Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

On Saturday, the First Minister made an announcement that will have an impact on the return to school after the Christmas holidays. 

Director for Education, Gillian Brydson, is sending an email to all families sharing what is planned for Dumfries and Galloway Schools and Nurseries. Please click on the links below for further information.

Link to G Brydson letter to parents.

Link to FAQ about January return

Summary of Key Points

1. a) Holiday for children has been extended to 10^th

However from 6th – 8th January and 11^th – 15^th January schools will provide emergency childcare for children of key workers and our most vulnerable children during normal school hours.

Families will need to apply to attend. The online form can be completed using this link.

The forms should be completed by 10am on Wednesday 30^th December.

1. b) Remote learning for all other children will start on 11^thJanuaryand staff will be in touch via class Facebook pages with further information.

2. c) It is planned for Schools and Nurseries to fully reopen on 18^thWe hope that the Tier 4 restrictions will provide the required break in Covid-19 transmission, both locally and nationally, and we can welcome all our learners back on the 18^th.

Please look after yourselves and I hope you have a good Christmas.  I will be in touch again soon.  Thinking of you all.

Best wishes,

Mary

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

We hope you enjoy our Christmas 2020 video.

Special thanks to the children and staff who made this possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_sOYAIJng

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well.

Christmas Dinner – Wednesday 16th December

We are having our Christmas dinner on Wednesday 16th December.  This will be carried out in two sittings to ensure that we are safely following Covid-19 guidelines.  Pupils may wear Christmas jumpers and hats that day.

Our Parent Council are kindly donating Christmas Crackers.

Christmas Donations for the Food Bank

One of our school aims is to BE KIND.  Thank you to everyone who donated items for the Food Bank.  These have been passed on to Nicola at Crossmichael Village Shop who will distribute items for us.

Christmas Cards

Unfortunately, we are not sending Christmas cards this year because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Christmas Parties

Our Christmas parties were a huge success and it was lovely to see the children and staff enjoying themselves.  Please look at the class Facebook pages for more photographs.

Christmas Pantomime – Thursday 17th December

Normally we take pupils to the Fullarton Theatre to watch the pantomime.  This year we have decided to buy an online pantomime (Jack and the Beanstalk) so that pupils can watch it in their classrooms.  Our Parent Council has kindly agreed to pay for the pantomime and to provide refreshments for pupils.

Christmas Video Clips

We may not be able to invite you in to school/ church for our Christmas Service so we will do things differently this year!  We will create a Christmas video clip to share with you instead.  Watch this space!

New School Dinner Menu for January 2021

Here is a link to the new school dinner menu for January 2021.

20201211163732783_P1-7SchoolMealsJanuary2021 (1)

Thank you once again for your continued support this term.  Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and a Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

Christmas Donations for the Food Bank

One of our school aims is to BE KIND.  We have decided to collect donations for the Food Bank this year.  Please send your items in to school by Wednesday 9th December where they will be quarantined for three days before being passed to Nicola at Crossmichael Village Shop who will distribute items for us.

The Scottish Child Payment

The Scottish Child Payment is now open for applications, prior to the benefit being first paid from February 2021 for qualifying applicants. Attached are a number of documents that may be useful:

Scottish Child Payment Stakeholder intranet article

SCP Payment Factsheet

Scottish Child Payment A5 flyer

Scottish Child Payment poster A4

Further background is available at the following website https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/news-events/news/applications-to-open-early-for-scottish-child-payment

People can apply for Scottish Child Payment from today by visiting mygov.scot/benefits or calling 0800 182 2222.

People may be eligible if they, or their partner, are the parent or full-time carer of a child who will be aged under six on 15 February 2021 and if they get any of the following:

• Child Tax Credit,
• Income Support,
• Pension Credit,
• Working Tax Credit,
• Universal Credit,
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA),
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Awareness of this additional source of funding is also being advertised via the Councils’ Social Media platforms and in Weekly Bulletins.

James Clerk Maxwell Photo Competition and Exhibition

Please remember that the closing date for the James Clerk Maxwell Photography competition is Saturday 5th December 2020.  Please see the attached posters for details:

Maxwell Photo Comp Poster u18s Poster for email FINAL

Maxwell Photo Comp Poster

A shortlist will be displayed as an outdoor exhibition in Parton Village Hall car park during the winter holidays and the top three photos in each will receive a framed print of their photo and a voucher for Photobox.

Equal Protection – information for families about changes to the law (Copied extract)

On 7th November 2020 Scots law changed meaning that parents/carers in Scotland can no longer use physical punishment as a reasonable form of disciplining their child.  Children now have the same rights as adults to be protected from any form of physical assault.   

There are lots of different words for physical punishment including: 

smacking,  

skelping,  

hitting and  

slapping.  

The most important things to know about why the law is changing and what it means for families are: 

• The change in law means that you can still stop your child from getting into danger for example grabbing them if they run into the roadbut you won’t be able to smack them afterwards.  
• Many families in Scotland already raise their children without using physical punishment. There are lots of different ways to raise your children without physical punishment and you can still choose between these in how you manage your children’s behaviour and bring them up. There’slots of support out there for parents and carers who would like to talk about other options.  
• Physical punishment doesn’t work – there have been lots of studies from around the world which show that physical punishment doesn’t teach children to behave differently and that it can make relationships between children and their parents/carers worse.  
• Physical punishment can harm children – today we know a lot more about how children’s brains develop and it has been repeatedly shown that physical punishment can do long term harm to children’s physical and emotional health. 

Everyone now has a duty to act if they witness, or are aware of a child or young person being physically chastised. This is now a crime and if reported as such, will be investigated by the Police just like all other crimes.   

If you need to talk to someone about what the change in law means for your family, or managing your children’s behaviour our Children 1st Parentline team can give you free, non-judgmental support. If you need to talk – we’re here for you. 

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

Rev. Sally Russell

Today, it is with great sadness that we let pupils know of Sally’s death.  Sally was a valued member of our school community.  She came into school every week and took pupils for tea, toast and a talk.  She joined us for assemblies and participated in class.  She welcomed us to Crossmichael Parish Church for our Christmas and Easter Services.  She was a colleague and a friend to many of us.  She will be greatly missed by us all.

On Wednesday 25th November, her funeral procession will travel through Crossmichael at 12.05pm.  Her daughter, Rachel, has asked if some pupils and staff could be present to give a little wave on the way past.  Mrs Stevens, Mrs Glover and I will accompany P6 and P7 to represent the school.  (We will seek parental permission beforehand.)

‘Poppy Appeal’ Fundraising

We raised £33.12 from the Poppy appeal.  Thanks to those who donated this year.

Christmas Dinner – Wednesday 16th December

We are having our Christmas dinner on Wednesday 16th December.  This will be carried out in two sittings to ensure that we are safely following Covid-19 guidelines.  Pupils may wear Christmas jumpers and hats that day.

Our Parent Council are kindly donating Christmas Crackers.

Christmas Donations for the Food Bank

One of our school aims is to BE KIND.  We have decided to collect donations for the Food Bank this year.  Please send your items in to school by Wednesday 9th December where they will be quarantined for three days before being passed to Nicola at Crossmichael Village Shop who will distribute items for us.

Christmas Cards

Unfortunately, we are not sending Christmas cards this year because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Christmas Parties

Christmas parties will still take place this year!  Your child can come to school wearing their Christmas party clothes or casual clothes that day.  Normally we try to get all children in one age group together for their parties but this year that would mean unnecessary movement between ‘bubbles’ so we are having parties in our registration classes.

Party dates are as follows:

Tuesday 8th December = P1/2

Wednesday 9th December = P4/5

Thursday 10th  December = P2-4

Friday 11th December = P6/7

Christmas Pantomime

Normally we take pupils to the Fullarton Theatre to watch the pantomime.  This year we have decided to buy an online pantomime (Jack and the Beanstalk) so that pupils can watch it in their classrooms.  Our Parent Council has kindly agreed to pay for the pantomime and to provide refreshments for pupils.  More details will follow shortly.

Christmas Video Clips

We may not be able to invite you in to school/ church for our Christmas Service so we will do things differently this year!  We will create a Christmas video clip to share with you instead.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

New Enrolments

Three new enrolments means our school roll is currently at 87 pupils.   We welcome our new P2, P4 and P7 pupils to the school

Remembrance Day

Each class chose how they would like to commemorate Remembrance Day.  We had a two minute silence and Mrs Henry came to play her bugle.  P6/7 took their war poems to the war memorial where they were displayed.  Other classes made displays, painted poppies on stones and learned more about the significance of this special day.

Covid-19 Related Health and Safety

In the event of a pupil or member of staff testing positive for Covid-19, it is likely that a class may have to isolate.  To minimise the need for more than one class to isolate at a time, we have looked at existing measures and decided to minimise cross-over between pupils.  We have zoned our playground into two sections with our P1/2 and P2-4 pupils playing at the back of the school and our P4/5 and P6/7 pupils at the front.  In the dining hall, P4/5 and P6/7 have lunch at 12pm and sit at separate sides of the hall.  They go out to play then P1/2 and P2-4 enter the hall at 12.30pm.  Tables are disinfected between sittings.

We have already minimised the movement of staff between class ‘bubbles’ and any Learning Assistants (LAs) who are working with individuals or groups from each class, must do so in another room and disinfect surfaces and resources between groups.  We hope this would mean that if the LA tested positive then only the groups and individual children she worked with would need to isolate.

Covid-19 Recovery Teacher Appointment

We welcome Emma McDonald who has been appointed Covid-19 Recovery Teacher for CDHS Cluster schools.  Her remit means she will be working across our partnership schools for a block of a few weeks between now and the summer.  Her remit at our school will be to support pupils with their Health and Wellbeing needs – nurture groups, emotion works, building resilience, agency and supporting pupils to regulate emotions by providing strategies.  We hope that she can start her new post in December.

Managing Expectations

Although schools are open, things are not ‘back to normal’.  We try very hard to ensure that our pupils feel safe and happy in school so that they are settled and ready to learn.  Everyone is used to new routines and is following protective measures.

Dumfries and Galloway Council is very supportive and has explained that we are following a ‘Recovery Curriculum’.  This means that the focus is very much on pupil and staff health and wellbeing.  Although we have a School Improvement Plan and we have identified areas that need developed within our schools, this is not to be a key focus at this point in time.  This means that some areas of school development will not be a priority at the moment and some of the pupil groups and other activities may not be happening in the way that they were prior to the school closures.  Nevertheless, our teachers are very committed and continue to develop programmes in Literacy and Language.

We are focusing on supporting pupils with their mental and emotional health and wellbeing.  It is only now that we have started to see the impact of the pandemic on many of our children.  Many of our children with additional support needs experience barriers to learning.  This has been exacerbated with anxiety caused by the pandemic.

We have put many supportive measures in place to help individuals.  Often, this has resulted in a larger volume of referrals to other agencies for support.

We continue to focus on improving attainment in Literacy & Language and in Numeracy & Maths.  Teachers are spending time identifying and plugging any gaps whilst also ensuring that our more able pupils are challenged appropriately.

Mrs Clifton has just finished a block of work at Crossmichael providing targeted interventions with five pupils who have made good progress in their reading and spelling.  She is now moving to Gelston Primary School where she will deliver the next block of work and will return to Crossmichael in February.  She is working alongside a Learning Assistant from Gelston in order to build capacity.

Staffing

Unfortunately, our Principal Teacher (4 days) at Gelston Primary School continues to be absent.  This means that I need to spend time there to support pupils and staff.  We hope that she is able to return soon.

Our Additional Support for Learning Teacher and I are very busy writing many pupil plans that are needed as a direct result of the level of need in the partnership schools just now.  We are also ensuring that referrals are completed for those pupils who require extra support.

School Estate

Our outdoor classroom has been built and it looks FANTASTIC!!  I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Parent Council for securing the funding from the Blackcraig Wind Farm Community Fund and to Iain Hall Joinery for completing the work.

Mrs Cowan (Learning Assistant) has been working with pupils to improve areas of our playground.  So far they have repainted the wooden kites, butterflies and swallows, and these have now been placed on the newly painted wooden sheds and poles.

ICT Equipment and Infrastructure

Dumfries and Galloway Council is updating its ICT infrastructure.  This should mean better broadband speed, upgrades to Windows 10, better access to WiFi and the ability for devices to access the school internet.   More information should follow soon.

We are still having issues with internet connection to the Portakabin.  Our stand alone (teacher’s) PC is wired up and receives internet access.  I have reported this and hope that it is sorted out soon.

Please can I ask all families who were given one of the nine Chromebooks donated by Drax (during lockdown) to return them to the school as soon as possible?  They are needed for use in our fourth classroom at Crossmichael.

Reporting to Parents

We are unable to conduct parental consultations via telephone or in person this term.  Instead teachers will be sending an email to all parents/ carers before the Christmas holidays with an update of how your child is getting on.  Please contact your child’s teacher via email if you wish to find out more information.

