Please follow the link our October newsletter.

October Newsletter

Thanks to everyone who let us know whether you preferred a paper or ‘SWAY’ copy of the newsletter. This was the most popular so we’ve gone for it again this month.

Go to this Sway

This month we tried using SWAY for our newsletter. We hope you like it.

First Newsletter on SWAY

This month we are trying to deliver our newsletter via SWAY. Please let us know if this is a good way for you to receive information from the school.

Go to this Sway

Sorry if you didn’t manage to get a newsletter on Friday 20th August, hopefully your child will be able to bring it home on Monday.

Please find an on-line copy below.

 

Mrs MacDonald

Aug 2021

Covid Easter Holiday Information

Dear families,

It’s great to have everyone back in school and to see how well the children have settled into their new establishment.

Thank you for your continued support in making sure staff and children stay safe in school by ensuring that you adhere to 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 all entrances are kept as clear as possible.

Remember if your child is unwell, they should not attend school or nursery 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.

There are specific details around what to do if your child gets unwell over the holiday period and these are in a letter which accompanies this newsletter.

Communication
Our preferred form of communication at this time is by email schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk and unfortunately the school building is only accessible to staff.

Thanks to everyone in school for being open to continuing with our planned parents’ night via telephone. All staff were very grateful for the ability to share information on children’s learning and the work we are doing to build children’s confidence in their learning, now we are back in school.

I know that nursery staff were in contact regularly with many parents during Lockdown and it’s a bit difficult as we haven’t got a system up and running yet for sharing information with nursery parents. Please be reassured that we are looking into how we can do this and as soon as we have found a possible solution we will be in touch.

We will also be spending time ensuring that children have lots of opportunities to socialise and build up their team working skills again. This may mean that we will be working outdoors or spending time playing games or talking about how we are feeling. All of these will help support children as they settle back into school life.

Fundraising

The Parent Council have lots of events for fundraising planned. Have a look at their Facebook page to see what they have planned. They have also established an ‘easy funding’ account. Anyone looking to support the school while buying on-line can do so via the account https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/xarthurliepcfundraisers/

Parking
Now that the nursery is finished, staff are able to use the car park which should hopefully ease congestion in the local area. Please note the car park is for staff and visitors only.

Easter Service
Unfortunately this year we can’t have our usual Easter Service. I know that the tradition of bringing in flowers, which are then distributed to local Care Homes, is wonderful and something which is a genuine blessing to those who give and receive, but unfortunately this year, like many other things it won’t be able to go ahead.

Uniform
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring that the children feel part of the school by wearing school uniform. I understand that some children have grown out of specific Cross Arthurlie uniform, so please remember that as long as your child is wearing navy or grey school clothes, that is school uniform. At assembly this week I mentioned this and reminded children to avoid trainers and branded clothing and hoodies.

The only exception to this is P7. They will hopefully be receiving their ‘leavers’ hoodies soon and many of them have had a significant growth spurt over the Lockdown period. I completely understand that a P7 parent may choose to buy a black skirt or pair of trousers that children will be able to get use of when they go to High School, rather than new navy clothes, for only a few months.

Holidays and In-Service

Mrs Fiona MacDonald
Head Teacher

Dear families,

We are really looking forward to welcoming all of the children in P4-7 back to school on Monday.

Thank you for your continued support in making sure staff and children stay safe in school by ensuring that you adhere to 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 are 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 and unfortunately the school building is only accessible to staff.

There are also restrictions placed on the time staff can stay in the building. All staff have to be out of their classrooms by 3:30pm and out of the building by 3.45pm, continuing their preparation and planning from home. This makes it more difficult for teachers to return phone calls. We will try to get back to you, but it might be one of the SMT (Mrs MacDonald; Miss Rice; Miss Galloway or Mrs Craig) rather than your child’s class teacher.

Returning to School

School day
We are still operating a staggered school day to try to avoid congestion in and around the school gates. Primaries 1,3,5 & 7 will start at 8:45am and finish at 2:45pm. Primaries 2,4 & 6 will start at 9am and finish at 3pm.

The children will use the playgrounds and entrances they used previously, washing their hands when they come into school and at various points throughout the day.

Grab bags
When your child returns to school, it would be really helpful if they could bring their ‘grab bags’ and any jotters they have completed. The children are still in the habit of completing mental maths and spelling tasks for homework and this will continue on their return to school.

Learning and teaching
Teachers will spend the next few weeks finding out where the children are at in their learning. A range of different approaches will be used to make sure we have a good grasp of levels children are confident working at within reading, writing and maths so that we can plan well for the next steps in learning.
We will also be spending time ensuring that children have lots of opportunities to socialise and build up their team working skills again. This may mean that we will be working outdoors or spending time playing games or talking about how we are feeling. All of these will help support children as they settle back into school life.

Chrome Books
As the children are now all back at school it is really important that all Chrome Books are returned. If you borrowed a school Chrome Book, could you please arrange to drop it off, along with the charger, at the front entrance, at the following times/days –

P4/1 – Tuesday after 9am
P4/2 – Tuesday before 3pm
P5/1- Wednesday after 8.45am
P5/2- Wednesday before 2.45pm
P6/1 – Thursday after 9am
P6/2 – Thursday before 3pm
P7/1 – Friday after 8.45am
P7/2- before 2.45pm

Red Nose Day
This year for Red Nose Day we will be giving each child a Red Nose to take home with them. If you would like to make a donation to Comic Relief you can do so on their webpage -https://donation.comicrelief.com/

Fundraising
The Parent Council have lots of events for fundraising planned. Have a look at their Facebook page to see what they have planned.

Nursery Update
I am delighted to let you know that the nursery will be open from Monday 15th March. The children and staff have had some taster sessions this week and are loving their new space. I shared a video with the children on assembly last week which you can find using this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_H48u6gtQc. I’m sure you’ll agree it is amazing what has been created in the space that was available.

Parking
Now that the nursery is finished, staff are able to use the car park, which should hopefully ease congestion in the local area. Please note the car park is for staff and visitors only. It is important that this is strictly adhered to as nursery children and parents will be lining up at various points throughout the day to collect and drop of their children.

Yours truly
Mrs Fiona MacDonald

Dear families,

I realise that you will be anxious to know what the plans are in school should the First Minister confirm that the phased return to school can start on Monday 22^nd February. If this is confirmed children in P1-3 should come to school and those in P4-7 (other than Key Workers) will remain working at home.

Returning to school

Children in P1 & P3 will be in school 8:45am -2:45pm  and children in P2, 9am -3pm. This will help avoid us creating crowds. Please make sure that for adults, face coverings are worn and 2m distancing is maintained. All of the other systems for minimising contact will be maintained e.g. staff and children only in the building, regular hand washing and different playtimes to minimise the risk of contact. Children in the ‘hub’ attend 9-3.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKQ5BPtAzJHlIhI71AIJG3tZUOVhESTVGWVFWMlhISkJKMUhVQlUxNUUxVy4u

As most children in P4-7 will be working from home we will still have minimum numbers of staff in school for P4-7. Miss Carroll will be working in P1/2 from 22^nd February rather than in P2.

Childcare arrangements

I know that a number of families will be affected by these new arrangements, either because they have children in both P1-3 & P4-7 or as they work in schools or nurseries now require ‘hub’ places. If, due to the fact that you work in a school or nursery and are now working full time please complete the following form.

Given that the decision for P1-3 to return is a national one I can’t alter timings but we will be understanding that families with a few children may need to make slightly different arrangements for pick up and drop off. Please let us know about this by emailing the school office schoolmail@crossarthurlie.e-renfrew.sch.uk and someone will be in touch to talk through how we can help.

On-line Learning

There will be no new work on the Google Classrooms we have been using during this time for children in P1-3 although should your child be absent due to having to self-isolate, there will be work on the ‘Home Learning’ Google Classroom, unfortunately this will not include live Google Meets.

As there are children in P4 who have younger sibilings in P1-3 we have re-arranged the time for their Google Meet. Google Meets will now start at the following times:

P7        10:00 a.m.

P6        11:00 a.m.

P5        11:30 a.m.

P4        1:00 p.m.

 

Jotters and paper based work

We have pulled together some new paper-based materials for families in P4-7 to supplement the on-line learning. We know that some children are also running out of jotters. Jotters are available to be collected from school. If you are planning to collect jotters or additional paper resources please come between 9.30a.m. and 2.30 p.m. to avoid too many people being at the door.

Finally ….

Thank you for your continued understanding and support at this difficult time. We are all looking forward to when we can welcome all the children back in school. Our children are very resilient but we are aware they have particularly missed time with their friends. We will ensure  that whenever the children are back in school, now or later, we will spend time supporting friendships as well as supporting learning.

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

 

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 5^th February is an in-service day and Monday 8^th & Tuesday 9^th 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 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 8^th 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 14^th December

Primary 3 & 4 : Tuesday 15^th December

Primary 5-7 : Wednesday 16^th 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

2^nd 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 27^th or Wednesday 28^th 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