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Parental Guide
02 Apr 2020
Please see the attached Parental Guide on heldping your child through the school closure from Lancashire County Council
IMPORTANT SCHOOL CLOSURE INFORMATION
20 Mar 2020
Dear Parents / Carers,
As you will be aware, the government has announced that all schools will close from the end of the school day today (Friday 20 March) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We do not yet know when school will reopen.
We have closely followed developments and have made contingency plans to allow a level of education to continue for pupils remotely.
Work for Pupils
I wrote to you on Tuesday this week to explain that we will use ClassCharts to upload work for pupils. I have asked staff that, where possible, they match the work your child receives to their timetable for any given day. Therefore, you can expect 5 pieces of work to be uploaded per day. Last week and this week, we have ensured that every child has been reissued with their ClassCharts login details, and reminded of their school email addresses.
The government has asked that all children are instructed to stay away from school, and be supervised at home. We have been asked to stay open for a very small number of children e.g. children of key workers, children with contact with Social Care and those with EHCP’s (Education Health Care Plans). If school has not contacted you regarding this, your child must stay at home.
Our school service is now severely limited. Therefore, I am asking that communication to school is done via email. Any queries regarding subject specific questions can be directed to the following email addresses:
Queries regarding I.T. and General Enquiries
Any queries regarding access to ClassCharts or school email addresses can be directed to itsupport@lsmchs.com
Any general enquiries regarding school can be sent to enquiries@lsmchs.com
Can I ask please for your patience and understanding in this matter. Staff members will not be able to reply immediately to your enquiries. Due to the fact that all schools are closed, staff may have caring responsibilities of their own, or indeed, may be ill due to the virus. For this reason, I am asking that you allow 48 hours of the email being sent for you to receive a reply.
Safeguarding
As a school, we deal with a number of pupils and families with our safeguarding team. The two main contacts for safeguarding at St Mary’s are Mrs Gail Reader and Ms Lynne Turner. Should any parent or pupil need safeguarding advice or guidance during our closure, in the first instance, please email dsl@lsmchs.com. Mrs Reader or Ms Turner will respond accordingly.
In addition to this, we have endeavoured to collate as many helpline contacts as possible. These are listed below. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that they will all be operational at the present time.
Nurture and Chaplaincy
In addition, Anthony our Chaplain provides vital support for a number of pupils. Should it be needed, he can be contacted on chaplain@lsmchs.com. This email can also be used for any nurture-based enquiries.
Free School Meals
We have received information from Lancashire County Council regarding the provision of Free School Meals for those pupils who ordinarily collect them. We will be in direct contact with the relevant families shortly about how Free School Meals will be distributed.
Updates
We will naturally be following the news for updates of the situation in the UK. The Department for Education coronavirus advice line for pupils, parents and staff is 0800 046 8687. We all hope that the impact of the virus is at the lower end of predictions and that the country can return back to normality as soon as possible. As a school, we will continue to follow official advice and update parents regularly through the usual means:
Many thanks for your understanding at this unique time for the nation. We are all being asked to make sacrifices for the good of the country and the good of our health. I am sure we will all rise to this challenge and take good care of one another. I ask that you keep the St Mary’s community in your prayers, as we also pray for you, your family and your loved ones. With God’s blessing, we will be safely back in school as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Thompson
Headteacher
Urgent Information for Parents who may be Key Workers:
20 Mar 2020
Thank you to parents who have already responded to our request yesterday regarding key workers. In many cases, our staff have already spoken to you about this matter.
Last night the government issued clear guidance for schools regarding the children of key workers.
This document can be found here:
The guidance strongly recommends that social distancing is key and that ‘every child who can be safely cared for at home should be’.
The guidance also says that ‘the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend’.
Please check the list of key worker jobs which are crucial to the containment and management of Covid-19. If you fall into one of these categories, and school is the only way in which childcare can be managed, then please contact school by 1pm today, in order for us to plan for the coming week.
Thank you if you have already responded earlier, and apologies if this message does not apply to you.
If you require support and have not yet registered please click here.
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Thompson
Headteacher
HT letter to parents 19.03.20
19 Mar 2020
Dear Parent / Carer,
Please follow the link to view the headteacher's letter to parents.
HT_letter_to_parents_19.03.20.pdf
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Thompson
Headteacher
COVID-19 Update
18 Mar 2020
Coronavirus parental letter 17.03.20
17 Mar 2020
Dear Parent / Carer,
Please follow the link to view the coronavirus parental letter.
Coronavirus_parental_letter_17_03_2020.pdf
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Thompson
Headteacher
'Unity in Diversity' school showcase
11 Mar 2020
Dear Parents / Carers,
“Unity in Diversity” – SCHOOL SHOWCASE
Our pupils at St Mary’s have been working very hard on our latest school production and are now almost ready to raise the curtain! Our cast and crew would like to invite you to see their performance of ‘Unity in Diversity’. Our showcase of dance, drama and music explores the diversity within the unity of our school and will take place on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd April 2020 at 7pm. We are also delighted to be able to, for the first time, include an art exhibition of pupils’ work based on the theme of the show. This exhibition will be displayed in the LRC and will be available before and after the show, as well as during the interval.
As you will be aware, a major and ambitious production like this takes many months of hard work and dedication from our team of actors, singers, dancers, artists, stagehands and teachers. We would love to see such hard work and commitment rewarded by a full house for each performance!
To purchase tickets for the show, please contact the Main Office or purchase tickets online via Scopay. Adult tickets are priced at £8.00 and under 16s are priced at £5.00. We thank you in anticipation for your support and look forward to seeing you there!
Yours sincerely,
Mr J McMahon (Curriculum lead for Music) Miss R Burbidge (Teacher of English & Performing Arts) Mrs C Edwards (Curriculum lead for Art)
February 500 Club Winners
28 Feb 2020
Congratulations to our February 500 Club Winners
1st prize Mrs Smith 11T
2nd prize Mrs Pitblado 7A
3rd prize Mrs Hoyles 8M
Winnings can be collected from the school office
Daffodils
25 Feb 2020
Home grown daffodils on sale at breaktime and lunchtime from the stationery shop - will make an idea Mother's day gift. £1per pot
Easter Bingo Non-Uniform Day
25 Feb 2020
NON-UNIFORM DAY~ FRIDAY, 13th MARCH 2020
Dear Parent / Carer,
Friday, 13th March is scheduled as a fundraising day and pupils will be allowed to wear their own clothes on this day with all proceeds going to support our Easter Bingo on Tuesday, 24th March 2020. Doors open 6:00 pm, eyes down at 6:15 pm.
We hope to be able to make up the prizes for this event as we have done in the past from the contributions that families send in to school. The required contribution will be a donation of Easter eggs and chocolate so that we can put together prizes for the Easter Bingo Session.
Easter Eggs and chocolate to a minimum of £1 or more would be appreciated, or if you prefer to send in money the school will purchase suitable items.
You can send in your family’s contributions via your child from Monday, 2nd March. All the pupils who bring in donations will be allowed to wear their own clothes on a non-uniform day on Friday, 13th March.
All the money raised from this event goes towards providing extra resources, not affordable through government funding, to enhance the education of the pupils.
Pupils must wear suitable clothes and should remember that they are school children on a normal school day and therefore should not wear anything too revealing.
The school rules regarding jewellery, hairstyles and make-up will apply as normal.
Pupils who have practical lessons that day (e.g. PE/Technology/Science) should ensure that they have appropriate protective clothing.
Thank you for your support and I hope to see you at the Easter Bingo on Tuesday, 24th March.
Yours sincerely,
Mr P Thompson
Headteacher