Dear parents,
I think I spoke too soon about the weather but am grateful that last weekend we had two glorious days out in the sun. With the rain in mind, please can you remind your child to bring their swim kit to school for the whole week? If the weather is poor then the pupils will have the opportunity to get in the pool and enhance those swimming skills.
Fake news
On Wednesday, Mrs. Hardy spoke to our lower school in assembly about fake news. Fake news is like a tricky puzzle—made-up stories that can confuse us. Lower school pupils were reminded to check the source (trusted websites vs. random blogs) and look for evidence such as quotes from experts or photos to spot fake news. Mr Evans followed on from this with the upper school pupils and together they cross-checked various news articles to better inform us of what is true online. Being aware helps us make better decisions!
Assembly
In my assembly, Vally sang a beautiful song – I do enjoy listening to the pupils when they perform and I know that their peers also enjoy it very much, an opportunity to share their talents. We spoke this week about the importance of staying safe online and the many ways in which we use the online world. We all know how useful the internet can be, but we are also aware of the negatives. We stress the importance of keeping lines of communication open at home and also making sure that pupils are aware that they leave a digital footprint and even if they think things have been deleted things can easily be found! A strong but useful message, especially to our Upper Two pupils, many of whom may well be getting a phone for senior school.
Events and reminders
Today I am off to Mount Kelly and Plymouth Prep for our termly District 4 Heads meeting. These meetings are always so useful to connect with heads in the South West, share ideas and listen to our speaker, Leslee Udwin, from Think Equal, who I am sure will give all of us things to think about and bring back to our schools.
We have our first coffee morning of the summer term for Form One and Upper One parents on Wednesday at 8:25 in the Andrews Hall. I look forward to seeing many of you there, as it is a good opportunity to catch up with staff and other parents. A reminder that there is a staff inset day next Friday and therefore Thursday is the last day before the half term break.
Enjoy the weekend and if you are visiting the Devon County Show on Saturday, do pop in to our stand and say hello; we would love to see you, and can be found on Stand 26 Avenue A.
