On very rare occasions severe weather can lead to the emergency closure of schools. The length of closure may vary from an early closure on an isolated occasion, to full closure for one or more consecutive days.
It is the education departments aim to maintain as full an education service as possible in times of emergency but the health and well-being of pupils will still be the first consideration.
The council website has a page dedicated to providing updates on the impact of adverse weather on all council services including education, click here to access it. The council’s Facebook page and Twitter feed will also provide this information and regular updates.
If the school is closed during the course of a school day you will be contacted, in the first instance, by text message. Please ensure we have a current mobile phone number on our records for this purpose.
The text will ask you to make arrangements to collect your child as soon as possible. You cannot reply to this message.
Please don’t telephone the school unless absolutely necessary as we have a limited number of external lines.
Your child will be kept here until someone comes for him/her.
Once the school has been officially closed regular updates will be posted on the East Renfrewshire and school website and twitter.
In the event of heavy snow as first priority our janitor will clear a path to the breakfast club door from the stairs. Look out for signs directing you if we have to make any changes to the usual routine.
Class parties for Primary 1-7 will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 22nd December. Pupils should wear their party clothes to school. No football strips please.
This week P7a created 4 short films to be shown as part of the BBC’s LABvent calendar. The first animation will be shown today, the second on the 14th December and on the 24th December. The BBC clips have had an average of 50 000 views online so the children are very excited to see each of their videos added over the coming weeks. You can view the first film by following the link below.
Primary Four have been celebrating the Turner Prize coming to Glasgow by looking at Scottish contemporary artists. They loved the bold colours used in Jolomo’s paintings and were inspired to replicate the cottage and lighthouse scenes. Pupils enjoyed mixing colours and exploring how shades effect the emotions of their painting. We then created our own ‘artist’ names using the first two letters from our first, second and surnames.
You can view P4’s Artwork by following the link below.
We would really like your help in gathering feedback about this year’s Primary 1 Family Bags. Scottish Booktrust have compiled a survey for Parents. There are bundles of books to be won on the survey. The deadline is Friday 18th December.
We hope all the P7 pupils, parent and carers are excited about our imminent trip to Lockerbie! The children will have a fantastic time meeting new friends, building relationships and learning lots of new skills.
Here are a few reminders, and answers to some questions raised over the course of this week:
Can we please ask parent/carers bring the children into school with their luggage on Monday at 9:10am. You should enter the building via the gym hall entrance.
Parents should bring along any medication their child will require during the trip. You will be asked to label and check you have filled out any medical permissions. If you believe your child may require Calpol or Paracetamol during the week,you must fill in a medical permission when you drop off your child at 9:10am.
Pupils can bring a hairdryer with them. If they are sharing a room with a friend, maybe they could discuss and agree on sharing hairdryers one between two. Straighteners should not be brought to Lockerbie.
Children can bring their own snacks. No fizzy drinks though. A tuck shop will be available each evening and £10 will be issued by the school to buy items over the course of the week.
No mobile phones. You can still keep in touch with how your child is getting on via the school twitter. Photos will be posted daily.
Remember to bring a black bag for dirty clothing.
Miss Flaherty will be in daily contact with the school. If there are any issues Miss Flaherty or the school will call you.
Children can bring denims to wear at the disco but should not wear them during the day activities.
Children do not need a lunch box. We are not participating in any activities that require one.
Girls can bring make-up. This can be worn to the disco.
You can come and wave the children off on Monday at 1:00pm if you are free to do so.
Please help your child practice rolling up and putting their sleeping bag in its bag. This will save a lot of time during the trip.
Please take the time to remind your child of the standard we expect from them during the trip. They are representing St Mark’s and we expect great manners, excellent listening skills and kindness throughout the week.
At Parent’s night, pupils hosted a Fair trade stall to promote Fair Trade. Pupils raised a fantastic £130.45. By hosting a Fair Trade stall we have helped to make a difference, not only in direct benefit to producers from the sales made, but also in spreading the word and message of fair trade to the wider community.
A big thank you to the children involved in the making our stall welcoming and for giving up their time to sell items at the stall. Also thank you to the parents who purchased items at our stall.
Monday 30th November is St Andrew’s Day and we will celebrate by wearing a little bit of tartan with our uniforms. It could be, for example, a scarf, ribbon, hat, badge or kilt. No football tops, thank you.
Encourage your child to get involved in making decisions about things that affect them e.g. what you do at the weekends, what you have for dinner etc. This will make them feel involved in family life and that their ideas matter. If their suggestions are not possible, be honest and discuss them and where possible, incorporate some of their suggestions. Use phrases including:
Here in St Mark’s, we encourage, promote and value our children’s reading skills and spend large amounts on our reading schemes. We would like to ask for your help now, as many of our books are missing and we suspect they may have been kept at home by mistake.
Please check around the house/in your children’s bedrooms and return any books you find during this Book Amnesty Week. We will have a daily collection and every book returned will earn your child a house point.
