it unsafe to carry out the walk, we will endeavour to rearrange it at the first possible date.

Please could we ask that before the 19th October, you take your child to buy a first class stamp from a shop or a post office, for them to put on their envelope. These can be sent in any time from now onwards and we will put them safely on the envelopes. (We have envelopes in school so there is no need to send one of these).

Kind Regards

Mrs Trotter

Charlotte Trotter

13.10.21 Reds in the Community Holiday Club

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to share this email with parents, it is however, only targeting those who are eligible for benefit related free school meals. Hayley

Good Morning,

Reds in the Community will be supporting the Holiday activities and food programme 2021 by delivering FREE multi-sports sessions during the October Holidays thanks to funding from Barnsley Council, Department for Education and Healthy Holidays. We are reaching out to schools and partners to support us in ensuring the children and young people who would benefit the most from these activities have access. We are looking to target children and young people who are eligible to access free school meals.

Our Fit and Fed with the Reds camps will be delivered across two venues in Barnsley and consist of a blend of multi sports, wellbeing and educational activities that are accessible to all 8-16-year-olds who are eligible for free school meals.

The Multi-sport camps will be delivered 10am – 2pm at the below venues:

Astrea Academy Dearne

5ives Community Sports Centre

Please also see the following link where parents can sign up their children for the provision and our Facebook promotion post that you can share.

5ives

Astrea Academy Dearne

Facebook

Kind Regards,

James Cooke

Premier League Kicks Officer

11.10.21 Jump Family Centre Holiday Club

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to forward the following email and poster on to our parents.

It is only for local families with children eligible for benefits related free school meals. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Jump Family Centre Healthy Holiday Halloween Club

We’re working in partnership with BMBC on the healthy holidays programme this October half term.

As part of the programme, we’re excited to let you know that we are providing free holiday activities and meals for local families with children eligible for benefits related-free school meals.

The club is at Jump Family Centre and is running each day of half term, from Monday 25 to Friday 29 October 9am-3pm. We’ll be providing:

a tasty and nutritious breakfast and lunch for each child
enriching activities, themed daily and focused on wellbeing, creativity, culture, teamwork, building confidence & resilience and physical activity
nutrition education for children and families, along with support and signposting for families to other services (where appropriate).

There’s also a link here for further information about the club.

Kind regards.

11.10.21 Hockey Event

Dear Parent/Carer,

Your child has been selected to represent the school in a Year 3/4 Hockey Competition event at Springwood School on Friday 15^th October 2021. The event will start at 1:15pm and should finish before 3pm depending on how well the school perform!

Your child will have their lunch before leaving for the venue at 12:45pm.

Your child will need to bring shorts/tracksuit bottoms, trainers and their water bottle. They will be given a school shirt. The event will be held outdoors, therefore your child will also need to bring warm clothes for when they are spectating.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school.

Yours faithfully,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

11.10.21 Bookshop and Crazy Craft pop up shop

Dear Parents,

Our new Bookshop recruits have been working hard to get the book shop up and running again.

The bookshop will be open on Tuesdays and we have allocated different times for different classes F2 to Y6. Books cost between 50p and £2, many are second hand. The money goes towards buying new books for the book shop.

We also have a group of Y5s who have been busy making crafts, they are called the ‘Crazy Crafts’.

They are having their first pop up shop outside the main entrance of school on Thursday 21^st October, shop open from 3pm.

Thank you

Mrs Hurding

11.10.21 PGL Residential

Dear Y5/6 Parents,

We are pleased to let you know that we have now confirmed numbers with PGL for Friday 24^th– Sunday 26^th June 2022. Both Y5 and Y6 will be attending PGL together, however children will be in rooms and groups with others from their own year group.

The cost of the trip, including transport, will be £140 including coach travel.

If you have not already registered your interest but you would like your child to now attend the residential please could you log on to ParentPay where you will be able to pay the initial deposit.

An initial deposit of:

£30 will be due by Friday 22^nd October 2021. Please note this is non-refundable.

Your child will not be able to be added after the 22^nd October if this has not been paid

Further payments of:

£40 by Friday, 8^th April 2022

The remaining balance- £70- will be due by Friday, 3^rd June 2022

As always, there is the option to pay small, regular amounts if you prefer to spread the cost of the visit. The amount will be available on ParentPay as a reducing balance so that you can spread the cost more easily.

Please contact Mrs Edwards if you have any queries regarding this.

Kind Regards,

Mrs Edwards

11.10.21 F2 NELI

Dear F2 Parents, NELI

We are delighted that our school is participating in the NELI programme this year. Please see the attached letter for more details.

Rachel Hurding & Mr Grayhurst

8.10.21 SEND Coffee Morning

Dear Parents,

We will be holding our next coffee morning for families of children on our SEN register on Thursday 11th November from 9-10am. There will be drinks and biscuits, time to chat, a Thrive activity and an opportunity to share how you feel about our current review meetings for your children’s individual plans.

We would love it if you could come and join us, but if you can’t, please feel free to get in touch if you have any concerns or would like to share your ideas with us.

If you know you would like to attend then please reply to this email, it helps us if we know how many people to plan for.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

6.10.21 Early Years Framework on Seesaw

Dear Foundation Stage Parents,

We will be posting several clips onto the Seesaw site to inform parents about our revised Early Years Framework, the Prime areas of Learning and ideas on how to support your child’s phonic, reading and writing and maths skills.

These clips will be available for you to access from Friday 8^th October. You will need to sign onto the seesaw site using your child’s login code.

If you have any questions regarding the information in the clips, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher via the comment option on seesaw.

We hope you find this information useful

Mrs. T. Pollard & Mr. D. Grayhurst

5.10.21 Young Voices

Dear Parents,

Your child has been allocated a Young Voices 2022 place for the concert at Sheffield Arena in February. Today we are sending home a letter and order forms for t-shirts / tickets. Please read it carefully as we have had to bring the order form deadline forwards to this THURSDAY 7th OCTOBER (however the payment can be delayed until the original date of Wednesday 20th October – all is explained in the letter!). Please check your child’s book bag as we do not want anyone to miss out on the chance of ordering tickets, but we have had to make it a quick turnaround!

Kind Regards

Mrs Trotter and Mrs Edwards

1.10.21 Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

CV-19

Thank you for everyone’s support. The CV-19 situation has calmed, however, we still need to be prepared for it happening again. The measures we have put in place helped to reduce the spread. We appreciate all our parents support and are grateful to those who are taking their family members for PCR tests when needed. Please continue to be mindful that children should not be in school and to go for a test if they have CV-19 Symptoms.

When your child is having to isolate and they are well enough, they are expected to complete the home learning set on SEESAW. Teachers will put work onto SEESAW daily for your child to access. This will help your child continue to learn and on their return to school they will understand the learning that has been set and not feel so behind. We work hard to make sure the learning on SEESAW is as close as possible to the learning in school.

EVENTS

We are continuously debating and thinking how we can safely manage events in school.

It was wonderful yesterday morning to be able to run a small coffee morning for our SEND children’s parents.

We will continue to adapt and change as we go in relation to events in school, however, at this stage we will still not be putting on large events.

CURRICULUM EVENINGS

We have decided that the Autumn 1 scheduled Curriculum Evenings will be virtual rather than inviting all parents into school. Y1 to Y6 will place Curriculum information for their year groups onto Seesaw by 8^th October. Y1 and F2 have already had their curriculum evenings. However, as the Foundation Curriculum has been updated, the Foundation Team will also be sharing new Curriculum information onto Seesaw by the 8^th October.

HELLO YELLOW

We will be taking part in ‘Hello Yellow’ again this year, as ever, it is vital that we raise awareness of the importance of taking care of our Mental Health and to raise awareness with our children that’s it’s ‘ok not to be ok’.

Everyone can wear something yellow and you can decide how much yellow! It can be a yellow ribbon, shoelace, socks or a badge, or even head to toe in yellow if you have it!

This is on Friday 8th October.

HARVEST FESTIVAL

To celebrate Harvest this year your children’s class will be putting a Harvest song or poem onto SEESAW for you to be able to enjoy together. Seesaw is a safe space to share films, where only schools’ families can access the images. This enables our children who are not allowed on Social Media also to be shown too. We will be sending any donations of food to the local foodbank, however, as a family, you may prefer to donate to a charity or leave food in the supermarket for the foodbanks. If you would like to bring a donation to school, please can you do so on the 20th October.

HALF TERM HOLIDAY

Half term holiday is the 23rd October -31st October.

Monday 1st November is an Inset day, so children return on the 2nd November.

PARENTS EVENING

Parents evening and SEN reviews are scheduled for the week starting the 15th of November, it is highly likely these will be virtual and we may need to arrange the appointments over two weeks, but we will let you know before half term.

CHILDREN IN NEED

We will take part in Children in Need on the 19th November. Please dress up in SPOTS or anything Pudsey Bear related. We ask that if you wish to make a donation to make it as a family online.

CHRISTMAS

We have not yet made a decision regarding the KS1 Nativity.

We have set the date for Christmas dinner and Christmas jumper day, which is the 8th of December. Your child doesn’t have to wear a Christmas jumper on Xmas dinner day, it can be a t-shirt or something festive.

Christmas Party day is the 15th of December, please come dressed to party but be mindful of outdoor play. The lunch menu will be party food and there will no alternatives on these days. We will send further information on this later on.

We still need to work out the Christingle which is on the last day of term, 17th December.

Thank you for everyone’s support

Mrs Rachel Hurding

30.09.21 F2 Information

Dear F2 Parents,

The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum videos, including one for Phonics, will be available to view on Seesaw on the 8th October.

To supplement this, on the 7th October, we will be sending out a small guide about Phonics, our RWI (Read Write Inc) programme.

Attached is the welcome to school booklet which also contains some useful information on the EYFS curriculum and Foundation Phonics (Read Write Inc). Welcome to F2 Parent Booklet

Mr Grayhurst

F2 Teacher

29.09.21 Kirk Balk Academy Open Evening

Dear Y6 Parents,

We have been asked to notify you of the Kirk Balk Academy Open Evening which is taking place on Wednesday, 13th October from 4:30-7:30pm. Please see the letter below for more details.

JGT – Open Evening Letter 27.9.2021.docx

Thank you

29.09.21 Science Workshop Y5/6

Dear Parents,

We are excited to let you know that, as part of our Science learning about Space (which is Y5’s current topic and revision for Y6), we have arranged for a workshop run by ‘Real History Alive’ to bring our learning to life and give the children an interactive experience which they will enjoy and remember. The event will take place on Friday the 22nd of October.

The experience will involve astronaut training and pre-flight preparations, a tour of the solar system on a virtual space craft and a post flight report with question time for the space cadets!

We are asking for donations of £1.70 per pupil for us to be able to offer this experience to our Y5s and Y6s. Payments are made via Parent Pay. Please be aware that without sufficient donations the event will not be able to go ahead.

Many thanks for your continued support,

The Y5 and Y6 Team

28.09.21 Forest After School Club Postponed

Dear Parents,

Unfortunately we have been notified of staff training that is to be undertaken after school for the next three Wednesdays, which has an impact on our Wednesday Forest School club.

The club will now start on Wednesday, 3rd November (after half term) and everybody who has received a place will remain the same.

Thank you

27.09.21 New After School Clubs

Tag Rugby Y4/5 Free of charge Starting 28th September

This new Tag Rugby club will be run by a qualified rugby coach with over 20 year’s experience.

The first session will start on Tuesday, 3:20-4:20pm and will be open to Years 4 and 5. The club will be held outside on the field so children will need to bring appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather. We will initially run the club up until Christmas. If your child would like to attend this club please email Mrs Fiddes.

Forest School Y3/4 £2.50 weekly starting Wednesday 29th September

This new outdoor learning, Forest School and Rainbow Garden club will be run by Miss Batley. The first session will start on Wednesday, 3:20-4:20pm and will be open to Years 3 and 4. For safety reasons numbers are limited to 15 for this club. The charge of £2.50 will be paid on ParentPay and all the funds will be used to enhance our outdoor areas. If your child would like to attend this club please email Mrs Fiddes.

This club is now full.

F2 Footie Stars starting Wednesday 3rd November

On Wednesday 3^rd November a new Footie Stars football club will be starting for our F2 children.

The club will be run by Adrian Barnard who is a qualified football coach and will be held in the school hall. The cost is £2.50 weekly and is to be paid in cash directly to Adrian. There will be a maximum of 12 places available and an adult will need to be present with their child.

Anyone who is interested in the club please email Hayley at h.fiddes@theellis.org to secure your place.

Hayley Fiddes

27.09.21 Swinton Academy Open Evening

Dear Parents,

Swinton Academy will be hosting an open evening on Monday 4th October for all Year 5 and Year 6 students

Please see the attached for more information. Open Evening 2021 Letter 2021 Poster

Hayley Fiddes

24.09.21 Young Voices Feb 22

Dear Parent/Carers

We would like to offer the children in Year 5 and 6 the opportunity to take part in Young Voices which is an amazing concert for primary school children. Our school has been part of it for several years and this year it is set to be a very exciting one as it is the 25^th anniversary of Young Voices which has been rescheduled from last year. We are aware that some of our Y3 and 4 children may be disappointed by our decision to limit this year to Y5 and 6 however we feel that in light of the current situation this will be the safest option for this year. We hope that our Y3 and Y4 children will be able to join us again from next year.

The concert we will be taking part in is at The Utilita Arena, Sheffield on Friday 4^th February 2022 at 7.00pm. Before then there is a lot to do! We will practise the songs and the dance moves one lunchtime each week and will send a CD and lyrics home for the children to begin learning the songs. They are also available on Spotify.

There is no cost for your child to take part in Young Voices and children will be transported to and from the concert by coach (the cost of which will be covered by school). On the day of the concert, children will take part in an afternoon rehearsal at the arena and will be required to bring a packed tea. Staff will then bring the children back to school after the concert. (A letter with further details outlining all the arrangements will be sent out nearer the time).

You can buy tickets for the concert (these are £20 each) and the children need either a plain white T-shirt or a Young Voices T-shirt (priced at £12 or £14.40 for adult sizes). Once your child has returned their permission slip we will send out order forms for tickets and t-shirts. The order deadline for tickets and t-shirts is Wednesday 20^th October. These will need to be paid for via either cash or cheque, made payable to the school.

Please note, there is no obligation to buy either of these. Tickets ordered through school will be allocated seats together, however parents are welcome to purchase tickets directly from the arena right up until the concert date (although these will not necessarily be near other parents).

You can find out more on the website www.youngvoices.co.uk where there is a dedicated Parents section.

Final choir numbers are needed as soon as possible so if you would like your child to take part please email Mrs Fiddes by Tuesday September 28th. We only have a certain number of places available and therefore will allocate on a first come first served basis. Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Trotter and Mrs E Edwards

24.09.21 PGL Residential Trip Y5/6

Dear Parents,

We would like to let you know we have provisionally rebooked our residential trip for next year, at PGL Caythorpe Court. Due to demand from other schools who also missed out last year, the centre is fully booked for our usual Wednesday to Friday stay and the prices for the Monday to Wednesday stays have increased significantly so we have opted for the weekend slot to minimise cost. The date of our travel is Friday 24^th June to Sunday 26^th June 2022. As our Y6s have missed out on their trip last year we are opening this year’s visit up to Y5 and Y6.

As soon as I have exact numbers I will be able to give an exact cost based on the number of children going but I don’t envisage it going over £195 including coach travel. I have spoken with PGL and confirmed that should the trip not be able to go ahead, we are fully protected.

If you would like your child to attend please reply to this email. As soon as we have confirmed numbers I will be able to confirm the exact price. I will then send out payment schedules and details of how to pay the deposit to secure your place.

For more information about this trip and the types of activities on offer please visit:

http://www.pgl.co.uk/PGLWeb/Schools/Primary-schools/adventure/centres/CaythorpeCourt_activities

Please note participation in this trip will be dependent on consistent good behaviour in school.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Edwards

Deputy Headteacher

23.09.21 Track and Trace Information

Dear Parents,

A parent has passed on some information that has been received from Track and Trace.

They have said that symptoms for Covid -19 are coming out more as a headache and sore throat to start with and then a head cold, not the usual temperature, cough, and loss of taste initially. The cough and loss of taste seem to come a few days after the positive test.

Please continue to keep an eye on your children becoming ill.

Thanks for your support,

Mrs Hurding

23.09.21 New After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

We are excited to let you know of two new after school clubs that will be starting next week.

Tag Rugby Y4/5 Free of charge

This new Tag Rugby club will be run by a qualified rugby coach with over 20 year’s experience.

The first session will start on Tuesday next week, 3:20-4:20pm and will be open to Years 4 and 5. The club will be held outside on the field so children will need to bring appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather. We will initially run the club up until Christmas. If your child would like to attend this club please email Mrs Fiddes.

Forest School Y3/4 £2.50 weekly

This new outdoor learning, Forest School and Rainbow Garden club will be run by Miss Batley. The first session will start on Wednesday next week, 3:20-4:20pm and will be open to Years 3 and 4. For safety reasons numbers are limited to 15 for this club. The charge of £2.50 will be paid on ParentPay and all the funds will be used to enhance our outdoor areas. If your child would like to attend this club please email Mrs Fiddes.

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

22.09.21 Email from Wath Academy

Dear Y6 Parents,

We have been asked to distribute the following email to parents:

Dear Parent/Carer,

Due to unprecedented interest in the open evening, we would like to have an indication of numbers for each presentation, this will also allow us to plan for the appropriate amount of tour guides on the evening.

Please could you select the presentation you will be attending via the Microsoft Form link below.

https://forms.office.com/r/7RMGNrSVUu

Thank you in advance

Wath Academy

22.09.21 Covid-19 Update

Dear Parents,

We really do appreciate everyone’s support during the current increase of Covid-19 in school and we want to continue to do everything we can to keep everyone safe.

Can we please ask that you try to limit the amount of people who collect and drop off at school to limit traffic as much as possible.

Staff are currently wearing masks again in communal areas. We totally understand if you need to wear masks at collection and drop off, we are not enforcing it at this stage but are strongly recommending it to keep everyone safe.

If your child has any signs of illness we are recommending taking a lateral flow test, again we can only recommend this. You do not need to send us the test result. If a sibling has Covid-19 please be vigilant when the sibling is sent to school in terms of checking beforehand to make sure they do not have CV-19.

We thank you for all your support.

Mrs Hurding

22.09.21 Important Y6 Information

Dear Y6 Parents,

As you all communicate with each other I know that you will be aware of the increasing cases of Covid-19 in the Y6 class. We really appreciate everyone’s support in this matter.

We are currently keeping the Y6s separate to help to decrease the spread but we are mindful that more children are getting Covid-19 in class. Please can you continue to keep an eye on illnesses and test if you have any concerns? Will you also keep an eye on siblings as we are very mindful that we can continue to spread throughout school. We are following all the current advice and we do have lateral flow tests in school for staff, however, if you need to use some please let us know as we really want to help the situation as much as we can. We do also have some PCR tests in school which are the ones that you have to send away.

I have been informed it is Track and Trace who should be informing you and to my knowledge they have not, hence the reason for my email.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.

I know Mrs Edwards is putting work on Seesaw for when your child is well enough to work at home.

Thank you for your continued support

Mrs Hurding

22.09.21 F2 Information

Dear F2 Parents,

Please can you discuss the lunchtime menu with your child as a few children are saying they don’t like what they have ordered. If you log on to ParentPay and choose the lunch with your child there are actual pictures of the food served here in our school that your child can look at.

Also, it is expected by the end of this school year (when they leave F2) that children are able to use a knife and fork. Please practise this with your child and encourage independent use so they are ready for when they move into Y1.

Thank you for your support,

Mr Grayhurst

21.09.21 Public Health Update

Dear Parents,

The local Yorkshire Public Health have been in contact and we are currently following all the guidelines that they have recommended. I will of course update you if the situation changes at all.

Thanks for your support.

Please stay safe,

Mrs Hurding

21.09.21 Nursery Information

Dear Parents,

Share a Story Reading Session

Thank you for your interest in our ‘Share a Story’ reading session which was due to be held in nursery each Wednesday.

Unfortunately, we feel that it is not the appropriate time now to have any additional adults in the classroom at this moment. Therefore, we will need to cancel these sessions.

Your child will, however, continue to have their reading session alongside the staff in nursery.

As soon as we feel it is safe to start these sessions, we will let you know.

Until then please do not hesitate to contact the nursery staff if you have any questions regarding your child’s wellbeing, education and progress.

Shoes

Now is the time to help your child put on their shoes independently. We find that children often put their shoes on the wrong feet. Here is a quick idea how to help:

Write your child’s first name on a sticky label.
Cut the label in half (so half of their name is on each piece of label)
Put the 1st part of their name in the left shoe and the last part of their name in the right shoe.
Show your child how, when they place their shoes correctly together, it spells their name! Good Luck!

Jewellery

Please remember that if your child has earrings they cannot remove themselves, please can these be taken out on the morning of PE (Monday AM).

Under the Barnsley policy we are unable to let children take part inan indoor PE activity if they have earrings in and staff are unable to put plasters or tape over the earrings.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Pollard

21.09.21 Urgent Covid Advice

Dear Parents,

PLEASE READ THE ATTACHED LETTER Warn and Inform Letter

Please be mindful then when we have 5 cases or more in school I have to contact Public Health, I have contacted Public Health this morning. Please see the information attached.

