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December Newsletter MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR AFJS COMMUNITY!

Message from Mrs Webb

Well that's a whole term done and what an amazing term it has been. In what has continued to be a challenging year, we all thank you for your dedication to supporting our Abbots Farm community.

Today also marks the end of my very first term as Headteacher of Abbots Farm Junior School and I have absolutely loved it. I am so grateful to you all for your support and so proud of all the children. Nothing beats the feeling I get walking round school and watching all the children hard at work in their lessons, listening to them using their very best manners in the dinner hall, seeing them enjoying all the clubs, admiring their artwork, hearing their singing filling the hall again... and quite simply being FABULOUS FARMERS!

Congratulations to all the winners of the end of term prizes - sorry I wasn't there to deliver them myself but I have read the wonderful things your teachers have said about you and you should be very proud. You have clearly worked hard this term, embodied our school motto and values and really stood out to your teachers as superstars! Well done!

Please take the time to scroll through this newsletter to read about some of the brilliant things your children have been doing this term. There are also dates for your diary, notes from the office and a wealth of information for ways to get help and support, including over the Christmas period, in our regular 'Healthy Body and Mind' feature at the end.

All that is left for me to do is wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year on behalf of all of the staff at AFJS. I'm so sorry I am not able to be in school today to wish you all a Merry Christmas in person (I am unfortunately awaiting close contact PCR test results) but I hope you enjoy the holiday and find time to celebrate with friends and families. We look forward to seeing you all back in school in the new year. Please remember that the children's first day back in school after the holidays is Wednesday 5th January.

COVID Update

While we do not know how things are going to evolve over the next couple of weeks, we are hoping that you all stay safe and manage to spend much-deserved time with loved ones. We were all hoping for a much more COVID-free Autumn term but it wasn't to be. However, with your continued support, we have managed to keep school going and reduce risk as best we could in the circumstances. We have also managed to keep many learning opportunities and Farmers Forever moments going to ensure the children had a term that felt pretty close to normal again for most of them. Once again, a huge thank you all of you for your support so far. Having the support of our whole Farmers community really does make all the difference.

When we return to school in January, where possible could your children please do an LFT test on the Tuesday evening before. If you could also continue twice weekly LFT tests for your children to help us identify any non-symptomatic cases and stop the spread in school moving forward, that would be much appreciated. Remember to email school immediately on admin2421@welearn365.com if you or your child has a positive result at any time so that we can then offer advice on what to do next and put the necessary steps in place to reduce risk to others. You can find our updated COVID risk assessment on the website at https://abbotsfarm.co.uk/key-information/covid-19-information/

School Website

The House Captains and House Ambassadors have started taking responsibility for writing some of our blog posts for the website this half term - make sure you visit https://abbotsfarm.co.uk/ and scroll to the bottom of the page to see their entries.

You will also find the virtual gallery of all the Christmas art competition entries on our blog - thank you to everyone that took the time to enter! We loved looking at them all!

POLICY AND DOCUMENT UPDATES: We have also been updating lots of our key policies and documents this term and will continue to do so in the new year. As we review them, we are also updating the ones that are displayed on our website. Please make sure you refer to the policies on our website if you ever need them, to ensure that you are referring to the most recent version. Many of the updates are just linked to staffing/responsibility changes but they may also be linked to Government/Local Authority document updates or in-school reviews of practice and procedures.

Sporting Successes

The Year 6 rowing teams have had great success recently with the boys coming 1st and the girls rowing a personal best to bring them in to 4th place. This achievement really was testament to their dedication and ambition as they have been putting in lots of practice in their lunch hours to try and improve.

Year 6 also represented the school brilliantly at the Sportshall athletics competition and the Y5/6 football team have been going from strength to strength in the local schools' tournament too, with their last session seeing them win all 4 of their 4 games!

Christmas 2021

The children had a great time this week celebrating Christmas with a festive lunch with friends followed by a Christmas movie afternoon. It was great to see everyone's fabulous festive jumpers too! :)
We were also very pleased to have been able to go ahead with some of our Christmas celebrations this term, even if we did have to brave the weather. Luckily, the rain held off and we managed to have 2 wonderfully festive evenings. Thank you to you all for supporting us and following the COVID guidelines to help us to celebrate safely and of course, a huge thank you and well done to all the children for their super singing.

Fundraising

A huge thank you for all your support at the Christmas Carol events and in selling raffle tickets. We raised a total of

£1003.76

We also raised a great total for Children in Need earlier in the term. Mrs Bowcutt has done her final calculations today and our final grand total is:

£412.27

Diary Dates

  • 20th Dec - 31st Dec - CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
  • 3rd Jan - Bank Holiday
  • 4th Jan - Teacher Training day
  • 5th Jan - Children return to school
  • 13th Jan - Y4 Lego animation workshops at Rugby Library
  • 14th Jan - Y5 Forest Schools Day (further details to follow in January)
  • 21st - 25th February - HALF TERM

Messages from the office

  • There are still some outstanding payments for lunch and Kidzone payments. We would very much appreciate it if you could settle your accounts as soon as possible.
  • Y4 Lego animation trip - please pay your contributions for the coach via your online payment account by the end of the first week back.
  • Y6 Condover trip - if you have asked for a place to be reserved for your child, please now pay your deposits via your online payment account by February 4th.
  • There are still some places available in the Tang Soo Do club that takes place each Wednesday morning in the hall before school. The children that attend are really loving it and would love a few more of their friends to join them. Contact the school office to find out more.
  • There will be no clubs (apart from Kidzone) in the first couple of weeks of next term. We will be sending out new club lists for your children to choose from after the holidays and we will also then let you know when those clubs will be starting again. The one exception to this is Young Voices, which will continue in the new year, starting on Thursday 13th September, until we get notification of a new concert date.
  • Lawrence Sheriff School have asked us to inform all parents that they have published their proposed admissions policy for 2023-24 entry and have initiated a consultation period from midday today until midday on 28th January. You can view the document at http://www.lawrencesheriffschool.net under Parents and Students/Key Information/School Policies and if you wish to comment on the consultation you should write to the Clerk to Governors, Mrs G Beardshaw via the school office.

