Welcome Back

Happy New Year to you all!  We hope you had a lovely time over Christmas and wish you all the best for 2020.

 

Diary Dates

We will provide you with a list of dates for the term in the next newsletter.

 

Primary 1 Enrolment Days – Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th January 2020

Parents of children who attain the age of five years by the last day of February 2021 are asked to enrol their child(ren) at their catchment primary school on Monday 13 January or Tuesday 14 January 2020 between the hours of 9.00am and 3.30pm.   Parents are reminded of their right to retain their child(ren) at home until the enrolment date following their fifth birthday.

For further details please follow this link: https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/20110/Primary-1-Enrolment-Dates

 

Parent Council Meeting – Monday 13th January

We are having a Parent Council meeting at 7pm on Monday 13th January in Gelston Primary School. The main focus of the meeting will be to finalise arrangements for our Burns’ Supper on Friday 24th January.  Please come along to find out more. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

 

School Records on Armed Forces Data

Dumfries and Galloway Council have asked the school to update our records to reflect how many pupils have parents or carers who are currently serving in the armed forces, or who have previously served in them.  If your child has a parent/ carer who is a regular, reserve or veteran and if you are willing to disclose this information to us then please email the school office with details.  The office email is gw08officecrossmicha@ea.dumgal.sch.uk .  Thank you for your assistance.

 

Scottish Football Association After Schools Club

Football Letter Jan-Feb 2020

 

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

 

Thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas service this afternoon. Rev Alison Burnside gave us a special Christmas message and provided entertainment!! We look forward to seeing more of her in 2020.

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎅☃🎄

I have been asked to send this information to all families to make you aware of the free help and activities available over the festive period.

Please find attached all of the following documents:

• Christmas Holiday Food Fund Flyer 2019
• Fed Up Community Café Christmas Flyer
• ILS Newsletter December 2019

If you wish to find out more then please contact:

Wendy Jesson, Anti-Poverty Officer, Communities, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Council Offices, Sun Street, Stranraer, DG9 7JJ. External: 01776 888317

Christmas Holiday Food Fund 2019 – Flyer Christmas Holidays 2019 – Fed Up Community Cafe Flyer ILS Newsletter December 2019

Photo Gallery

Photos of our Achievement Assembly, P4-7 and their Science experiments and today’s Christmas dinner.  Please click on individual photos and comment if you wish.

 

Open Day Tomorrow – Tuesday 17th December 2019

Parents and families are welcome to pop in at any time tomorrow to learn more about what your child learns and experiences when in school.  Mrs Maxwell sent a letter out a few weeks ago to invite you to join us.  If you wish to pop in at any time then please contact the school office or reply using the comments section at the end of this newsletter to let us know.

 

Collection for Mrs Wilson

Mrs Wilson has been a teacher at Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools for several years.  She is leaving at Christmas.  Please remember that all collection money should be handed in to the school office by tomorrow to enable us to organise her leaving gift for Friday.

 

Diary Dates

Monday 16th December – School Christmas Dinner

Tuesday 17th December – Open Day for parents and families to join in with lessons

Wednesday 18th December – Christmas Parties

Thursday 19th December – Pantomime at The Fullarton theatre in Castle Douglas.  Please arrive at 7.15pm and come in to the theatre.  Parents/ Guardians can collect children at 9.15pm from the front door.

Friday 20th December – Christmas Service in the village hall at 2pm.

Wednesday 8th January 2019 – Pupils return to school.  (Teacher training days are on 6th and 7th January.)

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and thank you once again for your support this term.

 

With best wishes from,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Mrs Wilson’s Collection

Mrs Wilson will be leaving Crossmichael Primary School over the Christmas holidays.   I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her input at Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools.  To recognise her contribution to both schools over the years, we will be having a collection for her.  If you wish to contribute then please send donations to the school office by Tuesday 17th December.

Stewartry Dance Competition – Tuesday 10th Dec from 10am-12pm

We wish our dancers well as they participate in the Stewartry Dance Competition tomorrow in Castle Douglas Town Hall.

 

Worms

Often children will catch threadworms.  It can be distressing for children and parents/ guardians but it is easily treatable.  Advice can be found on the NHS website using this link:  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Threadworms/ .  In the new year, I would be happy to arrange a workshop with the School Nurse for any interested parents/ guardians.

 

Diary Dates

Friday 13th Dec at 2pm	Achievement Assembly All parents and families are invited to the village hall so that pupils can share their achievements in learning within and out with school.
Monday 16th December at 12pm	School Christmas Dinner
Tuesday 17th December All day	Open Day Mrs Maxwell sent out a separate letter inviting parents to ‘drop in’ at any point during the day to get a flavour of learning and teaching in our school.
Wednesday 18th December	Christmas Parties P4-7 may arrive wearing their party clothes/non-uniform and change into uniforms before lunch.  P1-3 may bring party clothes/ non-uniform with them and change at lunch time.
Thursday 19th December at 7pm	Pantomime at the Fullarton Theatre Pupils from Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools will attend the theatre to see Cinderella. Details will follow nearer the time.
Friday 20th Dec at 2pm	Christmas Service Parents and families are invited to join us for our Christmas Service in the village hall.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Photos from the Gelston Bloggers!

