WELTON ST MARY'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY ACADEMY - Welton St Marys Academy
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WELTON ST MARY’S
CHURCH OF ENGLAND
PRIMARY ACADEMY
December (end of term) 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you for all your support this term. Whilst it has been different in so many ways, it has been
successful; the children have all been learning and happy in school. This has been a team effort, with
school and home working together – thankyou. There is a COVID update in this newsletter.
Over the last few weeks we have been preparing for Christmas, a really special time of year in our
school and we are delighted that the children have been able to have many of the Christmas
experiences that they look forward to and enjoy. The staff enjoyed December 1st and revealing our
advent window – I wish the smiles and excitement it brought to all our children could have been
bottled!
The elves have been naughty again this year, which has brought great joy and laughter in the
classrooms. The children in Years 1 and 2 have enjoyed practicing and performing the Nativity and
the iSingpop songs and dances (always lifting spirits) have been learnt in all other year groups.
Rudy’s Run was a HUGE success, not only did the children love taking part, the generosity from
families and friends went well beyond our hopes and dreams. Thank you so much for giving to such a
worthwhile cause and making a difference.
At the end of each term, the Bishop shares a letter with the children. Our Bishop’s Visitor, Mrs
Grinham, usually reads this at our church service. This year the Bishop has recorded a message for
the children. The message can be found here: https://www.lincolndiocesaneducation.com/bishops-
letters
Whilst we are sad that we have not been able to invite you all into school, we hope that by sharing our
Christmas celebrations with you at home, we can bring joy and happiness to you all this Christmas.
Have a happy and safe Christmas.
We look forward positively to 2021. See you all on January 5th.
Best wishes
Mrs N Gough
Head teacher
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Collective Worship Council at the Welton Larder
On Thursday, Collective Worship Council went to the Welton Larder in the Welton St Marys Church. The
Welton Larder is a group of people who provide food for those in Welton who are in need or require extra
support. When we arrived, Reverend Jane greeted us and took us to the back of the church where there
were multiple full trolleys of food. Everybody who goes to get food at the Welton Larder writes a list of
what food they need and the amount required. The Collective Worship Council got a list for a family of five.
There were two parents, two children and one baby so it was our job to get all of the foods that they need
and make sure that none of the food was out of date. When we had finished with their essentials, we added
some sweets, chocolates and cleaning supplies, to make sure they were happy. When we had everything
ready, we put it all into bags and took the bags to the front where they can be collected. The Welton Larder
makes sure that the food they give can last up to at least a week if not more. If you are too embarrassed to
go inside to collect food, they put some items out of the front for anybody to collect.
The school was asked to bring in donations so that we could give it to the Welton Larder. Everybody’s
donations counted and every Thursday we will be taking the donations to the Welton Larder to make sure
that they do not run out of food. The Welton Larder has been helping people during Covid and especially
those who have struggled to earn money for food. Please continue to donate to this really worthwhile cause.
By Sophie H
Did you see our Living
Advent Calendar?
We had so much fun and
hope you enjoyed it too.
Library Books
Please can you have double check at home over the Christmas holidays to see if you have any of the
school library books – they will have a barcode and possibly a stamp inside the front cover. Thank you.
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
What a fantastic morning we had completing Rudy’s
Run. We raised a staggering £2,371.50 for St
Barnabas, a charity very close to our hearts. Thank
you everyone!
KS2 and FS iSing Pop video
We are delighted to announce that our ' gift of celebration' - a retelling of the nativity story with
the help of iSing Pop songs - will be available to watch from 5pm on the 23rd - 27th December.
Your special access to this video link will be sent to you via Seesaw/Tapestry. Whilst we are aware
that this would never replace our usual gathering-of-our- school-community for our annual ' Carols
on the Playground ', in the spirit of doing things differently this year, we do hope that this iSing
Pop Christmas watch party will spread a similar festive cheer when you have gathered together as
a family. The children have enjoyed making it and we hope you will enjoy watching it. Thank you to
Mrs Nicolson for creating and editing the iSing pop party.
