Hello my lovelies,

We hope you are all keeping well during these times when many schools have closed and we have to stay at home for long periods of time. Life may feel very different at the moment; you are spending more time at home than in school and you cannot meet your friends or play out- remember that little word that Miss Meese taught us in Assembly, about not being able to do things 'yet!' Well, hold onto that thought, because whilst we cannot meet our friends or play outside...not YET, hopefully we will be able to soon.

We are missing all your lovely, smiley faces; school is extremely quiet without you all in it; hopefully we can all be back together very soon, our wonderful OLSK family; when this nasty virus goes away. 

We hope you are enjoying all the activities on the Home Learning page of the school website; staff are constantly updating it for you; please keep learning...remember my rhyme....The more you learn, the more you know, the more you know, the more you grow! 

Keep following us on Twitter too; let us know what you are up to; send us some pictures of what you are doing. #loveolsk 

We are keeping you all in our prayers. Stay at home! Stay Safe!

God Bless, love from Mrs F xxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to extend the gratitude of the DES to all those working in our Diocesan schools at this difficult time as you offer support to our children and young people, their families and our wider parish communities. Schools are now closed for many of our pupils for the considerable future, but we do wish to thank you for what you have done to assist them in continuing their learning at home and offering the practical and pastoral support that they will need in the days and weeks ahead.

We are particularly grateful for the way in which you have cooperated with the government’s request to find ways of offering educational provision to the children of key workers and vulnerable children beginning this coming week. This provision is obviously going to be important to those who must assist in supporting the sick and the needy at this very difficult time and the maintenance of key services. I know that for many of you, this has meant additional challenges with detailed plans and preparations being made. It has demanded the willingness and support for so many to serve the common good of Catholic education and our wider community at this critical time. This is also a sure and certain sign that as a Catholic community we are always willing to put the gospel in action to care for the needs of our neighbour.

T

he DES will remain operative whilst schools are closed. Adam Hardy and the staff can be contacted by email and phone. They will do their best to assist you at this time. Please remember to inform the DES of any critical incidents that take place over the next few weeks concerning your school.

There will be a dedicated page on the DES website to provide you with updated news from the DfE, the Catholic Education Service and the Bishops Conference of England and Wales on responding to the Covid-19 situation. The page will also contain any key information about DES work with our schools that may be impacted by the Covid-19 situation. Additionally, the Catholic Education Team at the DES are putting together a resource page for use in schools and at home. This will also feature some prayer and spirituality resources to use at this time. Please keep an eye on this page as it continues to develop.

https://www.bdes.org.uk/des-support-for-schools-through-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html

Finally, at this time it is important to pray for all those who have become ill, for those working to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus, those who are assisting the sick and for the safety and well being of our children and families and those who are most vulnerable in our society.

Sincerely yours in Our Lord,

Fr Jonathan Veasey

Lead Trustee for Catholic Education

URGENT - Government update

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement this evening, we would like to confirm the following restrictions that have been put in place to keep us all safe –

LEAVE HOME ONLY FOR –

    •    Shopping for basic necessities

    •    One form of exercise a day

    •    Any medical need/care for vulnerable person

    •    Travelling to and from work, only if absolutely necessary and unable to work from home

At this present time, we will continue to open the doors of Our Lady & St. kenelm to care for the children of the most critical keyworkers previously identified by the Government.

However, we have a duty of care to both the children and staff in our school communities and need to keep them safe. Therefore, we ask you to think carefully about your need to send your child to school. Please only bring your child if absolutely necessary – if you can work from home you must keep your child with you.
 

We understand that it can be difficult to work from home and take care of your children, but please understand we need to ensure that we are all doing what is desperately needed to fight this terrible virus.

We are keeping you all in our prayers.

St. Kenelm – Pray for us.

Kind Regards from, 

Mrs Finnegan, all the staff & the Governing Board