St Cuthbert's RC Primary School

     St. Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

                           Newsletter 10– Friday 15^th October 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Hard to believe that we have reached half term already. It’s been a quick term. I hope that it has gone well for you and your families. Please see our latest newsletter below. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

October Holidays 18^th-25^th October 2021 – Return Tuesday 26^th October 2021

Please note the above information. Staff return on the Monday but pupils won’t return until the Tuesday. We hope you all have a lovely break with your families.

Summary School Renewal Plan and Pupil Friendly Version

As you may be aware schools create and work through a Renewal (formerly School Improvement) Plan every year. This plan is designed to keep the school improving and moving forward. We have summarised this year’s plans for you via a summary ‘driver diagram’. This can be found on the ‘SQIP’ section of the school website. We have also included a child friendly version created by our Pupil Rights and Equalities Group with Miss Munro filed under the same tab. Please take the time to read this and let us know your thoughts.

Preventing and Responding to Bullying and Discrimination amongst Children and Young People Policy

Please note that this policy has been added on to the ‘school information for parents’ section of the website.

PSA Staff Retirement

Mrs Liz Krol has decided to take early retirement and will be leaving us on Thursday 28th October.   Mrs Krol has worked in our school as a PSA for over twenty years and has shared her knowledge and understanding helping hundreds of children with their education during this time.   I am sure you will all join me in wishing Mrs Krol a very long and happy retirement.

P7 School Camp Opportunity – 15^th-19^th November 2021

Thank you for your response which was overwhelmingly in favour of taking up the opportunity. A letter and additional information was sent out yesterday as promised. Please return the requested forms by Tuesday 26^th October and let us know if you have any questions.

Return to Standard School Day Timings from Tuesday 26^th October 2021

Please note that from this date onwards we will revert to our pre Covid school day. Should we at any stage (God forbid) experience a resurgence of Covid cases, staggered timings may have to be re-introduced but otherwise the plan is that these standard timings will remain in place for the rest of the school year. We realise that balancing these different starting times has been challenging for families and thank you for your support and patience. We hope this change will make your mornings a bit easier for you.

Finally, please note that pupils will now be able to enter the playground pre morning bell but that footballs should not be taken into the playground area.

Class	Start	Finish (Mon-Thurs)	Finish (Friday)
P1	8.55am	3pm	12.20pm
P2	8.55am	3pm	12.20pm
P3	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P4	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P5	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P6	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P7	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
LCC1	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
LCC2	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm

School Milk

If you have recently  ordered and paid for milk, please remember this will start on Tuesday 26^th October

School Lunches

If you have not already ordered a school lunch for when we return to school (26^th October) please remember to send your child with a packed lunch from home.

Easyfundraising – Feel Good Shopping (Information Only – No Obligation)

Easyfundraising is the UK’s biggest charity shopping site.  It’s simple and free to use and can turn your online shopping into free donations for our School Fund.   If you haven’t signed up as yet and would like to do so, the process is easy and completely free.  There are over 6,000 shops and sites which donate to our School Fund when you use easyfundraising to do your everyday/Christmas online shopping, and at no extra cost to you!  If you are interested, please have a look at the website, (easyfundraising.org.uk) register and search ‘causes’ for St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School, Edinburgh, start shopping and help boost our School Fund!

Learning Conversation with P4

This will take place week beginning 25^th October and reported in that week’s newsletter.

St Cuthbert’s School Football Team

Another fine victory for the team v St Peter’s. The coaches were unsure as to whether final score was 8 or 9 -0. Well done everyone!

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/New Temporary Priest

Fr Aidan left us with our thanks last week. He will be temporarily replaced by Fr John Peter from the Cathedral until a full-time replacement can be announced. We hope to meet with Fr John Peter soon and look forward to working with him during his time with us.

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

Nursery Update

This week we had our first parents’ consultations! We would like to thank all our parents for their time and their feedback, greatly appreciated.

We have had a busy week as usual and we have been making use of our garden regardless of the changing weather. We would also like to thank our parents for providing suitable clothing for the current weather. We have explored a lot of messy play both indoors and outdoors. We looked at floating and sinking in our water trays and we are getting familiar with why some things float and some do not.

