LATEST HEADTEACHER NEWSLETTER
LETTER FROM LORNA FRENCH (ACTING CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER) REGARDING THE RETURN TO SCHOOL
Return to School 16 August 2021.2
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER REGARDING RETURN TO SCHOOL ON 18/8/21
Dear Parent/Carers
I hope you all had a fantastic Summer! We are very excited to welcome our returning children back after a long holiday and our new pupils to Hermie.
As you will be aware the Scottish Government has confirmed that we are now at Level 0. They have also issued updated guidance on reducing the risk in schools. This has been very welcome news and I will give further updates on the adaptions we will be making to continue to keep the school community safe in the coming weeks. However, the important good news headlines are –
- We no longer need to keep the children in class bubbles.
- Pupils no longer need to isolate if identified as a close contact of a positive case for 10 days but will need to remain at home until they have completed a PCR and received a negative test result.
However, we also need to remain cautious and vigilant as a school community. Some of the key actions we will keep in place within school are –
- Ongoing frequent handwashing and reminders of good hygiene practices with all pupils and staff.
- Our one-way system.
- We will continue to monitor the ventilation of classrooms and keep windows and doors open where possible.
- We are not yet permitted to hold large gatherings such as assemblies.
- Parents are not yet permitted to enter the school building unless it is deemed necessary for the wellbeing of a child.
- Parents/Carers of Nursery – P4 are permitted to enter the school grounds at drop off and pick up but we would kindly request that Parents/Carers of P5-7 remain outside the school gates (unless waiting for a sibling). We would also remind Parents/Carers to avoid gatherings and remain distanced from other Parents/Carers where possible.
- In order to limit gatherings of children and parents we will continue to have staggered breaks/lunches and will keep our staggered start and finish times (this will be reviewed within 6 weeks of the start of term following advice from the Scottish Government).
- Staff will continue to wear face coverings in shared areas and when communicating face to face with adults.
- Parents/Carers are asked to wear a face covering at all times within the school grounds at pick up and drop off.
- Parents/Carers are advised to keep your child off school and book a test if they have a temperature, continuous cough or change in their sense of smell/taste.
We know from previous outbreaks how quickly this virus can spread and as such I would ask that all Parents/Carers support us with the above ongoing actions.
A Reminder of the Start and Finish Times – August 2021
Staff will be in the playground at the start of the day to support Pupils/Parents and Carers with lining up at the correct entrances.
We would ask that children arrive as close to their start time as possible. We recognise that some siblings will need to arrive early and they are now welcome to play with peers during this time. The school breakfast club will re-start in Week 2 and letters will go out on the first day of term.
We would ask that Primary 3 parents dropping off or picking up in the back playground should arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before drop off and pick up or wait outside the main gates to ensure the back playground has space for Nursery, P5 and P6 pupils to line up without mixing with large gatherings of adults.
|
Class |
Start Time/Finish Time: Monday – Thursday |
Start Time/Finish Time: Friday |
Lining up Entrance Point/Dismissal Point |
Classroom |
|
Nursery |
8.45am -3.25pm |
9.05-12.25pm |
Nursery Garden |
Nursery Class |
|
P1A |
8.45am – 2.50pm |
8.45am – 11.50am |
Outside dining hall |
Current P1A Classroom |
|
P1B |
8.45am – 2.50pm |
8.45am – 11.50am |
Outside dining hall |
Current P1B Classroom |
|
P1/2 |
8.45am – 2.50pm |
8.45am – 11.50am |
Outside current P2 entrance |
Current P2A Classroom |
|
P2 |
8.45am – 2.50pm |
8.45am – 11.50am |
Outside current P2 entrance |
Current P2B Classroom |
|
P3A |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Back playground entrance |
Current P7A Classroom |
|
P3B |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Back playground entrance |
Current P7B Classroom |
|
P4A |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Outside P4A Classroom |
Current P4A Classroom |
|
P4B |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Outside P4B Classroom |
Current P4B Classroom |
|
P5A |
8.45am – 3.15pm |
8.45am – 12.00 |
Outside P5A Classroom |
Current P5 Classroom |
|
P5B |
8.45am – 3.15pm |
8.45am – 12.00 |
Outside P5B Classroom |
Current P5/6 Classroom |
|
P6 |
8.45am – 3.15pm |
8.45am – 12.00 |
Outside P6 Classroom |
Current P6 Classroom |
|
P6/7 |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Outside current P3A Classroom |
Current P3A Classroom |
|
P7 |
9am – 3.30pm |
9am – 12.15pm |
Outside current 3B Classroom |
Current P3B Classroom |
Physical Education (PE)
Children will not need to bring a PE kit in the first week of term. The good news is that children are now allowed to change for PE in school. As a result, we will be asking pupils to bring a PE kit in a named bag that can be left in school in Week 2. This should include plimsoles or trainers, a t-shirt and shorts/leggings or tracksuit bottoms. If your child wears tights, please include socks. All items should be labelled with your child’s name and the class teacher will send these home at set points in the year to be washed. These items do not need to be in school colours and can be items that your child already has in their wardrobe. As always, please contact Mrs Black or the school office if you will have financial difficulty with providing a kit and we will do our best to find a solution. No football kits please.
Other Items from Home
We would ask that all pupils bring a named water bottle into school. Juice is not permitted. Children are allowed to bring their own named pencil case but this is not required as we also provide stationary. We would ask that pupils do not bring any toys from home into school unless agreed with the class teacher for a specific purpose.
School Lunches
Lunches should be ordered on ParentPay by a Wednesday evening. If you have not ordered lunches for Week 1 please provide a packed lunch.
I am really looking forward to an exciting year ahead!
Best wishes,
Faye Calder-Kelly (Headteacher)
CONTACTING THE SCHOOL
Please do not enter the school building/visit the office in person unless at the request of office staff You will be able to contact staff through emailing the office on admin@hermitagepark.edin.sch.uk or contacting the office by phone. It is vitally important that we have up to date emergency contact numbers and an email address. Please email the office if yours has changed.
Parent Help Sheets – Accessing and supporting home learning
Here are a number of help sheets that may be helpful to our families to access teams for our daily class check-ins.
Teams Meetings – Advice for Pupils
Accessing Teams via Games Console
Teams Meeting using a tablet or phone
Teams Meetings – using a laptop
Letter sent to parents with further advice on logging into teams
Parent Guide for Learning Journals –
Parent Guide
Parent leaflets on supporting reading and setting learning routines at home.
7_Top_Tips_to_Support_Reading_at_Home
Supporting_home_learning_routines_-_Planning_the_day
If you, or someone you know, is struggling during this very difficult time we have gathered together a list of supports available. As we become aware of others we will update this page. Click Here
We have provided USEFUL WEBSITES which you may want to use while your child is at home, we will try to update this throughout the closure. Click Here
For medical information please see the NHS Scotland Website. Click Here
Why not try some of the recipes from our Hermie cookbook – see below?
