Tuesday 20 July 2021

Dear Parents

Although the last day of the school year is eagerly welcomed, it is always tinged with real sadness as we say goodbye to our Year 6 children. Every class is different and each leaves us with different memories but our present Year 6 have always been very special to us and never more so than this year. We are incredibly proud of them all. They have not only excelled academically throughout the year but they have also grown and matured into lovely young people who are well equipped to take the next step in life. They have experienced an unprecedented moment in history and responded with maturity and an inner strength that belies their age. We wish them all the very best of luck and happiness as they move on to the next stage of their education, they will be very much missed. Thank you children for being such wonderful role models to our younger children and also for being such a lovely class to teach from the day you all started at St Wulstan’s.

We also today say goodbye to fifteen families who have been such great supporters and friends of St Wulstan’s with many heavily involved in our PTA. You too will be greatly missed and on behalf of the whole school community we thank you and wish you and your families much happiness.

This morning we celebrated Leavers' Mass and awarded our Year 6 children the annual trophies. It was a lovely Mass and one we hope stays with our Year 6 children as a special memory. Congratulations to Ryan, Thomasin, Olivia and George on their awards for Endeavour, Christian Example, Service to Others and Friendship Awards.

We also awarded our Housepoint prizes and Endeavour Awards to children across the school. Well done Ryan.Molly, Olivia,Woody Charlie, Tia. Luke. Mia, Catherine , Khalen, Conor, Amelia,Henry, Tayla-Mai, Joshua,Bathsheba, Jacob, Marie Anne Grainger, James Amelia, Isabelle, Colby, Leo Heidi, Rose Stefan, Sienna and Jacob.

We look now to September and welcoming all our children back to school  to our normal systems of arrival, dismissal and school life. This is obviously subject to change if there are alterations in Government guidance over the summer.  A new tab has been added to the school website, ‘September 2021’. Here you will be able to find any updates and information.  A notification will be sent out whenever anything is added to this area. Please look at this regularly throughout the summer incase we have needed to add anything . Our school day will start at 9.00am with the children able to enter the school building from 8.50am. The school gate will be unlocked at 8.45 am and the Senior Leadership team will be in the playground to welcome the children. Dismissal will be 3.30pm. Class teachers will lead the children out and dismiss to all parents in the playground. Exiting the site will revert to using the pedestrian access only. This will be unfamiliar to our present Reception families but the SLT will be on hand to support parents and children in the first few days.

Class contact details from 6 September are set out below.

With regards to school lunches please ensure you book meals on Parent pay in plenty of time before the start of term. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and children in receipt of Free School Meals just need to order these at no charge but they must be ordered online. They can also be ordered by Years 3-6 in the normal way at a cost of £2.30. These can be ordered with immediate effect.

It has been an exciting last week with our KS1 and KS2 Sports Day and our annual Talent show. The children were wonderful taking part with enthusiasm and energy. Year 6 were fabulous in their organization of the Houses and guiding the younger children. We hope you enjoy the photographs. Our Talent show yet again showed the often hidden skills of the children. To stand up and perform infront of their peers is a challenge in itself and we are always so pleased to see the audience support for children of every age. 

There is no need to tell you of the highlight of this week as I am sure the children were keen to tell you all about their free icecream last Monday morning! It was so very generous of Tony , our local icecream man, to contact us to ask if he could as a thank you to you all for you custom and support this last year. As well as the icecream it was such a lovely time for us to all be together, outside in the sunshine watching the sheer joy on a child's face as they ate (totally covered in icecream). Thank you Tony from all of us. Yes the staff had an icecream as well!

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank every member of staff and our Governing Body and EMMAUS Directors for all their hard work, commitment and support this year but most especially during this pandemic. To say they have all worked tirelessly would be an understatement and I know this has been recognized by so many of you. Most importantly though, I would like to thank all of you. It has been a massive challenge to home school, run a home and in many cases continue working at your own job in that sudden winter Lockdown. The support you have given us by embracing our SEESAW Remote Learning and then adhering to the safety systems we put in place has ensured the children have been kept safe, arriving and departing school so happily. . As we look through the children’s books, take down displays of work and write reports we see how they have grown over the year – physically, academically, spiritually and in maturity. They are all growing as lovely young people and a credit to you, their families. I would like to thank all the children and parents for their support this year and also for the very generous gifts , cards and words of thanks you have given to the staff. These mean a great deal and are very much appreciated, thank you.

School closes today for the summer break and we will welcome you back on  Monday 6 September.

On behalf of the staff I wish you a really lovely summer holiday with your children and families.

Best wishes

K E Savage