Milton Primary School

Please find attached two letters, one from Jason Leitch (National Clinical Director) and the other from John Swinney (Deputy First Minister)

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As we patiently await all See-saw permission slips being returned I thought I’d share some photographs of what we’ve been upto.

We are well into our class novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As part of our exploration of the text, we have looked at Factories in Scotland. The children were assigned a factory in their groups and had to work together to construct a model of it as well as find out some facts about it! Look at their amazing work below.

We had a lovely visit down to the woods today. As it were a very short visit we allowed the children some time to reflect on what they’d like their learning to look like in the woods. Mrs Sutherland and I have quite a list of resources to collect ahead of next week’s visit. They then enjoyed some free time to explore the environment- have a look at what they got upto.

Lovely to be out in the great outdoors. Please don’t feel your child needs to be in full uniform on woods days- comfort is much better and perhaps something you don’t mind getting a little dirty!

Please don’t forget we have P.E tomorrow – please ensure your child comes prepared.

See you in the morning. Mrs Christie.

Hello all,

Free sports throughout September for P4 – 7 at ‘the rec’ – starts Monday 31^st August 15:30 – 16:30

THE ACTIVE SCHOOLS TEAM PRESENT – SPORTEMBER!

Active Schools are back with a programme of free sports sessions for P4 – 7 throughout September at ‘the rec’.

Contact Active Schools for a registration form or sign up on the day (please arrive 5 mins early to complete a form).

For further information please contact Jake on 07920 451332 or jake.williams@highlifehighland.com

Good evening all,

Primary 3/4/5 are due to take learning outdoors to Milton Woods tomorrow. I will be making a decision about whether we go ahead with our visit given the current weather situation at lunchtime.

Please can I ask for your assistance in ensuring that your child is appropriately dressed for the weather? Jackets and wellies will most likely be required. Should you have any issue with providing these for your child, please contact the school in the morning and we can arrange for your child to borrow.

It might be a good idea to provide a spare change of clothes/shoes in your child’s bag just in case we go ahead as planned and they become wet/dirty.

Thank you in advance,

Mrs Christie

Thank you to those of who who have emailed consent for your child to use Seesaw. If you haven’t yet given permission, please can you do this ASAP. We are excited to get you all connected and start sharing what we are learning in school, but, we cannot do this until we have permission. Thank you!

Primary 3-5 were getting creative last week and started making characters from their class novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” It really is lovely to see the children back interacting and learning together.

To help the children understand what is ‘Ok and Not Ok’ in relation to Covid when we are in school, the teachers have been using the following visuals to help them remember and refer to.

Please see attached & the message from Jake Williams – Active Schools Co-ordinator:

Touch Rugby Afterschool Club – Ross Sutherland RFC Pitches – Tuesdays 15:30 – 16:30 – 25th August / 1 September / 8 September / 15 September

We’re are trying to make attendance at after school sports a paperless process that still gathers the participant information we need to safely deliver the activity. Suggestions on how we can do this are welcomed but for the moment we are asking that participants should be prepared to provide their medical and emergency contact info verbally at the start of each session.

A specific risk assessment has been completed for this activity and can be viewed on request.

We are aware that positive cases of Covid-19 can cause some local anxiety in the community. Please be reassured that our Health Protection Team is working closely with colleagues within the Highland Council to continually monitor the situation in Highland. Guidance has been provided to teachers in all our schools regarding any incidence of Covid-19 or similar symptoms within the school community.

Pupils and staff should not attend school if any symptoms develop. Please inform the school.

The key message is don’t go to school or work if you are ill

For most people, Covid-19 will be a mild illness. If you develop symptoms you should remain self-isolating at home for 10 days from the date when your symptoms appeared, even if this takes you over the 14 day period currently advised.

Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and further information on testing can be found on NHS Inform. In the event that you develop symptoms, all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days.

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• new continuous cough and/or
• high temperature and/or
• a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19

Do

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Please also follow the five rules that are highlighted in the national FACTS campaign –

• Face coverings in enclosed spaces
• Avoid crowded places indoors or outdoors
• Clean your hands regularly and remember to clean hard surfaces that you might be touching
• Two metre physical distancing remains in place – this is especially important at the school gates when dropping off or collecting your children.
• Self-isolate and book a test if you have any of the symptoms of Covid19 – a cough, a temperature, or a loss of, or change in your sense of taste or smell

There is evidence of increasing transmission across Scotland. Covid19 is still here and it is important that everyone takes responsibility and follows the national guidance to keep them and others safe. Everyone in Highland, Argyll and Bute has a role to play to keep the number of positive cases as low as possible.

Attached is our Covid Phase 3 Risk Assessment for your information.

Mrs Forth and Mrs June have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the children back to the setting over the last week. We appreciate the set up is very different and would like to thank parents for following the guidelines set out by Highland Council and Mrs Dunnett. The children are adapting very well and there is lots of impressive handwashing taking place. We would really appreciate you continuing to encourage this at home.

Mrs Forth sent along some pictures of the children settling into life back at Nursery. Lots of happy faces especially our new Nursery stars who only joined us last Wednesday.

The older children couldn’t resist taking a look to see what the Nursery got up to and to check out the amazing garden improvements Mrs Forth and Mrs June have made – more information to follow.

Good evening,

Following constructive feedback from our Parent Council Meeting tonight (minutes to follow) I would like to update you on a few discussions that should clarify things for you.

From tomorrow we will be using the one gate of entry in the morning (top gate), the other one is used much less and parents felt children were being missed despite our best efforts to keep an eye and man! At 3pm, both gates will be open. Please be mindful and continue to follow social distancing rules.

Please can you remind your child to let us know if they cannot use the school sanitiser and come in with their own and apply it at the gate. If they can only use soap and water, a member of staff will escort them in to wash their hands.

As stated on the parent guide for return to school, changing for P.E is optional but in the wetter weather a change would be advisable. Children can change in the toilets should they feel uncomfortable. This is not a problem. Just let us know!

Medicine

National Guidance on the Administration of Medicines in Schools has been issued by the Scottish Government. https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-children-young-people-healthcare-needs-schools/

NHS Highland, Highland Council and school staff will work collaboratively to ensure that pupils receive the service they need in the way most appropriate to their personal circumstances.  We will work with pupils and parents/carers to support the healthcare in our school, making reasonable adjustments that children and young people with healthcare needs might need and require.

Where appropriate, we will make arrangements for staff providing healthcare to pupils to receive appropriate training from a health professional, or other accredited source in the care they are providing.

Assistance with intimate care may be needed by children in any school and this will be provided if required to support these needs quickly and with respect for children’s privacy, dignity and rights.

If your child requires medication, please note that this will only be administered by staff when there is clear written guidance from a parent/carer, providing:

• The name of the medicine, the quantity of the medicine to be given, the time it has to be given.
• As far as possible prescriptive medication should be given at home by parents/carers. If it is required to be given in school, the medication should be unopen, clearly marked with the directions from the pharmacist and administered as part of an agreed medical protocol.

Please do not send medicines to school with your child without having previously completed the appropriate forms. Due to current COVID regulations forms can be emailed and completed electronically. Contact the school if you wish to do this.

There were lots of questions and queries tonight which was great but please phone or email the school in the first instance and discuss it with us. We are always at the other end to help and discuss concerns or suggestions – I know you can’t come in but we are still here!