Hello everyone,

What a lovely first week back we’ve all had, the warm sunny weather has certainly taken us all a bit by surprise and we have loved being able to get outdoors a great deal throughout the week.   The children have once again settled very quickly after the holiday and all children and staff are working really hard on all aspects of learning whilst also, and of equal importance, having lots of fun being back together too.  It has been really interesting to hear lots of discussions amongst the teachers about their plans for our Outdoor Welly Week next week- let’s hope this beautiful weather continues, the forecast looks a little mixed at the moment however this won’t stop my hardy staff and pupils from learning outdoors! 🙂 Across the week, from Monday 26th April until Friday 30th April, children should wear a warm jacket and bring “wellies”, trainers or other outdoor shoes (in a bag) to wear during outdoor learning please. To conclude our ‘Welly Week’ on Friday 30th April, children are welcome to wear their own choice of outdoor clothing and each class will work as a team to plant seeds in a class welly.

This is such a lovely, fun term in school however it is also an extremely busy one too and all teachers are now using a range of information, including their initial and ongoing observations and assessments of their children’s learning and wellbeing, to include in their End of Session Pupil Reports that you will receive home towards the end of May.  I am also very pleased that, although we cannot conduct our Parent/ Teacher Meetings at the start of June face to face, we do plan on using video technology for these meetings this time around.  This will mean that you and your child’s teacher will at least be able to see each other’s face which, I am sure you will agree, does make conversations and discussions just a little more personal.  More information will come home about these meetings soon however I thought it would be useful to let you know the dates just now.  These video discussions will take place on Tuesday 8^th and Thursday 10^th June, between 4pm and 7pm, and you will be able to use the online booking system to book a suitable, convenient time slot over the course of these two days.

Next Friday, you will receive more information in relation to our new Uniform Recycling System, this will be an ongoing, relaxed and regular opportunity for you to simply pop up to the playground to have a look at the uniform recycling rails and for you to take away any items that are suitable for your child.  More information will be in next week’s update however, in the meantime, we would be very grateful if you could hold onto any uniform items that are in good condition but no longer fit your child as we will begin collecting these items for recycling soon. On the topic of uniform, and as we begin to think about the new session in August, please see the attached flyer from the PTA which includes information on how you can purchase new uniform items.  The PTA have asked me to stress that this will be the last opportunity to buy badged hoodies, gym bags or ties from them before August.

As we now reintroduce homework for your child, please do get in touch with us if your child requires any help accessing their homework via Google Classrooms.  Please be reassured that we all realise that we are still very much living in Covid times and as such, although school has more or less returned to normal, many of our lives at home are still busy and many people are still juggling working from home with all the other aspects of home and family life.  Therefore, please don’t let your child’s homework add any pressure to your family at this time.  Please encourage your child to simply do what they can each week.  It continues to be really important that we all continue to look after our own, and our children’s, mental health.  Having time to get outside to play or have a walk is always so very important and if, on some days, this is the right thing for your family to do and it means that your child hasn’t been able to complete all of their homework that week then that’s fine-  we will, of course understand. As always, if you have any questions about your child’s homework then please just get in touch using the usual schoolmail email address and we will be happy to help.

Please remember to get in touch if you would like me to include information about a particular subject, event or topic that you would like more information about- I would be happy to include these items in my weekly update to help support parents to feel as informed and knowledgeable about life in Netherlee as possible.

P2 parents, please see information relating to a P2 Football After School Club, 

P7 parents, please see information relating to our P7 Leavers events.

The next Netherlee Parent Council meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th May at 7pm.  Please read the latest meeting minutes, from the meeting on 24th February.

I hope you enjoy the sunshine (fingers crossed) over the weekend and please continue to stay safe and well.  

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hello everyone,

What a lovely first week back we’ve all had, the warm sunny weather has certainly taken us all a bit by surprise and we have loved being able to get outdoors.

We’re sure you will have noticed the beautiful spring bulbs in full bloom in, or near, both nursery buildings. These were planted in Autumn by members of the PTA and we are so grateful for the time parents commit to making our school and nursery environment more welcoming. Children in Acorns were also delighted with the playground painting which took place during the holidays- thanks PTA!  We have really benefited from having the cycle track repainted as children are learning to follow the arrow directions and hopefully this will help us avoid having any car, scooter or bike collisions!

We would like to remind you that, as the weather gets warmer and the sun becomes stronger, your child should be protected by wearing a hat and high factor sunscreen when they come to nursery.  If you haven’t done so already, please supply a bottle of high factor sunscreen, labelled with your child’s name and the cream will be re-applied after lunch or as and when required. Please hand sunscreen bottles in at drop off time, please don’t keep this in children’s bags, as we will store sunscreen in a safe place out of reach of our children.  Due to health and safety requirements, we are unable to keep any spare bottles of sun cream in nursery to apply to a child who hasn’t had any handed in from home- this is to avoid any allergies or reactions of any kind however, if you require any help or would like to discuss this with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to help.

This is a really fun, but busy, term where staff are getting transition information ready for those leaving in June and collating photos and gathering comments and drawings to ensure that Special Books are ready for sharing during week beginning 17^th May. Children are so proud of their own Special Books which reflect snapshots of play experiences they have engaged in or moments they are especially proud of.  Staff are also constantly reflecting on children’s learning and will include these observation comments in the Summative Reports for all the children who are leaving to go to school in June.

The next Netherlee Parent Council meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th May at 7pm.  Please click here to access the Parent Council section of our website for more information.

Enjoy the sunshine over the weekend and please continue to get in touch with us at any time if you or your child needs anything or even if you would just like a quick chat or catch up.

Many thanks

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)