10 December 2021

Dear Parents

I would like to a start this week with a thank you to the tremendous support shown over this week's breakout of COVID cases in our school. So many of the children's positive cases were asymptomatic meaning that as a result of immediate PCR testing the positive cases could be isolated quickly. After 21 months of only a few cases it has been shocking to see how quickly and easily the breakout spread despite us having maintained all our protocols and procedures. We have been in daily contact with Worcestershire Local Outbreak Team(LORT) and Public Health who have advised and supported us this week. They assured us that everything we have in place and the speed with which we all as a community have responded has limited the spread as much as is possible. We ask now that this vigilance is maintained. If your child shows any sign of illness please take them for a PCR not just a home LFT and return them once a negative result is confirmed. Even though Government guidance indicates that children may attend school while they are waiting for a PCR result, we would urge you to keep children at home until you have received a negative result. These are generally back within 24 hours. Could we also ask that if you have a positive case of COVID within your house that you remain extra vigilant with siblings and maintain regular testing. Thank you.

I would like to say that LORT reassured us that holding our Outdoor Christmas Market was absolutely not the cause of this outbreak as it was both outdoor and the outbreak began on on Saturday which was too early for the virus to spread. This was a great reassurance.

It was so disappointing to have to cancel the KS1 Nativity and KS2 Carol Concert this week after all the children's hard work. However we were able to quickly film the KS1 Nativity on Monday morning. The video is now available on the school website. You will need to log in to be able to view the video via the Our School tab - you should see a page called KS1 Nativity. We have uploaded our production onto YouTube with an ‘Unlisted’ tag and then embedded this in to the page. This means that only parents with a log in to the School Life website will be able to see the video and it CANNOT be searched for or viewed publicly on YouTube. We are very proud of the children and hope you all enjoy it as much as they did!

Thank you to everyone who supported us with donations and attendance at the Christmas Market. A special thank you to the many children who entertained us with their carol singing. It was a really enjoyable family evening. I am delighted to say we raised £850 through your generosity which will all be spent on activities or resources for the children. If you were unable to attend but would like to buy your child's lantern and photograph these are available at a cost of £3.Thank you everyone!

Today was ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ and there were some lovely and very imaginative jumpers on display. Thank you to all those parents who made such very generous donations to our local foodbank. We will take your donations to the Kidderminster Food Bank next week and I know they will be very gratefully received. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

This afternoon, the children have  taken part in Kemp Hospice's Rudolph Run. The children ran a few laps of the school field in order to raise money for Kemp. There is a Just Giving link below for anyone who would like to make a donation. 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/StWulstansCatholicPrimarySchool

We have many families in our community who have been greatly supported by KEMP Hospice. We are sure any donation large or small would be greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy the photographs!

Thursday 16 December is our Christmas Party Day- a major highlight in the life of St Wulstan's children (and staff!) Children come in their party clothes and enjoy an exciting day of festivities. We will have to make some alterations to keep our Bubbles separate.  Please remember lunch is sausage and chips all provided by school so your child will not require a packed lunch or hot meal order on that day.

Friday 17 December  We will be joining our parish community for the live streaming of 10am Mass at St Wulstan's. We have missed our whole school and class Masses this term so this is a lovely opportunity to celebrate Christmas through the wonders of the internet.

After Mass will be our customary Toy Day when the children can bring a toy from home to play with their friends.  Again, in order to maintain cleanliness we ask that your child brings their game or toy into school on Tuesday 14 December in a labelled carrier bag. These can be kept safely isolated in school for 48 hours so the children can enjoy playing together on the Friday. We are unable to have fabric or cuddly toys but dolls, games and any plastic or metal toys are fine. The children will bring their toy home on the Friday evening so you can clean and isolate it at home as well.

We may need to make some adjustments to keep Bubbles separate but it is our intention to go ahead. Please watch out for any updates via the School Life app next week. Can I remind a few parents to ensure they are logged on correctly in order to receive notifications. You must log in to or create your own PARENT account not your child. If you require assistance, please contact the school office via email secretary@wulsev.worcs.sch.uk or 01299 877808

I would like to end with a really happy announcement. Mr and Mrs Tasker are delighted to share the news that they are expecting Baby Tasker in April. I am sure you join us all in congratulating them both.

Thank you again to everyone for their support this week and the many kind words and emails we yhave received. It has meant a great deal to us all.

Please keep safe this weekend if you are out and about and our love and prayers to all our isolating families.

K E Savage

Principal