Hi everyone

I am are very excited and look forward to welcoming you into Primary 1/2 after the summer holidays. I have made a little video to show you some of the wonderful things that we do here at Catrine Primary School.

Miss Burleigh

Good morning on the last Tuesday of Term 4.

I can hardly believe that it’s the last week of the summer term, and that the school and ECC finishes for the summer holidays on Friday.  This has definitely been the strangest term in my 25 years of teaching!!

I am so proud of the staff of both Catrine ECC and PS, who have been working in both establishments over the last few weeks.  They have organised our teaching and learning spaces into safe, fun and inviting spaces for our pupils to start back to in August – it hasn’t been easy as there’s so much guidance to follow but their creativity, enthusiasm and teamwork has ensured that we feel really prepared for the start of next session.  Look out for a couple of videos over the next few days as they share our August preparations with you.

Today’s challenge could be tricky…  Remember I challenged you before to build a tower the height of yourself using all different objects – and lots of you completed the challenge brilliantly! 

I’m challenging you to be creative again – your challenge is to create a line of DIFFERENT objects from one wall of your house to the other side of your house (for instance, in my house I would start at my dining room door, go through into the hall and finish at the front door – that’s quite a distance) and you must use different objects – you can’t just create a line of pencils and think you’ve solved the challenge.  Each object must be different, and must be touching the object in front and behind it.

So get your thinking caps on and I look forward to seeing your great efforts – you never fail to impress! 🙂

I’m looking forward to speaking to our new P1 parents/carers this afternoon and to our P7 pupils on Thursday morning as we talk  about their move to secondary school.

This P7 photo was taken back in August – I’m sure they will have changed so much when we see them on Thursday.

As always, take care, stay safe and keep in touch.  Mrs Govans x

Judith.govans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

By now you will hopefully have received a letter from The Robert Burns Academy with details of your child’s class, Depute Head and Guidance Teacher.

 We are aware of a small admin error with the contact details provided on this letter. If you have any enquires please use our new email address which is Robert.BurnsAcad@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

The Cumnock Academy and Auchinleck Academy email inboxes are still being monitored over the summer for anyone who has already made contact this way.

Our new school blog is now live and has been updated with videos for our new S1 from each department. It can be found at:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/therobertburnsacademy/

We would encourage you to monitor our school blog for any further updates including transport arrangements. Our S1s will all be joining us at Cumnock Academy on Wednesday 12^th August, we will direct them to their allocated classrooms as they arrive at school and there will be plenty of staff on hand to assist with this. On their first day we will have a special programme of lessons prepared to answer any question they have about the arrangements in the school.

Please click on the link below to see the detailed outline for the return of pupils to Catrine Primary School in August 2020.

letter dated 19.6.2020

Thank you.

Attention: Primary 7 Parents/Carers/Pupils

Please click on the link below to view current letter from Peter Gilchrist, Head of Barony Campus

PG Parental Letter

To apply for Clothing Grants and Free School Meals, please follow the link below:

https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/Benefits/Benefits-EducationAndSchool/Clothing-grants-and-free-school-meals/Clothing-grants-and-free-school-meals.aspx

Thank you.

Please click on the link below to access recent letter from Linda McAulay-Griffiths – Head of Education.

letter from Head of Education

New Primary 1 induction meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 23 June at 1.30 p.m. Please click on the link below for further information:

P1 induction invitation

Primary 7 Information session is scheduled for Thursday 25 June at 1030 a.m. Please click on the link below for further information:

P7 invitation letter

If you wish any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Thank you.

Happy Thursday morning to you all.

It’s been a lovely week in school as staff have been back in – we’re only allowed two teachers and two classroom assistants in each day to comply with guidelines, but it’s been just great to catch up with everyone.

We’ve been organising classes and our new class structure will be posted out to you today – look out for it in the mail on Friday. New P1 pupils and P7 pupils – your invitation to a meeting in the school playground next week is included in with your letter.

Lots of updates from EAC and the school will be coming your way over the next few days so please check our GLOW page and the school APP every day.

We are all, understandably, feeling a bit anxious about what school is going to look like in August so if you have any questions after reading the updates, please get in touch.

Today’s challenge is another one that is trickier than it sounds …

I challenge you to find an object in your house that is EXACTLY the same height or length as you.  Not something that is a wee bit taller or smaller but EXACTLY the same height or length.  In my house it took me ages to find something but I’ve discovered that the clothes horse/drying rail (or winter dykes as my mum calls them!) is EXACTLY the same height as me.  Let me know how you get on.

As always, stay safe, take care and keep in touch. Mrs Govans x

Judith.govans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

We are in the final days of recruiting students for the FREE dance activity for p4-7 pupils in Ayrshire. https://www.rcs.ac.uk/junior_courses/pre-junior-dance/ 

Please click on the link below to view further information:

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Happy Tuesday morning to you all 🙂

Staff are allowed back in the Primary School and ECC this week, so yesterday Mrs McDicken, Mrs Goudie, Mrs Schendel, Miss McLean, Miss Burleigh and I were all in at school – it was just lovely to see them all.  Mrs McDicken, Mrs Schendel and I have been in a few times but this was the first time that Miss Burleigh and Miss McLean had been in since March – they were so happy to be back in their classrooms (but they missed all their pupils big time 🙁 )  I look forward to catching up with all of the other teachers and Classroom Assistants over the next few days.

Please take a minute to complete the surveys about online learning on the APP and GLOW – it’s really important that we get your views so that any necessary changes can be made before August.

Today’s challenge is another Estimation Challenge, as you all seemed to have such good fun with the Doors Estimation Challenge last week.  Can you guess how many pairs of shoes you own?  Shoes can be any kind of footwear – trainers, sandals, slippers, football boots, wellies … Estimate how many pairs you have and then go and count them.  Was your estimate close to your final answer?  Challenge some other people in your family to make a guess about their shoes total too.  Let me know how you get on.

As always, take care, stay safe and keep in touch. Judith.govans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Last week one of our favourite shops, Dunelm in Kilmarnock, posted a competition on Facebook …

Lots of parents, carers, family members and friends of Catrine PS and ECC voted… and guess what?… WE WON!!!

We are absolutely delighted and want to thank everyone who voted and Dunelm for donating the fabulous outdoor resources.

The children in Catrine will love them 🙂

Good morning and happy Thursday to you all – this week is just flying in!

We were delighted to be chosen as the winners in the Dunelm Kilmarnock Outdoor Toys competition – thank you to everyone who nominated both the ECC and the PS.  Alana, our ECC Deputy Manager, collected the toys yesterday – look out for her post and photo today and I’m sure the wide selection of toys will be well played with by pupils at both establishments.

As we had such a horrible wet day yesterday I’m giving you a skiddly challenge today – The Water Bucket Challenge.

You will need – one bucket/container filled with water, one empty bucket/container, a plastic cup and a timer.

This can get messy so this challenge is best done outdoors (and it might be even more skiddly fun if it’s done in the rain!)

Place the empty container at one end of the garden or path, and place the container filled with water at the other end.  Start the timer for one minute.  Starting at the end of the garden/path with the filled container, fill up your cup and run to the empty container, pour your water in and then repeat until your minute is up.  How many cups of water can you fill the container with in one minute?  Challenge the rest of your family and see who can empty the most cups into the container in one minute.

As always, take care, stay safe and keep in touch.  Mrs Govans x

Judith.govans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Please note – ​​​​​​​an article was released in a local newspaper yesterday which stated that all EAC schools and ECCs  were starting back on 18th August 2020 – this is not the case. 

A starting date has still to be confirmed for a return for both pupils and staff.  Further information will follow regarding the start date for the August term.

On behalf of Linda McAulay-Griffiths, Head of Education

Please click on the link below to read a Transition letter for our P7 pupils from Mr McGurn, DHT at Robert Burns Academy.

P7 Transition Letter

Happy Tuesday to you all 🙂

Thank you to all pupils, parents, family and friends who participated in our Health Week and Sports Day last week.  It was wonderful seeing so many photos and videos of your Family Sports Day events – lots of effort had gone into preparing for races and organising equipment and it was brilliant to see.  Thank you.

All staff are gearing up towards getting back into both the school and ECC from next week – we are making plans for when we return in August and will share these with you as soon as they are approved by EAC.  The health and safety of our children is our main priority so we’re taking on board both local and national guidelines to make sure we get it right.

I’m looking forward to our virtual Parent Council meeting which is taking place via Zoom tonight – hearing the views and concerns of our parents/carers is so important at this time so let your Parent Council know if you have any questions.

Today’s challenge is an Estimation Challenge, and it might sound easier than it actually is.  Sit yourself down in the living room of your house and count how many doors there are in your entire house. Easy peasy!  Or is it?? 

Remember that there are external doors, internal doors, cupboard doors, cabinet doors, dolls house doors … the list is endless!  Try to count in your head – make an estimate – and then go around your whole house and count all the doors and see how close your estimate was to the correct answer.  You’ll be amazed how many doors there are in your house!  Challenge the other people in your house to make an estimate too. Let me know who got the closest answer in your household.

On Sunday I was walking up Cairn Table with my family and dogs, and I thought I was doing so well, until two wee rascals skipped past me shouting ‘hiya Mrs Govans!’ and then proceeded to RUN up the rest of the hill.  They were actually starting to come back down the hill before I had even reached the top! Although they made my efforts look pathetic,  it was a real treat to see Ellie and Leighton enjoying themselves with their mum, dad and Bella the dog in the lovely sunshine.

As always, take care, stay safe and keep in touch.  Mrs Govans x

Judith.govans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

East Ayrshire Council have developed a dedicated Wellbeing Website at  https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/SocialCareAndHealth/Wellbeing/Wellbeing.aspx which is filled with advice on mental wellbeing, exercise, healthy eating and new activities to try. It also has a range of supports for those who may be struggling. There is a dedicated section for Children, Young People, Parents and Carers which I hope you will find particularly helpful during these challenging times. We will continue to add to this section therefore it would be helpful if you could email any suggestions to healthandsafety@east-ayrshire.gov.uk together with any feedback on the current content.

Thank you.  Nicola Stewart, Principal Educational Psychologist for East Ayrshire Council

Please click on the links below to read letters from Linda McAulay-Griffiths, Head of Education at East Ayrshire Council

Letter to parents and carers June 2020

Letter to pupils June 2020