I am waiting for the local response before I make changes, but I will be informing today.

The class that has several cases in is being kept as separate as possible today and also for the rest of the week as an immediate action. I strongly recommend alongside this letter that if you have any concerns regarding symptoms that you please go for a PCR test. Please be mindful as a school we may have to phone if your child is not well.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Mrs Hurding

21.09.21 F2 Information

Hello Everyone,

We hope you are keeping well. We are so pleased with how well the children have really settled down into school life at The Ellis and they are really keen to learn and do well.

A few of you have been making enquiries about home learning so we thought we would send an email to answer your queries and hopefully provide you with the support that you need.

Reading Folders will be sent home every Thursday (once a week) – please return your child’s folder by the following Wednesday at the latest.
The Reading Diary is for recording comments about how well your child is reading either their Read Write Inc. Phonic Book or their Colour Banded Book or both J
The Home Learning Book is for giving us updates about the learning and key experiences that your child is enjoying at home. You can add photographs if you like and your child may even want to include some of their work or drawings if you feel that this is appropriate.

A number of you have also been asking how we encourage the children to read the words using phonic strategies. We ask children to Fred Talk (say the individual sounds) then read the words. There are three helpful videos on the Ruth Miskin website that you may want to watch that will hopefully help you.

Parent Video: Sound Blending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNyFikwNQTg

Parent Video: Sound Blending Books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no4CbSS3ve8

Parent Video: Red Ditty Books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLXCVD_MVOg

Both Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Pollard will be posting information videos about the curriculum (including phonics) on SeeSaw in the coming weeks so please look out for them.

As part of getting to know the children’s starting points at the start of this year, we are carrying out a number of activities as part of our baseline assessment. As your input as parents is vital, as you know your child best, we will be sending home a simple proforma to complete regarding your child’s development. This week our focus in Communication and Language Development and the following weeks will be Physical Development followed by Personal, Social and Emotional Development. We hope that you are able to complete this for us, we greatly appreciate your support.

As we mentioned before, we are keen as an Early Years Team to forge good links with you as parents. For this reason. Mrs Pollard our Nursery Teacher in her role as EYFS Co-ordinator is going to trial Library sessions with small groups of parents and children in Nursery . She has recently sent letters out to Nursery parents to find out what the level of interest is and will hopefully begin the trial in the next couple of weeks to see how it goes. We will evaluate as a team how this has worked with the view to offering parents in F2 the same opportunity. We will be in touch with you again at the start of October with updates about this.

Please remember that although we still have restrictions in place we are always available at the start and end of every day if you need to speak to us about something and you can always contact us via phone or email if you have a worry or query. We look forward to working with you this year and hope that we find ways to develop positive working relationships with you all.

Please take care and we will be in touch again very soon.

Warm regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

20.09.21 The Ellis Update

Dear Parents,

CV-19

As to be expected with the new CV-19 reduced restrictions we are beginning to have some positive cases of Covid-19 in school.

Please continue to be vigilant and test if there are any signs of symptoms. It feels very strange not being able to inform you of cases in school, however, if everyone continues to be mindful of symptoms and adults continue to take regular lateral flow tests this is all that we need to do. We do not need to inform public health at this stage.

Morrison’s Good to Grow

Our school is now registered on the My Morrison’s app (this is different to the shopping app). Online tokens are automatically rewarded each time you shop and scan your Morrison’s More Card. We would really appreciate it if you could donate your online tokens to our school. Any items we receive will be used throughout school in our outdoor areas. Thank you.

Our Cleaner, Margaret

Mrs Margaret Hinchcliffe, one of our cleaners,resigned last week. Margaret has cleaned our school for over twenty three years including the old building and the current building since 2007. To celebrate Margaret’s time with us she is going to be guest of honour at our Gold awards next Friday 24^th September and will then join us for VIP tea. If anyone would like to contribute towards her leaving gift from Team Ellis please can you hand in the money to Mrs Fiddes in the office.

Thanks for your continued support.

Mrs Rachel Hurding

16.9.21 LA SEND Letter to Parents

Dear Parents, LA SEND letter to Parents

We have been asked to distribute the following email and attached letter containing a survey link.

Mrs Hurding

Dear colleague,

Following yesterday’s Ofsted notification that the Local Area SEND Provision is being inspected could you please circulate the attached letter to parents/carers from Ofsted and ask that where possible they complete the survey via the link included in the letter.

Thank you

16.9.21 New F2 Footie Stars After School Club

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday 3^rd November a new Footie Stars football club will be starting for our F2 children.

Anyone who is interested in the club please email Hayley at h.fiddes@theellis.org to secure your place.

Kind regards

Nicola Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

16.9.21 SEND Coffee Morning

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for the positive response to the possibility of a SEND coffee morning for parents. I am delighted to invite you to join us for our first coffee morning on the 30th of September from 9-10am.

This will be an informal opportunity to chat to Mrs Hurding, Mrs Gay and myself and get to know some other parents.

We are really looking forward to seeing you there.

If you are not able to attend, but would like an opportunity to catch up and check in, then please do not hesitate to get in touch and arrange a time to pop in and see me.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

9.9.21 SEND Coffee Morning

Dear Parents,

I would like to introduce myself (Mrs Wise) as the school’s new SENDCo and hope to find new ways to support you as parents of children with SEND.

We are considering holding a coffee morning where you can meet with myself and Mrs Gay, our PSA (Parent Support Advisor) where we can have informal chats and you can ask questions or just spend time getting to know other parents.

Would you be interested in attending such an event?

Please respond to this email letting me know whether this is something that you would find helpful and that you would be interested in attending.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

KS2 Lead & SENDCo

9.9.21 The Ellis Update

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your continued support.

Starting School

We now have all our F2 in school, they have settled in so well.

We understand that saying goodbye in the mornings can be hard for some of our children and parents. We know leaving your child upset is tricky. Please be reassured we have wonderful staff who will nurture and settle your children and if they continue to be upset we will let you know.

Morning and end of day routines

Nursery and Y1 to Y6 all start school at 8.45am.

F2 start school later at 8.55am, we are very mindful that if you have dropped off older children you will need to wait, (this is fine) however, please be aware of others and do not gather as we may still need to let the Y1 and Y2 children in who start earlier. Can we please all be really careful not to gather whilst waiting on the pavement of School Street as parents, children and buggies need to be able to get past safely.

We have taken away the one way system, this is to speed up the drop off process, not slow it down, so if it’s really busy and congested, like we said last week please use the one way system.

We will keep reviewing as we want this to be right and safe for everyone, we know the drop off and collection system helps our children to concentrate and be ready for learning quicker in the mornings.

CV-19

The new risk assessment is now in place and it is very different. If we have a positive case in school we now do not inform you unless Track and Trace tells us to. Please be extra vigilant on keeping an eye on Covid symptoms.

As we have now opened school fully we will need to wait to see what happens this Autumn term with viruses. Our priority is to keep our children learning in school.

We love that we can now see our parents, however, we are going to take it steady with large parent gatherings inside at this stage. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to come in to talk to staff, we are now allowed limited visitors into school.

Water Bottles

Children can now bring in their own water bottles in all classes.

PE kits and PE TRAINERS

We are aware that our children have not had to change for PE for nearly two years and for many this will be a new skill to learn. We will help!

As a school we encourage outdoor play and have agreed that it is fine to wear trainers for school which can also be used for outdoor PE.

Y1 to Y6 have pumps for indoor shoes.

All classes now have a wellie rack outside, it works really well if children can have a pair of wellies readily available in school as this enables us to be ready for Forest school. We have a timetable but we also want teachers to be able to use the Forest school for learning whenever it fits with their learning.

F1 and F2 have their shoes that they come to school in and put their wellies on for outside.

Please remember to label all clothing including shoes and wellies. Thank you

School Priorities

We are so proud as a school to have continued to improve our teaching and learning offer throughout Covid. Our outdoor areas are truly wonderful learning spaces. They promote amazing cross curriculum learning that impacts on our childrens’ confidence and love of the environment through Forest school, Rainbow garden and Tranquillity garden (our pond). All areas in school outside have improved with the Foundation trim trail, climbing frame and slide and the Y5/6 area now has a wonderful common room feel environment for our older children.

This year’s priorities are:

School priorities for 2021 to 2022

Priority 1

The Quality of Education

Reading and language acquisition is fundamental to The Ellis curriculum – improve access and quality of non –fiction texts
Handwriting and presentation policy used to improve writing standards in school
Maths mastery is consistently taught to enable standards to continue to improve and all children to catch up. F2 and KS1 are taking part in ‘Mastering number’ project
EYFS new curriculum – Nuffield Early Language Intervention

Priority 2

Behaviour and attitudes

Thrive ambassador school – safe environment
Review behaviour policy

Priority 3

Personal development

Designated mental health lead – develop a whole school approach to promote mental health and well-being

RSE curriculum taught using 1 Decision
Forest school accessed by all children and impacts on learning behaviours
SIAMS ready- The Ellis Curriculum as a Church school

Priority 4

Leadership and management

All leaders are working to improve outcomes across school for all groups of children – combined score increases
All leaders are ensuring that the Ellis Curriculum intent and implementation are embedded securely and consistently across our school
New to role SENDCO

As ever please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hurding

8.9.21 Barnsley Catering Newsletter

Dear Parents, Parent Autumn 2021 Newsletter

Barnsley Schools Catering Service like to keep parents in the loop and have asked us to distribute their latest newsletter to all parents.

A reminder that the menus (with actual photographs of the school meals offered here at The Ellis) are on the ParentPay system for you to view and choose meals with your child. Even if your child receives free meals you still need to go through to the payment screen but no money will be taken.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

Summer Reading Challenge 2021

Dear Parents/Carers,

If you child has completed the Summer Reading Challenge 2021, please can you send them in with their certificate and medal so that we can celebrate their achievements in our Gold Awards next Friday 17^th September.

Thanks,

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

7.9.21 Jewellery Policy and PE

Dear All Parents,

Jewellery Policy

A reminder that if your child has earrings they cannot remove themselves, please can these be taken out on the morning of PE.

Under the Barnsley policy we are unable to let children take part in PE if they have earrings in and staff are unable to put plasters or tape over the earrings.

Thank you.

3.9.21 Welcome Back

Dear Parents,

A huge thank you for all your support getting your children ready to be back in school.

Amazing children

As ever our children have shown great resilience to the changes and all seem raring to go with their learning in their new classes.

The children were all fantastic in the hall yesterday for lunches and assembly, it really was a special day seeing our children able to mix again. The children seemed to also really enjoy being able to see each other at playtimes.

Starting school after the holidays is always hard for all and this can cause anxiety with children and parents.

Please don’t hesitate to contact school if you have any queries. We know that the start and end of school is a really busy time, however, if you email or phone we will always make sure that one of the staff team get back to you when they can.

The START and the END of the day

Thank you again for your patience, we said we would review things if needed and we have made some changes that we are hoping will sort the busyness out.

It helps if everyone can come on time rather than arrive too early. It also really helps with the congestion if everyone parks in a safe space that does not impact on the already very small pavements and ideally parks 5 minutes from school.

We are aware that we need to improve our plan too.

The START of the day

In the mornings we will open the bottom gate at 8.40am for the F1s (Nursery) Y1/Y2s.

The F1 parents can enter and wait from the Nursery gate along the fence like we used to during Pod school. Nursery is opened at 8.45am.

Y1 and Y2 parents can wait alongside the fence of Rainbow garden and we will open the red gate at the top at 8.45am.

F2 parents can arrive for 8.55am. If you arrive earlier please wait until the Y1 and Y2 children have gone in.

Y3/Y4/Y5/Y6 can stay the same in the morning, arriving for 8.45am and they can come straight into school.

We really do encourage our Y4/Y5 and Y6 children to become independent as early as possible, this helps themselves as well as school congestion at the start and at the end of the day.

Remember we will need permission to confirm that you are happy for your child to leave the premises by themselves.

We no longer have to follow the one way system, however please use the way that is quietest at the time to also ease congestion, prams may also find it easier to walk around the one way system as there should be more room.

End of the day

The F2s finish first, so please arrive for 3.10pm. We will open the School Street gate at 3.05pm so parents can wait along the fence of Rainbow garden.

Please can the Y1 and Y2 parents arrive for 3.15pm and let the F2 parents go first.

Nursery finishes at 3.30pm, however, Mrs Pollard will sort earlier pick-ups to fit in with collecting other children.

Y3 to Y6 school ends at 3.15pm – we will be around to help with the changes tonight.

Y3 parents at the end of the please day can you come to wait outside the main entrance of the school building on the pavements and we will bring the Y3 children to you.

Y4 parents can you wait in the school carpark and we will bring your children to you.

Y5 and Y6 parents please wait outside the main entrance gates and again we encourage Y5 and Y6 to go home independently as soon as they are ready.

CLASS NAMES

To celebrate our Forest school this year’s class names are woodland creatures.

F2 – Ready Robins

Y1 -Super Squirrels

Y2- Remarkable Rabbits

Y3 –Outstanding Owls

Y4 – Fantastic Foxes

Y5 – Hardworking Hedgehogs

Y6 – Brilliant Badgers

TWITTER

Every class has its own Twitter account to share learning as well as a separate The Ellis account and Rainbow garden account. Please follow us it is a wonderful way to see the learning taking place in school.

FACEBOOK

The school Facebook account is run by the Head and Deputy so we share more whole school events and learning as well as news and updates. It is the quickest place to find out if school is closed for snow etc.

Water Bottles

We continue to have water bottles in school but it also fine to bring in your own water bottle as well.

Wellies

As a school we do encourage everyone to have a pair of wellies in school as they helps us to learn outside whatever the weather may be. Every class has wellie racks outside the class, the wellies do get passed up but obviously sometimes they do become too small.

PE clothes

We will be changing for PE again, especially if the children are using the hall inside, so the children will need PE kits.

Ideally a plain white t-shirt and plain black or navy shorts.

Breakfast club

Breakfast club has worked very well in the hall so we are continuing this.

Miss Allot and Mrs Hodgson run breakfast club, he cost is £2.50 per day and is paid via ParentPay.

Please contact Mrs Fiddes regarding payments if you are unsure.

Rainbow Garden

I am sure you will all agree that the addition of the new huge flowers and rainbow trim on the fence is truly fantastic. These have been donated by the local artist Button tin and they were previously used at the WE Wonder.

We are offering a Rainbow garden club for Y2 to Y6 on Mondays, starting 6^th September. Initially we will be running this until the 27^th September until we have Miss Batley’s new University timetable confirmed. We have spaces for ten children and there is a small charge of £2.50 per week for this. If your child is interested please email Mrs Fiddes.

We are also continuing with our community garden time, this will initially be Wednesday mornings, all are welcome and we will update you with further changes to days etc.

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards

Mrs Hurding

16.07.21 End of Term Information

Dear All Parents,

WE DID IT!

A huge thank you to all our children and parents for helping us get through this year.

We hope you have had a chance to see the video we have put on Facebook that summarises what team Ellis has achieved throughout the last 18 months. We have certainly all learnt to dance in the rain. It is titled ‘What a year’.

Your children’s smiles and enthusiasm have kept us all going at times when it has been really hard.

I am beyond proud of how we have used the pandemic to continue to improve our school.

Isolation

We are so sad that Orange pod and Yellow pod have had to isolate and it really is not the end of term we had hoped for, we have missed you all. We hope you have felt we have been able to continue to connect with you through Seesaw, Twitter, Facebook and Zoom.

Y6 Leavers

We are pleased our Y6s got to spend their last few weeks in school with us.

We have posted the Y6 leavers video on Facebook today, it really does celebrate their time at The Ellis and the hard year with the pandemic!

September

The Current DFE guidance that has been sent out is saying that we no longer need to have bubbles, so POD school will finish.

However, I still feel wary making decisions now about September when the CV-19 climate is still very unstable.

My plan will be to continue to respect everyone and keep everyone safe.

I will email in September with our plans to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Drop off and collection

We want to learn from the pandemic and adapt school if we think some routines have worked better. Dropping off children at the school gates has been amazing for promoting their independence, they are ready to learn quicker in the mornings. Parents have also commented how much easier it is to drop off.

With this in mind we are going to continue with this plan.

Nursery times continue to be 8.45am to 3.30pm – please use the school street gate.

F2 8.55am to 3.10pm – please use the school street gate and come up to the red gate near F2 for drop off.

Y 1 and Y2 gates will be open from 8.45am for drop off, school times are 8.50am to 3.15pm, please come up to the red gate.

Y3, Y4,Y5 and Y6 can arrive at 8.45am at the main gate and go straight around to their classes, school times are 8.50am to 3.15pm.

Collection will be as it is now, however, we are aware there will be more children waiting in their class lines so please bear with us.

We will continue to have adults on the gates.

It will still help the flow of traffic if you follow the one way system.

We will see how it goes and adapt if we feel we need to, we have got quite good at that!

Please note we may have to go back to how it has been this year if we have to have POD school again.

INSET DAYS

We have now been told when our extra bank holiday for the Queen’s 70^th Anniversary is, so for school staff it is the 21^st July. This is because the 3rd June is already in our holiday week.

20^th July will now be the inset day that was originally on the 21^st July.

The Inset days next year are:

Wed 1.9.2021

Mon 1.11.2021

Tues 4.1.2022

Mon 6.6.2022

Wed 20.7.2022

Summer Holidays

We hope you all have a wonderful Summer.

Children return to school on Thursday, 2^nd September.

Thank you for all your support,

Take care and stay safe,

Mrs Hurding

15.07.21 New Nursery Starters

Good afternoon,

A very quick email to let you know that your child will need the following ready for when they join our nursery:

A full school uniform – You can order directly from the supplier (Vortex), please see the link below. I have also attached an order form. Please ensure your child’s uniform is clearly labelled.

Our website link is the following, which will direct you to the homepage: www.vortexschoolwear.co.uk

Below is the link that will take you directly to our School’s page:

www.vortexschoolwear.co.uk/Primary-Schools/The-Ellis-CE-Primary-School

A water bottle – labelled with your child’s name- this will be sent home each day to be washed and returned.

A library folder/ book bag (this can be ordered with your school uniform if requested).

A healthy packed lunch for children who are staying for the full day (no nut-based products/ grapes cut in half please).

A pair of wellies for outdoors – labelled. These will stay at nursery.

Your child will not need indoor pumps or PE kit

We are all really looking forward to your child starting with us in September.

Mrs. Pollard

15.07.21 Nursery Hot Dogs and Ice Cream

Dear Parents,

Tomorrow (Friday) we will be having hot dogs and ice cream in nursery. If you do not want your child to take part of this activity please let the nursery staff know.

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard and Mrs. Kelly.

15.07.21 Fit and Fed with the Reds

Good Afternoon,

Reds in the Community will be supporting the Holiday activities and food programme 2021 by delivering FREE multi-sports sessions during the Summer Holiday thanks to funding from Barnsley Council, Department for Education and Healthy Holidays.

They are looking to target children and young people who are eligible to access free school meals.

The Fit and Fed with the Reds camps will be delivered across a number of venues in Barnsley and consist of a blend of multi sports, wellbeing and educational activities that are accessible to all 8-16-year-olds who are eligible for free school meals.

I have attached their promotional flyer to this email. Please also see the following link where parents can sign up for the provision and our Facebook promotion post that you can share. SIGN UP LINK FACEBOOK

The Multi-sport camps will be delivered 10am – 2pm over the 6 week holidays with venues including:

Dorothy Hyman Sports Centre l Astrea Academy Dearne

5ives Community Sports Centre l Athersley Rec Football Club

Meadstead Primary Academy l Carlton Park

Thank you in advance for supporting us in reaching children and young people who would benefit the most from this programme during the summer holidays!

Kind Regards,

Kieron Campbell

15.07.21 After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

If you think your child would be interested in attending the following (free of charge) afters chool club in September, please let me know.

It is just a guide for numbers and will be finalised when we return back to school, so please don’t worry if your child changes their mind.

Thank you

Y1/2 Multi Sports

On Mondays, starting from 6th September for Y1/2 children. 3:20pm-4:20pm.

Y3/4 Football

On Thursdays, starting from 9th September for Y3/4 children. 3:20pm-4:20pm.

15.07.21 Y6 Forest School Session

Dear Y6 Parents,

I just wanted to inform you that in tomorrow’s forest school session (16/07) we will be using paints and it might get a little bit muddy up there for our final session. Please could you send your child in with clothes that are okay to get paint/dirt on them so we can make the most of our session.

Thank you very much!

Miss Batley

12.07.21 Y1/2 Orange Pod Information

Dear Parents,

We hope you are well and all the staff at The Ellis are thinking about our orange pod children and their families. We all wanted to spend this last week together and we are missing you already, but we also know these things are out of our control and safety is paramount. We are trying to find ways of bringing closure to this year for your fabulous children so here are a couple of things we are doing.

Towards the end of the week, we will have a Y1 and separate Y2 zoom meeting so we can get together, albeit virtually, one more time. We are just sorting out times and links and will get this information to you soon. Please keep checking your emails.

