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Larwood School

Part of Larwood Academy Trust

Mr Van der Merwe's Blog

Page 2

  • Ho! Ho! Ho! Merrrrrrrry Chriiiiiiiistmas!

    Published 14/12/21, by Nic Newman

    Dear Parents/ Carers 

    The festive season is upon us and there is a very positive and joyful atmosphere in school. Pupils have done well and worked hard to earn their end of term rewards, which we are celebrating on the last Wednesday, before we all break up for a well-deserved holiday the next day.  

    Looking back at the Autumn term it is evident that our pupils have settled in well and making appropriate, positive choices and progress. Even though there have been some limitations enforced by restrictions, our focus remained strongly on academic, social, and emotional development of your child.  

    We look forward to an exciting Spring term filled with exciting events, and hopefully we will be able to revisit some of the precautionary Covid measures in place when the time is right. For the time being we want to keep everyone as safe as possible and will continue with our existing protocols.  

    I wish you all a safe, lovely, peaceful and relaxed Christmas and a prosperous new year   

    Kind Regards  

    Mr Van  

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  • Class BuBBLeS floating further!

    Published 02/11/21, by Nic Newman

    It is with great pleasure to report that all our new and old pupils have settled in well. Our new pupils are getting used to their class teams, routines, and procedures. 

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  • Cracking start to the new academic year!

    Published 17/09/21, by Nic Newman

    Dear Parents/ Carers

    I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our staff, pupils and their families back from your summer holidays, we hope it was restful and enjoyed by all.

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  • The Last BLOG! #UntilSeptember

    Published 19/07/21, by Nic Newman

    The end of term draws close as I write this update. At Larwood it’s still go go go go!

    Go for bubble based Sports Day events.
    Great to see small groups of parents supporting children. For some this may be the first Sports Day they have been allowed to participate in and the first one you have watched? Enjoy!

    Go for end of term reports!
    These will be sent to you electronically by the end of the week. Having had the pleasure of reading and signing all of them, there are some cracking reports to go home. Plus, amazing progress has been achieved in the most unusual and again challenging of years.

    Go for school based trip day on Thursday 22nd July.
    A number of activities that will help to round off the year and if course, lots of fun for all involved.

    Go for our end of year goodbye to our Year 6 pupils and parents.
    For many this year, we continue the relationship, and we will ‘see you down the road’ at Brandles. For others going to Special or mainstream, I will be just as keen to check up and see how you are getting on. Due to the pandemic, this will again be in a different format, but it will always be a very special day for us all.

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  • Lazy Bones!

    Published 21/06/21, by Nic Newman

    Exciting times at Larwood!

    As I write this, we are in the midst of Science Week.

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  • Masks on, Masks off, lets get on with this term!

    Published 18/05/21, by Nic Newman

    The weeks are flying by and it is so much better having our pupils on site.

    A strange consequence of the pandemic is that we do not have any pupils taking SAT’s, as they would have done up until the summer of 2019. This is the same for all primary aged children across the country. They didn’t happen last year, and they are not taking part this year either. We have reflected upon this, the process, the results and how useful they are for all involved. We have ended up drawing a fairly certain conclusion that they are not missed! They also do not give our pupils the chance to show how well they have done in other areas, such as key skills included in personal and social development. Therefore, next year, we will design our own tests that will continue to review key skills such as reading and maths, alongside others. We will plan for how best to deliver these and our teaching staff will be heavily involved in the process, with our pupils.

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  • Cold start to the Summer Term! Brrrrrrr

    Published 15/04/21, by Nic Newman

    Welcome to the Summer Term! A rather chilly start, with snow yesterday but it will get warmer and the sun will shine. This warmer weather will hopefully support us to continue to ‘get back to normal’ as the term progresses with more outdoor learning opportunities.

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  • short BLOG

    Published 25/03/21, by Nic Newman

    Possibly, the shortest blog message ever!

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  • Team work makes the dream work!

    Published 02/02/21, by Nic Newman

    "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."
    Henry Ford 

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  • Happy New Year!

    Published 13/01/21, by Nic Newman

    Welcome back and happy New Year to you all. Not the start to the year that any of us would have hoped for, but we remain optimistic for the future. Due to the current serious nature of the pandemic and the impact of the new strain of Covid - 19, we are educating some pupils in school and some will be at home. Our online learning has been set up and is ready for such a situation. Therefore:

    1. Many of our lessons will be live. There is much debate about if this is the best way to deliver such leaning. However, we believe that some social interaction each day is vital for our pupils.
    2. If you haven’t got a device, we will provide you with one-just ask. If broadband/data is an issue, please let us know (see letter sent out on Friday 8th Jan)
    3. It is different but it will still be fun and engaging. Many of our pupils have really enjoyed this new style of learning.
    4. Having written No. 3, we also know that it’s not for everyone! If your son/daughter has issues with this type of learning, let us know and we will provide other formats. We are using other formats of learning alongside live lessons during this time.

    We will get through this difficult time and all of our pupils will be back, where they belong at some point soon when it is safe for all parties.

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  • Community! It Matters!

    Published 11/12/20, by Nic Newman

    Christmas is coming!

    I think we are all looking forward to the holiday period this year, for some of the usual reasons (long term, being tired, the fact that we love Xmas etc) but also due to the extraordinary months we have had since March. However tough and challenging it has been, some things never change. Your children have coped brilliantly with all of the change, the worry and need to be careful on a day to day basis. They still bring huge smiles to our faces and so many of them have made great progress in different ways.

    Another aspect of life that stays the same os the amazing human spirit within our community. Our Toy Drive organised by Mrs Osobu and closely supported by Mrs Ford has generated some outstanding returns. I have written directly to those local companies that have supported us but would also like to thank them here:

    Kenny Arnold - People for People
    Sara Lawrence - Ad Bly Construction
    Rachel - Tesco Community Champion
    Michelle - Food/Toy Shed
    Laura Burrage - The Butterfly Room
    Numerous staff at Larwood School who have also very kindly donated

    During a period of time that could easily be seen as very dark, you have all shone a bright light that personifies the human spirit of kindness and community. My thanks to you all.

    Have a wonderful and restful Christmas break. Please ensure you read the letter published Friday 11th Dec re Covid tracing during the holiday period up until Dec 22nd.

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  • Covid-19 READY!

    Published 09/11/20, by Nic Newman

    Much of this month has been dominated by Covid, the substantial rise in infection rates and the associated uncertainty that it also brings to many areas of life. We continue to provide the following:

    • Different methods of entry/exit to school to reduce potential transmission
    • Revised lesson plans that include outdoor learning where possible and all activities are based on site
    • Pupils remaining in class bubbles whilst on site
    • Revised lunchtime arrangements to avoid classes mixing
    • Enhanced cleaning and the we have purchased our own ‘fogging machine’ as an additional cleaning measure
    • Regular hand washing by all staff and pupils
    • Limited entry to visitors to try and maintain our continuity of provision
    • Revised risk assessment and operating protocols. This deals with risk and procedures for when staff/pupils catch Covid 19
    • Dedicated planning and training for staff/pupils to use Microsoft Teams in a variety of situations

    We will monitor and revise our practice as we need to but we have ensured that we meet guidance and in fact where possible, go above and beyond any guidance offered. Staff and pupils continue to react superbly to the changes and I thank them all for their help and cooperation.

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