As we celebrate Black History Month we have listened to Black musicians’ songs and talked about famous black people. We have been reading Elmer (the elephant with many colours) to facilitate our discussions on how we are all different but equal as well as how we have different skin tones and colours.

We continued exploring Goldilocks and the Three Bears as well as our Autumn themes.  We are still discovering and learning more about these themes.

Our Term time children will be on holiday next week and we will see them back on the 26^th. We hope they have a great time with their families. Our 50-week children will be in on Wednesday and Thursday from 8-4.

Finally

Have a great holiday and we look to seeing everyone back at 8.55am on Tuesday 26^th October.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School

     St. Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

                           Newsletter 9– Friday 8^th October 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for taking time to read through the information below. As always, please ask if you have any questions. See contact details at the bottom of this newsletter.

Return to Standard Timings from Tuesday 26^th October 2021

Please note that from this date onwards we will revert to our pre Covid school day. Should we at any stage (God forbid) experience a resurgence of Covid cases, staggered timings may have to be re-introduced but otherwise the plan is that these standard timings will remain in place for the rest of the school year. We realise that balancing these different starting times has been challenging for families and thank you for your support and patience. We hope this change will make your mornings a bit easier for you.

Finally, please note that pupils will now be able to enter the playground pre morning bell but that footballs should not be taken into the playground area.

Class	Start	Finish (Mon-Thurs)	Finish (Friday)
P1	8.55am	3pm	12.20pm
P2	8.55am	3pm	12.20pm
P3	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P4	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P5	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P6	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
P7	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
LCC1	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm
LCC2	8.55am	3.20pm	12.30pm

Parent Consultations

Thank you to all who have taken part in these valuable discussions this week. The final consultations will conclude next week. Please remember to be available for your allocated telephone call or Teams meeting (which if you responded to our initial letter will be on the day and within the timeframe you chose or if you did not reply to that letter, will take place at the time we allocated you which is shown on the slips we sent home). If you have any questions at all about these consultations please let us know.

School Milk

Unfortunately it appears that several parents have paid for milk twice.  Those doing so paid once when orders were originally requested in May/June for starting back in August and then a second time this month .   It is quite a lengthy process to refund money through ParentPay so please, if you paid for milk earlier this year, do not pay again.   Those who have paid twice will have their money refunded in due course. Please contact us if you wish to discuss this issue.

School Lunches

If you wish your child to have a school lunch on the week we return from the October break (Tuesday 26^th October), please note that this MUST be booked no later than Wednesday 13^th October.  If you do not book a school lunch please remember to send a lunch from home.

Easyfundraising – Feel Good Shopping (Information Only – No Obligation)

Easyfundraising is the UK’s biggest charity shopping site.  It’s simple and free to use and can turn your online shopping into free donations for our School Fund.   If you haven’t signed up as yet and would like to do so, the process is easy and completely free.  There are over 6,000 shops and sites which donate to our School Fund when you use easyfundraising to do your everyday/Christmas online shopping, and at no extra cost to you!  If you are interested, please have a look at the website, (easyfundraising.org.uk) register and search ‘causes’ for St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School, Edinburgh, start shopping and help boost our School Fund!

P7 School Camp Opportunity

Thank you for your response which was overwhelmingly in favour of taking up the opportunity. More information will follow as soon as it becomes available.

Learning Conversation with P4

This will take place week beginning 25^th October and reported in that week’s newsletter.

St Cuthbert’s School Football Team

Another victory for St Cuthbert’s versus South Morningside on Saturday. A closer contest this time resulted in a 5-3 victory. Well done all! The team’s next match is at home to St Peter’s Primary school on Saturday.

Active Schools Information

Please see attached separately with this newsletter, information regarding a P3-7 Multi-sports camp to be held during the holiday week. Please also see separately attached details re a P6-S2 Rugby Club at Forrester High School.

Lost Property

There is still a large amount of this on our premises, please try to put names on items so they can more easily be re-united with their owners. We will keep our current stock until we break for the October holiday, please feel very welcome to come and look through if you wish. Items left on October 15th will be recycled.

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/New Temporary Priest

Fr Aidan left us with our thanks last week. He will be temporarily replaced by Fr John Peter from the Cathedral until a full-time replacement can be announced. We hope to meet with Fr John Peter soon and look forward to working with him during his time with us.

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

Nursery Update

This week’s soggy conditions have not put our children off venturing outside. There has been lots of outdoor activity: Splashy footprint painting, hunting for insects in the garden to populate our bug hotel, Goldilocks roleplaying and, of course, another giant volcano!

Next week we will be looking at floating and sinking. Children have frequent experiences with objects floating and sinking in the bath, in a swimming pool or at the beach. They form understandings from an early age about these ideas and equally importantly the words used to describe them. Children tend to pay little attention to why things float or sink so the team support the children to perform simple tests on objects in water to help them develop an understanding of the forces involved in floating and sinking.

We will also continue to explore Goldilocks and the Three Bears, as there is so much more to discover in this favourite fairy tale.

Stay up to date with your child’s learning by logging in to their profile on Learning Journals: Your Learning Journals.

Catch up with what is going on in nursery and find out the latest information about Early Years in Scotland on Twitter: St Cuthbert’s RC Nursery Class (@StCNurseryClass) / Twitter

Finally

Have a great weekend – let’s hope the weather improves.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School

     St. Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

                           Newsletter 8– Friday 1^st October 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for taking time to read through the information below. As always, please ask if you have any questions. See contact details at the bottom of this newsletter. Please note that this newsletter will be posted on the website and app today as normal but will not be posted on Learning Journals until Monday.

Parent Consultations

Thanks to all those who returned their slips this week. If you have indicated that you would prefer a Teams consultation you will receive an invite via your child’s Teams account. If you have ticked that you would prefer a telephone call, you will be called at a time within the bounds of the time interval you chose on your tear off slip.  If you haven’t replied we will allocate you a time, you will receive a slip to confirm this next week. Please do ask us, if you have any questions.

P6 & P7 Ties & Uniform – Thank You

Huge thanks to all parents and carers for supporting us with this. As stated previously uniform helps foster both a sense of team spirit and corporate identity. It also helps reinforce the high expectations we have for all of our pupils. Finally, high standards of uniform are expected at High School so getting used to wearing a tie and uniform in P6 and P7 also helps support Transition.

School Milk

If you missed the original deadline and would like your child to have milk in school daily from 26^th October to 30^th June 2022, please order and pay for this via your Parent Pay account. The cost is £25.16 (17pm per 200ml tetrapak). Please note that the deadline for ordering is Wednesday 13^th October.

Flu Immunisations

Please note as previously advised, that these took place in the school today. If you didn’t complete and return the NHS request form and you wish your child to be vaccinated please contact your GP.

Active School Clubs

Great to see these taking place again – another step back towards pre-Covid normality.

P7 School Camp Opportunity

A letter was sent out about this yesterday, we look forward to hearing your views.

Learning Conversation with P5

I visited P5 on Friday for an excellent learning conversation. The focus was Literacy, specifically writing. The class told me that they enjoyed writing as it allowed them to express themselves, although they did say it required a lot of effort. The strengths shared included: imagination, having good ideas, use of paragraphs and excellent presentation skills. The pupils knew their strengths from self-assessment against the success criteria as well as feedback from peers, teachers and parents/carers. Next steps in writing included: better punctuation, including more detail, better use of planning and balancing different types of vocabulary such as adjectives and adverbs. When asked how they would make their next steps, the class reached a consensus that listening to and acting on feedback and self-assessment combined with practice would help them achieve progress.

P2 Homework and Twitter – Next Week

Please note that twitter posts will start from Monday and that homework will begin this Friday. Apologies for the delay which was due to Miss Donnelly’s absence.

St Cuthbert’s School Football Team

Our team won again last Saturday. Watched by amongst others, Mrs Mulvagh, the team defeated Gracemount 18 goals to 3. We wish them all the best in their next game versus South Morningside on Saturday.

Lost Property

There is still a large amount of this on our premises, please try to put names on items so they can more easily be re-united with their owners. We will keep our current stock until October, please feel very welcome to come and look through if you wish. Items left on October 18th will be recycled.

