Latest News

Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Free School Meals Pupils

  Tue 31 Mar 2020
  From today, schools which are unable to continue providing meals will be able to support children who receive free school meals with a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets. Read more at: https://gov.uk/government/news/voucher-scheme-launches-for-schools-providing-free-school-meals

• Supporting our parents, children and young people with social distancing and self- isolation

  Wed 25 Mar 2020

  We know that this is a very unusual time for young people right now.

  You will be wondering what to do and how to support other people as we practise social distancing and self-isolation from one another. Luckily, technology, if used properly, can be a helpful way to stay mentally healthy and active. Your school will be providing a range of learning for you to do which will help to keep your minds fresh and help you to stick to a routine.

   

  Here are some suggestions to help you to keep you busy, happy and safe over the next few weeks.

  1. Stay connected with friends. Keep your social connections, but try to limit how much time you are on social media.
  2. Spend time on your hobbies, or find a new one! There are lots of ways to explore art, music, drama, lego, you name it, during this time, including support for this with instructional videos on youtube or through apps on your tablet or laptop.
  3. Make sure you are watching content that is appropriate to your age. Your parents can check this on Common Sense Media before you go online.
  4. Play games with family/friends near and far. There are online games like Draw Something, Trivia Crack, Words with Friends,  Forbidden Desert, Uno

   

  A reminder for parents about the importance of staying safe online:

   

  We know that during social isolation children and teenagers will inevitably turn to the digital world for entertainment and escapism as well as for learning and staying in touch. This offers tremendous opportunities for innovation and creativity, but inevitably new levels of risk. It may be also be that spending more time together at home may put some pressure on families. The Children’s Society has written a helpful article for families who are self-isolating at home: Dealing with conflict at home

   

  If your child is following any online learning, either through school or home learning websites, it is important to consider how to keep safe. Any sessions that involve live teaching using a family webcam should consider the following:

  • These should be group sessions only, absolutely no 1:1s
  • Staff and children must wear suitable clothing, as should anyone else in the household.
  • Any computers used for filming or streaming by staff or children should be in appropriate areas, for example, not in bedrooms; and where possible be against a neutral background.
  • The live class should be recorded and backed up elsewhere, so that if any issues were to arise, the video can be reviewed.
  • Live classes should be kept to a reasonable length of time, or the streaming may prevent the family 'getting on' with their day
  • Language must be professional and appropriate, including any family members in the background

   

  The following are useful resources for families to use and consider to support safe online use during this period of time.

   

  • A fantastic resource has been provided by Parent Zone. They are offering 3 months free access! to their resources for digital safety.
  • Internet matters is a parent online support pack https://www.internetmatters.org/schools-esafety/parent-online-support-pack-teachers/
  • Childnet’s online Safety quiz for children https://www.childnet.com/resources/the-adventures-of-kara-winston-and-the-smart-crew/are-you-smart-online-quiz
  • NSPCC have produced this Parents vs Kids activity quiz  https://www.o2.co.uk/help/nspcc/parents-vs-kids
  • Google’s Be internet legends: games for children to play https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_uk/toolkit  

   

   

   

   

  The following message has been shared on behalf of GMP/Community Safety Partnership

   

  We are all working together to support our fellow Mancunians at this time.  We ask children and young people to stay safe by observing the guidance that has been shared on reducing social interaction whilst they are not in school:

  1. Avoid contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19). These symptoms include high temperature and/or new and continuous cough
  2. Avoid non-essential use of public transport,
  3. Avoid large gatherings, and gatherings in smaller public spaces
  4. Avoid gatherings with friends and family. Keep in touch using remote technology such as phone, internet, and social media

  There will be a greater police presence in the city to provide reassurance and to help keep all our citizens safe.

• Emails to Pupils through Purple Mash

  Wed 25 Mar 2020

  Teachers are now sending out regular emails to children through Purple Mash with ideas and links to activities to help with home learning. To access these emails you need to

  -login to your Purple Mash account

  -on the home page click on 'Computing'

  - on the top row you will find the '2email' app, click on this to locate your emails

   

  We have noticed that the website has been extremely busy and at times has crashed due to overwhelming visitor numbers, but it isn't down for very long so keep trying. 

   

   

   

  

• Online Maths Party for everybody!

  Wed 25 Mar 2020

  Who's ready for a daily Maths party? Our friends over at White Rose Maths are hosting a daily Maths party for every class on their website

  https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/ 

  Simply visit their website and select your year group, watch the video and try the questions. Mr Johnson already has his party hat on and is ready for today's questions!

