Primary 4 – Page 7 – Pumpherston and Uphall Station CPS Blog

August 19, 2020

P1-4 Pick Up

Thank you for supporting us with following our suggested guidelines at pick up times.

We would request that when the class teacher calls your child’s name that you walk towards the decking, so the teacher can clearly see who is collecting the child.

August 19, 2020

First of all I would like to express my thanks to you in ensuring your child is wearing the correct school uniform. As you know at PUSCPS we take great pride in our school colours and school uniform as it makes us feel part of our PUSCPS family.

As you are aware the current guidelines are children are not to change into P.E. kit. In order to ensure your child feels comfortable on their P.E. days, we would request that that they wear to school on that day:

white polo shirt/ t-shirt – with school logo or plain
blue sweatshirt/cardigan – with school logo or plain
P7 – black sweatshirt/cardigan
plain black tracksuit bottoms/ joggers
black trainers

girls who are wearing a skirt over their leggings can remove their skirt on P.E. days
we would recommend that they don’t wear their shirt and tie on their P.E. days

In order to continue with our inclusive ethos and promoting our school identity we would request that children don’t wear branded clothing. Please don’t feel that this needs to be actioned immediately, in the meantime children can continue to wear their normal school uniform on P.E. days until you are able to purchase the extras. If you require support with purchasing this kit please let the school know. We also have nearly new school polo shirts and sweatshirts that can be purchased for a donation.

We would request that on non P.E. days children wear their normal school uniform.

Term 1 P.E. Days:

Primary 1 – Mon/Wed
Primary 2/1 – Mon/Thurs
Primary 3/2 – Tues/ Fri
Primary 4/3 – Mon/ Tues
Primary 4 – Mon/Wed
Primary 5 – Tues/Wed
Primary 6 – Mon/Wed
Primary 7 – Mon/Wed

Thank you for your continued support with our uniform guidelines and for bearing with us during this slightly different start to the school year.

August 18, 2020

Drop off and Pick up Arrangements for P1-7

Thank you for bearing with us whilst we organise our routine for children entering and leaving the building. Please find below a reminder of the processes. There are staff on the gates and signage on the fence to support you. These processes are part of our school risk assessment and comply with Scottish Government policy and advice.

Morning Drop off:

Those children wishing to make use of breakfast club should arrive between 8:10-8:30am.
No adults should enter the playground in the morning.
Adults should follow 2m physical distancing guidelines when dropping off at gates.
Adults should not loiter at the gates, please leave the area once you have dropped your child off.

P1-3 Entrance: Infant Side Gate Open 8:48-9:00
P4-5 Entrance: Kick Pitch Gate Open 8:48-9:00
P6-7 Entrance: Upper School Gate Open 8:48-9:00

Afternoon Pick Up:

P1-4 Exit at 3:10-15pm:

One adult per family enters through kick pitch gate.
Leave with your child via the library gate.
All adults should follow 2m physical distancing guidelines.
Adults should not loiter in the playground, please leave once you have picked your child up.
We would recommend parents entering the playground wear a face mask.
The above processes help us to ensure a one way system and support distancing.

P5-7 Exit at 3:15pm: Upper School Gate

Children with younger siblings can enter the playground to meet the adult.
Adults should follow 2m physical distancing guidelines when dropping off at gates.
Adults should not loiter at the gates, please leave once you have dropped your child off.
One adult per family should pick up the child/ren.

Thank you for your support as we continue to put processes in place to support everyone’s safety.

August 17, 2020

Positive Relationships at PUSCPS – New School Values

After consultation with our children, families, staff and partners we have finalised our new school values and motto!

Our values are:

Kind
Confident
Achieving

Our new school motto is:

Growing kind hearts and confident achievers.

We are very excited to launch these and the children will be completing tasks in relation to them over the next few weeks and months.

I hope you will agree with me, that they really sum up what we expect and hope for all our children. Thank you to everyone who supported us with this consultation.

Positive Relationships at PUSCPS (2)

August 14, 2020August 18, 2020

Newsletter – 14/08/2020

14 08 2020 Newsletter

August 6, 2020August 18, 2020

Important Information about the Return to School

Dear parent/ carer,

Please find further information below regarding changes to our school day which follows Scottish Government guidance and takes into place our local risk assessment. Please be assured that staff will be available to support with these new routines to our school day, so please don’t feel confused or overwhelmed, we will support you. There will also be signage up to help direct you.

Nursery

Returning and new nursery children will have received a groupcall email with information about start dates, times and routines. This is also available on our blog. The remainder of this letter is mainly aimed at our primary children.

Primary 1

On Wednesday 12^th August Primary 1 children should be dropped off by one adult between 9:10-9:30am at the playground entrance to their classroom. You should enter and exit through the library gates. You will have the opportunity to take a photo of your child on the class decking. Children should be collected in the playground at 12pm. From Thursday 13^th they should enter the playground as explained below and collected from the playground at 12pm. From Friday 14^th they can attend Breakfast Club if you wish and will be collected at the normal time, as detailed below.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will operate between 8:10-8:48am and is open to all P1-7 children. The entrance to Breakfast Club is as normal through the lunch hall doors. If children are attending Breakfast Club they should arrive, as normal by 8:30am and they will be registered. Breakfast will be served in individual packs and the children will sit at a table allocated for their class. At 8:48am the children will enter the playground with a pupil support worker and line up at their classroom door. We would request that Primary 1 children do not attend Breakfast Club on the 12^th and 13^th August.

Morning routines

The school playground will be closed until 8:48am. Children can enter the playground through their allocated gate between 8:48-9:00am and enter their classroom.

Primary 1-3: The Library Gate
Primary 4-5: Kick Pitch Gate (including those P4 children in P4/3)
Primary 6-7: Upper area side gate

Their classroom doors are labelled with their class name. Children will use hand sanitiser and take off their jacket, etc. Parents as normal, should not enter the playground in the morning. Adults should remember to distance 2m from each other and not gather at the gates. It is very important that children are punctual and arrive by 9am through their appropriate gate. If a child is late, please phone the school and someone will come and collect them outside the office door, this process should only be used in extenuating circumstances.

Staggered Break and Lunch Times

Children will wash their hands/ use hand sanitizer before eating and they will have their break time snack in class. In the playground they will be allocated an area for their class to play and will have a box of playground games for their class. In the dining hall, classes will be allocated a seating area and there will be limited classes in the dining hall at once. School lunches will be served in a disposable box with disposable cutlery. Packed lunches can be brought from home as normal.

Break Times

10:30-10:45am – P1, P2/1, P3/2, P4/3
10:45-11:00am – P4, P5, P6, P7

Lunch Times

12:00-12:45pm – P1, P2/1, P3/2, P4/3
12:45-1:30pm – P4, P5, P6, P7

End Of Day

Primary 5-7 will leave school through their allocated gate at 3:15pm and at 12:25pm on a Friday.

Primary 5: Kick Pitch gate
Primary 6-7: Upper area side gate

Primary 1-4 should be collected from the playground by one adult. The playground will open at 3:05pm and at 12:15pm on a Friday. Adults should enter the playground through the infant side gate and leave with their child/ren via the library gate. This is to avoid congestion and support distancing between adults.

The children will exit from their class door as normal between 3:10-15pm (12:20-12:25pm on a Friday) and the teacher will match them up with their adult. We ask that you exit the playground immediately after collecting your child/children. Adults should maintain 2m physical distancing from other adults and not congregate together in groups. The whole of the playground should be used to help with physical distancing. Please ensure your child is collected by 3:15pm as collection of children will not be available by the office.

Parking

A reminder that the turning circle is a drop off point. The staff carpark and delivery area should not be used by parents and carers. This is very important for the health and safety of our families accessing the school.

Home Learning

On Wednesday 12^th August P5-7 children should access their previous class Team on Glow, using their log in details. For example Primary 7 will access their Primary 7 Team. They will find the learning for Wednesday in the transition channel in their Team. For example Primary 7 will go to the Into Primary 7 Transition Channel.

On Wednesday Primary 2-4 will bring home with them their learning tasks to complete at home on the Thursday when they are not in school.

Home learning choice boards will resume after the September Break weekend.

Access to the Building

In line with the risk assessment, communication from parents/ carers to the school should predominantly be done via the school email address or phone call. Parents will only have access to the building though pre-made appointments, please do not arrive at our office without a pre-made appointment.

Please find below previous information as issued on 5^th August.

