Continuing Education Arrangements – 22nd March 2020
Dear Parent/ Carer,
St. Mark’s Primary School is now closed in line with the Government guidance on Coronavirus. All children are encouraged to stay at home and follow social distancing guidance- with the exception of families who are part of the vital services required at this time and those children and young people who would benefit from continued attendance. The vast majority of children will be accessing learning online. School staff have been working hard to prepare online learning for all pupils and you can find out more about how to access this by visiting the class blogs and watching the video https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/StMarks/curriculum/pupils/class-blogs/ .
A ‘Hub School’ has been set up in Carlibar Primary to accommodate the small number of children who need it. The hub school is an option of last resort for families who have no alternative but to send their children there in order for them to work in a front line role. The Barrhead Hub will be open from 9am on Monday morning (23rd March) at Carlibar Primary School. Children and staff from all five primary schools (Carlibar, Cross Arthurlie, Hillview, St Johns and St Marks) plus Arthurlie and McCready Family Centres will be working together at the campus.
The Hub will operate a morning and afternoon session during regular school hours from 9am to 3pm and children should wear their St. Mark’s uniform. If the children are staying for a full day, lunch will be provided, however, it is recommended that they bring a packed lunch if possible.
There will be a dedicated ‘St. Mark’s’ space in the Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) where staff from our school will be waiting to welcome the children and line them up to get ready to go into class. At this time I would ask that once you have dropped your child off at school with a recognised member of the staff, unless you urgently need to speak to someone, you leave the area to minimise congestion.
Arrangements for families with free school meal entitlement will follow in due course.
Yesterday (Saturday) was spent contacting families who responded to our initial survey regarding staff in frontline services. If, for any reason, you missed this survey or you have any questions regarding this, please contact me through the school email address schoolmail@st-marks.e-renfrew.sch.uk and I will endeavour to get back to you before Monday morning.
Finally, although Sunday mass is cancelled today, there are a number of masses being offered online and we have shared details of these through our Twitter feed. We ask you to continue to pray for everyone affected by the Coronavirus and also that you keep the hub staff and our whole community in your prayers.
Thank you for your continued support at this challenging time.
God Bless
Anthony Hutcheson
Head Teacher
