Welcome back!
It is so lovely to see everyone back to school and ready to learn.
Please find August 2021 newsletter here.
This will give information on staff news, school news and information for the coming term.
Kind regards
Colette Haddock
All posts by Mrs Timoney
Information for end of term
Final week arrangements
It is hard to believe that we are heading towards the summer holidays already!
The teachers will share your child’s final report with you on Seesaw today Monday 21st June. Your child is also bringing home their class photograph today organised and funded by the Parents’ Association. The tea towels should also be arriving this week and will be issued before we finish for the holidays.
On Wednesday the PA have arranged a little summer treat for all of our pupils. They have also arranged a special treat for P7 as we weren’t able to go ahead with the planned P7 party because of Covid restrictions. These treats are being funded from the Break the Rules fundraising day. Many thanks to the PA for organising this and to all of you for your contributions.
Please note that school closes at 1pm on Thursday. Because of our staggered lunch breaks we won’t be able to have a full lunch break but we have arranged two short breaks. There will be a mid-morning break as usual. There will also be another short break for children to have a packed lunch or a school lunch which they will eat in the classroom or outdoors. Choices for school lunch on Thursday are hot dogs or sandwiches.
At 1 o’clock we will ring the bell continuously to send off our P7 pupils who will have the chance to walk through the school to say goodbye before being dismissed to the back of the building as usual. All classes will be dismissed following usual procedures at 1pm. We would respectfully request that parents do not congregate on school grounds at the end of the day.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and happy summer holiday. Thank you as always for your continued support, especially during this most challenging of years. We are all in a much better place than this time last year and can hopefully look forward to these positive changes continuing.
Kindest regards,
Colette Haddock and the Merrylee Staff Team
A
Class Tea Towels
Merrylee Tea Towel orders are now open!
(Example of tea towel)
Available to buy on ParentPay for £3.50 only until Friday 11th June 12 noon.
There is one design per year group. Each year group design (P1 – P7) has the children’s self-portraits and their drawings of their class teacher.
A fun (and useful!) way to capture the year before the end of the term!
We hope you love seeing your children’s and their friend’s artwork.
Thanks, from the PA.
Payments – Breakfast club & lunch
Please see information below about payment for school lunches:
As we move towards the easing of some restrictions relating to Covid-19, we are pleased to let you know that we are resuming cash payments for lunches. Pupils can pay in cash in primary schools from 7 June 2021.
The BACS payment process will remain in place for primary schools until Friday 28th May 2021. In the event of credit balances remaining through the BACS system, these should be run down to a nil balance by pupils taking meals as current practice.
Refunds will be made only in exceptional circumstances, e.g. if the pupil has left the school.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club is available from 8am, Monday to Friday. Payment can be made in advance or as and when required to the catering staff. Please note that your child should arrive by 8.40am for this service.
School Uniform
Saturday 5th June – 10.30am – 11.30am
Many thanks to the parents who organised our school uniform donations. There was a great response to this last week and I am delighted that we are able to recycle good quality school uniform in a responsible way.
If you missed this last week, the parents have organised another opportunity to pick up good quality donated school uniform. This will be laid out on tables in the school car park this Saturday 5th June between 10.30 and 11.30.
Please follow social distancing guidelines. Thanks again to all of you who have donated to this event and to the parents for organising.
Please come along and help yourselves. No payment is necessary.
Colette Haddock
Merrylee Green Fingers
MERRYLEE GREEN FINGERS
SEEDLING KITS UPDATE
We are really excited to see how all your lovely seedlings are coming on, despite the arctic weather!
We’re almost at planting time 👏👏👏 We would like to invite you to bring any seedlings (spinach, kale or peas) that you want to donate to the school garden on Saturday 15th May from 10.30, where – if social distancing allows – you can help to plant them out.
If your seedlings have been kept inside until now, it would be a good idea to start exposing them to the outdoors gradually to prepare them.
We look forward to seeing you then! If you’d like to know how to get involved with the school garden please email merryleepa@hotmail.com
Thank you.
Break the Rules Day!
Break the Rules Day – Friday 7th May
Merrylee Parents’ Association are fundraising to provide some end-of-term treats for pupils.
We encourage pupils to break some rules this Friday, and contribute towards some summer fun this term.
This event will be available on Parentpay.
Parents’ Association
April Newsletter
April Newsletter
Please find attached the latest newsletter with school information. Please find this here.
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns or require additional information.
Your child was issued a letter on Friday to request a telephone consultation. I would be very grateful if these could be returned to your child’s teacher on Monday to give us enough time to plan appointments.
Colette Haddock
Back to School for P4-7
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are really looking forward to welcoming the rest of the children back to school on Monday. We all know how challenging this last year has been and you’re not alone if you’ve found the current lockdown the hardest one yet. I am sure you will all be glad to hand over the reins for home learning back to their teacher!
If you borrowed a school iPad to support home learning, please ensure that your child returns this to school with any school charger cables or plugs on Monday. I hope these have been useful during this time.
Breakfast Club and After School Care will all resume service on Monday. Please follow your usual arrangements.
Many thanks to everyone who has donated school uniform so far. This has been especially helpful this week as we have had a lot of muddy children enjoying their outdoor learning in some challenging weather!
It is difficult to get school uniform in the shops at the moment due to high demand and limited supply so if you do need anything, for whatever reason, please get in touch with us as we may have something suitable available.
The following advice is from parentclub.scot –
The news that all children are returning to school will probably have been a huge relief, but there is a risk that it could cause an increase in people getting the virus. Here are 5 important things you can do to make sure this doesn’t happen and to help our nurseries and schools stay open.
- Wear your face covering at all times when you are dropping your children at nursery or school and picking them up.
- Only one parent at a time should do drop offs and pickups.
- Stay 2 metres from other parents at the gates and avoid travelling to and from school in groups with others.
- Don’t car share with other households and limit using public transport if you can.
- Look out for symptoms at home and follow Test and Protect guidance if anyone shows any signs of COVID.
Lots more advice for parents, including information about preparing children for returning to school, is available at:
https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/going-back-to-primary-school
Colette Haddock
Online Safety
Online Safety
I have attached a ‘Family Agreement’ resource from Childnet International which you may find useful in monitoring your children’s online safety and activity.
A family agreement is a great way to start a conversation with your whole family about how you all use the internet, and to start discussions together around how to behave in a positive way when online, whether this is at home, at school or at a friend’s.
The family agreement provides a list of things to consider when creating a family agreement, and some examples to get you started. An agreement template is also provided to help families set clear expectations for positive and safe internet use.
The school iPads have limited access to social media platforms and websites, however, many children have personal devices. If you require advice and support, the website below provides a variety of very useful approaches and strategies to ensure your child is safe and responsible online. https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
We thank you for your cooperation in working with us to enable all our pupils to have positive online experiences and develop as digitally responsible citizens. If you have any concerns or suggestions please get in touch.
Kind Regards
Julie McElhone
Depute Headteacher
