Winchcombe Weekly Weekly updates during school closure – Friday 8th May 2020

VE Day: What is it, when is it and

why do we remember?

VE Day - or 'Victory in Europe Day' - marks the

day towards the end of World War Two (WW2)

when fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe

came to an end.

On 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill

made an announcement on the radio at 3pm that

the war in Europe had come to an end, following

Germany's surrender the day before. How was VE

Day celebrated?

By the beginning of 1945, the German army had

been weakened and defeat looked likely.

Tuesday 8 May, 1945, was an emotional day that

millions of people had been waiting for.

Many people were extremely happy that the

fighting had stopped and there were big

celebrations and street parties.

Huge crowds - with lots of people dressed in red,

white and blue - gathered outside Buckingham

Palace in London.

Was VE Day the end of World War Two?

Even though VE Day marked victory for Europe

over Germany, it did not mark the end of World

War Two.

In his VE Day announcement, Winston Churchill

said: "We may allow ourselves a brief period of

rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the

toil and efforts that lie ahead."

Even after 8 May, many soldiers, sailors and pilots

were sent to the east to fight against the

Japanese, who had not yet surrendered.

This came on 14 August 1945, after two atomic

bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of

Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August).

On 15 August 1945, the allies had officially

defeated Japan. This date is known as VJ Day.

World War Two was finally over.

What happened after World War Two?

While the war was over, it was not the end of

hardship.

Millions of people had lost loved ones and their

lives had been turned upside down by the

fighting.

The nation had to rebuild as the war had been so

expensive. Clothing and food rationing remained

in place.

On VE day we remember those who suffered

great hardship and lost their lives. We

remember that through great difficulties that

when we support each other we can get through

tremendous difficulties.

Message from the school

Today is VE Day – On this day 75 years ago people in the United Kingdom could begin to hope their lives

would return to normal after 6 years of war. The end of war in Europe was not the end of World War II

but did allow people to be less fearful about leaving their homes because of air-raids.

People during the period of air-raids had to develop two very important attributes Stewardship and

Resilience. Through stewardship they demonstrated how they cared not just about themselves and their

own families but about the welfare of everyone. A single light visible in a street could alert a bomber to

the location of houses and, cause devastating damage and loss of life. Resources were scarce,

communities had to work together to keep everyone safe and well. Times were worrying and hard,

developing resilience meant that they adapted to their circumstances and tried to make the best of them

– they tried not to give up.

Right now we are all having to show huge amounts of resilience. Our lives are very challenging and we

look back to History to remind ourselves how as a community we can get through tough times. You are

all showing huge stewardship in following the advice to stay at home to save lives. We cannot see or

hear the threat to our lives but we know it is there.

We are doing our best to keep in touch with you all, your tutors would love to hear how you are doing.

Drop them an email if you haven’t been in contact for a while.

We are waiting to hear about plans for schools to be able to begin to re-open. We have been working on

plans for how we can safely do this. It is clear that we will all not be able to be back together as a whole

school immediately. Those who will be coming to school will find things different and need to show

resilience in adapting to a change in how the school operates. Changes will have to be made to keep

everyone safe and avoid possible spreading this awful virus.

We must keep everyone safe and well. We will need to be patient with each other, listen to each other

and remember that the safety of everyone is the most important thing.

Once we are given notice of dates when we can re-open we will look to give you as much information

as quickly as we can. Many of you will have lots of questions, we will work hard to answer them as

best we can.

Until then, I hope that you and your families are doing well. Remember that keeping well is the most

important thing to focus on at the moment.

Mr Templeton

Art

French

Johnny Y8

Joanna Y7

Millie Y9

Spanish

Lily Y9

PE

Liam and Lewis Y7

Masterchef

D & T

Alfie Y7

Science

Xander Y7

Geography

Joanna Y7

Maeve Y8

Isabella Y7

Xander Y7

Student Provides IT Support Harry in Y8 has turned his hand to IT support during the lockdown. Harry's Nan

is currently working from home. This has caused her difficulties with any

computer queries but Harry has stepped in and helped her where he can. He

also spent time tidying up the files on the computer by creating folders which

has made my mums work more efficient and organised. Well Done Harry!

Album of the Week Well the sun is shining today and today’s album is a perfect summer album. It is a happy, upbeat, positive album that is perfect indie pop. This week forgotten gem is “Twelve Stops from Home” by “The Feeling” it was released in 2006. The album has a lovely flow to it and it will make you smile and it will put a spring in your step. The standout racks are “Sewn”, “Fill my little world” and “never be lonely”.

If you like this try this feature is a 2003 release by “Athlete” called “Vehicles and Animals” start with the opening tune of “El Salvador” and dream of better days ahead.

Mr Watson

Free Tutoring

Germ Defence - Simple steps to reduce viruses in your home This advice was developed by health experts and proved to reduce illness in a study of over 20,000

people. People who followed the advice in Germ Defence were less likely to catch pandemic flu or

other viruses - and if they did become ill the illness was shorter and milder on average.

How does it work?

COVID-19 is caught in the same way as other viruses. Germ Defence provides advice on how you can

protect yourself using the same methods that have worked for other viruses.

It only takes around 10 minutes to go through the information - but it could protect you from the

coronavirus, along with a lifetime of fewer colds and flu.

START NOW

Update from Cotswold Foodbank The North Cotswold Foodbank exists to provide emergency food supplies to parents who, for a variety of

reasons cannot afford to buy food for their families. During the current lock-down, financial concerns

may be even greater for families who are facing the additional expense of having their children at home

and therefore having to provide more meals every day. The aim of the Foodbank is to provide non-

judgemental support at the point of crisis.

Foodbanks that serve this area are as follows:

Encounter Church, Gretton Road, Winchcombe GL54 5EE Open Tuesday afternoons from 13.30 -

15.30pm

St. Michael’s Church Centre, Bishops Cleeve, GL52 8BA Open on Friday mornings from 09.45 -

11.15am

Winchcombe School is one of many agencies who can issue vouchers for the Foodbank, but during this

period of social-distancing referrals will happen in a slightly different way. If you need to receive a supply

of food from the Foodbank, please email your request to ahardie@winchcombeschool.co.uk

and provide the following information:

Your name, address and telephone number

The number of adults and children in you family

The Foodbank you wish to visit - Winchcombe or Cleeve

The date and time you will be able to visit

School will then make a referral to the Foodbank on your behalf and will contact you to confirm your

visit.

For further information on the Foodbank please visit

www.northcotswold.foodbank.org.uk

Free School Meals – Vouchers and Changes in circumstances

If you have a free school meal entitlement you should now have received supermarket vouchers up until the end

of this week.

The first 2 came from the school for £25 each. These covered the first 4 weeks. You should also have now

received 2 from the governments voucher scheme, Edenred, one for £15 and the other for £30 these cover the

last 3 weeks. You will also receive a £30 voucher early next week covering the next 2 weeks starting 11th May.

If you have not received any of these vouchers please check you spam/junk emails. You can contact Kate Franklin

on kfranklin@winchcombeschool.co.uk if you have any queries.

During these unprecedented times we have seen reported in the news that nearly a million people have applied

for Universal Credit in the last two weeks. If you have been affected by the current situation and your

circumstances have changed, you may be eligible for free school meals. Although your child may not be attending

school at the current time, we are providing food vouchers for supermarkets in the absence of being able to

provide school meals for families that are entitled to this provision.

If you think you may be eligible to apply for free school meals and would like further information or to apply,

please see our website or follow the link below.

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/apply-for-

free-school-meals/

Ms Franklin

Information

We are posting regular information and links to work on our dedicated web

page on the school website.

http://newsite.winchcombeschool.co.uk/covid-19-info/

We know that many of you will be anxious to have information – once we

receive and process it, we will put it on the page and let you know there has

been an update.

The site is open for a very small number of people to minimise

contact. If you need help or have a query please email

wcc@winchcombeschool.co.uk this email address is monitored by

the SLT and admin teams. Please send photos of workspaces,

activities, great work or articles for us to share!