Page 2 - Abberley Adventures - Autumn 2020

ABBERLEY ADVENTURES
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Report from the Head Girl, Rosana Carlisle
We have had a really great start to the school year, having been away from friends, staff and the school grounds for such a long time. The girls have now joined the main boarding house which was a big change but a very positive one and we are all enjoying the luxuries of our new tuck shop. The boarders had an action-packed, all-in weekend, ending with a 9km charity walk, which raised a large amount for Acorns Children’s Hospice. We have also been enjoying Mr Besley’s Ashton assembly talks from different locations all around the school including the Clock Tower and the Tree House. The Besleys have encouraged the spread of kindness throughout our school and wider community and I am looking forward to seeing more of this next Half Term.
Report from the Head Boy, Harry Angell-James
This first Half Term hasn’t been quite what we were expecting but the school has pulled through and made sure it’s still fun. There have been many highlights including a chance for the Top Year to abseil down The Clock Tower. We are all very excited about our new Astro. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time and it has finally come! This has gone down very well with everyone at school and teachers have organised for Chris Griffiths to come and open it. Mr Griffiths plays hockey for England and so we are excited to be coached by him!
My highlight of the term so far was the Borders’ Disco, which was a great night of singing, laughing and dancing. Many voices had been lost by the morning so the teachers were very happy! Overall the term has been great so far and coronavirus hasn’t stopped us. Thank you so much to every member of staff and to Mr and Mrs Besley for a great start.
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Covid-19
Thankfully, no one in our immediate school community has tested positive for Covid-19. We have had a number of children who have been kept away with symptoms but all tests have come back negative. As you know, Malvern College have bought a Samba II Covid testing machine and we have been able to benefit from the use of this for staff and pupils. There is a charge, but the test results can be obtained within 90 minutes and this can bring great peace of mind.
We wrote at the start of term with an outline of the measures we would have in place to ensure our school environment could be as safe as possible. These measures have proved effective and this is thanks in large part to the cooperation of pupils, staff and parents. Parents have been excellent at dropping off in the morning and leaving without creating traffic jams. Children have been superb at sticking to their ‘bubbles’ as they go about their school day and it has felt increasingly normal as the term has gone by. Life still feels rather more complicated than we would like but the key thing is that children are back at school, learning, exercising and enjoying the company of their friends in a busy and positive environment.
We are so sorry that we can’t invite parents to enjoy watching matches and to post-match teas, to attend Chapel and concerts, to meet teachers etc. We understand that this is a huge part of the experience of being a parent at Abberley and we very much look forward to welcoming you all back into the school as soon as we can without risking our ability to stay open for our pupils. Thank you for your understanding and patience.