Newsletter - w/c 11/01/21
Dear Parent/Carer,
Thank you for your support in the first week of the spring term. We know there have been difficulties and so we're grateful for your patience and understanding. Please see below for some important notices about school life:
Google Classroom
You may click here to read a guide about using Google Classroom. We know that as each day goes on, using this platform will become easier for the children, parents/carers and teachers.
Please note, some of our children, particularly those in Years 5 & 6, are using their personal mobile phone to access their remote learning. This is absolutely fine; however, we can see that some of them are writing comments on the stream in the middle of the night (e.g. at 2:00am).
Children should not have their mobile phones in their bedroom at night-time. Parents/carers must remove these devices from their children when they go to bed - both to ensure they get a good night's sleep but also to keep them safe.
Remember, if your child has unsupervised access to the internet, you are opening them up to the risk of a dangerous person contacting them. Please do speak to your child about this and spread the word to other parents and carers so that all our children may be kept safe and well rested.
Children of Critical Workers and Vulnerable Children
If you are a critical worker, if your child has special educational needs, or if you have (or have had) involvement with Children's Services, you have the option of sending your child to school. Please e-mail admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk to make your request known and we will respond as soon as possible.
Laptops
The Department for Education has sent us 45 laptops to lend to families with children in Years 3-6 who are in receipt of Free School Meals and who do not have access to a laptop at home. If you do not have the internet at home, we may be able to help you organise an increase to your mobile data so you may use a smartphone to form a wi-fi hotspot.
Please copy and paste, and then complete, the headings below in an e-mail to admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk. Please note, you will be required to collect the laptop from school as you will need to sign an agreement before we hand over the device.
Parent/Carer's name:
Parent/Carer's address:
Child's name:
If you need us to request a free increase to your mobile data because you do not have the internet at home, please complete the following:
The name of the account holder on the mobile plan:
The number of the mobile telephone:
The mobile network of the mobile device (e.g. Three, Virgin, EE):
If you meet the criteria, we will contact you to arrange for you to visit the school to sign the agreement and collect the laptop. Please note, these will be shared on a first-come, first-served basis, and to begin with, it will be one device per family to allow the greatest number of children to access this resource.
Reading Books, Report Cards & Returning Home Learning Packs
We are keen for children unable to attend school to have the option of borrowing reading books. We are also keen for parents and carers to collect their child's autumn term report card - these report cards are new and introduced in response to the 2020 Parent and Carer Survey. Finally, the teachers want those children who have taken home a paper pack of worksheets to return them to school so they may check them ahead of their weekly telephone call to offer praise and feedback, as well as to inform their planning.
For that reason, we have organised the date and times below for one parent/carer and their child to visit the front playground to collect reading books, collect their report card, and, if they took one, return their completed home learning pack and take home a new one. Of course, if your child is accessing learning on-line, you may still visit school to collect reading books and the report card.
Monday 18 January 2021 - Front Playground (i.e. bring an umbrella if it's raining!)
- 9:15-9:35am - Reception
- 9:35-9:55am - Year 1
- 9:55-10:15am - Year 2
- 1:00-1:20pm - Year 3
- 1:20-1:40pm - Year 4
- 1:40-2:00pm - Year 5
- 2:00-2:20pm - Year 6
We will do this fortnightly, allowing children to return/borrow reading books and return/collect home learning packs.
We know many families have more than one child but please note, we will be putting out specific books for each phase, so, if you have a child in Year 1 and a child in Year 6, you will have to visit school twice that day.
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We all look forward to the time that we may be reunited in school - hopefully, we won't be apart too long.
Yours sincerely,
The School Office Team
Hurst Drive Primary School
admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk
01992 624099