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Dear Friends and Family of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I hope that you are well and that you are managing to keep safe as Covid-19 numbers increase in Dumfries and Galloway.

Remote Learning

Today pupils begin online learning.  Teachers have shared a learning grid with you via email and on class Facebook pages.  These grids have also been put into pupils’ TEAMS folders in GLOW (their online learning platform).  A new learning grid will be uploaded each week.  The grids contain activities for different curricular areas and provide links to online video clips or resources where appropriate.

If you have any difficulties in accessing the learning grids then please contact your child’s class teacher for support.

We understand how daunting this can be so please try not to put to much pressure on yourselves to cover everything.  We understand that families often need to share laptops/ iPads and that some families have difficulties with Internet access.  Not all learning has to be completed online.

Please contact your child’s teacher if you would prefer paper copies of the work and we will make up packs for you to collect from school.

Class Group Meetings on Microsoft TEAMS

It is our intention to meet with classes/ groups once per week using Microsoft TEAMS.

Scottish school children (P1-7) have a GLOW account which is a secure intranet system which comes with the Microsoft Office 365 software and can be downloaded free of charge on to home IT equipment. This includes Microsoft Teams which is the only platform we are allowed to use for virtual meetings.

We used TEAMS for meetings last time but could not use the video function.  Scottish Government has since agreed to enable pupils and staff to see each other so it will be great to catch up with you all!  We understand that it may be challenging to get pupils online at the same time but we will try our best and discuss how to make improvements as we go along.

Here is a help guide providing instructions on how to access GLOW and TEAMS:

Glow-Teams-Guide-for-Learners-Parents

Our P1-3  pupils will need help to log in as they will not have used GLOW in school.  Teachers have provided each child with their GLOW username and password.

Internet Safety and Safeguarding
Within Teams there is an option to record meetings but for data protection and safeguarding reasons the Council policy is that TEAMS meetings should not be recorded at home.

Stationery Resources

At this time of year we have limited supplies of stationery in school and as Lockdown happened quickly, we were unable to place and receive an order.  Castle Douglas Rotary Club has kindly offered to help out by offering to purchase some additional resources.

If you would like a pack then please complete this form:

Keeping in Touch and Keeping Safe

Pupils and families should know that although schools are closed, we are still available if you need us.

You can contact the school office with general enquiries:

gw08officecrossmicha@ea.dumgal.sch.uk or gw08officegelston@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

You can contact class teachers via email:

Miss Drummond (P1-3 at Gelston)  –  gw16drummondnicole@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

Miss Reid and Mrs Maxwell (P4-7 at Gelston)  –

gw08reidnicola@ea.dumgal.sch.uk        gw08maxwellnorma@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

Mrs Marscheider (P1/2 at Crossmichael)  –  gw17marscheiderayesh@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

Mrs Burton and Miss Todd (P2-4 at Crossmichael)  –

gw13burtonaileen01@ea.dumgal.sch.uk         gw20todddominick@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

Mrs Glover (P4/5 at Crossmichael)  –  gw08gloverkim@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

Mrs Stevens (P6/7 at Crossmichael)  –  gw08stevensrosslynn@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

You may contact the Headteacher via email: gw08scottmary01@ea.dumgal.sch.uk or via mobile phone: 07741 686730.

If you feel worried or unsafe, here are some people you can speak to 

Childline – 0800 1111 online chat to ChildLine options

Police 101 or in an emergency 999

Social Work 030 33 33 3000

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

I am going to start off by wishing you a Happy New Year although I know that this is not the start to the year that any of us anticipated.  I have been thinking of you all over the holidays and I know that our fantastic school community can get through this!

Start of Term 3 Details

You will be aware that Scottish Government have extended the school holidays for pupils until Friday 8th January.  Pupils will begin remote learning on Monday 11th January until the end of January when the situation will be reviewed nationally.

This week, teachers are preparing online learning in anticipation for next week and non-teaching staff are providing emergency childcare for vulnerable children and the children of key workers in their own schools.

Communication About Learning Tasks

Teachers will be in touch via the class Facebook pages, parental emails and will contact older pupils via Microsoft TEAMS to share information and to set learning tasks.  (Older pupils are able to log into GLOW using their usernames and passwords to access this.)  Teachers will monitor their emails from 9am-3pm so please get in touch and they will try to respond as soon as possible.

Once again,  I would ask that you do not place yourself under too much pressure.  The feedback received from most families from last year was that 1-2 hours of online learning each day was manageable.  Just do what you can.  Remember that teaching pupils resilience, problem solving, cooperation, self-regulation skills and other life skills is also valuable.  You are teaching them how to cope in a global pandemic and that is no mean feat!

ICT and Access to Devices/ Stationery

We have a limited supply of laptops available if you require a device.  If you would like some stationery then please contact your child’s teacher and we will try to accommodate.

Free School Meals and Clothing Grants

If you have found that your family circumstances have changed and you wish to apply for Free School Meals or clothing grants then you will find the links here:

https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/schoolmeals

Clothing grants application form

Ongoing Communication

I will provide regular updates via the blog, emails and Group Call texts.  Our clerical staff are able to pick up emails if you have any general enquiries:

gw08officecrossmicha@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

or

gw08officegelston@ea.dumgal.sch.uk

If you wish to contact me directly then please email gw08scottmary01@ea.dumgal.sch.uk or telephone Gelston Primary School on 01556 502415 as I will be based there.  My mobile number is: 07741 686730.

Please take care of yourselves and keep safe.

Best wishes,

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Dear Family and Friends of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,

On Saturday, the First Minister made an announcement that will have an impact on the return to school after the Christmas holidays. 

Director for Education, Gillian Brydson, is sending an email to all families sharing what is planned for Dumfries and Galloway Schools and Nurseries. Please click on the links below for further information.

Link to G Brydson letter to parents.

Link to FAQ about January return

Summary of Key Points

1. a) Holiday for children has been extended to 10^th

However from 6th – 8th January and 11^th – 15^th January schools will provide emergency childcare for children of key workers and our most vulnerable children during normal school hours.

Families will need to apply to attend. The online form can be completed using this link.

The forms should be completed by 10am on Wednesday 30^th December.

1. b) Remote learning for all other children will start on 11^thJanuaryand staff will be in touch via class Facebook pages with further information.

2. c) It is planned for Schools and Nurseries to fully reopen on 18^thWe hope that the Tier 4 restrictions will provide the required break in Covid-19 transmission, both locally and nationally, and we can welcome all our learners back on the 18^th.

Please look after yourselves and I hope you have a good Christmas.  I will be in touch again soon.  Thinking of you all.

Best wishes,

Mary

Mary Lidstone-Scott

Headteacher

Here is a link to our 2020 Nativity.

Thank you to children and staff for making this possible without pupils having to cross class ‘bubbles’.

Our P4-7 pupils are performing some sketches for their VIP Baby production.  This will be published on the closed class Facebook pages later this week!

You can access the Nativity here:

https://youtu.be/2bEXrOvcAcg/2bEXrOvcAcg

Merry Christmas!

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