Good afternoon everyone,

This week I have the following links to share with you:

• August 2021 Teacher/ Class List (children will meet their new teacher on Tuesday of next week – document sent via email)
• August 2021 Room Plan (Children won’t be able to physically enter their new classroom this year but will be able to walk past it next week at some point.  We hope the Room Plan will also let you discuss the location with your child – document sent via email)
•  Useful Information for Parents for August Return: click to read
• PTA SWAY Newsletter Netherlee PTA 2020/21
• ERC Summer of Play Programme: Click to read

As there is already quite a lot of information contained within these links, I will leave my update here for this week.  There has been a great deal of exciting activities taking place this week in school and I hope that you can take a few moments to look on our Twitter Feed to enjoy these captured moments.

School will close early on the last day of term, Friday 25th June ahead of the summer holiday. Children in P1 and P2 should be collected at 12.45pm from their usual gates and children in P3-P7 should be collected at 1pm from their usual gates and collection points.

With regards to lunches on the last day of term, P1-3 will be offered a soup, or a cheese, tuna or chicken sandwich with some water. Any children eligible for free school meals in P4-7 will be offered the same should parents wish. Please contact us to let us know, if this is the case.

If you have ordered school photographs, your child will bring these home today. Please check your child’s bag. If your order was submitted late your photographs will follow from the photographer.

I will be back in touch again on Thursday of next week with a final update, including our last SWAY Newsletter for this session which is a round up and celebration of lots of the achievements, including some acts of kindness, that have taken place in Netherlee this year.

I hope you enjoy the weekend and are very much looking forward to an exciting evening of sport tonight!

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hi everyone

We have lots of news to share as we near the end of this school year.

Tie Ceremony
We invite you to watch our Nursery Tie Ceremony from Wednesday 23rd June at 10am. All nursery parents and carers will have access to watch as our children, who are going off to school in August, perform some songs and are presented with their school ties. The ‘Tie Ceremony’ video will be available to watch securely on Google Classroom until 13th August.
Those leaving to start P1 will be able to wear their school tie and ‘Class of 2021’ t-shirt home on Wednesday 23rd June. For those who don’t attend on Wednesday, they will be presented with their tie and t-shirt according to their attendance pattern throughout the week. We realise that, while it’s really lovely to see confident children ready to take the next step in their education, this can be an emotional time for parents as you see your child reach another milestone.

Staffing News
We are sorry to say goodbye to Shona Ramsay, one of our Child Development Officers as she makes an exciting move to Cross Arthurlie Nursery Class. Shona is really looking forward to this move and is looking forward to her new venture. Shona has worked in Netherlee Nursery Class for 20 years and has been a really valued member of our team. She has worked tirelessly to promote eco initiatives, cleaned many a skint knee as our First Aider and delivered lots of innovative learning opportunities. We all wish Shona every success in her new post and in her future career.
We will also be saying ‘au revoir’ to Lauren Weldon who will be returning to the school to take a class next session. Lauren has shown, through her enthusiasm, that she has loved the opportunity to work with the children, families and staff in the nursery. As Lauren goes, we will welcome Lewis Strang-Roy as our new nursery teacher. Lewis has a wealth of experience with his own young family and as teacher in the school and we are really looking forward to him joining our team from August 2021. Our Modern Apprentice Holly Neely will be leaving to move to Cartmill Family Centre for her last placement. We all wish her every success as she embarks on her career as a Child Development Officer from August 2021. Good luck Holly, you have been a fantastic asset to our team in Netherlee.

August 2021
We are so lucky that all nursery staff have a staff buddy, which means that your child has two keyworkers and that our staff work closely as one team to support all of the children. We can share that those returning in August will remain in their same coloured group, have one of their familiar key workers and lots of familiar faces. Next session, the Orange, Pink and Yellow groups will move to the Sapling Building. We are currently piecing together this complicated jigsaw and will be in contact next week to let you know further information regarding starting back in August.

Congratulations!
A huge thank you to one of our parents, Gayle Owens, for entering a competition to win a ‘You Can’t Take an Elephant on Holiday’ book and activity packs. We’re delighted to share that Gayle won a great prize of a copy of the book and 30 postcards. You can download a free, fun digital activity pack by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/ElephantOnHolidayActivityPack Thank you Gayle!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Hello again everyone,

PUPIL REPORTS AND PARENT MEETINGS
I hope you found your child’s parent teacher discussion helpful and this, combined with your child’s report, have provided you with useful and reassuring information around how your child is getting on in school.  From our end, the video system seems to have worked very well indeed and been a positive tool for conducting our parent meetings at this time.  As always, I would be very interested if you have any feedback that you would like to share with me, please do just get in touch.

