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

Everyone at Crookfur Primary and Family Centre would like to wish our children and families a wonderful summer holiday!

Have fun and stay safe!

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 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

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

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

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.

You will be aware that the UK and Scottish Government have moved to the ‘delay phase’ in response to the spread of Covid – 19 (Coronavirus).

Our staff have met regularly to discuss contingency plans in the event of the Scottish Government taking the decision to close schools. I would like to reassure you that we have plans in place to make sure our children have every opportunity to continue their learning regardless of the circumstances we may face.

All children (P1-7) have a glow username and password that they are able to use to access Glow, the Scottish Government learning platform. Although our nursery children have been allocated usernames, they do not use these regularly and other provision will be made for these children and their parents/carers to access online learning activities through the nursery blog.

If children cannot attend school, we will provide digital learning opportunities through Google Classroom which is accessed through Glow. Teachers are preparing learning activities for their classes and links to online learning sites which will be uploaded to the Classroom.

Each child will also be given a general jotter to document any written tasks. Guidance will be provided by class teachers through the comment feed on the Google Classroom and children will be able to upload photographs of completed tasks and other evidence of learning for the teacher to give feedback.

We will provide updates to parents through our usual e-mail and messaging services and parents will be able to contact the school through our SchoolMail@crookfur.e-renfrew.sch.uk address.

In order to continue to tackle the spread of Covid-19, we have had an ongoing focus on hand washing and the NHS guidance below.

• Wash your hands with soap and water, or use a sanitizer gel, regularly throughout the day.
• Catch your cough or sneeze in a tissue, bin it, and wash your hands.
• Cough / sneeze into your sleeve if no tissue.

Children should apply this beyond school and we thank you with your support in reinforcing these key messages. This is good practice and will benefit children regardless of the current situation.

We also thank you for your continued understanding and support as we have made changes to planned events, however we want to ensure we are helping protect our community as well as our children.

We will continue to follow Public Health and Scottish Government advice and any further changes will be communicated through our normal methods.  For updates please continue to follow the school and Council social media sites.

Kind regards

Mrs McGuigan

You will be well aware of the rapidly changing situation across the country due to the coronavirus. As you know schools, in line with everyone else, are following national guidance which in itself is necessarily changing on a daily basis. More information is available from the NHS at www.nhsinform.scot.

At the moment all schools and Early Learning and Childcare Centres remain open. However, over the next few days and weeks, it is possible that an increased number of pupils and staff will catch the virus and have to stay at home.  This will mean whole families having to stay at home for long periods of time, unable to come to school or go to work.

To help with our planning to continue to offer opportunities for learning we would be grateful if you could answer the following questions, using the link below:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKclYcsLU0jJIhDrccrg-LaVUN1RYWjZZOFhOSDk4V0o4VjBDN1MxNUgwUy4u

I know this is a worrying time for everyone and I want to assure you that we are working hard to plan for different situations and continue to provide learning and teaching for our children and young people. We will continue to communicate with you through our usual channels on the arrangements for your child. Please continue to follow the updates provided through the school and Council social media sites.

Thank you for your continued support

We are looking forward to welcoming all of our children on Monday 19th August for the new school session- especially our new Primary One children.

Primary 1 parents/carers have been sent some information about the first day in the post. Please click here to access a copy of this letter.

East Renfrewshire Council Trading Standards and Prevention Department has highlighted a concern regarding the P7 Leavers Hoodies. In particular, that some of the hoodies have a free running hood cord. The products themselves are not unsafe, they are small adult sized hoodies, but in order to comply with legislation surrounding children’s clothing, free running cords are not deemed safe for children under 14 years of age.

For safety reasons, if small adult sized hoodies were ordered, parents are advised to remove the cords from the hoodies.

Many thanks

Mrs McGuigan

Crookfur Primary will shortly be offering children the option of a Halal Menu as part of our lunch service.

A letter has been sent home today to give parents/carers more information. A copy of this letter has been uploaded to the Recent Letters Home section of the website and a sample menu can be accessed here.

The Halal Menu option will be introduced from week beginning Monday 18th June.

Best wishes

Mrs McGuigan

We have sent information to parents and carers detailing transition arrangements for children who will be starting P1 in August 18.

You will be able to access information about P1 induction on our website and we will add to this in the coming weeks.

P1 New Entrants

I look forward to our first information evening for parents/carers on Monday 14th May @ 7pm.

Best wishes

Mrs McGuigan

We are delighted that Crookfur Primary and Nursery Class will be able to open as usual tomorrow morning.

Both and ERC and parent volunteers have been busy ensuring that our pedestrian access routes have been cleared of snow and gritted. Cold weather is expected to continue so please do take care on approach. Doors will be open from 8.50am and we look forward to welcoming the children back.

Many thanks for your patience and support

Mrs McGuigan

As the Amber Warning for snow has been extended, weather conditions are not conducive to safe travel and as a result Crookfur Primary and Nursery Class will remain closed tomorrow (Friday 2nd). Staff and children should not attend.

We hope that over the next few days sufficient snow clearance can be carried out in order to grit our access routes to school and I am optimistic that we will open as normal on Monday. Please continue to monitor our communication channels- Twitter, website and ERC media for further updates.

I do apologise for any inconvenience, especially to P3A. We will reschedule your assembly soon 🙂

Best wishes

Mrs McGuigan

As a result of the Red Warning for weather in surrounding areas and the continued Amber Warning for East Renfrewshire, Crookfur Primary and Nursery Class will remain closed tomorrow (Thursday 1st Mar). Staff and pupils should not attend.

I hope that all of our families take care and stay safe. We will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates through our Twitter feed, School Website and ERC communications.

Many thanks

Mrs McGuigan

Please be advised that due to expected adverse weather and Government advice to avoid travel,  Crookfur Primary and Nursery Class will be closed tomorrow (Wed 28th Feb) for all staff and pupils.

Please continue to check social media for further updates- Twitter, School Website, ERC Media Outlets.

Please follow this link to book your appointment for our Parents Evenings on either 7th and 8th February.

Parents Evenings

The booking system will open from 7am on Monday 29th January until 10am on Wed 7th February.

We look forward to seeing you then.

Updated 19th January

Please be advised that we are aware of the weather warnings issued by the met office and are closely monitoring the situation.

In the event of any changes to the normal school day, e.g. early closure, we will contact parents using text and e-mail as well as using our website and Twitter to provide further information.

Our Parent Council will also use their social media platforms to share information.

At present school and nursery are open as normal and please be assured that we will contact you should this situation change.

More information on our severe weather contingency can be found on this website here.