Bedwas Newsletter
Ffiliffest
Well done and thanks to Yellow Class who will be representing Bedwas Juniors at this years ‘virtual’ Ffiliffest. Although schools are not able to take part in the usual festival that takes place in Caerphilly Castle, the organisers are visiting each participating school to film the dances so that they can create a virtual featival online. Our dancers will be filmed on Tuesday 18th May.
End of School Traffic and Parking – Both Sites
Thank you all again for helping to make the pick-up times from both of our school the smooth processes they currently are. Both schools face challenges in terms of space on the roads around our sites so please be mindful about avoiding parking on the yellow zig-zags. In Bedwas these provide a vital clear space at the front and back of the site to help the children and parents see in order to cross over and in Rhydri, with a lack of any pavement they help keep any pedestrian as safe as possible. The space created bythe zig-zags also helps with the flow of traffic outside the schools as I know that it is very difficult to thread your way along Celtic Way with cars parked both sides and that Rhydri’s postion right on a turning from the road to the village can cause congestion. Also, in Rhydri, can we continue to ensure that the two disabled spaces are left clear for those parents who require this? We have had problems in the past with contractors parking across these but thanks to the vigilance of parents and staff this seems to have stopped.
CCBC removed our Crossing Patrol in Bedwas after the retirement of Mrs Wheeler as they deemed that the traffic they surveyed (during the middle of the general lockdown) was not sufficient to justify a crossing patrol on Church Street. The school, Governing Body and local councillors have been in contact with Caerphilly to get this decision changed but as of yet they have not changed their mind. Whilst we are working on this, the visible increase in traffic on Church Street especially at the end of the day is a concern; we need to remind the children to be patient and cross with the greatest care. The message we have received from CCBC in the past has been that the children can walk up to the crossing by the Police Station so this could be encouraged but this also involves crossing a road so does not seem to reduce the risk enough.
Book Amnesty
Please can the children search high and low at home and return, as soon as possible, any school reading books that may be hiding there?
We have recently invested considerably in our selection of reading books but unfortunately, a number of them have gone ‘missing in action’. We appreciate that the unusual circumstances this year may have made everything more difficult to keep track of and we will be hugely grateful for any books that are found and returned.
Cashless System for School Lunches
Bedwas Juniors will be moving to a cashless system for lunches from May 24th. Training is being provided to schools next week and we should have information packs to pass on to you after that.
Reminder - Notifying School of Covid Test Results
There is currently no change to the process in place. You will need to contact the school by e-mail or phone as soon as possible if a child’s test result comes back positive. If this is outside normal school hours please e-mail your message to the school address – bwaja@caerphilly.gov.uk
Any notifications of class closures will be sent out via Text2Parents and posted on the federation’s website. If you change your mobile number please let Mrs Dee in the school office know so that she can update your contact details.
CCBC are arranging an alternative system whereby parents can inform a central hub who will then contact schools. Once this has been implemented we will pass on the details to you and post the information on the Federation’s website.
Stay safe!
