Today we start on a journey that none of us could have even imagined a few weeks ago: our school is closed indefinitely.
We are keeping the number of people on site to an absolute minimum in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. When we open again will be decided by the government and they will only allow us to do so when they feel it is safe. This means all school events and activities for the coming weeks are cancelled: parents consultations will be postponed and we will send a separate message about refunds for trips and residentials.
We will send out messages to each year group about other websites and work they can do at home and over the course of the work, teachers will be preparing for more online teaching and learning should the situation continue beyond the Easter holidays.
A few things to keep in mind over the next few weeks:
The children are going to find all of these very strange and hard to manage. Although the idea of being off school for weeks on end sounds exciting, they may soon get bored of not being able to go out or to meet up with their friends.
Under these circumstances, their behaviour may change and they may start to get more difficult: they may get angry, frustrated, anxious - all of this is quite normal and expected under these circumstances.
There is no necessity to do schoolwork on a strict timetable all day every day. We have sent some example timetables to help you out should you feel it is right for your children, but there is no teaching going on anywhere in the country, so your children will not fall behind.
Take the opportunity to spend some family time together and do whatever feels right to you as a parent. None of us have been through anything like this before and none of us have the right answers.
If you need us for anything or just need to talk to somebody, you can call/ email the school office as usual or call Mrs Mullin on 07712097633 or email elsa@stpatricks.southampton.sch.uk
Attached to this email are some prayers from the Church which you might like to use with your family during this difficult time.
Until tomorrow,
Best wishes,
Michael Lobo - Headteacher
Suzanne Friel - Deputy Headteacher