It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that our lovely Teaching Assistant, Sharon Thomas, sadly died during the summer holidays. Sharon had bravely battled illness for over a year and we are all devastated by her loss. Sharon’s own children attended the Whitehorse schools and, having started at the infants in 2004, she came over to the junior school in 2010, working as a TA in Years 5 and 6 and leading our Speech & Language and Social Skills groups across the school. Sharon was a relentlessly kind and compassionate human being and, although we knew she was unwell, we had all hoped and prayed for a better outcome. She will be hugely missed by our whole community.
Sharon’s family have now made funeral arrangements. In order to allow staff to attend and say their goodbyes, both Whitehorse Manor Infant and Whitehorse Manor Junior schools on the main site will be closed from 1.15pm on Friday 6th October. At Brigstock, where Sharon worked with collegues and groups, Elm Class, Chestnut Class and Oak Class will be closed. We have tried to limit the impact on the children by closing for only an afternoon and ask that you make arrangements to collect your child from school promptly at 1.15pm so that staff can attend her funeral and pay our respects. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this might cause.
I am sure that there are many of you who remember Sharon, or who have children who worked with her, and a book of remembrance will be made available to those of you who wish to make a comment from Monday 18th September in the school library on the main site. We have told pupils in Years 5 and 6 who worked with Sharon about her passing and will also be offering children the chance to write a message for their own book of remembrance.
