Stay Connected

This is undoubtedly one of the hardest blogs I have ever attempted to write. Last night, as I joined with my neighbours and the entire nation to applaud the NHS, I was quite overwhelmed with emotion. This week has been like no other and I am sure you all feel the same.

As yet, I have not actually been at home during the day and I am so grateful to have a routine of some form to my day, albeit ‘school’ has not been normal. We have had a small number of children attending each day, whose parents are our incredible key workers, and I am in awe of their resilience and adaptability. Our young Ducklings through to our Year 6 children have been so resilient as they have adapted to new classrooms, new staff and a very quiet  school, some of them not quite understanding where all their friends are. The staff in school have been just wonderful: support staff, TALAs and teachers all pulling together to make each day as happy and productive as possible for the children. You can see some photographs of the school this week on our Galleries page here.  I have also been able to join in class Google meets, during which children, working remotely, have touched base with their form teachers, and I have joined in on a guided reading session on World War II, a recorder lesson, Chamber Choir, story time and many more outstanding distance learning sessions throughout the week.

Our teachers, working from home, have surpassed all expectations! Their enthusiasm and dedication this week has humbled me as they have supported each other, learning new skills and working tirelessly into the wee early hours to video lessons, upload resources, provide feedback and assess tasks the children have been working on. 

Your children have been outstanding, and you as parents have been outstanding!  I know for many of you who are also working from home this week you must feel as though you have been put through the wringer, trying to support your children’s learning as well as adapting to your new routines of working from home.  The last thing we wish to do is to cause anxiety and stress for you all at home, so I would like to take this chance to say that the distance learning educational provision needs to be approached by each family as appropriate for you. This is only Week 1 of a journey which may be quite a long one and we need to treat it as a marathon rather than a sprint. I do think that your children are proving they are in good shape for this marathon, but we appreciate here at school that you must settle into a sustainable pace for the family.

Yesterday I participated in a live webinar along with 160 other Head teachers and Bursars and we spoke with the Headteacher/CEO from the Kellet British International School in Hong Kong whose school is now on Day 41 of distance learning. They have learnt many lessons along their journey and have worked with their community of pupils, parents and staff to ensure that everyone is being looked after in such uncertain times. I felt quite gratified and proud of our St. Helen’s College community as we are only into Day 5 of our distance learning experience and already have so much in place which they did not have at the outset. 

Wellbeing for everyone is paramount at the moment and it is so important, for children and adults alike, that we allow ourselves to acknowledge how we are feeling. Take time to notice the wobbles - they will happen to everyone I am sure, as we all live through something which none of us expected. It is how we respond to our wobbles that is important. Perhaps, by using the tools of mindfulness and bringing attention to our breath, we can try to find stillness as we acknowledge how our bodies and minds are feeling.  

Your children already know so much about mindfulness and they will be able to teach you some of the practices which we do in assemblies - so I hope that you will be able to have some moments of quiet stillness every day with your family.  I have shared with you below a famous poem which is often recited in mindfulness circles; our current Year 6 have discussed the poem and understand the sentiment, not to resist the thoughts and emotions that pass through you but to meet them with courage, warmth and respect.

Over the Easter holidays it may be very difficult for us all to negotiate the impacts of what is happening in our country and our world. Please do reach out to each other, staying connected by whatever means you can. Many of us are possibly grieving the old way of life from just a week ago but at the end of this we will, no doubt, value human contact even more. 

If anyone is concerned about how their child or even an adult is coping then Mrs. Brooker, our ‘time to talk’ listener, is more than happy to be contacted. Parents all have our staff contact details. We will also be keeping in contact with you regularly over the holiday - as a community we will get through this together. 

Below I have sign posted some additional sites which may be useful for you as parents to help your children cope and keep busy at this time. 

Some top tips on how to talk to our children about Coronavirus:
https://www.cwmt.org.uk/mental-health-coronavirus

Opera

I am sure like me you are being inundated with emails and posts on social media about things to do with your family whilst in lockdown, but I am delighted that the Royal Opera House will be streaming live and tonight's ‘Peter and the Wolf’ may be enjoyed by young and old!
http://email.wordfly.com/view/?sid=ODBfNDg1NTRfMTI5OTcxN183MzQ5&l=708b7e31-646f-ea11-bd94-e61f134a8c87&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_March_Peter_and_the_Wolf_Countdown&utm_content=version_A&emailsource=49941

Theatre

During the holidays I love to attend the theatre with my family and although it may not be possible to be there physically I am pleased that I may enjoy some productions - the link below provides information of shows which are live streaming.
http://www.filmedonstage.com/news/76-free-musicals-and-plays-you-can-now-stream-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak-updating-daily

Singing Competition

I am sure many children are avidly rehearsing for the St. Helen's College annual Singers Competition next term - please keep encouraging them to do so, as this is an event which we are looking forward to very much. 

Rainbow Trail

During the Easter Holidays do encourage your children to become part of the Rainbow Trail - to share positivity families have been taking part in creative projects to display rainbows in their windows/gardens to stay connected with their community and spread positivity.  It would be wonderful to see some photos of the rainbows you create - here is our first one, from Mylo and Oliver O!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Audible Books

In assembly on Thursday, we showed the children a site for free audio books during the school closure period. Here is the link: https://stories.audible.com/start-listen. The books come in different age categories and even include foreign language sections. It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to explore stories in a new and exciting way whilst boosting their vocabulary.

Stay safe everyone; stay home but stay connected. Thank you all for being my extended family.

Mrs. Drummond