Hello everyone! What a busy week it’s been!  Time is really flying by so fast!  This week has seen the return of some not so nice weather – RAIN! Thank you for continuing to work with us during drop off and pick up times especially in the weather nasty weather! I know it is difficult and unpleasant but I need to ensure groups enter separately and 2m distance is maintained between those in front and behind you! Considering it was not very nice, everyone entered quite quickly! I did receive some comments that the system isn’t good in the rain but unfortunately I cannot control the weather and we must keep groups separate and keep 2m distancing – If I could control the weather believe me I would. If it is raining, please continue to line up in your allocated area – I promise I will get you into school as soon as I can! Please don’t just head straight in through the main gates – go to your allocated area – I will direct you in! 

I cannot stress enough the need to keep 2m distance between you and others especially when queueing outside, walking around the one way system and when outside the school gates. It is the law to be maintaining 2m distancing!  Please keep your distance! Please help us to keep classes separate when coming into school!

Caerphilly remains in a local lock down for at least another 7 days. Please remember the restrictions:

• People will not be allowed to enter or leave the Caerphilly County Borough Council area without a reasonable excuse;

• Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in indoor areas;

• People will only be able to meet outdoors – meetings with other people indoors and extended households will not be allowed for the time being. No overnight stays will be allowed.

There are also measures in place for the whole of Wales

• Pubs, cafes, restaurants and casinos (and any other hospitality businesses) will have to close at 10pm. They will also have to provide table service only.

• Off-licences, including supermarkets, will also have to stop selling alcohol at 10pm.

• A £500 payment will be issued to support people on low incomes who need to self-isolate and regulations will be strengthened to ensure that employers support those who need to self-isolate in this way

• The First Minister also asked people to only travel when you need to do so, saying: "The fewer people we meet and the fewer journeys we make, the safer we all are."

• You must work from home wherever possible

• You can only meet six people indoors, and make sure that those six people are all part of your extended household

• You must wear face coverings on public transport, in shops, and in enclosed public spaces

PLEASE BE PREPARED

I just want to stress the need for everyone to be prepared should we need to close a class/classes due to a positive COVID-19 case. Please make sure you and your child can use all the learning platforms e.g. Seesaw, Google and Abacus etc. Please be alert to text messages that could be sent out of school hours / on the weekend informing you of a closure etc. Please remember to report any positive COVID-19 case to covid@abercrnprimary.org out of school hours / on the weekend or telephone the school during school hours. Remember this email address is only to report positive COVID-19 cases.  I don’t mean to sound like I’m nagging – I simply want everyone to be as prepared as possible. 

ABSENCE GUIDE – COVID-19

Please familiarise yourself with our absence guide for these challenging circumstances. The guide covers different circumstances and advises the action you need to take and details about returning to school. The guide can be found here: http://absenceguide.abercarnprimary.com

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE HAVE A POSITIVE CASE AT OUR SCHOOL (Child / Staff)?

1: The identity of the child / staff member will remain confidential.

2: All parents will receive a text message saying a case has been identified in our school.

3: All pupils / classes who need to self-isolate as a result of identifying a positive case will be informed by text message. This message could come at any time during the day or evening / weekend.

4: You should be particualry vigilant about your child’s health and if they display any coronavirus symptoms – if they do ensure they are tested as soon as possible and let the school know.

5: Information and details will be posted on our website and Social Media.

6: Public Health Wales advice states that other members of the household do not need to self-isolate.

7: You may also receive a separate notification from the NHS Test, Track and Protect service and advice from this service will need to be followed.

8: If your child’s class  / child has been instructed to self-isolate you will receive information about home learning and how work can be completed (Plan 5). Your child’s class teacher will make contact on Seesaw.

HARVESET COLLECTIONS

We cannot collect food items in the usual way this year but will still be asking for donations for our local Food Bank in Risca. We are going to call our collection “Tin in a Bin” this year. There will be a big red bin out on the one ways stems every morning for parents / pupils to drop / place food items in. It will be placed just past the sanitising stations so the lid of the bin will always be clean. This will allow us to collect and store the items in line with guidance. Please look out for the BIG RED BIN from Monday and please donate some items over the next few weeks. Food banks have been used more than over during this pandemic and they are very grateful for the donations received. Please make sure items are in date and sealed. Urgently required items are: tinned fruit (400gms), tea bags (80's), dried pasta (500gms) and Breakfast Cereals. Thank you so much for your support.

FRUIT SNACK

Fruit snack will be provided by the school free until half term. We will send details closer to half term regarding how to contribute when we start selling fruit again!

PARENTS EVENING and ONLINE BOOKING

Information regarding parents evening for this term was sent home yesterday (the letter is here: https://parentevening.abercarnprimary.com and booking has opened today. Appointments will be via video call using the same system you book your appointment on hence why everyone needs to book their own appointment. No other platform is needed for the video call – you simply log in to the booking system 5 minutes or so before your appointment time and a button will appear for you to join a video call. Please follow the instructions carefully to book appointments and follow the guide to help when you attend the appointment. Many parents do not live together and require separate appointments. This will always be arranged and we will support you to make appointments – please contact us so we can ensure this happens. If you do not want an appointment please do not book one or if you make an appointment and then cannot make it – please log back in and cancel it! This is new and there are bound to be teething problems but we are trying to still do things but in a slightly different way.

Newsletters

Our weekly newsletter will be added to our School App as well as being available on all our social media platforms (e.g. Website, Facebook, Twitter etc.) with only minimal copies available to collect from a “newsletter box” at the front of the school on a weekly basis. The newsletter will also be emailed to the students school Gmail accounts and you can also sign up the received our newsletter via email be completing this online form Newsletter Signup –

 http://newsletter.abercarnprimary.com
 
PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SIGN UP FOR THE SCHOOL APP via your APP Store. Download “MySchoolApp” and search for Abercarn Primary. Don’t forget to adjust settings within the APP to receive relevant notifications. Further information can be found on our website http://app.abercarnprimary.com you can also a MySchoolApp knowledgebase on our support site http://support.abercarnprimary.com

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING

Thank you to those that made a donation to Macmillan. The children enjoyed their cake to mark the MacMillan Coffee morning.

CURRICULUM 2022

We will be positing a short video clip of “Expressive Arts” in the next couple of weeks so you are as informed as possible about the new curriculum.

CURRICULUM OVERVIEWS

Curriculum Overviews are being posted on Seesaw accounts instead of paper being sent home. Please read the overview of what your child will be learning this term as part of our Expressive Arts theme. There will be helpful advice on what you can do to support your child art home. They are also available on our school website https://overviews.abercarnprimary.com

PUPIL OF THE WEEK

Well done everyone!

Please read this letter and guidance for booking PARENT EVENINGS this term http://parentsevening.abercarnprimary.com