Author: RFraser@glow

December 2020 Issue 4

I don’t normally write another newsletter before January, but I have various pieces of important information to share with you and thought this was the best way to do it!

Staffing

Our staffing for next term remains fairly stable, although we must say a sad fairwell! Mrs Kent in the school office will be retiring from her position on the 22^nd December. We will miss her very much. Mrs Kent has lots of interesting and exciting things to get involved in when she retires and we hope she has lots of fun and freedom!

Miss Gorrell is still off school unwell. We catch up regularly and she is beginning to get a little better. We can’t wait to have her back with us when she is fit and able.

Santa’s Fantastic Fayre!

Thank you all so much for supporting school last week during the fayre! It was a small and simple event but I hope the children really enjoyed it.

We had lots of fun decorating biscuits, making cards and playing Christmas games. Pupils all received a fantastic Christmas present which Santa had left for them beside the fireplace earlier on in that day! It was lovely to see them excited and enjoying different activities. Unfortunately we were unable to have our parent council support us with their large scale event this year! We hope we did OK!

Total raised on the day was £273 and the money is still coming in with our ‘Guess Alfonso the Alpaca’s Birthday’ and ‘Guess the sweets in the jar’. Winners of these competitions will be announced next Friday 18^th December!

Christmas Hamper

Tickets are still available for our Christmas hamper! You have to be in it to win it! Tickets are £1 each and winner will be drawn next Friday 18^th December. Good Luck everyone!

House Treat

Next week we will be having a house treat for the winning house members. We do not know who this will be yet; tokens will be counted on Tuesday! Pupils are very excited to see who will win. We have planned a lovely Christmas event with crafts and food in the dining hall for the winning house.

School safety

You may have noticed that we started Christmas festivities very early this year! This was not by accident! Next week, our last full week at school, we aim to keep a very low profile in school. Pupils will remain calm in class with full teacher and support staff focus on ensuring minimal movement and mixing. We would be devastated if any pupil or adult was required to self-isolate over the Christmas period and, in order to protect against this, school will be a very calm and still place next week. This will not offer 100% guarantee that self-isolation will not be required for some if we do have a positive case in school, but be assured we will go above and beyond to protect everyone from that. If pupils were required to self-isolate at this stage it would ultimately mean holiday time with family would be affected, and we don’t want this to happen!

Survey

Next week I will send out an end of term 2 survey link by text. I would really appreciate if you could complete this. We had a great response at the end of term 1 and it is so helpful to hear what you think.

Thank you!

I just want to tell you how overwhelmed I am with our amazingly supportive parent body! I thank you so very much for continuing to stand by your child and their school during this very difficult year. You have been understanding of some of the changes that we have had to make, you have adapted to request we have had to make, you have tolerated the situation of not being able to come into the building, you have engaged in telephone consultations with us, you have given your child money for sponsors, book fayre, Christmas fayre and the list goes on and on! I really cannot thank you enough for making my job so much better and brighter during this difficult time in life. I have been thankful everyday coming to school knowing that I have your unwavering support behind the school and pupils.

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

Christmas is coming! It might look a wee bit different this year but we will do all we can to make it a really special time! Sadly our Christmas Choir cannot get out and about raising money for school fund, but aside from this, we have tried to modify everything we normally do to make them ‘fit’ with all the essential restrictions right now…we will be creative and find a way!!

Santa’s Fantastic Festivities!

Santa cannot visit Royston Primary this year to meet the children! He and his reindeer need plenty of rest as they are key workers! However we will be having an awesome Santa’s Fantastic Fayre next week! We are really missing our parent council members and their amazing planning and organisational skills this year but we will try really hard for our pupils! The Fayre will run over 3 days and will include things to buy, games, competitions and some mini workshops where pupils get to make something ‘Christmasy’! We have card making and cookie decorating, guess the sweeties etc – we have stolen all our fantastic parent council ideas!!

As we need to keep in class groupings, pupils will go to the Fayre one class at a time as follows:

P5/4 – Wednesday 2^nd December p.m.

P7 – Thursday 3^rd December a.m.

P6/5 – Thursday 3^rd December p.m.

P2/1 – Friday 4^th December a.m.

P3/2 – Friday 4^th December a.m.

Pupils can bring some money if possible – but don’t worry, there are activities to take part in if this is not possible. Look out for your child coming home with an extra special surprise this day!

Christmas Parties

We will be having parties during week beginning 7^th December as follows:

P2/1 – 10^th December p.m.

P3/2 – 11^th December p.m.

P5/4 – 11^th December p.m.

P6/5 – 11^th December p.m.

P7 – 11^th December p.m.

Classes will stay together for their party and we will have lots of dancing and party games! We cannot have parents inside school to help children get ready for their party, but I will send out some more information next week about arrangements for home lunches on party days should parents wish to do this.

Christmas Lunch

Lunch will be served on the 9^th December for anyone wishing a traditional turkey (or a sandwich) lunch!

Christmas Nativity

Primary 2/1 class are practicing very hard for their Nativity performance on the 8^th December. The will be performing ‘Wriggly Nativity’ to a professional filming company – the songs will be sung outside and the acting parts filmed inside. Thereafter our production company will edit the video and provide us with USB devices for each of our parents to view in the comfort of their own home…along with the family! We hope you will enjoy this – I know it is sad that we cannot have an audience for the nativity this year, but with a USB device (which can be put into the back of a smart TV or a laptop) you can watch your child perform over and over again!!

Christmas Hamper

Staff will be contributing to an amazing hamper again this year! You can be in with a chance of winning by buying a hamper raffle ticket. Each ticket cost £1 and you can buy as many as you wish. Please give any hamper raffle money to your child (with a little note if need be) and class teacher will allow your child to go purchase a ticket from the office. We will put tickets in envelopes so that they do not get lost!

Christmas Panto’s

We are bringing the panto’s into school this year! All panto performances in theatres are cancelled this year so we have bought in some live virtual performances for the pupils!

Cinderella will be viewed (with some snacks and sweets of course!) during week commencing 14^th December for our P4-7 and the McDougall’s Christmas show will be available for P1-3.

We will make this special for the pupils and try to get some virtual ‘shout outs’ for Royston Primary! Oh yes we will!!

 

So this wasn’t quite the year we had hoped for when we started 2020 – but we make the best of what we have! We are looking positively on the things we are able to do with the pupils and try not to dwell on the things we can’t! We are finding ourselves being increasingly creative in working and adapting to the restrictions as they come about and will continue to have health and safety for all as a priority. I want to thank you all for your amazing support during the pandemic. We have a fantastic parent body and I feel we all know what partnership working truly means.

School holidays

School will close at 2.30pm on the 22^nd  December 2020

School will re-open at 9am on the 6^th January 2021

 

A very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year from all at Royston Primary School

November 2020 Issue 3

What a super start to term 2 our pupils have made! They are working so hard to make themselves and you proud! We are on the countdown to Christmas and we are working hard to ensure some festive cheer for all – not easy in this current climate of travel limitations and increased restrictions. All theatres and shows are off the menu in addition to our fabulous choir fundraising missions. We will not let this get us down – we have some provisional plans in place which I will share with you as soon as things are confirmed.

Book Fayre

The fayre is back in school – this week only! All classes will get the chance to browse the books and Mrs McDougall will fill in a wee slip if your child spots something they like. Your child will bring this information home to you. It is entirely up to you whether or not you decide to send in the money for the book – your choice completely.

Gardening

Our gardening work is going very well providing super learning opportunities outdoors. Pupils have been engaging in a variety of curricular areas in the gardens and this will continue on for the foreseeable future. Please do always make sure your child is suitably dressed for inclement weather, outdoor activities are only cancelled if the weather is deemed a safety risk for pupils eg – torrential rain, very high winds, weather warnings etc. Otherwise pupils will be outside.

Family Finances

This is a very real challenge for some people during these COVID-19 times. Many people are struggling for funds, employment etc and Glasgow Life has some support available. ‘Family Finances Approach’ supports parents and carers to increase their income through employment. Please get in touch with them, they will soon be coming to Royston Library.

Tel: 07443 814 190

Email: financialcapability@glasgowlife.org.uk

After school Clubs

We are beginning to get back up and running with clubs again – albeit, outdoors. Football has commenced for pupils and we are looking into other options for outdoor extra-curricular activity. All our afterschool clubs must run outdoors as they will involve mixing pupils from different classes. We will only cancel a club if the weather presents a safety risk eg torrential rain, very high winds, weather warning etc. Otherwise the club will still run. We normally find that when pupils are choosing to engage in a club they enjoy, they don’t really bother about the weather! Please do remember though that clubs are opt in – if you decide to collect your child before club begins due to weather or for any other reason, this is perfectly fine. I will keep you posted on any further offerings of outdoor afterschool clubs.

Keeping our school safe

You will have received a letter from our Director of Education Maureen McKenna alerting you to updating guidance on keeping our schools open and safe for all. In order to do this school staff will increase their use of face coverings. We have spoken to pupils about this so as to ease their anxiety. Staff in classes are mostly working without face coverings and maintaining appropriate distance where possible. During breaks and lunches and in communal areas of the school, staff will wear a covering, but if pupils become a little anxious we will not hesitate to show our faces!

In addition we would ask parents/family dropping pupils off and collecting if you possibly can, please wear a face covering

Ventilation – As you will know we have had to keep all areas of school well ventilated with open windows and doors as much as possible. The weather is getting a little colder now and guidance has been updated accordingly. From now on, there has to be 2 air changes in each room per hour. This becomes a little tricky for class teachers to monitor during teaching times therefore we will simply keep at least one window open in addition to classroom door at all times. Classroom thermometers have been ordered and we will be keeping classrooms above 17 degrees for pupil and staff comfort. It is not easy to learn when you are freezing cold! You may wish to put an extra layer of clothing on your child or even a vest but if pupils complain they are cold we will make adjustments as necessary.

P.E.

We have been given to go ahead to bring our curricular physical education lessons into the gym hall. This is a positive step as we will now have the flexibility to go outdoors or stay inside for P.E. Unfortunately all changing facilities remain closed and pupils will have to come to school wearing their gym kit or have shorts underneath their school clothes. Hopefully this will change again soon, especially for our older pupils.

Parents Appointments

Normally we would be hosting our formal parents evening in November. Sadly we cannot do this as we cannot have parents inside the school building. We will be arranging telephone appointments with all parents week commencing 16^th November. I am in the process of making arrangements to bring teachers out of their classes to facilitate this and will give you information on dates and times when I have it. I will be as flexible as I can around parental work commitments – please look out for additional information coming to you towards the end of this week.

Interim Reporting

Class teachers are at the completion stages of interim reports. These will be given out week commencing 9^th November. These reports will give you a basis and structure for dialogue with teachers during telephone appointments. Please don’t hesitate to make notes/write down questions about the report – we will answer these as best we can during telephone appointments.

P2/1 Outing

Mr Thomson and his class will be visiting Clyde Valley Farm Park on the 10^th November. This educational visit is in line with current topics and themes in class.  Pupils will need waterproof clothing as they will be outside almost all day. Pupils will also need a packed lunch on that day.

This is very exciting as it will be our first outing from school this session! We will be looking to support further outings (outdoors) when and where it is appropriate.

Flu Immunisation

On 16^th November our vaccine nurses will be based in school to administer the nasal flu vaccine. If you returned your consent for this then your child will have their vaccine on this day.

Parental Survey Results

A big thank you to those who completed the little survey sent to you at the end of term 1. We had 49 returns. Your opinions matter to us and we are committed to providing the best service we can to you and your children. The results:

Q1 Are you happy with the arrangements in place for returning to school during the pandemic?

46 parents said yes and 3 said no

Q2 How would you rate Royston Primary approach to returning to school during a pandemic?

Average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars

Q3 As we were unable to have a ‘Meet the Teacher’ event in September all class teachers attempted to call almost all families. Did you receive this call?

35 parents said yes and 14 said no

Q4 Did you feel this call was useful?

Yes – 30   No – 3   Didn’t receive call – 15

Q5 In your opinion, does your child feel safe and happy back at school?

Always – 26   Never – 0   Most of the time – 18   Sometimes – 4

Q6 Does the staggered entry – 8.45am-9.15am – work well for you?

Yes – 49    No – 0

Q7 Is there any difficulty with social distancing at school finish time 3pm?

Yes – 9   No – 34   Occasionally – 6

Q8 Do you feel you are kept well informed about school?

Yes – 45   No 3

Q9 How good is Royston Primary at communicating with you?

Average rating of 4.4 out of 5

Again thank you for completing this – very interesting and useful information for us to gather and act upon. Look out for the next survey!

 

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

 

October 2020 Issue 2

Phew – we’re nearly at the end of term 1! What a term this has been! Pupils and staff have worked so hard in trying to get back to normality whilst also doing a bit of catch up on missed learning during lockdown. Getting back to normality and routine has been very tiring for pupils and I think they have done an excellent job! Roll on term 2, I hope it is as successful as term 1!

Celebrations!

In light of the fact that our pupils have made such great effort in school we want to have a little celebration on their last day of term 1 which will be Thursday this week!

We will be having a pyjama day on Thursday 8^th October- there is no charge for this. Pupils will continue with their studies in class for the morning and then in the afternoon we will have a class by class movie and treat afternoon. Pupils will watch a film and we will provide popcorn, drinks and other treats for them – we want to make this a special ‘well done’ afternoon!

Gardening

Our gardening work is up and running again and pupils, so far, are enjoying the focused activities we have on offer. We continue to work in partnership with North Glasgow Community Food Initiative (NGCFI) who supports us with gardening and cooking. Tuesday is gardening day for classes on a fortnightly rota basis and, as long as there is no safety concerns with extreme weather conditions, pupils will be outside. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately with sensible shoes and waterproof jacket.

Outdoor Learning

In addition to the above gardening sessions, pupils will also spend approximately one third of their time at school learning outside. Staff have been working hard planning for ways to take curricular learning outside. Pupils will engage in all aspects of the curriculum outside so long as it is safe to do so. Please make sure your child has a jacket and sensible footwear every school day. Pupils do enjoy working outside when they are dressed well for the weather!

Parent Survey

I have sent you a survey link by text. I am keen to hear your views on school return and recovery since lockdown. As you know we have had to put in some additional safety measures to ensure good hygiene and less crowding and we want to know what you think. It is a very difficult time for us here in that we have less contact with you, the parents, than we would like. This is obviously due to the current pandemic – we hope things will get better soon! Please do complete the questions – they are all simply choice answers or ratings, so no need to write any text. It will take you approximately 5 minutes to complete and would be so very helpful to us. Many Thanks in advance to those who take the time to submit their survey.

Sponsored West Highland Way!

I am absolutely delighted to let you know that all classes in school completed the West Highland Way virtual walk/run event! Your children should be very proud of themselves as we are of them! Every class ran/walked 96 miles over a 2 week period – what a great achievement!

I want to say a huge thank you for all sponsor money and donations received. What a great bunch of families and friends we have! The total was HUGE!!! £811.60!

If anyone still has sponsor money to hand in, it is not too late! All money gets banked into school fund which is used directly to support ‘added extras’ for our pupils. We are saving money at present for when we can get back out and about on trips and visits, in addition to thinking of creative ways to celebrate Christmas in a fairly restrictive year – I’m sure we will come up with some great ideas!

Seesaw

I am delighted to see that so many of you have signed up to our online journaling and learning service Seesaw. Seesaw is protected and personalised, not for public viewing. Class teachers can post learning tasks for your child in addition to highlighting and ‘showing off’ their successes in school. This is a crucial tool for all during the current situation when our active face to face opportunities with you are so limited. On Seesaw you can see what pupils have been learning about and how this learning can be extended at home. Please do sign up if you have not already done so. Class teachers will re-issue instructions to those who have not signed up.

School meals

You may or may not know that P5-7 system for meal payment has changed. Pupils can no longer bring money to school to pay for lunch and breakfast. If your child is in P5-7 and not in receipt of free school meals, payment must be made on a Friday for the week ahead. We do not encourage back payments as this confuses the process.

Please make sure meals are paid for in advance using your child’s unique payment code and bank transfer.

Home Learning

At the present time class teachers are preparing home learning packs for every pupil. We want to be prepared should there be any additional restrictions, or if pupils are required to self-isolate for a period of time. These folders containing 2 weeks’ worth of activities will be given out with a covering letter on Thursday 8^th October. Please keep these packs safe at home and only make use of them when instructed. These packs ARE NOT for use during October week holiday – pupils need a break! Should there be a need to use them afterwards then we will text you to let you know.

iPads

Pupils in P7 will soon get a personal school iPad to use for learning. They will be able to use this in class and at home. This is part of the council digital roll out. The iPad will always belong to Glasgow City Council but pupils will have use of one to support their learning. The date for this is 27^th October and we will be looking for parental support in this project. There will be agreements on safe use to be signed and pupils will be taught how to use the learning tools on the iPad.

School Improvement

I just want to give you a flavour of the contents of our school improvement plan. Within our plan we have three priorities and these are broken down into subheadings and associated tasks.

Our priorities are:

• Health and wellbeing – continue our work on restorative approaches to conduct and behaviour management, in addition to addressing nurturing principles throughout the school. This is in line with our school recovery plan which is on-going and available on the school website.
• Raising Attainment – we are developing our work in Literacy and consolidating work in Numeracy. We will be addressing core skills in Talking and Listening, linking them to Reading and Writing in contextualised situations (real life). After undertaking significant work on Numeracy over past years we want also to ensure this remains fresh and in line with current research and theory.
• Digital Learning – We are part of the refresh GCC IT programme and this has been significantly pushed forward due to the current climate – we are trying to keep up! All P7s will receive an Ipad on the 27^th October to support their learning in class and at home. Classes will soon be fitted with Apple TVs and accompaniments to increase digital learning potential.

Our School Improvement Plan 20-21 will be uploaded onto school website shortly.

Healthy drinks and snacks

We continually try to pass messages of healthy eating and drinking onto pupils. Pupils can drink water at school. During class time pupils can drink plain water. Research proves that this actually enhances performance in the classroom – class teachers will encourage this. Pupils can bring flavoured water (eg lemon lime, strawberry) for break times although we do try to dissuade them from this as there is some sugar contained. We also try to encourage pupils to bring healthy snacks to school. A piece of fruit or chopped vegetables are excellent choices. Pupils are rewarded for making healthy choices in eating and drinking and can win a special active treat if their good choices become consistent.

I am always disappointed when I see pupils coming to school eating sweets and drinking fizzy drinks. I’m not sure if parents and carers know pupils are doing this but I would encourage you to speak with your child about this. It does not make for a great start to the day!

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk