WE STRIVE TO BE A STRONG & CARING SCHOOL COMMUNITY
\nWHERE EVERYONE IS; SAFE, HAPPY, INCLUDED & RESPECTED
\nBY BUILDING CONFIDENCE & RAISING ACHIEVEMENT
\nWE TRULY ARE\u2026MAKING PUPILS SHINE!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
August 2022 Update<\/strong> Absence Procedures<\/strong> Changes to Pick Up Arrangements: <\/p>\n Birthday Cakes<\/strong> Diary Dates<\/strong> Lost Property<\/strong> Nut-free School<\/strong> Parents Portal<\/strong> To be able to sign up to the portal it is vital you are using the same contact details etc. that we have PE Days<\/strong> Children can come dressed in their P.E clothes on these days and should wear trainers that can be worn School Gate and Road Safety<\/strong> Staffing Updates<\/strong> Twitter and Blog<\/strong> Compliments, Concerns, Complaints<\/strong> Yours sincerely WE STRIVE TO BE A STRONG & CARING SCHOOL COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE IS; SAFE, HAPPY, INCLUDED & RESPECTED BY BUILDING CONFIDENCE & RAISING ACHIEVEMENT WE TRULY ARE\u2026MAKING PUPILS SHINE! August 2022 Update We are delighted to welcome all our … Continue reading
\nWe are delighted to welcome all our existing and new families back after what we hope was a fantastic
\nbreak. The children have had a very successful first few weeks back and are looking forward to the new
\nterm. We look forward to getting to know you all over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n
\nAs we begin our first term for Session 2022\/23, I would like to highlight our normal procedures for
\nreporting absence and an update was issued at the end of last week. Can we ask that you read and follow
\nthese please?<\/p>\n
\nThis can be confusing to children and be challenging to ensure that children are given messages within
\nour busy wee school and cannot guarantee this will happen. Your support would be appreciated and the
\nmatter could be alleviated in the following ways:
\n\uf0b7 Please try to make sure that pupils are aware of their pick up arrangements for that day.
\n\uf0b7 As far as possible, please try to ensure that arrangements are only changed if there is a genuine
\nemergency. We do understand that things can happen in our busy family lives!
\n\uf0b7 Please try as far as possible to adhere to our drop off and pick up times. School begins at 08.55
\nand pupils should arrive no earlier than 08.40 as there is no playground supervision before this
\ntime; unless of course your child is attending the Breakfast Club, which is no earlier than 08.15.
\nSchool ends at 15.00. We ask that parents drop off and pick up at the school gates and should
\nnot enter the school playground; the exception being Primary 1 parents who can pick up their
\nchild at the back door at 3pm
\nN.B If you are contacting the school, please be aware that the office is staffed 8.30am at the earliest
\nuntil 4.15pm, 3.30pm on Friday (excluding morning and lunch breaks).<\/p>\n
\nREMINDER – As you know we love to celebrate your children\u2019s birthdays with them and in recent years
\nquite a lot of children have very kindly brought in a cake to share with their class. Unfortunately, we
\nhave had to put a stop to birthday cakes being brought in. We have several children with a variety of
\nallergies which now affects most classes. Thank you for your generosity in the past but we are sure you
\nwill understand and support us in this decision. Your child\u2019s birthday will still be acknowledged and
\ncelebrated in their class.<\/p>\n
\nOnce activities, assemblies (we are delighted to be able to return to having an Assembly for each class
\nbased on topic work that will be presented in school to their parents) have been planned we will issue as
\ncomprehensive a list as possible. In the meantime, here are the arrangements made so far:
\nWednesday 28th September \u2013 Flu Immunisations
\nThursday 13th October \u2013 Parent\/Teacher Consultations \u2013 in school; timings to be confirmed.
\nWeek commencing 12th December \u2013 Christmas Parties, 1-3pm \u2013 days for each class tbc.
\nFriday 16th December \u2013 Interim Reports issued to parents
\nWednesday 21st December \u2013 Christmas Service, 10am at Coltness Memorial Church
\nThursday 23rd March – Parent\/Teacher Consultations \u2013 in school; timings to be confirmed.
\nWeek commencing 27th March \u2013 Primary 7 Residential Trip at Ardentinny.
\nFriday 31st March \u2013 Easter Service, 10am in school for pupils and staff only.
\nWeek commencing 12th June \u2013 Health Week, including Sports Day 10am Tuesday 13th
\n.
\nA list of the holiday dates for Session 2022\/23 were sent out by email last week.
\nHoliday dates for Session 2023\/24 will be issued once confirmed.<\/p>\n
\nThis is an ongoing problem. Please ensure that your child\u2019s name is on all their clothes and personal items
\nas this enables us to return items to them easily.<\/p>\n
\nCan you please ensure that your child does not bring in any food items containing nuts, your support in
\nthis is vital as we have pupils with nut allergies.<\/p>\n
\nNLC launched the Parents Portal as a means of communication between schools and parents. For this to
\nwork effectively you need to ensure that your contact details are always up to date, to help with this
\nthe Data Check letters for your child\/children came home last week. If you have not yet returned these,
\nplease check the form, update where required, include any updated medical information, and return as
\nsoon as possible for us to update our systems. Thank you.
\nDetails of the Parents Portal and instructions for this can be followed in the video available via this
\nlink:
\nhttp:\/\/bit.ly\/ParentsPortalNLC<\/p>\n
\nfor you and your child\/children. Also, if you already have and use \u201cMyAccount\u201d please ensure your
\ndetails on this are up to date.
\nThis portal is the main communications between schools and parents across North Lanarkshire Council;
\nhowever, it is not yet being used as our main point of communication. We currently have approximately
\nhalf of our families already linked to this, but to ensure this is a successful communication tool for all
\nour families we need the majority of our Parent Forum to have signed up for it and we will continue to
\nuse Groupcall Messenger until then. We ask that you sign up to this service as it is a one stop shop to
\nmany of our current and future communications.
\nIf you are still having difficulties with this, we plan to have laptops and support available to parents to
\nassist in setting this up at our first Parent\/Teacher Consultations (Thursday 13th October)<\/p>\n
\nOnce again this session, each class is allocated 2 hours of Physical Education per week. To ensure your
\nchild\/children can take part please ensure they come to school prepared on the following days:
\nPrimary 1 \u2013 Monday and Thursday
\nPrimary 2 \u2013 Wednesday and Thursday
\nPrimary 3 \u2013 Monday and Thursday
\nPrimary 4 \u2013 Wednesday and Friday
\nPrimary 5 \u2013 Wednesday and Friday
\nPrimary 6\/5 \u2013 Tuesday and Friday
\nPrimary 6 \u2013 Tuesday and Wednesday
\nPrimary 7 \u2013 Thursday and Friday<\/p>\n
\nboth indoors and outdoors. Football colours are not permitted. For health and safety reasons children
\nare not allowed to wear jewellery during P.E sessions. It would be advised that children do not come to
\nschool wearing jewellery on their P.E days. In line with the Authority PE policy, all jewellery should be
\nremoved during PE lessons, especially earrings. If your child is unable to remove these, please provide
\ntape\/plasters to cover their earrings, which your child must be able to do. This should however be used
\nas a last resort, as earrings should be removed.
\nCan we remind parents that P.E is not an \u201coptional extra\u201d therefore all pupils are expected to
\nparticipate fully in P.E. If for any reason your child is unable to participate on a specific day the
\nschool must be notified in writing.<\/p>\n
\nThe area around the school gate can become very busy at the beginning and end of the day. We kindly
\nask that parents and carers who are dropping off and picking up their children, ensure that they leave
\na path for children to come in and out through the gate safely.
\nThe roads around the school are very busy. Please refrain from parking outside the school or near
\ncorners where it makes it difficult to cross the road safely. We ask that parents entering\/leaving the
\ncar park, driving on School Road can be sensible and aware of pupils leaving school\/crossing the road.
\nYour children\u2019s safety is our priority.
\nCan we also remind you that School Road is the emergency access to Morningside Care Home, and the
\nsurrounding estate, and that any blockage could have profound consequences?
\nSchool Meals Payments
\nWe respectfully ask you again to ensure you have enough money on your child\u2019s card to pay for their
\nmeals, including breakfast. We already have several children who have insufficient funds which can build
\nup quickly.
\nFree School Meal Entitlement: The Scottish Government announced that they are delaying universal
\nfree school meals provision for Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils; stating that further expansion of free
\nschool lunches during term-time to include children in P6 and P7 will not begin in August 2022 as had
\nbeen intended. There appears to be no indication of when\/if this will be put in place and will update you
\nwhen we receive any clarification.
\nTherefore, it is only children attending nursery for full days and children in Primaries 1 to 5 that are
\nautomatically entitled to receive free school meals.
\nIf you believe that your child\/children are entitled to a free school meal and the associated benefits
\nthis could bring, please check the NLC website for the relevant criteria and claim form (please note
\nthat this must be applied for on an annual basis and does not automatically continue each year).<\/p>\n
\nWe would like to welcome Miss O\u2019Malley to our school. She has settled in well to our staff team and I
\nknow you will look forward to meeting her during the year.<\/p>\n
\nParents and Carers are encouraged to follow us on Twitter and our Website\/Blog. You can access these
\nthrough:
\nWebsite\/Blog glowscotland.gov.uk\/nl\/morningsideblog
\nTwitter Account @morningsideps
\nHere you will be able to follow the work your child is involved in, we will post pictures of all our big
\nevents and staff will post pictures of the children\u2019s learning experiences and achievements.
\nTo gain access to the school Twitter account you must have children currently at the school. If you
\nwould like to request to follow us then you should click follow and then email Mr Stathis
\nat nlstathisg@northlan.org.uk with the name of your child and also your Twitter Handle. Your Twitter
\nhandle is the bit under your Twitter name that starts with @<\/p>\n
\nIf you have any of the above, please make an appointment to speak with your child\u2019s class teacher, Mrs.
\nWhite, Mr Stathis or Mrs. Gardiner. They will be available by appointment only, which can be made by
\neither phoning the school (01698 274938) or by emailing enquiries-at-morningside@northlan.org.uk . Can
\nwe please remind you that all emails should be sent via this email address not to the Head Teacher,
\nPrincipal Teacher, or Class Teachers directly.
\nIf it is regarding classroom work, please make an appointment to speak with your child\u2019s class teacher,
\nthrough the office staff, please do not approach teachers directly during preparation time or teaching
\ntime.
\nOn many occasions, if it is not regarding class work, our office staff will have the information and advice
\nthat you need.
\nWe as a staff want your children to be safe and happy during their time at Morningside Primary and are
\nmore than willing to discuss any concerns. It is always best to ask us directly rather than using other
\nforums to air your concerns. We are teaching your children about the safe usage of social media and
\nhow our digital footprint cannot be deleted. Please be mindful of your own usage.
\nYour support in this would be appreciated.<\/p>\n
\nJennifer Gardiner Date: 29th August 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"