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Dear Friends and Families of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I am writing this letter whilst isolating at home as my daughter has tested positive for Covid-19.  If you wish to contact me directly then please call 07741 686730 or alternatively, contact the school and someone will get back to me.  I hope that you are well.

Covid-19 Update

In each school, we have some pupils isolating because they have tested positive for Covid-19.   If someone in your child’s class has tested positive then we will notify you by sending a letter containing advice.  (It is worth noting that symptoms in children reported to us by parents tend to include a fever, vomiting, fatigue and persistent headache.)

Please remember that if your child or anyone in their household experiences a fever, persistent cough or loss of sense of taste/ smell then you should isolate immediately and book a PCR test.

If you have no symptoms but your lateral flow result is positive then please report this on the Government website and isolate immediately.

Children (anyone under 18yrs 4months) and fully vaccinated adults (had 2 jabs and a booster) who test positive, may end isolation earlier than 10 days as long as they record a negative lateral flow test on day 6 and no sooner than 24hrs later on day 7.

Adults (over 18yrs and 4 months) who are not fully vaccinated and test positive must isolate for 10 days.

Household contacts of a positive case may return to school/ work if they continue to receive a negative test each day for seven days provided that they are under 18yrs 4months or are fully vaccinated. (If you are an adult who is not fully vaccinated then you must isolate for 10 days regardless of negative lateral flow results.)

Learning from Home 

It is likely that some pupils may need to isolate and will need to learn from home.

In my previous newsletter l mentioned that pupils could access a GLOW tile called ‘D&G Learning from Home’.  Unfortunately, this was incorrect and I apologise for any confusion caused.  (Teachers can use this resource and signpost parents to appropriate activities.)  Nevertheless, there are tiles available that have lovely activities on them such as ‘OUP Oxford Owl’.  Please explore the tiles on GLOW.

In addition, here are some useful websites:

In addition to this, some children have a ‘SumDog’ username and password to enable them to complete numeracy and maths activities at home.  Teachers also post spelling words on either the closed class Facebook pages or on Microsoft TEAMS.  These can be accessed each week.

If you need help then please contact us.

Primary 1 Enrolments

The school year starts in August and children enrol in the January before they start.

Children turning 5 before the end of February 2023 will enrol in January 2022 to start school in August 2022.  Children born between 1 September and the last day of February can choose to start primary school later . Children born between the first day of March and the last day of August can also apply for deferred entry.

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are reducing parental contact with schools and asking that rather than attend schools to enrol, parents/carers submit applications via school bags/post/electronically, where possible, along with supporting proof of date of birth and home address to the catchment school.

If your child/ren currently attend the nursery of your catchment primary school, there will be no requirement for you to provide proof of address or date of birth.

In all instances, you should download, complete and submit the appropriate application form below to your catchment school by week ending 21 January 2022.

•  Download the Catchment School Application Form [PDF – 49.2KB]
•  Download the Non-Catchment School Application Form [PDF – 70.23KB]

Here is the link to all enrolment information on the Dumfries and Galloway website: https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/15241/School-places#:~:text=Enrolling%20for%20Primary%201&text=Children%20turning%205%20before%20the,start%20school%20in%20August%202022.&text=Children%20born%20between%20the%20first,also%20apply%20for%20deferred%20entry.

Dates for Your Diary

Monday 7th – Wednesday 9th February – P6 and P7 pupils from both schools to Lockerbie Manor for a residential excursion with Miss Cruickshanks, Miss Reid and Mrs Stevens.

Monday 14th February – Wednesday 16th February:  School closed to pupils.  (Staff training days on 15th and 16th.)

Easter holiday – Monday 4 April to Monday 18 April 2022

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Contact details:

Miss Mary Cruickshanks

gw08cruickshanksmary@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

07741 686730

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Happy New Year!  I hope this newsletter finds you well and I wish you all the best for 2022.

Covid-19 Update

You will be aware that the number of positive cases of Covid-19 has risen over the festive period.  In the week ending 26th December there were 872 confirmed positive cases in our region and by the week ending 2nd January there were 2825 cases.

This will have an impact on schools as pupils and staff are required to isolate at different times.  We ask for your patience over the next few weeks as we try our best to ensure that schools can be kept open.  There may be some occasions where a class may have to be sent home if we are unable to locate staff to cover but this would always be a last resort.

Yesterday, The First Minister’s announcement gave us some optimism as she explained changes to testing and self-isolation periods.  I will summarise the information below:

Testing

· If you have no symptoms but record a positive lateral flow result then you do not need to have a PCR. Immediately follow self-isolation rules and ensure you record test results online for contact tracing to commence.

· If you have symptoms, you should book a PCR test and follow self-isolation rules.

Self-Isolation

· If you record a positive lateral flow test then you should isolate for 10 days. You have the option to end isolation after 7 days if you have no fever and have recorded a negative lateral flow test on day six and no sooner than 24 hours later, on day seven.

· Close contacts (including household contacts) who are either under 18 years 4 months old who are older and are fully vaccinated (e.g. are double jabbed and have had one booster) need not self-isolate as long as they record negative lateral flow results on a daily basis for the next 7 days.

· For those close contacts over 18 years 4 months who are not fully vaccinated, they must isolate for 10 days and take a PCR test.

· People who tested positive before midnight on 5th January are still bound by the previously stated self-isolation and testing rules. They must have a PCR and isolate for 10 days.

It would be helpful if your child could complete regular lateral flow tests to keep them and others safe but this is entirely voluntary.  Thank you to those families who have been in touch to say that their children are isolating.  We wish you well and hope that you make a speedy recovery.  We hope that things start to settle down over the next few weeks.

Learning and Isolation

You will understand that it is not possible for teachers to provide work for pupils to complete at home whilst also teaching a class full time.   Therefore, if your child needs to isolate at any time then they should locate generic learning activities found on the ‘DG Learning at Home’ tile within GLOW.  (Your child has a GLOW username and password.  When they log in they click on the ‘Dumfries & Galloway Council’ tile then the ‘DG Learning at Home’ tile to access materials.)

In addition to this, your child has a ‘SumDog’ username and password to enable them to complete numeracy and maths activities at home.  Teachers also post spelling words on either the closed class Facebook pages or on Microsoft TEAMS.  These can be accessed each week.

Please get in touch if you require any further information.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Covid-19 Updates

The First Minister made an announcement on 10^th December regarding the new Omicron variant of Covid.  The briefing can be read in full here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-update-first-ministers-speech-10-december-2021/

The key message is:

If you or a member of your household is symptomatic then ALL members of the household should isolate and book PCR tests. If one member of your household has a positive PCR result then ALL members need to isolate for 10 days regardless of whether they are already double vaccinated or not.  

December Diary Dates

Month of December – Pupils may come to school wearing school uniform or Christmas jumpers / Christmas tops/ Christmas dresses as they wish.

Wednesday 15th December – P4-7 Christmas Party.  Pupils may come to school dressed in party clothes.

Thursday 16th December – School Christmas Dinner Day.  Pupils may come to school dressed in a Christmas jumper, etc.

Friday 17th December at 1.30pm – Online assembly for Mrs Maxwell’s retirement followed by afternoon tea for pupils and staff.

Monday 20th December  – Parent Council raffle is drawn in school.

Tuesday 21st December – P1-3 Christmas Party.  Pupils may come to school dressed in party clothes.

Thursday 23rd December – Thursday 6th January – School Holidays for pupils.  Staff return on Wednesday 5th January and pupils return on Friday 7th January 2022.

Gelston Parent Council Christmas Raffle

Thank you for buying and selling raffle tickets.  We really appreciate your kind donations too.  The raffle will be drawn on Monday 20th December.  Please return all unused tickets and ‘stumps’ and money into school as soon as possible so that we can arrange the raffle.  Good luck to you all!

Gelston Primary School Parent Council Facebook Page

Our Parent Council has its own Facebook page!  This is a closed group so that privacy can be maintained. The office bearers of the Parent Council are administrators of the group.

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I hope this newsletter finds you well.  I understand that some of you experienced power cuts at the weekend caused by storm Arwen.  I hope things are back to normal for you now.

Covid-19 Updates

We thank you for your continued support in remaining vigilant and regularly testing your children if they become symptomatic.  We have had no cases of Covid-19 reported in school in the last four weeks so thank you for your help.

Unfortunately, we are not sending Christmas cards home again this year but please do take advantage of our Parent Council Christmas fundraiser where you can purchase other items from the online portal and support the school at the same time!

December Diary Dates

Month of December – Pupils may come to school wearing school uniform or Christmas jumpers / Christmas tops/ Christmas dresses as they wish.

Wednesday 15th December – P4-7 Christmas Party.  Pupils may come to school dressed in party clothes.

Thursday 16th December – School Christmas Dinner Day.  Pupils may come to school dressed in a Christmas jumper, etc.

Friday 17th December at 1.30pm – Online assembly for Mrs Maxwell’s retirement followed by afternoon tea for pupils and staff.

Monday 20th December  – Parent Council raffle is drawn in school.

Tuesday 21st December – P1-3 Christmas Party.  Pupils may come to school dressed in party clothes.

Thursday 23rd December – Thursday 6th January – School Holidays for pupils.  Staff return on Wednesday 5th January and pupils return on Friday 7th January 2022.

Gelston Parent Council Christmas Fundraiser

Please remember that the closing date for orders is 8th December!  See below for details.

