Castle Batch News!
Water Safety
We have been asked by the RNLI and Avon Fire & Rescue Service to share some key safety advice for you and your children this summer. Each year, the RNLI helps thousands of people who end up getting into difficulty in or near water. RNLI Lifeguards can’t be on every beach, meaning a heightened water safety risk to beach goers. This is particularly important as the easing of the pandemic restrictions come into place this summer. As well as the number of Lifeguards, RNLI staff have not been able to engage with school communities as they normally would in recent months. Here are some great resources to share with your children at home:
The Super Yummy Kitchen
Our school meal providers Chartwells are pleased to introduce: The Super Yummy Kitchen - Food, play and education brought to your home.
Their cook along videos have launched with new feature’s on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s. Please visit their YouTube channel to cook with chef Andrew.
The videos will not only help keep the nation’s children entertained, but provide them with yummy, healthy snacks made using ingredients from their store cupboard.
The super yummy kitchen has been designed to support healthier snacking, positive mental wellbeing and the chance to learn new skills, alongside a health and wellbeing challenge and supporting schools to meet curriculum requirements at home.
Please take a look at their wonderful YouTube channel and enjoy watching their great home cooking videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyu3g1IGSmMJAqGQGOJr7MA/featured
Music: Learn Online and Microsoft Teams Lessons
An exciting new opportunity is being offered by the North Somerset Music Service.
Learn Online
Learn Online is the brand new platform for North Somerset young musicians. Developed by the Music Service for its pupils, members of NSCYM, Lions Brass4Youth and Weston Youth Orchestra it is a new and exciting place to explore and learn.
Divided into zones there are loads of resources (and they will be growing further) to keep users musically stimulated.
Play On is subdivided into activities and resources for each instrumental family, so click on your type of instrument to see what activities you can try and pieces you can learn.
Get Creative has three sections. One to enable you to explore improvising, another to get you composing and a third to help develop listening skills.
Let's Interact contains links to tools that will enable you to enjoy interacting with different fun pieces of software and is also where online lessons over the Microsoft Teams video conferencing platform can be accessed.
Be Inspired contains links to lots of amazing performances so you can 'be inspired' as well as guides on various aspects of music making.
This is just the start of what will become a huge resource for all our pupils to learn from.
To register for free use of the site visit www.nsmusic4you.org.uk
1-2-1 music lessons over Microsoft Teams
They can accept pupils for video conference style 1-2-1 lessons over Microsoft Teams. Initially only a limited number of teachers are able to deliver these streamed lessons, so pupils may not be taught by their usual tutor. Teaching in the first instance will be available on:
- Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon
- Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Baritone, French Horn, Tenor Horn and Tuba
- Keyboard and piano
- Violin, viola
Soon guitar and voice may also be available.
You will pay the Music Service directly for these online lessons and there are detailed T&C’s that yourselves and teachers will need to agree to before lessons can commence.
The Teams platform is secure and the system is approved by North Somerset Council for such use. It is free to download the Microsoft Teams software to a laptop or PC. To use the Android or iOS app versions on tablets and phones a Microsoft 365 account is required. However you can use the system on any device without downloading anything by accepting an invitation to a scheduled lesson and using your browser, so there should be no obstacle to anyone accessing this learning.
If you wish to book lessons on an instrument not listed or voice/guitar, please email music.service@n-somerset.gov.uk and they will endeavour to see if it can be arranged.
Please note they are only able to offer individual lessons at this time, so they realise that families who normally pay for group lessons in schools may not wish to engage with this offer.
Lesson costs
To help families during the period of school closures and lock down they are subsidising these lesson costs further than usual and absorbing the online booking provider's fees so this is not added onto the cost to families. They are only able to do this for a limited time.
2 x 20 minute lessons £22.00
3 x 20 minute lessons £33.00
4 x 20 minute lessons £43.00
5 x 20 minute lessons £52.00
2 x 30 minute lessons £33.00
3 x 30 minute lessons £49.00
4 x 30 minute lessons £64.00
5 x 30 minute lessons £77.00
To book lessons please log into your https://www.nsmusic4you.org.uk/learnonline/ account and select the Let’s Interact tab. If you have not yet registered for a free Learn Online account you will need to do so to access the lessons via the Let’s Interact zone
TPLT Supporting our Community
Students as young as 11 are helping to make hundreds of face masks for NHS GPs and care homes to use to battle Covid19, after a surge in demand. The students aged 11 to 14 across The Priory Learning Trust schools (TPLT) in Somerset have been cutting visors and using school DT equipment to finish them off.
In a massive community partnership and show of support for the NHS, Priory Community School Academy (PCSA) Worle Community School Academy (WCSA) and The King Alfred School Academy (TKASA) have all been helping out. PCSA Principal Angelos Markoutsas and Head of DT David Clay had made 50 last week but local GPs got in touch to ask for a big increase to cope with an expected spike in demand.
GP leaders met with Angelos this week and have been helping in the design of the face masks, which children and staff are now putting into operation. Michelle Michael of the Grand Pier are providing materials and potential manpower as the partnership extends.
Angelos said: “We are delighted that we could involve our students who are in the school at the moment to help in this vital work. They were very excited to be part of something that was helping our community and the NHS in such difficult times.”
Neville Coles Executive Principal of TPLT said: ”This is great compassionate work by David and Angelos and all of our schools and students.
“We are especially keen to help local GPs who have actually helped with the mask design and to assist Weston HospiceCare.
“We are working closely with Michelle Michael and the Grand Pier to source materials and help in any way we can.”
Michelle Michael of the Grand Pier said: “We are delighted to be able to help with supplying raw materials to assist in the making of face guards for our front line workers.”