Hello, we are the Gelston Bloggers and each week we will add some photographs and news about what we have been learning in school.  Here are some photos of what P4-7 learned in Art today.

From the Gelston Bloggers!

 

 

Stewartry Dance Competition –  Tuesday 10th December

(10am-12pm in Castle Douglas Town Hall)

There are 16 pupils involved in the dance competition and they have been attending an after schools dance club with Mrs L-Scott on a Wednesday.  (The last session is on Wednesday 4th December from 3-4pm in the Village Hall.)

 

Travelling Arrangements: Just to confirm that these 16 pupils will be travelling to and from school to Castle Douglas Town Hall with:

Mrs L-Scott (4 spaces)

Lucy’s Mum (? spaces)

Darby’s Dad (? spaces)

Kaiden and Bonnie’s Mum (? spaces)

Please can these parents confirm how many spaces they have in cars and also if car seats are required?

 

Costumes: Mrs L-Scott has bought white t-shirts and is transforming them into snowmen costumes for the 8 snowmen.  The eight other pupils will be wearing casual clothes including a Christmas jumper if possible, or a casual jumper if not. (Mrs L-Scott will confirm this with parents in person on Wednesday after the club.)

 

Our dance will be shared with parents at our Achievement Assembly on 13th December too.

 

 

Parent Council

Please can I remind you to complete the short survey to help us make our Parent Council as accessible as possible?

Click link to access survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KYGDMHL

 

 

Diary Dates

Friday 13th Dec at 2pm	Achievement Assembly All parents and families are invited to the village hall so that pupils can share their achievements in learning within and out with school.
Monday 16th December at 12pm	School Christmas Dinner
Tuesday 17th December All day	Open Day Mrs Maxwell sent out a separate letter inviting parents to ‘drop in’ at any point during the day to get a flavour of learning and teaching in our school.
Wednesday 18th December	Christmas Parties P4-7 may arrive wearing their party clothes/non-uniform and change into uniforms before lunch.  P1-3 may bring party clothes/ non-uniform with them and change at lunch time.
Thursday 19th December at 7pm	Pantomime at the Fullarton Theatre Pupils from Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools will attend the theatre to see Cinderella. Details will follow nearer the time.
Friday 20th Dec at 2pm	Christmas Service Parents and families are invited to join us for our Christmas Service in the village hall.

Best wishes,

Mrs M Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

 

Welcome to our New Clerical Assistant

This week we welcome Mrs Georgina Benson to Gelston Primary School.  She will normally be in the office from 9am-3pm on a Tuesday and Friday.  This week she is joining us on Monday 25^th and Wednesday 27^th November to enable her to work alongside Miss Campbell and Miss McNeill.  We hope that you will make her feel very welcome.

 

 

Communication and Data Protection

In the interests of Data Protection, we wanted to ensure that we are no longer holding pupil details on unused apps or websites.

 

I have contacted the administrator of the old websites and I have asked them to delete the websites and URLs.

 

We continue to send GroupCall texts to your mobile phones.  GroupCall is directly linked to data from our Council based SEEMiS system.

 

The Expressions app is also linked to GroupCall and SEEMiS but we do not use it after gathering feedback from parents.  You may delete the Expressions app.

 

 

 

Parent Council Survey

Our Parent Council have prepared some information to introduce themselves and this is included on their blog: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/dg/gelstonpc/ .  (This is also located on the right hand side bar of the school website under the heading, ‘Gelston Parent Council Updates’.)

 

One of the first things that they would like to do is to try and make our Parent Council as accessible as possible. To help them to work out how they might achieve this they have prepared the following short survey:

 

Click link to access survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KYGDMHL

 

The survey will remain open until 5pm on 10^th December 2019 when it will close and they will review the feedback received.  Please see the Parent Council blog for more information. 

 

Gelston Diary Dates
Monday 25th November at 11.30am	P4-7 Feis Rois Ukulele Performance in the Village Hall Parents and families are invited to watch pupils perform some pieces on the ukulele.
Tuesday 26th November at 6.30pm	P7 Open Evening at Castle Douglas High School
Friday 13th Dec at 2pm	Achievement Assembly All parents and families are invited to the village hall so that pupils can share their achievements in learning within and out with school.
Monday 16th December at 12pm	School Christmas Dinner
Wednesday 18th December	Christmas Parties P4-7 may arrive wearing their party clothes/non-uniform and change into uniforms before lunch.  P1-3 may bring party clothes/ non-uniform with them and change at lunch time.
Thursday 19th December at 7pm	Pantomime at the Fullarton Theatre Pupils from Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools will attend the theatre to see Cinderella. Details will follow nearer the time.
Friday 20th Dec at 2pm	Christmas Service Parents and families are invited to join us for our Christmas Service in the village hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Parent/ Guardian,

 

Open Day – Gelston Primary

 

As discussed at a recent Parent Council meeting it was agreed that holding an open day where parents would be invited along to spend some of their day in school, working alongside the children, would be a good way to give everyone a better idea of how some of the activities that we carry out in a school day.