Mrs Broadbent and Mrs Trotter are going into school on SUNDAY 18th JULY to bag up all the children’s work and if you are available and would like to pop down between 10.30 and 12pm on that day, we would love to see your faces once more before the holidays and pass your things over to you. If you can’t make this day, please do not worry, everything will be kept safe for September. Please enter via the gate on School Street and come round to the cloakroom door. Please ensure we continue to adhere to socially distancing as the rules will remain the same on that day. Thank you.

Y2 children – A Mrs H Vlog will be coming your way to introduce you to your new classroom etc so watch out for that on Seesaw!

Y1 children – Mrs Trotter is so pleased that she popped in on Friday to see you all! But she will also put together a little message for all our Y1 children which again will be on Seasaw.

Please can the orange pod staff take this opportunity to thank you all for your endless support this year. It has been a very difficult one, with lots of changes along the way, but your ongoing kind words, smiles and encouragement have kept us going.

Finally to our orange pod children – we are struggling to find the words to say how fantastic you have all been! But please know all the staff in Y1 and Y2 (and the rest of the school) are so incredibly proud of you. Each one of you is special and a true shining star. Keep smiling and let’s make the most of this last week together. We love to see your smiley faces and hear your voices, so please send us some videos on Seesaw.

Take care,

Kind Regards

Orange Pod Team

11.07.21 Orange Pod Closure Letter

Dear Orange Pod Parent,

Further to the recent orange pod email please find attached more detailed information regarding the pod closure. Orange POD Closure Letter

Thank you.

11.07.21 Orange Pod Closure

Dear Orange Pod Parents,

It is with great regret we have to close Orange pod as we have just found out about a positive case of CV-19. Isolation is until and includes the 17th July.

This is not the end of term we wanted for any of our children.

We will organise SEESAW and an end of term zoom as well as book collection in the holidays.

We wish you all a safe Summer.

Mrs Hurding

Mrs Rachel Hurding

Headteacher

09.07.21 Green Pod Information

Dear Green Pod Parents,

Y5 and Y6 will be using the forest, rainbow garden and having additional outdoor and sports opportunities during the last week of term. Please can children be dressed appropriately and have sensible footwear for being active all week.

Please can we also remind you that if your child has not yet brought a named plastic bag into school then they need to be in on Monday.

Many thanks,

The Green Pod Team

06.07.21 Information for Nursery Parents

Dear Nursery Parents,

Library

We will not be doing library this week or next week. Please could all folders be returned to school so they can be passed on to the new teacher.

Summer Gifts

Please see the attached email for information on our Summer Gifts the children have been making.

Thank you,

Mrs Pollard

06.07.21 Sky Sports News

Dear Parents,

We are delighted to say that Sky News are coming into school to film (safely) outside in the Green Pod.

Would you be happy for your child to talk about the England Semi-Final tomorrow?

If yes please can you sign this form?

If you do not have a printer please let us know and we can print one in school in the morning and get you to sign the consent.

Thanks for your support,

Mrs Hurding

05.07.21 Summer Reading Challenge

What is the Summer Reading Challenge?

The Summer Reading Challenge, presented by The Reading Agency and funded by Arts Council England, encourages children aged 4 to 11 to set themselves a reading challenge to help prevent the summer reading ‘dip’. Each year the Challenge, delivered with the support of public libraries, motivates over 700,000 children to keep reading to build their skills and conﬁdence.

Each year the Summer Reading Challenge has a different theme. For 2021, The Reading Agency is partnering with WWF for Wild World Heroes, a nature-themed Challenge that will inspire children to engage with environmental issues. The Challenge will launch in libraries in England and Wales on Saturday 10 July. Children can set themselves challenges, play games and earn badges.

Use the link below to be taken to the challenge homepage.

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

How do I get involved?

When first signing in, children create their own personal avatar and set themselves a summer reading challenge goal. This is how many books they intend to read throughout the summer (we would recommend 6 books, one for each week). Once this is completed, children can enjoy exploring the website. There are a range of different activities and games for children to play throughout the summer, children also get the opportunity to write book reviews and recommendations. Each time the children finish a book, they add it to their profile and leave a review, unlocking digital badges and online reward items along the way. At the end of the holidays, the children will receive a certificate for reaching their challenge goal. We’d love it if children could bring their certificates into school so we can celebrate their fantastic achievements!

Children who reach their summer reading total will also be entered into a special Ellis raffle prize draw, our winners will be able to choose a free book from our very own book shop!

Local libraries are also supporting the reading challenge, so you can always get involved by getting books from there too.

Please do not hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions.

Happy Reading!

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

05.07.21 Slide Event Postponed

Dear Parent/Carer,

It is with great sadness that we must postpone our Class of 2020 event (initially scheduled for Thursday 8^th July). As you will be aware, the Covid case rate in Barnsley has risen significantly over the past couple of weeks and therefore Public Health Barnsley have urged schools to go back to a stringent approach until the end of the school term where contacts are kept to a minimum.

It was not an easy decision to make but the safety of our community must come first.

We are hopeful that we will be able to reschedule in Autumn 2021 and will of course be in touch when we have a new date.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Kind regards,

Mrs R Hurding & Miss A Saunders

05.07.21 Y6 Information

Dear Parents,

As you may be aware, Wath Academy have changed their transition dates to 14^th/15^th/16^th July. With many bubbles having to close recently, the change of date is to remove the complexities of students returning to primary schools after the event, and to keep everyone as safe as possible. With this in mind, we are changing our picnic event to Tuesday 13^th July. This day will be a chance for all our Y6 pupils to celebrate their time at The Ellis as we do not want anyone missing out. Please can you ensure that your child comes to school with a shirt on that they would like signing. Children will also need a packed lunch that day. The surprise planned Y6 treats will also be going ahead on the 13^th July.

We will of course endeavour to make the remaining three days the best they can be for our Y6 pupils who are not at Wath.

If your child is going to the Wath transition they will need to remain at Wath for all of those three days.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders and Mrs Hurding

05.07.21 Important Ellis Information

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to our Pink and Red pod, it was wonderful to see all our children this morning.

We have two weeks left at school and I need to continue to keep everyone as safe as possible.

The picture regarding CV-19 is really hard at the moment. The two images we have in the media seem poles apart, on the one hand we can see crowds growing at the football and tennis, yet we are aware that we need to continue to limit risk as much as we can at school. Also the message is that everything will be relaxed from the 19^th July.

However, the picture in Barnsley at the moment (as we are aware of from our school) is that there is an increase in cases of CV-19. Many bubbles in our local schools are currently isolating.

From Public Health Barnsley

Current situation

The case rate in Barnsley has risen significantly over the past week or so, with cases being concentrated in the unvaccinated age ranges which has proved a particular challenge for schools, this coupled with the increase in social mixing and the emergence of the Delta variant has meant we are now dealing with a number of outbreaks in Barnsley schools.

Due to the current situation we are asking schools to review any changes they have made to their risk assessment and COVID control measures and think carefully if these are necessary or whether there is an option to go back to a more stringent approach until the end of the school term where contacts are kept to a minimum.

With this new Public Health information, where we have been urged to strengthen and not relax arrangements over the next two weeks, it is with great regret that we have to cancel our transition plans. Even though we had planned it as safely as we could, it does involve staff changing pods. This decision has not been an easy one, children are at the heart of all decisions made at The Ellis and I have been guided that the risk of potential transmission and disruption does not justify running transition as we had planned. We are truly sorry.

However, our other Transition plans that are in place to support children and parents can continue.

We have TEAMs meetings organised for parents of children moving into F2 and also for parents of children moving into Y1.

Transition for those that are in the same pod is easier, they already know the cloakroom, staff and outdoor areas. The way pod school has been running has meant increased interaction with their next teacher. So this system will help our Y1 through to Y2 children. Y3 to Y4 and Y5 to Y6.

We are mindful that for our F1 to F2, F2 to Y1, Y2 to Y3 and Y4 to Y5 this is harder.

We have already organised September transition for our F1 to F2 children to stat school over three days.

For all other classes we will be doing transition activities for the first two days (2^nd and 3^rd September) when we return to school.

To help the children who are moving to the equivalent of a new pod, we will be making Mrs H Vlog style videos for them to watch. These will be on Seesaw sometime during the last week so can be watched again over the Summer holidays.

We will no longer be able to invite one parent for the Merit awards, these will now be on different days during our last week and again we will film and put out on Seesaw the same day.

Merit awards for Green Pod on Tuesday 13^th July

Merit awards for Yellow Pod on Wednesday 14^th July

Merit awards for Orange Pod on Thursday 15^th July

Merit awards for Red and Pink Pod on Friday 16^th July

We had already planned that the Y6 leavers assembly was going to be a film, that will also be shared on the last day (Friday).

We will continue to make these last two weeks in school the best we can for your children.

This Wednesday, to celebrate England in the Semi-finals, let’s all wear England football shirts or red, white or blue, please do not go out spending if you do not have one, it is fine to still wear school uniform if you prefer.

Thanks for your continued support.

Mrs Hurding

02.07.21 Advice from Public Health

Dear Parents, we are sending this email on behalf of Public Health. Thank you.

Current situation

can I ask that you all to continue to do the big 3 things that we know will support the COVID effort:

Remind the community to adhere to the most recent guidance, remembering hands, face, space and fresh air
Encourage your community to take part in twice weekly LFD testing
Encourage you community to get vaccinated when invited

Isolation

If a child has symptoms and is awaiting a test result, their whole household should be isolating. There is no test or amount of testing that can allow someone to break isolation. Please remind pupils that when they are isolating they should not leave the home and if they are a contact even though household members do not need to isolate, they should not have visitors in their home.

PCR testing for contacts

The guidance has change regarding PCR test and you can now seek one without symptoms if you are a contact of a positive case.

What to do if you are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

You can arrange to have a single PCR test whether or not you have symptoms. This is because you are at a higher risk of being infected. The results of the PCR test will help NHS Test and Trace contact people who may have caught the virus from you. They can then self-isolate and avoid passing it on to others.

You should arrange to have this test as soon as possible within your 10 day isolation period, so that NHS Test and Trace can identify the people that you have been in contact with. You can order a home test kit or book an appointment at a test site. To reduce the risk to others you should only use a test site if you are unable to use the home PCR testing service. If you go to a test site, strictly observe social distancing advice and return home immediately afterwards. If you order a home test kit you should use it and return it within 48 hours of receiving it.

You should not arrange to have a PCR test if you have previously received a positive PCR test result in the last 90 days, unless you develop any new symptoms of COVID-19. It is possible for PCR tests to remain positive for some time after COVID-19 infection.

LFT Tests and Isolation

LFD tests are not advised for primary school age children and as such we should not be recommending that they take them. Please continue to encourage LFD testing to all who are eligible.

Kind regards

Daniel Clark

Senior Public Health Officer

02.07.21 Y5 Homework Schedule

Dear Y5 Parents,

Please accept my apologies for not sending a homework email earlier this half term.

This week’s homework should be Baby Birds in the Comprehension book and imperial Units in the Maths book. Please don’t worry if it hasn’t been completed.

Next week is Johnny and the Dead for reading and Perimeter for maths.

The final week of term is Goodnight Mister Tom and Area.

The booklets will not have been completed by the end of term but the children may want to/benefit from having a go at any undone parts over the Summer Holidays.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you ever have any questions.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

01.07.21 Barnsley Catering Service Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We have been asked to forward Barnsley School’s Catering Service newsletter to parents, they would like to inform parents of their service and highlight the importance of school meals. Schools Catering Service – Parent newsletter

Thank you

30.06.21 Y6 Parent Information

Dear Y6 Parents,

Sadly, with the CV-19 increasing in the area and Miss Saunders’ pregnancy we have had advice that she will need to work from home.

We know Miss Saunders will continue to keep in touch with us all and she is sad that she will miss the children’s final weeks in school. Mr Hamilton will be covering and Mrs Brinkley and Mrs Gray will also be around teaching and supporting the class.

As a school we are determined to continue with the sleepover planned for Friday. Mrs Trotter and Miss Batley have agreed to stay over with Mrs Wise due to Miss Saunders and Mrs Hurding being unable to attend.

We know the children will all have an amazing time and I am very grateful for our staff stepping in to make it happen for our children.

Please be mindful that there are lots of positive cases of CV-19 in the area, so we may have to cancel at last minute.

Thank you for your support,

Mrs Hurding and Green Pod

29.06.21 Sex and Relationships Education

Dear Parents,

We would like to inform you that we will be delivering the sex and relationships curriculum on Wednesday 14^th July. We will be covering relationships, puberty (including hygiene) and conception. If you do not want your child to take part in this lesson please let me know so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Kind Regards,

Mrs E Edwards

28.06.21 Orange Pod Pick Up and Drop Off Changes

Dear Parents,

We have been made aware that the ‘Beat the Street’ tagging is adding to the busyness in the morning. Obviously, this is something we are encouraging our pupils to do, however, we have also been made aware that there has been some dangerous driving that impacts on school too.

Please continue to look out for each other and socially distance during drop off and pick up.

We are going to trial all of Orange pod arriving over a ten-minute window between 8.40am and 8.50am, this is what naturally seems to be happening, and it also allows less people to have to wait on the street.

We will start this tomorrow. We are aware we do not have Pink and Red pod this week, so it is a good opportunity to try it and see if it works.

As Orange Pod are so settled we are also strongly encouraging them to start to say goodbye to you at the bottom gate. Many parents have started doing this and again it reduces the people traffic in school. We understand this is not always possible but please try if you can.

Thank you for your support,

Mrs Hurding

25.06.21 Young Voices

Dear Parents,

I am just writing with a Young Voices update. As I am sure you will not be surprised to hear, there will be no Young Voices concerts this year (2021). We do have a provisional date of 4th February 2022 at Sheffield Arena but as with everything this year we know this is subject to change, even though I really hope we can resume this amazing trip again next year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our current Y6 children who have attended Young Voices in previous years, for their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm during these events and I hope they have provided you with memories which will last a lifetime!

I will be in touch in the new academic year to gather the names of KS2 children who would like to attend the 2022 event.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

24.06.21 Public Health Update

Dear Parents,

Public Health have just informed me that staff and children have to isolate on the 3rd July too. They do apologise for saying the 2nd July.

Thank you for everyone’s support.

Mrs Rachel Hurding

24.06.21 Holiday Club

Dear Parents, Olympic Holiday Club

St. Mary’s Church are planning a holiday club for the Summer holidays. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Thank you

24.06.21 Wath Academy Message to Y6 Parents

Dear Parents,

Wath Academy would like to invite your child to their summer school. Please see the information below.

Kind regards,

The Y6 Team

Good morning,

Would the following message be able to be passed on to Y6 parents please?

Wath Academy Meets Tokyo Olympics 2021! Wath Academy are creating positive school memories that last a lifetime for their upcoming Year 7 students starting this August! Sign up for the 1-week summer school using the link: https://forms.office.com/r/uiMh2dRfrW

Kind regards,

Kirsty

Wath Academy

24.06.21 F1/F2 Pod Closure

Dear Parents,

We have had to close Pink and Red Pod (F1 and F2) due to a positive case of CV-19.

As a result of Mrs Hurding covering in Nursery yesterday I will also be isolating.

Due to other cases Miss Hickey and Mrs Pollard have been isolating this week. Miss Turton has only been in the Pink pod the last 48 hours. We will continue to keep school as safe as possible. Mrs Edwards will be running school and I will be working from home.

We will keep you up to date with any more information.

Mrs Hurding

24.06.21 F1/F2 Pod Closure

Date: 24/6/21

Advice for Child to Self-Isolate for 10 Days

Dear Parent,

We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the school.

We have followed the national guidance and have identified that your child has been in contact with the affected child. In line with the national guidance we recommend that your child now stay at home and self-isolate until 3^rd July.

We are asking you to do this to reduce the further spread of COVID 19 to others in the community.

The isolation period includes the date of the last contact with the case and the next ten full days. This means that if, for example, the last contact with them was at any time on the 15th of the month, the isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th. If your child is well at the end of the 10 day period of self-isolation, then they can return to usual activities.

Other members of your household can continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 10 day self-isolation period.

Please see the link to: Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119 .

All other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 10 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

The isolation period includes the day the first person in your household’s symptoms started (or the day their test was taken if they did not have symptoms, whether this was an LFD or PCR test), and the next 10 full days. This means that if, for example, your 10 day isolation period starts on the 15th of the month, your isolation period ends at 23:59 hrs on the 25th and you can return to your normal routine.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home. If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.

Household members staying at home for 10 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms of COVID 19

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

new continuous cough and/or
high temperature and/or
a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/ or by phoning 111.

You should follow the PHE ‘Stay at Home’ Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19

wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
wash your hands as soon as you get home
cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Further Information

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Yours sincerely

Mrs Rachel Hurding

24.06.21 Menu Change Tomorrow and Friday

Dear Parents,

Tomorrow’s menu and Friday’s have been swapped with each other.

So to clarify:

Thursday (tomorrow) will be fish fingers, savoury quiche or egg mayo wrap.

Friday will be American hot dog, jacket potato or Vegetarian quorn dog.

I have attached the menus again for you to take a look at.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

23.06.21 Y6 Progress Review Meetings

Dear Parents,

Relevant information has been shared with secondary schools as part of your child’s transition, however, if you would still like to speak to Miss Saunders please let Mrs Fiddes know and a phone call can be arranged.

Kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst

F2 Teacher and SENCo

23.06.21 Progress Review Meetings

Dear Parents,

As the school year comes to an end, we would like to invite you to meet with your child’s class teacher to review their progress related to their School Focus Plans, (which have replaced the old IEPs), Monitoring and Assessment Individual Map (for those who have an EHCP) and to consider transition into their new year group.

Please log onto https://theellisce.schoolcloud.co.uk/ to book your remote meeting.

If you have any queries at all relating to the meeting, please let Mrs Fiddes know in the office.

Kind regards

Mr Grayhurst

F2 Teacher and SENCo

23.06.21 Swimming Lessons in Y5

Dear Y4 Parents,

I am really looking forward to teaching your child in September and supporting them in the next steps of their learning at The Ellis. We have lots of great experiences and topics planned!

Excitingly, the class will be starting swimming lessons from the second week of the Autumn term of Y5 which is a wonderful thing for them to look forward to.

The Curriculum swimming lessons will run for 12 weeks from Friday, 10th September until Friday, 3^rd December at Wath Leisure Centre.

Your child will need to bring with them each week a swimming bag containing:

Swimming costume or trunks

Girls should have a one piece bathing suit, no bikinis or tankinis

Boys should wear swimming shorts, but these should be tight fitting and should not be longer than the middle of the thigh

Bath towel
Swimming Cap (for all children)
Goggles (Only for medical reasons)

If your child does not have a swimming cap, please send £2 in a labelled envelope on the first day of swimming to purchase one at the reception desk.

Any medication your child may require, such as asthma medication, will need to be taken to the pool.

We will be travelling to the pool with Globe coaches, departing at 1:30pm and returning just in time for the end of the school day. The coach and the pool will be following full Covid Government guidelines.

The lessons are free, however, please complete the online consent form on ParentPay to give your permission for your child to attend the swimming lessons.

Kind regards

Mrs Wise

23.06.21 Nursery Staff

Dear Nursery Parents,

Mrs Pollard has been informed by Track and Trace that she needs to isolate for the rest of the week.

There will be a combination of Mrs Kelly and Mrs Hurding alongside Miss Turton, who supervises the children at lunch and is the Teaching Assistant in Y4. Miss Allott is also supporting.

Mrs Pollard has no symptoms and is working at home so can be contacted if needed.

Don’t hesitate to ask any of us if you have a query.

Mrs Hurding

22.06.21 Facebook and Twitter

Dear Parents,

Just a quick reminder that our school Facebook page is where you will find information about whole school events and some highlights of our learning. It is monitored by Mrs Hurding and Mrs Edwards.

The best place to see information about your child’s class is on Twitter. Each class has their own Twitter handle and post regular updates about their learning and key information about class events. Our twitter feeds can also be viewed on the school website.

Rainbow Garden also has a Twitter handle so that you can see how it is developing and being used by our children.

Our Twitter information is:

@theellisprimary

@theellisf1

@theellisf2

@theellisy1

@theellisy2

@theellisy3

@y4theellis

@theellisy5

@y6theellis

@rainbowgarden_

Happy browsing!

Mrs Edwards

Deputy Headteacher

22.06.21 After School Club Collection

All of the after school clubs finish at 4:20pm irrespective of what time your child’s pod finishes school.

Thank you

21.06.21 Y6 Photo Request

Dear Parents,

In Y6, we’re busy preparing our leavers video and I’d love to include any first day at school photos that you may have.

Please could I ask that photos are sent by Friday 25^th June to h.fiddes@theellis.org

Y6 have had such a disruptive 18 months and I know we’re eager to make their send-off ‘the best it can be’.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

17.06.21 ParentPay Arrears

Dear All Parents,

Dinner money and breakfast club payments are once again going into arrears on some of the children’s accounts.

Your accounts MUST be kept free from debit balances at all times.

If you have a minus balance on your child’s account, please ensure that payments are made over the weekend to clear this. I will be looking at them again on Monday and unfortunately will have to phone for packed lunches to be brought into school if either account is still in a minus.

Thank you,

Hayley Fiddes

17.06.21 Y2 Information

Dear Parents,

We have a few missing cardigans (one brand new) and jumpers in Y2. Please could I ask you to check all your child’s clothes to make sure they belong to them.

With the very hot weather, please could you send your child with suncream on and a hat. We encourage lots of water bottle stops during the day to rehydrate.

Also a reminder it is sports day next Monday (21st June).

Thank you for your support.

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

16.06.21 New School Menus

Dear Parents, (mainly F2 and Y1/2) Menus June 2021

We have noticed that children are choosing things that they don’t know or like from the new menus. Not only is this causing a lot of food waste, it also means that they aren’t eating very much at lunchtime.

Actual photographs of the meals that are served in our kitchen will be placed onto ParentPay by the end of next week so please, when you are placing your child’s order from home, show them the photograph and explain to them exactly what the food is.

No one likes to see a child upset and be hungry because the food that has arrived isn’t what they were expecting.

I have attached the new menus again.

Thank you

Hayley Fiddes

15.06.21 Foundation Stage Sports Day

Dear Parents,

We will be holding our foundation Stage Sports Day on Tuesday 22nd June at 9.15am. (1.15pm for the afternoon nursery children). All children will take part in 3 activities.

Please can children come to school in their PE kit (shorts and t-shirt for F1 children) and apply sun-cream if the weather is hot. We will be offering the children refreshments throughout the activity.

Unfortunately parents cannot be invited to this event but we will post photos on our school social media sites.

Thank you

Mrs. T Pollard & Mr. D. Grayhurst.

15.06.21 Curiosity Baskets

Dear Parents,

We are collecting items for our curiosity basket (things that children may not know what they are/ things that inspire thinking and conversation). If you have any items that are small enough to fit into a basket, please send them into nursery for our children to look at and investigate. As they will not be returned please do not send in precious or sentimental items.

Examples of things we are looking for are:

a pocket watch, old phone, keys, door latch, old coins, medals, fountain pen, quill, monocle, old pill box, peacock feather, fossil, loofah, mask, necklace etc.

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard

14.06.21 After School Club Collection

Multi-Sports After School Club Collection

If your child is attending the after school multi-sports club on either Tuesday or Thursday please collect them from outside the main office.

Thank you

14.06.21 National Sport Week at The Ellis

Dear Parents,

From Monday 14^th June to Friday 18^th June we will be celebrating National Sport Week at The Ellis.

This year’s theme is ‘Together Again’. Children will have the opportunity to access the Chance to Shine Cricket programme and will be completing more sporting activities over the week.

Children are welcome to bring sporty clothing to get changed into if they would like to.

Chance to Shine Cricket Programme

Tuesday 15th – Y1/2 and Y5.

Wednesday 16th – Y3/4.

Thursday 17th – Y6.

On Tuesday 22nd Foundation Stage will be holding amini sports event.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead/ Y3 Teacher

11.06.21 Water Safety Letter

South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have asked us to distribute the following letter to parents:

Dear Parents,

As you may have heard in the news, over the late May Bank Holiday weekend our crews were called to an incident in which a 16-year-old boy tragically drowned in Ulley Reservoir, Rotherham, despite the best efforts of emergency services on scene.

This was an extremely sad incident that served as a stark reminder of how dangerous open bodies of water – such as lakes, quarries and reservoirs – can be. Our thoughts and sympathies today remain with the boy’s family.

However, our thoughts are also with parents of children right across South Yorkshire, such as yourself, and using the tragic event at Ulley as our motivation, we are asking that you speak to your kids about water safety at your earliest convenience.

Our key messages, for children of all ages across the county, are as follows:

You should never jump, dive or ‘cannonball’ into open bodies of water such as lakes and quarries – you don’t know what’s underneath the surface and could end up suffering from cold water shock
Cold water shock is where the sudden change in temperature, from being in warm weather to cold water (even in summer open water can be extremely cold), causes your body to shut down and stops even strong swimmers
You should only swim where its safe and legal – the swimming baths, outdoor lidos and other sites where lifeguards are present
Don’t give in to peer pressure from your friends to jump into the unknown, and never swim after having consumed alcohol
Should you get into trouble in the water you should float to live – try to stay calm and just focus your energy on floating and shouting for help – until support arrives

Clearly we do not want children to be scared of safe swimming. In fact, quite the opposite – we actively encourage parents to take their children for organised swimming lessons, where possible.

We also recognise that organised open water swimming, be that in land or on the coast, has a wide array of physical and mental health benefits – and can be done safely.

However, we have seen countless examples this year already where groups of young people have been jumping into open bodies of water.

This is absolutely not acceptable and can put them at risk in lots of different ways. Not only is there cold water shock, but often these lakes and quarries are on private land.

We want people across South Yorkshire – young and old – to enjoy and respect water safely, and we thank you in advance for your support.

Kind Regards,

Joint Community Safety Department

South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

10.06.21 Y4 Newsletter and Topic Information

Dear Y4 Parents,

Please find attached our Y4 newsletter (some home learning project suggestions follow on at the bottom) along with our Topic Web. Summer Newsletter Topic Mind Map Coasts

The Y4 Team

9.6.21 Sex and Relationships Curriculum

Dear Y5 Parents,

We would like to inform you that we will be delivering the ‘Growing and Changing unit’ of the sex and relationships curriculum on Tuesday afternoons over the next few weeks. We will be covering relationships, puberty (including hygiene) and conception. If you do not want your child to take part in this series of lessons please let me know so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Kind Regards,

Mrs E Edwards

9.6.21 Ofsted Questionnaire

Dear Parents,

Welcome back, what a glorious week we had weather wise, let’s hope it continues. Questionnaire for parents OFSTED 2021

At parents evenings we have previously asked you to complete a questionnaire based on questions Ofsted may ask parents during an inspection.

We would really value you taking the time to complete the attached questionnaire. The questions have not been changed in light of CV-19, we would therefore also really appreciate any comments added at the bottom of the page regarding school through-out the pandemic along with our remote learning using Seesaw from January 2021. We value all views as these continue to help school to ‘be the best it can be’.

Please return your questionnaire by Friday. If you would like a paper copy then please let us know and we will send one home.

Thank you,

Mrs Hurding

8.6.21 School Information

Dear Parents,

New Menus

Please find attached the menus that will be starting from next Monday (14th June). These have already been updated to ParentPay so please continue ordering and paying for your child’s school lunch in this way. Menus June 2021

School Photographs

School Photographs will be taking place outside tomorrow (Wednesday). Unfortunately this year we are unable to take sibling photographs, however, your child will have an individual photograph taken along with a class photo.

Recently Installed Nursery Trim Trail

We are very excited and proud to show off the new nursery trim trail that was installed over half term. Please ensure your children do not use this before or after school whilst waiting for siblings. Thank you.

Beat the Street

Your child will be coming home today with an envelope containing the Beat the Street information which is running from June 10th to July 22nd. Last time we participated our school came 2^nd out of the whole of Barnsley. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could equal this or go one better this year?! A fob has been issued for your child’s use and there is a card included in the envelope for adult use. Please look out for the special sensors (Beat Boxes) that should have already been placed on local lampposts approximately half a mile apart. As the weather improves it is the perfect way to get out and about keeping fit whilst also earning points for our school.

Come on The Ellis!

Mrs Edwards

Deputy Headteacher

28.05.21 After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

After School Clubs Returning Soon!

We are delighted to let you know that we have two after school clubs starting after half term run by sports coaches. Both clubs are free of charge and will run from 3:20pm-4:20pm.

Tuesday KS1 Multisports Club (4 weeks)

22nd June, 29th June, 6th July and 13th July.

Thursday Y3/4 Multisports Club (5 weeks)

17th June, 24th June, 1st July, 8th July and 15th July.

Monday Rainbow Garden Club run by Miss Batley. (5 weeks)

14th June, 21st June, 28th June, 5th July and 12th July.

28.05.21 Public Health Survey

Dear Parents,

Please see the information below from Public Health which we have been asked to share.

The Public Health team want to find out how children and young people of Barnsley have been feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have developed a very short survey (only 13 questions) to help us gather that information

To go to the survey click the link below:

Take me to the survey

Or visit: https://surveys.barnsley.gov.uk/s/YFEZGV/

If you would like to find out about what emotional wellbeing support there is available locally please visit our new hub pages:

Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Hub – Children & Young People

Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Hub – Adults, Parents & Carers

Who can complete the survey?

We want to hear from all school age children and young people living in Barnsley (up to age 25 for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND))

If you are under 13 years of age you will need a parent or carer to give their permission to complete the survey.

Parents and carers: you may want help your child to answer the questions in the survey if they are younger or need any extra support.

Those who are 13 years or older can complete the survey alone without the need for consent from an adult.

Why do you want to know how I’m feeling?

Our emotional health and wellbeing is more important than ever and we want to help you to take care of it.

The information we get from this survey will help us to decide how to support children and young people as best we can through this difficult time.

Who will see my answers?

The survey will be completely anonymous and the questions have been worded so that there will be no personal information that may identify you.

A link to the full privacy notice is included at the top of the survey which offers more detail on how we will use the data.

I have already done this survey before

Day by day different things are happening and situations keep on changing, which is why we would like it if you can do this survey more than once so we can see how your feelings change over time.

Thank you for taking the time to be involved, we hope that with this information we can support your emotional health and wellbeing through these difficult times.

28.05.21 Operation Encompass

Dear Parents,

Our school has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between schools and South Yorkshire Police. This project is known as Operation Encompass.

Please see the attached letter for more information. Operation Encompass

Mrs Hurding

27.05.21 Y6 Update

Dear Parent/Carer,

The current DFE Covid-19 guidelines states that we need to continue to run as a pod school. We have been busy planning the end of year events and would like to update you on our plans to safely celebrate the class of 2021’s time at The Ellis.

Y6 Cricket Day

Miss Cook has kindly organised for our Y6 pupils to enjoy a whole day of cricket with qualified cricket coaches on Thursday 17^th June. Please can you send your pupil in a PE kit that day.

Y6 Sleepover

On Friday 2^nd July, children can return to school at 6pm for a sleepover. Children will set their beds up in the hall before going outside to enjoy some activities in the forest area. Once we have eaten, we will be settling down to enjoy a film and a ‘midnight feast’. Myself (Miss Saunders), Mrs Hurding, Mrs Wise and Miss Batley will be the adults at the event.

Children will need the following:

Sleeping bag
Pillow
Sleeping mat
Snacks for a midnight feast (enough for themselves).
PJs
Toothbrush
Clothes for the next day

Food will be provided (both evening meal and breakfast), we kindly ask for a £5 donation towards this (this can be paid using ParentPay).

Children must be collected by 8:30 am on Saturday 3^rd July.

No phones or electronics please.

Y6 Picnic 16^th July

On the last day of term, we would like to have a picnic (fingers crossed for good weather!). Children will be able to sign shirts/leavers’ books and we will of course be throwing in a few surprises too! We will be busy creating a leavers video next half term, children will have the opportunity to watch this in class and we’ll be sharing it on our social media platforms for parents to enjoy.

Please note that these events are subject to good behaviour in school.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Y6 Team

27.05.21 Updated RSE Curriculum

May 2021

Dear Parents, Relationships and Sex and Health Education Policy Apr21-Apr23

we sent this information back in December 2020 but we are resending it as the Governors have now approved the RSE (Relationship and Sex education) Policy, which we have also attached to this email.

RE: New statutory curriculum of Relationship Education and Health Education 2020.

Dear Parent / Carer,

You may well have seen in the national and local press that certain elements of Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) are about to become compulsory. These are the areas of Relationship Education and Health Education. As a school we have started to implement these into our current curriculum. We know that certain topics within these curriculum areas may potentially cause concern for parents. We also know that elements of this curriculum are already being misrepresented in the media and so we wanted to give you, our parent body, the correct information about the changes that are coming and the chance to view, not only the new legislation, but also the award winning resource we have chosen to support your children’s learning within these key areas.

The new curriculum areas have been agreed by the Department for Education.

If you would like to know more about what your child will be learning you can find it by following this link:

(Please press ctrl and then enter if it doesn’t open straightaway)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/908013/Relationships_Education__Relationships_and_Sex_Education__RSE__and_Health_Education.pdf

Teaching Expectations for Relationship Education from page 19

Teaching Expectations for Health Education from page 31

To ensure your children get the very best teaching in these areas we have chosen to use an award-winning resource – 1decision. 1decision is part of Headway Education and has been kitemarked by the PSHE association – the effective governing body for the subject in the UK – as being a quality assured product. The 1decision resources have been developed over the past seven years and each module has been created by PSHE and Safeguarding experts together with schools, and most importantly children, and can proudly say they are providing resources to schools in 39 counties. As a school we are proud to say we will be using these resources and you may like to find out more about them by visiting their website: www.1decision.co.uk

If you have any queries or questions regarding our new 1decision resource or anything else about the PSHE lessons we deliver. Please feel free to email our PSHE lead Mrs Beever on j.beever@theellis.org or Mrs Hurding on r.hurding@theellis.org Thank you.

25.05.21 Y6 Leavers 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

We hope that you and your family are well.

It is with great pleasure that we would like to invite your child back to The Ellis CE Primary on Thursday 8^th July 2021 4pm-5pm. The plan is to celebrate the Class of 2020’s fantastic fundraising achievements during the lockdown in 2020. We are having a plaque made up and would love to take a group photo of the children that can be displayed in school. We will also be inviting the Chronicle to take photos and run a story.

Please can you give permission (via email) for your child’s photograph and name to be published in the Chronicle.

Please note that this event is only for children, the whole event will be held outside and children can use the Y6 gate.

We look forward to seeing the class of 2020 again.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Mrs R Hurding & Miss A Saunders

25.05.21 Rainbow Garden

Dear Parents,

Rainbow Garden Project

The Rainbow garden is a wonderful resource that we utilised during the first lockdown and also for the children as they returned to school in September. We are aware however, that it needs some attention and tlc to get it ready for planting.

Miss Batley is going to run a community event on Tuesday afternoons, 1pm-4pm, starting after half term to help get Rainbow garden ready for growing, we also need to rebuild the borders and dig and deweed the areas. We would love it if parents or grandparents could help us with this project on Tuesday afternoons. The volunteers would stay outside. If anyone has any spare vegetable plants that are ready for planting after the holidays and who would be willing to donate them to us that would be really helpful. So if you are handy with a saw or a spade and available on a Tuesday afternoon, please let us know.

Rainbow Garden Club Y5/6 £3 per week

Miss Batley is also going to run a Rainbow garden club on Monday nights for the Green Pod starting on Monday 7^th June. The club will run 3:30pm-4:30pm, please collect the children from Rainbow garden. There is a limit of 15 spaces for this Y5/6 club, names will therefore be taken on a first come first served basis. We will charge £3 for the garden club which will be paid for via ParentPay when we have confirmed your child’s place at the club.

Thank you for your support,

Mrs Hurding

24.05.21 The Return of After School Clubs

Dear Parents,

After School Clubs Returning Soon!

We are delighted to let you know that we have two after school clubs starting after half term run by sports coaches. Both clubs are free of charge and will run from 3:20pm-4:20pm.

Tuesday KS1 Multisports Club (4 weeks)

22nd June, 29th June, 6th July and 13th July.

Thursday Y3/4 Multisports Club (5 weeks)

17th June, 24th June, 1st July, 8th July and 15th July.

Please email h.fiddes@theellis.org to express your child’s interest in one of the clubs. Unless we have extreme adverse weather, the clubs will be outdoors. Children can bring suitable clothing and footwear if they wish to get changed. An email will be sent confirming attendees of the club at the close of school on Friday 28th May.

Kind regards,

Miss Cook

Wider Curriculum Lead

24.05.21 Ofsted Questionnaire

Questionnaire for parents OFSTED 2021

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all your support during a busy half term, we continue to be delighted with how well everyone has settled in school.

At parents evenings we have previously asked you to complete a questionnaire based on questions Ofsted may ask parents during an inspection.

We would like you to complete and return the questionnaire by 11^th June please, either in paper form or by email to h.fiddes@theellis.org

If you would like a paper copy then please let us know and we will send one home.

Thank you,

Mrs Hurding

14.05.21 Spare School Uniform

Dear Parents,

We would welcome spare school uniform aged 5-7 years please, especially boys’ trousers.

Many thanks.

14.05.21 School Photographs

Dear Parents,

We are delighted to announce we have been able to organise class and individual photographs to be taken in school next Thursday, 20th May.

The plan is to have the photographs taken outside to be as safe as possible. Unfortunately we will not be offering sibling photographs this year.

As always, you are under no obligation to purchase the photographs.

Mrs Rachel Hurding

Headteacher

The Ellis C of E Primary school

14.05.21 Nursery Transition

Dear Nursery Parents,

Your child will be spending 2 days in their new classroom with their new teachers on Thursday 8^th and Friday 9^th July.

Your child will go straight into their new classroom on both of these days. Sessions will be 8.55am-3.10pm.

A letter will be sent to you in the next few weeks regarding dinner time and an invitation for parents to attend a zoom meeting with Mr. Grayhurst.

If you have any questions regarding transition please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you

Mrs. Pollard

12.05.21 School Information

Dear Parents,

POD SCHOOL

As we head to the next stage of the roadmap the new school’s guidance from the DFE was sent out yesterday.

As we were predicting, school will need to continue to run as Pod school.

The main change is to secondary schools saying that the pupils will not need to wear masks.

DFE guidance, May 2021states:

‘Minimising contacts and mixing between people reduces transmission of COVID-19. This is important in all contexts, and you must consider how to implement this. You must do everything possible to minimise contacts and mixing while delivering a broad and balanced curriculum. The overarching principle to apply is reducing the number of contacts between pupils and staff. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate (in ‘bubbles’) and through maintaining distance between individuals.‘

The advice continues to state

That we cannot do large gatherings
That we need staggered start times
That we continue to work in a well-ventilated environment

HOLIDAYS

The guidance states the importance of all children being in school:

‘As restrictions begin to lift, some families may be looking to take holidays. As usual, parents should plan their holidays around school breaks and not take their children out of school on holiday during term time. Where a parent wishes to take their child out of school for whatever reason, the onus is on them to apply for a leave of absence and demonstrate why they believe the circumstances are exceptional. Schools make decisions on granting leave of absence, but will not normally do so for a holiday.’

TEMPERATURES

We have routinely been checking children’s temperatures as part of the school risk assessment since the start of CV-19, if your child has a high temperature we will phone you, however, if the temperature is normal we do not need to inform you.

LEARNING IN SCHOOL

It has been an absolute delight to be able to go into lessons and observe over the last two weeks. As your Headteacher I am always keeping an eye on teaching and learning, however due to CV-19 restrictions I have not been able to stay in the pods for long. I have been so happy to be able to go into classes for longer. It has confirmed what I already knew – that your children are working hard to improve and our teaching staff are providing our children with engaging lessons. Everyone is working hard to ensure everyone is ‘the best they can be!’

STAFFING FOR NEXT YEAR

We are delighted to announce next year’s staffing.

F1 – Nursery

Class Teacher – Mrs Pollard

Support Staff – Mrs Kelly Morning session: Miss Hickey Afternoon session: Miss Allott

F2 – Reception

Class Teacher – Mr Grayhurst

Support Staff – Mrs Beevers Morning session: Miss Allott

Class Teacher – Mrs Broadbent

Support Staff – Morning session: Mrs Andrews Afternoon session: Miss Hickey

Class Teacher – Mrs Trotter

Support Staff – Mrs Freeman

Class Teachers – Miss Cook/Miss Beresford

Support Staff – Mrs Law

Class Teacher – Miss Saunders

Support Staff – Miss Turton A new Teaching Assistant

Mrs Beever to cover management time and PPA in Y1 to Y4

Class Teacher – Mrs Wise

Class Teacher – Mrs Edwards

The Y5/Y6 team will all be working together with Mrs Jaques, Mrs Brinkley, Mrs Wood, Mrs Connelly

TRANSITION

We will be having two full days of transition. All the children will move up to their next class to allow them time with their new teaching staff and to be in their new classroom.

The Transition days are going to be the 8th July and the 9th July.

We will make a space for our Y6s to go in, they will have the hall and outdoor areas to use for learning.

The children who are starting F2 (Reception) in September and are new to our school will have a separate afternoon to visit the F2 class on the 14th July.

Our new F1 (Nursery) children and the children going into F2 will also have some transition time in September.

More information to follow.

PARKING

We know parking around school is a constant battle.

If everyone parked safely, ideally a 5 minute walk from school, this would ease the congestion and would enable buggies to pass and be kinder to our local community. We know the heavens opened yesterday but let’s all look after each other by parking safely and responsibly.

BREAKFAST CLUB reminder

When you drop off for Breakfast club, please do not drive into school. The gates are open to enable staff to arrive safely. We know cars drove in during Rainbow school but now we are Pod school and our numbers are increasing for breakfast club, parents driving in are stopping staff being able to park.

We thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

05.05.21 Year 6 Start Times

Dear Parent/Carer,

It has come to our attention that a number of our Year 6 pupils have been arriving at school from 8:20am. Please can we remind you that the start time for Green Pod is 8:45am. Due to our current pod system and for safeguarding reasons, it is important that children arrive no earlier than 8:40am.

We do offer a breakfast club that is open from 8am, please contact h.fiddes@theellis.org if this is something that you would be interested in.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Y6 Team

05.05.21 Polling Day – Thursday 8th May

Dear Parents,

We hope you managed to enjoy a longer weekend.

Thursday is Polling day, which means our Nursery is closed for the day.

As Nursery is being used for the community Polling station please be mindful that the community will also be using our one way system on Thursday. People waiting to vote will come up the School Street entrance and pass Rainbow garden and will queue along the blue railings by the red Nursery gate, this is the same place our Nursery parents queue in the morning.

I am going to put a post on ‘Our Hemingfield’ Facebook page to encourage the community not to vote during school drop off and pick up times.

Please be reassured we have had a meeting with the Polling organiser and we have made the system as safe as possible.

Regards,

Mrs Hurding

28.04.21 The Ellis Update

Dear Parents,

Amazing children

I really mean it when we say we are super proud of all our children’s attitude at school this week, everyone is pushing themselves. The amazing learning behaviours in school are certainly helping all your children to ‘be the best they can be!’

Holidays

With this in mind, we know we have all had such a hard year and I know some people are owed holidays that had to be cancelled, but please do everything you can to keep your children in school over the next term. I promise you your children will not be in school over the Summer. All our learning in school is sequenced over a week and if children miss Monday’s input it does impact their understanding for the rest of the week.

Parents Evening

Thank you so much in supporting us to embrace a new system for Parents evening and for the SEN reviews that are next week. We have had some feedback that the meetings were not long enough and as a result of such a tricky year there has been lots to talk about. If you feel you still have unanswered questions, please do not hesitate to let us know and we will find a time to phone you. Staff are working incredibly hard to support all our children on their learning journeys and we know you want to support at home too.

Catch up

There is no doubt the best place for learning is school as we all need practical support and peers to really help our learning.

The whole country is currently on a catch-up plan to support children to fill in the gaps to their learning. We are so proud of how hard many of you worked during the last lock down and we do understand family reasons if this was hard.

As parents you have supported us throughout the pandemic and we need to be realistic about our catch up plan, it may take a while and that is ok. We have increased staff to support our plan.

As a school we continue to hold on to the importance of catching up socially alongside academically. Opportunities to learn outside builds children’s confidence as well as learning about our wonderful world and improving language, these skills then all impact on our inside learning.

Being a Thrive school has supported us all throughout the pandemic and our children continue to learn to talk about what is happening to them alongside learning to regulate.

Thank you for all your support in encouraging your children’s learning at home too!

Mrs Trotter

Mrs Trotter is going to be completing her Forest school training alongside Miss Batley, 10th May to the 13th May. Mrs Trotter has planned the learning for the week and the Y2s will be taught by Mrs Beever, who they all know well. We are very excited that when completed we will have two Forest school teachers in school.

Mrs Edwards

As you know Mrs Edwards is returning to school after Spring Bank. We can afford (due to ‘catch up’ funding) to keep Mrs Jaques on as well for that half term, it therefore makes sense to keep Mrs Jaques in Y4 as she knows the class well and Mrs Edwards will support by boosting Y4 and Y5, allowing Mrs Jaques the time needed to write the reports. As Mrs Edwards is our Deputy Head, this will also increase leadership capacity to help us all be ready for September.

Transition

SLT (Senior Leadership Team) are currently working on sorting out staffing for next year, we know its later than we usually inform you, but you will have the information as soon as we have worked it out.

We also want to work out how to safely do transition in Summer 2, as we want all our children to meet their new teacher and class before the Summer holiday, everything is crossed that we can do this.

We are still awaiting information from the Secondary schools for the Y6 visits, again we hope these can be real rather then virtual.

There is still no new guidance out from the DFE, so we have to continue in our Pod school, at the moment.

Y6 ‘Crazy Crafts’ and the Bookshop

We want to safely start selling again at school.

Some of our Y6s have started a business selling crafts and we want to be able to offer cheap books again to our children.

The safest way to start this initially is to open the shop in the hall the same day as the children have their assembly in the hall. The Y6s will wear masks and gloves. Mrs Hurding will supervise.

So, starting next week the shop will be open for:

Orange pod on Tuesdays

Yellow pod on Wednesdays

Then stating on the 10th May

Green pod on Mondays

The cost of most things will be between 50p and £1.50.

We will work out how to include our F2 Red pod children, after half term, but it will most likely be on a Thursday. We will update you.

Rainbow Garden

We are also wanting to start a Rainbow garden club with Miss Batley in the Summer term after Spring bank, this may still have to be in Pods, but will be after school, we will let you know before half term.

Thank you so much for your continued support

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need to

Mrs Hurding

28.04.21 Inset Days

Dear Parents,

Our inset days for next year have now been finalised.

Inset Days 2021/2022

1st September 2021

1st November 2021

4th January 2022

6th June 2022

21st July 2022

Queen’s Jubilee

We have been informed that May Bank Holiday (30th May 2022) will be moved to Thursday, 2nd June 2022 with an additional bank holiday for the Queen’s Jubilee being given on Friday, 3rd June 2022.

Mrs Hurding

26.04.21 Y5 Pumps

Dear Y5 Parents,

We have noticed that quite a few Year 5 children are mentioning that their pumps no longer fit.

We are encouraging the children to bring home their pumps that are too small and to let you know that this is a problem. As a school which is mainly carpeted, we need the children to wear pumps in order to protect the floors.

Please can you help us to ensure that all the children have a pair of pumps that fit in school.

Many thanks for your continued support,

Mrs Wise

22.04.21 Volunteers Monday 26th April

Dear Parents,

Thank you to the parents who have offered their time to come and help dig out in the KS1 outdoor area on Monday 26th April. It is very much appreciated. I have sent an email directly to the volunteers I have on my list.

If anyone has suddenly acquired a spare hour, morning, afternoon or day next Monday and would now like to volunteer, please just let me know! We will be taking the turf up in an area, laying membrane and gravel and then the Tuesday after, the 4th May, we are also looking for any volunteers to do some more digging, washing gravel, painting wood and possibly moving a shed!!!

Please feel free to contact me directly at c.trotter@theellis.org and as always thank you for your kindness. We are also amazed at the volunteer support we receive.

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

22.04.21 Y5/6 Toys from Home

Dear Y5/6 Parents,

We have noticed that many of the children are enjoying bringing Pokemon cards and toys from home into school at the moment and it is lovely that so many of them have a shared interest. Unfortunately, the cards are becoming a source of conflict between some children as they fall out over swapping cards or damage and we are finding that resolving these conflicts is having a negative impact on learning time. For this reason, we are asking that the children no longer bring the cards into school.

We also have a small number of children bringing toys into school, which are often similar to the Thrive resources we have in school. We love the way the children are using different objects to support regulation and well-being, however these are becoming a distraction during learning time. Please can the items also be left at home as we have plenty of Thrive resources in school that can be used if needed.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

21.04.21 School Communication

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all your support in re-settling our children back into learning since the Easter holidays. We can see that everyone is working so hard to support our children to ‘be the best they can be!’

Parent Governor

Thank you to all our parent Governor applicants. We are delighted that so many parents voted.

We are pleased to announce that Mr Peter Spratt was the successful candidate and we welcome him to our team.

Parents evening

Thank you for supporting us with the new cloud system, it has taken a lot of organising for the teachers to be out of class, so it is really important you check your times and let us know if there are any changes. Thank you.

We really appreciate your continued support,

Mrs Rachel Hurding

19.04.21 F2 Summer Newsletter

F2 Summer Newsletter

19.04.21 Y1 Summer Newsletter

Y1 Summer Newsletter

19.04.21 Y2 Summer Newsletter

Y2 Summer Newsletter

19.04.21 Y3 Summer Newsletter

Y3 Summer Newsletter

19.04.21 Y4 Summer Newsletter

Y4 Topic Map Inspirational People Y4 Summer Newsletter

12.04.21 The Big Pedal

Dear All Parents,

Sustrans Big Pedal is the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking and scooting challenge. Sustrans Big Pedal 2021

The challenge runs from Monday 19^th April to Friday 30^th April, is free and we would love everyone to be involved.

Please see the attached information leaflet for more details and how to get involved.

Regards,

Miss Cook

12.04.21 Y6 Newsletter

Dear Parents, WWII Summer Newsletter 2021

Please find this term’s newsletter attached along with an overview of our topic and suggestions for home learning.

Thank you for your continued support,

Miss Saunders

12.04.21 Y3-Y5 French Food Tasting

French Food Tasting

Mr Hamilton is very excited about teaching French this term and is planning lots of exciting activities to do with the children. He would like to give them the chance to taste some French food in the next few weeks.

Please reply to this email if you do not wish your child to taste the food or if you need to let us know about any food allergies.

Many thanks,

The KS2 Team

12.04.21 Y5 Newsletter

Dear Y5 Parents,

It is wonderful to be back in school. The children are already enjoying our new topic and we are looking forward to the term ahead.

Newsletter

Please find this term’s newsletter attached along with an overview of our topic and suggestions for home learning.

WWII Summer Newsletter

CPG Homework Books

Please could you support your child to bring their CPG homework books into school by Wednesday this week.

Due to the disjointed nature of this academic year thus far, we need to check who has their books still and where the children are within the books before starting to set homework from them again.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Wise

12.04.21 Message From Public Health

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you all managed to get some rest over the Easter holidays.

Please find the attached letter, which can be shared with parents/carers and outlines the position surrounding home testing, PCR testing, along with some frequently asked questions, which we hope you will find helpful. Just a couple of things to think about on your return:

Travelling to the UK from another country

Just a reminder that if you have students who have been away during the Easter holidays, on their return to the UK they need to :

quarantine for 10 days
take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test on day 2 and day 8 of quarantining unless your job permits exemption (this should have been booked before travel)
follow the national social distancing rules

If they have visited a red list country then they must quarantine for 10 full days in a managed quarantine hotel.

Town centre gatherings

As the COVID guidelines ease as we progress through the roadmap there is an increased opportunity for our children and young people to see there friends outside of school. We are unfortunately already getting reports that children are meeting up in the town centre and are not following COVID guidelines and are also taking part in anti-social behaviour. We are continually looking to see what we can do to reduce this but if possible could you reiterate to your children and if appropriate parents what is expected of them. As always if you have any intelligence about gatherings or behaviour that is not following the guidelines please email CovidMarshals@barnsley.gov.uk.

Kind regards

Dan

Daniel Clark

Senior Public Health Officer (Children, Young People and Families)

Public Health

Barnsley Council

26.03.21 Green Pod Outdoor Learning

Dear parent/carer,

After the Easter break, we will be using the Forest area and the outdoor environment for our learning on a Wednesday and just wanted to inform you that your children may get a little muddy. Please could you support their outdoor learning by ensuring your child has appropriate footwear, a change of trousers and a warm coat in school on a Wednesday. A pair of gloves would also be useful.

We hope that you have a lovely Easter break.

Many thanks,

The Green Pod Team

25.03.21 Letter to Parents from BMBC

Sent on Behalf of the Executive Director for Children’s Services

Dear Parents and Carers

As the Director of Children’s Services in Barnsley, I wanted to write to thank you all, your children and your family, for following all of the Government guidance in respect of the Coronavirus pandemic.

We should all feel incredibly proud of how well children and young people have adjusted to the tighter arrangements in our schools and my thanks to secondary school pupils for wearing face coverings in school and to you, for co-operating with regular asymptomatic testing.

Because asymptomatic testing is happening regularly, across schools, households and places of work, we are seeing a rise in case rates in Barnsley. This leads to more people having to self-isolate and we are seeing an increase in the numbers of classes having to self-isolate in our schools. This is particularly hard for children and young people who have already had their education severely disrupted over the last year, despite excellent remote and online home learning, and all your efforts to support your children’s education.

Our schools have robust control measures in place, to minimise the risk of transmission and we maintain, that schools remain as safe as anywhere can be, during this time. But schools can only seek to control what happens in school, and not what happens within our communities.

I know that so much has been asked of you over this last year, but I ask that you support our schools and communities, by maintaining social distancing at the school gate and on the journey to and from school.

Controlling transmission of the virus in our communities and protecting people from infection, by following the government guidance, helps to control it within our schools, keeping children in school and minimizing further disruption to their education and to family life.

Finally, when you receive the offer of the vaccination, which I have very recently, I urge you and your family members, like me, to have it. As our Director of Public Health, Julia Burrow’s says, ‘every vaccination gives us hope’.

My thanks to you all.

Kind regards

Mel John-Ross

Executive Director – Children’s Services

23.03.21 Y1 Email

Dear Y1 Parents,

I know it is a huge inconvenience having to close the year 1 class for the first day back after Easter – Monday 12^th April. I apologise for the short email yesterday and would like to explain why we have made the decision to close the classroom.

After discussions with our Chair of Governors, it was agreed, that on this occasion, due to Cv-19 it is the right decision for everyone’s safety. Throughout lockdown and through all other school changes I have never closed school to allow us time to get organised. School closure is definitely a last resort.

We did not think the building work would take place in the Easter holiday due to lockdown, however, we were informed last week that it was necessary to happen so that we can have the money from the diocese to pay for it. I would have delayed until the Summer if I could have.

We were told the Y2 classroom would take a week, it actually took longer but we were able to accommodate the extra day by having all the children in the hall. This is not able to happen now due to our Pod school. The hall is used by breakfast club, the Yellow Pod for learning and the Foundation classes use it for lunch. The damp proof course went half way up the Y2 class walls and sadly we already have signs of damp again (so frustrating!). As a result of this, the Y1 class damp proof course is now going to go up to the ceiling, this is a bigger job as it involves changing all the electrical sockets etc. We have tried to reduce the time but even with the builders working longer hours and weekends the completion date is Friday 2^nd April. From previous experience we know there will then be the need for a deep clean. The cleaners are booked in for the weekend. As you are aware we have a very committed team in the Orange Pod and if we could get in over the weekend to help we would all be in.

I hope this explains the situation more and again we are really sorry for the inconvenience, we would love to have all our children back in class and we are aware this year has already been so disruptive.

Thanks for your support,

Mrs Hurding

23.03.21 Y5 Taste Testing

Dear Y5 Parents,

This week the children are learning about edible insects as part of their English lessons.

We will be offering them the opportunity to try some dried mealworms, crickets, buffalo worms and locusts. This will be entirely optional and no one will be made to eat them, however we think that some of the children will be intrigued and enthusiastic to have this opportunity and to see that they really are edible and hopefully inspire them with their writing.

The allergy advice on the packets suggest they are not suitable for people with allergies to crustaceans or molluscs and that they include gluten. If your child suffers from an allergy that means that they cannot have the option to taste test these then please contact school.

Please be reassured that no child will have to try these interesting critters, so don’t feel like you have to respond to say that your child won’t want to eat them. We only need to know if they have an allergy that means they should not be given the option.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Mrs Wise

23.03.21 School Milk for Under 5s

School Milk for under 5s

School milk is only free up until the term in which your child turns 5.

If your child was born in the month of June, for example, and will turn 5 in June, they will not receive free milk after Easter.

If this applies to your child (so if your child is already 5 or will turn 5 next term) and would like to continue to drink milk, you will need to please an order with School Milk ready for next term.

Orders are placed by going to School Milk online. I believe the cartons cost 22p each, £1.10 per week.

Thank you,

Hayley Fiddes

22/03/21 School Information

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support on Friday for our superheroes day, supporting Comic relief. We are so proud of all our children. The CV-19 virus has impacted greatly on all our lives and it is significant that all our children have had a disrupted year at school and socially. We will continue to support all children, please do not hesitate to contact us to share any concerns you have. We are hoping after a two week break at Easter everyone will come back raring to go.

22.3.21 Y1 Class – Damp Proof Course

The damp proof course in school unfortunately needs to be re-done. We have already had the works completed in the Y2 classroom and the Y1 class and Y1/Y2 toilet block is now next on the list. The work will be completed over the Easter holiday with the classroom needing to be put back together again the first day back after the holiday. As we cannot have the whole Y1 class in the hall due to CV-19 restrictions this means that unfortunately all Y1 children are unable to return back on the 12^th April. We are sorry for the inconvenience and look forward to seeing the children on the 13th.

22.3.21 Staffing

Mrs McAleavy is retiring this Friday and we wish her all the best as she starts her new adventures.

Mrs Wise and Mrs Rodgers are able to return to school after Easter as Shielding is being lifted on the 1^st April.

Mr Hamilton who has been covering in Y5 will continue to cover for Mrs Wise’s leadership time and we are delighted that Mr Hamilton has also agreed to teach French for the Summer term.

We have a new TA, Miss Stenton, who will work with us after Easter full time in Green pod.

Mrs Edwards will be returning to teach in Y4 after Spring bank.

Mrs Jaques will continue to work in Yellow Pod until the Summer to support transition and catch up.

We will be sharing our Easter celebration with you on the last day of term.

We really hope everyone has a fantastic Easter break.

Thank you for your support

Mrs Hurding

19/03/21 F2 Easter Gifts

Dear Parents,

Attached is some information regarding Easter gifts the children have been making in F2. F2 Easter Gifts

Thank you for your continued support.

The F2 Team

19/03/21 Nursery Easter Gifts

Dear Parents,

Attached is some information regarding Easter gifts the children have been making in nursery. F1 Easter Gifts

Thank you for your continued support.

The Nursery Team

19/03/21 Holiday Sports Provision

8-16 year olds who receive free school meals

Reds in the Community will be supporting the Holiday activities and food programme 2021 by delivering FREE multi sports sessions during the Easter Half term funded by Barnsley Council.

We are reaching out to schools and partners to support us in ensuring the children and young people who would benefit the most from these activities have access. We are looking to target children and young people who currently access free school meals.

Our free Multi-sports camps will be delivered at 5ives Barnsley and consist of a blend of sport and wellbeing activities and are accessible to all 8-16 year olds who receive free school meals. There is a maximum capacity of 30 participants per day and these will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

The Multi-sport camps will be delivered 10am – 2pm Monday 29^th March to the 11^th April 2021 excluding bank holidays (Friday 2^nd & Monday 5^th April 2021)

To sign up to these free camps, children and young people need to complete an application found on the link below.

https://barnsleyfccommunity.co.uk/event/5ives-easter-multi-sports-camps/

Thank you in advance for supporting us in reaching children and young people who would benefit the most from this programme during half term!

Kind Regards,

Kieron Campbell
Head of Participation and Health

18/03/21 F2 Reading Folders

Dear F2 Parents,

A reminder to all please that folders need to be returned every week by Wednesday.

Please can you make sure that the folder contains your child’s reading record, reading book, ditty book and home learning book when you return them please.

There is a new note in your child’s home learning book and a list of high frequency words. Could you please make sure you read the message and stick their work photos etc in their home learning book.

Many thanks,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

12/03/21 POD School

Dear Parents,

Thank you

We are delighted how well all our children who have returned to school have settled back into school life and how brilliantly the children that were in school during lockdown have welcomed them.

Thank you to all our parents for supporting school and your children both at home and back into school. It has been very noticeable that children who fully engaged in home learning have made progress. Parents need to really celebrate that.

Home Time

It is really important we continue to be as safe as possible at home time, please come for the correct time and wait until you are called by a member of staff. Remember the times have changed for some classes since lockdown. Can you please ensure that grandparents know the correct times too. Thank you also for your patience when it is raining at home time, it is very hard recognising everyone with their hoods up and masks on.

Outdoor learning

Improving our outdoor offer has been a school priority for the last five years. We are delighted how we have been able to improve the environment throughout this year. We now have an improved Rainbow garden (still lots to do), Tranquillity garden, Forest school, the climbing frame, the slide, reading shed as well as now having a separate KS1 learning area and improving our Foundation stage outside environment. We have always believed that children benefit from learning outside and need to go out in all weathers, this is why we ask for children to always dress for the weather and have wellies available in school. Outdoor learning is a vital part of our Ellis curriculum. Due to CV-19 and supporting our children back into school we have increased outdoor opportunities as we believe it is vital children have space and time to socialise and learn outside. We continue to have learning in the classrooms and children have their lunches in the classrooms, unless it is a lovely day then they can go outside. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have concerns about the outdoor curriculum.

Lunchtime supervisor

We have a lunchtime supervisor vacancy available potentially for after Easter, please can you let people know in the community who you think may be interested.

Comic Relief – next Friday – 19th March – Red Nose day

Dress up as a superhero or wear something to support Comic relief. We are celebrating all our lockdown heroes. All donations to be paid online please.

Easter Service

We will be producing an Easter celebration video for everyone to enjoy similar to the Harvest and Christingle ones.

Mrs Rachel Hurding

12/03/21 Y6 E-Safety

Dear Parent/Carer,

As we have had a couple of e-safety concerns this week, we would like to reiterate the advice from our e-safety Officer Tim Pinto.

‘Tik Tok is a very popular app with children as it includes viral videos of dancers, celebrities etc. The videos are limited to less than 60 seconds and users scroll through different videos. In the UK it has a minimum age of 13.

Advice for parents is to monitor their children’s use of social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok. All these have a minimum age restriction of 13 years old. Remember that all social media apps have risks and if you allow your child to use these apps, they must have adult supervision.

Look at privacy controls for devices and ensure that you know what they are downloading. All devices have built in restrictions to give you more control. A useful site for this is https://www.internetmatters.org/

It is also important that you regularly talk to your child about what they are doing online’.

Tik Tok also has a safety centre, available here: https://www.tiktok.com/safety/resources/for-parents?lang=en

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Y6 Team

11/03/21 Friday Afternoon Nursery Places

Dear Parents,

A quick email to confirm that the requested Friday afternoon nursery places start for your child from tomorrow (Friday 12th March).

The payment will be put onto ParentPay once we know your child has attended that day.

Many thanks,

Hayley Fiddes

11/03/21 Y4 Learning

Dear Y4 Parents,

It was really exciting to welcome your children back to school on Monday and we hope to make their return a happy and positive experience.

We will be using the Forest area and the outdoor environment for our learning on a Wednesday and just wanted to inform you that your children may get a little muddy.

Please could you support their outdoor learning by ensuring your child has appropriate footwear, a change of trousers and a warm coat in school on a Wednesday. A pair of gloves would also be useful.

PE will be on a Tuesday & Thursday (but we will still not be changing into PE kits)

Could you please ensure that children bring their spelling logs and reading diaries to school on a daily basis.

Thank you for your continued support.

Many thanks,

The Y4 team

11/03/21 Y5 Bikeability

Dear Y5 Parent,

A reminder that our Year 5 children have been given the opportunity to obtain their Bikeability Level 1 & 2 in school during the week commencing 15th March.

There are still 16 places remaining on a first come first served basis.

If Bikeability is something you would like your child to participate in, for safety reasons it is very important that all of the criteria in the attached information is adhered to. If, in the opinion of the Instructor, your child’s bike is not in a road worthy condition, they will unfortunately not be allowed to participate in the course. For this reason, please read all of the information thoroughly and complete the consent form below. You can do this by pressing reply to this email, completing the relevant sections and then pressing send to return it to Mrs Fiddes in the office.

Mrs Wise

05/03/21 Y5 Outdoor Learning

Dear Y5 Parents,

We are really excited to welcome your children back to school on Monday and hope to make their return a happy and positive experience.

We will be using the Forest area and the outdoor environment for our English learning during the first week back and just wanted to inform you that your children may get a little muddy.

Please could you support their outdoor learning by ensuring your child has appropriate footwear, a change of trousers and a warm coat in school from Monday. A pair of gloves would also be useful.

Thank you for your continued support.

Many thanks,

The Y5 team

05/03/21 Nursery Session Confirmation

Dear Parents/ Carers,

It will be lovely to get all of the nursery children back into nursery where they belong!

We are changing the timetable slightly in order to spend more time outdoors which will help the children develop their social skills and their physical skills (something some of them have missed out on throughout the pandemic). Being outdoors is so refreshing and, as adults, we feel better out in the fresh air. I’m sure the children will benefit greatly from this opportunity.

Therefore, please ensure your child has their wellies that they can leave at school and have warm clothes on. Please forgive us if they get muddy!

Can I also take this opportunity to run through the staggered drop off and pick up times too.

If your child is full time or attends the AM session please bring them to the double nursery gates (onto the nursery field) at 8.45am. Please queue around the blue fence and up the path (as there will be lots of adults now). Please leave promptly through the main school gates.

Part time children will leave at 11.45am- please follow the same rules as where to wait and exit.

PM children will need to be dropped off at the nursery gate at 12.30pm. However, as the field gates will be locked to keep the F2 children safe, parents are asked to leave the way they came (down the path and onto School Street). Please be respectful of others and keep a safe distance.

We understand that some children will need to be collected early if they have siblings so nursery will be open to collect children from 3.00pm.

If you have any questions please contact school and they will transfer your call to me.

Take care and see you all very soon.

Mrs. T. Pollard

05/03/21 Return to POD School 8th March

Dear Parents,

Return to school – Pod school is back!

We are nearly there!

We cannot wait to greet you all back into school on Monday. We do understand it will come with mixed emotions for everyone and we will support you all every step of the way.

CV-19

It’s a year ago today that we had the first death in this country due to CV-19, what a year this has been for everybody.

Lockdown has helped to decrease the number of cases and the vaccination programme is significantly helping our future, however as a country and a school we are having to continue to follow CV-19 safe rules to enable the road map to happen.

POD SCHOOL SAFETY – a summary

All children will stay in their pods
Staff will stay in pods and not mix wherever possible
Parents and Staff will wear face coverings at drop off and collection
Staff wear face coverings in communal areas or where social distancing cannot happen
Staff can take Lateral Flow tests – this is voluntary
Lateral flow tests are now available for families – school does not have these – this is voluntary
Primary school children do not NEED to take tests unless they have symptoms
We will continue with staggered collection and drop off times – the same as we had in SEPTEMBER

Please note the drop off and collection times have changed from Rainbow 21 school for some classes, we are back to the September times.

Times and meeting points:

Drop off

Collect

Waiting

Pink Pod

Nursery

8.45am

11.45am

3.30pm

Wait at Nursery red gate. Socially distancing along the Foundation field

Red Pod

Foundation 2

8.55am

3.10pm

Wait at the red F2 gate. Socially distancing along the path parallel to Rainbow garden

Orange Pod

Y1 8.50am

Y2 8.40am

Y1 3.15pm

Y2 3.05pm

Wait at the red F2 gate. Socially distancing along the path parallel to Rainbow garden

Yellow Pod

Y3 8.50am

Y4 8.40am

Y3 3.15pm

Y4 3.05pm

Wait at the main gate

from Y4 (as long as we know) children can leave school independently

Green Pod

Y5/6 8.45am

Y5/6 3.10pm

Wait at the main gate

Ideally encourage to leave independently

World Book Day

We hope your children enjoyed World Book Day, thank you to everyone for taking part.

Comic relief – 19th March

Dress up as a superhero – everyone is a lockdown superhero. If you would like to donate, please do so online.

Forest school

Thank you to all the parents who helped us this week put more fencing up along the path and paint the shed.

All staff have also been working hard getting school ready for everyone.

Thanks for your continued support,

Mrs Hurding

03/03/21 Y6 World Book Day Zoom

Dear Y6 Parents,

We are looking forward to seeing our in school and at home learners for our World Book Day Zoom at 2pm (4.3.21).

Please can children come with a book recommendation to share with their friends.

The link for joining the meeting can be found on Seesaw for our at home learners and children in school will be joining with Mr Hamilton from the classroom.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Many thanks,

The Y6 Team

03/03/21 Foundation Stage Seeds / Plants Plea

Dear Parents,

If anyone has any unwanted seeds, herbs or plants we would be delighted to accept them for our Foundation Stage.

Thank you

03/03/21 Y5 Bikeability

Dear Y5 Parent / Guardian, Active Barnsley Covid Secure Bikeability Measures Letter to Parents Bike Check Notes for Parents

We are very excited to inform you that our Year 5 children have been given the opportunity to obtain their Bikeability Level 1 & 2 in school during the week commencing the 15th March. This is a very worthwhile accreditation and will give the children extra confidence to cycle safely whilst out and about on the roads.

If your child is unable to get their bike to school during that week please let us know as the instructors may be able to bring some spares with them.

Kind regards,

Mrs Wise

I have read the guidance notes about the course and agree to my child taking part.

My child has the ability to comprehend and follow simple instructions.

I have understood that part of the training will take part on public roads.

I have checked the bike myself, or have had it checked by a specialist and confirm that it will be maintained in a safe and roadworthy condition.

I will ensure that my child has an approved cycling helmet to wear during the course.

My child has the following health problems;

Child’s Name:

Name of Parent / Guardian giving Consent:

Telephone number:

Address (Required for emergency purposes):

03/03/21 WWII History Workshop for Y5/6

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are very excited to welcome your children back to school on the 8th of March.

Please can we request that you return your borrowed devices and their chargers on the same date.

Please return your loaned technology directly to Mrs Fiddes in the office to be signed off as returned.

Many thanks,

Mrs Hurding

03/03/21 School Loaned Devices

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are very excited to welcome your children back to school on the 8th of March.

Please can we request that you return your borrowed devices and their chargers on the same date.

Please return your loaned technology directly to Mrs Fiddes in the office to be signed off as returned.

Many thanks,

Mrs Hurding

03/03/21 Y3 World Book Day Zoom Meeting

Dear Y3 Parents and Carers,

Our next zoom meeting will be tomorrow for World Book Day, for the Y3 children learning from home.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. The session will begin at 10am and the link will be on seesaw tomorrow morning.

We will start by sharing our favourite book. If you have the book and you would like to show it to everyone then please bring it along with you.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know.

Many thanks,

Y3 Team

02/03/21 Home Testing Information

Dear Parents,

The DFE have announced today that families with children in Primary schools will be able to access lateral flow tests:

‘Whole families and households with primary school, secondary school and college age children, including childcare and support bubbles, will be able to test themselves twice every week from home as schools return from 8 March. Tests can easily be ordered and collected from local sites, or administered through workplace testing programmes.’

Please see the information below from Barnsley council to find out where your nearest site for collection is.

Mrs Hurding

From the Public Health Team

Dear Colleagues,

I thought it might be helpful to send you a quick summary of the latest guidance on rapid lateral flow testing (LFT) for households and bubbles of school pupils and staff.

The following people in England will now have access to regular rapid lateral flow testing made available to them as schools reopen:

secondary school pupils
primary and secondary school staff
households, childcare and support bubbles of primary and secondary-age pupils
households, childcare and support bubbles of primary and secondary staff

From 1 March 2021, members of a household, childcare bubble or support bubble of staff or a pupil can get a twice-weekly test:

through their employer if they offer testing to employees
at a local test site

Nearest rapid lateral flow test site can be found here.

by collecting a home test kit from a test site

People can collect 2 packs of home test kits at a local collection point. Each pack contains 7 tests. Anyone 18 or over can collect. Find the nearest home test kit collection point.

by ordering a home test kit online

Online test kits should not be ordered if a test can be got through other methods. This frees up home delivery. Rapid lateral flow home test kits can be order here.

People who participate will be asked to take a test twice a week (every 3 or 4 days apart) and report every result to NHS Test and Trace on the same day they take the test.

If anyone tests positive or gets coronavirus symptoms, they should tell the school and:

self-isolate immediately
get a PCR test to confirm the result
follow the stay at home guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection

A negative result means the test did not find signs of coronavirus. But this does not guarantee a person does not have coronavirus, so they should keep following all coronavirus advice.

Kind regards,

Public Health Team

26.02.21 One Final Plea

Dear Parents,

We are so excited that our Forest School area has undergone such a huge transformation in the last 3 months and we are now on the final stage.

We have ordered 84m of willow screening to go on the existing green fence around the edge / back of the field and there are some logs to move as wall. This is arriving on Monday or Tuesday! We would LOVE to get it up and the whole project completed for the wonderful return of our children on the 8th March! We know this is a tall order, but we are just wondering if any of our amazing parents are free to come and help Mrs Trotter next Wednesday (3rd March) for an hour, half a day or the whole day!!!! It is plenty big enough for social distancing and we will of course be outside! Hot drinks and biscuits along with lots of ‘thank yous’ will be available throughout the day! Please feel free to email Mrs Trotter directly at c.trotter@theellis.org

We are so grateful for all the help we have been given and we could not have done it without you. We can’t wait to use it with all the children and would love this gift to be ready in time for their return if at all possible.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

26.02.21 World Book Day Home Learners

Dear Parents & Carers,

On World Book Day (Thursday 4^th March) children in school will be enjoying hot chocolate and biscuits whilst reading and listening to stories.

We have purchased hot chocolate sachets and biscuits for any home learners who would also like to find a cosy spot and enjoy a treat whilst getting lost in a good book. You can collect these from the main office from Monday 1^st March between 9:30am and 3:30pm.

We hope that all of our children enjoy everything we have planned for World Book Day.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

26.02.21 Rainbow 21 Week 7

Dear Parents,

We are all beyond delighted that everyone can return on the 8th March as I know you will be too!

Mrs H Vlogs – has done a tour of school to remind everyone returning what school looks like, I have posted it onto Seesaw and will add it to Facebook later in the day.

Zoom

We are delighted how well our Zoom meetings are working for our children who are working at home, remember we have worked hard to keep everything secure as a school so please do not share the links.

Next week will be the last Zoom and it will be on World Book day – Thursday – 4th March.

World Book day – Thursday 4th March

Please enjoy all the stories and activities that will be on Seesaw, spend the day in your PJs or dress up as a favourite character.

Return to school

We will support all your wonderful children back into school and help the children who have been in school to settle into the new routines with a full class. Just like we did in September we will be operating our ‘Restore Curriculum’ which includes plenty of time to socialise outdoors, Thrive activities to help us be together again and support all, also reminders of our learning behaviours and the growth mindset to support all learning. Wherever your child is at we will support them and continue their learning journey. Your child will have acquired new skills throughout lockdown such as resilience and independence and life skills such as washing, gardening and baking. These are all vital learning that will support their future.

Staffing

Mrs Wise – Y5 teacher / KS2 Assistant Head and Mrs Rodgers – Business Manager need to continue to work at home until Easter. We are delighted that Mr Hamilton who all our Y5 children know can cover the day to day running of the Y5 class. Mrs Wise will continue to plan and be involved with the class through virtual contact.

Mrs McAleavy has made the life decision to retire at Easter. Mrs McAleavy is very happy about her decision but at The Ellis there will be a huge gap that we will have to fill. We wish Madame McAleavy all the best in her new life adventures and we know she will stay in touch and come back to see us.

We hope all our Y6s get the places they hope for Secondary and that there will hopefully be some transition this year. We will keep you posted with Summer plans when we know the impact the Governments’ planned Roadmap is having.

Nursery places

Parents are now able to contact us to place their children’s name on a waiting list for nursery places available from September. These can be either full time or parttime places.

Comic Relief – red nose day- 19th March

We are delighted that this will be when all our children are back in school and will be a celebration of all our lockdown superheroes – all of our children. Dress as a superhero or wear something that supports Comic relief e.g t-shirts or red noses. We are not selling red noses this year, however, I am delighted they are now made from re-cycled material. Regarding donations – if you would like to donate to Comic Relief as a family please can do so online, there is no need to send money into school.

Parents Evenings

Parents Evening will be delayed until after the Easter holidays, so all teaching staff have time to assess and support children settling back into school. We will let you know in due course, however it is highly likely they will not be face to face meetings as April is still restricting social contact.

Stay safe,

Mrs Rachel Hurding

Headteacher

25.02.21 F2 World Book Day Creative Project

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you are all having a good week. As you are probably already aware, it is World Book Day next Thursday 4^th March. We will be focusing on the story of What the Ladybird heard that week. As part of our topic that week the children in school will be creating a book theatre and to do this we will need a small cardboard box the size of a shoe box. If possible could we please ask you to send a shoe box into school by Wednesday 3^rd March at the latest.

We also would like our home learners to be involved as part of this project for World Book Day. Please see the web link for more information of what we are aiming to do.

https://www.worldbookday.com/online-masterclasses/how-to-create-a-picture-book-theatre/

Please remember that our next Zoom session will be on World Book Day Thursday 4^th March. We will notify you of the exact time next week.

We hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you for all your hard work and support so far, we are looking forward to all the children returning to school on Monday 8^th March.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

24.02.21 F2 World Book Day

Dear F2 Parents,

Please can your child bring a bear to school on World Book Day (not too big!).

Many thanks,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

24.02.21 F2 Pancake Tasting

Dear Parents,

We hope that you all had a lovely half-term holiday and that you are keeping safe and well.

On Friday (26^th February) we will be tasting pancakes and other tea-time treats in school as part of our topic on Little Red Riding Hood (also because it was Shrove Tuesday last week).

Please let a member of the F2 Team know if you would not like your child to take part in this activity.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

24.02.21 Nursery Session Friday Afternoons

(Information for Parents of full time nursery children)

Starting from the week commencing Monday 8th March full time nursery children will have the opportunity to stay all day on a Friday if you would like them to. As this is in addition to their 30 hour entitlement there will be a charge of £15 payable via Parentpay each week.

If you would like to take advantage of the additional childcare please let us know.

Hayley Fiddes

24.02.21 Return to POD School

Dear Parents,

I hope this information reaches you well rested and in good health and that you all managed to have a good half-term.

We are beyond delighted that all our children can return to school on the 8^th March.

Our plan is to run POD school like we did in September, but we are aware that you may need some reminders of how it works and some of our families are new to school.

I’m sure that a number of parents may have questions about how we are approaching things at school.

We have drawn together a Q&A format that we thought may be useful for parents. We hope we have covered the main points, though there may be more questions that follow. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED. The Ellis Covid Q and A March 2021 For Parents

There may be adjustments and alterations in response to situations changing, finding better (or safer) ways of doing things and simply to address mistakes or unforeseen issues.

We will communicate these as swiftly as possible when they occur.

School continues to regularly update the risk assessment on the school website.

SOME REMINDERS FIRST

We will be operating school similarly to Rainbow school to enable everyone to be as safe as possible.

The Government has recognised that younger children cannot socially distance but are recommending we continue to use the POD/Bubble system in school.

We have made the decision to continue to have sister classes together as they share the cloakroom and toilets, this will enable us to continue to have separate outdoor areas for each POD. Each class will be separate inside their classrooms for learning. This year each class is the name of an author to celebrate our love of books and reading at The Ellis.

F1 Nursery PINK POD

F2 Delightful Donaldsons RED POD

Y1 Wise Woollvins ORANGE POD

Y2 Perfect Potters

Y3 Fantastic Fletchers YELLOW POD

Y4 Wonderful Walliams

Y5 Creative Cowells GREEN POD

Y6 Determined Dahls

We will continue with our one way system around school and parents will say goodbye at the drop-off gates. There will be a member of staff on the main gate and the gate near F2 to support the children saying goodbye and remind everyone of the one way system.

F1, F2, Y1 and Y2 enter school from School Street and drop off at the red gate near F2. F1 go to the Nursery gate. All parents leave following the Foundation field and by walking up to the main gate.

If you need to drop a KS2 child off second you leave them in the drive area at the end of the path for them to walk around the Y5/Y6 side of school and you leave via the main gate.

If you are just dropping off a KS2 child please leave at the main gate, when there is a staff member there.

This is a great opportunity for everyone to start the park and walk for 5 minutes scheme. It enables everyone to come to school for their allocated time and will ease congestion and therefore help the safety of everyone at drop off and collection time.

No cars are allowed to drive into school or turn near the main gate during drop off and pick up times.

BREAKFAST CLUB

Please only book into breakfast club if it is absolutely essential as we are trying to reduce numbers as much as possible. Breakfast club will be in the hall and we will have a separate area in the hall for each pod. We will use the front door for breakfast club starting at 8am. To help us organise can you please let us know if your child will be attending.

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS

We will not have any clubs after school during Spring 2 and we will review for Summer term.

To keep school as safe as possible for all our families and staff we all need to respect the social distancing rules that have been made by the Government in and out of school.

ALL PARENTS AND STAFF NEED TO WEAR FACE COVERINGS DURING ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

Your cooperation and support is, as always, appreciated in this matter.

Please do not hesitate to make contact if you have further questions that need answering before your return on the 8^th March.

In the meantime it is really important that all our home learners continue to do their daily work on Seesaw as this will help when they return to school.

Keep safe,

Mrs Hurding (Mrs H)

24.02.21 School Council

Dear Parent,

I am emailing to let you know that your child is invited to participate in a school council meeting on Friday 26th February at 1pm.

If your child is in school that day, then they will be supported to attend by a member of staff in school.

If your child is learning remotely, then a Zoom invite will be assigned to their Seesaw account and we would like them to attend the meeting through using that.

We hope they are able to attend.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

23.02.21 Y1/2 Zoom Meetings

Dear Orange Pod Parents and Carers,

We would like to do another zoom meeting with our home learners this week (this will just be for the children who are not in school at all). The information for timings and days are below. The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask you do this before the session. Please support your child to follow the link 5 minutes before the session and to make sure their screen name shows their first name. They will be placed in a waiting room and let into the meeting when it is time.

Y1 – Thursday 25^th February, 1pm

Y2 – Friday 26^th February 2pm (please have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil to hand)

If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Trotter and Mrs Broadbent

23.02.21 Y5 Return to School Information

Dear Y5 Parents,

We are really pleased that all our children will be able to be back in school on the 8th of March. It will be fabulous to have all the children back with their friends and learning together.

I am emailing to explain the plan for staffing in Y5 as the shielding guidance means that I will not be able to return to school with the children. Mr Hamilton, who is an experienced KS2 teacher has already started to build relationships with the children as he has been teaching the class three afternoons a week, will be teaching the class for the coming weeks. Mrs Brinkley, Mrs Wood and Mrs McAleavy will continue to support the class too.

I will, of course, continue to work from home, planning and supporting the class’ continued learning based on my knowledge of the children and will have contact with the children via Zoom.

If you have any questions about these arrangements, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

22.02.21 Zoom Meeting Y3

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that our ‘at home’ learners have enjoyed being able to see their friends and have some social time during the last Zoom call. We definitely enjoyed seeing them!

During this period of remote learning, we would like to invite our pupils who are learning at home another Zoom meeting.

Our next Zoom meeting for Y3 will be at 12:30pm on Wednesday.

The Zoom link will be put onto Seesaw on the day of the meeting for children who are learning primarily at home.

Many thanks,

The Yellow Pod Team

22.02.21 Zoom Meeting Y4

Dear Y4 Parents and Carers,

On Thursday, 25th February at 1:00pm we would like to trial another class Zoom meeting for Y4.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

This is only a 2nd attempt so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a joke to share and then we will share an activity together.

