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It’s Christmas at St Mary’s

A Victorian Christmas

This year we decided to take a Victorian Christmas as our theme. We learned a lot about how people would have celebrated Christmas in Victorian times and we had a great time making our decorations.

ChristmasTree_Cutout

Sometimes we go to Gawthorpe Hall to experience a Victorian Christmas but, as we couldn’t do that this year, we’ve found this video to put us in the Victorian Christmas mood. Imagine walking through this house in your fine clothes at Christmas.

Food

Just like today, Victorians liked to celebrate Christmas with great food. There were similarities but also differences – for instance turkey would be eaten, but not usually as the main meat. It was often boned and stuffed, and may have been served as a starter.

Plum pudding featured on Victorian menus and it was during Victoria’s reign that it was given the name, Christmas Pudding. In the video you can see it being made to an original Victorian recipe.

Toys

Toys were very different in Victorian times & there was also a great divide between richer and poorer children’s toys.

Singing

Singing was also a great part of Christmas entertainment – there was no sitting watching a Christmas film together in those days, but richer families often gathered around a piano to sing. Many of the carols we sing today were sung in Victorian times – although you may find that the tunes have changed considerably.

Of course, no Victorian Christmas is complete without a reading of the very famous Charles Dickens’ novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Featuring three ghosts who visit Scrooge to help him change his ways, Dickens wrote it in just six weeks in 1843. The story had great effect on all who read it and continues to do so today.

Our Victorian Christmas Hall

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Following Boris Johnson’s 8pm announcement we now know that as of midnight tonight the country has entered a new period of Lockdown, a Lockdown that includes the closure of school. 

School will be open for the children of Key Workers and for pupils who are deemed vulnerable. All pupils will be provided with work in order for them to keep learning. 

Tonight’s announcement was very short notice for you as parents and also for us as a Staff. Tomorrow, by 11am there will be three tasks on the school website for each Class to complete as their Tuesday learning. However, School will be closed to ALL pupils tomorrow. 

 

Staff, however, will be in school preparing for the rest of the Lockdown. Through tomorrow we will prepare school to make it safe for Key worker pupils and vulnerable children to return. 

We will send out a form for you to apply for a place in the Keyworker Bubbles and we will let you know more about how children will be learning remotely. We will do our very best to re-open to Key Worker children and vulnerable pupils by Wednesday. 

I am aware of how difficult this is for you all, School closing creates a multitude of problems for everyone but data surrounding this awful disease dictates that this is a necessary step. As ever, the safety and health of everyone must be a priority. 

Thank you for your continued support and we will be in frequent contact over the next few days. 

Many thanks

Claire Halstead