I hope all families had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. We are looking forward to welcoming all children back to school for the start of the new term. For most pupils this will be remote learning with a small number coming into school.
Primary 1 Registration
South Lanarkshire Council has revised the date to start registering new Primary One pupils. New pupils can be registered using an online form from Thursday 14th January2021. Parents must register for their catchment school even if they are making a placing request or deferring their child’s start date. When the registration form is live, the link will be shared on the South Lanarkshire Council website, Twitter and the school website.
Once a child is registered for Heathery Knowe PS, we will arrange a telephone call or virtual meeting to meet the family and discuss our transition programme. We are looking forward to meeting new Heathery Knowe pupils starting school in August 2021.
Applying for Key Worker Childcare
The school building remains open for children of key workers to attend while they are at work. The service should only be used by key workers required to work and when there is no suitable alternative childcare.
If you need to apply for a place, please use the following link:
https://forms.gle/fWJwQZXBVbHDFEwz7
Remote Learning at Heathery Knowe PS
The Scottish Government extended the dates of home learning from 11th-18th January 2021 to 11-29th January 2021 with a review scheduled on the 18th January.
Nursery pupils will use Learning Journals to access remote learning activities.
Pupils in Primary 1-7 access remote learning using Google Classroom.
Structure of the day for school pupils
Teachers plan the day to closely reflect in school learning and will upload a suggested plan and actvities for 9am each day. We understand the need for flexibility therefore most learning activities can be completed at any point in the day or evening.
Next week children will engage in activities to revise work from the previous term using Google Classroom and home learning packs.
From 18th January, each day will include the following learning sessions:
- Registration and check in – The check in question is the way that attendance is monitored while we are learning remotely. If your child does not respond to this, we will call home to check if they are unwell or if there is any support needed with Google Classroom. If there is a day your child is unable to participate in remote learning, please call the school office to report their absence.
- Big Maths – this is the school’s approach to mental maths and this activity should take around 20 minutes a day.
- Direct Teaching Literacy / Numeracy – The literacy and numeracy teaching will focus on new learning rather than revision activities. To ensure children continue to make progress with their peers, these sessions should be the priority to complete if time is limited. Children should spend around an hour on each area. Teachers will provided direct teaching (e.g. powerpoint, video, demonstration) then children will be asked to complete a task independently then finish the session with a consolidation activity. Some sessions may be live and children will be invited to participate in a Google Meet. Teachers will advise parents via Google Classroom if there is a live session for your child.
- Class Novel / Story – each day children will be read a chapter of a novel or story book by an adult in school. This is an opportunity for your children to relax and listen for enjoyment.
- Google Meet – Each day, 30 minutes has been allocated to a class Google Meet. This is a pastoral check in and a chance to ask any questions about learning. Each class teacher will advise their class of the time for their daily Google Meet. Devices need to have a camera and microphone function to engage in this activity.
- Wider Curricular areas – In the afternoon sessions, teachers will focus on inter-disciplinary learning and will offer sessions covering other curricular areas such as PE, Expressive Arts, Social Studies, Health and Wellbeing and RME
- If your child receives additional support for learning in school, they will be invited to small group support sessions using Google Meet
Communicating with Teachers
Teachers are available each day to support children and parents with remote learning. You can request support from teachers in the following ways:
- Telephone or email the school office and the teacher will call back when they are available
- Send a message on Google Classroom
During the school day teachers will be involved in Google Meet sessions, recording direct teaching sessions and supporting learners. On most occasions teacher will not be able to respond straight away but they will get back to you as soon as they can. All communication will be within the school day (8am-4pm). Teachers will not be able to respond in the evening.
If you have an urgent request for support, a member of the leadership team will be available to take your call during the school day.
Support
The school staff understand that remote learning needs a high level of support from families at home and this can often involve sharing devices and juggling the commitments of employment with supporting children.
Children are moving on with new and progressive learning experiences and to ensure they move forward with their peers, it is very important that they engage with remote learning.
We are here to support families. Please call us if you need advice or support. We are happy to help in any way we can.
Thank you for your continued support
Kind regards
Kirsty Duff