 

It is entirely up to you how long you stay, half an hour or the entire day. I realise it is impossible to arrange a day to suit everyone but we are going to try our first open day on Tuesday 17^th December.

P1-3 timetable:

Registration and lunches	Literacy Activities	Numeracy Activities	Art/Music Specialist teacher	IDL Babushka/ Xmas Traditions

 

P4-7 timetable:

Registration and lunches	Numeracy Activities	P.E. Dance	IDL- Science	Art- Specialist teacher

 

This is a rough guideline as to the type of activities in each classroom but sometimes these can alter slightly. In addition to these timetables Mrs. L-Scott will be working on Positive Relationships and Mrs. Maxwell will be working with groups from both classrooms.

 

You are also welcome to stay for lunch at 12.30pm and can purchase soup and a scone for £2.50.

 

 

Please contact the school via the office email gw08officegelston@ea.dumgal.sch.uk to let us know:

1. If you are able to attend on 17th December and
2. If you are staying for lunch.  (Please send in £2.50 if so.)

(We are also sending out a paper letter with a tear off slip.)

We hope you can come along and join us.

 

Yours sincerely,

Norma Maxwell

Principal Teacher

 

 

Primary 7 Open Evening

We would like to invite you to a Primary 7 Open Evening at Castle Douglas High School on Tuesday 26^th November from 6.30 – 7.30pm.  Tea and coffee will be available from 6.15pm.

 The purpose of the evening is to inform you about the transition programme and to explain how your child will be supported through the process.  Some S1 pupils will talk about their personal experience of transition and the Junior Leaders will explain their role in supporting the P7 pupils.  The evening will end with a tour of the school where you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

We realise that moving to High School can be an anxious time for both pupils and parents and we hope that we can put your mind at ease and make it an enjoyable and exciting experience for the young people. Please do not hesitate to contact the school should you have any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Alison Cook

Depute Headteacher, Castle Douglas High School

Dumfries & Galloway Parent Council Forum

There is a meeting on Thursday  (21st November) at 7pm at Castle Douglas High School open to parents.  The main focus will be on sharing and discussing next steps for Education Services within the Council as we face budget savings.  We cannot continue to spend money in the same way so we need to ‘transform’ our approach.  Several meetings were held across the region to discuss ideas and this meeting is a chance for you to find out more about what this will mean for our school and our children.  It would be extremely helpful if some parents could attend and feed back to the Parent Council.

 

Stewartry Dance Competition

I now have a groups of pupils from P1-7 who will be entering the Stewartry Dance Competition on 10th December.  In preparation for the event we are learning our dance over three weeks from 3-4pm in Gelston Village Hall.  Keep dancing!!

 

Edina Trust Bulb Project

Our pupils are involved in the ‘Spring Bulbs for Schools’ project which is a long running climate change investigation.  It gives pupils the opportunity to be part of a real science investigation. Pupils have planted daffodil and crocus bulbs and will spend time from Oct-Mar recording the rainfall and temperature each school day.  They will watch their daffodils and crocuses grow and record when they flower, and the height of the plants when the flowers open.  Results will be shared between schools all over the UK and pupils will begin to draw conclusions about the impact of climate change.

 

Active Schools Jigs and Reels

Louise Coupar from the Active Schools Team will be working with pupils in P4-7 one afternoon this week  in preparation for a Scottish Dance event happening in Term 3.

 

P2 and P3 Postcards of Kindness Project

 

Gelston Diary Dates
Thursday 21st Nov from 5.30pm-7.30pm	Parents Evening (LATE) Appointments have been issued.
Monday 25th November at 11.30am	P4-7 Feis Rois Ukulele Performance in the Village Hall Parents and families are invited to watch pupils perform some pieces on the ukulele.
Tuesday 26th November at 6.30pm	P7 Open Evening at Castle Douglas High School
Friday 13th Dec at 2pm	Achievement Assembly All parents and families are invited to the village hall so that pupils can share their achievements in learning within and out with school.
Monday 16th December at 12pm	School Christmas Dinner
Wednesday 18th December	Christmas Parties P4-7 may arrive wearing their party clothes/non-uniform and change into uniforms before lunch.  P1-3 may bring party clothes/ non-uniform with them and change at lunch time.
Thursday 19th December at 7pm	Pantomime at the Fullarton Theatre Pupils from Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools will attend the theatre to see Cinderella. Details will follow nearer the time.
Friday 20th Dec at 2pm	Christmas Service Parents and families are invited to join us for our Christmas Service in the village hall.