Gelston Primary School Parent Council Facebook Page

Our Parent Council has its own Facebook page!  This is a closed group so that privacy can be maintained. The office bearers of the Parent Council are administrators of the group.

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Parent Council Christmas Card Fundraiser

Each child has designed a Christmas card.  If you wish to buy a pack of cards with your child’s design on them then please order and pay for them using the online portal.

To access the artwork you should visit the website and enter the username Gelston and password  SYTDh26W. The 10% discount code is Gelston.

The deadline for orders in 8th December.  We really appreciate your support.

Parent Council Christmas Raffle

Our fantastic Parent Council is organising a raffle to help raise money towards the cost of our outdoor classroom.  We are aiming to make up several hampers and we are asking local businesses for donations too.  Please look at the Gelston Parent Council Facebook page for more information.

Next week, books of raffle tickets will be on sale for £1 from the school office.

The raffle will be drawn in school on Monday 20th December

Christmas Diary Dates

The P4-7 Christmas party is in the afternoon of 15th December

Our school Christmas dinner is on 16th December

We are having an end of term assembly on Friday 17th December at 1.30pm  for Mrs Maxwell’s retirement and we are hoping to stream this live to Facebook.

The P1-3 Christmas party is in the afternoon of 21st December.

Christmas Performance

Children from our partnership schools will be performing ‘Christmas Around the World’ and will share this with you remotely nearer the time.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Covid-19 Update

You will be aware that there has been an increase in the amount of Covid-19 cases reported in our local area.  Please continue to complete regular lateral flow tests and if you or a member of your household becomes symptomatic then stay at home and book a PCR test.  (Your child may attend school if their PCR test is negative even if another member of your household receives a positive test.)

If you or your child experiences any of the following three symptoms then stay at home, book a PCR test and wait for a negative result before returning to school.

Symptom 1 –  a new or continuous cough

Symptom 2 –  a fever/ high temperature

Symptom 3 –  a loss of sense of taste or smell

Staffing Across Our Partnership Schools

Congratulations to Mrs Marscheider who is our new Acting Principal Teacher (Mon-Thurs) at Gelston Primary School.  Letters have been sent home to explain arrangements in more detail.

Remembrance  Day – 11th November 2021

Pupils at both schools will be marking Remembrance Day by observing a two minute silence and learning about the significance of the day.

At Crossmichael, Mrs Henry will attend to play the Last Post.

Mr Cooper from Gelston Community Council has provided Gelston pupils with a wreath to lay on the war memorial in Gelston village.

Active Schools Input at Gelston Primary

At Gelston,  Active Schools are providing a block of Gymnastics lessons with P1-3 each Friday.  They are also running a lunch club for all ages to participate in.

Limitless Kids Club

A free after school club for P5-7 pupils is being held each Wednesday from 4-5pm at the Hub Youth Centre, Blackpark Road, Castle Douglas.  Here is a copy of the flier:

School Photographs – Tempest Photography

At Gelston, pupils had their photographs taken last week.  We hope you were pleased with them.

At Crossmichael, our Parent Council requested that we have school photographs taken which is now possible as we can have volunteers in school.  Therefore, we have booked Tempest Photography to take individual and family photographs on Tuesday 7th December.

Dates for Your Diary 

We are currently setting dates for school Christmas dinner and Christmas parties.

The Christmas Holidays begin on Thursday 23rd December.  Staff return on Wednesday 5th January and pupils return on Friday 7th January.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I hope this newsletter finds you well.   Our children and staff had a lovely time participating in Halloween activities on Friday afternoon.  I hope you enjoy looking at the photographs on the class Facebook pages.

Covid-19 Update

A letter was sent to parents last week explaining the importance of continuing to adhere to the current Covid-19 safety requirements.  We rely on these measures to help us maintain in-school learning for children as we move forward into the winter months.

Sponsored Walk Total

I am absolutely delighted to tell you that we raised £1175.60 by doing our sponsored walk before the October holidays.  Thank you very, very much for your amazing contributions!!  All money raised will be going towards building an outdoor classroom in the school grounds.  We need to raise approximately £10K.

Gelston Parent Council Christmas Fundraising

We had planned to hold a Christmas Market on Saturday 29th November to raise funds to help pay for Christmas parties, the pantomime and other festive activities.  The Parent Council has decided to cancel this event after reading advice from D&G Council about minimising the risk of spreading Covid-19.

We will still go ahead with a raffle and pre-printed books of tickets will be on sale in the next few weeks.  If anyone is able to contribute to hampers then we would appreciate your Christmas themed donations.  It would be wonderful if we could include a large prize in each hamper such as a gift voucher, an overnight stay or similar.  Please contact Pam Shuttleworth (Chairperson) via email at gelstonprimaryschoolparentcouncil@outlook.com if you can help.