Is it safe?	Risk assessments have been completed
When do children come back?	11^th August – is an in-service day for school and ELC staff 12^th August – ELC children who already attend on a Wednesday should attend for their normal session, P1 (9:10-12:00pm), P2, P3 and P4 (Full day) 13^th August – ELC children who already attend on a Thursday should attend for their normal session, P1 (9:10-12:00pm), P5, P6 and P7 (Full day) 14^th August – All school children to attend From Monday 17^th all school and ELC children to attend full time
What should children bring?	We are asking children to bring as little as possible to school. Children can/should bring: · a waterproof coat and any other appropriate clothing to be dry and warm outdoors as we will be outside as much as possible · a labelled water bottle and this should be filled at home each day. · a packed lunch if they wish (school meals are still available). · Pencil cases with their school supplies (the school can also provide these free to families). This helps us to limit the sharing of resources · school bags with just their essentials. · a snack for break time, which they will eat in the classroom. Children should not bring: · a change of shoes – on the return to school children will not be changing into indoor shoes, they will wear their black school shoes indoors and outdoors. · PE kits – on the return to school, children will not be changing into gym kits. Please ensure on their P.E days they wear/ bring trainers. (They might want to wear their school sweatshirt and tshirt on P.E. days). P.E. will initially take place outdoors, as much as we can. · Additional items from home such as games, toys, etc.
What will be different?	Children will have: · to sanitise/wash hands regularly and will spend as much of their day as possible with their class group and their teacher. · a staggered start and end time to the day- details to follow by the end of the week. · staggered lunch and break times – details to follow by the end of the week. · go straight into their class at the start of the school day – details to follow by the end of the week. · limited mixing between classes or large gatherings. · an allocated gate to enter and leave at the start and end of the day. Parents/carers will be asked to: · not gather in the playground or outside the school gates and to maintain 2m distancing at all times · not enter the school unless you have an appointment but instead to communicate using emails or by telephone. · adhere to specific arrangements for P1 parents/carers on their child’s first day to enable a smooth transition, adults will not be able to come into class but we will arrange a transition area to support children with the move into school on their first day. ELC induction for new children who are staring with our ELC will be shared individually with parents/carers.
What will be the same?	Children will still be able to: · wear their school uniform · see their happy, smiley, welcoming staff ready to care for and teach them. We will all support them to settle back into school life. · order lunches as usual on iPay. All families now will have to use iPay to make payments, as cash will not be accepted at the office. · go to Breakfast Club each morning, from 12^th Aug. · order milk for their snack.

During these unprecedented times things can change and we appreciate your continued understanding with this, however these are the plans in place for starting back.

Please be patient with us as we find our new normal and establish new routines to help with everyone’s safety. We are super excited to open our doors and welcome all our school and nursery children back.

Kind regards,

Miss Burton

Head Teacher

6th August Letter

August 5, 2020August 18, 2020

Key Information About Returning to School

Dear parent/ carer,

I hope that you and your family have had a good holiday and that your child is excited about coming back to school. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone soon.

Following the announcement from Scottish Government on Thursday that all children will return to school full-time in August. You will have received a Groupcall message from WLC communication which sets out which days each year group will be in school over the first couple of days. It is available here: https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/back-to-school and I have added details in the table below. Please note that our ELC children will begin to return on Wednesday 12th August and we will be in contact with further guidance to support a safe return. Children starting our ELC for the first time will be contacted individually.

You may also be interested in the Scottish Government advice that is informing our reopening arrangements. You can view this here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-preparing-start-new-school-term-august-2020/

We are currently finalising details to reflect the updated Scottish Government guidance and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our children, staff and families. More information to share new school procedures including arrival/pick up arrangements will be sent out by the end of the week, as we know you will be anxious to get this information so you can prepare for your child returning to school. Until the more detailed information is available I have put together some of the key information which I hope you find helpful.

Is it safe?	Risk assessments have been completed to identify actions to ensure it is safe for children to return within our school.
When do children come back?	11^th August – is an in-service day for school and ELC staff 12^th August – ELC children who already attend on a Wednesday should attend for their normal session, P1 (9:10-12:00pm), P2, P3 and P4 (Full day) 13^th August – ELC children who already attend on a Thursday should attend for their normal session, P1 (9:10-12:00pm), P5, P6 and P7 (Full day) 14^th August – All school children to attend From Monday 17^th all school and ELC children to attend full time
What should children bring?	We are asking children to bring as little as possible to school. Children can/should bring: · a waterproof coat and any other appropriate clothing to be dry and warm outdoors as we will be outside as much as possible · a labelled water bottle and this should be filled at home each day. · a packed lunch if they wish (school meals are still available). · Pencil cases with their school supplies (the school can also provide these free to families). This helps us to limit the sharing of resources · school bags with just their essentials. · a snack for break time, which they will eat in the classroom. Children should not bring: · a change of shoes – on the return to school children will not be changing into indoor shoes, they will wear their black school shoes indoors and outdoors. · PE kits – on the return to school, children will not be changing into gym kits. Please ensure on their P.E days they wear/ bring trainers. (They might want to wear their school sweatshirt and tshirt on P.E. days). P.E. will initially take place outdoors, as much as we can. · Additional items from home such as games, toys, etc.
What will be different?	Children will have: · to sanitise/wash hands regularly and will spend as much of their day as possible with their class group and their teacher. · a staggered start and end time to the day- details to follow by the end of the week. · staggered lunch and break times – details to follow by the end of the week. · go straight into their class at the start of the school day – details to follow by the end of the week. · limited mixing between classes or large gatherings. · an allocated gate to enter and leave at the start and end of the day. Parents/carers will be asked to: · not gather in the playground or outside the school gates and to maintain 2m distancing at all times · not enter the school unless you have an appointment but instead to communicate using emails or by telephone. · adhere to specific arrangements for P1 parents/carers on their child’s first day to enable a smooth transition, adults will not be able to come into class but we will arrange a transition area to support children with the move into school on their first day. ELC induction for new children who are staring with our ELC will be shared individually with parents/carers.
What will be the same?	Children will still be able to: · wear their school uniform · see their happy, smiley, welcoming staff ready to care for and teach them. We will all support them to settle back into school life. · order lunches as usual on iPay. All families now will have to use iPay to make payments, as cash will not be accepted at the office. · go to Breakfast Club each morning, from 12^th Aug. · order milk for their snack.

During these unprecedented times things can change and we appreciate your continued understanding with this, however these are the plans in place for starting back. I will send out more detailed information by the end of the week.

We are super excited to open our doors and welcome all our school and nursery children back.

Kind regards,

Miss Burton

Head Teacher

June 26, 2020August 5, 2020

End of Term Message from Miss Burton

Good morning everyone,

Wow! Can you actually believe it is the end of term?!

It’s hard to believe that 14 weeks ago our school doors closed, but our school community definitely didn’t.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you as parents and carers for your support as we navigated through these unprecedented times. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and for supporting us along the way. In some ways, although we are apart, I feel like we have grown closer. You have done a brilliant job of supporting your child with home learning, please give yourself credit for that.

Thank you to our staff who have quickly adapted to a new way of learning and teaching, and especially for humouring me with my love of making a making a wee video! They have consistently taught our children, showing they care whilst experiencing the personal challenges that lock down brings to us all. Thank you to everyone who also works behinds the scenes- a lot of work goes into running the school smoothly.

Happy retirement to our dear Mrs Ness, who has dedicated 25 years to our school. That is a huge achievement and dedication to our community! She will be greatly missed by us all.

Thank you to our children- we miss them dearly! They are the true stars of PUSCPS. We have loved seeing, and hearing them in Teams, reading emails and seeing their uploads to online learning journals. Good luck to our Primary 7s- they will be greatly missed. It was great to celebrate with them last week, and we know they will go on to make us all proud. Please now take 10 minutes to sit with your child and watch this wee video we made especially for them:

I will be in touch in August once we have a clearer picture of what the school day will look like. August will bring a new normal for us, but for now, rest and try not to worry. None of us like uncertainty, but the one thing that is certain is that we will always be here to support you. We are ready to welcome you and your child back, and we are very excited about that!

Please give your child a big PUSCPS hug from me- I miss them lots.

Happy holidays,

Miss Burton

June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

Veolia Poetry Competition

Some of pupils entered the Veolia Poetry Competition about looking after the planet. Congratulations to Ola who won the competition! Amazing news and fantastic feedback.

Other children who entered the competition had fantastic feedback too! Well done to everyone who entered!

P5 – Connor – This was so close to being our winner, because of the fantastic words used in rhyming, the great local knowledge of the ‘gardyloo’, and the powerful message of ‘one planet-one Scotland’ which captures the global action needed to combat climate change.

P4 – Finlay – Loved how this poem had such a direct call to action- to mobilise people and that it used fantastic repetition. We hope people will do exactly as Finlay asks.

P4 – Jack – This was one of the most original poem entries we had. We loved how Jack managed to make a coral reef sound even more amazing, buy using the whole poem as a metaphor for baking a cake (at least we though cake- others may have thought of other food). It made all of the colours in a reef stand out in out imaginations even more.

P4 – Ruby – This poem had great rhyming and we really liked how Ruby, made us think of the Ocean as a home, rather than just a big pool of water for animals in it. It made the reader even more keen to protect it.

P4 – Sophie Rose –The descriptive language in this poem was the best we have seen from any of our entries. It was so good, it didn’t need the pictures. The language made you imagine all of these horrible scenes happening to Sloths and their environments and really made the reader feel how powerless they are without our support. This poem was also one of the saddest we received. This is not a criticism, it is just testament to well Sophie Rose described a very sad situation.

P4 – Sorley – We loved how Sorley, spelt the word environment using each line of the poem, and we loved how the T at the end was a message that working together we can solve this issue. Sorley also showed great knowledge from renewable energy to melting ice caps.

P4 – Anastacia – We liked that this poem had great use of rhyming. We also really liked the simile about polar bears, and the metaphor about polar bears needing ice to fight climate change. There was a good use of onomatopoeia. We found this a powerful poem.

June 22, 2020

P4 – P7 weekly learning

P4 – P7 Weekly Timetable

Good morning everyone!

Here is the week’s timetable for home learning tasks for the last week of term!

There are also whole-school tasks posted by Miss Burton and P4-6 will have tasks from Mrs Ness. Please remember that there is no pressure to complete everything. Thank you to parents/carers for your continued support.

Monday Spelling – 3 activities from the grid

Numeracy/Maths task

Plus: PE from Joe Wicks(YouTube 9am daily), Duolingo app for French