P7 Mass and Pope Francis Faith Award Enrolment

Fr Aidan kindly joined us today to celebrate a class Mass with P7 on the feast day of St Therese. He also celebrated an enrolment ceremony with P6 who will be embarking on the 2 year Pope Francis Faith Award this year. We will post some additional info about this award on the P6 Learning Journals page next week.

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/New Temporary Priest

Fr Aidan will be leaving us after this weekend and temporarily replaced by Fr John Peter from the Cathedral until a full-time replacement can be announced. We are grateful for Fr Aidan’s ministry with us and look forward to working with Fr John Peter.

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

Nursery Update

We have had a very EXPLOSIVE end to this week – the children took part in a volcano experiment! In this hands-on experience, children learn how ingredients are combined to create chemical reactions. The St. Cuthbert’s team support the children as they develop their concept knowledge, vocabulary, their ability to make predictions and explain their thinking.

It is officially Autumn, and the nursery activities have reflected that. We have discovered new and unusual recipes to use up our nursery apples; fondue apple pancakes anyone? Children have collected and classified the fallen leaves in the garden and have been using them in the art area.

Next week we will be looking at nocturnal animals and hibernation. The children will prepare our Bug Hotel, ready for visiting minibeasts – a great opportunity to study insects up close. Our book of the week is Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You can familiarise your children with the story on YouTube:

Goldilocks And The Three Bears | Fairytales for Kids | Cartoonito UK – YouTube

The weather forecast for next week is rain and wind so don’t forget your wellies, woollies and waterproofs.

Finally

Have a good weekend.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School

     St. Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

                           Newsletter 7– Friday 24^th September 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for taking time to read through the information below. As always, please ask if you have any questions. See contact details at the bottom of this newsletter.

P7 Ties & Uniform

We believe that wearing uniform sets the purposeful community ethos that we want for our school.

Our next step with building this ethos, is, as previously mentioned, the introduction of our new P7 ties which have now finally arrived. The school has funded these for all P7 pupils.

Our senior pupils having their own distinctive tie, not only marks them (and P7 pupils in years to come) as senior pupils within our community but is also an excellent preparation for Secondary School, where wearing uniform and ties is a daily expectation. As our second most senior class, P6 will also be given a regular school tie to wear, again free of charge.

It is not just P6 and P7 where uniform is important however and we thank all of our parents and carers who make such an effort to ensure that pupils in all classes wear the school’s uniform.

Please note that the school has a stock of good condition uniform items that can be obtained upon request. Please don’t hesitate to ask.

Parent Consultations

These will take place via Teams or Telephone (your choice) over the fortnight from 4^th October to 17^th October.  Please see the letter which has been sent home today. We apologise for short turnaround time but would ask that the tear off slip is returned by Wednesday 29^th September. Please ask if you have any questions.

Homework

Homework began this week. Whilst paper copies are available, our primary aim is to maintain our digitial learning skills by using Teams. New Teams have been set up for each class but existing user names and passwords should be used. We will be passing on Teams passwords to class teachers over the next week for anyone who has forgotten theirs. This will hopefully be done by next Friday 1^st. Should you require any help with passwords after this date please contact our office.

School Milk

If you missed the original deadline and would like your child to have milk in school daily from 26^th October to 30^th June 2022, please order and pay for this via your Parent Pay account. The cost is £25.16 (17pm per 200ml tetrapak). Please note that the deadline for ordering is Wednesday 13^th October.

Crossing Patrol Person

Good news! Please note that we now have a new Crossing Patrol person, Rab took up his position from Wednesday and will be there going forward.

Active School Clubs Begin Next Week

Thank you for the quick response, the available spaces for our clubs are now fully taken and they will start next week. We hope to be able to offer more choice after Christmas but are happy that a good start has been made. Thanks again to all of our volunteers: Mr Evans, Mr Silver and Mr Vilanova.

Swimming – A Thank You

Thank you to P5 and our Parent volunteers who took our first whole class trip since the pandemic on Thursday. They represented the school really well.

Sharing Learning Via Twitter – P1 and P2 Update

Please note that with Miss Donnelly’s return P2 will now tweet on a Tuesday alongside P1.

Please also note that our Star Learners and Pupils of the week are celebrated on twitter every Friday.

Learning Conversation with P5 – Next Week

The next of my learning conversations will take place on Thursday 17^th September. The focus will be Literacy. I’ll update you in next week’s newsletter.

St Cuthbert’s School Football Team

Our team recorded a convincing 15-1 victory over Craigour Park – a brilliant start. This Saturday they face Gracemount, again at St Cuthbert’s pitch. Big thanks to Mr Howie for his hard work which makes the running of the team possible.

Lost Property

There is still a large amount of this on our premises, please try to put names on items so they can more easily be re-united with their owners. We will keep our current stock until October, please feel very welcome to come and look through if you wish. Items left on October 18th will be recycled.

Nursery Update

Pirate week was a huge success!  On Thursday we had a full crew of pirates in the nursery; searching for treasure, walking the plank, creating maps and searching the seven seas with telescopes. The children listened to My Granny Is a Pirate by Val McDermid and sang some pirate songs. This has inspired wonderful conversations about islands and volcanoes so next week our little volcanologists will be doing some BIG experiments – watch this space!

As it is now decidedly Autumnal outdoors the children have harvested our apples before they are blown down by the wind. Next week we will be baking with them and learning all about the autumn season.

Thank you to parents for bringing your children up to the door in the mornings. The team think it is working well and children are coming in happily after saying goodbye to their family.

We have a Soft-Start here at St. Cuthbert’s, meaning that the day starts off with free play from 8:30-9:00am. After that we get our day started with a big welcome. Please try and have your child in nursery before 9am – we don’t want them to miss any of the fun!

Remember your wellies, woollies and waterproofs next week.

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/Fr Aidan

No news yet on any change and we are very happy to still have the support of Fr Aidan. Fr will be coming into to celebrate a class Mass with P7 next Friday.

I will update you as soon as I hear about any change in priest.

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

 Have a good weekend.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School

     St. Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

                           Newsletter 6– Friday 17^th September 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for taking time to read through the information below. As always, please ask if you have any questions. See contact details at the bottom of this newsletter.

September Weekend Holiday – Monday 20^th September

Please note that the above date is a holiday and both staff and children will return to school on Tuesday 21^st September.

Active Schools Update – Booking Now Open

Our offer for this term has now been shared via our digital platforms. We will post again with this newsletter. Please note links to online booking are on the document. If anyone needs any help with the booking process, please let us know. Thanks to all those staff and parent volunteers who have kindly given of their time.

Trees

The tree outside the main gate was damaged whilst our skip was being taken away on Monday. When the team came out to rectify this issue they surveyed the other trees surrounding the school, identifying several which were dead or dying. These were the ones removed. Please note that no living tree was cut down.

Homework – w/c 21^st September 2021

We will start homework from week commencing 20^th September.

Homework will be given out weekly, using Teams as the main platform but  paper copies can be supplied upon request.

It will be given out on Friday with an expected return date of the following Thursday. Giving time for parents/carers to support over a weekend if desired.

Content should include Literacy, Numeracy/ Maths and one other curricular area. All tasks aim to consolidate in-class learning.

Swimming –  P5 Classes Start Thursday 23^rd September

P5 swimming will start next Thursday and for the next 8 weeks thereafter:

P5 (9 weeks) 23/9/21 – 25/11/21

Parent helpers are vital to us being able to support this important learning. If you are able to add your name to our bank of helpers, please contact our office team. Thank you so much to all those who have done so – it is greatly appreciated.

John Muir Trust P6 Outdoor Learning – Starting Thursday 30^th September

As part of their work towards the John Muir Award, Primary 6 will be taking part in outdoor sessions as follows:

Dates:  Thursdays      30/09/21    1.15-3pm

                                    7/10/21     10-12noon

                                   4 /11/21     10-12noon

                                 18 /11/21     10-12noon

Could all children please come to school on these days wearing appropriate warm clothing and waterproof coats and shoes. Thank you.

Late Arrivals/Absences

Great to see a slight reduction in the number of late arrivals this week. Thank you to all concerned. Please do your utmost to ensure that the children arrive on time.

