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• Hope School, Amman, Jordan

  Sat 27 Apr 2019 Stephen West

  Last year, our Global Ambassadors organised a fund raising event and sent the proceeds to Hope School in Jordan.

  Jordan is a country in the Middle East that has welcomed millions of refugees from its neighbouring countries over the past few decades. The recent war in Syria has led to 600,000 people having to leave and move to Jordan.

   

  Hope School supports about 75 children who have had to flee to Jordan.

   

  I was lucky enough to visit Hope School as I was visiting Amman in the Easter holidays. I met some of the children and was able to tell them about Newlands School and how our pupils had been finding out about their school.

   

  I was very impressed with the work that Hope School is doing and how smiling and welcoming the staff and pupils were.

   

  We will continue to have links with Hope School this year and our  Global Ambassadors will be looking at ways that this could be developed.

   

  Stephen West

  

• Thank you

  Tue 23 Apr 2019

  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  Many thanks for your support and kind words around the sad loss of Mrs Orton. It is lovely to see how much she meant to all of the staff, children and families and to be able to pass on to her family what a tremendous difference she made to the lives of our children at Newlands. We have put a Book of Condolence in the office area and invite you all to pop in when convenient and leave a message or memory if you so wish.

   

  Staff have been speaking with the children about Mrs Orton today. They have had the chance to talk, share memories and complete activities if they wished. Continued support will be offered to children as and when required so please let us know if you feel your child needs any additional support at this difficult time.

   

  We will be coming together as a whole school on Friday 26th April in a special assembly to share our memories and to celebrate Mrs Orton’s life by singing some of her favourite songs. We would like to extend this invitation to any parents who may wish to join us. The special assembly will take place in the hall starting at 2.30pm. Please note the hall will be very full so it may be standing room only but you are more than welcome to share this time with us (no prams or young children please).

   

  Just as a reminder, staff will have the opportunity to attend a service of remembrance with Mrs Orton’s family. In order to facilitate this to happen, we will be closing the school early at 2:30pm on Friday 3rd May. We will appreciate your support in collecting the children early so that staff are able to pay their respects to a much loved colleague. We will be making plans for a longer-term memorial for Mrs Orton in the future. We are keen to work with her family and the children on a fitting tribute and will share these plans with you all once they are ready.

   

  Thanks again for your support for our school community at this sad time.

   

  Karen Mellor

  Headteacher

• Very Sad News

  Thu 18 Apr 2019 Headteacher

  18^th April 2019

   

  Dear Parent/Carer,

   

  A very sad thing has happened in our school community during the holiday break. Last week, one of our teachers, Mrs Fiona Orton, our music leader passed away peacefully with her family. Mrs Orton had been fighting a very personal battle with cancer for some time. Mrs Orton was a well-respected teacher and colleague. She was so very passionate about teaching music to young people and she has left a lasting legacy in the school. As a school community, we will all be deeply affected by news of her death and I am sure that you will wish to join me and my staff in offering our condolences and sympathy to her family at this sad time.

   

  As a parent, you may want to talk to your child about death because it impacts on each person in different ways. How children react will depend on the relationships they had with the person who died, their age, level of development, and their prior experience with death. Your child may appear unaffected, ask questions about the death repeatedly, be angry or aggressive, be withdrawn or moody, be sad or depressed, become fearful or scared, or have difficulty sleeping or eating.  We suggest that you listen to your children. If they want to talk, answer their questions simply, honestly and be prepared to answer the same questions repeatedly.  Links to support information for parents:

  https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-help/for-parents 

   https://childbereavementuk.org/  

   

  Staff will also be speaking with the children about Mrs Orton on Tuesday morning when they return to school. We will be supporting them and carrying out activities to allow the children to share their memories and questions. We will then be coming together as a whole school on Friday 26^th April in a special assembly to share our memories and to celebrate Mrs Orton’s life by singing some of her favourite songs.

   

  The family have requested a private funeral on Friday 3rd May. Staff will have the opportunity to attend a service of remembrance during the afternoon of that day. In order to facilitate this to happen, we will closing the school early at 2:30pm on Friday 3^rd May. We will appreciate your support in collecting the children early so that staff are able to pay their respects to a much loved colleague.

   

  Thanks again for your support for our school community at this sad time.

   

  Karen Mellor

  Headteacher