November 1, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on School Closure 8th November: letter from the Director of Skills, Education and Learning

School Closure 8th November: letter from the Director of Skills, Education and Learning

Please note that by now you should have received the following information directly from Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding school closure on Wednesday 8 November 2023. The teachers will advise as to home learning next week.

Dear Parent/Carer,

Strike action is due to take place on Wednesday 8 November. The decision has been made to close all our schools and Early Learning Centre (ELC) settings on the strike day – Wednesday 8 November.

Parents and carers whose children are entitled to free school meals via qualifying benefits will have a cash payment made to their bank accounts in due course.

We appreciate the inconvenience associated with this information, but please be assured that this information is coming to you as a parent/carer in as timely a manner as is practically possible.

Dr Gillian Brydson
Director Skills, Education & Learning

October 13, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Friday email 13th October

Friday email 13th October

In the maildrop this week, you should find a summary of your child’s progress with their learning targets this term. This would usually have been shared via Dojo. If there are any aspects that you wish to discuss, please email the class teacher. Learner conferences will be held in November to discuss the next steps in your child’s learning journey: dates and appointment forms will be issued after the holidays.

We aim to start the Weekly Wakelet after the holidays: if you have not yet returned your permission slip, please do so after the holidays in order that you do not miss out on the weekly updates.

At the end of a very busy term, we wish you a happy holidays, We will see you all back to school on Monday 30^th October. The Pupil Council will be hosting Halloween on Tuesday 31^st October: please see their letter in the maildrop today. We look forward to seeing your creepy costumes.

October 6, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
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School Meals Autumn Winter 2023

Primary School Meals

Autumn Winter 2023

View the menu here

Free School Meals

Free School Meals for all children in Primary 1 – 5

Every child at a Dumfries and Galloway Council school can get free school lunches during term-time if they are in primary 1 to 5. This applies to all children – your family’s financial circumstances do not matter.

Your child will receive free school meals if you are in receipt of the following:

Universal Credit with a monthly earned income of not more than £726
Income Support
Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, with an income of less than £18,725
Both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit with an income of up to £8,717
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Coordinated Support Plan (CSP)

Getting free lunches if you’re not getting benefits or tax credits

Your child might still get a free lunch in school, early learning or childcare if you’re experiencing financial hardship. This could be because:

Your immigration status means you can not get help from the government
You’re still waiting on your first Universal Credit notice

Your child may also be able to get a free lunch if at any point since they were aged 2 they’ve been:

Looked after
Had a Kinship Care Order
Had a Guardianship Order

View further information about school meals here

October 6, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Weekly email Friday 6th October

Weekly email Friday 6th October

Reminders, returns and updates in this week’s email and maildrop:

The School Improvement Plan has been updated following a number of changes. A summary for parents was attached to the email, but can be seen here for ease: Improvement Plans Update to Parents Sept 2023. The full School Improvement Plan was also attached to the email; is located within the “Calside- Our School” section on the website; and also can be seen here for ease: Calside School Improvement Plan 2023-24 updated September 2023

The final payment for the Aladdin trip is now required: P5-P7 parents should receive the letter with payment and trip details in their maildrop.

Flu vaccinations will take place in school Monday 13th November and will be timetabled around other class activities such as curling or the author visit.

P7 parents/carers should also have received details about the Dumfries High School open evening in November (busy week for P7!).

September 29, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Friday email 29th September

Friday email 29th September

With the loss of Dojo, the staff have been looking at ways that we can share learning with you, until the authority sources a suitable replacement.

We are going to trial sending the weekly class updates via email after the holidays. In order to be ready for this, please can all parents/carers ensure that we have your current email contact details. In the maildrop today, you will find a letter explaining how we hope that the system will work, and a permission slip that needs to be returned before the October holidays.

In the meantime, class teachers can be contacted via their email addresses, as per the September newsletter. If you lose this, a copy is located on the school website “Calside Courier” in the Newsletters section.

September 25, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Home Learning during the school closure

Home Learning during the school closure

Parents should have received the suggested home learning activities via email. This is set by year group, and you may have received more than one email if you have children in different year groups. Younger classes also have homework in their bags, as well as reminders of logons for Sumdog and PurpleMash. Class teachers in older classes have checked that the children can log on to these independently.

Please do not feel that you have do all the activities: these are suggestions, and every family/childcare circumstances are different. We hope that your child enjoys the activities: do what you can, when you can, and don’t have any battles!

