Hello everyone

Thank you to the parents who joined us for the first ‘Google Meet Drop In’ on Tuesday and who shared some feedback and suggestions with us. It’s really great to hear that children look forward to seeing their friends and teachers during the live meets and that the weekly ‘Learning Links’ and ‘Home Learning Ideas’ are being used to scaffold the day’s activities. We were asked if paper copies of the Learning Links and Home Learning Ideas could be printed as it is sometimes easier to read a paper copy or to tick off some of the suggested ideas. We are of course happy to help with this so, from Monday 25^th January and each Monday going forwards, we will have paper copies available on a table in the school foyer between 9am and 3pm.  Please feel free to pop in to collect a paper copy if this would be helpful.  Please remember to wear a face covering and to socially distance where appropriate.

It was also lovely to hear that a few of our nursery children have asked for ‘real work’. To quote the famous theorists, Marie Montessori, ‘play is the work of the child’ and while children might not realise that they are learning, they really are through all the day to day activities, household chores and play experiences you provide. While your children are busy exploring everything around them or taking part in the suggested home learning activities they are absorbing concepts through experiencing them, just like they would if they were in the nursery building learning with us.   

We are really delighted to be able to share that we have been selected to be part of the Virtual Nature School initiative.  As such, due to the current lockdown Virtual Nature School is providing us with a suite of outdoor play and learning resources which can be used by practitioners and parents as part of their home learning package. Please find attached a flyer for parents which explains how Virtual Nature School materials can be used to support outdoor, home learning experiences during this time.

We really do appreciate and understand that these are challenging times for everyone- juggling working from home, providing essential services, missing family or catering for the needs of different age groups of children. Please remember that there is no expectation that all suggested home learning activities are completed and we really do understand the pressures. Just do what you can- the most important thing that your child needs is just having you as a loving, happy and not too stressed parent, so please don’t be too hard on yourself right now.  

As well as having us to speak to or contact, ERC have the ‘Family First’ team who can signpost parents to helplines, advice, training or useful websites. Please click on the link to access more information: https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/article/2573/Family-First-information-resource

We have been asked to share the latest oral health newsletter which contains some really useful information on nutrition and snacks for young children. Please click on the link to access the Sway:

https://sway.office.com/6BKjL6VG4fVyPVKf?ref=Link

If you have not applied for a place for P1 please do so now…the closing date is today 22^nd January. J

https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/apply-for-p1

Please use this link to see the Scottish Virtual Nature School Brochure for ideas for outdoor learning Scottish Virtual Nature Schools Brochure

We hope you have a good weekend, try to spend lots of time outdoors if you can, and enjoy a well-earned break. We’ll be back in touch next week but please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at any time.

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (Nursery PT)

Hello everyone

I can’t quite believe we are at the end of our second week of remote/ home learning… I am sure, for some of you, time may have passed very quickly and for others the week may have seemed endless so simply, thank you once again for all that you are doing to help us to keep your children’s learning moving forwards right now.  The teachers are continuing to follow and plan for learning as outlined in the Curriculum for Excellence skill planning documentation and this ensures that the learning is progressing and moving on at an appropriate and steady pace.  We completely understand that everyone’s circumstances are entirely unique, so please be reassured that your best endeavours are good enough – in fact more than good enough.  As I said last Friday, everyone’s wellbeing must always come first so that when we move on from this current phase, both with schooling and in our personal lives, that we are all well and have a positive, healthy mind-set. Therefore, if your child hasn’t quite grasped a concept taught during home learning for any entirely understandable reason, then your child’s teacher and additional members of staff will use a variety of techniques to identify where any gaps are and will then address any areas of learning that require reinforcement, revisiting or consolidation to ensure that all children’s learning is where we would want and need it to be. 

Thank you to the many parents who managed to join us for our live Drop in Meets this week.  We are very grateful for all of the extremely positive comments and also for your comments and suggestions of small tweaks for us to consider.  You may very well be able to see for yourself, through your child’s Google Classroom and when they are engaged in their learning, that we have already been able to incorporate some of your suggestions as we refine our practice. We will hold another round of Drop In Sessions for you over the coming weeks and I will send you more information about these in due course, giving you as much advance notice as possible.

Please remember that there are additional resources and suggested, stage specific, websites on our website and we are also continually adding to the “parent digital help sheets” on our website too.   However, please continue to get in touch with us if you have any digital difficulties or if you would like to discuss your own child’s learning or wellbeing with us.  This of course includes any of our children who are currently accessing our hub – feedback from these children tells us that they are happy and also enjoying accessing their Google Classroom so that they can complete the same work as the rest of their classmates are doing at home however, please get in touch if you would like to discuss anything with us.

If you have a younger child who currently attends nursery and you have not yet applied for a place for P1 in August please do so now…the closing date is today 22^nd January. J

https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/apply-for-p1

I hope you have a good weekend, try to spend lots of time outdoors if you can, and enjoy a well-earned break.  I’ll be back in touch again next week but please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if needed.

Please follow us on Twitter and tag us to your tweets so we can see all your lovely posts. https://twitter.com/sand_nc

Yvonne Donaldson

Head Teacher

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

Hello everyone

We are sure you will agree that this week has had many successes, as well as quite a few challenges as you, your children and staff settle into the routine of learning from home.

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 for you – hopefully the solutions we have provided have helped. Your child will be enjoying seeing their keyworker and some of their friends from nursery during our Google Meets at 2.30pm every day. To help us just a little and to ensure the safety of all, we ask that you leave the session promptly – before the member of staff please and also continue to direct any questions or comments to us via email, and not via Google Classroom or at the end of the live session.  Many thanks for your help with this.

