All posts by Mrs MacDonald

January 27th Newsletter

Dear families,

Thank you for working with us as we learn together during these uncertain times. We really appreciate your comments and feedback on how you are finding our new remote learning offer.  So far we have had 97 responses with 94 people saying they have used the home learning packs.

The last three questions were more open and it was lovely to read some of your very thoughtful comments thanking staff for the different ways they are teaching children remotely this time around. Some families had specific questions about individual children and one of the Senior Management Team (Mrs MacDonald, Miss Rice, Mrs Craig or Miss Galloway) will be in touch to talk about this a bit more.

One of the things a number of parents asked for was children’s work to be posted  on the Google Classroom the night before. Parents were keen to see what was happening in advance to help them plan the following day. Many classes have done this and we hope that by next week all posts will be available the night before to help families. Most posts will be available from 8pm to try and minimise confusion around which day’s work is to be done.

Unfortunately we are unable to provide more workbooks or physical reading books for children at this time, all children have access to on-line books through ‘Epic’ and should the current restrictions continue we will seek to provide more physical resources as a back-up to our on-line provision.  If you run out of jotters or other essential resources please email the school office and we’ll organise these for you.

In-service and Holidays

Friday 5th February is an in-service day and Monday 8th & Tuesday 9th are holidays. There will be no work posted on Google Classrooms on these days and there will be no provision for essential workers in school.

Finally

Thanks once again for your support in this challenging time. A minimal number of staff are physically in school. If you come to school to collect something please be aware that there is only one member of staff in the office and they may be on the phone so unable to answer the door immediately.

If you have any questions please email the school office schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk  or if you need to, you can also phone between 9am and 3pm and, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @crossarthurlie.

Fiona MacDonald

27.01.21

December Newsletter

December Update

2020

 

Dear families,

Well Christmas is almost here and although it will be different this year, I’m sure if you’ve been around the school recently you’ll know that here at Cross Arthurlie we are looking forward to celebrating the festive season. Thank you to everyone for their support this term it has been a challenging one for many reasons but we are continuing to learn together and stay safe.

Christmas Countdown

Week 1- Winter Wanderland

The children worked hard to create our Winter Wanderland which we launched on 1st December.  Families are welcome to walk around the perimeter of the school after dusk, until 6.30pm, to view the colourful window displays created by the children.  Thank you to Miss McGhie for this idea and the support of the staff for making it happen.

Week 2- Lunch and special performances (without the singing L)

Christmas lunch is on Tuesday 8th December and, as always, will be fun day.

On Friday 11th December children may wear a Christmas jumper to school.  They will be watching a virtual pantomime in their classes called The McDougall’s Christmas Party, which was filmed at Eastwood Theatre.

Unfortunately we can’t sing in school at the moment but we have been very creative in finding other ways to celebrate. We have pulled together some of the children’s thoughts on the meaning of Christmas and this will be filmed and made into a video to share with families.  There will be a Primary 2-4 video and a Primary 5-7 video, which will be shared on the East Renfrewshire YouTube channel; the link being shared through Twitter :  @crossarthurlie

We don’t want our Primary 1 children and families to miss out so they will be performing a nativity, which will be filmed and also shared via the school Twitter account.

Week 3- Parties, crafts and service

We are still intending to have Christmas parties this year, but slightly differently to make sure we follow current guidelines. Parties will be held in classrooms, a bit like Hallowe’en, and to keep everyone safe, we would ask that your child comes to school wearing their party clothes rather than having to change.

Primary 1 & 2 : Monday 14th December

Primary 3 & 4 : Tuesday 15th December

Primary 5-7 : Wednesday 16th December

Last year the children made crafts which were sold at the fayre. We can’t have a fayre this year but each child will make a craft item which parents can buy for between £1 and £2. More details of items, prices and ways to pay will follow.

Each week we have been sharing assembly remotely, we will have our Christmas service remotely on the last day of term.

Parking

Please be mindful and considerate when parking around the school. Our neighbours have been very understanding, but unfortunately we are still receiving complaints about parent’s parking and attitudes to other road users.

Covid

Thank you for your continued support in making sure staff and children stay safe in school by ensuring that you adhere to updated guidance around 2m distancing and wearing face coverings, especially around the perimeter of the school at pick up and drop off. Please ensure the gates at both entrances as kept as clear as possible.

Remember if your child is unwell they should not attend school and if they have any symptoms of COVID (new continuous cough; fever or loss of taste and/or smell) you should keep them at home and arrange to have a test.

If a child is at home self-isolating, work will be available through their ‘Home Learning’ Google Classroom.

Communication

Our preferred form of communication at this time is by email schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk .

All classes have updated their blogs. You’ll find out what’s been happening in your child’s class by following this link : https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/CrossArthurlie/blogs/class-blogs/ .

Nursery Update

The inside of the nursery is almost complete and outside works are due to be completed soon. We are still hopeful for a mid-February opening date.

Unfortunately, last night the nursery was vandalised. The Police were called and investigations are on-going. This is extremely distressing for everyone, especially so close to the end of the build.

Parent Council

The new Parent Council have been busy finding creative ways to fund raise in these difficult times. Thank you to everyone who has organised events and bought raffle tickets as these funds are then passed to the school to help make things better for the children. This year, this money has ensured that the children in Cross Arthurlie have a Crackin’ Christmas.

And Finally …

We know that the impact of Covid and Christmas can be challenging for some children and their families. When in school we have a wide range of supports in place for emotional and mental well-being. If you want help or support or to talk to someone please phone the school and we’ll see how we can help. There is also support available through the East Renfrewshire Council Healthier Minds website https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/healthierminds/ This site has a range of very useful resources to support children and their families and will be available throughout the holiday period.

 

I wish you a safe and happy Christmas and wish you a great New Year.

 

Yours truly

 

Mrs Fiona MacDonald

October Update

October Update

2nd October 2020

 

Dear families

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring staff and children stay safe in school by maintaining social distancing, particularly in the infant playground. Staff are wearing face coverings to protect themselves in the playground. Please be mindful of staff safety and avoid coming too close, unfortunately at this time staff cannot enter in to face to face conversations with parents and all communication should be through the school office, via phone or email.

Staffing

We had two pieces of good news on the staffing front this week. A new teacher Mrs Claire Holmes has come to join the team until June next year as part of recovery planning funding and Miss MacLean, one of our PSAs, got married last week and will now be known as Mrs Pollock.

Traffic

As you will be aware, the building works in the nursery have now reached the stage where there is no on-site parking for staff. I know that over the past few days there have been particular problems with heavy equipment arriving at the beginning and end of the school day. I have raised this with the contractor and he is looking to address this issue.

Learning

Teachers have spent a significant amount of time assessing children’s learning and this may have led to some changes in groupings. Please don’t worry about this, it will ensure that any gaps in learning are addressed and build a stronger foundation for future learning.

It was great to welcome Chris Rose, our Active Schools coordinator this week. He will be working with a number of classes and supporting our outdoor PE lessons, even the rain didn’t dampen Primary 1’s enjoyment of their session.

We were also able to welcome Mrs Qiu back this week to continue the children’s learning in Mandarin.

Children who are self-isolating have been able to access their ‘Home Learning’ Google Classroom. We are very fortunate to be in a position where each stage has an additional teacher who will provide support in class and support home learning.

Assemblies have been continuing on Wednesday mornings with children staying in their classrooms and joining the assembly via Google Meet. This has been great, although technically challenging at times! It also means that if children are working from home they can join in assembly and not feel they are missing out.

We had our first VIP assembly last month, celebrating the school value, ‘fairness’. The following children were winners:  Harris Coyne P1/1; Orlaigh Hendrie P1/2; Evie McQuade P2/1; Isla Easdon P2/2; Elise Fullerton P3/1; Sophie Paton P3/1; Eva Sellyn P4/1; Holly Simpson P4/2; Aimee Williamson P5/1; Tara Hoppe P5/2; Tegan Smith P6/1; Grace Todd P6/2; Kyle Bone P7/1; Max MacLeod P7/2; Harris McCulloch P3/1; Cooper Simpson P2/2; May Crangle P3/2; Evie Downs P4/1; Eva Maclaren P5/1; Cameron Azhar P1/2; Katie Mackle P3/1; Abi Hamilton P3/1; Max Morrison P4/1.

You can find out about what your child has been learning on their class blog, on the school website https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/CrossArthurlie/blogs/class-blogs/ . Hopefully this month there will be a few pictures of children with their work but unfortunately not everyone has returned their consent for this.

Communication

Our preferred form of communication at this time is by email schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk .

We know that you will be keen to find out from your child’s teacher how they are getting on. Unfortunately we can’t have face to face conversations at this time but will be arranging for individual telephone appointments for each child, appointments will be on either Tuesday 27th or Wednesday 28th October from at from 3.15pm – 6.00pm. Given the nature of these appointments it will be important that everyone sticks strictly to their allocated time.

Sickness

Please remember if your child is unwell they should not attend school. If they come to school and display symptoms of COVID (fever, continuous cough or loss of taste and smell) they will be sent home and you will be asked to book a test.

Updated COVID advice

Thank you to everyone for your support in responding to the recent case in school. It was great to see everyone back at school on Tuesday. The advice regarding self-isolation changed this week. From now on it is only the person who has been in close contact with a positive case who has to self-isolate.

Flu Immunisation Programme

The NHS Immunisation team will be in school on Monday 2 November to carry out flu immunisations on pupils.

Yours truly

Mrs Fiona MacDonald

Assembly 24th June

Hello !

This is the last Wednesday assembly of the year… a very different year compared to usual but one where we have all worked well together.  There will be a final Leaver’s Assembly on Friday but this will probably just be on your child’s Google Classroom.

Have a relaxing summer

 

Mrs MacDonald

assembly 24th June