Mrs N’s Notes, 4.12.20
See the menu for our school meals next week above, and those for our Loving Lunches in the Nursery below.
COVID-19 Update
As we know, working and living in North Lanarkshire, the cases of positive cases of COVID-19 are still very high. In school we continue to adhere to the strictest of rules around hand-washing, distancing and face-coverings to protect all of our families.
On Monday of this week I sent an email to all families indicating that we had our first confirmed positive case within the school. If you did not receive that email, please contact the school office next week to check your contact details; we must not have your current email address. Similarly, please notify us of any change to your telephone numbers as I may need to get in touch with you as a matter of urgency at any time.
I now realise that the email I sent caused alarm, as families did not know if it related directly to them or not. In order to put your mind at rest, I thought I would explain the process here.
- If any member of our school community tests positive for COVID-19, I should be contacted at the earliest opportunity. This would be by telephone, if you hear during the school day, or could be by email if the school office is closed. Please don’t hesitate to email me in the evening or at the weekend if this is when you get your message from Test & Protect.
- As soon as I get this information, I pass the message on to an Education Manager and I then begin a full risk assessment; tracking that individual’s movements and interactions for the 48 hours prior to symptoms starting. In school we keep seating plans in the classroom and dinner hall/packed lunch hall; we would also ask you about travelling arrangements to and from school and social interactions outwith the school day.
- A conference video call is then arranged later the same day, involving officers from Education and Public Health. The activities in school are scrutinised, with Public Health taking the lead in this investigation. If there are any queries over particular parts of the day, I am responsible for finding the answers to any questions they ask. If I don’t know, I will speak to other school staff or to yourself. The meetings continue until there is a full and clear picture of the days in question.
- It is then Public Health who makes the decision as to who the Close Contacts are.
- As soon as the Close Contacts are identified, I will start telephoning these families personally and have a full conversation with them, explaining the situation; what has happened and what will happen next. Dates of isolation will be shared and home learning opportunities explained. These families will then receive an email with this information in writing. In the case of several close contacts being identified, Mr Sharp or Mrs McGarry would help me with this process.
- As soon as those immediately involved are aware, I will then send out an information email to the whole school or nursery community to make everyone aware of the situation. Your child will not be required to isolate, unless I have spoken to you personally.
- We all know that this is a global pandemic. Anyone can catch it anywhere. Whilst we are doing our utmost to prevent any transmission of the virus in school, it is important to remember there is NO BLAME being placed on any individual or family who tests positive. At no point will the identity of the positive case be shared by the school. Please continue to follow national health advice and be tested if symptoms start. The sooner a positive case is identified the quicker we can stop the possible transmission from person to person.
Can I thank everyone for their support throughout this whole process? I was most encouraged by your kind words and the care expressed for the person who tested positive as I spoke to many of you earlier in the week. It is that team-spirit and concern for each other that makes our school community so special.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Huge thanks must go to Mrs Patterson and her team in the kitchen who fed us all the most delicious Christmas lunches this week. Due to COVID restrictions it looked quite different this year, but we still managed to share a little bit of Christmas Cheer early in the month. I was told by many pupils (and staff) it was the best school lunch ever! High praise indeed!
WINTER WEATHER
This week we experienced our first ice and snow in the mornings. As you will understand, we do not have time to clear all access paths before pupils start arriving. We had already made a contingency plan and it has worked very well. By bringing everyone through the main gate as close to their start-times as possible, then separating the children to different entrances and classes, we still managed to keep classes within their Zones and class bubbles. All pupils adhered to physical distancing as they came up the path. Thank you for your support here too.
CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCES
I am looking forward to seeing your family performances of our classic Christmas songs. Keep recording them and send them in to Mr Sharp when they are finished…Will we have ex-pupils joining us too? This could be the best Kirkshaws sing-along ever. In fact…it could be the way ahead! 🙂
