Loading

PARK HILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL THE DEERSTALKER ISSUE 158 - 7th january 2022

From the Headmaster:

It was a pleasure to see the sun shining on us as we opened our doors for the start of the Spring Term. If it weren’t for the ever helpful autocorrect, my opening sentence would have said Sprint Term which perhaps might be more accurate!

What a delight it is to see events like the inter-house spelling, the parent social, ISA drama and music events as well as football festivals and regional athletics filling up our calendar.

Other events demanding perseverance and cognitive flexibility are also included. My fondness for maps and yomping will see our Year 4, 5 and 6 children disappearing (again, autocorrect wanted disapproving for that one!) into the Surrey Hills for a lethal (Leith Hill) navigation exercise.

We have much to look forward to as we head into lighter evenings and longer days.

As I noted in my letter to you all earlier this week, I am much happier writing about yomps up hills and adventures ahead than having to write to you all about remote learning and zoom links. Cast your mind back one year and it was a somewhat different world.

Whilst we are in a far better place, the effects are still being felt by the virus and whether it be delayed bin collections or staff absence we have various plans in place to mitigate against such headaches. I was amused by what was referred to as a key strategy to a certain nation’s rugby team of if plan ‘A’ doesn’t work, then do plan ‘A’ better. I am not a subscriber to that philosophy given our current scenario but we do have plans to reduce the potential impact of illness on operations as we navigate these next few weeks. I will be delighted if none of them are required. Do please refer to the sections below for more information.

A shorter Deerstalker than usual, given our short toe dip into the term, but I look forward to sharing with you all the escapades and adventures from the next five days this time next week.

Enjoy your weekend. I shall be in the Surrey Hills on Sunday just checking for bears, sorry, checking for bearings for the lethal adventure, sorry, Leith Hill adventure…

Alistair

Staff Professional Development

Whakapapa? Ubuntu?

Some of you may well be familiar with these words. It seems rather topical at the moment, in this particular chapter of history and our shared experience of Covid.

For those unfamiliar and utterly bewildered as to just what it is I talking about, I will allow Owen Eastwood to explain -

“You can’t judge your success in life by your car or your house or your business card the only way you can really judge success in life is by the impact you have on other peoples lives and I think that’s a profound. I think we’ve lost it somewhere down the line.

He goes on to add:

We’ve got so busy proving ourselves to others or trying to be better than everyone else or gain more badges, that actually we are hardwired to form communities and communities by definition need selfless acts in it and a wider purpose.”

Ubuntu is defined as the-

…act of being human, caring, sympathy, empathy, forgiveness or any values of humanness towards others.

The Māori concept of Whakapapa is essentially the same as the African spirit of ubuntu.

Again, I will let Mr Eastwood explain -

We all belong to a tribe. That tribe might be our own human race, your family, your department, your street or, in our case, our school.

It was one hour spent on Wednesday, as a staff, exploring the dynamic of our tribe. What sets our tribe apart and makes it a uniquely strong one.

Whakapapa points a finger at us and tells us, you will not be judged by your money or celebrity or sense of self pride…you will be judged by what you did for our tribe. When the sun is shining on us, we must be guardians of our tribe and of each other.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of our discussion was developing our own personal legacy statement. When the sun is no longer shining on us, what do we want as our legacy? What will be our legacy as a tribe? How do we want to be judged?

The purpose was to utilise that rarest of opportunities prior to the start of a busy term, to reflect on our own values and purpose. One hour out of a very busy and professionally productive two days with all of our tribe together.

I will explain more at my upcoming coffee morning prior to taking the first steps as we consult all members of our community on lunches and nutrition.

In the meantime, do read more about Whakapapa and ubuntu. May I also suggest obtaining a copy of Eastwood’s book. It is well worth your time.

Covid-19 Regulations

As I have already explained, whilst we are in a far better position than we were, it is not unrealistic that some aspects of school life may be impacted in the coming weeks due to the ongoing challenge of the Omicron variant.

