Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well.

Christmas Dinner –  Monday 14th December

We had our Christmas dinner on Monday 14th December.  Thank you to Mrs Fenwick for the lovely meal.  Congratulations to Zosia whose name was picked from the hat.  She and a friend will enjoy a morning of baking with Mrs Fenwick later this week.

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 Castle Douglas Food Bank 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!  Pupils have been busy preparing performances to share with you later this week.  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 Gelston 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 on to Castle Douglas Food Bank.

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.

Gelston Art Gallery

Mrs Bielinski thought it was a shame that you cannot see pupils’ wonderful art work this year so she has kindly created a video clip for you.  Thank you, Mrs Bielsinski!

Wee Dee Gee Colouring Competition Winner!

Congratulations to Bonnie who won the competition to colour in the school meals mascot, ‘Wee Dee Gee’.  Here are some photographs of her receiving her prize from Mrs Carol Siberry.  Thank you to Mrs Fenwick for organising this.

Equal Protection – information for families about changes to the law 

On 7th November 2020 Scots law changed meaning that parents/carers in Scotland can no longer use physical punishment as a reasonable form of discipling 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’twork – 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 developand 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 Gelston Primary School,

‘Poppy Appeal’ Fundraising

We raised £28 from the Poppy appeal.  Thanks to those who donated this year.

Children in Need

Our pupils raised £54 in total for Children in Need.  Thank you so much for your kind donations.

Christmas Dinner – Monday 14^th December

We are having our Christmas dinner on Monday 14^th 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.

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 on to Castle Douglas Food Bank.

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.

Party dates are as follows:

Monday 7th December = P1-3

Thursday 10th December = P4-7

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 Gelston Primary School,

New Enrolments

Two new enrolments means our school roll is currently at 40 pupils.   We welcome our new pupils to the school

Remembrance Day

Each class chose how they would like to commemorate Remembrance Day.  We had a two minute silence and an assembly that was live streamed into each classroom.  P1-3 painted poppies on stones and learned more about the significance of this special day.  P4 made a wreath from paper poppies and P4-7 wrote poems.  P7 pupils read the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae and Milly played the musical version on her chanter.

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 P1-3 pupils playing at the right hand side of the school and our P4-7pupils at the left hand side.  In the dining hall, P1-3 have lunch at 12pm and sit at one side of the hall.  They go out to play then P4-7 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 they 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 Miss McNeill in order to build capacity.

Staffing

Unfortunately, Miss Reid (Principal Teacher – 4 days) continues to be absent.  Therefore I will be spending more time here in order to support pupils and staff.  We wish her well and 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

At Crossmichael Primary School the Parent Council secured a £10K  from Blackcraig Wind Farm Community Fund.  This enabled us to build an outdoor classroom thanks to Iain Hall Joinery.  We would love to have the same resource at Gelston Primary School so I will be consulting with our Parent Council at our next meeting.  (Details to follow shortly.)

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

Our pupils are decorating stones with poppies to lay 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.

Children in Need – Pyjama Day on Friday 13th November

Some pupils have asked if we can wear pyjamas to school on Friday to raise money for Children in Need.  If your child wishes to wear pyjamas or to come in casual clothes for a small donation (suggested £1) then that would be fantastic!  All money raised will go to the charity.

Unfortunately, we are not permitted to sell baking at the moment so please do not send any into 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.

Best wishes

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

I am delighted to say that our children had a wonderful time on Friday for Halloween.  Everyone looked amazing!  Mrs Fenwick provided a spooky Halloween lunch and pupils participated in Halloween activities in class in the afternoon.  Thank you to everyone who donated £1 towards school funds.  Here are some photographs of our children:

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

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

Welcome back to our second term of 2020/2021.  I hope that you had a restful October holiday.

Class Newsletters

Teachers will be sending class newsletters home in the next few weeks so that you have some information about what your child is learning in school this term.

Remembrance Day Poppies

We will be distributing poppies to pupils for a small donation.  The poppies have been quarantined for three days and will be handed out using gloves.  Pupils should bring in a donation from tomorrow.

Friday 30^th October – Halloween Costumes/ Non-Uniform Day – £1

On Friday we are having a non-uniform day for a suggested donation of £1 towards school funds.  Pupils (and staff) can wear Halloween costumes or casual clothes.  Please do not send your child to school with a mask or face paint to avoid the risk of cross contamination.  Pupils will engage in Covid-safe Halloween activities in the afternoon.

