20th July Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been the most extraordinary school year for all our children, families, and staff. It is not the one we planned for or imagined last September and it was certainly not the one I was expecting when I started in November.

Thank You Parents/Carers

I would like to thank everyone who has sent letters, e-mails and notes of encouragement. I think it is at times when we are truly challenged that we really value those around us and our community becomes something we cherish. The staff have taken great strength and encouragement from your messages and it helped us continue to support our children and families to the best of our ability through these difficult times.

As parents/carers you have all experienced such difficult and challenging times trying to juggle your own jobs whilst providing childcare, home schooling and the many other demands and pressures on your time. Thank you, to you all for being amazing, supportive and above all kind; even when the going got tough; thank you for the hard work you have done with your children.

As a school, we have planned carefully for your child’s return and we are confident that once they have settled, we can close any gaps and target specific learning intervention for others. Many of our Trinity children have flourished, although we appreciate you are exhausted, and we feel they will thrive in their new classes. As a staff group, we are not daunted by the year ahead but excited that we will be all back together as a community.

Thank You Staff, Governors and The Senior Management Team (SMT)

I would also like to thank all the staff and governors for their hard work, support and ‘can do’ attitude to all we have done as a team. Many have gone above and beyond and it is through situations such as these that bring out the best in people and the staff are no exception to this rule. The scale of the task has been enormous, the effort that went into meeting it was even greater. I remain, as always, in awe of the work of our staff and I thank them for being there for the children, the school, for me and for the community.

I would also like to thank the SMT. Since Easter I have been without a DHT and there have been many times when I have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges ahead of me. The SMT provided great support and strength to me and demonstrated courageous leadership. Thank you.

FOTS

Thank you to FOTS who have been a tremendous support to the school. It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside such a motivated team of parents and we are looking forward to resuming some of the projects that have had to be put on hold since lockdown. Thank you for your energy and commitment to our children.

Trinity Hero

I did want to give a special mention to Kevin our Sports Coach. Kevin has been a true hero throughout this whole crisis. Since lockdown he has supported the school by working with the key worker children on a daily basis providing them with high quality PE lessons. However, Kevin has done more than this. He has provided our children with routine, encouragement, support, humour, laughter, helped promote emotional wellbeing and happiness as well as provide genuine care and warmth. He has also been a tremendous support to me and his spirit, team approach and positivity have been inspiring. A huge thank you Kevin for everything you have done at Trinity and for the whole school community.

Remote Learning

Thank you very much to all families who responded to the Digital Devices Questionnaire; we had 178 households respond out of a possible 227. The government has asked all schools to have a plan to ensure continuity of education in the event of a future local lockdown. Your responses will help us to best support our Trinity families.

• 98.9% of our families have broadband internet access (not just internet through mobile data).

• 99.4% of our families can access Google Classroom.

• 6% of our families (10 households) reported that they had two or more school-aged children and that having to share devices had been a barrier to their children’s learning.

• Phase leaders have reviewed the families who didn’t respond to the questionnaire to ascertain whether they didn’t respond due to a lack of internet access/digital devices. Paper copies of the questionnaire were also made available.

We will be looking into the possibility of loaning devices to support families who have struggled with a lack of technology in the event of a future school closure.

School Mascot – TRINITY TED

Trinity Ted (official name) will be used as the School Mascot at Trinity from September onwards.

Each and every human being at one time or other has wanted a teddy bear to give them friendship and companionship. I am not ashamed to say I still have my bear from my childhood which my son has found great comfort from during lockdown.

When the children return to Trinity in September we have put their wellbeing at the heart of our curriculum. We acknowledge that the children will have had different experiences during this time. However, the common thread running through all is the loss of routine, structure, friendship, opportunity and freedom. Many of our children will return to school disengaged, anxious, worried, they may have regressed, low mood, poor self-image, lack of self-confidence, fearful, confused. This is trauma and we need to urgently address this.

Teddy bears are a powerful and emotive symbol of childhood, sharing the good times and bad times with its owner. Familiar playmates for most children, teddy bears are seen as warm, friendly, tolerant, accepting and compassionate friends. A teddy bear may be a replacement friend, offer emotional support in a crisis, or provide comfort and security. Most importantly, teddy bears represent feelings of being safe, and they have equal appeal to both girls and boys.

This is why we will be promoting the use of Trinity Ted at the school. I am sure our mascot and the importance of it will evolve over time but I am passionate about the power the bear will have on our children’s wellbeing and on the trauma they have experienced.

A huge thank you to Mrs Elson who has knitted a Trinity jumper for our School Bear. I appreciate the huge challenges this presented but I am so appreciative. Trinity Ted in a school jumper will help promote our children’s sense of belonging; them being part of a community; help rebuild relationships and promote happiness and wellbeing.

Year 6

I would like to take this opportunity to wish our Y6 children the very best of luck as they move into the next exciting chapter of their lives. It is not the year that we had planned for the children but I am so very proud of how they have matured and coped with such a strange and unprecedented situation. I wish each and every one of them the success they truly deserve and look forward to welcoming them back to Trinity to say hello.

Classes 2020-2021

Thank you so very much for your overwhelming support regarding your child’s new class. Thank you for not overwhelming the school office with emails. This has been appreciated. I would advise that any parents/carers who have emailed may not receive a reply. This is due to your child not meeting the exceptional circumstances and the pressures and demands on time. Thank you so much once again.

Staffing

I am really pleased to announce that we have appointed a temporary Deputy Headteacher for the Autumn Term. David Masters will be joining the Trinity Team from September onwards. He has over 15 year’s experience in education and he has enjoyed many successful leadership roles including Headship.

And Finally….

I feel immensely proud of the way the whole school community have responded to what has been, and continues to be, the most significant national crisis any of us have ever experienced.

I know that we are not yet able to emerge from the storm; I can see that there will be further challenges ahead of us all. However, now is certainly the time to try and find a way to step back and take a much-needed breath.

An email will be sent to you regarding entry/exit times for your child together with any additional information week beginning 24th August.

Thank you for being an amazing and supportive community. Enjoy your summer and I cannot wait to welcome you all back to Trinity on Thursday 3rd September .

Warmest wishes,

Beatriz Melero and The Trinity Team.