I received this card in a parcel this week (another wool delivery to feed my out-of-control crochet habit – don’t tell Mr Parker!) and when I first read it I thought “Yeah, right! No such thing as a happy day at the moment!”  popped it on the table and forgot about it.

And then, Crew happened.

Today we checked-out for half-term with our Lockdown Highlights and Lowlights.

The lowlights were the same for most of us: not being able to see friends/family and a flurry of uneventful lockdown birthdays.  Other lowlights included eating too much cake (never a lowlight, in my eyes!), annoying siblings and, that good old lockdown classic, ending up with a wonky home haircut.

The highlights made us appreciate that, despite the lowlights, we’ve actually had lots of Happy Days during lockdown, too:

• We’re spending more time with immediate family
• We’re spending more time outside
• We’ve switched off gaming consoles and gone out on family walks
• We’ve had more time to do new things, like gardening and baking
• Some of us have taken up running
• We’ve found that we’re eating together as a family more

It’s fair to say that half term hasn’t been met with the usual enthusiasm.  Crew haven’t been buzzing with the thought of having two weeks off: no meeting up with friends in the park or in town, the novelty of having late nights and lazy lie-ins has worn off and we have no holidays or day trips with family to look forward to!  In fact, some of them have admitted that they’re going to miss having school work set because – let’s face it – there’s nothing else to do!*

However, having heard how Crew are enjoying the extra time with family, spending time doing things they wouldn’t normally do, I think there will be more ‘oh, happy day’ moments to look forward to.

So, before we check out for a well deserved break, I just want to say this:

Crew – it’s been a tough 8 weeks, getting used to our new normal.

You’ve all dealt with it in your own way. And that’s OK.  There is no right or wrong way to deal with this situation.

Some of you have adapted really well and have embraced the challenges of home learning.

Some of you have struggled with the changes and have had to withdraw from us for a while.  And that’s OK. Crew have been right here waiting for you. It was lovely to welcome you back today.

What you’re doing – right here, right now – is good enough.

Enjoy the break and stay safe,
Mrs Parker x

*I have suggested to those who are behind on work to use these 2 weeks to catch-up and I’ll be available to help!  I’ll be sending emails out to those this applies to.

It was great to see most of Crew at the Y9 STEAM hangout on Tuesday where Mr Smith and Mr Said set them off with the immersion task, which was to go outdoors, do a bit of bird watching and take pictures of nature.

I’m lucky to live in quite a rural spot and do spend a lot of time outdoors either walking the dogs, running, or just pottering around my back garden.  But, as much as I enjoy being outside, I can’t say that I ever really stop, look or listen to my surroundings; I kinda take it all for granted.  So the immersion task to record how many birds we see has really made me take notice and appreciate what’s in my own back yard.  I’ve spotted sparrows, robins, blue tits, pigeons and goldfinches.  And those birds in the picture above flying over the fields behind my house aren’t actually called “them flipping noisy screechy things” like I thought, they’re actually black headed gulls!

But what I like the most about this immersion activity is that it’s something you can all together at home whilst out on your daily walks or just from your kitchen window (I never knew there were so many different birds visiting my garden!) Crew have access to the birding sheet via the STEAM google classroom, or contact me and I’ll send you one.  I’d love to see pictures of what you find on your walks or of the birds you’re spotting, so please share!

Note of caution: although this sounds like a lovely family bonding session I feel like I should give you a bit of a warning: Mr P and I have daily arguments over what some of the birds we spot are; we can’t agree if we’ve got thrushes or blackbirds nesting in our roof!!

There are also a couple of optional challenges you could all work on together: build a bird house or build a bug box.  Send in pictures if you make anything!

You can find out more about the STEAM expedition – including what the guiding question is – on the ‘Here Comes the Sun’ expedition website.

Praise

I couldn’t keep up with the amount of praise postcards that have been sent out to Crew this week!  Super proud of those who are continuing to work hard and produce high quality work, but special mentions go to Thomas, Tom, Aden, Ali and Noah.

I’ll share some of their beautiful work in a future blog post, but for now I’ll share what could quite possibly be my favourite praise card ever sent (from Miss Wilmot to Ali)

A huge well done to Thomas from me, too for sending in these pictures of him practicing his DofE first aid skills on his brother.  Great work, Thomas (and Lewis!)

Have a lovely weekend, all.  Stay safe.

Mrs Parker