Ripon Cathedral School Update
Week ending Friday 3rd July 2020
Crafty Learning!
Habitat in a box
Terrific Obstacle Courses
The children in Reception have been having lovely active afternoons. The children encouraged each other brilliantly with the daily mile then made obstacle courses with a partner. They timed how long it took their partner to complete the course and recorded their timings. All the class were very keen to share their accomplishments so we thought we would put them in the newsletter. Well done Reception!
Windmills
Faces in Nature
Oscar's Summer Holiday Club
We are delighted to be able to offer a summer holiday club this year over three weeks of the break. The dates we will be open are: Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd July, Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th July, Tuesday 1st to Thursday 3rd September (9am to 5pm). This club is open to all children not only key workers.
To maintain a safe, social bubble, we have decided not to have different children making up the limit on consecutive days. We will keep the maximum number of children at fifteen. There is a weekly charge of £50 for three days with no option to book just one day at £20 as this would reduce our potential maximum number for all three days in the week. Therefore, you only need to book (and pay for at £50) the Tuesday in the week you require and your child will also be booked in for the Wednesday and Thursday. We think this offers great value for money as usually three days costs £60. We have made this change to do our best to provide parents with peace of mind that we have thought carefully about the safest way to run a holiday club. Social distancing following the most recent guidelines will be our aim. However, please can we ask you to bear in mind that this is a holiday club and children will not be sitting at desks doing work, and you need to consider your family’s risk or vulnerability levels when thinking about using the holiday club. We will be making the club as fun as possible, whilst still aiming at social distancing – let’s hope for great weather as we would like the children to be outside as much as possible!
In order to book and pay for your place, please logon to our booking site https://riponcathedralschool.magicbooking.co.uk/ using your email address as your username. Contact Mrs Rich on admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk if you have any queries. Thank you.
Worship and Friendship
Friendship Bracelets
PSHE And RSE Consultation
Relationships education is statutory from September 2020 and the school has developed a policy covering our approach to personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) and relationships and sex education (RSE).
We have endeavoured to ensure that our approach is developmental and matched to our vision, ethos and values.
As part of the process of developing PSHE and RSE education in school, we are consulting parents with regards to their views on our policy and plans.
The draft policy can be found via the link below.
Please do let us know any feedback or comments that have you regarding our policy and plan for PSHE and RSE by emailing admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk
Thank you for your continued support.
School Wider Opening Update
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you are well at this time. We have really enjoyed having our new Year 4 and Year 5 bubbles starting this week. All the children who have been in school have been fabulous and we are very proud of the way that they have been so positive and supportive of each other.
You may have read in the media about the government’s plan for schools from September. Guidance states that ‘circumstances have changed and the improved position means that the balance of risk is now overwhelmingly in favour of children returning to school.’
It is important to remember at this point, that we are still two months away from the start of the autumn term, and we know how quickly things can change, for example with the new localised lockdowns in Leicester. It is clearly impossible to predict with any certainty how the virus will play out on a local or national level, however it is clear that the government would like schools to actively work towards full opening from 7th September 2020.
The guidance provided to schools yesterday is extensive. Although a significant proportion of the requirements are already fully in place at our school, the implications for a whole school opening mean that we do need to review the way the school day will be organised with routine measures maintained and developed to help minimise risk. Essential requirements include:
- A requirement that people who are ill stay at home
- Robust hand and respiratory hygiene
- Enhanced cleaning arrangements
- Active engagement with NHS Test and Trace
- Formal consideration of how to reduce contacts as far as is reasonably practicable.
As now, children will be taught in bubbles, which will increase to a ‘class size’ from September. Measures to avoid contact with other bubbles will be maintained and the use of staggered starts and break times remain so that we can limit contact with other children and families as far is reasonably practicable.
The school will be taking advice from appropriate bodies and we will review our risk assessments and policies accordingly, in preparation for September. Some of the changes will be communicated to families before we break on the 17th July 2020, however we will continue to communicate using the usual channels in the lead up to 7th September. Do look out for emails and texts which will provide important information about the school’s potential full opening.
I am truly hopeful that the national and local situation will have dramatically improved so that we all have the confidence to return to a more normal situation in the autumn with our full school family back together again.
Kind regards
Steven Holmes
Friends of the School - Summer Fair
Hello Everyone,
We hope you are all keeping well!
Our virtual summer fair started on Monday and finishes over the weekend.
If you have been following our Facebook posts, you will have seen, and even played, some of the free games: the marble game, duck races and the lemon in water game.
Pay for games (50p-£1) are: our raffle, guess the name of the teddies, Cathedral School bake off, bucket game, North Yorkshire treasure hunt and guess the football team.
We have had lots of amazing prizes donated from local businesses and the Friends have been extremely grateful for every donation during this uncertain time.
Please head over to our event on Facebook: https://facebook.com/events/s/ripon-cathedral-school-virtual/672711973577079/?ti=cl&__mref=mb
and join in the fun.
We hope everyone has been enjoying the virtual fair and that it can bring some normality and happiness back to us all.
See you all soon hopefully!
Community Announcements
Summer Reading Challenge
Have fun and get silly with this year’s Summer Reading Challenge - it’s all online!
Silly Squad, the 2020 Summer Reading Challenge, is set in a fun house and this year is all about funny books, happiness and having a laugh!
The challenge started earlier than normal this year, on 5th June, but you can sign up online right through to September at sillysquad.org.uk and find heaps of super silly activities, quizzes, videos, games, a place to keep track of your books and rewards to unlock along the way.
The challenge is aimed at all children from 4 to 11 who just need to read anything that makes them happy - whether it be a comic, joke book, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, in digital or print format, an e-book borrowed from the library or a something they already have at home.
North Yorkshire Libraries are still closed so we cannot offer the usual printed materials but we have a terrific selection of children’s’ eBooks and eAudiobooks available to download for free at www.northyorks.gov.uk/digitallibrary . You’ll need your library card and PIN to download them but it’s no problem if you are not a member - just call call 01609 533878 to join.
Please also keep a look out on your local library Facebook page and the North Yorkshire Libraries Facebook page (@nycclibraries) for special Silly Squad activities and reading recommendations.
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Email: admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk
Website: www.riponcathedralschool.org.uk
Location: HG41LT, United Kingdom
Phone: 01765 602355
Facebook: facebook.com/riponcathschool
Twitter: @riponcathschool