Christmas Magic

Christmas is not cancelled!!  We intend to have our Christmas parties and Christmas dinner as usual although this will happen within our ‘bubbles’.  Although we cannot hold a Christmas Service or carol concert, we will be thinking of new and unique ways of keeping the magic alive for pupils.  We will create a video recording to share with you and plan to buy in an online pantomime so that children can watch this from the comfort of their classrooms.  Our Parent Council has agreed to buy presents for pupils and to pay for the cost of the pantomime and refreshments.  There will be Christmas decorations, Christmas jumpers and tinsel!!

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Remembrance Day

Some of our older pupils have written poems on poppies and have laid these at the war memorial in the village.  On Wednesday, we will have a two minute silence at 11am and pupils will be learning more about Remembrance Day by completing activities in their classrooms.  Thank you to those who have provided donations to wear poppies.  These are still available in school.

Physical Education in Schools – Covid-19 Update

New advice from Scottish Government is that children can now participate in indoor PE lessons providing that necessary precautions are taken.   Activities will be planned to minimise the use of equipment as this is deemed to be safer for pupils.  Any equipment used needs to be cleaned and sanitised between lessons.

Music in Schools – Covid-19 Update

Music lessons can take place outdoors or under a gazebo (with open sides or equivalent) with appropriate physical distancing where possible.  There must be no sharing of musical instruments between learners in class.  Pupils should wash hands before and after touching any equipment.  Equipment must be cleaned and sanitised between lessons.

Face Coverings in Schools – Covid-19 Update

Face coverings should be worn by adults where they cannot keep two metres from other adults and / or children and young people.  Face coverings should be used by adults when not working directly with children, for example when moving around settings or when in staff rooms, administrative areas or canteens across all school settings.

We continue to ask that adults wear face coverings when dropping off/ collecting your child from school.

Ventilation in Schools – Covid-19 Update

Where practical, windows should be opened at least 15 mins prior to the room being used.  External doors do not require to be wide open. Doors and windows should be partially opened to provide ventilation while reducing draughts.   Internal doors will be kept open unless they are fire doors.  Seating arrangements will be reviewed in classrooms to ensure that pupils are not sitting in a draught.   The wearing of school uniform will be relaxed so that warmer clothing can be worn.  Indoor heating will be adjusted to compensate for cold air flow from outside.

Reporting to Parents

We normally hold parental consultations in November but due to the pandemic these will be carried out differently this year.  Instead of ‘face to face’ or telephone consultations, teachers will provide parents with information via email.  If any parents/ guardians wish to speak to the teacher then they can contact the school office and make a telephone appointment.

Communication

If you are having issues with receiving group texts or emails from school then please contact the relevant school office:

gw08officecrossmicha@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

01556 670282

gw08officegelston@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

01556 502415

We no longer use the Expressions app in our schools.

You may communicate via telephone, email or the blog.

You can also access our class Facebook pages to find out more about what has been happening in class.

If you wish to contact me directly then please telephone me on 07741 686730.

Parent Council

Our next meeting is via ZOOM on Monday 16th November at 7pm.  Please see the update below from our Chairperson, Gilli Hodson.

Best wishes

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

1. Attendees
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of Last Meeting: approval and matters arising
4. Chairperson’s report
5. Treasurer’s report
6. Head Teacher’s report
7. Fundraising
8. Update on Outdoor Learning Shelter
9. Update on Safer Routes to school
10. Expressions App/emails
11. Christmas
12. AOB
13. Date for next meeting

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

Covid- 19 Updates to Risk Assessments

At school we have been updating our risk assessments.  It is likely that in the future there may be times when some pupils or a class has to isolate.  So that we can minimise the number of pupils who may have to isolate in the event of someone testing positive, we have made some changes.

The school playground is now divided into two ‘zones’ with P1/2 and P2-4 playing at the back of the school (supervised by Mrs Jennings and Mrs Stitt) and P4/5 and P6/7 at the front of the school (supervised by Mrs Cowan and Mrs Clifton).  Mr McWilliam (janitor) will also be in the playground.  Pupils should make their way to their zone when they arrive at school in the morning.  Pupils will play in their zones during play time and lunch time.

At lunch time, we have two sittings.  The first sitting is at 12pm for P4/5 and P6/7 (supervised by Mrs Cowan and Mrs Clifton).  The second sitting is at 12.30pm for P1/2 and P2-4 (supervised by Mrs Jennings and Mrs Stitt).  Pupils will sit at tables with their classmates.  Tables are wiped down between sittings.

