Why everyone should be social distancing

Source BBC News App

Managing the world from home – a guide for families

So it's a strange world and you certainly weren’t expecting to be stuck at home and social distancing for the next few months. 

You may have some anxiety, some sadness and certainly some uncertainty about what will happen. Not to mention irritations of being more cooped up than you are used to!  

So click here for a few ideas we have sourced to help you and your families manage the next few weeks and months.

Scam emails re COVID-19

The following message is now on the Department for Education website: 

“Be aware of scam emails - We have been informed that some parents have received an email stating the following: 

'As schools will be closing, if you’re entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and we’ll make sure you’re supported’. 

We can confirm that this is a scam email and is not official. 

We urge parents that if you receive any emails like this, please do not respond, and delete it immediately.” 

COVID-19 NHS & Public Health England Advice

COVID-19 Response - School is now closed

Childcare will continue ONLY for children of Critical Workers and vulnerable children.

Please do NOT bring your child to school unless we have confirmed we are expecting them.

Home Learning will be communicated via ParentMail.

Most importantly, please remember the reason for this closure is to reduce social contact that would spread the COVID-19 disease.

Families and friends should take all precautions to ensure that social distancing is maintained, especially contact with the elderly and most vulnerable in your family and the community. 

It is essential that families with symptoms self-isolate for 14 days. NHS advice regarding hand washing is still of utmost importance wherever you are.

At this point we do not know how long the School Closure will last. We will continue to regularly keep you updated through ParentMail.

Please keep safe, we thank you all for your support.

Castles in Class LH - report from 19 March

Report from 19 March - this report was delayed due to the urgent posts needed in the run up to the school closure.

Class LH have been busy as part of their 'Towers, Turrets and Tunnels' topic designing and making their own castles.  Following our successful trip to Framlingham Castle, we came back and talked about all the different parts of a castle and what they were used for eg battlements., portcullis, drawbridge, arrow slits, curtain and the moat.  We then drew a labelled picture of a castle that we would like to live in.  

We also designed our own castle on the computers using Revelation Art.  

As part of the DT, we looked at a range of mechanical moving toys and worked out how to use a pulley system to open and close the drawbridge and the portcullis.   We planned and designed our castles with the moving parts. 

This afternoon we shared what we'd learnt with each other about the difficulties and how we overcame them. We celebrated want went well and were able to talk about each other castles and what we liked about them.  

SCHOOL CLOSURE

School will be closed to almost all children from Monday 23 March.

School will be closed to almost all children from Monday 23 March.

Childcare will only be for children of eligible Key Workers (awaiting Government definition), those with an EHC Plan or Social Worker who are unable to make other childcare arrangements. A ParentMail FORM will be sent to gather this information today.

At this point we do not know how long this closure will last.

Home Learning will be communicated via ParentMail by Monday.

Those currently self-isolating should continue isolation for the full 14 days.

We will continue to regularly keep you updated through ParentMail.

Please keep safe.

We thank you all for your support.

FOREST SCHOOL

WEEK 4 - CLASS KM

' A Gruffalo! What's a Gruffalo? ' The children in Class KM enjoyed creating their own Gruffalo using natural materials from the woodland. They did very well at remembering all the different features.

After introducing hammers to the children last week we continued with these making something special for our Mums.

FOREST SCHOOL

WEEK 3

A muddy morning at Robin Wood! The children used mud and natural resources to create their own Gruffalo face on a tree as well as creating some mud paint pictures. They also had the opportunity to use a hammer and nails to create some patterns on wood.

More science in Nursery

One of the Mum's had told me via Tapestry that their child had an idea he wanted to share with all the children to help us learn how important soap is when we are washing our hands.
We set up the experiment using plates with water in and then added pepper which was pretending to be the germs. When Mrs Cooper put her finger in the water all the pepper pretend germs stuck to it. We carefully put a little of the soap on the fingers of the children and when they put their soapy finger in the water all the pepper germs moved away from it! This shows that germs do not like soap!

Update on Coronavirus

Please keep yourself updated with the latest Government advice on Coronavirus,which is as follows (as of 16 March):

What to do if anyone in your household has symptoms:

• Your whole family should isolate & stay at home for 14 days if your child has either:
  • - a high temperature (over 37.8)
  • - a new continuous cough
• This will help to protect others in your community while you are infectious. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.  You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.  COVID-19: stay at home guidance
• If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days, contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999. They will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms.

It is important that you advise our school via ParentMail App (Notify Absence) that your child is ‘Self-Isolating for possible COVID-19 for 14 days’.
We prefer you to use the App rather than answerphone please- but do not use both.
You do not need to notify us every day, only the first day.

As at 16 March: The Government have confirmed that they are NOT closing schools at this time.  Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England. Decisions on future advice to schools will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.

DfE Coronavirus helpline 0800 046 8687 DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk 

Please can we ask that parents continue to be sensible and do not cause your children to panic. 

We recommend that you get information about COVID-19 from official sites like Gov.uk & NHS (not from social media or #hashtag links).

Please reinforce really good hygiene with your children at home.

We will continue to keep families updated when we hear anything more.

Science week in Nursery

As part of Science week this week Nursery had a lesson on germs and hand washing. We talked about how germs can make you poorly, but that you can get rid of them by washing your hands carefully. To explore this idea Mrs Cooper put some green bioglitter on the children's hands pretending to be germs. The children then held hands with a friend and touched some toys and we noticed that the glitter germs spread. We tried to wipe off the germs with a paper towel but that didn't work and so we went to wash our hands using soap and water. We sang our Wash your hands song as we did so to make sure we were cleaning all over our hands properly and all the 'germs' were washed away!

Violin Concert

We were treated to another fantastic concert by our young violinists last Wednesday. 

Everyone played really beautifully with impressive tone, tuning and confidence. A huge well done to you all. Also, a big thank you to Cal Fell (their wonderful teacher)who is an inspiration! 

Towards the end of the concert, pupils and parents enjoyed Mozart’s String Quartet “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” which was performed by Thomas Mills High School pupils in Yrs 7 & 9. 

Thank you to them for taking part in our concert. 

Our children loved hearing you play. Huge congratulations to you all for an impressive performance.

Bikeability

Thanks once again to the Suffolk RoadSafe team for their excellent Bikeability training session to our Year 5 pupils.
The children are part way through their two days intensive training. 
During the training they will learn how to look after their bicycles, spend time learning key cycling & indicating skills on the playground, spend a day and a half on the roads around the school in Framlingham.
By the end of the course, they aim to give the children confidence on the roads and to help them learn the skills needed to become safe cyclists.
There will be further Bikeability training in September for Year 5 & 6.

FUNDED TRAVEL - UPDATE MARCH 2020

Is your child eligible for SCC funded school travel?

If they are, you will need to opt-in by 31 May 2020 to receive travel for the start of the 2020/2021 school term.
- If your child already receives SCC funded travel you still need to opt-in every year.
- If your child is starting secondary school in September 2020 and they are eligible for SCC funded school travel you will be contacted by the 30 March 2020. You will need to opt-in if you would like your child to use this service.
- If your child is starting primary school in September 2020 and they are eligible for SCC funded school travel you will be contacted by the 15 May. You will need to opt in if you would like your child to use this service.

For more information on the SCC school travel policy and getting your child to school please visit www.suffolkonboard.com/optin

Hockey Club 2020

This year, twenty-eight pupils attended after school Hockey Club. We are very proud of their the progress and tenacity. Thank you for supporting the club!

KS1 PE Spring 1 2020

This half term, children in Key Stage 1 will participate in a wide-range of ball games. This will include: Croquet, tri-golf, target throwing, Diabolo, plate-spinning, ten-pin bowling and other fundamental skill-building activities. Such as, speed-bounce and standing long jump. The children loved their first session and we look forward to the next! 

Government advice on Coronavirus

Coronavirus (COVID-19): latest information and advice

No school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless directed to do so by Public Health England.

Information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Public Health England - latest information and advice

This is a rapidly evolving situation which we are monitoring carefully but based on the available evidence, the current risk to the UK population is low.  In this blog we’ll answer some of the questions many people have. We’ll update this blog as new information becomes available.

Department for Education Coronavirus helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

FOREST SCHOOL

WEEK 2 -CLASS KM

The children were very excited to find some large footprints and some brown woolly hair in the woodland this morning. We wondered who could have visited the wood?  The children thought it was maybe a bear but after following a trail of hair we found a basket in a tree with The Gruffalo story and characters from the story inside. We decided it must have been the Gruffalo! We read the story but found that the snake was missing, so the children searched for a snake in the wood and ended up finding fourteen. We decided we should make some log pile houses for the snakes to help them hide from the Gruffalo. The children worked well together and independently to create some fantastic log pile houses. The children then enjoyed some free play before having snack and finishing reading the Gruffalo story together. We ended the morning by introducing the game 'Eagle Eyes ' to the children.

KS1 explore Towers and Turrets

Thankfully, it was a sunny morning as we set off to explore Framlingham Castle, with an army of much-appreciated volunteers to aid our invasion.  We had a treasure hunt to complete which entailed spotting significant features within the castle walls.  We tested our nerve by climbing up the steep stairs to the battlements, where we enjoyed the view across the mere, Framlingham and beyond.  We also pretended to be defending the castle and used the arrow loops to look out for advancing enemies - a couple with their dog!

As we looked over the mere we talked about how it was used as a larder for the castle and also spotted where the bridge to the pleasure gardens used to be. 

Identifying where the portcullis would have been.

Examining the ruins of one of the towers.

Hunting for clues from the past.

Drawing some of the architectural features

Dressing up in a variety of hats through the ages.

You have to have a head for heights but  - wow - what a view!

Year 6 Heart Dissection

On Friday, Year 6 were given the opportunity to take part in a heart dissection (lamb's heart). The purpose of this was to allow the children to encounter the heart and it's anatomical features, allowing greater perspective to be gained. After considerable discussion around health and safety protocol, the children were split into smaller groups. They applied the appropriate safety equipment, prepared the area and commenced the dissections. The children investigated the chambers, valves and vessels which transport oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood around the body. They pierced the atrium  and ventricle, cutting to the apex of the heart. It was also interesting to note the relative thicknesses of the walls, with the left side being a lot thicker than the right. This is due to the fact that the left ventricle has to pump blood around the rest of the body, whereas the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs so gaseous exchange can take place. 

Year 6 Rescue Simulation

Last Friday, year 6 enjoyed a trip to BT Adastral Park. The interactive day enabled the children to program a virtual robot in a virtual environment.They had to write code for  the robots to navigate the screen whilst picking up and depositing tokens at various locations. At the end of the day, the children were able to compete  against other schools on the larger plasma screens situated around the hall. 

Indoor PE for KS2 2020

On Monday 24th February 2020, due to the storm, ninety-five children in year 5 and 6 participated in indoor PE. The children enjoyed: floor, beam, bar and vault in gymnastics; spinning plates, diabolo, juggling balls and skipping in circus games;stacking cups and table tennis. I'm sure you would agree we made the most of the available space! 

World Book Day

What a wonderful world of characters we had roaming the school corridors and classes today.
Over 350 children and all the staff dressed up as characters from their favourite book. 
All money raised today will go to Book Aid International.
There are lots of photos on the school website gallery - here is just a taster of today...