When emailing, it would be really helpful if you could please include your child’s name and also their keyworker’s name.  This will ensure that emails can be dealt with really quickly for you and by the right person – thanks.  Next week, Miss Weldon and Mrs Kerr will be hosting some of the Google Meet sessions on Google Classroom as a support to staff working in our Nursery Hub or working from home.

If you could post some photos on Twitter of some of the fun learning at home activities that are happening we would be delighted to see these https://twitter.com/sand_nc.

Remember that we are here to help, this includes if you need any resources from us in relation to your child’s learning activities eg cardboard, glue etc., then please do just get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Next week, Mrs Sweeney and Mrs Kerr will be hosting a live Google Meet Drop In for nursery parents/carers.  This will be an informal opportunity for you to drop in, if you wish, to ask any general questions that you have.  More info will be sent out to you in relation to this and also including the date and time of this session early next week.

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. J

Warmest wishes

Yvonne Donaldson (HT) and Angela Kerr (PT)

Dear parents/carers,

As you will be aware, Home/Remote Learning will begin for your child/children on Monday 11^th January, and in contrast to the online provision that was offered  in March, there is now a firm expectation from the Scottish Government, that all children will engage with home learning.

In order to help us to set this up, please can you ask your child to log on to Google Classroom via Glow at some point today (Friday), and to post a reply to the register post they will see there. Doing so will help us to ensure that everyone has the access they require to this platform ahead of Monday. If you have any difficulties with this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch as soon as possible.

Kindest regards,

Netherlee Primary School

Hello everyone

After the challenges over the past few months….we have made it to the holidays!  It has certainly been a very different first half of the school and nursery year and, although very stressful at times, everything has been made easier because of your support, patience and understanding, our children’s cheerful outlook and the dedication and care of our wonderful staff team.

We would like to thank all parents and carers for having faith in the systems in place to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid 19 and for trusting the staff to look after your children since returning in August.  We are very aware that you may have been anxious about many factors such as the safety of your children, their return to nursery after being at home during Lockdown, starting nursery when they hadn’t visited, about restrictions and changes in hours. We were prepared for tears and worry in August, from both children and parents, but were really reassured at how resilient, supportive and adaptable everyone was.

You will be comforted while watching  your child coming into nursery happily laden with a backpack, lunch bag, wellies, waterproofs, knowing that they feel happy, safe, nurtured and are thriving. We hope that you have been reassured by staff during our recent phone calls, proudly watched your child’s performance on Google Classroom, seen evidence of the learning and fun they have in their Special Books and enjoyed seeing snapshots of the children’s day on Twitter or our Learning Experience Sway.  

We would like to say a huge thank you for the kind words in person, cards and emails we have received, these are very much valued and appreciated by us as we close the door on a very tough 2020 and move towards a hopeful 2021.

So…all that is really left for us to say is that we hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday, stay safe, look after each other and make special memories. We hope that if the holiday period includes celebrating Christmas, although celebrations may be very different this year, you do have an extremely happy Christmas. 

Wishing you, your family and the Netherlee Community a “Healthy and Happy New Year, 2021” when it comes. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday 5th January 2021.

PES leaflet

Mrs Yvonne Donaldson (Head Teacher) and Mrs Angela  Kerr Principal Teacher

Dear Parent/Carers

This is the last ‘Learning Links‘ to be emailed as part of the Nursery Friday Bundle. In future ‘Learning Links’ will be in your child’s Google Classroom for Monday morning. If you require help with accessing Google Classroom or require the login details please let us know.

We continue to work hard to ensure that the children play together in groups, and that these groups are consistent, and are looked after by the same staff members. By working in zones in the Sapling building we have avoided children coming into contact with too many people at once and allowed staff the space to socially distance from one another.

As the number of children and staff continues to grow and we near our full capacity we will be moving to have the children in two separate zones from Monday 7th December in the Acorn Building. This will mean that across the two nursery buildings we will have four separate play and learning zones with each zone having its own resources, book corner, role-play house, wooden blocks, creative area, outdoor area, constant staff team and designated snack/lunch space.

Netherlee Living Advent is back this year and we are asking the local community get involved. Our school and nursery will be joining in the festive fun by unveiling windows on 15th December. Please click on the link http://www.netherleelivingadvent.co.uk/ for more details or have a look at the attached map and route.

A big thank for your contributions to our Nursery Fund  which has helped pay for all of the crafts, presents from Santa, snacks and activities we have planned during the festive period. We also thank Netherlee PTA for treating all of the children in school and nursery to a ‘virtual’ pantomime. Although we can’t have a theatre group in this year we are very fortunate to be able to watch a virtual performance, filmed in Eastwood Park Theatre, of ‘Mc Dougall’s Christmas Party’.

Every year we are overwhelmed by the kindness extended to us by way of the giving of Christmas gifts from families to staff. While we would never presume, nor wish, to dictate what anyone does in this regard, we are aware that this time of year can present many challenges, even more so in the current circumstances we all find ourselves in.  Therefore, the Netherlee staff would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that a kind word in a card or email would be so lovely to receive right now and would be very much valued and appreciated by us all, particularly at this time when so many families are facing challenging financial times.  We hope you don’t mind us mentioning this to you but just wanted to express our thoughts to you.

Parent Club offers up-to-date guidance from the Scottish Government on your child’s health and education. It’s full of hints and tips from other parents and carers who’ve been there before. It also has advice to help you look after your own wellbeing, information about Coronavirus and to point you in the direction of support available. Click on the link to read more: https://www.parentclub.scot/

Have a lovely weekend with your family.

Mrs Donaldson and Mrs Kerr