Dear Parents/Carers

We welcome you all to the second half of the spring term, with some light at the end of the tunnel, as we look forward to the full reopening of school on Monday 8th March 2021 (and beyond!). We look forward to giving full life to this building and together supporting our children as we move out of this ‘final’ national lockdown. We will utilise our educational expertise to ensure your children can settle back to a full curriculum and recover from the times they have had to do without face to face teacher contact, over the last twelve months. The disruption to all our family lives has been very challenging and heartbreaking at times. We acknowledge the frustrations of our children as they have had to come to terms with so much disruption in their personal lives and their school lives.

Our Recovery Plan is very simple – let us work together,with Christ at the Centre of all we do;

• To ensure every child continues to learn in a safe and loving environment.
• To ensure every child is happy and feels valued.
• To ensure that school and parents in partnership, support our children to reach their goals in all aspects of school life.
• To ensure that every child is given the opportunity to ‘Let their Light Shine’!

It is important that our Recovery Plan is given time to evolve and reach its goals. We will utilise all available resources  to ensure that we continue to provide the ‘best’ for our children and families. All members of the St Matthew’s school staff have worked tirelessly during this stressful period, whilst also supporting their own families, to ensure our children and families have been supported. Their commitment to the children and their ongoing communications via our remote learning platform (Google Classroom), have enabled children to make some progress in their learning or at least ‘ticking over’ during this challenging period.

Lent 2021 – we are approaching the second week of Lent and it is a time to reflect as we approach another Easter during a pandemic.

Pope Francis reminds us of how we could reflect on our lives during Lent.

DO YOU WANT TO FAST THIS LENT? – Pope Francis’ Fasting Ideas

Fast from hurting words  …and say kind words

Fast from sadness  …and be filled with gratitude

Fast from anger  …and be filled with patience

Fast from pessimism  …and be filled with hope

Fast from worries  …and have trust in God

Fast from complaints  …and contemplate simplicity

Fast from pressures  …and be prayerful

Fast from bitterness  …and fill your hearts with joy

Fast from selfishness  … and be compassionate to others

Fast from grudges  …and be reconciled

Fast from words  …and be silent so you can listen

Pope Francis’ words may help focus and inspire us during our Lenten Journey this year.

Upcoming dates to look forward to;

• 8 March 2021 -School re-opens for all pupils (as it was before Christmas!). Protocol reminders for parents will be published next week on the school website.
• 12 March 2021 – we will celebrate World Book Day in school (more details to follow)
• 19 March 2021 – We will celebrate Red Nose Day in school (more details to follow)

Let us hope and pray that the government timescales can be met, so we can all look forward to 21 June 2021 as the end to the majority of restrictions we have had to live with. A cautious, careful and measured approach will help us reach a return to a life of freedom from pandemic rules and restrictions. We can all play our part by adhering to the guidance during each stage of this journey and ensure that milestone targets are met.

Finally can we keep in our prayers the whole St Matthew’s Community; the bereaved, the sick and infirm and anyone suffering from the social and emotional impact of isolation during this period. Let us look out for each other and support each other through these difficult times. Economic hardship is a contributory factor to the stresses within our families – please be reassured that support is available and school can help. If you need to talk about any issues in confidence, please feel free to contact me at school on  0191 4898355.

God’s Blessings on you all.

Take Care and Stay Safe.

Yours Faithfully

Martin Humble

Headteacher