Dear Parents and Carers,

A busy week marks the end of yet another busy term.  I would like to thank those of you that attended our Parent’s Consultation evenings this week – it was lovely to be able to invite you back into school and to share the progress your children have been making.

Today, school has been buzzing with the end of term excitement and we have finished with a fantastic non-uniform day where children and staff have been wearing blue and yellow to show their support and to raise money for the Ukrainian Appeal.  Thank you all for your kind donations, these will be sent to the Disasters Emergency Committee.  If you would to find out more about their humanitarian appeal, you can visit their website: Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal | Disasters Emergency Committee (dec.org.uk).

In addition, we have enjoyed a whole-school music day today.  I would like to thank Mr Brown for organising such a great day.  The children took part in assembly to launch our new ‘Linden Listening Spine’ and each class have listened to, discussed and made interpretations of some selected pieces of music from their new year group ‘playlist’.  From this, each class were challenged to make a creative response to the music and their outcomes have been amazing!  The children loved being able to share their class projects during our sharing assemblies this afternoon.

In light of this week’s changes to national COVID guidance (see link below for further information), our school policy on isolation will change on our return after Easter:

People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature will be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. Government guidance will state that "they can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend".
  
  
• People with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including Covid-19, and a high temperature or who feel unwell, will be advised to try stay at home and avoid contact with other people, until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature.
  
  
• Anyone with a positive Covid-19 test result will be advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days, which is when they are most infectious (although it should be noted that free testing for the general public has now ended).

Can I take this opportunity to remind you that we have a staff INSET day on Monday 25^th April and we will welcome the children back into school on Tuesday 26^th April.  Finally, I hope you all have fantastic and fun-filled Easter break.

Lucy Collins

The Stars of the Week for week ending 1st April:

The Stars of the Week for week ending 8th April:

A gentle reminder to parents:

Once we have handed over your children at the end of the day, please keep them with you.  We have had incidents in KS1 where children have been handed over, then later the children have returned, alone and unattended, to collect things from the classroom. In addition, for safety reasons, please can we ask that KS1 children do not use the KS2 trim trail when waiting to collect KS2 siblings.

On Wednesday 30th March, the street dance club performed in front of their adults as well as the Girls Football club. They began by sharing what a “typical” warm up looked like followed by some of the dance moves they have learnt over the past 2 terms. From top rocks to smurfs- they smashed it! ? They then performed the routine they had worked so hard at achieveing! To end groups, pairs and individuals performed their own choreography! A massive round of applause to these children for not only learning a new skill but to then performing it to an audience! Very proud moment!

Our EYFS Stay and Play sessions are for our current Reception children:

It's a time for you to come into school and spend time with your child in their learning environment.  We understand many of you are working and it can sometimes be tricky. Most sessions will take place in our EYFS area where you will be invited to come in and play with your child, look at their books and see what they get up to in school. This is a new venture for us and we hope we can work together to make it a positive and successful one.

"Thank you so much today for the lovely stay and play. It was so lovely to see a part of xxxx's school life and his work and what he enjoys to do . Especially due to lockdown we never got to be a part of his learning or see his nursery life so it was just lovely!"  Wonderful feedback from one of our parents.

We have two more sessions left - Wednesday 25th May 2022 and Wednesday 13th July 2022.  These can be booked via the SZapp.

Thank you to everyone who donated an egg for the GFTH collection.  The eggs have been delivered and will be making their way to some worthy causes next week. 

We are delighted to announce that we are organising the Year 6 leavers hoodies again this year, and a letter will be coming out about this very soon. 

We are busy making plans for some events next term, so watch this space for more information when details are confirmed. 

Have a great Easter break everyone.

Friends of Linden  

The Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme, funded by the Department for Education, will be returning this Spring break between 11-14th April for children in reception to year 11 who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

We have also recently secured some additional funding so that we can once again extend our offer to all families as part of the HAP programme (Holidays activity programme- NOT funded by the DfE).

We encourage all HAP and HAF families to get in contact with their local offer to see what is available to them. To find out where to get more information about your local offer, you can click here.<https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/holiday-activities-and-food-programme/follow-your-district-on-social-media/>

Your Next Move Easter Get Down

We want to let you know about the Your Next Move Easter Get Down. Your Next Move are running two Hip Hop Days as part of Gloucester's Easter Holiday Activities and Food Programme.  There will be activities in Dance, Beatboxing and Graffiti Writing alongside music and food.  We will be in Tredworth on the date below:

Tuesday 12^th April, 11am-3pm

Parry Hall, Tredworth, Gloucester, GL1 4RZ

Please note: recommended ages for activities are 8+, but the day is family friendly, so everyone is welcome to enjoy the music and the food!

These events are free to attend, but booking is essential via the CABS booking system:

https://yournextmove.coordinate.cloud/list

You must be registered on the system to book onto an event. 

Eat Free

Also, please don't forget the Free School Meal packs that are available from The Club @ Tuffley Park over Easter too:

All of these courses are open to all and free* to many.

PDF:  Upgrade Your MathsTerm 5

Upgrade Your Maths is a 5 week course running on Thursday mornings from 10-12. This course is designed especially for parents who are anxious about maths. Parents work in a small group online and are supported so that they soon feeling comfortable tackling a range of maths questions and develop confidence to support their children with their homework. Starting on Thursday 28 April. You can enrol by clicking on this link Upgrade Your Maths

Calming the Mind is a 4 week introduction to mindfulness. Parents who attended this course last year have noticed a real change in their lives, and a greatly improved relationship with their children. This course is running on Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings, starting in early May. You can get more details and enrol by clicking on the links Calming the Mind Tuesdays or Calming the Mind Monday Evenings

Parents can enrol online through the links on this email or by contacting:

Fay Tucker
Adult Education Family Learning Coordinator
EE & I, Gloucestershire County Council
07760 171477
4 – 6 Commercial Road, Gloucester, GL1 2EA     [email protected]

http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/adult-education-in-gloucestershire/

* The courses are free if you are over 19 years old, have lived in the UK for 3 or more years, have a valid Residence Permit, and are one of the following: Unemployed or earning below £17,374 per year; Qualified below a Level 2 ( less than 5 GCSEs); Have mental health challenges, Have a learning difficulty or disability.

On Tuesday 17th of May I have signed-up to do a WingWalk for Gloucestershire Hospitals Charity:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/atique-wingwalk

...to help raise money for much needed GAMMA SCANNERS.

I would appreciate whatever you can spare even if it is a pound. Your duas and heartfelt prayers are requested as I am so afraid of heights, but I will go ahead with this challenge regardless. Please wish me the best.

Atique Miah (parent)