Another Remote Learning week over and a few more to come.<\/p>\n
The announcement from the Scottish Government this week means that we will be planning a few more weeks of Remote Learning, taking us up to mid February.\u00a0 Each day and week that passes, we are becoming more confident in using different digital tools to bring our learning to life!\u00a0 I keep thinking back to where we were when we started this last March… what a difference to now!<\/p>\n
Many thanks to everyone who took part in our Parental Survey.\u00a0 We had a very good response, giving us an overview of popular opinion.\u00a0 You are enjoying all the different types of learning we are offering which is reassuring to hear.\u00a0 Some people like the interactions that occur during a live video session, while some families struggle to join live sessions due to individual circumstances or work commitments.\u00a0 If a child cannot join a live lesson, they have lost that opportunity, while a recorded lesson can be viewed at any time and revisited if necessary.\u00a0 We fully understand each of these viewpoints, so will continue to provide a mixture in all classes.\u00a0 Next week all pupils will have access to live assembly and fitness sessions each day, plus at least two further live sessions with their teachers throughout the week.\u00a0 Pre-recorded lessons will continue to be provided through videos, PowerPoints and Sways.<\/p>\n
In some cases, the technology is letting us down.\u00a0 We will continue to address what we can at our end to make downloading resources easier.\u00a0 We have successfully managed to loan several families devices to help them connect with us.\u00a0 We hope to have access to more laptops very soon to further help with this. Remember to tell us if we can help by loaning a device, providing you with paper copies of work or just being a listening ear on the other end of the phone.<\/p>\n
Over the past week all classes have experimented with some live sessions.\u00a0 Some of these have\u00a0 simply been a check-in session, where everyone brings their news and chat; in other cases it has been a teaching opportunity.\u00a0 No matter the context, these will keep our classes connected in a way we could never have imagined this time last year.\u00a0 The skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work our pupils are refining this term are innumerable.<\/p>\n
You told us you are worried you are not doing enough, or you are doing it ‘wrong’.\u00a0 You are doing your best and that’s enough!\u00a0 We know many families are trying to juggle working from home with home learning.\u00a0 We know families are sharing devices and Internet access.\u00a0 We know that there will be strains on family relationships as we all get tired of yet another Lockdown.\u00a0 All of these pressures are felt by our staff team too, so you do not have to explain to us.\u00a0 We will continue to provide you with more than enough ideas to keep your child engaged in the learning planned for this term.\u00a0 You need to do what you can, when you can.\u00a0 If you don’t finish everything, THAT IS ALRIGHT!\u00a0 Prioritise literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, then pick and choose from what is left.\u00a0 You will manage more school work some days and on other days family priorities will come first.\u00a0 That is to be expected.\u00a0 Your child’s day should feature some playtime, rest time and fun time; that’s as it should be.\u00a0 Make sure you build some self-care into your own day too; you can’t pour from an empty cup.\u00a0 This period of Remote Learning is lasting longer than we anticipated, make sure you don’t burn out.<\/p>\n
In light of your comments, we are looking at producing more ‘how to’ guides to support you both in using the technology and in curricular content (like teaching subtraction, etc.). However, if you have a pressing problem or question, don’t hesitate to call the school office and someone will be happy to help you.<\/p>\n
We know that ebooks are not the ideal tool for teaching reading, so we are moving to ‘real’ books from Monday 1st February.\u00a0 We will be in touch towards the end of next week to give you the opportunity to come and pick up reading books for your children – ready to start the following week.<\/p>\n
However things are going, please keep in touch – we are still in this together, although far apart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Another Remote Learning week over and a few more to come. The announcement from the Scottish Government this week means that we will be planning a few more weeks of Remote Learning, taking us up to mid February.\u00a0 Each day and week that passes, we are becoming more confident in using different digital tools to bring our learning to life!\u00a0 I keep thinking back to where we were when we<\/p>\n