Dear Parents/Guardians, 

I hope that you are all well and managing to keep in good spirits, despite the difficult challenges that face us all at this time.  

We are putting up further work today for all classes for this week (20th to 24th April) which you can access here on the school website under the Children’s Work tab. When putting up this work for your daughter, we are very mindful that all family circumstances are different. Some of your daughters may not have access to iPads or laptops or may have limited access due to parents working from home or older siblings requiring these devices for exam preparation. This has been a factor in planning the type of work we have set for your daughter. We also wish to emphasise that any work set by the class teacher is merely set, as a guideline and should be viewed as a menu, from which work can be selected by you. You should not feel under any undue pressure to complete everything that is listed. As parents/guardians, you are best placed to judge the individual circumstances in your home and the needs of your daughter and your family. However, I would ask that you please encourage your daughter to read as much as possible, in English or in her own mother tongue. If your daughter is a reluctant reader, why not try out the many audio books now available or set aside some time to share the pleasure of reading a story to her. Reading to children is not something that should be reserved only for younger age groups. Older children also really enjoy being read to. You could use the reading opportunity to expand into other areas such as summarising, comparing and contrasting plots and characters or predicting outcomes. The possibilities are endless. 

Formal school work is important but there are equally important and valuable learning experiences that can be incorporated into your own new and unique, daily family routines. The school do not wish to place any additional burden on parents during what is already a stressful period for families. Staying well in mind and body is the most important thing for us all and cannot be underestimated. So remember, do what you can and don’t feel pressure to complete all the work. 

Finally, I wish to inform you that we are currently working on setting up a new, more interactive school website and also additional ways of engaging with your daughters. We hope to have these ready shortly and I will keep you informed of this by text. 

Yours sincerely, 

P. Dargan