Please re- read the attached document with your child before the meeting. Ask them to think of a joke that they would like to share with their friends.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Jaques

22.02.21 Zoom for F1

Dear F1 Parents and Carers,

Our next zoom meeting will be on Wednesday 24th February for all of the F1 children.

The Zoom invite link and ID number will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. The session will begin at 11.00am and the link will be on seesaw the morning of the meeting, but do not access it until the session is about to begin.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask you do this before the session.

As previously, we aim to greet each other with a wave, moving onto singing a few nursery rhymes together (Mrs. Pollard will decide which rhymes) and then Mrs. Pollard will read a story. We will finish with a goodbye wave until the next meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Pollard and Mrs Kelly

22.02.21 Nursery World Book Day Zoom

Dear Parents,

World Book Day will be held on Thursday 4th March. This year I will be reading a story Via Zoom at 9.00am. It would be great to see you all!

Thank you,

Mrs. Pollard

22.02.21 Nursery Pancake Tasting

Dear Parents,

Tomorrow (Tuesday 23rd) we will be making and tasting pancakes. Please let a member of the nursery staff know if you do not want your child to take part in this activity.

Thank you,

Mrs. Pollard

12.02.21 Rainbow School 21 Week 6

Dear Parents,

We have all made it to half term and I know everyone is ready for a break, so we hope you get to spend some family time together this next week.

Gifts for all children

We have organised a gift for all children, the children that have been home all half term have received a kindness jar, all Foundation stage have received a little bear and the children in school and our blended learners have received a keepsake keyring. As some of our blended learners are not in school this week their gifts will be saved safely in school for their return.

Forest school/Residentials

We are so sad that we have had to cancel our residential trips, for our Y3 and Y6 children this is the second time it has been cancelled for them which is really hard.

We continue to develop our school ground for learning and Phase two of Forest school was completed this week, which now means we have a path all around the edge of the field leading to the main Forest school area with the dens and fire pit. This is going to be an amazing learning resource for all our children when they return.

ZOOM

We have had our first Zoom check in for all our home learners this week. The Foundation included the children in school to enjoy some singing. Y3s and Y5s have included the children in school as their teachers are at home. The aim of the Zoom was to make contact with the children that had been home all half term or for a while. We are sorry if this has caused some confusion but the children who are in school are able to have regular well-being checks.

CATCH UP CURRICULUM

When all our children return to school, we will support them settling back in, we are very aware that you have all worked so hard at home, but you are not teachers. We are also aware that the children who have been at home will need support like we did in September to settle back into school. We will take all our wonderful children onto their next stage of their learning journey and assess and check gaps. We will continue to support everyone every step of the way.

We know it is hard right now as we do not know for definite when our children are returning.

World Book Day

World Book day is on the 4th March. We will be celebrating the event at home and at school, there has been an email today from Miss Saunders sharing our plan for this year.

COMIC RELIEF

Is on the 19th March – the theme is superheroes and every one of our children is a hero at the moment, we will dress up as superheroes but we do not want anyone to have to go to any expense, if you have a costume already, great, if not, masks can be made out of cereal packets and capes out of sheets or old material. More details after half term.

So please enjoy half term and stay safe,

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Rachel Hurding

Headteacher

12.02.21 World Book Day 04.03.21

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are pleased to announce that this year World Book Day is definitely not cancelled. At The Ellis we are passionate about reading and promoting a love of reading, not just on World Book Day but every day.

As with everything, the way that we celebrate World Book Day this year will be different from previous years. We will be flooding Seesaw with videos, reading challenges and fun ideas. In addition to this, each class will have their Zoom meeting on World Book Day. This will be for the children who are at home on the day.

We always love seeing the amazing costumes and creative outfits the children wear for World Book Day, but during these challenging times do not want to add additional pressure. This year we suggest wearing pyjamas and enjoying a day of ‘bedtime stories’ and cosy reading or wearing an outfit that the children already have that celebrates a favourite book or character.

Tokens will be issued on your child’s return to school. If the lockdown lasts longer than 8^th March, I will be in touch with information about digital tokens.

As always, we would love to see as many photos of our pupils celebrating World Book Day. Photos can be sent in via Seesaw, email, Twitter and Facebook.

Please do not hesitate to contact school if you have any questions.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

12.02.21 Next F2 Zoom Session 24th February 2021

Dear F2 Parents and Carers,

It was so lovely to see you all at our Zoom session on Wednesday. We have had lots of positive feedback and it was so nice to bring all the children together again even if it was in a virtual way. Our next session will be after the half term holiday on Wednesday 24^th February at 11am. As before, the Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. We will run the session at 11am for no more than 30 minutes. The link will be on seesaw by 9am that morning and we will also add the ID and password as we are aware that some of you struggled to access our last session.

During our next session we would like to give each child the chance to share one thing that they are proud of and want to talk about. This could be a piece of work, an interesting object or project or activity that they really enjoy doing. Can we please remind you to keep your sound muted during the session until it is your child’s turn to talk as there was a lot of background noise/feedback during our last session which made it difficult for some of our children and parents to hear what was going on. I’m sure you all understand that we want everyone to enjoy the session and that means being able to see and hear clearly what is happening. Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers will lead the session and let everyone know when it their turn to unmute their microphone on their device.

We will finish our next session by reading a story together and singing a song together.

Please remember that Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask that you please do this before the session.

Please refer to the attached document again prior to the meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst and Mrs Beevers

12.02.21 Green Pod Zoom Calls for ‘At Home’ Learners

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that our ‘at home’ learners have enjoyed being able to see their friends and have some social time during the Zoom calls. We definitely enjoyed seeing them!

During this period of remote learning, we would like to invite our pupils who are learning at home to regular Zoom social time.

Y5 will meet at 1pm on Thursdays.

Y6 will meet at 2pm on Thursdays.

The Zoom link will be put onto Seesaw on the day of the meeting for children who are learning primarily at home.

Many thanks,

The Green Pod Team

11.02.21 Whirlow Residential Cancellation

Dear Parents,

It is with great sadness that we are emailing to inform you that Whirlow Farm has cancelled all bookings for the year 2021. In the current climate of lock down, restrictions and the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we understand why they have made this decision.

We understand that the children will be greatly disappointed by this news and, as a school community, we share in that disappointment.

Please be reassured that we will process refunds in due course, but ask for your patience in this matter. We are aware that in the current climate the refunded money will be welcome and we will process the refund as soon as possible.

We will continue to use our amazing school grounds to provide as many outdoor opportunities and are continually looking at ways we can bring different learning experiences to our children. Although it is of little reassurance at the minute, the good news is that as the children affected are only in Y2 and Y3, we are very hopeful that when the world is on the other side of this pandemic and life returns to normal, your children will have the opportunity to take part in a residential whilst still at our school, and you can be assured that this will be booked at the earliest opportunity!

We thank you for the understanding in this matter.

Kindest Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

The Ellis C E Primary School

10.02.21 Green Pod Reminders

Dear Green Pod Parents,

We just wanted to remind you of the following learning opportunities that need to be logged into at a specific time. We know this can be difficult but hope that the children will enjoy the events.

Y5 Zoom- 10.30am TODAY (Wednesday)

Y6 Zoom- 2pm Thursday

(Both of these can be accessed via Seesaw)

Space science live event at home – 1.30pm Wednesday (this is accessed via link that you were invited to sign up to via email.)

WWF webinar about Illegal animal trade – 11am Thursday (accessed via Seesaw).

We hope this reminder helps and that the children enjoy each of these events.

Many thanks,

The Green Pod Team

09.02.21 Y1 Zoom Meeting

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Thursday, 11 February at 1pm we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for Y1.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

If you have any difficulties getting into the Zoom meeting then please contact school as a member of staff will have a meeting link available that they will be able to email to you. Only use this if you cannot join via the Seesaw link.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a joke to share and then we will share a story together. Remember that this is a social time for the children, so though you might want to be nearby to be on hand for technical glitches please don’t feel you need to be actively involved with the call.

Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting. It is important that they understand and agree to the rules around using Zoom. Ask them to think of a joke that they would like to share with their friends.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs D L Broadbent

09.02.21 Y2 Zoom Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Wednesday, 10th February (tomorrow) at 9:30am we would like to run a second class Zoom meeting for Y2. This will be for our at home learners. (Apologies for the change in time, this is due to another two classes running theirs late morning and the Science event in the afternoon).

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw as before and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

Same as before, I will let you into the meeting as soon as I see you waiting, so please make sure their screen name shows their first name.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask you do this before the session. Please support your child to follow the link 5 minutes before the session. This time, please bring a joke to share and we will play a game together!

To round up the half term, on Friday 12th February at 1pm, we would like to do a Zoom meeting where the children at home can join in singing our class song ‘I wanna be in the band’ with our children at school. Therefore, if your child is in school on Friday, there is nothing to do as Mrs Trotter will link the Zoom call in class so that the children can see their friend’s at home and if your child is at home, then you will find the Zoom link on a seesaw activity. You do not need anything for this one other than a loud singing voice and groovy moves!

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Y2 Team

09.02.21 Y4 Zoom Trial

Dear Y4 Parents and Carers,

On Thursday, 11th February at 1:00pm we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for Y4.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a joke to share and then we will share an activity together.

Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting. Ask them to think of a joke that they would like to share with their friends.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Rachel Jaques

Year 4 Teacher

09.02.21 Y6 Zoom Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Thursday 11th February at 2pm we would like to trial a social Zoom meeting for our Y6 at home learners.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

09.02.21 Y3 Trial Zoom

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Wednesday, 10th February (tomorrow) at 12:30pm we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for Y3. This will be for our at home learners. If your child is in school at this time then, on this occasion they will not be participating.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a joke to share and then we will share some games together. Remember that this is a social time for the children, so though you might want to be nearby to be on hand for technical glitches please don’t feel you need to be actively involved with the call.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Y3 Team

09.02.21 Y5 Zoom Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Wednesday, 10th February at 10:30am we will be having another social zoom meeting for our at home learners. If your child is in school at this time then, on this occasion they will not be participating.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device that you are using to join. Please support your child to follow the link 5 minutes before the session and to make sure their screen name shows their first name. They will be placed in a waiting room and let into the meeting when it is time. If you have any difficulties getting into the Zoom meeting then please contact school as a member of staff will have a meeting link available that they will be able to email to you. Only use this if you cannot join via the Seesaw link.

As ever, we know that the internet and working remotely comes with trials and tribulations so please don’t panic if you find it difficult to join or if you have a technical disaster at any point, but do let us know as we are working on sorting technical issues as we go and we will try to help you resolve any issues that occur.

It was a pleasure to see so many smiling faces last week and we hope that any children who were unable to join will manage to attend this time. Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting and remind them of the expectations. It is important that they understand and agree to the rules around using Zoom. This week we will be trying out a scavenger hunt so all the children will need with them is a smile and to be ready to collect some interesting objects from around the house!

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

08.02.21 F1 Zoom Trial

Dear F1 Parents and Carers,

On Thursday, 11th February we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for all of the F1 children.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. I will run the session at 11.00am for no more than 30 minutes. The link will be on seesaw the morning of the meeting, but do not access it until the session is about to begin.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask you do this before the session.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties!

We aim to greet each other with a wave, moving onto singing a few nursery rhymes together (Mrs. Pollard will decide which rhymes) and then finish with a goodbye wave until the next meeting.

Please read the attached document regarding do’s and don’ts with your child before the meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Pollard and Mrs. Kelly

08.02.21 F2 Zoom Trial

Dear F2 Parents and Carers,

On Wednesday, 10th February we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for the F2 children who are learning at home. This is a chance for Mr Grayhurst, Mrs Beevers and Mrs Allott to check in with our home learners in a live way and make sure that everyone is doing ok. It will be so lovely for as many of the children to join in as possible as we know how much they must be missing their friends. Moving forwards, we will look at how we can join the home and school learners together in future weeks.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. We will run the session at 11am for no more than 30 minutes. The link will be on seesaw by 9am in the morning so don’t panic if you don’t see it before then.

During the session we will be singing some songs. Please access the YouTube links below in the meantime so that you can practise the songs before our Zoom Time:-

EYFS counting medley of songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtNdJ6zWgZc

5 Elephants – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQf6yWEScB8

Goldilocks – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFXE3zvXbjc

Wind the Bobbin Up YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg4WZvAXF5s

Twinkle, Twinkle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjrQ1rmS44M

We will also perform our Poetry Basket Poem ‘Popcorn’ and if we have chance we can recite the Little Red Hen story that we have been learning with actions.

Please note that Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask that you please do this before the session.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties.

Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mr Grayhurst, Mrs Beevers and Mrs Allott

05.02.21 Rainbow School 21 Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

Week 5 of Rainbow 21 school

Snow

Thank you for your support on Tuesday when it snowed. I had to close school as I could not get enough staff in to run Rainbow 21 school safely. We can usually ask all local staff to walk in and have all children that need to be in school in the hall, obviously we cannot run this system at the moment as this would be mixing pods, which is not safe for anyone.

Please have a snow plan ready for next week as more is forecast!

Well-being and home learning

We have added a well-being section to our website that we will begin to add useful information on to.

We are very aware how hard this lockdown is for all, especially for our children who are always at home. We continue to work out new ways to communicate with you and we will be setting up a Zoom for the children at home with their classmates who are also at home. Some classes may have the children in school, but we will do what we think is best for each class. The plan is to have our first well-being Zoom before half term. Please, bear with us as we need to train our staff first. All the risk assessments are now complete and we will put the Zoom links onto Seesaw. More information will come through when your child’s class is ready.

We have trialed it this week with my to two assistant heads, Mrs Wise Y5 and Mrs Trotter Y2 and it was an absolute delight to see all the children at home.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything, we have been adapting our home learning to meet the needs of your children. The great thing about Seesaw, as well as its flexibility of timings is how we can personalise the learning and feedback. Teachers will continue to put the next steps of learning onto Seesaw.

We are aware that there has been a lot of coverage about ‘live’ learning. In Barnsley 50% of the schools are using this system, the cameras are always turned off, so the interaction is limited. We have made the decision around our community needs not to do this. The schools that have been operating ‘live’ teaching have more teachers and less children in school. Filming the mornings sessions would not work as all classes are using Seesaw. The decision not to use ‘live’ teaching is based on the need for a flexible timetable, feedback from most families, the fact we continue to have 50% of our children in school and staff well-being.

We are very aware that the children in school are getting more social contact which is why we are organising a well- being Zoom as well as increasing communication as much as we can.

Collection and Drop off at school

Can I remind everyone that only one adult should be dropping off and picking up children to reduce the numbers of adults at school.

We continue to be grateful for the support from our wonderful community.

Team Ellis all the way!

Stay safe,

Mrs Hurding

03.02.21 Space Event

Dear parents / carers,

We have registered for our school to take part in a fantastic online activity event the ‘Space Escape LIVE at home’ on Wednesday 10th February starting at 1.30pm. All our pupils are invited to join this brilliant event from home. All you need to do for your child to participate is follow this link below and register your child and you will be sent all the information you need to take part.

https://wonderadventures.co.uk/spaceschoolseventparentsregistration

The event will be broadcast live in a private Facebook group, the link will be sent to you once you have registered. There is also an option to join the event using a private youtube link instead. The direct event links will be sent in email on the morning of the event to all those who have registered.

You can also request to receive and event reminder on the day of the event via Messenger. This will give you the direct link to the broadcast and so take you directly to the event at the start time. It will also provide you with a link to watch it on YouTube if you prefer to access it that way.

Go to this link to request this event reminder – https://wonderadventures.co.uk/EventReminder

Please make sure you follow this link and register asap so we can confirm our schools numbers for the event. register here https://wonderadventures.co.uk/spaceschoolseventparentsregistration

02.02.21 Y2 Zoom Trial

Dear Y2 Parents and Carers, ZOOM – Guidance for Parents and Children Y2

On Wednesday, 3rd February we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for the Y2 children who are solely learning at home. (This is a chance for Mrs Trotter to catch up with them and see how everyone learning at home is doing, in a live way. Moving forwards, we will look at how we can join the home and school learners together).

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. I will run the session at 1.30pm for no more than 30 minutes. The link will be on seesaw by lunchtime so don’t panic if it does not appear first thing.

Zoom works best if you have downloaded the free app onto the device and we ask you do this before the session.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a piece of learning they are proud of to share and then we will share a story together.

Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Trotter

02.02.21 Y5 Zoom Trial

Dear Y5 Parents and Carers, ZOOM – Guidance for Parents and Children

On Wednesday, 3rd February at 10:30am we would like to trial a class Zoom meeting for Y5.

The Zoom invite link will be sent via Seesaw and your child will be able to join from there. Please do not share this Zoom link.

This is a first try so please be patient with us in case there are technical difficulties but the initial plan is for each child to bring a joke to share and then we will share a story together.

Please read the attached document with your child before the meeting. Ask them to think of a joke that they would like to share with their friends.

If you have any questions or concerns then please let me know.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

01.02.21 Y5/6 Illegal Animal Trade Webinar

Dear Green Pod Parents,

We are excited to tell you that we have arranged for the Y5 and Y6 children to join a WWF (World Wildlife Fund) webinar about illegal animal trade via zoom on Wednesday, 10th of February at 11am.

The link to the meeting can be found on Seesaw and children will need to follow it to join in at 11am.

We hope that the children will find this informative and engaging.

Many thanks,

The Y5 & Y6 Team

27.01.21 Rainbow School 21 Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are in week 4 of Rainbow 21 school and we continue to be proud of all our community. Teachers and teaching assistants are working hard to make our school and home learning offer as similar as we can, our parents who are juggling their work at home alongside home learning are really feeling it and continue to be miracle workers and all our incredible children are now adapting to the new way of working.

SEESAW – REMOTE LEARNING

We are here to support everyone, please contact the class teacher or Mrs Gay if you are struggling with anything. We continue to support with technology and adapting the home learning to work for your child. We are monitoring the engagement of home learning and if your child is not engaging as much as they should we will email or phone. We really value your supportive feedback to help us to continue to improve our offer.

We want to support you so that the ‘remote learning’ can be the best it can be!

TEACHING

Our teachers are teaching in school in the mornings and working on Seesaw in the afternoons. As we continue to have large numbers in school, we feel this is the best offer we can deliver for our set up. We have sorted timetables for those families that want them at home, but most families with working parents need the flexibility that Seesaw offers us.

HALF TERM

The Government yesterday said that half term will be a normal half term and school will be closed for all vulnerable and key workers.

from the DFE

February half-term

Schools will close as usual over February half-term and are not expected to remain open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers during that week.

Schools do not need to provide lunch parcels or vouchers during the February half-term.

STAY AT HOME

The Government continue to remind everyone to stay at home. A lot of schools in the area are insisting that any parent working from home has to have their children at home too. I continue to urge you to relook at your working schedules and only have children in school and send to breakfast club, when you absolutely have to. Many families have reduced days to help us all be as safe as we can. Thank you for your continued support, we do understand this is hard for everyone at the moment.

The recent message from the Director of Education supports schools with the decision-making process.

A message from Mel John-Ross, Executive Director of Children’s Services, to parents and carers during the national lockdown

26 January 2021

Dear parents and carers,

I want to thank every one of you, for all that you are doing by following the rules during this national lockdown, helping to keep your families and our communities safe from COVID-19.

Our current infection rates remain worrying, so it is still essential that we all maintain all of our efforts to follow all the national lockdown rules.

COVID-19 has affected all our lives, and undoubtedly children’s education has been significantly disrupted. Barnsley schools have responded well and have excellent arrangements that support remote learning and keep children attending school, safely. I remain confident that schools are as safe as anywhere can be in our community for children, given the robust controls that they have put into place.

During this national lockdown, the government advised that all children and young people stay at home and access learning remotely. However, for families who need some additional support (referred to as vulnerable children), and children of a critical worker parent, schools and colleges should remain open for these children.

We need our critical workers, across many services and organisations, to carry out their roles to maintain essential services in response to the pandemic.

However, for others, working and supporting their child’s learning and education, will be almost, if not impossible.

We have reached a shared position with Barnsley Headteachers, agreeing that all vulnerable children and children of critical workers should be able to attend school, in line with government guidance.

However, it is important to acknowledge that schools vary across the borough, in terms of their size, their capacity and the number of staff they employ, and the numbers of vulnerable and critical worker children attending school. For some schools, there will be occasions where it will be extremely hard to deliver both remote learning and teach children in school.

In these circumstances, Barnsley Headteachers will need to make decisions, in discussion with individual parents or carers, in the best interests of their school. This will always be informed by the school’s COVID-19 risk assessment.

Barnsley Council and Barnsley schools are firmly committed to delivering the best education to all children and young people in the borough. We want all pupils to return to school immediately upon the government announcing the full reopening of schools and colleges nationally.

However, at this time, we need to work together to support you, and our schools, to deliver high-quality remote learning and education while ensuring that the needs of children who need to be at school, can be met.

TESTING FOR STAFF

We are delighted that all Primary school staff can now have testing twice weekly if they so wish, this is to keep everyone as safe as possible. The tests have now arrived in school.

GOLD AWARDS – CELEBRATE ON A FRIDAY

As a school we have always praised all our children for their amazing efforts and achievements. On a Friday we have always celebrated with our gold awards assembly. We always ask all children to stop and think about what they are proud of in the week. The children learn to celebrate their peers’ successes which is an important life skill. We are trying to replicate as many things as possible for home and school learners which is why we are now sharing the Gold Awards on Seesaw on a Friday. If you are at home on a Friday afternoon it would be fantastic if you could find ways together to celebrate your child’s amazing home learning for that week, you might choose to do a favourite activity as a reward, you could even have your own VIP tea sometimes.

WELL-BEING WEDNESDAY

We have set up well-being Wednesday onto Seesaw, each week we will share a different Thrive type activity you may wish to do at home. We hope you enjoy it.

SLIDE

We are delighted that we now have our amazing slide but as you know this is bittersweet at the moment as we do not have all our children in school.

LOCKDOWN

Perhaps one of the reasons many may be feeling more stressed at the moment is the fact that we do not know how long this lockdown is going to go on for and this is impacting on all of us.

It has just been announced that it may be until the 8th March.

As ever, keep in touch and thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hurding

25.01.20 Y1/2 Forest School Day

Dear Parents,

Just a quick note to inform you that Miss Batley who helps to run our Forest School session will be doing Wednesday instead of Tuesday from this week onwards. Therefore, if your child is in school, please send their old trousers on a WEDNESDAY instead of TUESDAY. The children are really gaining such a lot from these sessions, but obviously with the weather as it is- it does mean dirty clothes! We appreciate your understanding and support in this matter. Outdoors is so important for mental well-being, now more than ever.

With the change of Forest School day, we have slightly rejigged the KS1 timetable so art may be on a different day to the one we previously sent out. All subjects will be covered throughout the week, although it might not be on the day of the original timetable. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

For our wonderful children learning at home, please also feel free to use the outdoors on a Wednesday to support your child’s development and mental / physical well-being. We love to see photos of children going for walks, bike riding, running, digging in the garden, creating outdoor art and craft pieces and generally enjoying the outdoors.

Thank you for your continued support.

I am incredibly proud of all our KS1 children (and parents) who are showing such resilience, perseverance and positivity during the difficult time.

Kindest Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

20.1.20 Rainbow School 21 Information

Dear Parents,

Thank you again for everyone’s support last Thursday and Friday when the snow forced us to close.

I hope everyone is beginning to settle into our new routines. Rainbow 21 school is now full to bursting so please continue to support us by reducing days in school for your children, if you can.

REMOTE LEARNING

Thank you for everyone’s continued hard work in helping us to get SEESAW learning up and running. As we have said before none of you have planned to home educate your children. You are all juggling siblings, jobs and huge CV-19 anxieties. We are beyond proud of all of you.

Staff will be in contact if we are not seeing SEESAW learning. We want to continue to work together to get this right. Thank you to those of you who have already let us know how we can improve things to help support you. Please continue to make contact – we really do want to try to reduce the stress as much as possible. It really is a delight to see so much wonderful learning and we love how the home learning is linked to the school learning.

Children in school (A reminder as we have sent this before)

Thank you for everyone who has supported us by reducing the time your child is in school, we continue to have over 45% of our children in school. We do understand not everyone can reduce days but please keep re-evaluating to help us. I am sure you are aware that unlike last lockdown childcare bubbles can still operate, therefore this may be an option for you to keep your children in a smaller environment.

A REMINDER OF THE GUIDANCE – which states STAY AT HOME IF YOU CAN

Critical workers

Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors. Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school if required. This includes parents who may be working from home.

Schools should speak to parents and carers to identify who needs to go to school. If it proves necessary, schools can ask for simple evidence that the parent in question is a critical worker, such as their work ID badge or pay slip. Parents and carers who are critical workers should keep their children at home if they can.

We know that every school will have a different number of children of critical workers who need to attend. It is important that on-site provision is provided for these pupils, and there is no limit to numbers of these pupils who may attend and schools should not limit attendance of these groups. This is because we are reducing overall social contact across areas and the country rather than individually by each institution.

We continue to urge you to only use school when you absolutely have to for work, therefore if you are not working every day of the week, we are expecting you to take up the places only when you have to. We are all working hard to improve our blended learning to ensure that when a child is in part time, they can continue their education at home and be ready for when they need to attend school the week after.

We are currently in a NATIONAL LOCKDOWN – the Government and their scientific advisers are saying the safest place is at home. Every child who is in school increases the risk to our staff, as well as other children. With the case rate as high as it was in April, along with the addition of a new strain of COVID-19, it is vital that we work together to reduce the number of children and staff in school at any one time.

The bubble/pod system is still operating to keep everybody as safe as possible.

STAFF TESTING

The Government are now offering regular testing for all primary school staff. Please be aware that we have to act immediately on the data. As ever, please be prepared for POD closures and have a family plan for what you will do if or when this happens.

LOCKDOWN

We have been reassured that the Government are reviewing the length of lockdown but as of yet we do not know what the decision will be after half term. We have the hope of the vaccine but this is going to take many months to roll out.

We cannot wait for the day when all our wonderful children are back in school, we are missing you all.

Thank you for your continued support during this difficult time and helping to keep everyone safe.

Kind regards,

Mrs Hurding

19.1.20 Y5/6 PGL Trip Cancellation

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is with great sadness that we are emailing to inform you that the PGL residential trip will not be able to go ahead. In the current climate of lock down, restrictions and the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic we feel that it is the safest decision to cancel the trip.

We understand that the children will be greatly disappointed by this news and, as a school community, we share in that disappointment.

Many thanks,

Mrs Wise

19.1.20 Grimm and Co for KS2 Children

Dear Parent/Carer,

Grimm & Co (a fantastic Yorkshire-based charity) have been in contact to spread the word about an exciting opportunity for our pupils at The Ellis. We love Grimm & Co and think this would be something that many of our young authors would enjoy. All the details can be found in the information below.

There are only 25 spaces available so if you are interested, please sign up as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Kind Regards,

Miss A Saunders

Class Teacher/English Lead

Dear Parents,

Over lockdown, we would like to offer your KS2 students a chance to let off some steam and get involved in something creative.

Digital Dens is Grimm & Co’s new virtual after school drop-in sessions – they are informal sessions we are holding every Tuesday from 4:00 – 5:00 with no commitment to attend every week.

We’ll be playing games, making and telling stories and expanding our marvellous imaginations. In Digital Dens, we’ll make a space for your students to have fun whilst exploring story-making, drama, art and much more. Your school has been selected especially for this free programme, and we only have 25 spaces available, so we encourage your students to sign up as soon as they can.

Grimm & Co has an excellent track record of providing children and young people with inspirational creative writing sessions which place them at the heart of the storytelling. Our participants’ work has been published in poetry and short story anthologies such as the recent I Know, I Wish, I Will, and Illustoria. We’ve also re-written museum exhibition descriptions, created best-selling albums, designed and produced board games, and even gate-crashed Grimm & Co’s AGM!

We guarantee that your students will love our sessions and it will give them the much-needed lift to manage their time in lockdown.

To sign up, please visit: Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-dens-tickets-135697180921

When: Tuesdays from 19 January, 4:00 – 5:00pm

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

15.1.20 Y2 Blended Learning

Dear Parents,

Just a quick end of the week email to say well done for another week of home / school learning. It is wonderful to see so many of you accessing the learning at home if your child is not in school. I have tried different things this week to help as much as I possibly can. So I have added short videos for handwriting, spelling and some maths / English lessons. I have made the maths as large as I possibly can to help writing on the screen or adding text boxes and I have learnt how to send back work for children to edit. If you could let me know if these things have helped that would be great. (You can email me directly at c.trotter@theellis.org)I want to get it right but also don’t want to overload you with too many maths videos etc! You will be fed up of my face and voice in your house by the end of this!

Just a reminder that unlike last time when the National Curriculum was suspended, this time we have to provide children with 3 hours learning in KS1 (this is set by the Government) so the activities set each day (which I also date) need to all be completed. I realise that some children much prefer certain subjects to others, but please ensure that they do not miss out English or Spellings etc just because it is not their favourite! Thank you to those who have done this so far. I also fully recognise what a difficult time it is when you are relying on internet or you are trying to work yourself and have one or more children needing you for home learning, so I just wanted to say thank you for what you are doing. (See gold awards video!!!!!!) If you are having difficulties, please let me know and where I can, I will help.

The beauty of seesaw is that you do not have to do the work at a set time each day, so please do it to fit in with your schedule. I will keep trying to improve it and make it so that they can do as much of it by themselves as they can.

As we are also so very aware that parents are working incredibly hard and may have children in other year groups and home schooling can be really tricky, please remember the different ways of sending me work as this may help a little. It does not all have to be written down. I ask that any written tasks for English activities are done using a pencil as this helps a child maintain their writing stamina and obviously the handwriting needs to be hand written. For other activities such as VIPERS, topic work, morning work etc please either write what your child says, type it (either your child can do this or the adult), use the voice recorder or video function as this is much quicker for them rather than writing it out or draw, paint your ideas. I am really conscious that you have such a lot on your plate and want to try to help you get through the work as easily as you can. You do not have to send anything back in response to my greeting, although if you want to, of course you can. For maths, we encourage children at school to complete as many questions as they can, but again if they start to struggle towards the end of the questions, just stop at that point. We do not want to cause anxieties or worry. Please keep taking time out to just be a family too.

Finally and most importantly, please contact me if you are struggling. I promise to do everything I can to help. If I need to adapt things for your child and I can do it, I will. If they need me to just ring them to reassure them, I will. I genuinely do know that this is really tricky and you are all doing a wonderful job. Please take this praise and pat yourselves on your back. Together we will get through this and thank you for your ongoing support. It is always much appreciated.

Have a wonderful weekend, enjoy the snow and take care.

Kind Regards

Charlotte Trotter

Class Teacher / KS1 Leader

14.1.20 School Closure Friday

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all your support today, the timing of the snow falling made it hard for everyone.

We have decided that the school site will be closed tomorrow for critical worker and nursery children. The weather forecast suggests that the weather conditions are unlikely to improve, with below zero temperatures forecast for overnight.

With this in mind we cannot be sure that we can safely open the school site or have staff available to be on site. Several members of staff had to abandon vehicles today and are therefore without transport.

This decision has been taken early to enable you to make arrangements if you were expecting your child to attend the critical worker provision or Nursery tomorrow.

Seesaw learning will be available for all tomorrow but we also hope you get to enjoy the snow too.

If the weather and roads radically improve, we will reconsider, but we prefer to do it this way to allow you all as much time as possible to sort childcare.

Thank you

Mrs Hurding

11.1.20 FS Blended Learning

Dear Foundation Stage Parents,

Thank you to those of you who have managed to log in to Seesaw in order to help your child access learning at home. We, at school, fully understand how difficult supporting your child’s learning is at home alongside all of the many other duties you will have as a parent and also possibly working from home yourself. Give yourself a well-earned pat on the back!

In order to be consistent across learning, we have introduced a level of blended learning into our typical school day. This is where the teachers will be in class in a morning session teaching the key worker children and then moving to support children who are learning at home in the afternoon.

All work will be put onto seesaw each morning for you to access throughout the day. We do not want to be too prescriptive regarding when you support your child to do this work as we know you have many other responsibilities to manage throughout your working day.

We do not want to send home too much work to be done ‘on-screen’ or work that needs printing off. If an activity is sent home with an attached work-sheet it is so that you can see what we would like you to do to support your child, with an intention for you to recreate it ( draw and write on a piece of paper for your child to follow).

We also thought it may be useful to send a simple timetable of activities we will be posting on seesaw each day or each week (please see list below).

We hope this helps support planning your day. Please let staff know if we can help in any way.

Thank you for your understanding and commitment at this very unsettling time.

Foundation Stage 1 (Nursery) Mrs Pollard

Daily activities	Weekly activities
Share a story with a focus on using language and answering questions.	A physical activity- fine/ gross motor activity
A number activity	A language activity
An activity linked to phonics- Read Write Inc, including an initial sound activity linked to the daily letter.	A creative activity
	Name writing practice
	Have a go writing activity

Foundation Stage 2 (Reception) Mr Grayhurst

Daily activities	Weekly activities
A Read Write Inc. phonic lesson – please access the videos on the Ruth Miskin YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7fbLgY2oA_cFCIg9GdxtQ	A physical activity- fine/ gross motor activity
A White Rose Maths lesson – please access the lesson on the White Rose website: https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/early-years/	My Weekend News Writing
A reading or writing activity linked to a particular story of the week for Literacy.	Share a story with a focus on using language and answering questions.
A Read Write Inc. letter formation activity	Number songs from Numberblocks Cbeebies
A creative activity

Remember that we here to help you in any way that we can so please do not hesitate to get in touch with us should you need any support.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Mrs. Pollard & Mr. Grayhurst

11.1.20 Seesaw ‘How to Guide’ for FS

Dear Foundation Stage Parents and Carers, HOW TO GUIDE FOR PARENTS

Thank you for encouraging and supporting your children to access their learning on Seesaw. We know it has been a challenge and are hoping that the attached guide might help you understand the Seesaw platform a bit more.

We appreciate the time and effort you are giving to support remote learning at this challenging time. Please understand that teachers are aware that it is difficult to juggle the many demands you will have on your hands at the moment and appreciate all you are doing. We are working hard to adapt and provide learning that is manageable for you and your children.

Our youngest children learn lots through play and interaction, so Seesaw will offer suggestions and links to resources but we do not expect you and your child to be on the platform all the time. We love seeing the photos and videos of what they are doing at home! If you need any further support then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Many thanks,

Team Ellis

11.1.20 Seesaw ‘How to Guide’ for KS1

Dear KS1 Parents and Carers, HOW TO GUIDE FOR PARENTS

Many thanks,

Team Ellis

11.1.20 Seesaw ‘How to Guide’ for KS2

Dear Orange Pod (Y1 and Y2) Parents and Carers, HOW TO GUIDE FOR PARENTS

What a week! Thank you to everyone who has shown such commitment to supporting our amazing children to keep learning in these challenging times. An amazing 97% of our KS1 children are managing to continue to engage with their learning during this lockdown period (both in and out of school). We are working hard to match up the learning on Seesaw to aid smooth transition between home and school as we know that children with critical worker parents need to be in school some of the time, but we expect these children to be learning at home on days where it is possible.

We have tried to contact all families who are still struggling to get up and running. We know that there are a multitude of reasons for this, so please don’t panic if your child is yet to access their learning. We are here to help so let us know if there is anything additional we can provide as a school that will help your family at this time.

In terms of learning on Seesaw, we appreciate that as the children get to grips with the technology they may be needing quite a bit of help and that this is very challenging for families. We are hoping that as they become more confident their independence will increase but understand that this is more tricky for our younger children. Seesaw is a flexible tool, so please don’t think that every piece needs doing on screen – photos of written work is fine (these can be done on the app so you could show your child how to do it – we don’t mind them being blurry photos – or you can add any photos at a convenient time), along with voice recorded answers. The Seesaw tasks can be done on paper with the answers numbered so please don’t feel you have to print reams of things. We are also happy for the children to draw pictures or have a go on their own – even if this means that the recording of learning is a bit wobbly as we know it is hard (the more they practise, the clearer it will get).

In KS1, we use a lot of practical resources in school to support the learning of children and visual prompts to support their independence. Because of the quick turn around to virtual learning, we know that you may not have these things at home and that has been making it harder for your children to access some of the tasks. We are working hard to adapt and get it right for everyone. One plan we have is that we are working hard to create packs with some of the resources that will help the children that are similar to the ones they have in school – these will include things like phonics mats, number lines and counters so that they can access their learning more effectively. The other is that we are making exercise books with lined and squared paper available to help with recording that is not on screen.

These packs will be available from the office from Monday between 9am and 2:30pm. For obvious reasons, we are trying to limit foot fall in school, so please ensure that only one person comes to collect these resources and that social distancing rules are observed when you are on school grounds.

Thank you to those of you who have given feedback on what is and is not working well – we are trying really hard to get it right for everyone and know that this may take some time. Communication is key in these challenging times so please stay in touch, but be mindful that staff are also managing children who are in school and marking and responding online is very time consuming. We will get back to you but it might take us a bit of time!

Finally, we know that the expectations for work in this lockdown are very different to the first one and that this has positives and negatives. In the original lockdown, the government suspended the national curriculum so children in and out of school were not expected to be continuing at the same pace of learning as they would during normal times. We know that many of you did continue learning, but that you also enjoyed more family time. This time around the expectation is that all primary school children will continue to do the same amount of work as they would have if they were in school with the government suggesting a minimum of 3 hours learning. We know that this is very difficult for our children and families, especially as so many of you are juggling learning for multiple children, working in and out of home and generally surviving in a time of crisis. As a school, we have chosen a platform where teachers can still support and respond (though please be mindful that this will not be immediate, with high numbers of children in school and lots of lovely home school children it is a very high workload for staff) and families can choose the best time for their circumstances to complete the work. You will have received a timetable in another email outlining the lessons that will be available each day – these should help you see the tasks that need doing each day and, if you are a home learner, then you can decide the time and order you complete them in. If your child is struggling with the workload, then please get in touch as we can help direct you to the most important pieces of work or help you find ways to make things more manageable.

Again, thank you for all your support and understanding at this time.

Stay safe.

Best wishes,

The Ellis Team

8.1.20 KS1 Blended Learning

Dear Orange Pod (Y1 and Y2) Parents and Carers,

Again, thank you for all your support and understanding at this time.

Stay safe.

Best wishes,

The Ellis Team

8.1.20 KS1 Timetable Information

Dear Y1 / Y2 Parents,

Well, this wasn’t what we were expecting but we are going to make the best of the current circumstances. Thank you to those of you who have managed to support your child to log into Seesaw and have already started on the learning at home. Thank you also for your patience as we get more set up and sorted as we are trying our best trying to get things right for pupils in and out of school.

As a school, we selected Seesaw as a learning platform because it offers families flexibility, as we know that many of you will be working from home and juggling siblings at the same time – this means that your child can access their learning at a time that best suits your family. We also hope that Seesaw allows the children in Y1 and Y2 to present their work in a variety of ways such as voice recorders, videoing and uploading photos of what they have done on paper or practically. It is also a tool where parents can add comments if they are finding learning tricky (though please be mindful that feedback may not be immediate as staff are also in school every morning and have other roles to fulfil). The work tasks uploaded are not optional and need to be completed to ensure your child is ready for their next steps in learning when they return to school. These expectations have been set by the government and have changed since the last lockdown. If you are having difficulties due to lack of devices or internet connections then please contact school because help is available. If your child prefers to work on paper or it is a practical activity then you can upload photos – Seesaw has flexible tools that means each child can use it in the way that best suits them.

In order to be consistent across learning happening in and out of school and to support children who are accessing blended learning (a mix of being in school and learning remotely) we are going to follow a similar timetable for orange pod from next Monday. This means that work for the lessons on the below timetable will be available on Seesaw for all pupils (whether in school or at home) on the corresponding days but you can have flexibility with your household regarding the best working times.

YEAR 1

9.15 – 9.55

9.55 – 10.15

10.15-10.30

10.30-11.30

11.30 – 12.00

12.00 – 1.00

1.00 – 3.05

Mon

Flash

back 5

English

VIPERS

PLAYTIME

Maths

RWInc

LUNCH

Science / Topic

Story

Tues

Flash

back 5

English

VIPERS

Maths

RWInc

Rainbow Garden / Forest School with Miss Batley

Collective worship

Wed

Flash

back 5

Hand

writing

VIPERS

Maths

RWInc

PHSCE

Story

Thurs

Flash

back 5

English

VIPERS

Maths

RWInc

ICT

Art

Collective worship

Fri

Flash

back 5

Hand

writing

English

VIPERS

Maths

RWInc

Gold Awards

Music

YEAR 2

8.40 – 8.55

8.55 – 9.15

9.15 – 10.15

10.15-10.30

10.30-11.30

11.30 – 12.00

12.00 – 1.00

1.00 – 3.05

Mon

Morning Work (Arithmetic / spelling)

RWInc or Phonics

Maths

PLAYTIME

English

VIPERS

LUNCH

Hand

writing

Science / Topic

Story

Tues

Rainbow Garden / Forest School with Miss Batley

(Literacy / Topic based)

Rainbow Garden / Forest School with Miss Batley

(Literacy / Topic based)

VIPERS

Hand

writing

Maths

Short SPaG English Whole class lesson

Collective worship

Wed

Maths

English

VIPERS

PHSCE

Story

Thurs

Maths

English

VIPERS

ICT

Art

Collective worship

Fri

Maths

English

VIPERS

Hand

writing

Gold Awards

Music

We are adapting learning as best we can to fit with learning online so some lessons will be shorter than they would have been in school and we will be utilising high quality, pre-made resources where suitable – we really hope that there will be enough variation to engage learners. Please remember that playtimes are an important part of the school timetable so encourage your child to spend some safe time outside, some time being active and time relaxing. Spelling shed and TTRockstars (Y2 only) should be accessed regularly and we encourage all our children to find time to get ‘lost in a book’.

Please understand that we know this is a challenging time and that we are trying our best to meet the needs of a wide variety of family circumstances. As ever, communication is key so please get in touch (or encourage your child to ask for help on Seesaw) if you are struggling or need extra support. Again, there is technical support that can be accessed from school if you have problems because of lack of devices or difficulties accessing the internet.

Many thanks,

The Orange Pod (Y1 and Y2) Team

The EllisChurch Of England Primary School

Communication