Note to our families 26.03.20

Good afternoon and I hope everyone is well.

The first week of school closure seems to have gone as well as we could have hoped. I would like to say a big thank you to Oakley’s teachers for preparing work for children both in and out of school. This is a new challenge for us and the teachers have presented learning opportunities quite creatively and differently. This will obviously take time to perfect so please bear with us until we are able to purchase better recording equipment other than our phones! We have decided to use the website and email as our main teaching and learning platforms and I hope you have been able to access this easily.

We also must applaud our parents who are doing a sterling job teaching their children at home although I have had to laugh at photos and messages on social media that suggests parents will find a cure for COVID-19 before the scientists do! The emails the office and teaching staff have received show that the children and their parents are beginning to settle into more of a routine at home and it has been great to see photos of the children at work. Teachers are beginning to make weekly phone calls to parents and to talk to the children to ensure they can access the work set. Hopefully this will bring some normality to the children’s lives although apparently you could hear the shock of some children when they realised their teacher wanted to speak to them!  Well done to all of our parents and thank you.

The children of key workers who have joined us this week have been an absolute delight- it’s been like having our own little family although we are missing everyone else. The children, like those at home, have spent 1.5 to 2 hours focusing on the same school work as the children have at home. This has been supplemented by some serious digging in the mud kitchen and reweaving of the willow amongst other activities. This afternoon’s activity consisted of a science lesson which dissolved (scientific term!) into a choreography session to ‘Dancing Queen’ led by Emily D- Mrs Courtney and Miss Schonert are now exhausted!

We are thinking of you all, stay safe and enjoy the sun.

The Oakley Team.