Bridgewater e-News

Dear Parents

As we reach the end of this week, what has become evident is the strong connection between home and school via Tapestry and Seesaw.  We have had stories about how excited the children have been to see their teachers’ faces in video clips and receive feedback from all the staff.

We are mindful that we will need to make this connection as strong and sustainable as possible as we could be in this situation for a while. 

We had such a lovely message from one mother this week who said Seesaw had created a smooth transition from school to home and her son looks forward to logging in and seeing what has been uploaded.  She says Seesaw has enabled her to do her own work alongside her child, giving some normality to the day.  She also mentioned that she has a happy household at a surreal time and we hope this is true for many of you. 

It’s great that the older children can work with independence and we are seeing a big improvement in the children’s I.T. skills.

When I talk about keeping things sustainable, I mean we must all pace ourselves and keep a balance between learning and stimulating our brains, play, exercise, getting outdoors in the garden and learning to live together as happy families.  I am having the same conversation with our staff as they have families and their own wellbeing to think of as well.  We have all set off excitedly at a great pace, but we all need to slow down a little bit, whilst keeping the momentum going.  There is no set expectation that the children complete all the learning activities daily, so balance these with what else you are prioritising in your family. 

You have all been awesome and we have sometimes seen a different side to the children, with lots of creative posts and imaginative activities.  We were delighted to see that one of the younger members of our school is now riding his bicycle without any stabilisers – well done; you made your teacher very proud!

As you might know, some of the key workers’ children in school this week, who have been doing their Seesaw activities have made rainbows and put them around the perimeter fence.  Have a look if you are passing by on your daily walk and we hope to see yours in your windows or you could tie them alongside the rest.  Some of the children at home have already posted pictures on Tapestry next to the rainbows and they shouted their teachers’ names – how lovely.

We send our heartfelt thanks to our parents who are NHS staff, bravely working on the coronavirus wards with humility and compassion.

Thankfully, the sun is still shining at this time.

Keep safe.

Alison Harvey