Message from the Headteacher

As we approach the end of the Summer term, I want to thank you for your continued support and say well done to our students who continued to show incredible resilience in the face of challenging circumstances. We should be incredibly proud of how we have worked together as a community to support one another. Your children have shown a commitment to learning that is truly amazing.

 

Despite the many COVID restrictions in place in school to ensure we remain as safe and COVID secure as possible, staff and students have had a wonderful term in school. We held a number of events, such as the Magic of Theatre Pantomime, which our students thoroughly enjoyed.

As part of Mental Health Awareness week, our school community planted hanging baskets throughout the school. The school students’ council ran a competition and I am pleased to announce that class 5 were the winners!

 

On 30^th June, 1^st July and 2^nd July we held our Sports Day. Sadly, due to the restrictions still in place nationally, Sports day was a closed event, where students competed within their learning zone bubbles.

 

 

Throughout this half term, we have grown and released butterflies.

 

On 7^th July, we welcomed a Falconry exhibition!

 

On 15^th July, we will be holding a “Healthy Day”.  Students will read books about healthy living, explore the various food groups, undertake exercise with Jump Start Jonny videos and prepare healthy smoothies.

On 22^nd July, we will be saying goodbye to 6 wonderful students who will be going into Specialist college provisions in September. We will be celebrating their achievements at Mapledown at our Graduation ceremony, which will sadly be open to close family members only due to our ongoing COVID secure measures. Good luck to Emma, Maykal, David, Kacper, Frankie and Mohammed!

School updates

It has been a busy term for the school sites too. Our satellite provision which will be located at Copthall School is undergoing a complete refurbishment. We will be able to share some “before and after” photographs next term, and we look forward to welcoming our new students there.

 

Our Deputy head Sue Hart and teachers have been busy with transition events so that our prospective students for September get to know us, and our staff get to know them. We held an open event in June and have also welcomed visits from prospective families. It has been wonderful to meet everyone and we are looking forward to working with them all. 

We are also very fortunate to have received funding to purchase a new minibus. This will ensure our students based at Copthall can continue to undertake visits to the local community and to our main site for a range of timetabled activities. We wish to thank The Bernice Cowen Trust and the Variety Club for providing us with a Sunshine Coach. We would not have been able to fund our share of the minibus without the generosity of David Aaron’s family and friends, who raised money via JustGiving when David passed away two years ago. He was one of Mapledown’s Deputy Heads, a respected and loved member of staff who had worked at the school for 27 years. His name will be displayed on the bus so that we can continue to honour his memory.

 

Staffing update:

Welcome back to Caroline Garvey who has returned from maternity leave.

We will be welcoming new staff members in September:

• Michaela Pogue has been appointed Learning Zone 1 lead.
• Presila Basara is joining Learning Zone 2 as a class teacher.
• Darcy Louch joined us this term as a class teacher for class 10, and she will be moving to Mapledown @Copthall in September.

We also welcome a number of support staff: Charo Manansala, Soumiya Benfkir, Sebiha Kartel, Cintia Muñoz, Sura Assadi, Seren Cosgun, Jenny Levey, Helen Payne, Anna Parkinson, Lara Barbosa and Assia Announ.

We say goodbye to Charlotte Bouchier and Digdem Bilal who are moving on to new roles and adventures, and wish them good luck for the future.

 

Uniforms

Following the Uniform survey, I am pleased to announce that we will be phasing in a uniform for all our students, except for our Leavers who can continue to choose what they would like to wear for school. We are adopting a flexible approach where you can, over time, get your child’s uniform: a white or jade green T-shirt/polo shirt, a bottle green top (sweatshirt, or cardigan, or hoodie) and black bottoms (trousers or joggers/skirt), which can all be bought from any shop or supermarket, with the option to have a Mapledown School badge if you wish via an online uniform shop.

 

 

Message from FOM (Registered Charity – 295504)

Dear Friends of Mapledown,

I would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for their participation in the 100 Club fundraising activity. The draws are taking place publicly on a monthly basis. August’s draw will take place in September when we return from our summer break. The charity has been successful in raising some other funding. The Breakaway charity has generously donated some funding which is being used to purchase some IT equipment for the students to use. Another thank you to the Breakaway charity for their continued support! The summer term meeting will be held on Wednesday 14^th July at 17:00. In line with the COVID-19 secure measures that are in place, the meeting will take place virtually via ZOOM. Meeting details have been shared with the charity members. If you would like to become a member of the Friends of Mapledown charity and join the meeting, please don’t hesitate to get in contact via e-mail fom@mapledown.barnet.sch.uk. During the meeting we will be seeking to elect a secretary for the charity. The position is a voluntary role in which you will work as an officer of the Friends of Mapledown charity. The role will entail attending meetings, taking minutes of the meetings and communicating with the various parties associated with Friends of Mapledown School.  If you are interested in taking on the role, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss the role further.

Wishing you a wonderful summer break.

Kindest regards,

Donal O’Keeffe, Honorary Chairperson, Friends of Mapledown.

 

Shopping Online?

Help us raise money for the school. The initiative Easyfundraising is steadily raising money for FOM (Friends of Mapledown School - Cricklewood), but it desperately needs the support of many more people in our community in order to have a significant impact on fundraising. So how does it work? You shop directly with the retailer as you would normally, but if you sign up to: www.easyfundraising.org.uk  for free and use the links on the Easyfundraising site to take you to your chosen retailer, then a percentage of whatever you spend comes directly to your nominated cause (FOM) at no extra cost to yourself. To date, we have only raised just under £150.00 in this way.

 

COVID-19 Update

We continue to adhere to our COVID secure measures to protect our school community. If your child develops symptoms on Saturday 24^th July or Sunday 25^th July, please contact head@mapledown.barnet.sch.uk so that we can undertake our contact tracing and inform all contacts.

Reminder:

Please ensure that you:

• Keep your child at home if your child, anyone in the household or anyone they have had contact with, becomes unwell with symptoms of coronavirus.
• Inform school immediately by telephone or email if your child, anyone in the household or anyone they have had contact with, becomes unwell with symptoms of coronavirus.  
• If they have displayed symptoms, only send your child back to school when they have had a negative test for coronavirus, or after 10 days if they cannot be tested.
• Do not send your child to school if they are unwell with any illness and particularly not give any medication such as Calpol or Ibuprofen so they can attend school while unwell.
• Remain contactable at all times by telephone while your child is in school.
• Collect your child immediately and for any given reason, if school asks you to

Symptoms of COVID-19 – your child, or anyone in the household, must take a COVID test if they have:

• A high temperature
• A cough
• A loss of taste or smell

 

Returning from a holiday abroad:

Please inform the school office if you are planning to travel abroad during the summer holidays.

Travel and quarantine: All pupils travelling back to England must adhere to government travel advice, therefore please bear in mind the impact on your child’s education which may result from any requirement to quarantine or isolate upon return.

The Government advice on red amber green list countries/ territories is summarised below:

• RED LIST: Those arriving from a ‘red list’ country, or have transited through one in the past 10 days, must quarantine in a government-approved facility with a parent or legal guardian rather than at home
• AMBER LIST:  On arrival back in England you must quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days; take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8  (Read about quarantine and taking COVID-19 tests). You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.
• GREEN LIST:  On arrival back in England you must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive. You do not need to quarantine unless the test result is positive. You must quarantine if NHS Test & Trace informs you that you travelled to England with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Key Dates: Thursday 22nd July                                 Leavers’ Graduation Friday 23rd July                                       End of Summer Term Monday 26th July                                   Summer break starts - School closed to students   2021-2022 Wednesday 1st September                  Inset day - School closed to students Thursday 2nd September                      Students back to school Monday 25th October – 29th                October half term - School closed to students Monday 1st November                          Students back to school Friday 17th December                            End of Autumn Term 2021 Monday 20th Dec – Mon 3rd Jan          Christmas Break 2021 - School closed to students Tuesday 4th January and Wed 5th        Inset days - School closed to students Thursday 6th January                             Students back to school Monday 14th February – 18th               February Half term - School closed to students Monday 21st February                           Students back to school Friday 1st April                                         End of Spring term 2022 Monday 4th April – 18th April                Easter / Spring Holidays Tuesday 19th April                                   Inset day - School closed to students Wednesday 20th April                            Students back to school Monday 2nd May 2022                           Bank Holiday – School closed Monday 30th May – 3rd June                 May Half term - School closed to students Monday 6th June                                     Students back to school Thursday 21st July                                   End of Summer Term Friday 22nd July                                       Inset day - School closed to students Monday 25th July                                    Summer break 2022 starts - School closed to students

Have a lovely and restful Summer, and see you all on Thursday 2^nd September, as Wednesday 1^st September is a Staff training day.