Kindness is free and at the moment, it is exactly what our world needs. This week, I have challenged the class to complete kindness missions with their friends. Sending someone a message or an email can really brighten their day. It has been really heart-warming to see the children interact with each other and send each other a message.

It is really hard to believe that we are at the end of week 3 this term. We always talk about how time flies in Year 6, but now more than ever it really seems to. This has been another successful week of learning in Year 6 and I am incredibly proud of the children both at home and in school. There are different pressures for all of the children and they are required to work in a different way. Both groups of children are asked to be more independent than they usually would, in the current circumstances.

And what a community we have got, what a class family we have. All week, I have such a smile on my face because of the beautiful work that is being produced by all of the children. It doesn’t matter where the children are learning, they are constantly responding to feedback, trying their hardest and producing some outstanding work. I am incredibly proud!

Well…we have made it to the end of what has seemed to be a confusing, fast paced and difficult week. When I came into school on Monday, I did not think that I would not be seeing the class together as soon as the following day. In these difficult times, it is so important that we come together as a community and remember that it is what we do together that will have the most impact.

Hello from Mrs Gregan

We made it and I could not be prouder of my whole school community; wonderful families, devoted staff and hard - working children. We are all so very blessed. This year has been incredibly exhausting, but by far the most rewarding term of my teaching career.

This week has been all about making people smile and to share our joy with others. We have been busy making Christmas cards, baubles and a carol concert for the residents of Stella Matutina. They read out the email that we had sent them this week and it brought tears to many of the residents. If we can just spread a little joy to them this Christmas….what a wonderful gift. With the £1 from the danceathon next week, we hope to send them an incredible gift. I will post the video of the carols on the website next week when we share our whole school Christmas nativity. Hopefully it will bring you some light too.

As Mother Teresa once told us, ‘It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.’ It has been lovely to insert some Christmas cheer into our classroom this week and to think about the needs of others before ourselves. We have constantly prayed for the residents of Stella Matitina during this term and I know how much joy the children’s letters have brought to them.

As we head towards the season of Advent, now more than ever, we are trying to be the light that is shining in our world. Each and every day, I am reminded of the joy that each of your children bring. There is not a day that does not go by where we don’t laugh in class - we are really having such a wonderful time learning and overcoming all of the challenges that we constantly face. I am really looking forward to celebrating this magical time with the class. We know that our Christmas preparations will be different this year - maybe it will give us more time to reflect its true meaning.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. This week is always a poignant week as we stop and remember all of those fallen victims of war and conflict. We started our week on Monday with a worship. The children had all made a poppy for the centre focus and we shared prayers for everyone who has been affected by war and conflict around the world.

Compassion, it is such a big word with such an important meaning. This week in RE we have looked at times when Jesus showed mercy and compassion. He didn’t just show it to people who were one type of member of society, He showed to everyone - from every aspect of society. We have been looking at how we can bring compassion and mercy to our community and to the people in our lives.

I am really excited to get our second half term started tomorrow. I am even more excited that we will be studying Romeo and Juliet as our writing unit of work and Skellig for our reading unit of work!

I find it really hard to believe that next week will be week 8 in school. It seems to have gone in the blink of an eye. I have constantly talked to the children about marginal gains this half term. The notion that getting just 1% better at something each time you do it demonstrates progress. When the 1& gains are added together, the progress is amazing!

We have all been totally captivated by the moving and inspiring story of Anne Frank this week. From learning about the regime that the Jewish people had to live by, to the surrender of the Frank family to go into hiding and then the joy that Anne’s diary has brought to so many people world wide - we have all been totally involved in her story. The events that surround the ordeal that the Franks and other Jewish families were incredibly harrowing and so very hard to believe. We have also discussed how this segregation still affects people, communities and cultures today - we pray continuously that they find a place of safety and that they are loved for who they are.

With so much going on at the moment, it can be hard to stop and reflect and think about everything that we have achieved. Sometimes we only think about the things that we have yet to master or our gigantic to do list. This week I made myself do just that - stop and reflect.

Today, we have had our first class council meeting in class. I have to say, this group of children are the most organised group of councilors that I have had - they are just great. I am really looking forward to seeing just what decisions they lead us on this year. The collective human instrument of our class is the most perfect instrument of all.