Ventilation and Wearing Extra Clothing in School

Schools have been advised to ensure that there is adequate ventilation to minimise the spread of Covid-19.  We must also keep classrooms as comfortable as possible.  Classrooms will be heated but windows will be partially open to allow for air flow.  We ask that pupils bring in an extra jumper or fleece (not necessarily uniform) to keep them warm this term.

Flu Vaccinations

Children received flu vaccinations prior to the October holidays.

If you wish to discuss anything further then please contact us via the school office email.  You may also contact me on 07741 686730 if required.

Best wishes

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

School Dinner Winner!

Jacob was the winner of Mrs Fenwick’s school dinner competition which ran this term.   He won a prize and has also picked his favourite meal – Pizza/Spaghetti and Meatballs followed by chocolate brownie and ice cream for dessert.  Well done Jacob!

P4-7 Puppet Show

P4-7 pupils created sock puppets and performed short video clips for their friends.  Thank you for working so hard this term boys and girls!

Have a wonderful October holiday!

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

I hope this newsletter finds you well.

On Friday we emailed you with ‘Covid-19 Schools Information for Parents and Guardians’ .  This should help to answer any questions you may have about how we manage Covid-19 in school.   A copy can be found here:

COVID advice for parents (1)

School Holidays

Please remember that schools close for two weeks for the October holidays from Monday 12th October – Friday 23rd October.  I wish you all a restful break.

Covid-19 Related Health and Safety

We have 38 pupils in Gelston Primary School.  We have tried to minimise contact between children and adults from different classes within the school building.

We have several measures in place to minimise the movement of pupils inside the school buildings. E.g. Each class stays within their classroom in the building.  Pupils enter and exit from separate doors.  They share toilet facilities but they wash hands before and after leaving the classroom.  We have staggered break times and lunches too.

Within each class, pupils do mix with each other in different groupings.  They do not remain seated at their desks all day.  We ensure regular hand washing before and after completing group tasks or before entering/ exiting the room.

We have a strict cleaning schedule in place where the school is thoroughly cleaned at the end of each day and touch points are cleaned twice throughout the course of the day.

There have been implications for staff too with us trying to minimise movement between classrooms during one day and also between schools.

Attainment and Achievement

We have spent a considerable amount of time gathering assessment evidence to find out exactly where learners are and to identify their next steps in learning.  The school closures have had an impact on learning but we are able to move forward now that we have the evidence required.  Mrs Hermon, our Additional Support for Learning Teacher, has been helping to advise us on programmes of work for individuals.

In addition to this we have been supporting pupils with their health and wellbeing needs.  We now have strategies and support in place to help those pupils who have really struggled with the transition back into school.

On the whole, we are delighted with how well our pupils have settled back in to school this term.

Additional Support for Learning

In Gelston we have two full time Learning Assistants –  Mrs McNeill and Mr MacDougall.  Mr MacDougall will return to Gelston after the October holidays.  Across the partnership schools, we also have a full time Learning Assistant, funded by Pupil Equity Funding, whose remit is to raise attainment through targeted interventions in Literacy and Numeracy – Mrs Clifton.

This year Crossmichael received £19,800 in Pupil Equity Funding to close the poverty related attainment gap.  At Gelston, we received £4,800.  This term, Mrs Clifton has been working at Crossmichael.  She will join us in Gelston half way through next term.

I meet with staff every term and we review and revise timetables to ensure that pupils are targeted appropriately and effectively.

Playground Developments

Pupils are keen to develop our playground.  They shared their ideas and showed me maps, drawings and letters outlining their ideas for the playground.   They hope to reuse and recycle items as much as possible and are going to approach local businesses for donations.  The P4-7 pupils helped to write letters last week.

We would like some parents/ carers to help us by applying for more grants to help fund some of the bigger items mentioned.

Pupil Groups

We have elected House and Vice-Captains.  We hope to reinstate our Pupil Council, Health Group, Eco-Schools Group and Blogging Group after the holidays.

Reporting to Parents

Teachers will be sending an email to all parents/ carers before the October holidays with a brief update of how your child is getting on since returning to school in August.  Please contact your child’s teacher via email if you wish to find out more information.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher