Mrs N’s Notes, 15.1.21

• Mrs Nicolson
• January 15, 2021
• Nursery, Whole School
• 4
• 35

THANK YOU ALL!

What else can I say?  We all approached this week with some trepidation, not sure how it was going to work, but we’ve nailed it!  As a school community, everyone has played their part and we are now in a position where more than 90% of pupils have engaged with their online learning this week.  What an achievement for week 1!

However, we know things are not perfect and we will continue to look for ways to make the home learning experience even better for our pupils (and their parents and carers!).  We appreciate that Microsoft Teams struggled this week, but considering the number of people who were using it across the UK, I think we managed pretty well.

We have put out a survey today for all parents.  It will only take a few minutes to complete and we really would appreciate if you could take the time to tell us what worked well for you this week, what further supports we can offer you as parents and what you would like to see more of.  You will find the link on the app or sent out by email this afternoon. If you did not receive an email, please phone the school office between 8.30am and 3.30pm next week and check we have your correct details.  Next week we will ask the children their thoughts too and see how we can modify things.  However, please don’t worry – we won’t be making major changes!  We’re not going to lose the good practice we’ve established this week.

LESSONS LEARNED THIS WEEK

• This is totally different to what home learning has ever looked like before.  We are in a much stronger position now to ensure the pace of learning continues although we are not in school.
• It is best to turn your camera off when you come into a whole school live lesson.  This will keep your signal stronger and help your connection.
• Join every live session on mute.  You can un-mute if the teacher asks.
• We will allow people to enter the morning assembly and fitness sessions 5 minutes before the activity is due to start.  We will play music as pupils arrive.  This will allow us time to get everyone in so we can start right on time.
• I won’t try to share my screen at assembly – that is just too much for Teams to handle with around 100 participants!  This means we will share some familiar songs we can sing without words on screen.  Not a problem – we have loads to choose from.
• Please ask your children not to use the ‘chat’ function during assembly or fitness unless they are asking for help.  Too much chat on the General Channel means important news gets lost.
• If you need to download files from Teams, think about doing this the night before you need them, as Teams struggles to do this when it is too busy.
• If Teams is playing up, switch off your device and go and do something else.  It’s not worth the stress!
• You have some flexibility within the weekly grids provided.  Some lessons are tied into live or recorded lessons, but there are also stand-alone tasks you can choose to move to another day if it suits your family circumstances better.
• Our families are very patient.  Sometimes teachers cannot answer your questions immediately.  There have been times staff have been on the phone to provide support to one family which can take quite a while.  This might look like no one is answering the chat immediately, but believe me, everyone is working flat-out to support our learners as much as possible.  Thank you for your patience and perseverance.
• Teachers are monitoring pupil engagement throughout each day.  If we don’t see your child on line for a few days you may get a phone call asking how things are going.  This is not in any way a ‘row’, but we need to keep in touch with you and see how we can help.
• You, the parents and carers, are doing an AMAZING JOB.  Thank you for all the learning shared on Teams.  Remember the school building is open, so if you need extra jotters, pencils, etc, just give us a call and arrange a time to pop in and collect them
• WE HAVE THE BEST STAFF TEAM IN SCOTLAND! Everyone has gone above and beyond and I wouldn’t have survived these past few weeks without them.  Huge thanks to all Kirkshaws staff – you are amazing!

In other news, don’t forget P.1 Registration for August closes next Friday, 22nd January.  You will find the enrolment documents on the NLC website; see link below.  Application forms and supporting evidence should be emailed to

enquiries@kirkshaws.n-lanark.sch.uk

NLC Enrolment Information

 

Now put away those books and switch off Teams – we’ll see you bright and early on Monday morning.  I can’t wait! 😃