All posts by S McGuigan

Collection Arrangements 14/08/20

Following discussion with Health and Safety colleagues, at today’s pick up all children will leave the school grounds at the cycle track gate. This is a large double gate where the pavement is wider on the Eastwood side and closer to the crossing.

This should make it easier for those waiting at Eastwood High School to see their children leaving the school grounds. Staff will escort the children safely towards the crossing.

This will reduce the number of parents/carers waiting on the narrow pavement, as only children going in this direction will leave to the Patterton side of the cycle track gate.

P1 and P2 children and parents who are heading in the Patterton direction may use the zebra crossing in the school grounds to leave.

School staff will of course be there to help ensure children’s safety. We respectfully request that you do not arrive too early to collect to avoid congestion.

Please note that children will leave in the following order:

3pm- P7 then P5 (P2 collect at the door)

3:15pm P6, P4, P3/4 then P3 (P1 collect at the door)

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Kind regards,

Mrs McGuigan

Information for re-opening Wed 12th Aug

We want to make sure that our return to school is as safe as possible and so please see the attached letter which indicates a slight change to our planned start and finish times. This is to ensure that we are able to avoid congestion at the end of the school day.

Arrangements for reopening Tues 11th Aug

Please note that all of the changes to the timings of the school day are temporary and we hope to be able to return to our established school hours as soon as it is safe and sensible to do so.

I hope that the children are looking forward to returning to school tomorrow. We are really looking forward to seeing them all!

Kindest regards

Mrs McGuigan

August 2020

We are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Crookfur next week and getting to know all of our new P1 children and families.

Please use the links below to access some important information to help you prepare for the new term.

Letter to Parents & Carers from the Director of Education

Crookfur Information Guide August 2020

We also have a video guide for children that we will share on Google Classrooms at the beginning of next week. Remember that for P2-P7, a new classroom has been set up already for you to join. There is a video message from your new teacher there too!

I will see you all on Wednesday 12th from 9am. If you have any questions or queries before then, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by sending an e-mail to;

SchoolMail@crookfur.e-renfrew.sch.uk

Kindest regards

Mrs McGuigan

Loch Down Lodge

Well done to all of our amazing P7 pupils who joined in with our alternative residential this week! You have really shown great problem solving and developed lots of new skills.

Thanks to our fundraising committee for providing lovely treats and certificates for the children and to Mrs Norman and Miss Kelly for your hard work to ensure that the children had a special week!

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs McGuigan

Welcome Back!

Welcome back everyone to the first day of the Summer term. Today’s beautiful weather has put smiles on everyone’s faces!

I hope that you have enjoyed a break over the holidays and you were able to spend time with your family, perhaps working on a new hobby or learning a new skill.

I’m sure you are all raring to go – whether learning at home or in the hub.

Have a great term!

Mrs McGuigan

Assembly 27/3/20

Dear Families,

Mrs Slorach and I have made an assembly for today and we will try to upload it to your Google Classrooms.

Thanks to Mrs Lamont and Miss Murchie for their remote technical assistance.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs McGuigan

 

Weekly Round Up 27/3/20

In what has been the most extraordinary week of my teaching career, I do hope that you and your children are settling into a new way of working, learning and living. I am keen to set up a weekly contact with families to share information and just to keep in touch.

Digital devices

On the whole we have had very few IT issues with most families able to access the online learning resources at home. If you are having any issues, please contact the school and we will do our best to help. Often we have just had to make minor changes to settings, however we can also offer a limited number of school chrome books to those who are enduring ongoing issues.

Please email Schoolmail@crookfur.e-renfrew.sch.uk if you need any help.

Google Classrooms and Nursery Blog

We have been amazed by the children’s commitment to completing and uploading set tasks and activities and the classrooms have been a wonderful way for the children to keep in touch with their classmates and teachers.

I must thank all of the teachers and early years practitioners for all of their efforts, particularly to maintain contact with their children through videos etc. There is no doubt that uploading videos is out with most of our comfort zones (perhaps not Mrs Cohen’s) but they are determined to do this for the children.

Over the coming weeks we will refine the systems within the Google Classrooms. As a parent, at times working from home, I have felt a little bit of pressure from my little girl’s google classroom. I never feel that I’m online at the right time or complete the right tasks and I don’t want any of our families to feel any more pressure than they do already.

We will ensure that it is clear across the week which tasks the children should do and which are just for interest. There will be a weekly overview which will offer the flexibility to complete the tasks at a suitable time across the week. We will upload activities by 9.30am.

This is a new way of working for all of us and we have to do what is right for our families. I know through social media, parents may feel that they are being bombarded by great ideas for home learning. These are indeed great ideas, but there will be a time and a place to do these things. You are already doing all that you are able to do so please don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself or your children.

To try to keep a sense of routine we will mute posts within the Google Classrooms at 3pm each day. Children should communicate with their friends as they would if they were at school e.g. using phones etc, but for the teachers, after 3pm they will be planning and assessing and will not respond to children’s comments out side of the school day or on weekends. Children will still be able to upload any work that they are doing and teachers may make comments on pieces of work by way of assessment, just as though they were marking at home.

Blog Posts

Staff will continue to post a weekly class blog update just as we would at school. They will summarise the main learning and events through the Google Classrooms and the St Cadoc’s Learning hub. I am sure we will look back on these blog posts in weeks to come and reflect on the journey we have been on together.

The nursery class are using their blog and twitter more regularly and these will be the main form of communication for our nursery children and early years staff.

Staffing Update

Staff are working in the St Cadoc’s Learning Hub on a rota basis and we will try to let children and families know in advance who will be working each day.

Class teacher interviews to appoint a member of staff to begin in August were due to take place this week. These have been postponed and will be rescheduled.

Thank you for your continued support. We are thinking of you all and send you our very best wishes, please stay safe.

Kindest regards

Mrs McGuigan

Learning at Home

We believe that the children will take time to adjust to their new way of working. Although there may be an initial enthusiasm to learn at home, this might not be sustained over time as the children realise that it is not the same as a school holiday.

Education and learning come in many forms and there will be lots of rich learning opportunities within the home environment which should be enjoyed and valued. We will of course be providing ongoing learning activities but please don’t feel pressure to complete every activity in a “school day” approach. Supporting your child(ren) at home must be flexible and work for you as a family.

Try to establish a realistic routine which comprises a balance of opportunities for children to play, rest, go outdoors and enjoy family time as well as learning in a more formal way through written tasks and online activities. This might be best achieved through discussion and agreement with your child(ren). The resources provided by your child’s teacher will consolidate and deepen learning with some opportunities to apply their skills across different contexts.

When completing written tasks it might be best to sit at a table in a quiet environment however don’t feel you have to create a classroom in your home.

Each week a variety of activities will be offered through the Google Classroom which can be completed on a day/time of your choosing. Work will comprise maths, literacy and other curricular areas daily. Feel free to adapt or amend and take advantage of some of the emerging opportunities that are being published online. Teachers will be able to provide feedback and comments to the children and will be available daily to interact at set times. These times may vary but will be communicated in advance.

We recognise that your child(ren)’s pace of learning will be different during the period of school closure. This is a unique situation which will be challenging for everyone however we are a strong, caring community and we will work together to support each other. Above all, the health and wellbeing of our children and families is of most importance.

On behalf of all of the Crookfur team, I would like to thank you for your continued support during this very challenging time. We have really appreciated your many positive messages and kindness. Please take care and we look forward to welcoming you back to school soon.