Latest News

Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment via our X page @st_swinton

All staff post weekly to our X page. Please follow us!

• A Thank you from Year 3!

  Mon 06 Apr 2020 Mrs Brown

  It was wonderful to receive a special video and email from year 3 at the weekend! It said:

   

  Year 3 would like to say a massive THANK YOU to Mr Chadwick, Mrs Raynor and all the teachers and staff at St Mary’s for still working and supporting all of them through these difficult times.
  
  They miss all of you and have created this video to say thanks!
  
  The song is from their last assembly together; it would have been their Easter play today so by doing this they’re also still St Mary’s Mates - celebrating together in heart & spirit!

   

  It has really cheered the staff up, we miss you all too! We hope you are keeping safe! 

   

  Please go to our Video Page under the 'Children' tab to view the video! THANK YOU YEAR 3!

• Friday Celebration Assembly with a difference!

  Fri 03 Apr 2020 Mrs Brown

  Good morning everyone,

   

  We are sending everyone a virtual hug, to our pupils because we are missing you and to parents to say thank you and well done! Thank you for keeping your children safe at home, we were expecting up to 50 pupils and we have 2 or 3 in school!

  Well done because homeschooling your children is new and stressful whether you've got one or an army of little people wanting your attention, whilst trying to continue your own jobs and get your heads around the challenging situation. We're learning too, both professionally and personally.

   

  A HUGE thank you and well done to the key workers! Our staff being there for you in school and our amazing parents working frontline, their work critical for COVID-19, keep up the great work.

   

  As we come to the end of the first 2 weeks of lockdown we thought we'd have our Friday Celebration assembly here!

   

  It has been great to see the pupils continue their learning at home, the teachers have been so impressed with all the tasks completed. Many of you now have mastered the emailing system too and teachers have enjoyed hearing from you.

   

  Each week the teachers will now choose a "Purple Mash Star of the Week" from their class. Someone who completes the tasks set, putting in time and effort.

   

  WELL DONE to this weeks winners:

  N - Scarlet S

  R - Lia K

  Y1 - Ewan T

  Y2 - Dorothy W

  Y3 - Freya D

  Y4 - Ella F

  Y5 - Felicity H

  Y6 - Conor

  BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO BRAVISSIMO!

   

  Also we will announce which class sits at the TOP of the leader board on Spelling Shed and Maths Shed! As you complete work on both of these you earn points for your class.

   

  This weeks Spelling Shed WINNER goes to YEAR 4!

  This weeks Maths Shed WINNER goes to YEAR 4!

  WOW Year 4 huge congratulations!

  Come on everyone let's see if they can be beaten next week!

   

  We will continue to announce winners each Friday right here!

   

  Until then continue to work hard at home, help your parents around the house, show them the excellent behaviour you show us in school. Continue with your daily prayers, pray for all NHS staff working hard at this difficult time.

   

  See your class pages for new activities, this week we would really like you to do the Lent activities set and also start your COVID-19 Time Capsule...this has been added today!

   

  Stay safe everyone!

  

• Holy Week at Home Resources

  Thu 02 Apr 2020

  Please see our class pages for the Holy Week at Home Resources.  There are lots of lovely ideas for you to do with your children.

   

  

• Digital Making at Home

  Thu 02 Apr 2020

  Have you ever wanted to be a computer game designer? Need help coding your games?​

  Digital Making at Home are inviting you on a digital making adventure each week where you create a digital making project you’re proud of. Every week, they have code-along videos led by people from their specialist team. They will walk you through projects from our free projects collection, to give you a place to start and a friendly face to accompany you in creating that game!

  https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/digital-making-at-home-making-games/

  

• FREE access to ActiveLearn Primary

  Wed 01 Apr 2020

  Please use the link below to gain FREE access to ActiveLearn Primary. 

  Here you will find a world of exciting online activities, books and games, matched to your child’s year and ability. 

   

  https://www.pearson.com/uk/forms/homeschool-planner-form.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=GBEDGN0320COVID

   

  

• STEM Learning

  Wed 01 Apr 2020

  STEM

  Visit the STEM Learning website for fun, challenging and hands-on science learning experiences.  Just follow this link for more details. https://www.stem.org.uk/home-learning

  If you don't already, you can follow their Twitter page at @GM_Science_LP.  They have posted and will continue to post lots of activities and STEM challenges for a variety of ages and abilities. 

  

• Freddy Fit Worksheets

  Wed 01 Apr 2020

  Our friend Freddy Fit is creating daily worksheets to keep us busy. The worksheets include exercises, healthy tips, recipes, quiz questions and colouring pages. Head over to Freddy  Fit's website www.freddyfit.co.uk/kids to find out more

   

  

• How to grow a rainbow

  Wed 01 Apr 2020
  

• 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.