Hello everyone,

We are sure you will agree that this week has had many successes, as well as some challenges as you, your children and staff settle into the routine of learning from home.  Myself and my staff really cannot thank you enough for your support and also for putting so much time and effort into working with us to support your child’s learning just now.  I/ we will never underestimate how difficult this is for many of you as you try to work around the many other demands on your time, indeed many of my staff are also living this alongside you, so please know that we greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you for getting in touch if you had any initial difficulties with the digital side of things- we are glad that we’ve been able to sort these out very quickly for you- hopefully the solutions we have provided have helped. However, please continue to get in touch at any time if you need any ongoing help.  I am sure you will agree that, even in normal times, using digital technologies can be a fantastic tool however can also be somewhat frustrating.  Sometimes, things that worked today, like a password for example, just for no apparent reason, simply don’t work the next!  Therefore, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, that’s what we are here for and we will always try to find a solution and help as quickly as we can.

I am sure that your child will be enjoying seeing their teacher and some of their friends from class during the live Google Meets. To help us just a little with this, we ask that if your child has been asked, and wishes, to join their live meet one day, that they join for the start of the session.  This will help the teacher to see who has joined and will ensure that your child knows exactly what is going to be happening during the session.  Please remember, as per explained in the Parent Guidance (now available on our school website), not all children will be required to attend all live meet sessions and your child’s teacher will send them an invite or let them know which sessions are for them.  We also of course understand that your child may simply not be able to join a particular session one day, and this may be for a number of completely understandable reasons – so please be reassured that this is absolutely fine, please don’t worry and please also stress to your child that they’ve not to worry either.  This is all very different for us all and can be hard and stressful at times so we are absolutely delighted if both you and your child just do what you/ they can and please take each day as it comes.  Like before, when this is over and it will be, we will continue to work together with you to make sure all of our children are where they need to be in their learning. I’m sure you will agree that what everyone needs to make sure right now, both children and adults- is that we keep well and also keep the wellbeing of everyone a top priority. Our Netherlee Hub is up and running for children of our Key Workers and being able to see some of our lovely, happy children each day also goes a very long way to keeping myself, and the staff who are in working in the Hub, motivated and grounded and also helps us to focus on what is so important in life right now too.

Remember, as in my previous email, we are here to help, this includes if you need any resources from us in relation to your child’s learning activities eg jotters, cardboard, glue etc, then please do just get in touch and we will be happy to help.  Similarly, if your child is in the Hub some days and you feel they need anything or you would like to chat to us about how this is going, then please do just get in touch at any time.

Next week, the Leadership Team will be hosting live Google Meet Drop In Sessions for parents/carers.  These will be informal opportunities for you to virtually drop in, if you wish, to ask us any general questions that you have and also to share ideas and experiences with each other too.  These sessions are of course also for any parents of children who are accessing our Netherlee Hub some days.  More information will be sent out to you on Monday in relation to this and will include the date and time of each session.  To respect everyone’s privacy, these sessions will not be suitable for discussing your own child so please continue to get in touch with myself, your child’s teacher or any member of the Leadership Team, via email or phone, if you have anything at all that you want to ask or discuss in relation to your child’s wellbeing or learning or if you feel that they are really struggling with things.  Please do get in touch with us to talk this through, we will again try to help in any way we can.  Thank you also for including your child’s name and class in any emails, this ensures that the appropriate person can respond very quickly to anything that comes in from home.

Finally, on behalf of myself and all the teachers and staff…simply a huge thank you for the many heart-warming and extremely positive feedback emails that you have taken the time to send us this week. It is very reassuring to know that all the planning, “hard thinking” and preparations are helping to keep your child learning at home just now and also that they are happy and feel as connected as possible by being able to see and hear their teacher and some friends on line.  As before, I am very keen to receive any feedback and this of course very much includes any constructive suggestions or points that you feel may help.  We will always consider any suggestions very carefully and will try to incorporate these if possible and where we can.

We would love to see any photos on Twitter of our children learning at home as we are so missing seeing their wee enthusiastic faces each day! Please post and share if you can at https://twitter.com/sand_nc

Meanwhile, have a lovely weekend….we are sure you will be looking forward to some rest over the weekend as much as we all are. 🙂

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson

Head Teacher