It was wonderful to welcome our new Pr. 1 pupils to the school this morning and to see how splendid they were in their uniform and how confidently they strolled into school. Quite amazing! They had a wonderful day in class and will no doubt have been delighted to share a story or two  of their day and new friendships made.  All teachers focused upon enhanced personal hygiene and the importance of social distancing. Whist children do not need to social distance,  teachers  must keep a 2 metre distance.  If this is not possible and close contact is beyond 15 minutes then staff will wear a mask.

Pr. 1 pupils will attend school at 9.00am tomorrow and will share the yard with the pupils of Pr. 4 – 7 who will also arrive at 9.00am.

Please be mindful at drop off time that only one adult is present to escort their Pr. 1 child to the school gate and that you leave in order to enable all parents to socially distance.  Pick up time for Pr. 1 pupils will remain at 2.45pm. Please ensure only one adult is there to pick up and that you leave the school site to avoid any form of crowding or congestion particularly at the school gate.

Pr. 2 pupils will leave at 2.50pm.

Pr. 4 – 7 pupils will depart at 3.00pm.

Please note that the school is monitoring the level of  social distancing at the school gates and fences.  May I kindly remind all parents and in particular parents of  older children of the need to organise a pick up point slightly further from the school to ease congestion and ensure social distancing at this time.

We are greatly looking forward to returning to school and seeing all our pupils once again.  We have missed them greatly and can’t wait to see their smiling faces and to see how tall they have become during these last few months.  We have made a link to the most frequently asked questions in the previous post as NLC have updated their advice on their website.  Please check the link  to familiarise yourself with the general advice provided.

Every school is unique and will also have their own guidelines.  Our Back to School booklet was originally compiled in June when a return to school in August advocated a blended model.  We have updated our guidelines and protocols in light of the latest national and authority advice.  Please review and take note that blazers, ties and  full uniform remain and that pupils can bring lunch boxes and bags to school.

St.Augustine Back to School Booklet 2020 – updated

You  will probably have lots of questions ahead of the return to school next week.  NLC have tried their best to answer them on their website. Questions in relation to safety and hygiene, transport, school meals etc are all to be found on the link below.  More will be added in the coming days.

Return to school frequently asked questions

I hope that you have had a relaxing break and are ready for a return to some normality.   May I take this opportunity to thank you once again for your ongoing support and patience during these challenging times.  All staff are very much looking forward to welcoming our pupils back to school from Wednesday 12th August.

Please access the link below to the NLC website and the latest information in regard of the phased return commencing Wed. 12th August.  More information from the school will follow later.

http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schoolplans

As you are aware, information was recently sent out in respect of operating procedures for August (featured in a previous post).  In addition, class arrangements  for August were sent via text today.   Our return to school was based on the contingency plans outlined by Scottish Government and NLC and was always subject to change.  Please note the following statement from North Lanarkshire Council in light of the announcement today.

Schools update Tuesday 23rd June  NLC

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 or our pupils and staff across our network or 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 schools and facilities in the coming  days.

We are preparing for pupils to return full-time to school on 12th 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 do so.

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Please note that all parents will receive a text message on Tuesday to indicate the days your child/children will attend school from August.  Our classes have been split in half with Group A children attending on Mon/Tues and Group B children attending Thurs/Frid.  A letter will also be sent to every family to give fuller details in regard of class teacher and time for starting and finishing school.

Please note the booklet below  gives some details to support the return to school in August.

St.Augustine Back to School Booklet 2020

As a staff team we thank you for your great support at these challenging times and for supporting your child’s learning at home.  It has been a delight to see how well children have interacted with their teachers and completed their assigned tasks.  Great independent and successful learners.  They really have been a credit to you and a joy to work with this session.

Please note the Frequently Asked Questions response which was developed through  work with Parent Council Groups across the authority this week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please note the letter from Derek Brown that details the latest information from North Lanarkshire Council.

Parent Carer Letter -NLC

This week we are delighted that we will be able to meet the children who will form our new Pr. 1 in August.  It has no doubt been a strange few months for our new starts but we aim to familiarise our new pupils with the infant department, their class, meet their teacher and new classmates.  All schools have taken different approaches to how this will take place as every school is unique.  We aim to replicate our usual induction programme which means the children go to the class with their teacher (small groups of 8 pupils) for a period of 45 minutes.  Parents will be invited to the school hall  to meet the senior management team and to discuss transition.