Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

It has been a particularly busy week across the partnership schools so I apologise for not updating the blog with a newsletter last Monday.

Help to Find Funding for An Outdoor Classroom

We would like a wooden shelter/ outdoor classroom in our playground.  We will need approximately £10K to enable us to build one.  At Crossmichael, our Parent Council were awarded a grant of £10K from the Blackcraig Windfarm Community Fund.  Unfortunately, we do not qualify for this funding.  Please can I ask any parents who are willing and able to help us apply for grants, to contact the school?

Playground Developments

I have listened to our pupils and they have asked for more play areas within our playground.  We are keen to use materials that are low cost and local.  Pupils have been looking at some ideas.   They plan to contact local businesses to ask for donations of paint, tyres, sand, gravel, black silage sheeting, tarpaulin,  wooden pallets, wood, etc. so that they can build play areas.   Here are some examples of play areas that the children have looked at:

If you have any items seen in these pictures that you could donate to school then please contact us.  (We are always looking for small cars and other vehicles!)

We also received £400 to go towards our playground developments from Castle McLellan Foods Ltd.

Parent Council Annual General Meeting 

We had our meeting last Monday and the minutes will be uploaded to the Parent Council Page as soon as possible.

Mrs Abby Tuchewicz  is standing down after a year as Chairperson.   I would like to thank her for her support in that time.  We were not able to appoint a Chairperson so role bearers have decided to take it in turns each term as Chairperson.

Good Luck Miss Scott!

Miss Scott started her Maternity Leave on Friday.  We wish her good luck with the birth of her baby and look forward to hearing the news!

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

Learning at Home when Isolating due to Covid-19 Symptoms

If your child needs to stay at home because they are exhibiting one of the three Covid-19 symptoms (new, continuous cough/ fever/ loss of taste or sense of smell) then the school will make contact with you every week to check in with you.  This will normally be a telephone call from the Principal Teacher or Headteacher.

If your child is feeling well enough to complete some learning at home then the class teacher will provide work for him/her via email, or paper copies will be made available.

School Chromebooks Borrowed by Children

During ‘lockdown’ we gave some children a school ‘Chromebook’ laptop so that they could access learning online.  These laptops belong to the partnership schools.  We now need to gather them back in to schools for pupils to use.  These can be borrowed again if required.  Please return the Chromebooks with the power cords (and dongles if you received one).

Reporting to Parents

This term, each teacher will email you a brief summary of your child’s strengths and next steps in learning.  We understand that many of you are anxious to find out if your child has any gaps in their learning as a result of the school closures.  We hope that this summary will provide you with this information.  You may contact class teachers via email if you have any questions or concerns.

Parent Council Annual General Meeting – Monday 21st Sept

We are having our AGM via the ZOOM app on Monday 21st September at 7pm.  If you wish to be invited then please email gelstonprimaryschoolparentcouncil@outlook.com and Abby Tuchewicz will send you a user ID and password.

The Parent Council is there to represent your views.  The name ‘Parent Council’ does sound very formal but this group can be as relaxed as you wish.  Please look at the leaflet to find out more.

Parent Council Know How

Each role (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary) can be shared between two parents.

P1-3 Community Walk

On Friday our P1-3 pupils went for a walk around our community to find out more about where we live.  Here are some photographs.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

We have had another lovely week at school.  I enjoyed teaching our P1-3 pupils on Friday.  They were very helpful in solving a maths investigation about coloured buttons!

How much has the ‘lock down’ impacted on learning?

Every year in Primary 1, pupils complete a standardised assessment at the start and end of the year.   We have just completed the ‘end of P1 assessments with our current P2s.  The results show that the children are slightly behind where we would expect them to be.  We are pleased to see that the gap is not as huge as we anticipated and teachers are working carefully to ensure that all pupils reach their full potential.

Teachers have been gathering evidence of pupil progress from formal assessments and from examples of their school work.  We now have targeted interventions in place for some pupils who need additional support.

We are continuing with the ‘Closing the Literacy Gap’ and ‘Closing the Numeracy Gap’ interventions after the October holidays.  Until recently the guidance provided to schools was that staff had to remain in the same school where possible.  Therefore, our Learning Assistant (Mrs Clifton) who is trained in the interventions, was not able to travel between the two schools.  She is currently completing a block at Crossmichael Primary School then will be based at Gelston to complete a block here.  (We plan to train more members of staff in the future so that these approaches are sustainable.)

Our Additional Support for Learning Teacher, Mrs Hermon, will be coming to Gelston next Monday to complete specific assessments with some pupils.

I have been in touch with families to organise Child’s Plan meetings.  A Child’s Plan meeting happens when a child has multi-agency involvement to support them in reducing/ removing barriers to learning.

Covid-19 Updates

I will continue to provide updates as I receive them.

Best Wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

House Captains and Vice-Captains

I am delighted to announce the Captains and Vice Captains for each House are:

Falcons:  House Captain is Ava Proudfoot and Vice-Captain is Alexa Swalwell

Owls:  House Captain is Milly Allison

Eagles:  House Captain is Rose Parker and Vice-Captain is Fern McMinn

All pupils did extremely well in presenting their speeches to their peers.  Congratulations to them all!

Staffing

I am also delighted to welcome Miss Sarah White as our Clerical Assistant who will be covering Miss Campbell’s Maternity position at Crossmichael.  She will also answer the telephone for Gelston Primary School at times.  Gelston Office hours are as follows:

Monday: Miss McNeill before school.  No Clerical in Gelston during school hours so you will be transferred to Mrs Benson or Miss White

Tuesday:  Miss McNeill before school and Mrs Benson during school hours

Wednesday: Miss McNeill before school.  No Clerical in Gelston during school hours so you will be transferred to Mrs Benson or Miss White

Thursday:  Miss McNeill before school.  No Clerical in Gelston during school hours so you will be transferred to Mrs Benson or Miss White

Friday: Miss McNeill before school and Mrs Benson during school hours

If you have an urgent message then please contact the Headteacher’s mobile on 07741 686730.

School Meals Menu

Here is a copy of the school meals menu for your information.

0409-19 Primary School meal leaflet end of 2020

Updates on Covid-19

I will continue to keep you updated on the latest advice about Covid-19 arrangements.  Please see the letter received today from Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, Scottish Government:

Coronavirus – Jason Leitch Letter on testing and common colds – 31 August 2020

If I need to add any information to the blog then I will notify you by Group call text first.  Thank you for your patience and support.

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Update About Colds/ Sore Throats and Attendance

Today we sent a Group Call text message to parents to tell you that pupils who were generally unwell, had sore throats or colds were not to attend school until they felt better.  This information came from Public Health Scotland and was initially put in place because we are still learning about how Coronavirus presents in children.  (It is possible that they will display atypical symptoms.)

Following feedback from schools and parents, this advice has been amended.  Therefore,  pupils may attend school if they have a minor cold or sore throat.  

Adults and children who are displaying one of the three Covid-19 symptoms must not attend.  Neither should siblings.  The symptoms are:

1. Fever
2. Change or loss of sense of taste/ smell
3. New, continuous cough

Please read over the latest guidance (25.08.2020) for information about what action to take if you or your child is symptomatic.

COVID-19 Advice for Parents v1.1 250820

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

I hope that you are well.  I wanted to update you on the guidance issued to school about signs of Covid-19 on Tuesday 25th August.  You should not send your child to school if they have any of these three symptoms:

1. A new continuous cough
2. A high temperature
3. A loss or change to their sense of smell of taste

The advice from the Health Protection Team is that Children / Staff who are unwell but not displaying the standard 3 x COVID-19 related symptoms should also not attend school e.g. sore throat, colds, vomiting / diarrhoea general unwellness.

Please see the poster issued last week:

Schools building sign for illness

What if we have a confirmed positive case of Covid-19 in school?

We have stringent risk assessments in place in the event that a person displays symptoms of Covid-19 when in school.

If this was an adult then they would be sent home immediately and would book a test.  If this was a child then we would isolate them in a quiet room until they could be collected and taken for a test.  Their siblings should also remain at home during this time.

If the test comes back negative then the adult/ child can return to school once they are feeling well again.

If the test is confirmed as a positive then the adult/ child would need to isolate for 10 days.  The school would be thoroughly deep cleaned.

The school will cooperate with Test & Protect procedures and follow guidance from our Public Health team to ensure that all members of our school community are kept safe.

 £400 Grant Award from Castle MacLellan Foods Ltd 

We are delighted to announce that we have successfully received a grant for £400 from Castle MacLellan Foods Ltd. to buy equipment for our infant outdoor area.  If we have any parents who are good at making mud kitchens from wooden pallets or helping to build a large sand pit then please let us know!

Our Tatties!

Alfie and William helped to dig up our tatties last week and Mrs Fenwick cooked them for lunch.  Yummy!

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

School Meals and Clothing Grants

Some people will qualify for free school meals and clothing grants.  Please remember to re-apply for this by clicking on the link below and completing the form that is half way down the page.

https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/15246/School-clothing-grants

Pupils Choose the Menu for a Day!

At Gelston, we are very lucky to have meals cooked on site.  In order to keep our kitchen we need to increase the uptake of school meals.  Therefore, Mrs Fenwick is introducing a rewards system where pupils receive a star if they demonstrate our school values.  Once a child has 15 stars they will be placed into a draw and if their name is pulled out they can choose the school menu for a day and will receive a free lunch that day.  It would be lovely to see more pupils taking school dinners so please try and support us.

Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,

Positive Relationships and Anti-Bullying Policy

Last year we developed our Positive Relationships and Anti-Bullying Policy.  Here is a copy of a leaflet explaining the key points:

Promoting Positive Relationships Information Leaflet

If you would like any further information then please contact the school.  It would be lovely to hear your feedback.  You can either reply to the blog or email the school office.

As always, please contact us if you have any questions.  The office email is gw08officegelston@ea.dumgal.sch.uk .

Best wishes,

Mary E Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher