Rhydri Newsletter 10.3.22

Eisteddfod

Well done to everyone for their contributions to our Welsh Week that culminated in our Eisteddfod which we held on Friday 4th March. Both schools came together for a shared ‘virtual’ celebration in the morning; thanks to Mrs Gettings for organising this. Later in the day each class paired with another from the Federation (using Teams) to share and celebrate their Welsh Week work.

VE Day

Although the weather and subsequent school closure on February 18th forced us to reschedule, Gold Class were able to enjoy their VE Day celebrations on the first Monday back this half-term. There were some wonderful costumes on show including ‘land-girls’, evacuees and even Winston Churchill made an appearance! The classroom itself was set-up as it would have been during the 1940s and some eggless sponges were made along with carrot cookies and sandwiches filled with such delights as fishpaste and also jam. Sewing skills were put to the test when the class hand-sewed the bunting used to decorate our hall which then played host to some war-time singing and a rather ‘nifty’ Lambeth Walk!

Covid Arrangements

Schools have usually been instructed to operate at one ‘level’ above the Covid response level set by WG for the country as a whole meaning that many Covid-specific arrangements in schools are lingering on longer than they are in the country in general. Nevertheless, with the moves towards the removal of more restrictions becoming more regular we will also be taking cautious steps to relaxing some of the plans we have in place as we move towards Easter. Despite some outbreaks, overall, our schools have not been hit too hard (so far) in Covid terms compared to some. Where there have been pockets of the virus they have mostly been contained within classes.

We will start to blend our KS2 and Foundation Phase at play times and lunch times when they are outside. This means that Gold and Silver will now have play times together. Assemblies within these larger bubbles will be able to take place but with around half the usual number of children in the hall the classes will be able to be positioned away from each other.

I think that we are all hoping that after the Easter holidays we will be able to move back to something more or less approaching normal which means that we will potentially be losing class bubbles and should be able to re-open after-school activities. All of this depends on the Covid situation nationally but we should be able to communicate arrangements for these clubs just before the end of this term.