TRANSITIONS
NURSERY to SCHOOL– We have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the new children from nursery who will join us in school in P1 in August.  They have been truly amazing and came into school ready to meet their new teacher and friends.  They had a lovely time and it was heart-warming to see their happy, settled, smiling faces as they briefly visited their classroom, played outdoors and even had a garden picnic too!
P7 to S1– Our P7 pupils have also had two full day visits (Thursday and Friday) to Williamwood HS this week and we can’t wait to hear all about how they got on when they return to Netherlee on Monday.  I am sure they will have lots of exciting news to share with us and they will also have a great week ahead as they take part in a carefully planned “Activity Week” which my staff have organised for them, as an alternative to their week long residential trip which unfortunately couldn’t take place this year.
STAGE to STAGE– I am currently in the process of carefully matching teachers to classes for next session and I intend to share this information with all parents next Friday (18th) if I can.  I am also very pleased that, this year, we can also resume the valuable transition activity of pupils having the opportunity to meet their new teacher for August, in person, on Tuesday 22nd June.

ERC BIKE MARKING EVENT
This Saturday there will be a FREE bike marking event at Rouken Glen Park. This will be an opportunity for anyone (children or adults) to take their bike along to be marked and registered. Registering your bike helps police and retailers identify and verify the legitimate owner of bikes that have been stolen or are being resold.  Rouken Glen Park @ The Pavilion   Saturday 12th June 2021, 1030-1600.

• HOUSE CAPTAINS AND PTA SPECIAL DAY (FRIDAY 18TH JUNE)
  
• PARENT COUNCIL NOTICE (ELECTION of OFFICE BEARERS and MEMBERS)
• P1 H&W PANTS LETTER
• P2 H&W PANTS LETTER
• P7 ACTIVITY LETTER 

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hi everyone,

Tie Ceremony
We’ve had a great week at nursery as we’ve worked together to make our Tie Ceremony videos. Children have been amazing while singing and we’re sure these videos will bring a smile to your face and fill you with pride. Videos from each of our zones will be available for viewing on Wednesday 23^rd June.

Time Capsule
Netherlee House Captains have shared information about creating a Time Capsule for each year group in the school and nursery. Please read the attached information to find out how your child can help us include items for our nursery time capsule.

P1 Visits
This week our children leaving to attend school have been visiting P1. These visits have given the children time to visit their class, meet their teacher and get to know some new friends. We have been so proud of how our wee Netherlee children have embraced meeting and chatting with children from a variety of different nurseries.

Google Classroom
Please remember to have a look at your child’s Google Classroom as this is where you’ll find our most recent planning. If you require the login details, please just ask.

Beach Party Week
We will have lots of fun water related activities, dancing and games as well as afternoon snack of ice cream (dairy & non-dairy) and juice. Children are invited to dress for Summer during this week, if they would like to, and let’s all hope the weather is kind to us.

ERC FREE Bike Marking Event
This Saturday there will be a FREE bike marking event at Rouken Glen Park. This will be an opportunity for anyone (children or adults) to take your bike along to be marked and registered. Registering your bike helps police and retailers identify and verify the legitimate owner of bikes that have been stolen or are being resold. Rouken Glen Park @ The Pavillion Saturday 12th June 2021, 1030-1600

Parent Council AGM and Meeting
Please find attached the agenda for the PC AGM and next meeting on 16^th June at 7pm.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Good afternoon everyone,

Nursery Tie Ceremony
During week beginning 7th June we will be making recordings for our ‘Nursery Tie Ceremony’ and although we can’t invite parents or carers to join us in person, this will be shared on Google Classroom on Wednesday 23rd of June for you to enjoy at home.

The children will sing some songs, be presented with their ties for starting primary school and proudly wear their individually designed ‘Class of 2021’ t-shirt.

We are sure that you will really enjoy taking time to watch this together as a family.

P1 School Visits
Some children will be excitedly visiting their new school over the next few weeks. We ask that you collect your child prior to their visit or go straight to their school with them and drop them back at nursery afterwards. We are very flexible with hours of attendance during times like this and want you and your child to have a happy, smooth visit.

