Sandiway Primary School Newsletter
Newsletter 24 Wednesday 11th March 2020
www.sandiway.cheshire.sch.uk admin@sandiway.cheshire.sch.uk
Communication
As a school we try very hard to
communicate effectively to all our
parents, friends and carers. However,
I know that messages get missed,
timings are sometimes a little short-
notice and messages are sometimes
interpreted in a different way to how
they were intended. Speaking to some
parents recently, there are some
frustrations with the school clubs – I
am trying to address this by using
School Gateway to collate all the
bookings – I hope this will improve
things.
We use this newsletter to keep
everyone updated with events that
are planned and to celebrate what has
been achieved (as well as a chance for
me to discuss many relevant points
with our school community). I know
that a lot of parents value this
newsletter as a way of keeping up-to-
date. I know that many classes have
active WhatsApp and Facebook
groups which are really useful for
parents to catch up with what is going
on.
Communication is a two-way system
– please let us know if you think we
can improve our communication.
Equally, please contact staff via email
or through the school office; quick
questions can often be swiftly
answered to prevent frustrations
building.
COVID-19 virus spreading
I am re-writing this paragraph after
having typed this just yesterday
afternoon – the situation around the
world and in the UK is rapidly
changing.
We are all watching this unfold in
the media with interest and increasing
worry and even fear. As a school, we
continue to take advice from Public
Health England – I get daily updates
from the Department for Education
with official information that we can
act upon. We continue to remind the
children that the best current method
of prevention is good personal
Spring Term 2020
hygiene (handwashing, use of tissues,
etc).
As we hear about the next phase
potentially being imminent, we are
exploring the potential disruption that
we could see. I know that the vast
majority of our parents rely on school
as a way of looking after your children
– as well as educating them and
keeping them safe – so that you can
go to work. Whilst I can, I will
maintain the school as an open
provision. As a Trust, we are planning
cover across the schools, including
ways of staying open in the event of a
number of staff absences. I will keep
you updated with how this situation
unfolds. We are all facing challenging
times which we have not yet
experienced. Please keep me
informed of any illnesses in your
families, that I should be aware of so,
that I can make informed decisions
around absences. In the event of the
Government forcing school closures,
again, I will communicate our plans as
soon as possible.
Dermot O’Leary Visit
Unfortunately, the planned visit for
Year 2 and Year 3 to see Dermot
O’Leary has been cancelled by the
venue due to ‘uncertain risks’ around
the rapidly changing situation around
the spread of the coronavirus. Whilst
disappointing, we have to respect the
decision.
Mrs Atkinson and I will look for
another author visit for the children in
the coming weeks.
World Book Day
The children had a wonderful time on
Friday – thank you for all the hard
work you put into the costumes and
for helping the children to get ready
for the day. There are lots of lovely
pictures on our Twitter feed which are
worth having a look at. The children
were very excited to do a ‘mannequin
challenge’, which we did in the
afternoon. The children loved
watching this back in our assembly
this week.
The author visits have also gone
down very well so far – Years 4, 5 and
6 have already had their visits which
were genuinely very inspiring for the
children.
If you didn’t manage to take part in
our reading survey, I would be
grateful if you could add your views
by following this link:
https://forms.gle/J4M7S6mbSXu1pRV
t7 Thank you in advance.
Clubs
These will be available to book
through School Gateway this week.
Please see the letter attached to the
newsletter email regarding what is on
offer. In the event of any club having
to be cancelled (staff illness, etc), we
will let you know by message as soon
as possible to minimise any
inconvenience.
Chris Priddey
Events and Dates (new date/change date)
12 Mar PTA Disco
25 Mar Y5 visit to Safety Central, Lymm
25 Mar Y6 Parent Lunch
25 Mar Y1 Visit to Minizoo at Reaseheath
31 Mar-1 Apr Y2 on Fox Howl Residential
1 Apr Y5 Parent Lunch
1 Apr Y3/4 Easter Service at St John’s
Church (2.00pm)
2 Apr Weaverham High School Music
Festival (eve)
3 Apr Break Up for Easter Holiday
20 Apr Children and staff return to school
28-30 Apr Y4 on Ironbridge Residential
29 Apr Y1 to Marbury Park
8 May VE Day Bank Holiday
8 May Remembrance Garden opening
11-14 May Y6 Test Week
11-12 May Y3 on Burwardsley Residential
21 May Children break up for half term
holiday
22 May Training Day for staff
1 Jun Children and staff return to school
2-5 Jun Y6 on Keswick Residential
10 Jun Whole school photo
19 Jun Sports Afternoon
24 Jun Northwich Sings (Y5 concert)
3 Jul Family Picnic
3 Jul PTA Summer Fair (afternoon)
17 Jul School closes for the summer