Each child has designed a Christmas card.  If you wish to buy a pack of cards with your child’s design on them then please order and pay for them using the online portal.  Details can be found below.

Pupil Progress Reports

At the end of November, parents will receive a brief summary report detailing pupil progress.  We are not yet able to hold parents’ evenings but if you wish to arrange an appointment with your child’s teacher then please contact them directly via email or contact the school office to arrange a telephone appointment.

Lest We Forget – Poppies 

If your child wishes to bring in a donation then they can receive a poppy to wear to remember those who lost their lives in World War One and other conflicts.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

Welcome Back

It is lovely to see our children looking so happy.  I hope you had an enjoyable October break and I look forward to term 2 and all that it brings.

I will update you on all things Covid-19 related once I meet with the Director of Skills, Education and Learning this week.  For the time being, all mitigations remain in place as they were at the end of term 1.

Halloween 

On Friday 29th October, children are welcome to wear Halloween costumes (without accessories) or non-uniform.  Each class will engage in Halloween themed games and have some fun!

Christmas Cards Designed by Pupils

Our Parent Council has arranged for each pupil to design their own Christmas Card and we are selling these to raise funds to build our outdoor classroom.  You can order copies of your child’s design by accessing the online portal.

All ordering and payment is completed online through the ‘My Child’s Art’ company.  Please see details in the posters below.

Gelston Parent Council’s Christmas Fair

Our Gelston Primary School Christmas Fair will take place on Saturday 27th November from 10am – 2pm in Castle Douglas Parish Church Hall.   If you would like to find out more then please contact our Parent Council via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gelstonprimary.parentcouncil

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Friends and Families of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

It has been another busy term in across the partnership schools.  Thank you once again for your support and for keeping in touch with us this term via class Facebook pages, email and telephone.

October Holidays

Schools are closed from Monday 11th October – Friday 22nd October.  Pupils and staff return on Monday 25th October.

School Halloween Celebrations

Pupils will be invited to join in with Halloween activities on Friday 29th October and may arrive at school dressed in their Halloween costumes.  (Please do not send your child to school with accessories such as broom sticks and masks.  We also ask that face paints are worn prior to arriving at school for Health and Safety reasons. )

Decorating Shop Windows in Castle Douglas

Pupils from Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools have been asked to create Halloween displays to decorate several shop windows in the town and in return the shops will have the name of the schools noted on the display.

Reporting to Parents

We are not yet able to hold parents’ evening appointments in person.  Instead, we will send out a summary report in November.  If you have any questions about your child’s progress then please contact your child’s teacher to discuss this further.

Sponsored Walk – Thursday 7th October

Gelston Primary School children are participating in a sponsored walk this Thursday.  Please ensure that your child comes dressed for the weather.  All money raised will go towards funding an outdoor classroom for the school.

Harvest Assembly 

Gelston pupils will be involved in a Harvest assembly this Friday and this will be shared with parents afterwards.  Separate information has been sent to parents via email.

Have a lovely October holiday.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher

Dear Families and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well.  I have no further updates around Covid-19 other than to remind you that if your child or a member of your household has a persistent cough, a fever or a loss of sense of taste/ smell then please remain at home and book a PCR test.  If your child’s result is negative then they can return to school as normal, even if someone else in the household tests positive.  I am pleased to report that attendance levels remain high at both schools.

Sponsored Walk – Thursday 7th October

P1-7 are going on a sponsored walk on Thursday 7th October to raise money to fund an outdoor classroom similar to the one at Crossmichael Primary School.  Sponsor forms were sent home to parents yesterday.  Please ensure your child dresses for the weather next Thursday.

We would like our outdoor classroom to be used by the school and the wider community.  Our Parent Council is busy applying for grants and we need to include information about how we are promoting our heritage.  If anyone has any information that may help our applications then please do get in touch.

Harvest Festival Assembly – Friday 8th October

This term the P4-7’s have been learning about harvests from around the world with Mrs Maxwell.  Both classes will take part in an end of term Harvest Festival Assembly on Friday 8th October.  We plan to record the assembly and share it with you.

We have arranged for the food bank to come to school and collect the “Harvest” at the assembly.  We would be grateful for any donations you could make to our Harvest Festival.  Please see the list below, which will give you an idea of the type of items the food bank is desperately in need of.

• Food Items Toiletries Other Items
• UHT Milk Deodorant Laundry detergent
• Fruit Juice Toilet Paper Washing up liquid
• Cereal Shower Gel Baby food
• Lentils, beans and pulses Tooth paste & brushes Baby wipes
• Rice & Past Soap
• Tinned meat/tuna Feminine products
• Tea & coffee Shampoo
• Biscuits
• Tinned fruit

We appreciate anything you are able to donate and thank you for your support.

Best wishes,

Mary Cruickshanks

Headteacher