ERC Self Evaluation
As part of East Renfrewshire Council Education Department’s ongoing process of self-evaluation, they would like to seek your views on your experience of the school/ nursery.  As Covid has unfortunately placed many restrictions on what could and couldn’t be done over the past year, ERC would ask that you consider your responses over the last two or three sessions if possible.  We would therefore be very grateful if you could please complete this survey by Friday 11^th June 2021. You can access it here.  https://bit.ly/3bKWfKP

Please find the following information as attachments above:

• Parental Employment Support Fund.
• ERC Holiday Dates
• Parent Council Meeting Agenda | AGM Meeting Minutes
• Administration of Medicine

Many thanks

Yvonne Donaldson & Angela Kerr

Hello everyone,

Please find the following attachments this week:

• Parent Council AGM and Meeting Agendas
• Scottish Government and ERC’s Parental Employment Fund
• School Holiday Dates for 2021/22
• Important Information regarding Administration of Medicine in School

ERC LIBRARIES
I am delighted that, as we continue to move forwards in our return to a more normal life, East Renfrewshire libraries are now open and are welcome customers back for book browsing at 7 libraries- Barrhead, Clarkston, Giffnock, Mearns, Eaglesham, Neilston and Thornliebank. Please check each library page for operating hours and contact details. In line with this reopening, the children’s SUMMER READING CHALLENGE “Wild World Heroes” will begin on Monday 21st June and end on Monday 30th August. https://www.ercultureandleisure.org/YourLocalLibrary.html Twitter: www.twitter.com/ERCL4

SCHOOL UNIFORM
Please continue to drop into either the front playground (near the Pavilion) or Clarkston Road playground, just after 9am each Monday morning, to browse through our recycled uniform items. This continues to be well used by many families and we would encourage you to make use of this initiative whenever it would be useful to you.  We will continue to run this next session from August too.

ERC SELF EVALUATION
As part of East Renfrewshire Council Education Department’s ongoing process of self-evaluation, they would like to seek your views on your experience of the school/ nursery.  As Covid has unfortunately placed many restrictions on what could and couldn’t be done over the past year, ERC would ask that you consider your responses over the last two or three sessions if possible.  We would therefore be very grateful if you could please complete this survey by Friday 11^th June 2021. You can access it here.  https://bit.ly/3bKWfKP

USEFUL DATES NEXT SESSION
Many of you will remember that, in normal school years, I compile a list of “useful dates for your diary” for all parents/ carers which details key dates of events and activities within the school eg Sports Days, Report Cards coming home etc.  I am currently negotiating the school calendar for next session and I am very hopeful, fingers and toes crossed, that we will be able to return to a more normal year in school which will hopefully include being able to once again welcome parents into the building.  Therefore, all being well, I look forward to being able to share this “Useful Dates” list with you, near the start of the new school session, so that you can have an overview of everything that will be happening and when.

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS
In line with the above, also at the start of the new session, I will ask for suggestions from you in relation to the kinds of information that you would like us to include in any Information Sessions for you.  This could be about very many  topics, for example, how progression is made by pupils through the various Curriculum for Excellence Levels (Early- Fourth) or how children learn through play in the Early Years. Please do look out for this request from me early in the new session and please do have a think about the kinds of information we could share and would be useful and of interest to you.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself or any member of staff at any time- remember no question or query is ever unimportant, or too small for us to listen to and help you or your child with.

I hope you and your family enjoy the beautiful sunshine and spending time together over the weekend.

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hello everyone

Summative Reports (For children starting school in August)
We hope you enjoy taking time to read your child’s Summative Report. We know that children will continue to make progress in the home environment over the next few months and this will be recognised by their teacher when they start Primary 1.

Head Lice
Head lice can’t be prevented but regular checking ensures early detection and treatment if necessary. Parents and carers should aim to check their children’s hair once a week during hair washing. Please click on the links for more information:
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/public/Netherlee/uploads/sites/95/2019/01/Head-Lice.pdf
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/public/Netherlee/uploads/sites/95/2016/10/25-Head-Lice-Information-for-Parents.pdf

School Holidays for 2021/22
Parent Council Newsletter

Have a lovely, long weekend everyone.

Many thanks

Yvonne Donaldson & Angela Kerr

Hello everyone

Attachments this week:-
Parent Council Newsletter
PTA Magic Night
P2 only Gingerbread Letter

We have had a fantastic “ACTIVE”ities Week. We hope you have enjoyed sharing some of the fun with us by looking at our Twitter feed where you can enjoy a selection of what the classes have been up to. We were particularly delighted with the “retweet” from Olympic athlete, Johnny Brownlee- it was lovely to see so many of the P6 children being so impressed, proud and also super excited!

PROGRESS REPORTS Your child will have brought home their end of year Progress Report today. We hope you enjoy sharing this with your child at home and you will soon have the opportunity to discuss this, and any other matters that you would like, with your child’s teacher during your Parent Appointment.

SCHOOL UNIFORM Please remember that our recycled uniform rails are available, just after 9am, each Monday morning. All are welcome to pop along on any Monday at this time to have a look at the large amount of good quality items available.

PARENT COUNCIL NEWSLETTER Thank you to the Parent Council for producing the next PC Newsletter which we hope will help you to keep up to date with the working of the Parent Council, school and nursery.

PTA MAGIC NIGHT Once again our wonderful PTA have not only been continuing to enhance our outdoor spaces by adding to the colourful shapes along many of the fences around the school and nursery, but they are now ready to share their latest virtual event with you. Please see the attached Magic Show Flyer above. Thanks as always PTA!

LITERACY NEWSLETTER Please click on the link below for the Newsletter. Our thanks to Mrs. Wharton for putting this together. https://sway.office.com/g3GjR2oA74JIq1oH?ref=email

I hope you and your family have a wonderful, long weekend and have an opportunity to enjoy spending some time together with your child(ren).

We look forward to welcoming all of our pupils back to school on Tuesday 1^st June.

Regards,

Netherlee Primary School

Good afternoon everyone, you will see there are some attachments this week:

PTA Baker Event
NHS Testing Information
P7 Events

HEALTH and SAFETY  Can I politely remind all parents that Netherlee is a nut free school and, as such, request that you ensure your child doesn’t bring any nuts, or any food containing nuts eg Nutella to school at any time. This is to help keep all children and staff as safe and well as possible.  Thank you for your support and vigilance with this.

PLAYGROUND SUPERVISION As outlined in the “return to school information for parents” issued after lockdown, I would like to remind you that playground and gate supervision is in place from 8.50am with school starting officially at 9am.  Although gates are opened before then, children do remain the responsibility of parents until 8.50am as there are no adults in the playground before this time.  I would therefore ask you to please be mindful of this as we have noticed an increasing number of children, which includes our youngest year groups, arriving at school quite early and well before 8.50am.

“ACTIVE”ities WEEK  As part of “ACTIVE”ities Week, next week, we will be challenging everyone to walk a little more if at all possible. This could be walking to/from school, or even walking part of the way. If this isn’t possible, a walk, cycle or scoot after school or in the evening would count as well.  We are really looking forward to a fun filled, active week ahead.

UNIFORM RECYCLING We have been delighted by the response of parents to make use of this newly introduced initiative.  I would like to thank the many parents who have taken the time to get in touch to express their thanks and appreciation for this being introduced.  Please remember that you can now make use of this system each week on a Monday morning (just after 9am).  Just drop by the Clarkston Road Gate, or the gate at the main entrance to the school near the pavilion, to have a look at what is available.  We have a great selection of items in super condition and the rails are fully stocked thanks to the volume of donations that you have given. There is a large red box at the main entrance to the school, just at the top of the stairs/ ramp where you can drop off uniform items that your child is finished with, including unbadged grey items or shirts and blouses and summer dresses- we would very gratefully take anything that is washed and still in good condition off your hands.  Thank you.

ERC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC VIDEO P5-7 PARENTS ONLY If your child is interested in learning a musical instrument in school, please ask them to share the video from ERC Instrumental Music Services that your child’s teacher has placed on their Google Classroom.  This video will allow you and your child to find out a little about each of the instruments that are on offer. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the school office, Mrs Wharton or Mr Watson who will be happy to help.

PARENT COUNCIL MEETING AND AGM This virtual meeting will take place on Wednesday 16^th June at 7pm and, as always, all parents and carers are welcome to come along.  Please visit the “Parents and then Parent Council” tabs in the school website for information on how you can join us.

HOLIDAY WEEKEND  School and nursery will be closed for the long holiday weekend on Friday 28^th and Monday 31^st May and we look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday 1^st June.  Please note that, as always when we move into the month of June, homework will stop and therefore next week will be the last week of homework for your child for this session.

Have a good weekend everyone, please stay safe and well.

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hello everyone

​“ACTIVE”ities Week Mon 24th – Thurs 27th May
Due to the ongoing COVID restrictions, unfortunately, we will not be able to have a whole nursery Sports Day. Instead, we plan to have an “ACTIVE”ities week. The focus of the week will be on being really active, in terms of exercise, competition, healthy living and looking after our bodies. We will have obstacle courses, bootcamp exercises, flat races, potato and spoon races and lots more!

To make it as easy as possible for children to participate in all these activities and have lots of fun, they should wear suitable clothing and footwear every day please.

​Parent and Carer Appointments
We hope that many of you have  enjoyed the opportunity to talk with staff about the progress your child has made during their year at nursery. It’s a really lovely time to reflect on your child’s increasing independence and progress while playfully learning lots of new things. For all children starting school in August, please look out for an email later on today with the time slot for your telephone appointment with your child’s keyworker.

​Photographs
Should you decide to order your child’s recent nursery photograph, all orders require to be returned by Wednesday 26^th May please. The purchase of these photographs is, of course, entirely optional and there is no obligation at all to buy them.

​Holiday
We would like to remind you that nursery is closed on both Friday 28^th May and Monday 31^st May.

​Special Books
We are sure that you have really enjoyed sharing your child’s Special Book at home. We ask that you now return these to nursery as staff continue to use them with the children until the end of term, during transition discussions and when reviewing progress.

Netherlee Equalities Parent Forum
Netherlee Primary and Nursery have representation on the East Renfrewshire Council Equalities Parent Forum. However, we are looking for a nursery parent or carer, to volunteer to be part of the group. It will only mean attending a few meetings where you can contribute to the discussion.  The focus of the last meeting centred around supporting families living with poverty, especially in light of the financial fallout of Covid.  Next session, we will also be focusing on ensuring that we consider and celebrate the diversity of the Netherlee Community and we would love to include nursery parents in this. If you are interested in representing our nursery please just let us know.

Uniform Recycling
We have lots of age 3-4 polo shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies that you are free to take from the table outside the Sapling Building.

For those going to Netherlee Primary School, Mrs Wharton (Principal Teacher) wanted to share that ‘Netherlee’s School Uniform Recycling System’ have received lots of P1 sized uniforms. If you would like to take any of these in advance of your child starting P1, the Recycling Uniform Rails will be available to view every Monday morning, from just after 9am, at the Clarkston Road Gate. There is no charge for any item at this stall, however, if you would like to make a very small donation towards school funds for using this service, you would be most welcome to do so. In order to comply with current restrictions, please be mindful of the requirement to maintain social distancing when viewing these rails and remember that face coverings should be worn.

NHS Test & Protect Flyer

We hope you have a really lovely weekend.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Hi Everyone

We’re really looking forward to sending home your child’s Special Book next week. Our Special Books are a really valuable way of sharing your child’s learning story across their time at nursery. We hope you thoroughly enjoy looking at the book together. We ask that you also update your child’s ‘Personal Care Plan’ (in Special Book) where needed, and then return the book to us. For children returning to nursery in August, these books will then continue to be added to by the children themselves and also their keyworker and staff. For children leaving nursery to start P1, Special Books are an important and very useful tool in our “transition to school” processes and these will be shared and discussed with your child’s new P1 teacher. These will then, once again, continue to be added to in P1.

We ask that, when dropping off or collecting your child from the Saplings building, you continue to only use the gate beside the Saplings building please. The gate beside the Acorns building is only for dropping off or collecting from that building. We respectfully ask you to remind any other adults involved in the drop off or collection of your child from nursery of these procedures as they should not be in the school grounds or crossing playgrounds during the nursery or school day. Many thanks for your help, support and understanding with this safety measure.

This week lots of children (and staff!) have had so much fun splashing in puddles or playing with the taps and this resulted in wet feet and therefore us having no spare socks! If you have any spare socks that we could use for changing children we’d really appreciate these. We would also be very grateful if you could please continue to put spare clothing in your child’s bag every day, as we often need to change wet, muddy or painted clothing. Thank you once again for your help with this too.

We hope you have a lovely weekend getting out and about with your family.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Hello again everyone,

SCHOOL UNIFORM
Thanks you once again for contributing to our uniform recycling processes. We are delighted with the response and would like to remind you that from next week, you can now begin to benefit and make use of the recycling system. I have re-attached the letter that Mrs Wharton sent out a couple of weeks ago which explains when and how you can drop by the school to look at what is available for you to take away for your child.

INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DAY 21^st June 2021 (P5-7 children who play a musical instrument only)
Throughout this past year and especially during the recent lockdown period, we appreciate that many children have been continuing to conscientiously practise their musical instrumental playing at home. We are also delighted that musical tuition in school is slowly being reintroduced and we are so proud of these children for their efforts and dedication. As such, we would like to recognise International Music Day on 21^st June this year. Please find attached a letter from Mrs Wharton and Mr Watson in relation to these exciting plans.

PTA MEETING WED. 19^th MAY 2021
Please find attached the agenda for the next PTA meeting. All parents and carers of Netherlee are very welcome, please see the attached agenda for details of how to join us.

“ACTIVE”ITIES WEEK (24^th – 27^th MAY 2021)
To continue our focus on outdoor learning and the importance of being active to stay well, both physically and mentally, we are delighted to share our plans for “Active”ities Week in the attached letter from Mr Bryce- lots of fun to look forward to.

BIKEABILITY – P7 ONLY
Please note that due to a clash of dates the full day Bikeability session for p7c has been moved from Friday 11th June to Friday 4th June.

GETTING IN TOUCH
We continue to respond very quickly to any phone calls or emails that we receive from parents and are very appreciative that many of you have, and continue to, get in touch with us about a range of matters. Please be reassured that we would never hesitate to give you a call if we wanted to have a very quick chat with you about anything at all- even if this was about, what may seem like, a very small, non-urgent matter or if we wished to arrange a meeting with you to have a more in depth discussion. Therefore, please don’t hesitate to take this approach yourself too. All you have to do is give the school office a quick call or drop us a line in an email if you would like to chat to myself or any member of staff. Please don’t ever feel that you would be taking up, or wasting, our time in any way… parent/ school partnerships and ongoing communication is something that myself and all of my staff are very committed to- therefore there is nothing, in relation to your child or the school, that could ever be a waste of time. Even the smallest matters can be really important to you, us or your child and are often very easily and quickly sorted for your child or yourself. (Phone: 0141 570 7260 or email: schoolmail@netherlee.e-renfrew.sch.uk).

HEALTH AND WELLBEING SWAY
And finally, I hope you enjoy the latest in our ongoing series of SWAY Newsletters- thank you to Mrs Roberts for putting this one together for us. As you know, a focus on health and wellbeing always plays a huge part in the life of Netherlee however, never before has this ongoing focus been so important than over this past year. Please click on the link to get a flavour of what this looks and feels like in school and nursery. https://sway.office.com/LUpCCR0sFEOU4Bk7?ref=email.

A warm Eid Mubarak to everyone who celebrate the festival of Eid and… to all families… have a really lovely weekend.

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher

Hello again everyone

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS- We are delighted that we have been able to welcome the photographer into school this week to begin taking class and individual photographs of the children.  As I said last week, at one point we really didn’t think that this would be able to happen this year due to Covid restrictions and therefore watching the children all line up excitedly as they wait in line for their turn to have their photograph taken has been really very special indeed and another little sign that life continues to get back, step by step, to normal.  I really do hope, and hope you agree too, that it will be so important going forwards that everyone continues to really appreciate the little things, like a simple photograph, that now seem so very important and special.

PTA SUMMER EVENTS- Please find attached a reminder poster from the PTA detailing lots of events that they have organised for Netherlee children and families.  These events are all free to everyone to take part with the option of making a very small donation if you would like to and are able.

TRANSITION INFORMATION- As a staff team we had a very productive In-Service Day yesterday,  In- Service Days are a very important opportunity for staff to share and discuss best practice with each other and also to receive training and professional development.   Yesterday, many of our Pupil Support Assistants received further training on how best to support pupils with literacy and reading skills which they felt was very useful and helpful to them in their important role within the school.  At the same time, teachers spent time looking in detail at all of the information (both learning and wellbeing) that they have gathered on their children throughout the whole session and in particular since returning to school after lockdown.  They also looked at their curricular planning documentation to ensure that the children’s learning continues to be appropriately paced and that they have accurate transition information to pass on to the new class teacher towards the end of term, ready for the new session in August.  Staff also spent time yesterday suggesting and considering priority areas which we feel should be included in our Improvement Plan for Session 2021-2022.   This work carried out by staff yesterday will be carefully considered, alongside your own suggestions that you gave via the Parent Council recent survey, for inclusion in our new session’s improvement plan.   I will of course share our plan with you at the start of the new session in August.  Hopefully, (fingers and toes crossed) by that time we will be able to once again welcome parents back into the school and nursery and we will be very keen to utilise the many skills that you have as parents which could help us to achieve our priorities eg volunteering and helping in school, input into Community Learning, sharing family cultures and traditions, running after school clubs etc.

PARENT COUNCIL MEETING- Please find attached the Agenda for the PC Meeting on Wednesday. Please remember that every parent/ carer who has a child at Netherlee is welcome to attend our Parent Council Meetings and you don’t need to be a member of the council to come along (virtually at the moment).  Information on how you can join the meeting is contained in the agenda and is also available on our website under the Parents then Parent Council Tab.

NUMERACY AND MATHEMATICS SWAY NEWSLETTER- Please click on the link to view the latest in the series of SWAYS which will give you an insight into what is, and has been, happening in Numeracy and Maths recently in Netherlee.  We do hope you are enjoying these new Sway Digital Newsletters.  These have been introduced to help keep you informed about various aspects of life in Netherlee as well as specific areas of the curriculum.  https://sway.office.com/MDpBRvRrlUhVNpnj?ref=email

UNIFORM RECYCLING SYSTEM- We are delighted by the response to our uniform recycling initiative.  We are very grateful to the many parents who have popped up to the front door of the school to drop off bags of uniform that they are finished with into the donation box.  We even had to empty our box several times over the course of the week which is wonderful.  Please remember to continue to do this at any time as this initiative is now part of our ongoing practice within the school and we hope that it will really help families as well as, of course, the environment.  Next week, I will remind you of how you can pop up to school to have the opportunity to take away any items of recycled uniform that may be of use to your child.

