Please have a look at our new Home Learning Zone.

This area will continue to evolve over the coming days and weeks.

Saturday 21st March 2020 20:27
Dear Parent/Carer

We appreciate fully that many parents are concerned about keyworker status.

The guidance we have received from the Scottish Government is that “if one parent is a key worker and the other is not, the non-key worker should normally be expected to provide childcare. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.”

Having checked the UK Government guidance, it is different and says that if only one parent is a key worker, they can send their children to school if required.

In light of this contradictory position, we will deal with each case on its merits. If there is no other childcare option then we would look for confirmation of this.

We want to do all we can to support key workers. We need them to look after those who are going to get sick and to keep our vital services running, but we also need to avoid social contact so, if key workers can make any other arrangements for their children,  we ask them to do so.

Head Teachers will not turn away any child on Monday, but will need to seek some form of  confirmation of key worker status for future attendances. Going forward we will need to keep matters under review with staff absences rising as more of our staff require to self isolate and we know parents will understand.

Remember we need to reduce social contact, and even if you are a key worker, please only send your child as a last resort and if you absolutely need to.

Kind regards

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Dear Parents/Carers

A further reminder to all parents/carers to please understand that our emergency provision is absolutely only as a final option.  We are sure that our parents/carers will understand and respect this to help keep our pupils, staff and families safe.

We are still encountering some questions regarding emergency provision from Monday.  Clearly all adults in the child’s household must be keyworkers to access the service.  Where this is not the case, the other adults are expected to provide care.

Please refer to the website for the key worker categories:

https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/Coronavirus/Schools-ecc.aspx

Kindest regards

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Each child was provided with a Home Learning Pack.

This included login details for:

GLOW

Sumdog

BugClub

If you require password details to be reset then please complete the form below.

Please find a link to a youtube guide to accessing glow

Friday 20th March 2020 16:27

Dear Parent/Carer,

Linda McAulay-Griffiths
Head of Education

Further Update from the Head of Education.  We have had some requests from parents regarding the definition of a key worker.  There will be a full and final definition of this provided by EAC later today.  This will then be provided to parents via the app and school website.

The staff at Mount Carmel PS would like to thank you for your support and understanding during these unsettled and worrying times.

All children have currently been issued with a home learning pack which includes EAC’s list of suggested websites, ideas for indoor play and their personal logins for Glow, Bug Club and SumDog. If children were absent from school this week their packs were delivered to them by school staff.

We are following the advice given from East Ayrshire Council and will continue to update you as information becomes available to us. It is anticipated that there will be further guidance from EAC today.

Letter to all parents and carers – 19.3.2020

Well done to Evie McIntosh from Primary 6 who correctly guessed the bear’s birthday as 16th July (Feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel).

As a result of this fundraising activity we raised £93.10!

A fantastic amount.

Please be advised that our upcoming parent’s afternoon and evening are cancelled . They will be rescheduled in due course.

Thanks you for your understanding in this matter.

On Friday 28th February the boys and girls of Mount Carmel Primary all came together to receive a great presentation from Primary 6 all about the weather cycle.

Congratulations to P5 on their superb recent class assembly all about the continents.

Hand washing.

In response to concerns about Coronavirus, staff are making sure children are washing their hands throughout the  school day. We have spoken at assembly about correct hand washing and watched video clips showing the correct procedure. East Ayrshire Council has given us extra resources to ensure we have sufficient supplies of soap and paper products.

We have taken the decision today to cancel ALL after school activities/clubs with immediate effect, until further notice.

Thank you for your understanding on this matter.

On Thursday 5th March we celebrated World Book Day. Children and staff were encouraged to dress up as a character from their favourite book. Everyone had a great day and some of the costumes were AMAZING!!. Here are some pictures of the children:

Please find a link below for the very latest “Stay at home guidance” for people with confirmed or possible Coronavirus:

Coronavirus- Stay at home guidance

Today we took part in the SCIAF-Day of Prayer. We came together as a whole school to offer our prayers to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was special to know that thousands of pupils and staff were all praying on the same day.

“Coronavirus – What is it? What’s happening? Will I catch it? Children ask lots of questions, but BBC Newsround has produced a series of helpful video clips to help children and young people understand more about what’s going on.  …..

We have added some up to date links on the Information page of our blog page to assist you when explaining and discussing Coronavirus with your child.

We are keen to support parents to ensure all young people are Cyber Safe, especially with the growing use of a wide range of Apps and online forms of communication :(WhatsApp/TikTok/Instagram/Snapchat etc.)

As part of our continued commitment , we are delighted to promote our new “Safer Schools” App. This App is a reliable source of advice on all things Cyber. It gives empowering, current and informative information on all current digital platforms/tools/apps in an accessible manner. We have a range of tailored user accesses (pupil, staff and parent/carers). To access your parent platform please:

• Go to your app store or Google Play and search for “Safer School”
• In school field type ” East Ayrshire Council
• The code for primary parents is: 7440

We would recommend that you discuss with your child about which apps and social media platforms they currently use/access. This will help ensure they know how to stay safe online-using the app to start these types of conversations is great.

You can now access our twitter feed via our blog main screen by clicking the twitter icon !.

Our twitter page is:

@eacMountCarmel

Don’t forget the raffle tickets for  Grand Easter Raffle are available to buy during all the fundraising weeks at a cost of 20p per ticket.