STRINGER PRESS SPRING TERM 2021
Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Governors and Students, Welcome to our spring term newsletter. I very much hope you enjoy reading about everything that has been going on in school this term, even during a lockdown! It goes without saying that it has been one of the most challenging we have faced as a profession that I have known in the 24 years of working in schools. As a community we have all managed to develop new skills and built resilience to get through this global pandemic. I would like to publicly thank the staff for adapting their teaching and being able to switch between lessons online as well as face to face delivery. Many an evening was spent learning how the visualisers displayed on Teams, how our blended learning worked, and making sure the students received high quality learning throughout. It seems strange that a year ago we were just about to have our first national lockdown and not many of us had heard of Zoom. Now a year later, the new ICT systems and ways of working are ingrained in our everyday life. We are so pleased to be able to be back to face-to-teaching and long for the days when we can get back to trips, both to our centre in Dolawen, as well as further afield. Thank you too to all of our students, parents and carers who have had to adapt to learning at home. Even in these extreme circumstances you will see the huge amount of work which has been undertaken by staff and students, from the Green flag award, writing for pleasure club for Year 7s, and we even had sheep grazing on the butterfly haven. You will be aware that Dr Danahar was instrumental in his work with the butterfly haven here at Stringer and at February half-term he decided to take his well-earned retirement. He had hoped to be abroad working on his butterfly project in Corfu as we speak, however with the international travel bans this hasn’t been possible. We know that he will be back in the summer to tell us of his travels and to celebrate his 21 years of service to the school. Mr Voegeli too has decided to retire after 20 years at Dorothy Stringer, we wish him all the best, and we hope to see him in the summer to say a proper farewell. I am sure many of us will have pencilled in the date of 17th May which is when the government looks to ease some of the restrictions which are currently in place. In the meantime, even with the current guidelines everyone is able to make the most of the lighter days and warmer weather. I wish you all a safe and Happy Easter, and hope that students are able to take a break away from their screens and look forward to welcoming the whole school back on Monday 19th April. Mr Hillier | Headteacher
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