HAPPY EID-  On behalf of the school, nursery and Netherlee community, we would like to wish all families who celebrate Eid a very happy  Eid Mubarak next week and hope that you enjoy celebrating this important festival, safely with your loved ones.

As always, please get in touch if you have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to share or, of course,  if you have any concerns or questions in relation to your own child.  We are here and very much want to help in any way we can.

Enjoy the weekend.

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson

Head Teacher

Hello everyone,

It’s been a short but very busy week as children and staff have enjoyed lots of opportunities to play inside or out, in spite of the hailstones and rain.

Staff have also been busy preparing to share good practice with each other during the In-Service Day. It’s really important to have opportunities such as In-Service Days where staff can share expertise and ideas across the whole team.  This also reminds us that, although we may have two nursery buildings, we are very much one nursery community. During our In-Service Day yesterday, some staff shared their training and experience of Virtual Nature School (Miss Dorran, Miss Montgomerie and Mrs Kaur), our newly introduced Bucket Time Sessions (Mrs Greig and Miss Ramsay) and all staff also had opportunities to help identify priorities for the ‘School and Nursery Improvement Plan’ for next session starting in August.

We’re really looking forward to the photographer taking some lovely photos of our children next week. Please don’t worry if your child misses their slot as you will see that we a have a catch-up day for all children across both buildings on Friday 14^th May. As photos are being taken  outside this year,  let’s hope the weather is kind to us! Photographer Timetable

For all children returning to our nursery in August, please look out for an email later on today with the time slot for your telephone appointment with your child’s keyworker.  We will then follow this round of appointments with a similar email for parents of children who are leaving us to start their exciting journey into P1.  These telephone meetings will take place from 1^st June 21.  If your child is moving on to P1 in Netherlee Primary, you will receive transition information from the school shortly which will include induction visit dates and other useful information for you.

Please find attached the agenda for the upcoming Parent Council Meeting on Wednesday.  Please remember everyone, who has a child at our nursery or school, is welcome to attend.  Please see the agenda for how to join us if you would like to.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)  

Hello again everyone,

What a wonderful Welly Week we’ve had! Please do have a look at our Twitter feed @sand_nc where we’ve shared photos of some of the fun that the children have had including learning how to care for and nurturing plants.

We would like to remind you that our photographer will be coming to nursery to take individual photographs of children during week commencing the 10th of May.  This year, all of the photographs will be taken outdoors in our beautiful gardens so we’re keeping everything crossed for dry weather! You will notice that our nursery time slots (attached) are in the morning, this is to keep the children as clean and tidy as possible for their photo shoot! J  If you would like your child to wear something special for their photo (please note photos will be taken from the knee up) and change after they’ve had their session, please just let us know. There are additional time slots available in case we have to cancel sessions due to windy or rainy weather.   These photographs will then be available for you to purchase however this is, of course, entirely optional.

We will be ordering Netherlee Nursery Class uniforms on Friday 18^th June. If you wish to place an order please complete the order form https://forms.office.com/r/6we3YM2zhj and then make payment in the usual way through ParentPay. We have lots of aged 3-4 ‘lightly used’ nursery uniforms and also a huge amount of unnamed lost property in nursery. During next week  we will be putting this on display in the hope that you recognise some of the odd shoes/gloves, hats, jackets etc. From Monday 10^th May we will have the remaining unclaimed clothing and ‘lightly used uniform’ available for you to take. We will leave a donation tin, should you wish to leave a small donation. Please be assured that donations are entirely voluntary, we would just like to know that recycled clothing is helping families, and the environment, by being re-used.

We would like to remind you that nursery is closed on Monday 3^rd May for the Bank Holiday and on Thursday 6^th May for the election and staff In-service day. During our In-service day we will be reviewing our planning and would really welcome your thoughts about recent changes we have made to ‘Learning Links’. Please send any comments that you may have via our usual email address.

We will be in contact next week regarding telephone appointments for all children returning to nursery in August 21. These appointments will take place during week beginning 17^th May between 3.30-6.00pm. For children going to school, we will be holding these appointments during week beginning 1^st June between 3.30-6.00pm.

Please get in touch using the Netherlee Nursery email address if you have any questions about any of these matters.  Have a lovely long weekend with your family.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Hello again everyone

As there are quite a few attachments and links this week, which contain important information from the Parent Council, PTA and the school, I am going to make my update a little more brief than usual.  

