Morningside Blog

Dear parent/ carer,

In light of the Scottish government’s announcement to move to Home Learning from the 11^th of January until at least the 18^th of January I would like to ensure that all our children and families have access to our on line learning platforms.

• The main platform that we will be using during any period of Home Learning will be ‘Microsoft Teams’; this is the same platform that we currently issue all homework on. In Addition to this the additional platforms that we use are; ActiveLearn and Sumdog.
• All children should have their login credentials and these are the same for all three platforms mentioned above.
• Please visit our school website for a host of tutorials on how to access and use these platforms; https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/MorningsideBlog/digital-area/online-guides/
• Teams can be accessed from any laptop or computer and most tablets (the only tablet I have encountered that does not allow access is the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet).
• IMPORTANT – The number one problem that people have when accessing Teams is the login process. When accessing via an app whether it be the desktop app or mobile app you must put @glow.sch.uk at the end of your username.
• iPad – It would be useful to download the Microsoft office suite (this is free) on apple devices as this will allow you to edit documents issued on assignments without downloading them.

We are currently waiting on further guidance from NLC on the exact expectations for Home Learning and staff will be working on finalising plans when they return to school on the 6^th January.  We will issue more detailed plans on how Home Learning will look for our Learners that week. What we do know though is that all Home Learning will be online and issued via Teams so it is important that you login and familiarise yourself with this platform if you have not already been using it for homework.

• If you have any issues accessing any of the online platforms and have exasperated all the online tutorials on our website then please contact me directly at gw10stathisgeorge@glow.sch.uk and I will do my best to resolve any issues for you.
• Likewise if you do not have means of accessing Teams (laptop or mobile device) then please contact me directly and I can do my best to issue 1 device per household.

I hope everyone takes the time to rest over the festive period and our staff will be working hard on their return to school on the 6^th of January to prepare for Home Learning starting on the 11^th of January. As mentioned above we will issue further guidance on how lessons will look etc. when we return to school in January.

Kind Regards,

Please see below for the PE day for each class.

All PE is currently outside (weather permitting). They may be outside in light rain so please ensure a suitable jacket is brought to school.

Children should come to school in leggings/joggers, polo shirts, jumpers and trainers on their PE day. Please avoid extra clothing like pinafores/skirts.

Today’s announcement from the Scottish Government outlines the plan to reopen all schools on a full time basis from August.

We are currently considering the practicalities and implications of this announcement and will await further clarification and guidance from government, particularly in relation to public health and scientific advice.

Our priority is the safety of our pupils and staff across our network of primary, secondary and ASN schools, as well as our early learning and childcare settings.

We understand that you will have questions, and as this news was only announced today, we will make further information available on how this impacts on our schoolsand facilities in the coming days.

We are preparing for pupils to return full-time to school on 12 August and we will be working closely with our schools and partners, including our early years and childcare provision to establish our plans, which we will communicate as soon as we are in a position to.

Gerard McLaughlin

Head of Education (North)

Reminder that our Primary 1 Transition information and materials are in their own tab at the top of the page. Please direct anyone you know with a child starting with us in August to it. Also, please encourage them to follow us on Twitter @morningsideps

There are lots of helpful documents and information to help your child with their transition to MPS. Please complete the short questionnaire to provide us with some information about your child.

Looking forward to meeting you all in person.

We are ambassadors for the rights of others

During the Coronavirus pandemic, the issue of Children’s Rights is as important as ever.

The teachers at Morningside Primary school have been working very hard to ensure that your right to an education is protected. We have done this by trying our best to provide ideas for home learning through use of Microsoft Teams. We are so proud of how much you have respected your own right to an education by engaging online with us and showing us the brilliant learning that you are continuing to do at home.

Your parents have also worked really hard to make sure your rights are protected. A few examples of this are providing you with good quality food (Article 24, UNCRC) and giving you opportunities to play (Article 31, UNCRC).

Although life is a bit different at the moment there is still something we can do to continue to promote and be ambassadors for our own rights and the rights of others! This is why we are setting up the MPS 2020 Challenge.

The Challenge           

The challenge will take place from Monday the 1^st of June until Thursday the 11^th June. To take part in the challenge you will need to give up 15 minutes of your day between these dates.

The challenge will be created by pupils from Morningside Primary school. Here is how you will be involved.

We need you to plan a 15 minute challenge and send it to your teacher. You can either film a video or write/draw a plan. Your teacher will then choose one plan from your whole class and this will be the one used when the challenge begins.

On the week of the challenge you will need to ask an adult to log into twitter and go to @morningsideps where you will find the challenge of the day. This will be a video of a member of staff from Morningside Primary school demonstrating the challenge. You will then need to set a timer and get involved in the challenge! You can ask an adult to film you or take pictures to share on twitter with the hashtag #MPS2020Challenge

We are doing the challenge to continue raising awareness about children’s rights and also to raise money for a children’s charity. We will provide a link to an online donations page very soon and hope that you will ask your friends and family to sponsor you by making an online donation.

How To Submit Your Challenge Idea

There are a few things that you need to think about before you can get your challenge ready to send to your teacher.

Remember there will be children as young as Primary 1 taking part. I am sure that some of you will also be getting your younger siblings, mums and dads to take part too! Your challenge needs to be accessible to all ages.

Also, think carefully about any equipment that you may need to complete your challenge. Is it something that everyone has in their house, or can you suggest something that they could use instead?

The challenge needs to be something that people can do for 15 minutes without stopping. For example, cycling around the block for 15 minutes, passing a ball between two or three people, skipping without stopping or a dance sequence.

You can either write or draw your challenge idea or film it and send it to your teacher on Teams. You will need to take part in the challenge when it begins to find out if your idea was chosen!

We have set up two ‘resource stations’ that families can pick up supplies from. These supplies include things such as; jotters, blank paper, coloured paper, rulers, pencils, colouring pens, colouring pencils, sharpeners and rubbers.

Just ask in either of the following two shops if you can get items from the Morningside Primary supply box.

Thank you to both shops for supporting the school at this time!

U Save, Tiree Crescent, Newmains

KeyStore, Lynnwood Road, Newmains

Another week of home learning complete!

The teachers have been very impressed with the work being done by their pupils and have enjoyed keeping in touch over Teams.

Our mental maths skills have been put to the test with the Pupils v Teachers challenges and we are sure you will help our school get to top spot on the leaderboard in the Sumdog Easter Challenge.

Today is the last day of term, and so it is time for you all to rest and a enjoy a well-deserved break. There won’t be work added to your team over the next two weeks, but please pop on and say hello or share some pictures of what you have been getting up to.

The House Captains had decided that our monthly dress down day should also be a ‘crazy hair day’. We would love for you to get inventive with whatever you can find in the house and share you pictures on Twitter or your Team.

Have fun today, and for the next two weeks. Our new term of learning will start on Monday 20th April.

Stay safe everyone.

Team MPS