The video is best watched with some festive treats at hand! Have a lovely Christmas everyone!
A big thank you to the parents and carers who have sent in ‘shout outs’ to our
staff – they have been very much appreciated and well-read in the staffroom.
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
COVID UPDATE
Over the Christmas period the government has asked that schools ensure staff, parents and carers are aware
of the following information and relevant arrangements regarding positive cases in the holidays:
Where a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), having developed
symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school, the school should not be contacted. Parents
and carers should follow contact-tracing instructions provided by NHS Test and Trace.
For the first 6 days after teaching ends, if a pupil or staff member tests positive for coronavirus
(COVID-19), having developed symptoms within 48 hours of being in school, the school is asked to assist
in identifying close contacts and advising self-isolation, as the individual may have been infectious
whilst in school.
School staff are not asked to remain on-call or conduct any contact tracing more than 6 days after the
final day of teaching. As our last teaching day is on Friday 18th December, there should be no pupil
contact tracing beyond Thursday 24th December.
During the first 6 days after the end of term, school staff responsible for contact tracing are advised
to designate a limited period in the day to receive notification of positive cases and to advise close
contacts to self-isolate.
At Welton St Mary’s Church of England Primary Academy, the last day of term for pupils will be Friday 18th
December. After this date, to notify us of a positive Covid-19 test result, please email enquiries@welton-st-
marys.lincs.sch.uk and provide the following details:
name of pupil / staff member
date symptoms started
date of positive test result
date last in school.
We will be checking the school email daily between the hours of 9am and 10am for any COVID
notifications from parents.
If we do need to inform parents of the need for their children to self-isolate, this will be done via
parentmail and could happen up to and including 24 th December.
Where pupils are required to self-isolate due to contact with a positive case after Thursday 24th December,
you do not need to inform us about their absence until the first day of the new term (5th January).
RETURNING TO SCHOOL ON 5th JANUARY 2021
The staggered start and end times will continue in January, as will wearing masks on our school site. Hot school
meals will continue for the whole school after Christmas.
There are no changes to the routines that we have in place.
If we should receive any further guidance before the start of term, I will contact parents and carers just
before the start of the school term.
For the latest government advice please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-the-christmas-period
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Message to parents from Lincolnshire County Council
Lincolnshire's current local Covid alert level is Very High.
Although the infection rate remains relatively low among school-aged children compared to adults, it is
important we all continue to do what we can to stop the virus spreading.
Please ensure your child stays at home and is tested if they have the following symptoms, no matter how
mild:
a new, continuous cough
high temperature
change in sense of taste/smell
They should also self-isolate if a member of your household has symptoms.
Please encourage your child to:
wash their hands regularly
wear a face covering when indoors
stay two metres apart from others where possible
Keep Lincolnshire Safe
To help prevent the spread of coronavirus, please
wash your hands regularly
wear a face covering when indoors
stay two metres apart from others where possible
You can find further advice and guidance at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/coronavirus
Seesaw and Tapestry
We are delighted with the success of Seesaw and Tapestry across our school. However,
everyone needs a break this Christmas. Staff will not be responding to any posts on Seesaw
between 18th December and 4th January. If you should need to contact the school for
anything, please use enquiries@welton-st-marys.lincs.sch.uk . Emails will be checked between
9am and 10am up until 24th December and then from time to time over the remainder of the
Christmas holiday.
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Helping children cross the road is an important job. Could you be our next School
Crossing Patrol person, or do you know someone who could be? We would love to be
able to fill this role. The times are the beginning and end of the school day, term
times only. For more information, please contact Pam Street our Road Safety
Officer pam.street@lincolnshire.gov.uk or visit the Lincolnshire County Council
website for further details:
https://jobs.lincolnshire.gov.uk/vacancy/school-crossing-patrol-ryland-rd-welton-
432993.html
Year 6 Writing project
Our Year 6 children have started a writing project that has been hugely successful – way beyond what we
could ever have hoped for. Working with the village churches, our Year 6 pupils have written to people
living in Welton, sharing experiences of COVID and what they have been doing in school. Thank you to Rev
Jane for coordinating this for us. We have been overwhelmed by the response! Whilst the intention was
for our children to spread love, happiness and hope widely through our community, what has happened is
that this generosity and happiness has been reciprocated in school. Our children have absolutely loved
receiving the letters and I know they will be treasured.
