(The full version of St. Mary's Messenger can be found in the password-protected area of the website)

Dear Parents, Children and Friends,

Here we are again, back after a Christmas that may not have been white but which, I hope, was happy and relaxing. This term may be short but, judging by the calendar, it looks like it will be a very busy one. The dates of this term have been under most unusual pressure from the earliness of Easter, falling as it does on March 23rd. This sort of problem only occurs once every ten years or so, so we should avoid horribly short half-terms for quite a while.

Forgive me for beginning the year in a lavatorial way, but this is also the term where there are a million and one bugs going round, with everyone picking one of them up in the course of the three months. A cough, a cold or even the flu is to be expected but I have been sent lots of advice on dealing with the Norovirus, also charmingly known as Winter Vomiting Disease. There are lots of websites which give the recommendations, some of which we have linked on the school website. I shall include a couple of the main points here though as they are particularly relevant.

There is no easy prevention of Norovirus, unless one never comes into contact with other people; therefore a school is a good breeding-ground for it. Please put on your serious face, instruct your child that they must wash hands THOROUGHLY every time they go to the loo – a quick scoosh under the cold tap is no use; hot water, soap and try singing Happy Birthday twice and you have the right timescale! When it hits, it hits fast: one minute they (or you!) are fine, the next they have sickness and diarrhoea. When someone is infected, they must stay at home, drinking plenty of fluids.  And last, but possibly the most important bit, they have to stay at home for 48 hours after the symptoms have gone. I appreciate that this will cause problems for some families who are infected, but it is very important because if they come back before that time is up, the virus is still infectious, so you will risk giving it to someone else and it will keep doing the rounds because people can get it more than once.

We are trying our best within the school to avoid this wretched bug as much as possible, so please help us by reading up about Norovirus and following the guidelines.

Now, onto some traffic news. No, I am not going on about the parking on Winnowsty Lane – that topic will probably make its return in next week’s Messenger – I have long been concerned about the amount of traffic on Pottergate and the speed at which it travels. It may not be Piccadilly Circus but there are a lot of cars going up Pottergate and, more to the point, buses going down it. The pavement at the front door is very narrow and buses pelt past. Last term when I saw the hair and even uniform of children on the pavement being blasted by the slipstream I felt I had to ask the council (Lincoln, not School) to please see if they cannot install speed bumps or create a chicane to slow down the traffic. At present, it would only take a moment’s inattention and there could be a foreseeable accident. I hope that the council back us in this!

It is more than likely that you have bought quite a lot of new clothing for this term. Please make sure that it is all named. Mrs Kelly and I spend ages sorting out abandoned games kit and uniform, much of which isn’t named. Children do sometimes wander off with the nearest item of clothing, so that brand new cardigan with no name could belong to  anyone, never getting back to its rightful owner. Iron-on nametapes are a useful alternative to stitching ones on. (I know, from personal experience.)

I am sure that you have spotted those gaudy ties around the place once more and worked out that Mr Bridgwood has returned to teach. He is starting off by doing mornings until he feels strong and brave enough to tackle the whole day. We all hope that he is fully recovered and back to his old self.

And another familiar face has returned to our school.  We are delighted to welcome back Johnny and his family to be part of St. Mary’s again. 

I’m sure you will join me in wishing former pupil Rachel Conway all the very best on her trip to see Mama Grace as she travels to Lethukukhanya on work experience.  Thank you to all those who have supported Rachel and helped her to achieve this goal.  We look forward to hearing from her upon her return with news of our friends in South Africa.

Andy Salmond Smith