School attendance has improved incredibly over the past few months - we are grateful for all your efforts to support this. You may have noticed that Mrs. Hodge is now looking after attendance alongside Mr. Peel in the school office. As you can imagine, this job has been more difficult through the pandemic with higher absences than in previous years, but we are now getting back to 'normal'.

There is no denying that the lock-down and COVID has made school attendance trickier over the last couple of years. There have been times when children have not been allowed into school or have been unwell and have been asked to remain at home. This has clearly had an impact on attendance and, in turn, learning and progress.

We are keen to support all families to maximise attendance and reduce absence wherever possible. We aim for all children to have a minimum attendance of 95% and where attendance drops below this, we will be in touch. 

Please expect a letter/phone call or meeting when your child's absence concerns us and/or drops below 95%. It is our role to follow up and support attendance and whilst we appreciate that illness can not be helped, we will work with you to minimise absence and therefore, improve learning outcomes. 

We will work with the local authority and issue fines when attendance figures continue to be of a concern.

 

Poetry by Georgia in Y1

 

The Parish Council have very kindly donated 400 sunflower seeds to our school and Ollie Southgate (Y1) has kindly donated hundreds too! We will be sharing these with the children and very much hope you will encourage your child/ren to grow these! This is to inspire us to participate in a community event as a reminder of the people of Ukraine. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine, and has become a symbol of resistance and hope! Help us to create a village display of sunflowers this summer. We are very much looking forward to receiving updates! 

As you all know, sunflowers are extremely important to us as they remind us of our dearly loved and cherished Mrs Annette Robson. It will be lovely to see Deanshanger awash with sunflowers in the months to come. 

As part of ‘World Poetry Day’ we all wrote poems about sunflowers. We hope you enjoy some of our poetry.

 

    

Oh Sunflower by Y3 Kingfishers

Oh beautiful sunflower, 

You are bright and yellow like the sun, 

Your long, pointed petals reach out like fingers, 

And small, brown seeds fill your gigantic, circular centre, 

You stand proud in the fields on your green, fuzzy stalk, 

Which is long and slender like the neck of a giraffe. 

 

Oh wonderful sunflower, 

Buzzy bees adore you, 

Your delicious, sweet nectar is so tempting and tasty, 

Beautiful birds flock to you, 

Your life-giving, zebra-striped seeds are cherished and beloved, 

Your scrumptious seeds add texture to salads and meals. 

 

Oh perfect sunflower, 

Your delightful, brightness makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, 

You erase my sadness with your sunny glow, 

And replace it with a heart full of joy, 

Walking through a field of sunflowers reminds me, 

That I’m never alone and that I’m loved by my family, 

 

Dear sunflower, 

As you follow the sun through the day, 

Continue to spread your love, 

You are the national flower of Ukraine, 

And soon all the fields there will be yellow and gold, 

Bringing hope, love and strength to all. 

 

Sunflowers by Year 3 Robin class

Sunflowers, sunflowers are bright and yellow like the sun,

Under the cold, damp soil sunflower seeds are waiting silently to sprout,

New sunflowers are blooming under the beautiful, blue sky,

Fields of sunflowers like a sea of yellow that never loses its glow,

Lasting memories of sunflowers swaying in the cool, summer breeze,

Outstanding nature outside your window for all to see,

What a wonderful flower you are!

Everyone should aspire to have and show the qualities of a sunflower,

Robin class love sunflowers, so sweet, so golden, so warm,

Sunflowers, sunflowers will come and go but will always be in your heart.

 

An extended Haiku from Y5 Rockhopper Penguins

Standing on its stem

In the graceful summer’s day

Shining in the sky

 

Looking at the sun

Guarantee to bloom brightly

Standing strong and proud

 

Sunflowers blooming

With vibrant yellow petals

Gleaming like the sun

 

Lovely sunflowers

Always shining very bright

Smiling at the sky

 

      

On the 28th of February Deanshanger visited the School Games KS2 PAN Boccia County Finals. In a very tough group the team managed to make their way to the final. 

We all enjoyed a fantastic world with some amazing characters. We had many Harry Potters, Super Heroes and Footballers. It was so lovely to see all the parents back on school grounds to watch the parade.

The increasingly complex world of social media platforms, require digital competences from parents/carers and our children alike. Whilst children have grown up with social media, parents have more difficulties with them, leading to uncertainties regarding their child's social media mediation. Parents are encouraged to use active mediation focusing on risks and safety on social media. 

A little disclaimer... It's important to remember that Facebook and Twitter require everyone to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account. WhatsApp terms require your child be over the age of 16. This includes accounts registered on the behalf of someone under 13.

These terms are set out because the world of social media can be emotionally difficult for some children under these age ranges. We would encourage you to really consider whether allowing your child to post on these platforms is the best way for them to interact with their friends. If you do allow your child to sign up to these sites against the terms, then it's important that you take full responsibility for monitoring your child's posts and what they are reading online very closely. 

As a primary school we would always advise children to stay clear of all social media as we feel it requires a higher level of emotional maturity to handle some negative aspects of these sites, however we do understand the pressures parents are under to allow their children to access social media. 

If you decide you would like to allow your child to use these platforms, despite the age restrictions, please see some tips on how to keep them safe and mediate any conflict that may occur. 

• Be a positive role model – children learn about resolving conflict by observing others.
• Create a safe environment – Allow them to express themselves openly and honestly with you first, without fear of a negative or emotional reaction. Once you are happy, make posts together at first, always setting a good example by being considerate in the language being used. 
• Teach them strategies to calm down such as deep breathing, relaxation, exercise, writing, drawing, painting or other expressive activities.
• Work out how they feel – Talk it over to help them identify and process their feelings.
• Help them manage their feelings – Help your child find ways to manage their feelings at the moment such as counting to 10, walking away or blocking anyone you feel isn't a good match for your child. 
• Work out what they want – Help them to understand their own needs or motivations. Why they need to post and again, write out posts together before sending. 
• Encourage empathy – Help them to figure out what the other child wants and how they might be feeling.
• Monitor posts closely - Ensure you remove anything you feel is inappropriate from your child. 
• Walk away from conflict - Don't respond to negative posts in any way and ensure children report anything to you straight away. Rather than engaging in a negative post, block the user immediately and only interact with friends that can be trusted to post kind, sensible posts.