Dear Parents/ Carers,

It's half term and the children, staff and parents have earned a well-deserved break from screen time. I hope that you and your family can enjoy some time together without having to worry about getting work done or joining meetings.

As many of you know, the best and worst thing about technology is that it allows you to be in contact with your work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! When a teacher is in front of a class, it's like being a CBeebies presenter- it takes a lot of energy to hold the attention of 30 children- and you can't do that if you've run out of energy. I don't know when schools will reopen to all children, but when they do, I want the staff to be ready and able to give 100% to your children. For this reason, I have told them not to check their emails this week. If you have sent in a query, it won't be answered until we're back in school on Monday 22nd February. If your child is in Years 2-6, they will not be able to chat with their teachers on Teams as they usually do, for the same reason. I hope this won't cause you too much inconvenience.

If you need to contact school, please email enquiry@st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk as this will be monitored periodically throughout the week. It's important to me that you know that you can still contact us if you are in crisis.

This has been a really difficult half term for many of us, for all sorts of reasons. The situation we find ourselves in is unprecedented. We are living through an event that none of us were expecting or have experienced before. Sometimes it feels like we're playing a part in a futuristic movie where streets are deserted and everyone wears a mask. Some of us have been ill, some have lost loved ones. Many have struggled financially as businesses fight to survive another lockdown, others have suffered with their mental health as they are isolated from friends and family or may be living in a domestically abusive household. All of us, no matter what our circumstances, are living with a sense of uncertainty about what might happen next.

As a Church school, we are here to serve our community- the St John's family- no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. During this time of uncertainty and fear, we are here for you and your children. We can't solve all the problems that Covid-19 has caused, but we can do our best to offer help, support and a listening ear. We can signpost you to organisations that can give you help if we don't have the expertise or knowledge. If you are struggling, email us at enquiry@st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk or, in an emergency over half term, use the Messenger button on our Facebook page.

Take care of yourselves.

I leave you with some of my favourite words from the Bible:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Best wishes,

Mrs Seymour