Please remember that if your child has new symptoms of coronavirus (persistent cough, high temperature, and/or loss of taste or smell), they must not attend school for 10 days after the onset of symptoms. However, if they are tested and receive a negative result they can normally return to school immediately unless a high temperature is present, in which case they should still stay away from school for 48hrs after their temperature has normalised without the use of medication used to suppress fever. Please also note that pupils will be required to isolate for 14 days if another member of their household has symptoms, unless they themselves are tested for coronavirus.

I understand the pressures parents/carers are under to send their children to school and I am aware of the difficulties placed upon parents/carers when children are unable to attend school. However, it is critically important at this time that we adopt a cautious approach to managing the risks from coronavirus, and make our school as safe as we possibly can for our staff and our young people.

Your support in being vigilant to any new symptoms of coronavirus and acting in line with the current Government guidance helps us create that safe environment we are all working hard to maintain and for that I am grateful to you all.

Kindest Regards

Carole McConville, Head Teacher

A reminder if you still have EV5 (parental consent) and Flu Vaccination forms at home,  could they please be completed and returned as soon as possible.

Thank you

A reminder that pupils CAN bring their own stationery to school, however, these CANNOT be shared with others.

With the recent turn in weather,  could we please request that children come to school with adequate clothing for outdoor learning and P.E. – such as a waterproof jacket.

We do have a stock of waterproof clothing children can access if this is required. Please give us a call or email if you would like to access these waterproofs.

Please find information on the link below regarding the East Ayrshire School Lunch Pre Order System:

https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools-Catering/School-meals-pre-order-portal.aspx

Today we were delighted to welcome back to school all our pupils from Group B including some more of our new Primary 1’s.

It was so good to see everyone in the school and the playground! We hope you all had fun.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to welcoming  back our P6 and P7 “Buddies”; Our Primary 1’s are very excited to meet them !

It was great to see all the lovely , smiling Group A children back in school today  along with our brand new Primary 1 pupils.

We enjoyed seeing them playing with their friends and having fun in the playground at break and lunch ! Everyone is excited about our Group B children coming tomorrow. We can’t wait to see you all again!

THURSDAY

• Option 1 – Chicken Goujons with rice
• Option 2 – Salmon fish fingers with baby potatoes
• Option 3 – Pick and mix with gammon sandwich
• Fruit/yoghurt/vegetable sticks

FRIDAY (P1 and P6 and 7 buddies)

• Option 1 – Chilli Con Carne with rice
• Option 2 – homemade cheese and tomato pizza
• Option 3 – Pick and mix with tuna sandwich
• Fruit/yoghurt/vegetable sticks/ice cream

At the moment we are working on a two week rota system for school lunches :

Please be advised that, unfortunately, there will be NO BREAKFAST CLUB FACILITES available when we return to school in August. We apologise for the inconvenience and will keep you updated regarding any changes going forward.

If your child requires transport to school from August 2020, you will be able to apply online as of today (Thursday 25th June) at:

http://orlo.uk/transport_wT2hw

Please find below the link to the St. Joseph’s Academy teaching model for August going forward:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/public/stjosephsacademy/uploads/sites/2043/2020/06/19071907/SJA-August-Model-Letter.pdf

Dear Parent/Carer,

Yesterday staff returned to our school to start preparations for return to school on the 12th August. As you will be aware due to the pandemic, school will be different. A blended learning model will be in place in all schools in East Ayrshire. Our Head of Education and central teams have been working with head teachers to ensure we can provide the best model based on staffing and available space.  I have submitted my proposal to the Head of Education for approval and when I have confirmation I will contact you with specific information.

I have received enquiries as to whether children should wear school uniform when they return in August. I think one of the most important things is to help our children feel part of our Mount Carmel family again.  My staff and I would like to encourage children to wear school uniform for this reason. Just before lockdown we organised a ” Uniform Exchange“. We have a range of sizes available and we would welcome any items your child has grown out of during lockdown. The clothes rails will be outside the foyer of the school   Monday to Thursday next week. We ask that you observe social distancing whilst using this facility.

I understand this has been a very difficult time for families and with the school holidays coming up many parents/carers and children are concerned about the future. School in August will look different, but the welcome back will be as warm as ever. We have really missed all our children and families and like you, yearn for things to be back to normal. This situation will pass and we will begin to be able to share simple pleasures such as seeing all our family again without the use of Zoom. Meantime, here in MCPS, we are having the biggest spring clean in history!

I will be in touch as soon as I can with further details of the arrangements for August. Meantime, stay safe.