FAMILY SUPPORT - Healthy Body and Mind For All Our Farmers!

If ever you need any support, we are always happy to listen and help as best we can in school. However, we also know that there are often times where the help of an external professional, with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them in specific areas, is the best person to support you. This 'Healthy Body and Mind' section of our newsletter will contain lots of useful updates or information each month, including online safety messages and support. I hope you find it useful! Remember all previous newsletters can be found on our school website at https://abbotsfarm.co.uk/news-events/newsletters/ in case you ever want to look back and find a previously-recommended resource that you now feel may be useful.

The Warwickshire Family Information Service is an incredible resource which you can access directly to help you and your family find the support you need. Their website contains a wealth of information and has contact details for many charities and organisations that can offer support or information on a wide range of issues from housing and benefits to mental health support or health and safety information.

SUPPORT OVER CHRISTMAS

The Family Support line will be operating over the school holidays (excluding bank holidays and 29th December) should support be required on 01926 412412 (9.00am - 4.00pm).

If you need Mental Health Support over Christmas, you can call the RISE Helpline 24/7 on 08081 966798 (see image below)

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme December 2021

The HAF programme will be delivered in Warwickshire over the upcoming Christmas holiday period. There will be a programme of free face to face activities to include food, available for each qualifying child for up to four days over the two weeks of the December holidays. This provision will be available for take up from Monday 20th December to Friday 31st December.

To qualify to access the HAF programme families must be in receipt of benefits tested free school meals. The parent/carers of all children who are currently registered have been sent a HAF code via text and e-mail from WCC (Warwickshire County Council). They can use this code to book activities direct with providers.

There is a wide range of activities available including multi-sports, arts and crafts, drama and equestrian. We also have some family days out available, which the whole family can attend together. Further information can be found by clicking the Christmas HAF activities link on the Children and Families homepage. More family days out will be added over the coming days.

We are working closely with providers to ensure that Warwickshire’s HAF provision is as inclusive as possible. If a child needs additional support to access an activity due to additional needs or transport costs, parent/carers should be discuss this directly with providers who are able to access additional funding.

Support for your child’s mental and emotional wellbeing

This has been another tough year for many, with COVID still present in our communities and many children and young people experiencing a detrimental impact to their mental health and wellbeing. As we know the winter months can often be challenging for young people, with the longer nights and colder weather, we wanted to take the opportunity to share the support available in Warwickshire for anyone who might be feeling anxious, depressed, stressed or worried. Even if they don’t feel they can talk to someone they know there is always someone who will listen and who can help.

CWRise.com: Coventry and Warwickshire Rise (CWRise) specialise in providing emotional wellbeing and mental health support to children and young people in Warwickshire. They are made up of a number of different services, each led by mental health specialists. 24/7 support is available online at www.cwrise.com including COVID-19 related resources, links to other resources and trusted organisations offering a variety of support, as well as a range of videos and leaflets. A whole host of videos are also available from Rise & Shine Fest, which took place during half term, covering things like the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and topics such as Autism and ADHD, bereavement and anxiety. You can view these resources at cwrise.com/rise-shine-fest

Dearlife.org.uk: If you are struggling with complicated and negative thoughts and feelings, or if you are worried about someone else go to www.dearlife.org.uk for information, advice and service information.

You can also find a wide range of advice and mental health and wellbeing support available to you in Warwickshire at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/mentalhealth

Support over the phone: ChatHealth is a confidential and anonymous text messaging service for young peopled (aged 11-19) to contact their local school nursing team. The service is provided by Compass wellbeing workers. You will get a reply within 24 hours between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays).

  • 11 to 19 years olds can text a school nurse on 07507 331 525
  • Parents or carers of under 5s can text a health visitor on 07520 615 293
  • Parents or carers of 5 to 19 year olds can text a school nurse on 07520 619 376

Urgent help: If you are experiencing a mental health crisis you can call the Rise Crisis Team’s freephone number: 0808 196 6798 (select option 2) at all times, though it is an advice-only service overnight from 8pm to 8am. In an emergency call 999.

Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme

The Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme helps the most vulnerable residents at times of unavoidable crisis when they have no other means of help. It also administers the Household Support Fund, which provides one-off financial support for people in need as the country continues its recovery from the pandemic. It can help families with children, other vulnerable households and individuals facing hardship this winter, to ensure that they have the support they need to afford food, energy, water bills and associated costs.

Credits:

Created with images by Ka_Q - "christmas reed frame" • Pexels - "christmas tree ornaments decorations" • neolie - "christmas christmas balls christmas tree" • Pexels - "laptop hands gadgets" • PublicDomainPictures - "business cash coin" • obpia30 - "clock time alarm clock" • Anemone123 - "team spirit teamwork community" • geralt - "volunteer hands voluntarily" • ArtDream - "boy street houses"