Advent window and Christmas Lunch
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Starting School – September 2021
Do you have a child who is due to start school in September 2021, or do you have friends or family who
have a child due to start school? Families do not need to live in Welton to attend our school. In fact, many
families drive into the village each day so that their children can be part of our school family. You can apply
for a school place up until 15th January 2021 using the online application system, which can be found at
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions. There is information on the Lincolnshire website about how to apply
for a school place.
There is also information on our website https://www.weltonstmarysacademy.co.uk/starting-school-
september-2021/
We are able to show families around our school (it is an outside tour). If you know of a family who would like to
come and visit, please call our school office team and make an appointment.
Please remember to apply for a school place, even if you have other children who attend Welton St
Mary’s.
Nativity
Key Stage 1 are delighted to be able to share our nativity productions on line this year. It has been
a very different experience for all of us and we hope that you will enjoy watching them together at
home with your family rather than in the school hall this year. The nativities will be available to
view via the school website from Thursday 17th December through to the 6th January. The link to
the webpage is
https://www.weltonstmarysacademy.co.uk/year-1-nativity-2020/
https://www.weltonstmarysacademy.co.uk/y2-nativity-2020/
The page is password protected for GDPR purposes. Your child’s class teacher will send you the
password to the website page via seesaw. We ask please that these passwords are not shared with
others.
We would like to say a big thank you to Miss Keane for filming and editing and to everyone who has
supported in making this possible and wish you all a very happy Christmas.
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
KS1 Book Recommendation
When the library closes and the last librarian has gone home to bed…
When there is absolutely nobody about…
All the books come out to talk to one another.
Imagine that.
Imagine all the books in the library gossiping about the humans that have taken them home.
Imagine being the only book not able to take part in the conversation because nobody has
taken you home…
Well, that’s reality for poor Dusty.
He has never been borrowed. He DREAMS of finding someone to share his story with. He
just needs to find the perfect reader.
Then, along comes Jake. Jake does not like to read. Until he meets Dusty.
Will it be a match for Dusty and Jake or is Dusty destined to the back of the library
shelves forever?
A wonderful story that celebrates libraries, sharing stories and the magic of reading.
Congratulations! We are pleased to announce the safe arrival of a
baby boy on Monday 14th to Mrs Jones and her husband.
Responsibility Trust Forgiveness peace and harmony Friendship Respect
Keeping safe over Christmas
Safely Setting Up a New Device
The NSPCC's Netware service have put together 7 key steps in how to set up a new device to
keep children safe online this Christmas season.
There is also the link to internet matters. Org https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/
Dangerous Toys This Christmas
More parents shopping online plus increasing numbers of dangerous toys for sale via online marketplaces
means a heightened risk of children suffering serious harm.
Child Accident Prevention Trust have put together a list of things to be wary of when looking for that
perfect gift for children this Christmas.
The app makes our award-winning resources even easier to use by giving you free access through any
smart phone. It is a simple and flexible way to get authoritative, helpful guidance on online safety issues
– whenever and wherever you choose.
On the National Online Safety app, you will find:
Hundreds of online safety guides on the topics you need to know about – from screen addiction,
fake news and trolling to hacking, social media influencers and sexting;
An online safety training course for parents – developed by our experts and delivered by online
safety ambassador Myleene Klass;
A user-friendly interface with increased functionality – find exactly what you need, when you
need it;
The option to get notifications to your phone as soon as new content becomes available – so you
can stay up-to-date with the latest online crazes (and risks);
An in-app voting system so you can help determine the subjects you’d like us to cover in future;
The facility to personalise your content by ‘favouriting’ key resources.
Thinkuknow has a guide for parents that looks at how they can support their child to be safer
online this season by focusing on three key areas: viewing, sharing, chatting and friending.
Thinkuknow - Being Social Online - A Parent's Guide
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