We have put in place various strategies to mitigate against these elements. We have already experienced challenges with staff absence for our refuse collection. It is hugely frustrating to see black bin bags collecting at the front of the school, similarly cardboard overflowing from the bins. We can mitigate against this by making use, where we can, of our sister schools in South-West London by using their refuse collectors.

Our food providers faced similar disruption at various time last term, with delayed our missing items. We have engaged with a consortium company who are able to source items and produce from a wider range of suppliers to again mitigate against potential shortages.

Whilst we are taking good precautions in terms of hygiene and cleaning and we want colleagues to remain healthy, we have to accept that with such a high prevalence of the virus in our community, there may be times that staff will be absent or self-isolating.

We have a host of staff on stand-by and agency staff available to reduce impact on normal operations. Teachers, as we did previously, will plan across year groups to ensure continuity. This will also enable us to combine classes for short periods of time without loss of learning, should it be necessary.

The expression ‘hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ (as we now have a proven track record of) seems a sensible and prudent approach at this time.

Additional Covid-19 Information

You will be aware that as a school we are no longer required to maintain ‘bubbles’ and are no longer involved in the track and trace of individuals. Should there be a positive case, NHS Track and Trace will determine who has been a close contact and inform those people directly. They will be advised to take a PCR test.

As detailed in the latest DfE regulations -

Staff who do not need to isolate, and children and young people aged under 18 years 6 months who usually attend school, and have been identified as a close contact, should continue to attend school as normal.

From 14th December 2021, adults who are fully vaccinated and all children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years and 6 months identified as a contact of someone with Covid-19 are strongly advised to take a LFD every day for seven days and continue to attend their setting as normal, unless they have a positive test result.

Children under five years are exempt from self-isolation and do not need to take part in daily testing of close contacts.

They do not need to wear a face covering within the school, but it is expected and recommended that these are worn when travelling on public or dedicated transport.

Face coverings are recommended for staff and visitors in corridors and communal areas.

Given our need to be prudent I would ask that when on the school site, a face mask is worn. This will be continually reviewed.

If anyone develops Covid-19 symptoms, however mild, will be sent home and should follow public health advice.

The measures we will continue to take as a school is as follows –

Ensure good hygiene for everyone

Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes

Keep occupied spaces well ventilated

Follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases

Children in Year 3 – 6 should continue to be collected from the front of the school whilst children in nursery , Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 can be collected directly from their classrooms. Members of prep school staff will remain with their class should they have siblings in the nursery or pre-prep who can be collected first.

The school gate will be open from 8am-8.05am for early drop off and then open again from 8.15am – 8.30am where you are welcome to walk through with your children to their classrooms. Lessons will commence promptly at 8.30am.

Clubs will finish at 5pm, with children being brought to the front of the school for collection and children attending after school club from 5pm to 6pm should be collected from the front door.

Key Dates

Whilst the dates for the term can be downloaded from the website, I would like to draw your attention to the following events –

Monday 10th January – Clubs begin

Thursday 13th January– Inter-House Spelling Bee

Tuesday 18th January – HM’s Coffee morning focus on school meals

Thursday 20th January – E-Safety workshop with Peter Cowley for parents and children in Y5 and Y6. 8.45am

Monday 24th January – ILG Football Festival

Friday 4th February – Parent Social – Quiz Night!

Tuesday 8th February – Coding Parent Workshop

Thursday 10th – Time to Think and Mindfulness Day (no assembly)

Thursday 3rd March – World Book Day

Parent Consultation Meetings running throughout the first two weeks of March.

Monday 7th 14th and 21st March – Adventure School Expedition (Yomp) (Y6, Y5 and Y4)

Thursday 10th March – Inter-House Poetry Competition

Thursday 17th March – Inter-House Quiz

Friday 25th March – End of Term

Created By
Park Hill
Appreciate

Credits:

Alistair Bond