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!
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Emails to Pupils through Purple Mash
Wed 25 Mar 2020Teachers 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.
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Online Maths Party for everybody!
Wed 25 Mar 2020Who'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!
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Support from Salford City Council during coronavirus
Tue 24 Mar 2020Support 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.
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David Walliams Free Audio Stories
Tue 24 Mar 2020One 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
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Free online ebooks with Serial Mash and Oxford Owl
Tue 24 Mar 2020Hopefully 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!
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Home Learning
Mon 23 Mar 2020You 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.
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Free Online Coding Sessions with Code.Org
Mon 23 Mar 2020Knowing 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.
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Free Environmental Resources from The Pod
Mon 23 Mar 2020Here 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.
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Handy Tips for Home Learning
Mon 23 Mar 2020The National Online Safety Group have provided some great help sheets to help Parents and children stay safe when home learning.
10 Top Tips:
Remote Learning for Parents and ChildrenRemote learning can be a great way to continue learning outside the classroom, particularly in difficult circumstances. However the idea of remote learning isn’t always straightforward and there can be a number of factors that need to be considered. That’s why we’ve created these guides to help parents and carers and children in getting the most out of their remote learning experience.
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School Closure
Fri 20 Mar 2020Dear Parents,
You should by now have had notification on the school app and received an email with the following information:
Dear Parent / Carer
Important information regarding student attendance – from Monday 23 March 2020
Firstly, thank you for the very supportive approach that you have taken during these exceptionally challenging times. We all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That is why the government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing. The most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can now stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.
It is important to underline that schools and colleges remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in our society.
Whilst we are formally closed from Monday 23 March onwards, we will continue to support your child, both academically and pastorally and our school remains at the heart of our community. We value their education and we will be emailing work packs and many resources for your child/children to access at home. They will also be taking home today an exercise book and reading book.
Special opening from Monday 23 March for the children of key workers and those entitled to specialist support
Key workers
At midnight, the government published a list of those parent / carers who are entitled to send their child to school. The link below provides specific details.
The list includes the following; Health and Social care, education and childcare, key public services, local and national government, food and other necessary goods, public safety and security, transport, utilities, communication and financial services.
We are grateful to all of these key workers who are looking after us all and keeping our essential services going. In return, our superb staff team are also going to ‘step up to the plate’ and provide provision for your child / children. It is critical to note, however, that this provision should only be taken up if there are no other alternatives (see guidance).
The government has asked parents/carers to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and for schools to remain open only for children who absolutely need to attend:
Should you need to take up this provision, please reply to the email with details of how you meet the critical criteria as soon as possible (no later than 2pm) If you have already contacted us, the guidance has now changed so we will make contact with you shorty.
Specialist Support Provision
Those children with safeguarding and welfare needs, including those children on child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with Education Health and Care plans are also able to attend school. However the same rules apply, if you can keep your child/children cared for at home then please do so.
The Secretary of State has made it clear that this is an entirely different role for schools and school staff. It is primarily about care, not education. Staff are having to distance themselves from their own families because they are following these guidelines in order to provide this service. Please do all you can to protect our school community.
As always we will keep St Mary’s community in our prayers and we pray that we will have us all back together soon.
Kind regards
Mrs Raynor
Headteacher