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we progress further into our school renewal discussions, we are keen to seek the views of our parents, carers and pupils to help guide our next steps and indeed to review experience during lockdown. The results of this survey will also be fed back to your own schools, individually, to aid further discussions as we move forward and will also be collated at council level,

We would very ,much appreciate your time in completing this survey. If,  as a parent/ carer your children attends more than one school, please feel free to answer for each school.

The links to the surveys are below:

Parent Survey:

Pupil Survey:

Dear Parents/Carers and Young People,

Following a meeting today with the  professional associations at council level, we are now in a position to advise of the return dates of all schools in EAC.

Teachers will return on the 11th August for an in-service day and pupils will return on Wednesday 12th August. Clearly, not all pupils will return physically to school on that day and we will advise you as soon as possible around physical attendance patterns for our young people.

We hope that you will find this information helpful at this time, and we will issue further information about remaining term dates for 20/21 in due course.

Below is a link to the BBC Bitesize containing information on how to help your child with dyslexia whilst at home:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/teacher-support/dyslexia-make-a-difference/zj226v4

We would grateful if as many parents/carers as possible could take a short time to fill out this survey about the PATHS programme please:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SELparentsurvey

Mount Carmel School Reports  for those families  we had email addresses for , will be emailed today ( Friday 5th June). All other reports have been posted out.

Should you have any questions regarding your childs’ report please do not hesitate to complete the online form below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/mountcarmelps2017/2020/05/27/discussion-with-class-teacher-regarding-pupil-reports/

Please view the most recent letter from Head of Education: Linda McAulay-Griffiths regarding Education recovery going forward:

Letter to pupils June 2020

Please view the most recent letter from Head of Education : Linda McAulay-Griffiths regarding Education Recovery going forward:

Letter to parents and carers June 2020

Just a little reminder that next week is : Health Week ! 

The learning grids which the children are issued with every week  will be based on this and will have lots of different health activities to try out .

Home Learning stationery  packs will be available for collection (for children who require them ) at the front of the school from tomorrow morning ( Tuesday 2nd June).

One pack will be allocated per child and contains 1 x maths jotter, 1 literacy jotter and one blank paged jotter, also pencils, a rubber, a sharpener and a small bundle of coloured pencils or crayons all for completing  home learning tasks.

Please remember to respect social distancing measures if you do require to come and collect a pack. Thank you !

Just to let you know – Our learning assembly will return on 5th June

This Sunday, the 24th May is the day Primary 4 boys and girls have been looking forward to all year. This was the day those who have been preparing for their sacraments, would have celebrated their First Holy Communion. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families, boys and girls.
There will be a special Mass streamed live by Father Martin from St Matthew’s Church at 10:00am. Mrs McGahon has recorded the psalm and Mr Bertoncini one of the readings. To be part of this special Mass:
Go online and search You Tube for ‘Kilmarnock, St Matthew’

Please find below a link to information about-

PATHS – The  social and emotional learning programme the children have been learning about in school .

An introduction to PATHS® for Parents

Important information from Mr Kane and Mr Boyle from St. Joseph’s Academy

Message from Mr Kane

We have not forgotten about you. We are still gathering all data files from associated schools, and will be in touch in late May/early June to introduce you to staff and life at St. Joseph’s. We do not know when we will be able to welcome you formally, but staff are working to prepare an online introduction for you later in the month. As soon as we have all contact details we will be in touch with parents/carers. We would rather wait for all records to be with us than to send information to some families and not others. I would stress that the timeline for record transfer is as normal, but know that pupils and families will be more aware of the move to St. Joseph’s while schools are closed.

Message from Mr Boyle

A welcome video will go out this week or early next week. S1 classes are completed in terms of allocation. We consulted with Primary Heads and P7 teachers on positive peer groupings, as the Pastoral visits that would normally help with this were cancelled due to closure. There will be 4 S1 classes and an intake of 104.

All ASN information has gone to Mrs Hoy and she is aware of those requiring Learning support as Transition 1 meetings took place prior to closure.

Packs including timetables, transport information and school/East Ayrshire policies will be emailed in to P7 parents in June.

Individual departments may put their own introductory videos in the coming weeks.

This is a frightening and worrying time for everyone, but especially for our children. One of the strangest things for them to deal with is seeing people around them wearing masks of any description , whilst out and about.

The website link below explains this in a child-friendly way . Please have a read , we hope it helps to allay any fears your child/children may have .

https://www.middletownautism.com/covid19/seeing-others-wearing-masks-5-2020?

These pictures taken from the website can help you explain wearing masks with your child/children :

Please find below the link to the most recent  Parents/Carers newsletter issued by Education Scotland dated 11the May :

https://education.gov.scot/media/mahdmrxm/parentcarernewsissue1.pdf