   

  Another fantastic maths website is The Maths Factor

   https://www.themathsfactor.com/ 

  Maths expert Carol Vorderman offers Maths lessons, games and more for 4-11 years olds and it is currently FREE for all to use!

   

  

• Support from Salford City Council during coronavirus

  Tue 24 Mar 2020 Mrs Kinman

   

   

  Support from Salford City Council during coronavirus

  If you need to self-isolate (stay at home) for any length of time, do you have anyone that can help you with day to day tasks? This can be a member of your family, a neighbour or a friend.

  Or do you need help with:

  ·Food shopping

  ·Getting essential medication

  ·Getting fuel (if you are on a pre-paid meter for gas or electric)

  ·Looking after pets

  Or are you a carer that needs help or advice?

  If you answer yes to any of the above and you would like to speak to someone, call our Spirit of Salford Helpline on 0800 952 1000, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm or complete the form below.

   

  https://www.salford.gov.uk/people-communities-and-local-information/coronavirus/spirit-of-salford-helpline/

• David Walliams Free Audio Stories

  Tue 24 Mar 2020

  One of our favourite authors David Walliams will be releasing an audio story every day for the next 30 days for FREE.

  First up is The Terrible Triplets! Get your headphones on and make a little reading den or find a quiet reading area to enjoy!

   

  Click here to listen https://bit.ly/AudioElevenses

  

• Free online ebooks with Serial Mash and Oxford Owl

  Tue 24 Mar 2020

  Hopefully all our pupils have been able to log on to Purple Mash from home and seen the ‘2do’ tasks set by their teachers. We have also added SERIAL MASH to the home page which is a fantastic online library of fiction books with matching quizzes and activities.

   

  You can also visit the Oxford Owl website for online reading books 

  https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/

  An adult will have to set up a FREE login to access the site but this will then give you access to over 100 free books on all book bands. Once you are logged in don't forget to look for the 'ebooks' button at the top of the home page to locate the books.  Why not choose one and read it to your family? Or skype a friend and read the same book at the same time? Or Mrs Murphy suggests you find a poetry book and do some performance poetry! Great way to put a smile on everyone's face.

  Happy reading everyone!

  

• Home Learning

  Mon 23 Mar 2020

  You should now have received an email with your electronic work pack. timetable and useful website list. In addition to this we will keep posting a daily recommendation for a website or app to help you learn at home.

• Free Online Coding Sessions with Code.Org

  Mon 23 Mar 2020 Mr Chadwick

  Knowing that children at St Mary's all love using consoles, tablets and phones, how about trying some Coding which is part of the Computing Curriculum throughout each year at school.

   

  Launching Today: Take a Code Break - https://code.org/break

  Take a Code Break

  With schools closed and tens of millions of students at home, Code.org is launching Code Break — a live weekly webcast where our team will teach your children at home while school is closed, and a weekly challenge to engage students of all abilities, even those without computers.

  Let us teach your children:

  • A weekly webcast, featuring our founder Hadi Partovi and special guests
  • A weekly activity or challenge
  • Options for beginners, experienced students, and even students without computers

  Tired of studying? Take a Code Break!

  Computer science is super fun for kids, because it is creative and playful. Whether it’s solving a puzzle, coding art, or designing an app, computer science helps students learn by exploring rather than memorizing.

  Computer science is foundational to all fields of study, but since many schools don’t offer it yet, this could be a unique chance to support your child in a fun new learning opportunity.

  

• Free Environmental Resources from The Pod

  Mon 23 Mar 2020 Mr Chadwick

  Here at St Mary's we may be at home but the Environment is still a major concern for us. We also need to keep up our awareness of our World and how we can help save it for future generations. The POD has kindly give schools free access to all their resources. Just follow the link below:   http://www.jointhepod.org/students   We have resources you can adapt or share straightaway with students for a home learning activity Interactive games that young people can play without supervision Awe-inspiring films to bring topics – like the energy mix and biodiversity – to life for learners Fun facts, challenges and take home sheets on everything from waste to saving energy Plus: handy information packs to support students with research and comprehension tasks

   

  All the resources in our Student Zone can be downloaded without needing a Pod account. But if parents want to register (it’s free), this also gives them access to our schools’ content – like campaigns, lesson plans and assemblies – as well.