Dear Parent/Carer,

I would like to begin this letter with a staffing update which is slightly different to original plans. Today we warmly welcomed our three probationary teachers to our Onthank team. Miss Jennifer Baillie, Mr Sean McClure and Miss Rachel Howatt were given an Onthank tour, taken to their classroom and met staff and pupils who were here today.
We also completed the interview process for the temporary position covering Mrs Smith’s maternity leave. The successful candidate is Lauran Telford who currently is our probationer teacher in Primary 5. Below is the classes teachers have been allocated and they will be taking part in our Onthank virtual bump up day this Wednesday.

P2A Miss Baillie with Mrs Cree’s P1C class
P2D Miss Telford with Mrs McKie’s P1M class
P6C Mr McClure with Mrs Irving’s P5I class
P7D Miss Howatt with Mrs Merrick’s P6Mclass

Following the recent letter regarding our return to school model in August, we are pleased to share further information on how this will look on our first week back.
Our August Model
You will receive a text on Tuesday 23rd June 2020 to confirm which group your child/children is in and in what days they have to attend school.
All of our entry doors have been colour coded and your child’s class will be informed by email as to which playground and door they should enter on arrival in August. Please see below a map of the school grounds which displays each of the coloured doors.

Group A
In school – Monday & Tuesday
Home Learning – Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Group B
In school – Thursday & Friday Home Learning – Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

DROP OFF AND COLLECTION TIMES
To avoid congestion in our playground we have staggered start and finish times. Pupils should be dropped off at the following times:

FIRST WEEK BACK
As we are returning to a four day week which includes an in-service day we would like our group A pupils to return on a Wednesday for the first week only. Please see our plans for the first week back to school below:

Tuesday 11th August 2020	In-service Day – pupils not in school.
Wednesday 12th August 2020	Pupil Group A
Thursday 13th August 2020	Pupils Group B
Friday 14th August 2020	Pupil Group B

LUNCH AND PLAYTIME
Breaks will be staggered throughout the school day. Lunch will be served in your child’s class and school lunches will continue to be available for purchase through Parent Pay for P4-P7 pupils. P1-P3 pupils will continue to get free school meals. You can also apply for a clothing and free school meals grant from East Ayrshire Council by completing the following form online: https://www.east- ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/Benefits/Benefits– EducationAndSchool/Clothing-grants-and-free-school-meals/Apply-online.aspx Unfortunately, at this time snack will not be available to purchase from catering staff and we will not have our breakfast club. As indicated in the letter from the local authority, pupils may not leave the building for lunch during the school day. Pupils can bring their lunch or snack if they would prefer.

ITEMS FOR SCHOOL
Water bottles can continue to be brought into class, along with any stationery and a pencil case. A jacket suitable for wearing outdoors should also be brought daily along with their school bag.
HYGIENE
All of our staff and young people will wash their hands on arrival and at regular times throughout the school day. We have displayed child-friendly posters throughout the school to remind our pupils to remain physically distant.

POSTER COMPETITION
We have a special competition for you to complete during the last week of term! We would like our young people to design a banner or poster which welcomes all our visitors to the school. Your poster should include our school values – Confidence, Happiness, Achievement, Respect and Responsibility, as well as the school logo. The poster should also include drawings of pupils in their school uniform. Remember to make it bright and welcoming!
The winner will receive a special prize as well as their poster professionally produced and displayed around the school building on our return in August. All entries should be sent to Mr McIlwraith no later than Friday 26th June 2020. Please email your entry to eadavid.mcilwraith1@glow.sch.uk

VIRTUAL ASSEMBLY
Our last virtual assembly of term will be going live this week! Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the announcement of our Sports Day Champions, our special award ceremony and special farewell to all our Primary 7 pupils.
Lastly, we thank you for your amazing work with our young people and for continuing to share their learning on our school blog and Teams pages. You are all doing an amazing job during this time.

Stay safe,

Mrs Wright