Burnley Road Academy Headteacher's Lockdown Messages

 

 

22/2/21

Good Afternoon,

I hope you had a good half term and enjoyed the break from Seesaw. I have attached the assembly on Seesaw. The theme is Build Each Other Up. Enjoy the rest of the day.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

12/2/21

Good Afternoon,

The ABC assembly for today is on Seesaw. Please note that it includes me reading out the newsletter and I mention the 9th February flood from last year and the difficult times we've all been through with Covid this year. Some children might not want to watch that part - it is after the maths shed scores. Do not watch it if you think it will cause you to be upset. Have a good holiday.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

Good Morning,

This is a short message to draw your attention to my Seesaw video that includes a Phunky Food message from Patrick, one of our ambassadors - he's sharing an easy recipe for pizza. If you would like to have a go at making it follow this link: https://www.phunkyfoods.co.uk/recipe/lyns-easiest-pizza-ever/

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

11/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are feeling good today. My Seesaw assembly video today shows how people celebrate Chinese New Year. There are two You Tube links below - the first one should lead to a page that shows how to make a Chinese dragon and the second should show you how to make a lantern. I'd like to see pictures if you make your own versions of those. Have a great day.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJFJFSHPB1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZKYGmuZn0

10/2/21

Good Morning,

It's freezing but the sun is shining, it makes me feel much more cheerful and I hope that is the same for you and you have a great day. My Seesaw assembly today is about the Chinese legend of Nian. It explains some of the customs and traditions involved in this celebration.

Following on from Children's Mental Health Week - if you are worried about a child's mental health, as I said last week you can contact school and we will do our best to help. I have also found the link below for the NSPCC mental health support page, it has resources for children and for parents. The NSPCC helpline number is also below.

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/april/supporting-children-young-people-mental-health?utm_source=adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BC4496*&utm_content=NSPCC-Learning-newsletter+covid_mental_health+Jan21&ac=

NSPCC Helpline - If you need advice and support about a child, or if you are concerned about a child’s wellbeing, talk to us. It’s free and you don’t have to say who you are. Call 0808 800 5000, email help@nspcc.org.uk or visit nspcc.org.uk/helpline.

Take care,

Mrs. Cope.

9/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are and your family members are all feeling well. My video for the Seesaw assembly today continues the theme of Chinese New Year and looks at the legend behind the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Have a good day.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

8/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you have had a good weekend and are all feeling well. My Seesaw assembly today introduces Chinese New Year which takes place on Friday. The video includes a CBeebies clip recorded with children explaining some of the things about this festival and how families prepare. Enjoy the day.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

5/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are all feeling good and keeping safe and well. The ABC assembly is on Seesaw and certificates will follow.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

4/2/21

Good Morning,

How are you feeling today? I hope you are keeping well and feeling good. My Seesaw video today includes a dance that's been going viral in the last few weeks called Jerusalema. Dancing is a great way to express yourself, it's a bit of fun and it can make you feel better. If you are tempted to join in please send us a video and let us know if you are happy for us to share on here.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

3/2/21

Good Morning,

How are you feeling today? I hope you are at least ok, if not better, and that you and your family members are keeping well. My Seesaw assembly includes a Place2Be slideshow on children's mental health and the book Beautiful Oops.

Take care,

Mrs. Cope.

2/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you and your family members are all feeling well. My Seesaw assembly today continues the theme of Children's Mental Health - Be kind to yourself. Try to do that today and enjoy having fun in the snow.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

1/2/21

Good Morning,

I hope you and your families enjoyed the weekend and that you are all feeling well. Today is the start of Children's Mental Health Week. My video on Seesaw encourages you to watch the Oak Academy assembly at 9:00am by following the one of these links. 

https://classroom.thenational.academy/assemblies/childrens-mental-health-week-2021 https://classroom.thenational.academy/assemblies

Have a good day. Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

29/1/21

Good Afternoon, I hope you have all had a good day. There is a video of our ABC awards on Seesaw. Certificates will follow. Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

28/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you and your families are feeling well. The Seesaw assembly today is about being yourself. It includes an animated video of The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. Have a good day.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

27/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you all have a great day. The Seesaw assembly this morning is about our school values: COURAGE COMPASSION PERSEVERANCE TEAMWORK. It contains a video of the story The Lion Inside.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

26/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you and your families are all keeping well. The Seesaw assembly today continues the theme of Talents and includes a video clip of a primary school on Britain's Got Talent. If you would like to share your talents with others in our school community, please send us a photo or a short video, and we will post a compilation of them here on Seesaw as well as on our website in the next few days.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

23/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you all had a good weekend and that you are feeling safe and well. The theme for the assembly (on Seesaw today) is Talents and it includes a video of the story Tom's Special Talent by Gaynor Kate.

Take care,

Mrs. Cope.

22/1/21

Hello,

There is a video showing our ABC award winners, as well as Spelling and Maths Shed winners on Seesaw. Have a great weekend and take care.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

21/1/21

Good Afternoon,

The Seesaw assembly today is about sharing worries with people who can help you. It includes the story "The Huge Bag of Worries."

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

20/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are all keeping well. The assembly video on Seesaw today is based on the story Ten Rules of Being a Superhero and continues our theme of People who help us. Have a good day today.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

19/1/21

Good Morning,

This morning assembly continues the Theme of People Who Help Us. 

Take care,

Mrs. Cope.

18/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you had a good weekend and are feeling safe and well. The theme for this week is People Who Help Us. Try to list all those that help you and say thank you to some of them today. I have attached an assembly about this theme - it is aimed at Nursery, Reception, Y1 and Y2.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

15/1/21

Good Afternoon,

I hope you are all keeping safe and well and enjoying the snow. The ABC award assembly is attached on Seesaw. Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Mrs, Cope.

14/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are all safe and well. I'm sorry we had to close due to the snow today, please log in to Seesaw for your home learning. Remember you can also go on Spelling Shed and Maths Shed for extra activities if needed. My assembly today is on Growth Mindset and there are two useful videos included - you can find it on Seesaw, under School Announcements. 

One of the videos is from a useful youtube channel, Class Dojo, it contains helpful videos for learning - you might want to add it to your subscriptions if you want even more activites: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgOUb7t6VTS0-TPSPInBpg

Take care today.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope. 

13/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you and your families are all keeping safe and well. Mrs Holmes has found the following websites if you would like some extra activities to do at home. Thank you Mrs Holmes.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/go - just make an account (free) and then you can play a range of interactive games. https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=17637547031 - here you can access free online Maths activities. https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ - here you can access online books to read, activities to play from a range of subjects not just English.

13/1/21

Please log into Seesaw to watch the assembly for today: Growth Mindset and Giraffes Can't Dance

12/1/21

Good Evening,

Please let us know if you would like an exercise book for your child to work in at home - we have spares in stock.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

12/1/21

Good Afternoon,

These are just few points to clarify our home learning provision.

- Teachers are posting lessons on Seesaw every day. Children can do the work on paper and post a photo of it when it is completed; some tasks can be completed online.

- If your child is struggling to complete work using Seesaw, please request a work pack by ringing 01422 883034 or by emailing admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk. When you have completed the work pack, return it to school and we will provide another - we will do this on a weekly basis. If you would like your teacher to look at one of the worksheets in between, please post a photo of it on Seesaw.

- Children in school are completing the work from Seesaw with help from their teachers and teaching assistants. - If your child is in school for part of the week and they have a paper pack at home, you will need to check with them in case they have already completed a particular worksheet or task.

- We have created Seesaw accounts for our teaching assistants so they can also monitor the children working at home.

If you need any support please contact us as above.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

12/1/21

Please log in to Seesaw to watch the short assembly about Growth Mindset.

11/1/21

Please log in to Seesaw for a short introduction to our theme this week: Growth Mindset.

8/1/21

Please log in to Seesaw for arecording of our awards assembly.

7/1/21

Please watch the assembly for today on Seesaw. It is about perseverance and achieving your goals; it includes the story Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan - you can watch a video of the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BFa2ELyMfo

6/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are keeping well. This is just a short announcement to share the news that the BBC are showing educational programmes on CBBC for three hours each day. This might be useful as a supplement to our lessons on Seesaw. I have also attached an animated film version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Seesaw - I thought our younger children might enjoy it.

Best wishes,

Mrs Cope.

5/1/21

Good Afternoon,

I hope you have had a good day. I just wanted to mention some more points to help school and families as we move forward during lockdown.

1. Please engage with Seesaw, even if you don't complete all the work. You could send your teachers a message to say you have completed the worksheets (if you pick up a pack) and you could send pictures, e.g. going out for a walk, baking, or of your arts and crafts. We need this to show that you are safe and well. If not we get worried and think there could be safeguarding issues for us to follow up. Thank you.

2. Children coming to school may wear their own clothes or uniform - whichever is easiest for you. After all, children working at home do not have to put their uniform on.

3. Every day teachers will put work on Seesaw. This will include a video of your teacher explaining the work for the day. They will post the video explanation as an announcement. Please look for it - it should help you with the activities.

4. Please note, the government expect Ks1 children, working at home, to complete 3 hours every day  and Ks2 children to complete 4 hours. This should mean your children keep up with age related expectations. It will also make things easier for them when they return to school after lockdown.

I hope you have a good evening.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

5/1/21

Good Morning,

I hope you are all fine and managing well at home. If you are struggling to complete work via Seesaw, e.g. if siblings have to share devices, we can provide packs of worksheets for you to pick up from our office once a week. Please contact the class teacher through Seesaw to request work packs or email admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or ring 01422 883034. Thank you.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

4/1/21

Good Evening,

Sorry this so late, it has taken a bit of time to organise. As you probably know, the prime minister has announced a national lockdown. This is taken from the BBC News website:

"He says we must therefore go into a national lockdown, with the government once more telling people to stay at home, except for specific reasons, including essential shopping, to work, if you cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical help, and to escape domestic abuse. He says the government will be advising clinical extremely people to begin shielding again. Primary and secondary schools must move to remote learning from tomorrow, except for vulnerable children and those of key workers, he adds."

This means Burnley Road Academy will be closed to most pupils from tomorrow and all lessons will be posted on Seesaw. Vulnerable children and children of critical workers may attend school. Vulnerable children include those who have educational health care plans, those involved with a social worker or family support worker and those involved with other agencies e.g. CAMHS. I have attached an up to date government list of critical workers to my post in Seesaw. Please email admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or ring 01422 883034 by 11:30am tomorrow to let us know if you are in one of these groups and would like to send your child to school, if so, on which days, so we can plan staffing for each day. 

Organisation:

- School will be open for these children from 8:50am to 3:10pm each day from tomorrow.

- Children will be grouped together in mixed age bubbles and staff will take turns to supervise.

- Children will complete work set by their own teachers via Seesaw using our ICT equipment.

- Children may bring a packed lunch or have a school dinner - please let us know.

Free School Meals:

The prime minister didn't explain how we should cater for free school meals (FSM) and vouchers were not mentioned. Please email admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or ring 01422 883034 if you are entitled to FSM and we will organise food parcels to be picked up once a week.

I know many of you will be really worried about lockdown but rest assured teachers will be available on Seesaw throughout each day to help with any problems. It's important that all children log on and try to keep up with their lessons each day. If you are struggling, please do as much as possible without causing stress. I know it is not always easy to motivate children at home as I have two children myself. Activities such as art, craft and baking are also great for learning and there are lots of educational tv shows on the BBC or on Youtube. Remember to check out https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize for additional activities.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

3/1/21

Good Evening,

Burnley Road Academy will be open as planned tomorrow. We have listened to the advice from Calderdale Public Health and reviewed our Covid Risk Assessment as advised by the government. Local Covid data is much lower than national so Calderdale have advised us to re-open - please see below.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

Calderdale Council: https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/schools/re-opening

Safe opening of early years settings, schools and colleges Important information regarding schools

The national guidance for secondary schools and colleges for the 4 January 2021 start of term is:

Referring to secondary schools - Only vulnerable children and children of keyworkers are to return to school in the week beginning 4 January, to allow time to set up testing. Young people taking exams and those in years 11 and 13 are to return to school in the week beginning 11 January. All other secondary school children are to return on 18 January 2021. All primary school children are expected to attend school from Monday 4 January 2021. Calderdale Council met with Head Teachers and Governors representatives today, 3 January 2021, to discuss our position on the opening of schools for the new term. The situation is changing rapidly and the Director of Children and Young People’s Services and the Director of Public Health will review the position every day to assess if our advice to schools needs to change. Current COVID-19 infection in Calderdale. The second wave peaked in Calderdale on 14 November with a rate just below 500 per 100,000 and the current rate is just below 200. The new variant is 70% more transmissible than the dominant strain and that has driven rapid increases in transmission in London, the South East and the East of England, putting pressure on NHS services. Although we anticipate that there are cases of the new variant in Calderdale, the data does not indicate that it is currently the dominant variant circulating locally. This position may change quickly and our advice will be reviewed as and when we see more of the new variant in Calderdale. Calderdale Council advice to schools: Calderdale’s position remains that it is important that children are in school where possible and that the closure of schools should be a last resort. When considering measures to prevent and contain COVID-19, schools should be the last settings to close and the first to open. Calderdale is currently under tier 3 restrictions, which means that a number of settings remain open that should close before schools (e.g. non-essential retail, gyms, organised sports). While Calderdale remains under tier 3 restrictions, schools should remain open, in line with Government guidance, as long as risks can be mitigated and it is operationally practical. Schools have reviewed their risk assessments to ensure that COVID-19 risks are identified and control measures are in place to reduce the risks. The increased transmissibility of the new variant means that schools need to ensure that control measures are in place and kept under review. Where schools are not confident that they can implement the necessary control measures and the risk of opening is too great, we support schools to move to remote learning for some or all year groups. Where staffing issues mean that schools cannot be open for operational reasons, the Council supports temporary closures and the delivery of remote learning. Schools should follow the national guidance,

Schools and childcare settings: return in January 2021, which includes details of the support available for remote learning, Free School Meal provision and transport. Calderdale supports the use of rapid testing as an additional measure. Schools will continue to have access to the local rapid testing arrangements, along with the national programme for mass testing, although neither of these are mandatory. Anyone who is identified as a contact of a positive case will be required to self-isolate for 10 days. Early years settings, schools and colleges fully re-opened in September. They have put in place the protective measures outlined in the Department for Education's (DfE) guidance. The usual rules on attendance now apply. Attendance is mandatory for children of statutory school age, from the autumn term. 

