Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,
I hope that you are safe and well. Thank you for continuing to keep in touch with us via email, class Facebook pages or telephone.
A Problem Shared…
In my conversations with some parents this week, some common themes have emerged so I thought I would share them with you.
“I’m not doing enough!”
I know that some parents are finding it difficult to get their children to complete the weekly class activities for a variety of reasons. This can be because families are sharing devices or because the connection is slow. Sometimes families are not able to print or do not have the required resources at home. Sometimes our children are struggling to settle into doing school work from home. Parents are also feeling under pressure to get their own work done.
lease do not worry if your child cannot manage the weekly tasks! The national expectation is for our children to continue to engage in learning. This can be completing online activities set by their teacher, which are differentiated according to your child’s needs, or this can be participating in a variety of other learning situations at home. Try to aim for 1-2 hours a day where your child ‘engages in learning’ but do what is manageable.
“What is ‘learning at home’?”
One of the main things that you can do to support your child is to teach them how to be resilient and healthy. Your child learns from watching how you deal with situations. Play games with them and show them that it is okay to lose! We learn from our mistakes. When your child is upset or angry, listen to them, cuddle them and teach them what they can do to help themselves feel better. We are all learning to find our way through this difficult time together.
“We don’t have enough devices/ Our connection is slow.”
For those families who are having difficulty accessing online materials because of a lack of devices, I have managed to source Chromebook tablets for you. I will contact you individually to arrange delivery. For those who have a poor Internet connection, we are testing the dongles to ensure they work before distributing them to your home. We are able to make up paper copies of learning packs for some children but there can be a delay as we need to do this at Dalbeattie Learning Campus Childcare Hub. Please let me know if you require this service because you cannot access resources online.
“My child is missing family and friends.”
Many of you are worried about your children because they are missing their friends and family. Last week, I uploaded a variety of resources created by our Educational Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists to support you in having difficult conversations with your child about Covid-19. They can be found here:
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/dg/candg/advice-page-coronavirus-support/
I also explained how important it is for us to keep in touch with each other. Some parents are arranging video calls between children. Although teachers are not yet permitted to engage in video links with classes, I am trying to find a way around this. This is a national decision (not just D&G) but it would be good to have the option to set up small group online meetings to share news and activities. I will keep you posted with any updates.
Crossmichael Parent Council AGM – Monday 11th May at 7pm
We are having our AGM via the ZOOM app at 7pm on Monday 11th May. Anyone is welcome to attend. If you wish to join us then please email our Chairperson, Gilli Hodson, by Saturday, 9th May: gallowaymusicschool@gmail.com and she will send you the link and meeting ID.
Keeping in Touch
Please remember to keep in touch with us. You can email your class teacher, contact me via telephone (07741 686730) or keep in touch via the class Facebook pages.
Older pupils should be emailing their class GLOW groups at least once every week to maintain contact with their teacher and each other. Parents/ carers of younger children should email their teacher once a week or upload photos to the class Facebook page.
Each week, I will be checking in with families who have not been in touch just to make sure that you are okay and that you are able to access the various platforms to communicate. Please remember to contact us if you are having difficulties with engaging your child in learning or if you need any other support, or a blether! We are available during normal school opening times.
Please take care of yourselves. Here are some photographs of pupils from both schools.
Best wishes,
Mary E Lidstone- Scott
Headteacher