WELLY WEEK  However, I simply have to mention the fact that we have had a fantastic Outdoor Welly Week this week in Netherlee- if you haven’t had a chance to pop on to our Twitter Feed  yet, please take a few moments to do so.  This is a great way for you to find out about lots of the learning experiences that are happening in school and I hope will very much reassure you that the children are working really hard, whilst also having lots of fun, as they enjoy the fantastic experiences that have been planned for them by their teachers.  A huge thanks to my staff and everyone involved in making this week such a great experience for our children and a special thanks to my Principal Teacher, Jilly Bell and the wonderful PTA for all their hard work in the lead up to get everything ready.   One of the very first priorities that I had identified when I started as Head Teacher at Netherlee was the need to really make much better use of the school grounds and surrounding areas so that we could incorporate invaluable and meaningful outdoor learning as much as possible.  As such, I simply can’t say how appreciative I am of the PTA and volunteer parents for helping with this and also to my staff for embracing learning outdoors so readily, understanding the importance, relevance and benefits that this has for our children.  All I needed to do was simply give the “green light” to lots of wonderful suggestions that our enthusiastic pupils, parents, Jilly and the staff in school had, and the grounds have literally been transformed!   There is still more to do J but I know that you will be just as amazed and appreciative as I am when you click on the PTA “thank you” link.  https://sway.office.com/baxmBkBqI2mHbRWc?ref=Link

The PTA has some fun activities lined up as part of the Summer term. Please register for the events that interest you and an email with zoom details and any other necessary instructions will be sent before the event. All events are offered free although you will need to provide the ingredients for the baking sessions. Netherlee PTA (pta-events.co.uk)

PTA Summer Term Activities

PC HIGHLIGHTS  Please remember to visit our school website where you can find lots of interesting and useful information including agendas and minutes from the regular Parent Council Meetings.  In case you missed the last Parent Council minutes issued last week, please find attached the “PC Highlights”.  This is a newly introduced way for the PC to share the main points with you after each meeting.

P6 EURO QUIZ  I am delighted to let you know that, following a very tough and hard fought ERC Euro Quiz Competition this week, one of our outstanding P6 Teams came in at a superb 3^rd place.  This is a fantastic achievement as this annual event involves all primary schools across the authority and is always a very competitive and challenging competition.  A huge well done to all of the P6 pupils who were involved and a special well done to our 3^rd place team! 

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS  Please find attached further information relating to the upcoming school photographs.  We are so pleased that we are able to take these photographs this year as, at one point, we really didn’t think this would be possible.

Photograph Information
Photographs w/c 3rd May
Photographs w/c 10th May

NEW UNIFORM RECYCLING SYSTEM  Please also find attached further details about our uniform recycling initiative.  We really do hope that families will make use of this new system.  As always, please get in touch if you have suggestions of how we could tweak or develop this further in any way.  We would like to make this as useful as possible for all parents so please do let us know. 

(P3-6 ONLY) – INSTRUMENTAL TUITION  If your child would like to learn a musical instrument through the music service, is interested in any of the instruments available for their year group and would like to be considered for instrumental tuition starting in August of next session, please complete and return the form below no later than Friday 14th May 2021 https://tinyurl.com/6endmpn9

(P7 ONLY) – BIKEABILITY If you haven’t already, please complete the Microsoft Form so that your child can participate in the Bikeability in June. https://forms.office.com/r/d2HSVM9hhn

And finally, I hope you have a lovely weekend and holiday Monday.  We will look forward to seeing all children back, refreshed after the long weekend and ready for another busy week at school.

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 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)

Hello everyone

As we head into the holiday period please remember,  if you have a spare hour or two, to get outdoors and join in with the House Captain’s Photography Challenge.  By the look of the weather forecast you may be able to take some interesting photographs of the snowy Netherlee landscapes and community!

Please click on the link to access the next edition of our Netherlee Showcase Newsletters- this time showcasing lots of the digital creativity and skills of our children and staff.  We hope you enjoy! 

Please find attached information about Welly Week.  As you know we have been working very hard, alongside our PTA, to improve our outdoor learning spaces and Welly Week will be another opportunity for us all to enjoy learning outdoors whilst also further improving these spaces.

Some good news…we are so pleased that we will be able to carry out our annual school and nursery photographs as we know how important these are to many of our families.   Please find attached information relating to this.

And finally, myself and all of the staff at Netherlee would like to wish our children and families a really lovely, well-earned holiday fortnight.    Please keep safe, enjoy some downtime and as much time as you can having fun outdoors.  We will all be here, looking forward to seeing all of our children back in school and nursery again, on Monday 19^th April.

Best wishes

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher