VV_December 2020

better, we welcomed our friends at Little Oaks
onto the school site and it has been very exciting
to see red jumpers and bobble hats beginning
and ending their busy day as our new
neighbours!
Our breakfast club and after school provision
is extremely popular and is a happy, tasty and
fun way to start and end our day! The children
continue to adapt and work well within our
‘new normal’ of year group bubbles, with
children having staggered playtimes and
lunchtimes and keeping their distance from
older or younger friends and siblings during the
school day. We find that a friendly wave will
suffice for now but we cannot wait until we can
all play together again.
Playtimes have also been slightly different
over the last few weeks due to long awaited and
much needed re-surfacing work on our
playground. With phase 1 of the work
complete, the playground is now ready for
phase 2 later in the year when we will add
exciting markings and equipment to our
fantastic new space.
Autumn term is always extremely busy and
this year is no exception. Our youngest children
have made the transition into Reception class
very well and they are busy enjoying their
colourful and exciting learning environment
with a new wet and messy play area.
Year 1 and 2 are working especially hard this
term and all pupils are following a ‘catch up’
curriculum to enable us to close any gaps in
learning that may have occurred due to
lockdown. Topics have included Food Glorious
Food, Marvellous Maps, Knights and Castles
and The Earth and Beyond.
The whole school took part in Black History
Month in October. Children learnt about key
events and inspirational figures within both
British and International history and produced
art, writing and role play linked to this topic.
Highlights included Windrush pictures, a
carnival and a (child size) bus linked to Rosa
Parks. It was a good opportunity to review our
curriculum and ensure that it fully reflects
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk
Village Voice December 2020/January 2021
everyone in our school and wider community,
more importantly we learnt new things and had
lots of fun!
So now we prepare for Christmas, a little
different this year, but no less important. Each
year group bubble will perform their own
Christmas production and it will be filmed for
our parents and carers to watch remotely. The
corridors at school are already full of children’s
singing and infectious songs that the staff will
be humming along to, long after term ends. In
these unusual times – some things never
change! We wish you and yours happy and
healthy festive season. Jude Talbot. Headteacher
The Village Pre-school
When we welcomed in the New Year 2020 on
Jan 1st, none of us could have predicted how
bad this year would become. Track & Trace and
no-touch head thermometers were definitely not
on our radar as a Pre-school requirement! We
were very unfortunate that 6 of our 9 staff
contracted Covid. We had to close our doors for
a while until everyone had been through the
disease and come out the other side. Fortunately,
all are recovering well and the school is open
again. We are lucky to have a great team of
staff that go above and beyond the call of duty.
On a happier note, we are looking forward to
Christmas and although our normal events
might not be happening, we are making sure
that the children have some great activities to
look forward to. Along with our ever popular
Forest school and keeping the children busy
with lots of outdoor play, we have a Christmas
party/disco planned for the last week of term.
Fundraising is difficult for all organisations at
present, but we are considering a virtual Quiz
Night that parents and staff can get involved
with to raise some much needed funds.
Looking forward to next term – we are
working on trialling hot lunches one day a week
for the children and the start up of our
woodworking sessions again. Onwards,
upwards and staying positive.
We hope that everyone has a wonderful
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