Pupils who travel to and from school by bus, should ensure that P4/5 and P6/7 pupils sit at the back of the bus and P1/2 and P2-4 pupils at the front of the bus.

I have spoken to our children about this very sensitively.

I explained that adults are wearing masks because we are following advice from the Scottish Government.  We do not want to spread germs like coronavirus.

I explained that if someone in the class tested positive for Covid-19 then it was likely that the whole class would have to be sent home to isolate (dependent on advice from the Public Health Team).  If classes mix together then more of us would have to be sent home and we don’t want that to happen.  This is why we are minimising contact between class ‘bubbles’.

At lunch time and in the playground, we have two classes who are mixing together but they are not sitting together and are outside when playing so the likelihood of spreading germs to each other is reduced.

I finished by reminding pupils that they have control in helping us to stop coronavirus from spreading.  I reminded them of how fantastic they are at washing hands, using hand gel and staying in their class bubbles.

At the end I asked pupils to show me how anxious/ worried they were feeling by raising their thumbs up, down or in the middle.  It is interesting to note that approximately quarter of our children are feeling confident, half are feeling a bit worried and a quarter are feeling very anxious.  I then listened to their questions and answered them.  They said they felt more settled afterwards.

We will continue to reassure pupils in school but it may be helpful for parents. guardians to look again at the resources available to support children.  You can find some helpful resources on our Partnership Schools’ Blog:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/dg/candg/advice-page-coronavirus-support/

As always, please contact the school if you wish to discuss anything further.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael Primary School,

I am delighted to say that our children had a wonderful time on Friday for Halloween.  Everyone looked amazing!  Mrs Pringle provided a spooky Halloween lunch and pupils participated in Halloween activities in class in the afternoon.  Thank you to everyone who donated towards school funds.  We raised £53.  Here are some photographs of our children (others on class Facebook pages):

Face Coverings in Schools

After the announcement on Friday (see previous blog post) , I am pleased to say that staff and pupils have adapted well to seeing adults wearing face coverings in school.  Please remember to wear face coverings when dropping off or picking up your child at the gates or when entering the playground.

Pupils to Wear an Extra Layer of Clothing

As the weather becomes colder, we ask that pupils bring an extra layer of clothing to wear in school.  This does not have to be school uniform.  Current guidelines are that rooms should be well ventilated to suppress transmission of the virus.  Although we will try to maintain a comfortable temperature, windows will be open so pupils may be more comfortable with an extra fleece/ jumper to keep them warm.

Covid-19 Updates

As we approach the winter months, it is likely that there will be an increase in the reported cases of Covid-19 in our community.

Please can I remind you that you should not come in to school if you:

• Have coronavirus (Covid-19) symptoms
• Have tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) in the past 10 days
• Are in a household with individuals who have been tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) in the last 14 days
• Have been contacted through the Test and Protect programme and been advised to stay at home.

The three standard symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) are:

• Fever
• New/ Continuous cough
• Change in sense of taste or smell

Please look after yourselves and rest assured that we are taking all reasonable precautions to ensure that your children and staff are safe in school.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Face Coverings (Adults) – from Monday 2^nd November

The Scottish Government has issued updated guidance to all schools this afternoon which includes a change to the guidance on the wearing of face coverings for adults (staff, parents and visitors) in Primary Schools. (Primaries will now have the same procedures as Secondary schools).

From Monday 2^nd

a) Face coverings should be worn by adults wherever they cannot keep 2m distance with other adults and/or children and young people in or out of the classroom.

b) At all times, when moving around the school, adults should wear a face covering e.g. in corridors, office areas and staff rooms.

c) Face coverings should be worn by parents and other visitors to all school sites (whether entering the building or school grounds), including parents at drop-off and pick-up.

The update guidance applies to all adults and face coverings will now need to be worn unless there is an exemption.

The advice for children has not changed and there is no need for children to wear face coverings but are welcome to wear one if they wish when moving about the school.

We have tried to keep our routines as normal as possible but, from Monday, the wearing of face coverings in the playground by adults and when moving about the school will be introduced and could I please ask that you share this news with your child(ren) so that they will be aware of this change in time for Monday.

Thank you for your support and patience as the new Scottish Government guidance filters down to school level.  Please remember to wear a face covering when dropping off and collecting your child(ren).  This will help to keep us all safe.

Best wishes,

Mary E. Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher