Dear Parents & Carers

As we start term 5, I felt it was time connect with you all. In these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever to reach out to our friends, families and neighbours to check in and take care of each other. As I have made my way into school over the past weeks I have been blown away by how many acts of kindness, within our community, I have seen from neighbours ensuring that elderly or vulnerable people nearby have food and medicine, to children decorating their windows and gardens to cheer up passers-by. They certainly made me smile and proud to be a part of Lansdowne Primary School.

I will be writing to you weekly to keep in touch with news, to share photos and celebrations and to keep us all connected. We will also be using WEDUC as usual to send you updates.

Please send us your messages, photos and ideas and we will share these in turn.

Keep smiling, stay safe and continue to look after each other!

Mrs Jobe

Lansdowne Primary School Term 5, Week 1 Newsletter

Captain Tom’s amazing achievement

Captain Tom Moore is a 99 year old World War II veteran He is soon to be 100, and has recently fought off skin cancer and recovered from a broken hip. However, that hasn’t stopped him wanting to do something positive and give something back to the NHS. Before he turned 100, he announced he wanted to raise £1,000 by walking 100 laps of his garden, which for him was a real challenge, while staying safe at home in self isolation.

Remarkably, by Friday, we all woke up to find he had actually raised over £18 million pounds, all for the NHS! People who have wanted to encourage and cheer him on from all over the world, have donated money to support him. Maybe you and your family are one of those who have donated? He has finally finished his challenge but the giving page will stay open for anyone who still wants to donate. Captain Tom certainly shows our values of Truth, Respect, Friendship and Compassion every day!

What acts of kindness will you achieve today?

Share them with us via WEDUC!

We have been so proud to welcome the children of Key Workers to Richmond Academy over the past few weeks. The children have shown such resilience and cheerfulness; it has been inspiring to see. It is always great to see the children working together, making new friends and enabling their parents to continue with vital work to keep our communities running. Last night our teachers joined people all across the country to clap for our carers.

Teachers across the Trust have been working together to create regular home learning opportunities for all the children whilst we are learning at home. How lucky we are to work with such a committed team of staff who are always thinking of the children we support; thank you!

You can access our Home Learning Lessons in two ways:

1). Visit the Home page on our school website and click the ‘View Home Learning Lessons’ button under the Education tab:

https://lansdowne.kent.sch.uk/

2). Visit the Home Learning Lessons page directly at:

https://lansdowne.kent.sch.uk/homelearning/

Lessons are available to watch every week day from 9am on the Home Learning Lessons page.

We recognise that many parents are also trying to work from home, and may struggle to assist with schoolwork for a number of reasons. Where possible we have planned for the lessons to provide activities that children can complete on their own or with minimal supervision. We also appreciate that there may be many who do not have access to the resources needed to complete certain tasks. In these cases, even just watching the video and discussing it with your child will be beneficial for them.

The tasks set by the teachers in the videos are not going to be formally assessed but should your child wish for their work to be seen by a member of staff, you are more than welcome to send any completed tasks/experiments/artwork etc into us in these two ways:

1. Attach photos to a weduc message to the school office.

2. Email photos to lansdowne@stouracademytrust.org.uk

We hope that you have all enjoyed seeing your teachers online and that you have started to complete the tasks.

Don’t forget our other online resources:

Learning at Richmond

While most children are learning at home, some of our Lansdowne family have been learning at one of our other Trust schools, Richmond Academy, on the Isle of Sheppey. We have been open every day to support Lansdowne families who need it at this time. We have been so impressed at how this small group of children have tackled the change and how they have happily got involved with a number of activities over the past few weeks. The staff have also been brilliant at keeping a routine and calmness around this unsettling time. We enjoyed chalking our messages of support outside the school last week.

Key Messages from Mrs Metcalfe, our PSA

Dear Parents/Carers, I hope you all had a good Easter. I miss seeing you all!

Mental Health Support During these difficult times it is really important not only to look after our physical health, but also our mental health: www.mind.org.uk is a fantastic resource for adults, as is www.youngminds.org.uk for children. Mindfulness is also a great way of supporting our mental health https://www.mindfulschools.org/free-online-mindfulness-class-for-kids/ Online Safety

We understand that children will be using technology a lot at the moment, which is why it is important to ensure they are safe online. www.thinkuknow.co.uk is an excellent resource for keeping safe online.

Free School Meals Vouchers FSM vouchers are now being distributed to eligible families directly by email. If you would like to check if you are entitled to FSM please visit https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/free-school-meals Sittingbourne Food Bank

If you are experiencing financial hardship I can make referrals to the food bank on your behalf, please contact me by email at anytime

Funding for Individuals – Emergency Hardship Fund https://kentcf.org.uk/funding/Coronavirusemergencyfund Wards Charitable Trust has kindly opened an Emergency Hardship Fund offering grants to families with children who have complex needs. If you feel you may be eligible please contact me. Domestic Abuse Support

Swale Action to End Domestic Abuse (SATEDA) are still able to offer support during the current pandemic, you can contact them on 01795 417251 or 01795 417760 or online at www.sateda.org

Women’s aid also has some excellent support online: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/covid-19-coronavirus-safety-advice-for-survivors/ Contact me I am here to support parents both practically and emotionally with any issues they may have regarding their children and/or school. I can offer support and guidance and also signpost to appropriate services. You can contact me by calling 01795 423752 or emailing sam.metcalfe@stouracademytrust.org.uk

Can you guess the names of the children’s books by the emojis? How many of these classic tales have you read?

Still coming in Term 5 – The Great Stour Bake Off!!

Choose your ingredients, follow your recipe and BAKE!

Send in your photos to bakeoff@stouracademytrust.org.uk

More information to come soon!