Dear families,

Thank you for your continued support as we adjust to our new routines. As we move forward things will come to light and we will have to adapt. It’s a pleasure to see our children so well dressed in their school uniforms. Many thanks for your support in keeping with our Dressing for Excellence policy, especially in these more challenging circumstances.

Traffic
One of the on-going issues for us is cars. It is really important that as far as possible children walk to school or if you need to bring a car you park slightly further away rather than coming along Fern Drive. With construction work still underway our already challenging parking situation is even worse.

Learning Outdoors and Clothing
It has been delightful to see our children out in the playground again with their friends. They are now familiar with our new routines, including knowing the areas of the playground that are specific to their year group. Children also have the option of eating their packed lunches in the playground, which has proved very popular.
We have already seen a change in the weather since the start of term, so it’s important that the children are appropriately clothed for being outside. Children will benefit from having a showerproof or waterproof jacket and should come to school with one every day, as the weather can be changeable, even if it’s warm, bright and sunny at the start of the day.

P.E.
Children will be exploring many aspects of the curriculum outside, including PE. At this point in time, children do not require a change of clothing for PE, but do need comfortable footwear or trainers, which they can change into. These should be brought to school every day as our use of the outdoor space is flexible and classes may go outside on any day of the week.

Learning
The children have been focussing on health and well-being in their lessons and this is helping make sure they are all in a good place to learn.

One of our biggest priorities at the moment is finding out where the children are at with their learning. This may mean that some of the work your child is doing in class may be things they have already covered but, due to Lockdown, are not as confident as they once were. Teachers are assessing children in literacy and numeracy with all children in P2-7 being assessed individually to gauge their confidence in reading.

We won’t be issuing homework to most classes until after the September weekend.

Communication
Our preferred form of communication at this time is by email schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk . It is important that we try to avoid multiple people coming to the front door, please make sure your child brings everything they will need for the day.

Yours truly
Mrs MacDonald