2/1/21

Good Morning and Happy New Year,

You may have seen that primary schools in London are remaining closed for a short period due to increased rates of Covid-19. As far as I am aware, the government does not plan for primary schools in other areas to close but if this changes I will let you know as soon as possible and lessons will be posted on Seesaw as before. I hope to see all of you on Monday but in the meantime I would like to wish everybody a very happy, healthy, successful and prosperous 2021. We got through 2020 together and came out smiling. I know that the Burnley Road family can face whatever 2021 has in store for us and we will be the best that we can be, by working together and supporting each other. It's going to be a great year!

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

 

18/12/20

Star Wars/Superhero and Mr. Theaker's Last Day

Today has been an exciting day. We are very sad that Mr. Theaker is leaving us but we have all really enjoyed the events. Hopefully class teachers will post some class photos on Seesaw. This was the message we shared with Mr Theaker this afternoon when we promoted him to Lord Vader: Mr Theaker, we have asked you to step outside because there is something important we need to do... You have been deputy head at Burnley Road for over ten years and during that time you have been an amazing leader. You carried out all your work diligently, you’ve always been brilliantly creative and used your initiative to introduce new ideas and events that have made Burnley Road Academy a fantastic place to be. You have always been a helpful, kind and thoughtful leader and provided support for all members of staff. You have been an amazing class teacher; children, parents and staff will remember the impact you’ve had on them for years to come. You have certainly proven that you are a great leader and as such earned the right to be a head teacher. We know that Copley School are very lucky and you will be a great success there. So today we would like to celebrate your promotion. We have a new uniform and a certificate for you, and it is our pleasure to promote you to the role of Lord Vader.

16/12/20

Christmas Character Reading Challenge

Are you up for a Christmas challenge? All the children will be bringing home a snowman character for the Christmas holidays. We would love to see some fun, festive pictures of it joining in with your holiday reading and your celebrations. Please send them in to us on Seesaw. Have 'snow' much fun! 

16/12/20

Santa visited our outdoor area today and although the children had to keep their distance, they were very happy to see him. He was a great addition to our party afternoon. Thanks Santa.

14/12/20

Good Afternoon,

Tomorrow - is Skip2BFit so all children should wear outdoor PE clothes. On Wednesday - We have an outside visit from Santa - children may wear Christmas clothes and bring a snack for the afternoon.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

9/12/20

Good Morning,

You may have seen a DfE announcement yesterday saying schools can close for staff training on Fri 18th December. Please note that we have decided to stay open and carry on with our original plans.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

8/12/20

Good Morning,

As you will know from our newsletter, tomorrow is Christmas Dinner Day. Children are allowed to wear non uniform/Christmas jumper. Thanks.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

1/12/20

Good Morning,

Please log in to Seesaw to watch our daily advent messages recorded with children each day. 

Best Wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

18/11/20

Good Afternoon,

Helena, our Phunky Foods advisor, has been in touch today. She is still very keen to encourage healthy eating and provide advice. She reminded me of the Phunky Foods website and all the recipes available on there. If you would like some new recipes to try out at home please follow the link: https://www.phunkyfoods.co.uk/recipes/

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

17/11/20

Good Morning, 

This is just a quick message to ask as many people as possible to complete the Calderdale Road Safety survey linked in Seesaw last week. Calderdale haven't had many responses and would really like a wider consultation regarding our Safe Streets project.

Thanks and best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

13/11/20

Good Afternoon,

Next week is national Anti Bullying week. The theme is United Against Bullying and we aim to start the week off on Monday 16th with a bit of fun by joining in Odd Socks Day - this is to celebrate the fact that we are all different and it's great to be unique. Children do not need to bring money for this.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

13/11/20

Good Afternoon,

This message is about admissions and it is for families with children who are due to start primary school next September (2021); that is children born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017. Please have a look at the leaflet attached to this message in Seesaw. It contains all the information families need to apply. The application process begins on Thursday 19 November 2020. Apply for a school place online at www.calderdale.gov.uk/admissions. Parents/carers may view or amend their online application from 19 November 2020 until 15 January 2021. An email will be sent to the parent/carer as acknowledgment of receipt once the application has been submitted. Parents/carers may also request that the offer of a school place is received by email. Offers of school places will be made on National Offer Day, which is Friday 16 April 2021. Parents of children resident outside of Calderdale will need to submit their application to their home local authority.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

11/11/20

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for helping us to take part in the School Streets road safety trial. We are very pleased with how this has gone; there have been lots of positive comments from parents and interesting questions from children. We have agreed to continue this trial, so the road closure barrier will be in place for the foreseeable future. Many thanks to the volunteers for all their hard work keeping our children safe. I have sent you a survey link via email and Seesaw, it is from Calderdale Council. We would like as many people as possible to complete this and share opinions about the project. Thank you in advance.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

4/11/20

Good Afternoon,

We have received a letter from a local parent and teacher raising money to buy and donate books to every Calder Valley Primary School including our school library. The books will have a diverse range of characters of colour, strong female protagonists, boys that are not afraid to be different and voices from the LGBTQI community. They will also include books that speak to children with disability, learning and neurological differences, to help overcome bullying and increase self-acceptance. They have already raised £2100 but have a long way to go to reach their £6000 target to provide sets of books for every Calder Valley School. For book lists, fund-raising events, and which schools they have donated to (when they reach that phase), please follow and share their pages. You can find them at: Facebook: caldervalleybooksforchange Instagram: @caldervalleybooksforchange If you are interested in donating to the fund, please follow this link to their fundraising page. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/caldervalleybooksforchange If you would like to get involved in some other way, please email caldervalleybooksforchange@gmail.com. I have attached a leaflet if you would like further information.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

 

2/11/20

As of tomorrow, we will be supporting The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal by selling various merchandise. Each class has been given a selection of each item for children to buy if they wish to. The suggested donation is on the photo for the various items and all money raised will go to The Royal British Legion to support ex-soldiers and military families who have helped to keep our country safe. Unfortunately, we have NOT been sent any actual poppies to sell as we normally would so this selection of merchandise is limited. To keep with Covid guidelines, each class has been given a selection of these items and will not be sold at playtime or within a different bubble/class. When they are gone, they are gone! I hope we can help make a difference by raising as much as possible for this worthy cause - Mr. Theaker.

16/10/20

Please see the information letter emailed today which explains more about the temporary road closure that might be in place after half term. It shows that this is intended to improve safety for children, reduce traffic, improve well being in the community, and improve air quality. If you would like to volunteer to man the barrier please contact our office on admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or call 01422 883034. Many thanks for your understanding with this.

Best wishes, Mrs. Cope.

14/10/20

Good Afternoon,

I hope you are keeping well. The following message is about Parents' Evening. We would normally have Parents' Evenings at this time of year, to let you know how your child is settling in to their new class. Unfortunately, due to the current Covid-19 situation, we will not be able to do that. Instead, we will be sending out a short report for each child. The reports will include:

- a comment about how well they have settled in

- behaviour and attitude

- their work in literacy and maths

- the targets they should work towards achieving.

Please note that targets are not criticism; all children will be getting some to help them move forward with their learning. Reports will be sent out through Seesaw on Tuesday 20th October. If you need to discuss the report with the class teacher, please make an appointment for a phone call via admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or by ringing 01422 883034.

Thanks for your ongoing support and understanding during these strange and difficult times.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

9/10/20

Skip2BFit takes place for all classes on Tuesday. It will take place outside, so all children should come to school in their outdoor kits. Please make sure they have a coat just in case it is cold. If it rains very heavily and some class sessions are cancelled Dave will come again on Friday. Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

5/10/20

Please note that the consultation on the PSHE and RSE Policy closes on Monday 12th October.

Thank you.

Safer Streets Initiative 

Good Afternoon,

You may have seen the information below in the Halifax Courier during the summer. Due to the success of the Safer Streets Scheme in other areas of Calderdale, we have now been asked to run a similar trial at Burnley Road. Calderdale will provide a temporary road closure barrier to be set up between 8:30 and 9:00am and 2:15 and 3:15pm on Westfield Terrace for the two weeks after October half term. As you know there have often been 'near misses' on Westfield Terrace and Clarendon Street/Acre Villas over the years and we hope a barrier would help to keep all of our children much safer. We are looking for a team of volunteers to man the barrier - it means opening and closing it to let residents though but no-one else. If you would like to take part in this initiative on behalf of all families please contact admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or 01422 883034.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

Further Information previously shared in The Courier:

Streets around Calderdale schools are set to become safer, healthier and more pleasant for everyone. Calderdale Council is working with schools to encourage more active ways for children and young people to get to and from school, such as walking and cycling. From Monday 15 June, roads outside 14 Calderdale schools will be closed to cars and other motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. No vehicles will be allowed on certain streets at these times for up to six weeks, as the Council is using its powers to transform the streets into temporary pedestrian and cycle zones. There will be controlled access for residents’ vehicles, deliveries, emergency and utility vehicles. The new restrictions are part of the national School Streets(external link) community-based approach, aiming to reduce car usage and air pollution, promote walking and cycling and boost road safety, health and wellbeing. This supports the Council’s ongoing work to tackle the climate emergency, improve air quality and become the most active borough in the North by 2024 through the Active Calderdale movement. Introducing traffic restrictions around schools at busy drop-off and pick-up times has been a long-standing plan for the Council, and was successfully trialled at Field Lane Primary School in Rastrick to support Clean Air Day in June 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward the rollout as part of the recovery and rebuilding to ensure a safe future for everyone, including safe education, safe transport and safe spaces. Everyone, including those travelling to and from school, is urged to keep a safe two-metre distance from other people, to protect each other and help reduce the spread of the virus. Cllr Scott Patient, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We are determined to give Calderdale’s children and young people the best possible start in life. A key part of this is to protect them from dangerous air pollution and help families to make healthy and sustainable travel choices. Recently we have enjoyed the many benefits of fewer vehicles on our roads. The School Streets scheme will encourage a healthier lifestyle and create a safer, cleaner and more pleasant environment for everyone. “As the coronavirus will be with us for some time, building a safe future remains paramount. Our School Streets will support social distancing rules, safe spaces, safe transport and a safe education.” Parents, carers and nearby residents and businesses are being contacted directly about the new restrictions. There will be signs in place on site and school staff will be there to provide information, engage with people and ensure compliance with the rules, taking social distancing into account. The effectiveness of School Streets will be monitored and the feedback will inform future rollout decisions.

5/10/20

Good Morning,

We are becoming increasingly concerned that people are beginning to ignore our Covid guidance. Three Calder Valley schools have already had to close bubbles. We are doing our best to avoid this but we can see some people are much closer than they should be when entering and leaving school.

- Please remember to leave 2m between you and the next family when waiting to enter school in the morning/home time.

- Follow the one way system and try not to cross other people, wait and give way if necessary.

- Ring school if you need to speak to the teacher so that individual conversations don't cause congestion near the door.

- Please try not to socialise with families in other classes.

- Remember school does not start till 8:55. The gates are only opening from 8:30 to avoid congestion. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

Mrs. Cope.

1/10/20

Next week is Walk to School Week. This initiative is designed to encourage children to walk to school, to become more healthy and to reduce damage to the environment caused by traffic. 'Living Streets' have provided diaries so children can record their walks. Teachers have wall charts in class and children will be rewarded with stickers. Please do your best to join in.

Thank you and best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

1/10/20

Today is National Poetry Day and each class will be reading/listening to poems. This is one of my favourites. Are there any poems you like?

 

29/9/20

Good Afternoon,

Just a quick message to let you know we have started using Zoom for daily assemblies. We 'Zoom' into each classroom using the teacher's school email address and the classroom computer, this is in place of hall assemblies, to ensure that bubbles do not mix. Our assembly themes are currently based on our core values. Last week we thought about Perseverance and this week the theme is Compassion. We hope that these values run through all the work we do in school. Look out for your child showing compassion at home this week.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

7/9/20

Good afternoon,

I hope you are all well and looking looking forward to returning to school tomorrow. 
Here are some reminders to keep everybody as safe as possible:
- The gates will be open from 8:30 to avoid congestion. 
- All children should be in school for register at 8:50. 
- Children should go straight into their class through their fire door. 
- Please do not socialise on the playground. 
- Remember to stay 2 m away from other families. 
- Please follow the one way systems.
- Children in Nursery, Reception, Year 5 and Year 6 should come in the main gate on Clarenden Street. Exit behind the hall and through the side gate by the kitchen. 
- Children in Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 come in through the small gate in the front playground. Exit through the car park. 
- Year 2 get to class by coming in the small door, opposite the car park, next their old Year 1 classroom. 
- Check my previous announcement from last week (or our website Covid page) for an aerial photo showing where to go.
- Children can bring a coat, a book bag, a small pencil case to keep in their tray if they wish to do so (no sharing please) and a lunch bag.
- School dinners are available as usual. 
- Hair should be tied back to avoid the spread of infection.
- If your child has Covid symptoms - see below, please do not bring them to school. Ring to let us know and arrange a test asap. 
The main symptoms are:
      -a high temperature.
      -a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.
      -a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to 
      normal.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

2/9/20

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are all safe and well and that you have had a good summer.

I'm sure many of you are looking forward to school reopening to pupils of all ages but some of you may still be quite anxious about Covid-19 and the safety measures we have put in place. Whilst we cannot guarantee school will be 100% risk free,  please rest assured that we will do all we can to make things as safe as possible in line with DfE and Calderdale Public Health guidance

Please find the re-opening letter on our Covid page and read it through to make sure you have all the up to knowledge you need for returning to school on Tuesday 8th September. It is an updated version of the letter I sent out in July. Whist most of it remains the same, additions have been inserted in red.  These are based on the latest public guidance. 

Best wishes to you and your families,

Mrs. Cope. 

 

 

17/7/20

Leavers and Awards

Good Afternoon,                                                                                                                     
We hope you are all well. This will be the last school message for a while but we didn’t want to end without 
saying goodbye to all of our leavers. We are very proud of each and everyone one of our Year 6 children, 
we will miss them all and we wish them all the best for the future. If you would like to watch their Y6 
Leavers’ Service follow the link on our website home page. Some of our nursery children are leaving to start 
Reception class in schools closer to home. We wish them lots of luck. 

We would like to say goodbye to our staff leavers, Mrs Leyson and Mr Osborn.  Mrs Leyson has worked at 
Burnley Road for 30 years. She has supported everybody in school, many older siblings and even some 
parents. We are very grateful for all the lovely things she has done for everybody over the years and the 
love and care she has shown. I am sure all the children she’s taught will remember her fondly. Best wishes 
Mrs. Leyson, we will miss you. 

Mr Osborn joined us as a newly qualified teacher in September and has had a rollercoaster of a year. 
Things began very well in the autumn term, but then we flooded in February, he helped us sort everything 
out and begin again at Moderna, he supported his Y4 class on Seesaw throughout lock down and has 
taught a Y6 bubble for the last three weeks. He has managed brilliantly throughout and we are sad to see 
him leave. He and his family are moving to Norfolk and he starts his new job in a Year 6 class in September. 
We wish him every success in future. 

ABC Awards: We usually present trophies at the end of the year but we cannot do that during the current 
circumstances. Instead we are announcing the winners on Seesaw and sending e-certificates. The awards 
are for excellent effort and behaviour. Congratulations and well done to:
Upper Ks2: George Hall			Lower Ks2: Chloe Whitehead
Ks1: Oscar Richardson-Horn		Foundation Stage: Harry Helliwell

Sports Award The Janet Brooks Sports award is given to a child for excellent effort and great teamwork/
sportsmanship. This year the award goes Matilda Thornton. Congratulations and well done Matilda.

Our Schools App Our ourschoolsapp servise finishes at the end of August. After that messages will be 
posted as school announcements on Seesaw and on our website.

Happy Summer Best wishes to you and your families. Have a lovely summer. We hope to see you all back 
safe and sound on 8th September.  
Mrs. Cope

 

16/7/20

Good Evening,

I hope you are all keeping well. 

Please see the Covid - 19 tab for the latest information about full opening from September.  I have also sent this by parent email and posted it in Seesaw. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Burnley Road parents are very kind supportive 
- Home made Victoria sponge cake  
- Beautiful Flowers and other lovely gifts - many thanks 

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

15/7/20

Good Afternoon,

I hope you and your families are keeping well. Today's post is taken from the website: https://teacupsandtales.co.uk

What is a random act of kindness? Random acts of kindness are unplanned decisions to show compassion towards others. They are selfless ways to make someone smile. A random act of kindness can be as big or as small as you like. It can involve paying for someone’s cup of coffee in your local café, volunteering to help at a homeless shelter or helping an elderly person with their shopping. You could even give someone a compliment to brighten up their day or help a colleague with their work.

So why are random acts of kindness important? It improves wellbeing – whether you’re the giver or receiver. Knowing that you’ve made someone’s day better through a kind and unexpected gesture will improve your mood and make you feel good about yourself. As for the individual who was fortunate enough to experience your generous act, it can turn a bad day into a pleasant one, and it’ll be something they’ll undoubtedly tell others and remember for years to come.

There are endless ways to perform a random act of kindness, but it’s not how big the effort is, it’s the thought behind it that’s worth more.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

14/7/20

Reflection

Good Afternoon,

During the last week of the school year we usually ask the children to reflect on their learning from the year. I know it has been very different this time so I thought it would be nice to write about some of the events that have happened since September.

Everything began well. We looked at our aims and encouraged everyone to persevere and focus on becoming the best they could be. Year 5 started swimming sessions and Year 3 began learning the ukulele. Our Phunky Food ambassadors started working with Helena and the school council were elected – their first job was to interview and choose our head boy and girl. Open the Book began their monthly assemblies, we had a lovely harvest festival at St. Michael’s and our Macmillan Coffee Morning was a great success raising £386.

In October we had assemblies about the significant people our houses are named after: Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill and Marie Curie. Year 6 took part in sessions with a local artist creating abstract art on the theme of bridges and this was later displayed at St. Michaels. The parent coffee morning was well attended and lots of fund-raising ideas were shared. Year 6 had fun and learned road safety with Bikeability. Phunky Foods encouraged us all to be fit and healthy during their first assembly.

Lots of children took part in the PTFA Cutest Pet competition in November. Then everybody made us proud with their respectful behaviour at the remembrance services on Armistice Day. We had fun dressing in yellow and raising £243 for Children in Need and Y6 Sports Leaders went to an event where they were trained to lead games activities at playtimes. Years 2 and 4 had pedestrian training with the Calderdale Road Safety Team – I hope they remember what they learned.

The choir were very busy on the run up to Christmas. They sang at the Mytholmroyd Christmas Fair, on the train to Sowerby Bridge, in the Jubilee Rooms and in The Shoulder of Mutton. They also performed in the Big Sing at The Good Shepherd church and at the candle lit service at St. Michael’s.

Other Christmas events included a Year 6 trip to Calder High to watch High School Musical, a successful Christmas Fair, a lovely Christmas dinner where we all gathered in the hall together, ate lunch and sang Christmas songs, parties with visits from Santa and our carol service in church. My favourite events were the Foundation Stage and Ks1 Christmas plays, A Miracle in Town and a Christmas Recipe, the children were wonderful.

In spring we all had a visit from the NSPCC. They taught us how to keep safe and we learned the Childline number 0800 1111. We found out about Chinese New Year and looked at which animal represents our birth year in the Chinese calendar. Year 6 had safety workshops about drugs and sessions with the nurse about growing up and relationships. Year 2 had gas safety workshops and learned about the dangers of carbon monoxide.

There were lots of opportunities for outdoor learning and sports during autumn and spring. Year 4 started swimming, all classes had Forest Activities with Jo, Darren taught P.E. and led after school clubs and we had two days of Skip2BFit with Dave.  Football began and Cross Country took place regardless of the weather. We were absolutely delighted when Ks2 children won the indoor athletics trophy.

Floods devastated the village on 9^th February knocking us off track, but we quickly bounced back and opened at Unit 11 Moderna. Parents were very patient and supportive, and children were incredible in the way they quickly settled into the new routine. Unfortunately, we were only there for three weeks before the national lock down began. Luckily, we found Seesaw and were able to get that in place ready to support children and families with home learning. We have been very impressed with the volume and quality of work returned by children.

Our Unit 11 Key Worker bubble was soon up and running and staff took turns to support those children. The weather was fantastic and there were lots of opportunities to walk and play in the fields nearby. Photos on Seesaw showed lots of children at home taking walks along the river, canal or in the woods during lock down. I hope they can look back on that time with great memories of extra time spent with their families.

Wider opening has gone well, and it has been lovely to see so many happy faces from children returning to Nursery, Reception, Years 1, 2 and 6.

What a year!!

I hope the children will enjoy reading this with you and taking a trip down memory lane. I also hope that they feel they have done their best this year and that we have helped them on their journey to become the best that they can be.

Best wishes for today,

Mrs. Cope.

13/9/20

Masks in Shops

Good Afternoon,

I hope you are all well. 

The government have announced today that we should all be wearing face coverings inside shops to help 
prevent the spread of coronavirus. The prime minister also said the government would decide in the next 
few days if "tools of enforcement" were needed. I've seen quite a few people selling masks on Facebook 
but if you'd like to make your own the BBC has some instructions - see the link below. 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52609777. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- very helpful furniture suppliers 
- online florists and other delivery services 
- the internet for information, communication and entertainment

Enjoy the rest of the evening.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

End of Year Reports

Good Morning,

Our end of year reports will be coming to you today. Due to the current circumstances we will be sending 
them electronically. Teachers are uploading them as individual pdf messages in the Seesaw Family app. We 
will try to send them to your account but if this isn't possible they will be sent to your child's account. We 
have not included a reply slip this year but please message the teacher to let them know it has been 
received and to add your comments should you wish to do so. If you are unable to access Seesaw or if you 
don't receive the report today, please email Mrs. Finnegan tomorrow on 
admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk and she will email you a copy. Thank you for your understanding 
with this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like to discuss the report with the 
class teacher, please give us a call on 01422 883034 and we will do our best to address that. 

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

9/7/20

Good Evening,

I hope you are keeping well. I have spent today at Unit 11. We have a lovely group of mixed aged children there and the work they are producing is great. They spend their mornings working on maths and English, then do art, craft and history in the afternoon. They are currently making paper mache dragons and they look fantastic - I'll share some photographs when they are finished.

Master Chef is on my TV at the moment - it's the episode where contestants go to work in a restaurant kitchen. It has made me think about the pressure involved in a busy kitchen and the teamwork involved in preparing meals for the public. Communication between the different chefs is essential to make sure everything is completed at the right time; things go wrong when people don't communicate clearly. I think that can apply in any work place, any family and in any relationship. If we don't explain things clearly, or take things for granted, misunderstandings can soon occur, mistakes happen and we can become offended or upset. Face to face communication is usually best because we can look at facial expressions, body language and hear the tone of voice. Written messages are useful but people sometimes misread them or take things the wrong way. Although it takes time, you just can't beat a good conversation to keep relationships on the right track.

The three things I'm grateful for today are:

- I completed a satisfying amount of work off my 'to do' list

- I saw someone I haven't seen for a long time and we had a good chat

- Kindl unlimited because I like to read

Take care, Mrs. Cope.

8/7/20

Good Evening,

I hope you are still keeping well.

We are currently planning what will happen when children return to school in September. We know it might be difficult for some of them and we will endeavour to do everything we can to help them adjust to being back in school full time.

In the past, British people were known for their 'stiff upper lips', it was sometimes seen as impolite to laugh out loud or show strong feelings. People were expected to hide emotions and put on a brave face when things were difficult. It is now more normal to share feelings and ask for help if we feel low. We understand it is much healthier to talk about things and share problems instead of keeping things bottled up inside. Social media posts often focus on being positive. Remember it's not natural to feel positive all the time. Life is known to have ups and downs so don't be afraid to tell others when you are sad. You don't have to be positive all the time. Let those feelings out!

The three things I am grateful for today are:

- good listeners 

- hot, buttered toast

- summer fruits like berries and peaches

Best wishes,

Mrs. Cope.

7/7/20

Good Evening,

I hope you are all well. Sorry this message is so late, it has been a very busy day. One of my meetings this afternoon was with other local heads. We shared ideas ready for re-opening for all children in September. I will write to you with our initial plans next week. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- all children will be back in school in September 
- shared ideas and sensible advice 
- the combination of ice cream, nuts and caramel sauce :)

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

6/7/20

Good Morning,
I hope you are well and that you had a good weekend. 

If you could make a wish for your child what would it be? 
I listened to Simon Sinek on Youtube this morning. He was talking about how you measure success as a parent and as a leader. He said you know you have been successful when you have made those in your care competent and confident. You have been successful when you can walk away and they are fine without you. I thought about this occurring in nature. Young birds leave the nest when they are competent and confident at flying. I liked that idea and will try to remember it with regards to my own children and everyone in school. From now on I will try to measure success in terms of others' confidence and competence. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- A good weekend
- Good friends
- Family

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

3/7/20

Good Afternoon,
I have just taken part in my first online 'Teams' meeting (it works in a similar way to Zoom). The title Teams made me think about teams in general and the importance of teamwork. You might remember that teamwork is one of the core values we believe is important at Burnley Road. We chose that because we know we are usually stronger when we can solve problems together. Sometimes just talking ideas through with others can help you to improve plans, iron out possible difficulties and find alternative solutions. We have a great staff team at Burnley Road and everybody contributes in their own way. We all have different strengths and abilities but everybody plays their part. 

Have you ever noticed that geese fly in a V-formation?  As each goose flaps its wings it creates “uplift” that reduces air friction for the birds that follow. By flying in a V, the whole flock achieves a 70% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. When a goose falls out of formation, it feels the friction of flying alone. It then quickly adjusts its mistake and moves back in to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. The geese honk to recognise each other and encourage those up front to keep up their speed. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and allows another goose to take the leadership position. When a goose gets sick or wounded, two geese drop out and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. We can learn quite a few lessons from geese about how to support each other.

When my children were growing up they liked the High School Musical films. One of the songs was "We're All in This Together". Remember that phrase when you are struggling and reach out to those around you. They might be feeling the same way. You might be able to help each other or they might be able to help you.  

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- The staff team at Burnley Road - we share strengths and look out for each other
- The local team of head teachers in the Calder Valley 
- My extended family - I know they are there for me when I need them

I hope you are all keeping well and that you have enough people around you to keep you going when you need support. If you don't, come and see me and I will do my best to help you.

Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

2/7/20

The Power of Nature

Good Morning,
I hope you and your families are keeping well.

I noticed today that gardens are flourishing in the wet weather and big, strong weeds are popping up all 
over the place. It made me think about the power of nature. No matter how much we try to control things, 
nature wins through. For example, wild flowers can grow through cracks in the pavement and plants such as 
dandelions and grasses pop up all over the place; woodland areas become overgrown and wild life flourishes 
when we leave it alone. During Lock Down there were lots of reports of wild animals being seen in daylight 
hours - a fox sat in the middle of the street I live on at 10:30 one morning and my husband saw a badger 
whilst walking the dog. It is good to know that life goes on without our interference. I wonder what would 
happen if we stepped back more often and let nature take control. I appreciate we don't all want to live in 
an overgrown wilderness and many of us like things to be neat, tidy and organised but is it always up to us 
to control everything? Sometimes it's good to step back and see what happens when we let things develop 
at their own pace. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- the wild-life around us
- beautiful plants
- time to reflect

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

1/7/20

Good Afternoon,

I hope you are feeling happy and well. 
I've spent time at both sites today and everything has been fine. If you would like to know what your child has been doing in school but they can't remember, please have a look at their Seesaw account.

This Friday should have been Transition Day. Calder High have planned a variety of things to help Year 6 look forward to September and we have made some plans for things to do with our other year groups. We will be asking children to write information/letters about themselves to their next teacher and younger ones can draw pictures for them. Teachers have agreed to make videos to introduce themselves to their next class and they will be putting information on the class pages on our website. This will begin next week. 

Please don't worry too much about September. The government has said all children will be back full time - we will follow whatever instructions are given before then. I assure you that we will do our very best to make sure all children settle into their next class. We will try to include some time with their previous staff to help them feel comfortable and we will let you know plans for this beforehand. 

Teachers will pass on relevant information about your child so new teachers are up to speed about their needs. 

If your child has special educational needs, we can set up telephone meetings with the new teacher for you to discuss things. Please ring or email Mrs Finnegan if you would like that to happen. 

Remember, children are remarkably resilient, often more so than adults. Most of them take things in their stride.  All children will need time to settle in and catch up and we will will do our best to help them. This might mean revision of things they did before Lock Down and it could mean extra support in small groups with the teacher or teaching assistants. All children are in the same position. The most important thing is their emotional well being. If we can make them feel comfortable they will begin to learn again. Children will have matured during Lock Down and their brain will have developed. They may be even more ready to learn than before.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Mrs. Lund led a brilliant yoga session at Unit 11 this morning
- I had time to plan which classes our support staff will be in from September
- All teachers made time for a socially distanced staff meeting after school - we even had those who work part time involed through Zoom.

Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

30/6/20

Staffing News

Good Afternoon,
I hope you and your families are well.

These are our teacher plans for September. We have reorganised in view of some staff changes. 

Mr. Theaker begins his new job in January. We will be very sad to see him go as he has been an amazing 
deputy head and a fantastic class teacher. We wish him lots of luck at Copley, our loss is definitely their gain. 
We do not want to disrupt a class by Mr. Theaker leaving part way through the year but he will be teaching 
groups in autumn term as part of the 'Recovery Curriculum'. Lots of children will get to spend time with him 
before he leaves.

Other staff news:

Mr. Osborn and his family will be moving to Norfolk in the summer. This has been his first year as a 
qualified teacher and what a year that's been. We have been very pleased with his work, he has done a 
brilliant job in very difficult circumstances and he will be missed. We wish him lots of luck.

As you know Mrs. Leyson will retire in summer after 30 years long service. She has been a fantastic support 
to hundreds of Reception children and I'm sure you will all remember her fondly. We hope she enjoys her 
retirement and a well deserved rest. 

Mrs. Walker will continue to teach Year 6. This will be her third year as one of our Y6 teachers at Burnley 
Road. 

Mrs. Sutcliffe will be returning from her maternity leave in September. She teaches three days a week and 
her co-teacher will be Mrs. Doyle. Mrs. Doyle has been a teacher for many years. She began her career in 
the high school sector teaching PE, with Geography as her second subject. She has been at Burnley Road 
for the past eight years as our Ks2 PE teacher. She also works alongside teachers in Years 5 and 6 assisting 
them with lessons and leading booster groups. She has expertise in mathematics and grammar. 
Mrs. Sutcliffe and Mrs. Doyle will teach Year 5.

Mr. Brown and Mrs. Ellis will teach Year 4. Mr. Brown will be in class for three days a week because he is 
also our special needs manager. Children know Mrs. Ellis as she has done lots of supply cover for us 
throughout school.

Mrs. Challis is reducing her timetable to three days a week from September - her co-teacher will be 
Mrs. Smith (the teacher that covered Year 5 and 6 for Mrs Sutcliffe's maternity leave). Mrs. Smith is very 
experienced and until recently worked as assistant headteacher and special needs co-ordinator at a school 
in Kirklees. They will teach Year 3.

Mrs. Timson and Mrs. Knapper will continue as our Year 2 teachers. 

Miss Shields will be in Year 1.

Mrs. Holmes will teach Reception.

Miss Brennan will teach Nursery.

In addition to the teachers we have lots of support staff. They will be spread through school assisting 
teachers and children with additional needs. 

We will do our best to make sure you get to see photos/videos of your next teacher on Seesaw and our 
website. I will let you know when they become available. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- The DfE will be giving us money for some flood resilience measures in school e.g. flood doors. 
- It has stopped raining
- I am seeing my family this evening

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

29/6/20

Today Was a Good Day

Good Evening,

I hope you are well and that you enjoyed the day. Everything seemed to go as planned at school. Almost 
all of the Year 6 children returned and a large group from Year 1. The only thing we had to alter was Year 3 
PE - it had to move to the hall at Unit 11 due to the bad weather but the children involved still had a good 
time. We hope to offer PE to Year 4 on 6th July and to Year 5 on 13th July (partial afternoons) further 
information will follow.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- happy children
- things going to plan
- central heating

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

26/6/20

Instructions for Y1, 2 and 6 for Next Week Onwards

Good Afternoon,
How are you today? We are all keeping well and looking forward to seeing more of you next week.

This morning, we've been busy making the video to show Year 1, 2 and 6 where to enter and exit next 
week. We were dry for most of it but then it absolutely poured down. 

Instructions for coming into school:
1. Watch the video on homepage showing where each bubble should go.
2. Maintain social distance on Burnley Road using the yellow lines to help you.
3. Year 1, 2 and 6 enter through the small gate on Burnley Road into our front playground. 
4. Keep your distance from others and walk straight into your bubble.
5. Sit where your teacher tells you. 
6. Family members should leave the playground straight away - go through the staff car park. 

Instructions for leaving school at home time:
1. Families may wait on the playground at home time (see times below). 
2. Find a space and maintain social distance.
3. Year 1 and 2 families exit through the staff car park to Burnley Road.  
4. Year 6 Bubbles 3, 4 and 5 go out through the car park.
5. Year 6 Bubbles 1 and 2 go out behind the hall/kitchen. 

- School starts for everybody at 8:55 am but the gate will be open from 8:30 am to spread out arrivals and 
allow for  social distancing. 
- Year 1 and 2 finish at 3:00 pm  Mon to Friday.
- Year 6 finish at 3:10 pm Monday to Thursday and 12:30 pm on Friday.

Thank you for patience and understanding at this time. 
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes to your and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

25/6/20

Bubbles

Good Afternoon,
I hope you are all keeping well. 
It has been a productive day,  classrooms are pretty much ready for bubbles on Monday. Staff will be 
finishing off tomorrow and teachers will be planning learning activities. 

The three things I am grateful for today are: 
- Soap, Water, Hand Gel and the protection they provide
- Mobile phones - I don't know how we managed before
- I am back in my own office at Burnley Road

Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

24/6/20

New Bubble for Year 2 and Removals

Good Morning, 

Due to lack of demand from Y1 we can now offer a Thursday/Friday bubble of 15 places to Y2 at Burnley 
Road with Mrs Timson and Mrs Knapper. Please contact admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk by email to 
book a place. These will be allocated to the first 15 replies and will begin on Thursday 2nd July. They will 
be in the same room as the Monday/Tuesday Y1 bubble but it will be deep cleaned/disinfected on 
Wednesday before the next group come in. Children will not share resources. 

Removals are going very well this morning. Our staff have helped to load and unload two lorries so far. 
We are now on a tea break waiting for the next two lorries to arrive.  All staff will spend the rest of this 
week preparing individual resource packs for children in Year 1, 2 and 6. We will be ready for those bubbles 
on Monday. 

Our Unit 11 classroom is still open for key workers and vulnerable children every day. Please email 
Mrs Finnegan on admin@ etc if you need a place there. 

The three things I am grateful for this morning are:
- Plans are going well.
- Ice lollies and cold drinks  because I have been working non-stop since 7:00 am and it's roasting.
- A fantastic staff team willing to muck in and do whatever we ask of them.

Best wishes to you and your families today.

Take care,

Mrs. Cope.

23/6/20

Happy Tuesday

Good Afternoon,
I hope you and your families are safe and well. 
We have a busy week ahead. Plans are in place for Year 1 and 6 returning to Burnley Road on Monday and 
our second lot of removal vans are booked for tomorrow. There will be bubbles in every room except one at 
Burnley Road so there is a lot to do. Staff are on stand by and it will be all systems go for the rest of the 
week. 

Year 1 and Year 6 will have their own one way system in and out of gates on Burnley Road. They will enter 
through the small gate on the front playground and exit through the staff car park. We will make a short 
video to demonstrate this on Friday.

Please remember to book your place for Y1 and Y6 by 12:30 today. Also remember the children will will 
need packed lunches and school uniform (or as close as possible) ready for Monday.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Burnley Road refurbishment is complete - we are just snagging today
- Children and staff in school today are happy
- Plans are coming together nicely

Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

22/6/20

Open for Business!!!

Good Afternoon,
I hope you are well.
Nursery and Reception seem to have settled back in brilliantly today, everybody looks happy and cheerful. 
The children have particularly enjoyed making potato super heroes and playing out with their friends. 
Mrs Holmes and Miss Brennan will Tweet some pictures later. 

If you would like a place in one of our Year 1 or Year 6 bubbles please let us know by 12:30 tomorrow 
- contact Mrs Finnegan by email on admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk. Thanks. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Being back in Burnley Road
- Smiley faces of children and staff
- Plans are coming together well.

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

19/6/2020

Friday Funday - The Silly Squad

Good Morning,
I hope you are all safe and well. 

I have been informed that the Wider Opening Home School Agreement I emailed parents in Nursery, 
Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 doesn't open properly on some phones/Ipads/tablets. This is possibly because 
it is a word document with a landscape format. I will email it again in a different format so you can read it. 
If you aren't able to sign it on your device, please just email us at admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk or 
message the teacher in Seesaw to let them know you agree to abide by the Home School Agreement. 
Thanks.

It's Friday Funday!! 
Today's theme is The Silly Squad. This is the title of Calderdale libraries summer reading challenge. 
Mr. Theaker is posting a video with details about this on Seesaw and Twitter, as well as a news items on 
ourschoolsapp. You might not approve of some of the things in my favourite silly book, Revolting Rhymes by 
Roald Dahl. I like it because of the twists on traditional tales and it makes me laugh.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- the ability to read
- books you can escape in
- lots of people are reading stories to children on line for free, e.g. Tom Hardy reads bedtime stories on 
CBeebies (iplayer or YouTube), David Walliams reads at 11:00 and a variety of actors and books can be 
found at storyline - see below.
https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/  
https://www.storylineonline.net/

Have a good day and a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

18/6/20

Duchess of Cambridge Online Assembly on Mental Wellbeing Among Children 11:00 am This Morning.

Good Morning,

The Duchess of Cambridge will lead an online assembly on mental wellbeing among children this morning 
for the Oak National Academy. The theme for the assembly is ‘spread a little kindness’ and is based on a 
lesson plan which is available on the Mentally Healthy Schools platform. This platform was developed in 
collaboration with children’s mental health charity Place2Be and encourages children to explore ways in 
which they can show kindness and recognise the benefits of kindness to others.The Mentally Healthy Schools 
platform can be accessed here:
https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/
The assembly will be live on the Oak National Academy website at 11am on Thursday 18 June and can be 
accessed here:
https://classroom.thenational.academy/assemblies/
A recording of the assembly will be available to view on the Oak National Academy website following the 
event.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- increased awareness and understanding of mental health issues
- the internet - it means we can order resources quickly
- nice notebooks

Keep safe and well today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

17/6/20

Wednesday Wishes

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday,

My thoughts today are around wishes, dreams and ambitions. There are many similarities between those 
but I tend to think that wishes and dreams are enormous things that would never really happen, whereas 
ambitions are something I can achieve if I persevere and show determination. On the other hand, why 
shouldn't ambitions be the things we wish for or dream of doing? I tell children that they can be anything 
they want to be, as long as they work hard and keep persevering. These are some famous cases that show 
that:

- The first Harry Potter book - Philosopher's Stone was rejected 12 times before it was accepted by publishers. 
- Sylvester Stallone reportedly rejected offers of $300,000 for Rocky because he wanted to act in it himself 
but went on to make billions from his film career after persuading a production team to take a chance on 
him.
- James Dyson  "I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures."

What do you wish for? What do you dream of being? Encourage children to persevere and keep working 
hard to achieve their ambitions.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- We can offer Year 6 almost full time places for the last three weeks of the year
- I am seeing my older daughter and granddaughter this evening
- Friendly staff and children in Unit 11 today

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

16/6/20

 

Longleat Safari Park and Wider Opening Phase 2

Good Morning,
I hope you and your families are keeping well. Our staff are fine and looking forward to returning to Burnley 
Road in the coming weeks.

Congratulations to Mr Theaker, we are saddened by his news but delighted for him, he really deserves his 
headship at Copley. Mr Theaker will be with us until Christmas and we will do our best to make the most of 
that time. 

Do you like watching wild animals or trips to the safari park? If so, you can take a virtual tour on the 
Longleat Safari Park website. The tour follows the drive-through route through the Safari Park. Visitors will 
begin their virtual journey among the giraffes and zebras of the East African Reserve before heading into 
the notorious Monkey Drive Through. The 30-minute tour also features close encounters with Longleat’s big 
cats, including their famous lions, as well as tigers, cheetahs and wolves. Other featured species include 
rhinos, camels, ostriches, flamingos, vultures, and antelope.
https://www.longleat.co.uk/news/longleat-launches-virtual-safari

The three things I am grateful for today seem almost contradictory:
-	chocolate
-	healthy salads
-	time to exercise

Wider Opening Phase 2 from 29th June.
Please read the Seesaw announcements for Year 1 and Year 6 (coming soon) and book places for those 
bubbles at admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk
Thanks.

Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

15/6/20

Staff Videos

If your child would like to see their teachers on video, we are beginning to add more to Seesaw. We now 
have these for Nursery, Reception, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 6. Other teachers will be adding some this week. 
They can be seen in either activities or notifications. I added one of my own to school announcements this 
morning. Even if you aren't accessing the tasks teachers set on Seesaw, please get your child post photos or 
messages about the activities they are doing at 
home. Thank you.

Good Morning,
I hope you enjoyed the sunshine this weekend.

If you like history the Royal Armouries museum has a new online exhibition: Tudor Power and Glory - The Field of Cloth of Gold. "In June 1520 Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for a diplomatic and sporting event of unprecedented scale and ambition. The Field of Cloth of Gold was one of the greatest and most conspicuous displays of wealth, pageantry and culture that Europe had ever seen.Our online exhibition marks the 500th anniversary of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. "
https://royalarmouries.org/tudor-power-glory/

Remember we are open for key workers and vulnerable children every day at Unit 11. Book your places with Mrs Finnegan on admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk. Please note children can only be in one bubble. If you are a key worker needing more than 2 days a week your children would be in the Unit 11 bubble. They cannot be in a class bubble for 2 days and the key worker bubble on other days to avoid cross contamination.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- 80s music because it brings back good memories of being at school
- The teachers that inspired me to become a teacher
- Online access to museums 
Take care today,
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

12/6/20

Friday Funday - Dream with Disney

Good Morning,

It's Friday already. How are you feeling? If you are feeling low today, have a look at BBC Bitesize Parents' 
Tool Kit: "Wanting tips on supporting your child's wellbeing? Looking for practical advice? Or scouting for 
activity ideas for some lockdown entertainment? We've got you." The website has tips to support the 
wellbeing of parents and children. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znsmxyc

We have been sent a reassuring children's book about returning to school in a bubble. I will email it by 
Parentmail this morning.

During Lock Down we have tried to come up with fun ideas to end each week. The theme today is 
'Dream with Disney'. Sometimes it's good to let yourself be carried away on the magic of a great movie - 
it can make you laugh, make you cry and even inspire you to dream. Walt Disney said: "All our dreams can 
come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Why not spend some time today re-watching one of 
your Disney favourites, dressing up as Disney characters, drawing pictures or acting out your own versions 
of your favourite film? Does this ring a bell? "We have our heading. Here we go!".

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- feel good films 
- my favourite Disney animations - The Lion King and Cinderella
- great memories of trips to the cinema

Take care today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

11/6/20

Plans for wider opening for children in N, Rec, Y1 and Y6

Good Afternoon,
I hope you are still keeping safe and well.

Plans for Wider Opening Phase 1
As I mentioned yesterday, we were given access to some rooms at Burnley Road on Monday and have started to move furniture back in. So far we can use our Foundation Stage Unit and the hall.
I had a visit from our Health and Safety advisor yesterday. They said we can have a bubble of up to 15 children in both of those rooms whilst allowing for 2m social distancing measures. This means we can offer part time places for Nursery and Reception from Monday 22nd June. Mrs. Holmes will lead a Reception bubble and Miss Brennan will lead a Nursery bubble on Mondays and Tuesdays. Other staff will lead bubbles on Thursdays and Fridays - those staff will have familiar faces but may not have worked with the children before. Health and Safety advice is that staff should not be in more than one bubble. Children are only allowed in one bubble i.e. Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday to avoid cross contamination between bubbles.

Please let us know if you would like a place for Nursery/Reception on Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday. Places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis with a strict limit of 15. You must put your request in writing to Mrs Finnegan by email asap. The address is admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk. 

Mrs. Holmes, Miss Brennan, Mrs Geoghegan and Mrs Greenwood are currently getting the rooms ready, putting up wall displays and sorting out individual resource packs for children to use. Reception class will be in the Foundation Stage and Nursery will be in the hall. 

Children will need to bring a packed lunch to limit touching and the number of contacts children make. Free school meal vouchers will still be provided. 

Safety Measures:
- Children will be asked to wash hands when they arrive at school, then regularly throughout the day.
- Antibacterial Hand Gel will be used between washing.
- Children will sit at separate desks 2m apart or on the floor on their own personal square of vinyl. 
- Children will be allowed to play outside and equipment with be cleaned regularly throughout the day.
- The DfE guidance for Early Years makes it clear that children of that age cannot always maintain a 2m social distance. We will attempt to do so to keep everybody safe. However, we cannot guarantee that children and staff will not be in closer contact.
- DfE guidance also says Early Years bubbles can share resources as long as they are cleaned regularly. 
We will make sure children have their own packs of stationery, some small toys and books on their table. However we cannot guarantee small children won't move across and touch items on another child's table.
- Any shared resources e.g Lego will be cleaned regularly.
- Books will be quarantined for 72 hours before another child uses them.
- The shared water tray will also contain washing up liquid. It will be changed regularly.
- We will always try to keep two staff members in a bubble and they will only change if a person is absent.
- Bubbles will also be allocated two lunch supervisors and they will be the same each day unless a person is absent.
-Toilets will be cleaned every half an hour.                                                                                  - Nursery and Reception will be closed on Wednesday for a deep clean between bubbles.
- If a child is in distress or has an accident adults will show care and provide concern. Adults will have access to masks, goggles, gloves and aprons for first aid.
- Children should not come to school if they have a high temperature, a cough, shortness of breath or if they have been sick.
- If a child develops Covid 19 symptoms they will be isolated in another area with a staff member wearing a mask, goggles, gloves and an apron; parents will be called to take their child home straight away.
- If a child or adult develops symptoms they must quarantine for 7 days. However, their whole bubble must stay away from school and quarantine for 14 days.  

Safety Coming into School Grounds:
- Please keep 2m between yourselves and another family - there will be markings on the floor directing you.
- Please enter through our usual gate at Acre Villas/Westfield Terrace and follow the marked one way system to your 'bus stop style' drop off sign. 
- A teacher will meet your child at this point in the playground and take them into class. Nursery will enter through the back door of the hall. 
- Reception will enter through their fire door in the middle of the back playground. 
- If you need to talk to the teacher please ring school - there won't be time to speak on the playground as other parents and children will be waiting.
- Please follow the one way system to the exit behind our kitchen and through the side gate
- The same system will happen at home time.
- Please don't congregate or stay and chat on the school grounds as this could lead to congestion.
I know this sounds regimented but we are responsible for trying to do our best to keep everybody safe. Thank you for your understanding. 

Wider Opening Phase 2
If the builders have finished at Burnley Road,  we hope to offer at least part time places to Y1 and Y6 from Monday 29th June - more information to follow.

We are still open for key worker and vulnerable children at Unit 11. Please email Mrs Finnegan if you would like a place.

The three things I am grateful for today are:

- making good progress at Burnley Road

- support from the DfE

- friend, family and great colleagues

Take care,
Mrs Cope

 

10/6/20

The Piece Hall

Good Morning,
I hope you are all safe and well. 

The three things I am grateful for today are: 
- we have been given access to a couple of rooms at Burnley Road and moved some furniture in. We hope 
to have access to some more by 26th June.
- Flexible, helpful staff
- Helpful governors

I received an email regarding online learning opportunities with the Piece Hall. One of our families has made 
a great video that's definitely worth a watch at:
https://piecehalllearning.wordpress.com/francis-leyland-2/

Best wishes for today,
Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

9/6/20

Eureka at Home

Good Morning,
How are you today?
I had a quick look to see what Eureka Children's  Museum are doing during Lock Down. Check out their 
website. They have a range of online activities on offer, including science investigations, stories and songs. 
"You can’t visit Eureka! right now, so we’re bringing Eureka! to YOU, safe in the comfort of your own home".   
https://www.eureka.org.uk/eureka-at-home/

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- good progress at Burnley Road
- helpful staff and governors
- support from McLarens loss adjusters after both floods

Take care and keep well today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

8/6/20

Puffin Festival of Big Dreams

Good Morning,
I hope you are keeping well.

This week is the 80th anniversary of Puffin Books. You can join in a seven-day online festival from 
8 - 14 June. They have planned a range of activities for families to celebrate the power of imagination and 
Puffin's 80th birthday – watch on Puffin Facebook and YouTube channels. Join authors, illustrators and real 
Puffins for a week of events, travel through Puffin’s 80 year history and get oodles of ideas to keep children 
dreaming after screen-time. Illustrator in Residence Nick Sharratt will be drawing your dreams all week. 
Send in your children's most wild and extraordinary dreams using the hashtag #PuffinDreamer, in the video 
comments or via email PuffinDreamer@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk until Friday 12 June. Watch with your 
children, twice a day at 10.30am and 3.30pm for a 20-minute video which will include a creative activity 
that you can try at home. 
The festival will culminate in a live weekend extravaganza at 11am on 13 and 14 
June. 
https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/dream-big.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOE1HscTTi0    
https://www.facebook.com/events/532690327621146/

The three things I'm grateful for today are:
- So many great children's books 
- I saw my granddaughter yesterday 
- Improving my ICT skills during Lock Down

I hope you have a good day today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

5/6/20

NSPCC Virtual Assembly 9:30 am + Friday Funday

Good Morning,
It's a well known fact that laughter can make you feel better. Our Friday Funday theme today is
 'Make Me Laugh'. 
Your challenge is to send your teacher a funny photo, a good joke or a short story that will make them
laugh. Post today on Seesaw. If you would like to share yours on Twitter, send them to us @BurnleyRoad.
I'm sure you can do better than this:
Why did the teacher put on sun glasses? Because the children were so bright.

Safeguarding is not a laughing matter but why not begin the day with Ant, Dec and David Walliams at 
9:30 am as they host the NSPCC Virtual Assembly on the NSPCC Facebook page: facebook.com/nspcc

The three things I am grateful for today are: 
- People that make you laugh. One of my favourites is Peter Kay.
- Lighthearted sitcoms on TV 
- Funny things children do and say

I hope you are all safe and well and that you have fun today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

4/6/20

'Here I am' Art Project

Good morning,
I hope you and your families are all safe and well.  
The three things I am grateful for today are:
-	My family are keeping well
-	I have enough food to eat
-	Music – great songs can really cheer you up
I received the information below yesterday, it seems a nice activity to get involved in.
Take care today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

Press release: # Here I Am 

We are celebrating the people living in Calderdale. Will you join us?   

Artworks is inviting thousands of people living in Calderdale to make a creative expression of their lives to 
celebrate Calderdale being a Valley of Sanctuary and Refugee Week. 

People of Calderdale, here we are. Wherever you’re from, whatever communities you’re part of, we are all 
united in being in the same place at this unique moment in time. 

Who are you? What do you imagine? For yourself, this place, and the future?  
 
Any form or creative expression is welcome, from drawing to writing, song to dance.  Artworks are looking 
forward to receiving a wide variety of responses that will provide a heartwarming insight into the lives of 
people living in Calderdale and what it means to be here in this place at this time. Suggestions, inspiration 
and more information can be found on their website 
https://www.theartworks.org.uk/here-i-am 

Submissions received will be brought together and turned into a series of beautiful creative responses 
shared online by partners during Refugee Week 15-20 June. These include; 
-An audio visual collage by Artworks 
-A live theatre performance from Stand and Be Counted Theatre Company 
-A live artwork at The Piece Hall  
 
People living in Calderale can take part by making something about them and sending it to Artworks before 
the 7th June by text or email to join thousands of other contributions from across our valley.  
Whatsapp / text: 07914863892 or email: info@theartworks.org.uk with your name, age & postcode. 
 
This project is made possible by The Community Foundation for Calderdale and Calderdale Metropolitan 
Borough Council Support and Integration Fund as well as emergency funding from Arts Council England. 
It is delivered in partnership with St Augustine's Center and the Valley of Sanctuary with the theatre 
performance and audio visual collage commissioned by Northern Broadsides. 
For more information, or to discuss the project please contact lauren@theartworks.org.uk

 

3/6/20

Horrible Histories

Good morning,

I hope you are all still keeping safe and well. The weather seems to have changed today and it looks like 
we may be in for a prolonged damp spell. This might make life a bit more difficult during Lock Down e.g. if 
the children become frustrated indoors but we know from Forest Activities and play times that most children 
don't mind a bit of rain. If you can't get outside today how about getting involved in educational 
games/TV from the BBC e.g. Horrible Histories and Deadly Dinosaurs? You can watch on BBC iplayer or 
Youtube and games and activities can be found following the links below.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/deadly-dinosaurs
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/nature-on-cbbc

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- good health
- the rain as it's good for plants and local wildlife
- freedom of speech

Take care today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

2/6/20

The Ickabog

Good Morning,
As a fan of the Harry Potter books I was very interested to see that J.K. Rowling has released a new 
children's story called The Ickabog. It is being released one chapter at a time and can be read for free at 
https://www.theickabog.com/home/ 
You can also enter a drawing competition to illustrate the book version being published later this year at
https://theickabogcompetition.com/
This is what J.K. Rowling has said about it:

"The Ickabog will be published for free in instalments, over the next seven weeks, a chapter (or two, or 
three), at a time. It isn’t Harry Potter and it doesn’t include magic. This is an entirely different story.

The most exciting part, for me, at least, is that I’d like you to illustrate The Ickabog for me. Every day, I’ll 
be making suggestions for what you might like to draw. You can enter the official competition being run by 
my publishers, for the chance to have your artwork included in a printed version of the book due out later 
this year. I’ll be giving suggestions as to what to draw as we go along, but you should let your imagination 
run wild.

I won’t be judging the competition. Each publisher will decide what works best for their editions. However, 
if you, your parent or your guardian would like to share your artwork on Twitter using the hashtag 
#TheIckabog, I’ll be able to see it and maybe share and comment on it!

When the book is published in November, I’m going to donate all my royalties to help people who have 
been affected by the coronavirus. We’ll give full details later in the year.

I think that’s everything you need to know. I hope you enjoy reading it and I can’t wait to see your pictures!"

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- a bit of peace and quiet
- green fields and hills around Calderdale
- supportive family members

I hope that you and your families are all keeping safe and well.
Take care,
Mrs. Cope.

 

1/6/20

 

Happy Monday

Good afternoon,
I hope you are all keeping well.I'm sure by now you will have seen the email I sent by parentmail on Friday 
evening. If not, this is the content:

Calderdale Council sent a letter explaining that they still do not believe it is safe for schools to open any 
wider than for key worker children/vulnerable children because the 5 key points have not yet been fully met. 
Calderdale will review the situation again next week. I am sorry to disappoint you but we believe it is 
sensible to follow their advice, therefore we will not be open until they say it is safe to do so and we have 
all our risk assessment measures in place.

Further news: I had a visit from the Calderdale Health and Safety advisor at Unit 11 last Friday. He shared 
my concerns about the virus and our temporary building and advised that we should only open to a limited 
number of key worker and vulnerable children whilst there. However, the refurbishment is going well at 
Burnley Road and we might be able to open some rooms there in the next few weeks. The Calderdale 
Health and Safety advisor will help me to risk assess the building before that happens. We will keep you 
informed about this when we know more. Please be aware that when we reopen, it will be in line with 
government guidance - Nursery first, then Reception, followed by Year 1 and then Year 6. This is because it 
seems that younger children are less likely to suffer with Covid-19.

Please note we are still open for eligible children. Contact admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk if you need 
us to provide care for them. Teachers will be posting activities for other children, as usual from today on 
Seesaw.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- I will be able to see my eldest daughter and granddaughter again soon
- The sun is shining
- The refurbishment at Burnley Road is going very well.

Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

22/1/20

Friday Funday - Exercise and Energise

Good Morning,
It's Friday Funday. 
This week we were a bit disappointed that we missed out on our Skip2Bfit session so we thought about all 
the different ways we can exercise and energise. Have you been keeping fit and healthy during Lockdown? 
I hope you enjoyed our staff  Exercise and Energise video (see the homepage).

Remember it is the half tern break next week. We won't be posting on Seesaw but there are still lots of 
activity suggestions on the Headteacher Messages tab on our website. You can also log on to Maths Shed 
or Spelling Shed, and access the national Oak Academy resources if you want to keep on learning.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- photographs that make you smile
- the time and opportunity to exercise
- a job that gives me plenty of mental exercise

Best wishes to you and your families, keep safe and well.
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

21/5/20

Happy Days - Remember NHS at 8:00pm

Good Afternoon,
I hope you are still all keeping well and that you and your children are happy today. 

Does your child enjoying singing? If so you may be interested in this information from Young Voices:
On 2nd June 2020 at 2.30pm, families and students from all over the world will pay tribute to their teachers 
and music educators by joining together for a spectacular global singing event from the safety of their own 
homes. Young Voices, the current Guinness World Record holders for the world’s largest simultaneous sing, 
will invite all children, teachers, and families across the globe to join together and sing one of our favourite 
songs -  “The Power in Me”. Participants can register their involvement at: 
https://www.youngvoices.co.uk › powerinme
to access learning resources for the song and to log their location to create an online map showing where 
all the singers will be performing on the day of the event. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- a lovely morning at Unit 11. A few parents called in to pick things up and it was great to see them and 
have a chat (at a distance of course).
- I had a meeting our Burnley Road building yesterday. The refurbishment is going well. 
- The children in school today are very cheerful

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

20/5/20

Mental Health Awareness Week and Other Ideas

Good Morning,
I hope you are well and enjoying the sun again today. I am beginning to write my comments ready for the 
children's reports and trying to catch up with what has been happening on Seesaw. I still only have access 
to Year 1, 2, 3 and 6 but it's lovely to see children's work, photos and videos. The amount those children 
have posted is very impressive. 

Year 6 parents/carers - please note I have sent you a message in parent-mail today. 

We have four children in school with us today, they have worked on a mixture of activities this morning and 
are currently tucking into their packed lunches - I can hear them playing "Would you rather...?" e.g. Would 
you rather have three legs or three arms? They have to explain why. Staff are planning to take them out for 
a walk later.

If your child likes topics such as dinosaurs and fossils I noticed that the Natural History Museum in London 
is offering virtual tours at the moment:  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

This week is Mental Health Awareness week. If you have concerns about your child's mental health and well 
being please let us know - you can email us at admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk and we will give you a 
call. In the meantime the following websites might be useful:
http://www.openmindscalderdale.org.uk/
https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/
There are lots of other useful links under the Emotional Health and Well Being tab on our own website:
https://burnleyroadacademy.org/calderdale/primary/burnleyroad/site/pages/emotionalhealthandwellbeing

The things I am grateful for today are:
- the funny things children say
- unlimited access to water
- my family, including happy memories of those no longer with us

Best wishes for you and your families today,
Mrs. Cope.

 

19/5/20

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are still open for key worker children and those with an EHC plan or social worker involvement. Email admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk if you need that service for child care. 

Other children will continue to be catered for through Seesaw, Spelling Shed, Maths Shed, suggestions on this website/ourschoolsapp and the online national Oak Academy resources.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Supportive parents and their good wishes
- The support our governors and senior leaders have provided in the last week or so as we have carried out the risk assessments and made plans A, B and C. 
- The NHS and the Scientists working towards Covid-19 solutions.

Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

18/5/20

Risk Assessments and Plans

Good afternoon,
I'm sorry this message is late again but it has been another busy day. This morning was spent with our 
chair of governors and the senior leadership team working through the DfE guidance, risk assessments and 
discussing possible plans. Whilst we have listed strategies to lower the risks we still cannot guarantee 
school will be 100% risk free with regards to the transmission of Covid-19. I will be writing to you later this 
week when we have formalised that work so you can see the measures we are putting in place. I know 
many of you are waiting for that so you can make an informed decision. 

This afternoon I had another Zoom meeting with a local authority representative and local head teachers. 
It is reassuring to note that we all share the same sorts of concerns and are making similar plans. I have 
also written to local authority leaders and the health and safety advisor regarding the particular limitations 
of our temporary school building - I am hoping for definitive advice about how many children we can have 
in school (during this pandemic) with the limited access to toilets and sinks. 

Three things I am grateful for today are:
- Cups of tea
- Supportive head teacher colleagues from the Calder Valley
- Another member of my family did the supermarket shopping today so I don't have to
I really hope that you can all find things to be grateful for today. 

Best wishes to you and your loved ones. 
Keep safe,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

15/5/20

Friday - A Busy Day

Good afternoon,

Sorry this message is so late. I hope you all saw the Parent-mail email I sent this morning. I spent the rest 
of today in 'Zoom' with the Local Authority, communicating with other head teachers to share ideas; 
communicating with the DfE about our exceptional circumstances at the unit and with our Academy 
governors to share all of this. The day finished with a planning phone-call with Mr. Theaker and I'm 
pleased to say we have managed to sketch out some options. We will continue to work on those next week. 

Many thanks to parents and carers from N, Rec, Y1 and Y6 that have let us know their intentions about the 
wider school opening. Please do not worry - we are not offended when you share your concerns about this 
situation.

Thank you to everybody that took part in the Virtual Year 1 Bun Day today. If you would like to send your 
child's photo to us for Twitter, please do so @BurnleyRoad.

I hope you are still keeping safe and well and you manage to have a good weekend.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Refurbishment work is going well at Burnley Road. 
- I am pleased with the work I've done today.
- I am having pizza for tea.

Very best wishes,
Mrs Cope.

 

 

14/5/20

Find Your Balance

Good Afternoon,

I hope you and your families are keeping safe and well, however, I'm sure many of you are finding life quite 
difficult at the moment. I suppose it's good to know we are all feeling similar things. I'm missing loved ones, 
particularly my older daughter and my granddaughter - she is 9 months old now and I haven't been able to 
hold her since lock down began. Social media is great but it's not the same.  
Having said that I know I am lucky in many ways and I'm grateful for what I have:
- my family are managing well
- I enjoy my job
- I saw lots of lovely flowers and plants on my journey to work
I think it's important to think about the good things in our lives and try not to dwell on the problems - we 
all need to try and find a comfortable balance to keep ourselves well. 

If your children enjoy history have a look at the following website for more ideas and resources:
https://royalarmouries.org/learning/?where=HomeLearningHub

Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

13/5/20

Local Authority letter re: widening the opening of schools from 1st June

Good Afternoon,
I have recently emailed you a letter from Calderdale Local Authority. It explains the DfE guidance about the 
wider opening of schools, it includes a list of questions parents might be asking and a link to the DfE 
document that answers those questions. I hope this helps to clarify some of the items you may have seen in 
the news during the last day or two.

We have started to receive emails from concerned parents not wanting to send their children back to school.
Whilst we cannot guarantee everyone will be safe, I assure we will do our very best. We are working with 
the local authority to make plans and put risk assessments in place ready for 1st June. DfE guidance says 
we should strongly encourage eligible children to return to school, however it also states that families will 
not be fined if children are kept at home. 

Please could parents of children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 email 
admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk to inform us if you intend to send your child to school - this is so 
we can work out staffing, group sizes, timetables and which rooms to use. 
Thank you.

The three things I'm grateful for today are:
- good friends
- chocolate
- the support of our academy governors

Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

12/5/20

Good Morning,
I have sent all families a letter via Parentmail email outlining the latest guidance from the DfE about wider
 school opening from 1st June. It includes some of the points we need to consider whilst we make plans to 
open as safely as possible. There are also links to the actual guidance documents. 

We have begun the planning process and I will continue to update you with information using this app, our 
website and Parentmail. I ask for your patience whilst that takes place and assure you that we will do our 
best to keep everybody safe. In the meantime we will continue posting work on Seesaw and offering places 
in school for eligible pupils. 

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- the opportunity to exercise outside more often
- your ongoing patience, support and understanding
- all the great work I've seen children posting on Seesaw

Have a good day today. 
Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

11/5/20

Covid-19 Lock Down update

Good morning,

I am sure, like us you watched the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday and that you will have many 
questions and concerns. The Department for Education tweeted this last night: 
‘As confirmed by the Prime Minister this evening, we are asking education and childcare settings to prepare 
to open for more children from 1 June. We will publish further guidance setting out more information for 
early years, schools and colleges tomorrow.’

At the moment, there is no change to the guidance for schools. We will continue to offer care for children 
of critical workers, if they have no other way to look after their children at home safely; for children with an
EHC plan or those involved with a social worker. The best advice is still to stay at home.

We expect to see further guidance later this afternoon and we will let you know what that entails tomorrow 
morning. We have received some information from Calderdale assuring us that the Local Authority will be 
working hard with schools to determine the right approach and support over the coming days. We will need 
clear guidance to plan how it is possible to social distance in school and keep children, families and staff 
safe, how we might start to phase groups of children returning and what this might look like. Please be 
assured we will not open further until plans are in place. 

As always, we will keep you informed but for now, please try not to worry. Our plan is to continue to provide 
activities for home learning and to keep in touch with you through our ourschoolsapp, parentmail, the 
website, Seesaw and Twitter and to continue to support each other in these very difficult and uncertain 
times. 

Best wishes to you and your families. 
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Clare Cope

 

8/5/20

VE Day 75th Anniversary - 2 minutes silence at 11:00 am

Good Morning,
I hope you and your families are still safe and well and looking forward to a break from home learning on 
this VE Day bank holiday.

You may already be aware that there is a 2 minutes silence at 11:00 am. I will use this to think about those 
people that lost their lives during the war and hope for an end to conflict across the world. 

We hope you enjoyed our staff video celebrating VE day. If you plan to celebrate it please Tweet us a photo 
@BurnleyRoad or send them to the teachers in Seesaw. Thanks.

The three things I'm grateful for today are:
- my family and friends are safe and well
- people who are willing to put themselves at risk for others
- friendly neighbours

Have a great day today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

7/5/20

Thursday - Remember the NHS at 8 pm

Good Morning,
How are you feeling today? I hope you are safe, well and happy. 
Staff are keeping well and looking forward to the VE Day celebrations tomorrow. Remember if you take a 
photo of your VE Day homework/celebrations and send it to us @BurnleyRoad on Twitter, we will retweet it.

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- the Burnley Road staff as they are always willing to take part in a bit of fun
- the kindness and generosity of others
- NHS staff and other key workers risking themselves for us during Lock Down

Have you tried these for sites for PE yet? 
BBC Supermovers https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers
Boogie Beebies https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvsc

Enjoy the warm weather today. 
Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

6/5/20

Happy Wednesday

Good Morning, 
The sun is shining and the weather forecast is good for the next couple of days. We might be in West 
Yorkshire in Lock Down but with a little imagination we could pretend to be on holiday somewhere beautiful.
I hope you get the chance to go outside at some point - it's a great day for a walk in the woods, some 
nature spotting, a mini beast hunt, gardening or sketching. If you're feeling very brave you could even make 
water pistols from old plastic bottles. 

When things get a bit too frantic, drawing or colouring in can be good for calming children down - check out 
Colouring Heroes on Facebook, they have VE day pictures to colour and templates for making bunting. 
Listening to stories is good for helping children to relax, it is also a 
fantastic way to develop vocabulary and improve literacy skills - see below:
The Harry Potter actors are reading Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone at 
https://www.wizardingworld.com/
Tom Hardy is reading bedtime stories on CBeebies - catch up on iplayer or YouTube
Remember David Walliams reads at 11:00 https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/
A variety of actors and books can be found at https://www.storylineonline.net/

The things I'm grateful for today are:
- family time 
- time to think
- the good weather

Have a great day. 
Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

5/5/20

Good Morning,
I hope you are all feeling well today. 
Some of you may have noticed that I now have access to certain classes on Seesaw - unfortunately the 
platform won't let me see them all yet but I have really enjoyed logging in and viewing the amount of work, 
photos and videos posted by children in Classes 1, 2, 3 and 6. Well done to everybody involved - keep up 
the great work.

Have you got lots of ideas for things to keep you working well today? Continuing the theme of VE day - 
what about making some bunting to decorate your house on Friday? You could use fabric or paper - any 
light weight material will do. Although bunting is often made with triangles, you can use any shapes. You 
could colour them in red, white and blue, or decorate them with pictures or patterns. When you are ready, 
join the shapes together with string, tape or staples, then hang them in a place of your choice. 

If you would like to work on something else today, Oxfam have some great resources for PSHCE - Personal, 
Social, Health and Citizenship Education. They look at topics such as human rights, fair trade and climate 
change.
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- being able to see children's work and messages on Seesaw
- great books e.g. the Harry Potter series and The Tales of Peter Rabbit
- my own children and my granddaughter
Have a good day today, keep safe and well.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

4/5/20

 

VE Day a week of learning and a party

Good afternoon,
I hope you are all keeping safe and well. 
As far as I am aware school staff are all fine (we communicate each day and and have weekly Zoom 
meetings). Staff enjoyed our Friday Funday and are all looking forward to the next one. This week we have 
decided to join in the national celebrations for the 75th anniversary of VE day. Teachers will be setting 
Seesaw activities so children can learn about this during the week. On Friday we will all dress in red, white 
and blue and some of us will be taking part in garden or street parties (but keeping safe social distances!). 
If you would like to Tweet photos of children in red, white and blue we will retweet your celebrations on 
Friday. 
If you still can't access Seesaw or you're looking for more information, the British Legion website has some 
useful resources https://www.britishlegion.org.uk › get-involved › remembrance › ve-day-75
The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Family and friends are currently safe and well
- Lock down has given me time to think about what is really important
- Food is not rationed (as it was in the war)
Best wishes to you and your loved ones today,
Mrs. Cope.

 

1/5/20

Teddy Bears' Picnic Friday 1/5/20

Thank you to everybody for taking part in our Teddy Bears' Picnic today. We have had a fantastic response 
with photographs on Seesaw and Twitter. We hope you had as much fun as we did. Wait and see what we 
have planned for next Friday.
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

Good Morning,
Friday Funday - Welcome to our Teddy Bears' Picnic. You can watch a video of our staff picnic on website 
by clicking the link below or by following the main Academy Website link in this app.
https://burnleyroadacademy.org/calderdale/primary/burnleyroad
You can also see it (but without the music) on the Mytholmroyd Facebbok page if you'd like to share.
Join us by having your own Teddy Bears' Picnic today - you could bake buns, write invites, set up a picnic 
blanket with all your teddy friends, play games and have fun!
Post your photos on Seesaw or our Twitter page.

The things I am grateful for today are: 
- Amazon has made audible books free for all children during Lock Down
- My family 
- Great colleagues
Best wishes to you and your families.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Cope.

 

30/4/20

Good Morning,
It's Thursday again! Are you ready to make some noise for NHS workers at 8:00 this evening? Someone on 
my street played the recorder last week and we had lost of cheering, clapping and pots and pans. It's 
brilliant to see everybody getting involved.

We have planned a fun activity for all the children today. Staff have also agreed to get involved. The task is 
to plan a Teddy Bears' Picnic to take place tomorrow, then tomorrow (FRIDAY) send the teachers 
photographs of children taking part in it. The teachers will share this on Seesaw and we will be posting on 
Twitter. It would be fantastic to see lots of Twitter photos of children having a Teddy Bears' Picnic in reply 
to ours tomorrow.  Follow us on Twitter @BurnleyRoad

The three things I am grateful for this morning are:
- the sun is out again
- my family and friends are well
- old family photos because they bring back good memories

Best wishes to you and your families today,
Mrs. Cope.

 

29/4/20

Gratitude

Good afternoon,
I've just realised that I forgot about the three things I'm grateful for when I posted this morning - I was in 
a rush and it slipped my mind. Are you still remembering to list yours? Here are mine for today:
- Burnley Road staff. Zoom meetings with them during the last two days reminded me how great they all 
  are. They really care about the children and our school and do their best to make it a great place to be. 
  They are missing you and I am missing them.
- Technology. It's been Zoom, What'sapp, emails, Twitter, ourschoolsapp and conference calls all day today. 
  I don't know how I'd manage without it.
- Coffee and or tea. Need I say more?
Keep well.
Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

Good morning,
I hope you are all keeping well. 
I received an email from Phunky Foods today - they have produced resources for home learning that should be very useful to reinforce learning in science and health.
Content will be released weekly, each Monday, at www.phunkyfoods.co.uk/home-learning/ 
The material is open access so no usernames or password are required. There will usually be: 
- a fun, theme-based worksheet looking at aspects of healthy eating
- a PhunkyFoods recipe to make together using simple, healthy ingredients
- Phunky15 creative exercises which can be adapted to create your own classroom and done anywhere around the home
- Mindful Moment activities with guided instructions to help all the family relax
Activities will follow a different PhunkyFoods theme each week - kicking off with Eat Well. The theme-based worksheets and Mindful Moment activities are differentiated according to age. 
I hope you will find those resources useful.
Have a good day today.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

 

28/4/20

Workers' Memorial Day - 1 Minute Silence at 11:00am

Good Morning,
It's Tuesday. What have you got planned for today?
Remember that teachers are posting activities on the Seesaw app regularly and children can access great 
learning activities in Maths Shed and Spelling Shed. Please contact admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk 
if you need login details for any of those.
Here are two more suggested websites for home learning/fun activities: 
https://grammarsaurus.co.uk/portal/
https://www.scouts.org.uk/the-great-indoors/
Today is International Workers' Memorial Day. At 11:00 am there will be one minute of silence to remember 
workers who have died due to Coronavirus. I will be thinking of them today.
The three things I am grateful for this morning are: 
- Critical workers and volunteers that are currently risking their own health to help and care for others and 
those at risk whilst keeping essential shops and services running.
- Staff, children and families at Burnley Road because it is a lovely place to work.
- The internet and technology as it is making difficult times easier for lots of us at the moment.
Keep safe today.
Best wishes to you and your families,
Mrs. Cope.

 

27/4/20

Good afternoon,
I hope you enjoyed the weekend and that you and your families are feeling well. 
As we enter another week of Lock Down I'd like to share some good news. Burnley Road Academy is finally dry, the tendering process has been carried out and the refurbishment work begins this week. Fingers crossed, it should be completed towards the end of July. 

Are you finding it difficult to keep your children supplied with books? If so please use the link below to join the Calderdale on-line library service. It is currently free to all Calderdale residents because the libraries are closed: https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/forms/home-library-service-application
They also have a reference library: https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/leisure-and-culture/libraries/digital-library

This is a link to the government's new online learning resource - Oak National Academy. Activities have been posted by teachers.  https://www.thenational.academy/

The three things I am grateful for today are:
- Refurbishment work is finally starting at school
- People I know are safe and well
- My family and I are still speaking to each other despite being in Lock Down :)

Keep safe and be well.
Best wishes,
Mrs Cope.

24/4/20

 

23/4/20

Good afternoon, 
This is just a quick message to let you know that teachers might give you a call this week to check that you 
and your families are all ok. They will be ringing from an unknown or private number. Please don't worry if 
you don't get a call as they will begin with children that haven't managed to get on Seesaw yet. 
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

What will you do today?

Good morning,
Here are some suggested activities for today:
I spotted a useful maths resource on the internet earlier - it covers a new money topic every two weeks
 - https://natwest.mymoneysense.com/home/
If you want to practise writing, a diary is a great idea - just let your feelings and thoughts flow, it can be
very therapeutic. Maybe you're not a keen writer - try recording a video blog instead.
Have you got any plans for today? Perhaps a bit of Maths Shed and Spelling Shed, followed by a Horrible 
History video on Youtube? Possibly some baking or painting?  A walk along the canal or a bike ride? 
Whatever you choose to do today, I hope you enjoy it. 
Remember it's Thursday - I'll be outside making lots of noise for the NHS at 8.00pm. 
I may also watch a bit of BBC One's Big Night In.
The three things I'm grateful for today are: 
- My family
- Facebook Messenger because I've been using it to keep in touch with my cousins
- My dog Mish, she is great company.
Take care, best wishes,  Mrs. Cope

 

22/4/20

Happy Wednesday

Good Morning,
I hope you and your families are keeping safe and well. 
The three things I'm grateful for today are: 
-My family
-Seeing my first ever shooting star in the meteor shower last night
-The Zoom app  and Whatsapp for communicating with staff
More activity ideas:
Art - leaf rubbing or stencilling with leaves and paint
Design - Make a model garden in a shoe box using grass, flowers, twigs and pebbles or a model room using 
scrap paper and boxes
Science - dilute some ink in water, stand a flower or some celery in it and wait to see what happens or 
investigate the length of your shadow outside at different times of the day to find out when your shadow 
is longest.
Have a lovely day,
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope

21/4/20

Wishing You A Great Day Good afternoon, I hope you are all feeling well today. I received a handy document from the Calderdale Safeguarding team yesterday. It has lots of links to safeguarding resources as well as some for mental health; it also includes a list about protecting yourself from scams. Some of the links are things you can use with children, others are aimed at adults. I have loaded it under the 'Safeguarding and Child Protection' tab on our website. With health and well-being in mind, here is an activity you could encourage children to do each day: List at least three things you are grateful for. Today I am grateful that the sun is shining again, my family are well and I have enough food to eat. Keep safe. Best wishes, Mrs Cope.

20/4/20

Welcome to the summer term - an unusual one for all of us. These are very strange times and I understand how difficult it is for everyone, e.g. trying to keep self-motivated and entertain the children during Lock Down with limited resources. At least the weather has been on our side - I hope you have managed to enjoy it. Are you finding enough to do? Although it's hard to keep children occupied and engaged, I'm sure they will look back on this time with great memories of all the lovely things you did together. If you would like more suggestions login to the Seesaw app or check out our Ideas for Working at home lower down this page. 

Best wishes, keep safe, Mrs Cope.

16/4/20

Lock Down Extended

Dear Parents/Carers,
We hope that you and your families are keeping safe and well and that you have enjoyed some rest over the
Easter holidays.  As you are probably aware, the government announced this afternoon that ‘Lock Down’ will 
continue for at least the next three weeks. We understand that this is disappointing news but accept that it 
is vital if we are to slow the spread of Covid -19, Coronavirus. 
As before, schools can open for vulnerable children (those with EHC plans or social workers) and for children 
of critical workers - if they have no other way to care for their children safely at home. If you would like to 
book a school place for any time during the next three weeks please email 
admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk, using the template in the letter sent to you via parentmail email this 
evening, giving at least 24 hours notice. If you need care on a Monday, you will need to book by 10:00am 
on Friday morning. Please be aware that your child may be the only one in school. If you would like us to let 
you know that beforehand we will do so. 
We will continue to provide work and suggest activities for all other children through the Seesaw app and 
our academy website. If you are struggling to access Seesaw, please email our admin address to let us 
know. We are doing our best to organise the free school meal vouchers, but the booking system is causing 
problems for many schools. These will be emailed to appropriate families as soon as possible. 
Please know that we are thinking of you and missing you. Stay at home and keep safe. Take care.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Cope

3/4/20

Good morning,

We will be closed for the next two weeks for the Easter break. Yesterday wizardingworld.com released their new Harry Potter at Home Hub - see below.

'We are proud to announce our new Harry Potter At Home hub, a free online collection of child-friendly activities, videos, puzzles, illustrations, quizzes, creative ideas, articles and much more, that will help you bring the magic of the wizarding world into your home at this difficult time – as well as keep you all occupied for hours on end!'

Enjoy a break from working at home and keep safe. Best wishes,

Mrs Cope.

2/4/20

Good morning, 
Have a good day today - remember there are lots of resources on our website and on the Seesaw app to 
keep children busy learning. If you are stuck for ideas today - how about using emails, Messenger or 
Whatsapp to send photos of homemade cards or pictures to relatives.
Keep safe and best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

1/4/20
Good afternoon,
I hope you are all still safe, well and looking after each other. I'm pleased to let you know that the staff are 
all keeping well. Are you finding enough activities to keep children busy and learning?  If you are struggling 
for ideas remember to download the Seesaw app - class teachers are setting learning activities on there 
each day. I've also made a list of educational TV programmes below. Most of these are on CBBC or 
CBeebies. They can be accessed through 'iplayer' or on 'Youtube'. A little screen time is ok and these shows 
might give you ideas for things you can try out at home.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.  
Deadly 60
Horrible Science
Horrible Histories
Art Ninja
Operation Ouch
Number Jacks
Happy Tent Tales
Mister Maker
Andy's Wild Adventures
Alpha Blocks
Sesame Street
Get well Soon
Get Squiggling
Num Tums

31/3/20

If you are running out of ideas to keep the children busy learning, there are some history activities to try out below. Stay at home and keep safe. Best wishes, Mrs Cope. - Show children photographs from when you were children - look at clothes and hair styles to see if fashions were different then. Talk about things you enjoyed, explain how life was different then e.g. TV shows and technology. - Phone grandparents and interview them about life when they were younger - ask them about toys and games, clothes, T.V. shows and their favourite foods. - Use the above to write about how life has changed since grandparents were children. - Make a shoe box model of a house in e.g. Roman or Viking times. - Make a model fort/castle/temple/ship/boat/carriage. - Write a letter to a character from history explaining what life is like now compared to then. - Imagine you had a character from history coming to tea, think of a list of questions you'd like to ask them. - Watch an episode of Horrible Histories at https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories - Do some research about your favourite time in history at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/ - Write a play set in the past and act it out. - Dress as a historical character and send a photo to school - admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk asking Mrs Finnegan to pass it on to Mrs Cope.

30/3/20

Good morning, 
We judged the Easter Egg competition this morning. There were about twenty entries (some from each 
Key Stage) and we were delighted with the effort everybody had made - thank you and very well done. 
Congratulations to the winners: Laurel from Foundation Stage, Tulizza from Ks1 and George H from Ks2. 
We will ensure there are sweet prizes for them when school re-opens. I will post photos of the winning 
entries on Twitter and our website. 
Madame Bailey-Wood has provided French activities for Years 3,4,5 and 6 to do at home. 
Teachers will be posting them on Seesaw and I will put them on the class pages under the 'Children' tab 
on our website. 
We hope you and your families are all keeping well. Be safe. 
If you are still struggling to access Seesaw let Mrs Finnegan know on:
admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk, she will see if Mr Theaker can help.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Cope.

 

Message from Time Out - Healthy Minds Calderdale

When it rains, look for the rainbow! We’re inviting you all to make your own rainbows, display them in your 
homes or somewhere and send us a photo. We’ll be featuring our favourites on our website and we’d like 
you to send them to our Facebook page to brighten up everyone’s day. Because the idea of Time Out has 
come from young people and is based around young people’s experience, we’re also going to have a regular 
blog from a young person. Please let us know if you’d like to write one – we want to hear as many 
different voices as possible. We can post it anonymously or with a name credit – it’s up to you. Just write up 
to 500 words about how you’re finding this funny old time. We want to hear about the highs, the lows, the 
things you’re finding helpful (or unhelpful) – basically just tell us how it’s going for you. We’ll be featuring 
our first blog later in the week.If you’d like to write a blog, we’d love to hear from you at
timeoutcalderdale@healthymindscalderdale.co.uk

 

27/3/20

Good morning,
It's fantastic to hear that so many of you have signed up to Seesaw. Mr Theaker will be posting about that 
shortly. Unfortunately we are only allowed two teachers per class - Mr T and the class teacher so I can't 
access any of that at the moment. He is hoping to set me up as a parent in each class then I can see and 
respond to announcements. If you haven't accessed it yet, he plans to contact you by email. In the 
meantime, remember our website has links to resources you can use at home. There are some on the 
homepage and others on class pages under the 'Children' tab. 
I hope you and your families are keeping well. Although I have seen some staff this week, I really miss 
seeing all of you. 
Very best wishes to you and your families. Be safe.
Mrs Cope.

26/3/20

Please keep yourselves safe at home - remember you should only leave the 
house for exercise once a day or to shop for essentials. Let's do everything we can to stop this awful virus 
spreading. Our thoughts are with NHS and other critical workers today. 
Best wishes, Mrs Cope.

25/3/20

Well done to those of you that have logged on to Seesaw. We are delighted with your response. The messages from families and the children's work are fab. If you haven't logged in yet try and do so asap - you are missing out!!! For those unable to access Seesaw, remember to check out our website - I will keep adding activity ideas and useful resource links on the home page or in these messages. Please note that we are thinking of you all and hope you are keeping well. Stay safe.

Best wishes, Mrs Cope.

Ideas for Working at Home

• Mini beast hunt in the garden or during a walk
• Fun idea for older children - become an investigator: -  set the scene  of an accident or crime using toy figures and get the children to guess what has happened based on clues at the scene. 

• Learn computer coding with BT at www.bt.com › codeacake 
• More computer work: https://www.barefootcomputing.org/homelearning
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/dailylessonsDaily lessons for all sorts of subjects and year groups at
• Online learning resources including Saltaire World Heritage Site: at www.unesco.org.uk/news/uk-unesco-network-educational-resources-during-covid-19-outbreak/
• Use email, Messenger or Whatsapp to keep in touch with relatives e.g. write to them, send photographs of your work or make them a card and send a photo. 

History

• Show children photographs from when you were children - look at clothes and hair styles to see if fashions were different then. Talk about things you enjoyed, explain how life was different then e.g. TV shows and technology.
• Phone grandparents and interview them about life when they were younger - ask them about toys and games, clothes, T.V. shows and their favourite foods.
• Use the above to write about how life has changed since grandparents were children.
• Make a shoe box model of a house in e.g. Roman or Viking times.
• Make a model fort/castle/temple/ship/boat/carriage.
• Write a letter to a character from history explaining what life is like now compared to then.
• Imagine you had a character from history coming to tea, think of a list of questions you'd like to ask them.
• Watch an episode of Horrible Histories at https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories
• Do some research about your favourite time in history at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/
• Write a play set in the past and act it out.
• Dress as a historical character and send a photo to school - admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk asking Mrs Finnegan to pass it to Mrs Cope.

 

More Fun things to try at home

• Baking and cooking
• A scavenger hunt for numbers hidden round the house - when you find them you have to make a up a sum. 
• A scavenger hunt for letters - find them and try to make up words. 
• Play shop with real coins or money made from paper. 
• Make a fort out of chairs, cushions and blankets.
• Junk modelling using your recycling items.
• A minbeast hunt in the garden - then use the internet to find out about the ones you found.
• Gardening.
• Create your own drum kit with pots and pans.
• Make telephones with yoghurt pots and string.
• Create an indoor obstacle course.
• Make boats out of plastic tubs and race them in the bath.
• Have a Lego contest.
• Invent and make your own board game.
• Write a play and act it out.
• Write your own book and design the cover.
• Pick a long word and see how many small words you can make using the letters. 
• Learn to tell the time.
• Learn to tie shoe laces.
• Play hide and seek.
• Learn to spell days of the week and months of the year.
• Make art with shaving foam and food colouring.
• Make a mini golf course.
• Recipe for salt dough - one cup of salt, one cup of flour and half a cup of water. Mix together into a dough.
• Make ice cubes out of various liquids and see how long each one takes to freeze.
• Create a treasure hunt with a map and clues.
• Play Battleships.
• Build paper planes and use the internet to find out how to launch them.ild paper
• Check out educational TV shows e.g. on CBBC and CBeebies - access through iplayer or on Youtube

​Useful apps

Lingokids, Duolingo, Dragonbox Numbers, Phonic Fun with Biff, Chip and Kipper, TT Rockstars

Other websites with activities for children working at home:

David Walliams is reading stories every day at 11:00 am. www.worldofdavidwalliams.com 

Lego Challenge Ideas  https://thatbricklife.com/lego-challenge-30-days-of-play-calendar/

Joe Wicks  PE sessions every morning at 9:00 am -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6r99N3kXME

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/03/enjoy-a-one-of-a-kind-learning-experience-from-disney-imagineers/

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/

https://www.youtube.com/lizziedalywildlifetv

Free access to a wide range of galleries and museums https://artsandculture.google.com/partner

Science of plants - free resources from Kew Gardens  kew.org/endeavour

Phonics Play www.phonicsplaycomics.co.uk      Username: march20     Password: home

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/

https://pobble.com/for-parents

https://www.funbrain.com

https://www.starfall.com

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com

https://www.discoverymindblown.com/

https://www.shaunsgameacademy.co.uk/

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/wind-in-the-willows-coronavirus-stream-free_51205.html

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/how-to/g1389/diy-kids-activities/

https://familyeguide.com/boredom-busters-110-fun-at-home-activities-for-families-kids-2/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/movement-apps-games-and-websites

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/meditation-apps-for-kids

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/free-educational-apps-games-and-websites

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/apps-that-act-like-math-and-science-tutors-for-homework-help

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/apps-to-help-kids-stay-focused

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-documentaries

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/sibling-watch-together-tv

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/sibling-watch-together-tv

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/seal

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-lists/family-movies-we-love

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/50-books-all-kids-should-read-before-theyre-12

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-music-apps-and-games-for-kids