Newsletters

Dear parents and carers,

Unfortunately, we had to close another bubble on Wednesday. This is our fourth closure since September and as we currently have two out of our five KS2 classes self- isolating, school has been unusually quiet this week.

Parents who came to collect were extremely supportive and many were ready to launch into remote learning at home. Although we hope we will not need to close any more bubbles, this remains a likely scenario in the current climate. If this happens to your child, please help us by:

• ensuring you have a back -up plan for collection if we need your child to be collected
• Keeping your child’s remote learning book, login and password to hand at home. Teams is deliberately set up so that each child can only access their class teacher’s session from their own account. Please note you will need to re-set your child's password if you have not yet activated their Teams account. 
• Informing the office if you do not have access to any device in order for your child to continue learning from home.

You may be aware that parents in some schools have been recording live teaching sessions on their phones and posting them on social media. We are currently working on a Remote Learning Acceptable Use policy for parents to sign.

In the meantime, I would like to emphasise that parents should not forward or share any links with others or post recordings of any live teaching sessions on social media.

Finally, in order to bring some much needed Christmas cheer, we are, as usual, going to be taking part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day.

Please note that this year, we are wearing our jumpers on Friday 11th December. This is not because I have any insider information about early school closure, we just think it will help spread out the Christmas ‘events’ we are still able to make happen. If you would like to join in, please click here to be taken to our just giving page.

Many thanks for your support

Class 45S

Mrs Stenton and I have been so impressed with the children from 45S this week and how they have adapted to learning from home once more.  The behaviour has been fantastic; the children have really engaged with the lessons and we've seen some fantastic pieces of work.  We'd like to thank the parents for their support in what we know is a tricky balance between home learning and working life.  The children have been superstars all week!

Mrs Stewart and Mrs Stenton

The Bramhope Buzz is back!

Please click here to find out how you can contribute to next edition of the school magazine!

Mrs Judd

Supporting the School with their Christmas Wish list

Recently, there have been less opportunities for parents to raise money for the school through for example summer and Christmas fairs.  Very kindly, one of our parents has, however, come up with a fantastic solution!  This great idea will not only help the school, but one of our local businesses who have had to close their doors due to the pandemic.  

Buy a book for the school off their Christmas wish list

The ‘Bookshop on the Square’ In Otley, have confirmed that they will be able to take orders and deliver books, as a Christmas present, directly to the school.  Each book / donation will be labelled in school with a sticker saying that your child has donated the book as a gift.

The school are keen to receive books from the following, recommended, book list here 

The Book Shop have agreed to help us coordinate the wish list to make sure we don't buy duplicate books.  If there is a book on this list that you are particularly keen to buy for the school, please contact the bookshop who will take your order.  Alternatively, the bookshop will take a credit to enable the school to pick their own books. 

If you are wanting to buy a Christmas present for the school, please contact 'The Book Shop on the Square' (01943 466 734) who will be happy to take your orders.

Olympic Athlete Visit

This week we were delighted to have Olympian, James Kirton visit Bramhope Primary School. Sport and staying active is more important than ever during the current climate and we were one of the only schools in Yorkshire to host an athlete event this academic year. 

James spoke to each class about overcoming obstacles, working hard to achieve goals and having strong self-belief. Drawing on his swimming career, James explained how sports serve as a metaphor for life and how lessons learnt in sport can help in a variety of different ways.

Did you know James swims over 80,000m per week?

After the talks, James led a full-body circuit class for each bubble and answered a range of thought provoking questions from the children. James was blown away by the quality of the questions asked and by the resilience shown in the circuits on such a cold November morning. 

Thank you for all the sponsorship money which has already been received. Please send all remaining sponsorship by Friday 18th December. All money raised will fund Team GB athletes and help school to buy new sports equipment. If you wish to donate online please click here

If you were not in school today, click on the link to watch the video from James and find out how you can get involved at home. We would love to hear about your spotty dogs and leg drives when you come back to school. 

Some quotes from the children:

‘It was exhausting but really exciting,’ Hague Year 1

‘I’ve been practising the exercises at home, especially star jumps and spotty dogs. I enjoyed the activities and tried really hard to do as many as I could before the time ran out,’ Bella Year 2.

‘James was inspiring, he makes me want to do my best,’ Lucas Year 6 

We wish James all the best in the future.

Mr McKeown

Lunches

As you are aware, we are now asking parents to choose school meals for their child two weeks in advance. Meal choices are available here and as the school kitchen already know which children have food allergies and intolerances (and cater for them on an individual basis) we ask that all other pupils choose from the two menu options on offer.

In addition, Christmas dinner will be available for all on Wednesday 16 December. As you will appreciate, it will be a little different this year (arriving on airline trays rather than the jolly whole school gathering we are used to) but your child is most welcome to join in. The menu on the day will be traditional and if you would like your child to have it, please fill in the form here

Bramhope Christmas dinner 2020

Roast Turkey with homemade stuffing and Gravy

Roast Potatoes

Brussel Sprouts

Glazed Carrots

Cranberry Sauce

Vegetarian Option: Roasted Vegetable Plait with Tomato Sauce

Pudding: Homemade Festive Shortbread

St George’s Crypt

From 1 December we will be collecting any unwanted adult warm clothing, particularly coats and jumpers. Please bring them to the office and we will pass them on to St George’s Crypt. Please note that anyone entering the office must wear a face covering.

Christmas Jumper Day

There’s no need to buy a new jumper – you can decorate an old one!

We’re asking families to donate £1 or however much they can give, to help transform the futures of children in the UK and around the world. Save the Children make sure children are kept safe, healthy and learning, and change the future for good.

You can donate here. Please use our school's reference number CJD200006589 on any donation made.

Please note, JustGiving only accepts a minimum donation of £2. Therefore, if your donation is less than £2 you can bring this to school and pay at the office.

We’d really appreciate your support to make Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day a success – it’s a great cause, so together at school, we’ll be helping to create a brighter future for children. We can make the world better in our sparkly, silly sweaters!

Mrs Laws