For ease, class home learning is also available below:

Maths Week Challenge – Nursery September 2023

Autumn and habitats home learning Rainbow Room September 2023

P1 Topic Home Learning

P1 Autumn and habitats home learning

P2 September Home Grid

P3 September Home Grid

P4 September Home Grid

P5-P7 Home Learning September 2023

September 25, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on School closure 26th, 27th and 28th September

School closure 26th, 27th and 28th September

As per the email sent out by John Thin, Head of Education (Learning and Resources) earlier today, members of UNISON will be on strike on Tuesday 26^th September, Wednesday 27^th September and Thursday 28^th September. As this includes learning assistants, nursery staff, clerical staff, catering staff, cleaners and janitors, this unfortunately means that we are not able to open the school or the nursery on these days. Calside will be fully closed.

We realise that this causes immense disruption to learning and to parents and carers in terms of childcare, and we are sorry for the inevitable inconvenience that this will cause.

Home learning activities will be sent out on Monday afternoon. Please do not feel that you have to do all the activities contained in the pack: these are suggested activities, and every family and childcare circumstances are different. We hope that your child enjoys the activities: do what you can, when you can, and don’t have any battles!

September 25, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Friday email 22nd September

Friday email 22nd September

Good morning.

Please see the September newsletter attached: with the absence of Dojo, this contains the contact details for the class teachers so you can still contact them while D&G try to find a solution.

All classes have now offered the chance to Come and Join Us in class: please note that this is an opportunity to see what life is like in class, and that the class teachers are unable to have detailed conversations with you while they are responsible for the class. There will be learner conferences in November, but if you need to talk to the class teachers in the meantime, please email them to arrange.

Lovely to see so many of you at the BBQ on Saturday, despite the weather being on the chilly side: the Parent Council and the P7 proceeds will be put to very good use. We hope that you enjoyed yourselves.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Gamble.

September 15, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Updated Safeguarding and Child Protection policy

Updated Safeguarding and Child Protection policy

The vision for all children and young people in Dumfries and Galloway is that they should be safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, respected, responsible and included. All children have the right to be protected and kept safe from harm (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). We all have a part to play in this and in making sure that children and young people get the help they need when they need it. Dumfries and Galloway Council recognise that staff within schools and early childcare and education settings have a key role to play in keeping your child safe.

All staff within our schools and early childcare and education settings have been trained to be able to recognise when a child may be suffering from, or at risk of, harm and to listen to children if they want to talk to them about anything which might be worrying them. Each school and early childcare and education setting in Dumfries and Galloway has a senior member of staff who has overall responsibility for ensuring the protection of children within their school or establishment. They are called Child Protection Co-ordinators (CPC). If a member of staff does have a concern about any child s/he will discuss this with the Child Protection Co-ordinator who will decide what action might need to be taken to keep that child safe. This may involve talking to the child, other members of staff or other professionals who may be working with the child. The Child Protection Co-ordinator in our school is Mrs Gamble, and the Deputes are Miss MacRae, Mr McIlorum and Mrs Hooper in the primary and Mrs Douglas in the nursery.

Our Safeguarding, Child Protection and Wellbeing Policy has been updated in line with local and national guidance. This has been emailed out to parents, but can also be seen here: Calside Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy September 2023 . We will also be discussing safeguarding in class with the children: this is linked to our work with Rights Respecting Schools, so that all our children understand that they have a right to be safe. The child-friendly guidance was emailed to parents with the policy, and can also be seen here: Pupil CP Poster Calside Sept 2023

If you have any concerns about a child, please contact Mrs Gamble on 01387 263594.

Thank you in advance for your ongoing support in keeping our children safe.

September 15, 2023
by Mrs Gamble
Comments Off on Friday email 15th September

Friday email 15th September

Good morning everyone.

It was lovely, if somewhat chaotic, to have so many of you join us in P1-P4 this week. The children were very excited! P5-P7 are looking forward to welcoming their parents and families into class on Wednesday 20^th in the afternoon.

A reminder that the school photographer will be in school on Tuesday 19th for individual and family photos: bright smiles please!

The classes have now elected their representatives for our Pupil Voice groups including Pupil Council, Rights Respecting group, Eco group, Digital Leaders and Junior Road Safety officers. They will be meeting in the next week to start to develop their ideas and plans for the year. Watch this space!

Fingers crossed for good weather for the Parent Council Summer BBQ on Saturday between 3 and 6 p.m. P7 have been working hard organising their stalls and games, and would like you to bring lots of money!

Hope to see you there,

Mrs Gamble