Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Covid-19 Update

You will be aware that the First Minister made an announcement on 16th September and afterwards we sent out a copy of a letter from the Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch (link below) which provides a national update of how Covid-19 cases are managed in schools.

Letter to Parents and Carers from Jason Leitch National Clinical Director – 16 September 2021

If we have a positive case of Covid-19 in school then I will send a letter to parents of pupils who are in the same class to inform you that there has been a positive case in your child’s class.

If you receive a letter then we advise that your child takes a lateral flow test that evening.  If they are negative then they can return to school as normal.  If positive, then the household should isolate and your child should have a PCR test.  This will help us to minimise the risk of spreading the virus in school.

Lateral flow test kits can be collected from local pharmacies or ordered over the Internet.

Please continue to keep us informed of test results so that we can accurately record positive cases or cases where a child has become symptomatic.

I am pleased to report that we have not yet had any positive cases at Gelston Primary School and there are no new cases at Crossmichael Primary School this week.

 

Lockerbie Manor Trip for P6/7 Pupils

I am delighted to report that I have booked a three day residential trip to Lockerbie Manor (Manor Adventure) outdoor education centre for our P6/7 pupils from 7th-9th February 2022.  The cost per pupil is £150 and this includes bus travel.

Although residential trips are not advised at the moment, we are hoping that the rules will have changed by February.  Lockerbie Manor have agreed to a full refund in the event that the trip needs to be cancelled.

I sent a survey to parents/ guardians of P6/7 pupils to ask if they were happy for us to proceed and the feedback was very positive.

We will provide further information via letter to P6/7 parents.  Please be aware that the £50 deposit is due by 31st October.

 

Gelston Parent Council

Gelston Parent Council met last night for our AGM and the office bearers were voted in.  They are:

Chairperson = Pam Shuttleworth

Secretary = Justine Hunter-Brown

Treasurer = Kay Davies

Please join the Gelston Parent Council Facebook page for regular updates.

We have agreed to have a Christmas Market next term.  More details will follow soon.  Pupils will also be designing Christmas cards and you will be able to order them online soon.  All money raised will go towards building our outdoor classroom.

The Parent Council is applying for grant money to help fund an outdoor classroom for the school.  (We need around £10K.)  We hope that this resource can also be used by our local community.  In order for our grant applications to be successful, we need to demonstrate how the school is linking in with local heritage.  If you have any ideas then please do get in touch with us.

 

Mrs Maxwell is Retiring at Christmas

Mrs Maxwell has decided to retire at Christmas.  We will be planning  something special for her nearer the time.  More details will follow.

 

Sponsored Walk – Thursday 7th October

We are organising a sponsored walk to raise money towards building our outdoor classroom.  Details will follow shortly.

 

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher