I hope that this finds you very well. It has been a busy fortnight since my last update and there is lots to report and celebrate but I will try to be concise!
Staffing
Interviews for our 0.7 permanent class teacher vacancy took place on Tuesday 18th April and I am delighted to inform you that we appointed Miss Rachael Fraser, who is currently covering a maternity leave at Tayvallich School. Miss Fraser will continue to cover that post until June, although there will be opportunities before the summer for her to work with us and get to know the pupils and school. I will continue to cover the vacancy and teach in the interim to provide consistency.
Floating Classroom Visit
Our P5, 6 and 7 pupils had the opportunity to take part in the fantastic floating classroom workshops with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust on Wednesday 26th April and literally had a whale of a time. The staff on the Silurian helped us learn a huge amount and we had perfect weather for the visit. The pupils’ behaviour and engagement was exemplary and the children were an absolute credit to the school and their families. Check out the photos from the first group’s visit on our Gallery pages here: https://www.glassary.argyll-bute.sch.uk/silurian-floating-classroom/
Photos of the second group will follow.
Parent Council funding update
We are absolutely delighted to announce that The Community Funding Panel, a voluntary group of local community representatives working on behalf of A’Chruach Wind Farm has decided to award all primary school Parent Councils/ PTA’s in the area of benefit (Lochgilphead, Dunadd and West Loch Fyne Community Council Areas) an annual sum of £3,000.00 to support a programme of extra-curricular and offsite activity. The Parent Council has been working hard with the Panel to clarify which projects are eligible for funding from this source and the first will be the P7 residential to the Lochranza Centre on Arran. Many thanks to our Parent Council office bearers for their work on this.
P7 to S1 Transition
Following the Google Meet with Mr Turnbull last term, the next transition activity for our P7s will be a visit to the High School on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th May. Permission slips will be issued this week. You can find all the other key dates and information issued so far by the High School by clicking the links here:
http://www.glassary.argyll-bute.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/welcome-booklet-for-P7s.docx
http://www.glassary.argyll-bute.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/letter-13-03.pdf
http://www.glassary.argyll-bute.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sample-menu.pdf
Seesaw and communication
You may be aware that the direct message function in Seesaw has been switched off at Local Authority Level. GDPR issues mean that Seesaw must only be used for communication with class teachers about teaching and learning and homework.
Homework or class tasks can still be assigned to your child so that you can see them, as long as you are logged in to see work for your child using the access code you have been sent. Announcements can be sent to you by the class teacher, however you can no longer messages or respond to announcements.
If you have any messages or information that you need to share with school you must use the following channels to do this:
Absence:
If your child has an unplanned absence from school (for example due to illness) we require you to let us know this and the reason for the absence, either by telephoning the school office on 01546 605219 and speaking to someone or leaving a voicemail or by sending an email to enquiries-glassary@argyll-bute.gov.uk, before 9.15am on the day of the absence.
If your child is going to be off for a planned absence (for example a medical appointment), please telephone or email about this with as much notice as possible.
Any other information:
If you need us to know about any changes in your child’s life that may affect them at school or have questions or queries about something that has happened or is going to happen in school, please contact me by phoning 01546 605049 to speak with me or leave a voicemail, or email lena.carter@argyll-bute.gov.uk.
I will always endeavour to respond to you within 2 working days and ensure that key information is shared with other staff as required.
If you require urgent assistant or have an emergency involving your child during the school day, please be aware that school may not be able to respond immediately.
Please consider calling your GP, the emergency services or Children and Families Social Work for help.
School photos
It has been agreed with the Parent Council that school photos will be taken this term by Mr Stephen Carter, local photographer and (disclaimer) my husband. Steve will offer his services as a volunteer and has been checked by Disclosure Scotland for this purpose. There will be no cost to the school or families for this service and the school will provide each family with digital copies of the photos of their child so that you can then order prints from a provider of your choice, if you wish. More information and dates to follow.
Coats
Although we are delighted that Spring and better weather are here, may I please remind you that your child should bring a raincoat to school in case we are outside for play or PE activities.
Parental feedback
This is a polite request that you complete this term’s feedback survey (link issued with the previous update) by the end of this week May 5th. So far we have only had 3 responses. We look forward to hearing your views on how we are doing as a school. We will soon be working on our improvement priorities for next session and your feedback will be very important in shaping this work.
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need to.
