The weeks are flying by and it's wonderful to see the school so busy and happy! This week we heard the Gospel story of the talents and the children have been busy showing off their own talents, whatever they might be. I saw some intricate weaving work in Year 6 earlier in the week and some superb "mosaicking" from Year 2! Remember to Follow us on Twitter (@StPatricksSoton) if you want to see photos of what’s going on.
Covid Reminders
So far as a school, we have remained relatively free of the virus, having had no cases since the very start of September. However, it is clear that the national situation is getting worse and in the last week, Southampton has increased to a level above the national average, with many local schools having to shut year groups or shut the school completely. Please therefore help us to stop the spread of Covid by following the guidance we have in place. In particular:
Wear a face covering when on the school site. If you do not have a face covering, please wait outside the site and we will bring your child to you after the other children have been collected
Remain 2m apart at all times – do not allow yourself to be in “close contact” with any other family. If bringing younger children on the site, do not allow them to run around – they must stay by you in your “space”
If you are too early for your allocated pick-up/ drop-off time, either wait on the other side of the road or if there is enough space to wait in a 2m distanced line on our side, please do so but without getting in the way of any other year group. This is particularly an issue at the Y1/ Y3 gate, when some Y3 parents are arriving too early and hindering Y1 parents who are trying to leave. We have asked Y1 to be on one side of the gate and Y3 on the other to avoid this happening.
Thank you to everyone for cooperating with us so far to keep us all safe. As we reach the run-up to Christmas, none of us want to risk infecting each other and ending up having to isolate or be ill at this special time of the year.
Mrs Sue Metcalfe
We are very sorry to be saying goodbye to Mrs Metcalfe this week, who is moving to a full-time post in another school. She has been a great asset to St Patrick’s over the past few years and indeed in her first stint here many years ago and she will be greatly missed by all the staff and children. We wish her all the best in her new role.
Admissions Consultation
The Governing Body are carrying out a statutory consultation on the school’s admissions policy for entry in September 2022. You can view details of the proposed policy on the school website on our admissions page and send in any comments.
Fencing – Phase 3
We have finally received planning permission to install the remainder of our new fencing! This will be done now as soon as the contractor is available and will make the whole site much more secure.
Inset Day
Our fourth inset day will now be on Thursday 14th January 2021, when the school will be closed to children. The staff will be having training on Talk for Writing which had to be postponed earlier this month.
Be Internet Legends
Mrs Claridge would like you to enter the Be Internet Legends Challenge with Parentzone and Google! There are prizes to be won and you only have to answer 3 questions. Have a look here:
Could you be a Governor?
The Governing Body has vacancies for a Foundation Governor (must be a practising Catholic) and a parent governor (this will be done by a parent vote). If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the office to have a discussion with Steve Deadman, our Chair of Governors.
This Sunday we celebrate the great feast of Christ the King, where the Church ends its year by glorifying the Lord before the reflective season of Advent begins. The Gospel reading reminds us that Jesus was a servant king who came to help the poor – we will be organising some ways of doing this with Cafod over Advent.
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes.
Michael Lobo