We have almost made it through January! A huge well done to everyone for keeping going through such a difficult month of lockdown. As you will be aware, a review is meant to take place on Tuesday, 2nd February in regards to the reopening of schools and we hope to have more information on this by the time of next week’s update.
Parent/Pupil Feedback
Given that we are now 3 weeks into remote learning with at least another 2 ahead of us, surveys have been issued today for parents and P4-7 pupils to gather your views on the current arrangements in place. We would really appreciate your feedback on this and will collate responses next Tuesday. These will inform our next steps as and when we have an announcement of how long the situation will continue.
Submission of work
A reminder regarding submission of work. Currently there is an expectation that pupils in P4-7 are submitting two pieces of work each week for detailed feedback. These pieces of work are clearly identified by class teachers and must be chased up when not submitted. All other work completed should be kept in jotters for review when we return to school. Please encourage pupils to share all of their tasks with you as a matter of encouragement and also to flag up any concerns. Any concerns should be shared with class teachers as they arise. Pupils in P1-3 are asked to send in a photo each week to show what they have been up to in their remote learning.
Contacting Staff
Many of our classes are job share situations and parents are reminded to contact the teacher assigned to the class on the day of their enquiry;
Primary 1 Mrs Templeman (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), Miss Deplano (Tuesday)
Primary 2 Ms MacLennan (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) Mrs Martin (Thursday and Friday)
Primary 6 Mrs Dibble (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) Mrs Murray (Wednesday)
If you could direct your emails to the teacher responsible for the class that particular day, that will ensure the most effective response.
Weekly Focus Topics
Over the past couple of weeks, we have introduced a weekly focus which has been in the form of a variety of activities that pupils of all ages can take part in. These are completely optional but the engagement with these has been fantastic both for Burns week and the RSPB week. Next week is National Storytelling Week and a grid of optional activities to get involved with this is attached above.
Read and Write
As shared last week, the Highland Council have procured a license for Read and Write, an add on program that assists with literacy for pupils. Parents and staff who have used this with pupils have commented on how effective it is. The phrase “game changer” has been used. This is available for all pupils regardless of which devices you are using. A well-attended online training session was held last night and a recording of this can be viewed on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kZcqyhlLpg&feature=youtu.be
Staffing
There are a few changes in staffing to make you aware of; Mrs Anne Galloway, PSA at PPS for a number of years has recently moved to Inverness and taken up a PSA post there. Anne was a huge asset to pupils and staff during her time here and we wish her all the best in her new post. Miss Loughlin, currently on maternity leave, has accepted a post at Sleat Primary School (much closer to home for her!) and will take this up when her maternity leave comes to an end. Most recently, Miss Loughlin was teaching Primary 5 and I know that pupils who were fortunate enough to be taught by her will miss her greatly, as will staff. We wish her well as she returns to work in her new school. These posts will be advertised in time and we look forward to providing you with an update on these.
The ASN post for North Skye, which includes 3 days per week at Portree Primary was recently recruited for and David MacLean was the successful applicant. We await further information about his start date, however, Mrs Strachan will continue to cover on a supply basis in the ASN capacity until Mr MacLean takes up his post. Mrs Strachan has been invaluable to PPS over the last few months and will also be greatly missed.
Parent Council
The Parent Council will meet, virtually, on Wednesday 10th February at 7pm. All parents are welcome to attend and instructions for joining will be issued closer to the time.
We look forward to updates next week around the return to schools/extension of remote learning and will hopefully have further information in time for next week’s update.
As always, keep up the good work, remember that the health and wellbeing of everyone is the priority at the moment. Please get in touch with any questions or concerns or if there are any ways that we can support you further.
Regards,
Sara
https://portreeprimary.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/national-storytelling-week-activity-grid.pdf
portreeprimaryschool.com 