March 2021

17 Buckden Roundabout March 2021 Village News BUCKDEN CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL (Primary Academy Trust) March 2021 A belated Happy New Year to the resi- dents of Buckden, Diddington and Southoe from the staff and pupils at Buckden School, Christmas now seems a distant memory. We returned to school on Monday 4 th January during an extremely uncertain time and it was lovely to see many of children after the Christmas break. Unfortunately fol- lowing the Prime Ministers announcement that evening, we had to instantly implement online home learning for the majority of our children, remain open for our vulnera- ble and key worker children and revert back to the strin- gent measures undertaken in the first national lock- down. Remote learning and teaching has been a huge learning curve for both parents, children and teachers, and we have received positive feedback and support from par- ents during this ever changing time, which we really ap- preciate. As well as delivering daily home learning les- sons via Microsoft TEAMS we have been able to offer weekly online drop in sessions for parents. We have also introduced a whole class live online session, so that chil- dren both at home and at school can reunite virtually so they can socially interact to help their mental wellbeing by still feeling connected. We know that learning from home has been an entirely different experience for each and every family and we have done our utmost to work with each family individu- ally to ensure they feel as supported as possible during these difficult times. We do not want our remote learning provision to cause undue anxiety or stress for our fami- lies. We are very conscious about the amount of time the chil- dren are spending on a screen and we hope that as the weather gets warmer we can plan more things to get us outside. In the meantime, we have no live lessons on a Friday afternoon and children at school finish at 12.00pm, this gives all the children an opportunity to take part in activities which can be completed away from a screen. We have our very own Joe Wicks – Miss Lizell Heather, who is delivering daily PE lessons through her Youtube channel to both children at home and at school. Parents of our vulnerable and key worker children have been attending school and are enjoying their lessons within class bubbles. Luckily we have only had to close one bubble so far due to one positive case. After The DfE recently announced a programme of asymptomatic Covid - 19 testing in primary schools, our staff who are coming into school have been testing at home, twice a week. This has enabled staff to work in as safe an environment as possible, protect our students and help to reduce the spread in school. We would like to say a big thank you to parents and the community of Buckden who have kindly donated tablets and laptops to the school. These devices have been passed onto families, who have to keep their children at home from school but don't have the technology to give them access to remote/online learning from the school. The school would like to thank Rev Jes for his continued support of the school community by continuing to pro- vide an online Collective Worship Assembly for the whole school community weekly. Also for coming and checking in with pupils and staff alike most days, it is very much appreciated by all. Following the government announcement we are hoping to re - open from Monday 8th March. We are looking for- ward to welcoming the children back to give them the best possible teaching and learning environment, but to also take the pressure away from our parents, who are doing their utmost at home - schooling. Returning to normal schooling is in sight, we would like to take this opportunity to offer our thanks to parents and staff for all their support and understanding during this period. By working together, we can all play our part to protect ourselves, our families and our school staff. Roundabout Deliverer We are now looking for a second Roundabout deliverer for the Bloor Homes estate as more houses become occupied. If you are interested, please email: distribution@buckdenroundabout.info.