If your child is going to be absent please call and inform our office. If there is no answer it is perfectly okay to leave a message. If you could do this prior to 9am, it would be greatly appreciated.  Please also state the reason for your child’s absence.

P7 Ties & Uniform

Apologies that our supplier has been unable to supply us with our distinctive new P7 ties which were expected last week. They are now expected to arrive next week and will be issued in time for pupils to wear them hopefully week commencing 27^th September. We will also supply P6 with a tie at that time to help them set a similar example as senior pupils.

Please continue to ensure that all pupils in all classes wear uniform. It really does set a positive tone and help us with our ethos building.

Sharing Learning Via Twitter – P1 and P2 Update

Please note that P1 weekly tweets have now commenced alongside those posted by our other classes and will continue to be posted on a Monday. P2 will also tweet on a Monday when Miss Donnelly returns.

Learning Conversation with P6 -Literacy Focus

Every member of P6 took part in our conversation on Thursday. They told me about learning they had engaged with connected to spelling words with a silent b, using metaphors and similes as well as persuasive writing. The strengths in learning they shared included dictionary skills, the use of simile and metaphor as well as cursive handwriting. The class stated that they knew what their strengths were from self-assessment against success criteria, peer and teacher feedback. Next steps in learning identified included decoding challenging words, upskilling and improving writing and presenting work to a higher standard. Practice was identified as a key way of getting better as well as help from peers, family, teachers and supporting adults in the class. Well done P6!

St Cuthbert’s School Football Team

Our team makes their competitive debut v Craigour Park Primary School on Saturday at St. Cuthbert’s. We wish them all the best and will report on how they got on in next week’s newsletter.

Nursery Update

Shiver me timbers! Next week is Pirate week in Nursery. We’ll be searching for buried treasure using our treasure maps and reading My Granny is a Pirate by Val McDermid.

This week we are still focused on babies and caring for others. As our new children settle into the routine of nursery we are learning to share and be kind to others.

The children enjoyed the 3 Little Pigs; listening to the story, re-enacting the exciting parts when role-playing in the garden, and building the pigs houses using household junk.

As we move into autumn and the weather is more changeable, please remember to bring wellies, waterproofs and warmer clothes. We also have had some autumnal sunshine, so please hand in some sun cream for staff to apply on bright afternoons. The children are outside exploring, and experimenting come rain or shine!

Next week we ask parents to bring the children through the side gate directly to the nursery door. To keep us all safe from possible Covid transmission, no more than two children (with a parent/carer) in the nursery grounds at any given time. Masks should be worn by adults. Please remember to close the gate behind you. Pick-ups will be from the usual front gate.

Letter from Jason Leitch – National Clinical Director

This was posted on our digital platforms yesterday.

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/Fr Aidan

I spoke to Fr Aidan this week and he will continue to be our acting school chaplain and will say Mass at both St Cuthbert’s and Our Lady’s Currie in the short term. We hope to hear from the Archdiocese about more permanent plans shortly. Fr Aidan will join P7 for a class Mass on Friday 1^st October.

Please see website for details of times and how to book a place.

https://www.stcuthbertschurch.com

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

Finally

We look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday 21^st September. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School

Dear Parents/Carers

Please find attached a copy of a letter from National Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch to all parents/carers of children in ELC settings and school age pupils.

Kind regards

Pat Brack

Head Teacher

St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

0131 443 2621

Dear Parents/Carers,

Please see attached details of our Active Schools offer for Term 1. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Pat Brack

Head Teacher

St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

0131 443 2621

Dear Parents/Carers

Please see communication from Lorna French.

Kind Regards

Pat Brack

Head Teacher

St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School

0131 443 2621

                           Newsletter 5– Friday 10^th September 2021

                                   St Cuthbert’s CARES We are: Creative Active Respectful Equal Supported

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for taking time to read through the information below. As always, please ask if you have any questions. See contact details at the bottom of this newsletter.

Homework – w/c 21^st September 2021

We will start homework from week commencing 20^th September.

Homework will be given out weekly, using Teams as the main platform but  paper copies can be supplied upon request.

It will be given out on Friday with an expected return date of the following Thursday. Giving time for parents/carers to support over a weekend if desired.

Content should include Literacy, Numeracy/ Maths and one other curricular area. All tasks aim to consolidate in-class learning.

School Health Care Plans

It has been brought to my attention that some parents have completed the annual KIC form stating that their child has a health condition which requires medication in school.  Despite communication from the school including letters being sent home since the beginning of term, no medication has been supplied.  Children with asthma are required to have two inhalers into school, one of which will be kept in a bag clearly marked with the child’s name in the classroom and one in the school office.   If your child is of an age to carry their own inhaler to school, please make sure that the are doing so on a daily basis.  The school still requires to hold a spare inhaler in the office for your child.

I am sure you will appreciate that these measures are in place to safeguard our children and I hope you will support the school in implementing these.

Covid Positive Cases Contact Tracing and Communication Process – Please Contact us If Your Child Tests Positive.

Please inform the school if your child has tested positive for Covid 19 via a PCR Test. The school will in turn issue a ‘Warn and Inform’ letter to parents/carers of classes affected. The Test and Protect Team will decide who should isolate as a direct contact, guidance on what now constitutes a close contact can be found on the NHS inform website. The school will unlike last year have no direct involvement with the contact tracing process but will report all notified cases to City of Edinburgh Council.

In school we will continue to follow FACT: Face Coverings for adults in communal areas, Avoiding large scale indoor gatherings, Cleaning our hands regularly, Two metre distance between adults indoors, Self-isolating and getting tested if covid symptoms are present. We would also ask that pupils bring in tissues if they have non-covid cold like symptoms to avoid spread of germs.

City of Edinburgh Council – Covid Guidance Letter

Please see attached letter from Lorna French, Acting Head of Schools and lifelong learning.

Swimming – P4 & P5 Classes – Parent/Carer Volunteers Urgently Required

We now have the go ahead for blocks of swimming lessons at Dalry Swim Centre on Thursdays from 1 – 2 pm for the above classes. Dates are listed below.

P5 (9 weeks) 23/9/21 – 25/11/21

P4 (7 weeks) 2/12/21 – 27/1/22

A separate information letter has today been issued to the P5 class.  In order to facilitate this important learning, we are dependent upon the support of parent/carer volunteers. If you can help, we would be extremely grateful. Please complete and return the slip on the letter.

Flu Immunisation Forms – A Thank You

Thanks very much for your prompt return of these forms. Much appreciated.

Lost Property – Please Claim by 17^th September

We now have a large collection of unclaimed lost property, we are always working to keep our school as tidy and organised as we can so can only retain these items for a limited period. Any items unclaimed by 17^th September will be recycled.

Late Arrivals – Staggered Timings

After a great start we have noticed that the number of late arrivals is starting to rise. We understand that occasional and exceptional circumstances result in pupils being late but please ensure that this does not become a pattern.

Start times are as follows:

P1 8.45am, P2  9.00am,  P3 8.55am,  P4 9.05am,  P5 8.55am,  P6 9.00am and  P7 9.05am.

Message from P1 Teachers

Thank you for your support with integrating our new P1 pupils into school life. They have made a great start. Please see below some short notices we would like to pass on to you.

Firstly, please remember that school starts promptly at 8.45am, if your child arrives late please bring them to the main door reception to be registered. The school day ends at 2.50pm Monday to Thursday and 12.10pm on a Friday.

Please try to avoid crowding the P1 entrance and window space. This will help individual pupils and the class settle more quickly.

Finally, we will be sharing learning regularly via Learning Journals, if you have not signed up for this easy to access platform, please contact our school office via admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk. We will also share learning via a weekly tweet from the school twitter @stcuthbertsrcp weekly on a Monday.

Active Schools – Update

We met with Fiona Damen again this week and are hopeful of being able to share details of clubs and how to book next week.

Sharing Learning Via Twitter – P1 and P2 Update

Learning will be shared digitally on the following days

Monday – P1 & P2 – This has not taken place as yet but will hopefully start next week in P1 and after the September weekend in P2.

Tuesday – P7, LCC1 & 2

Wednesday – P4 & P6

Thursday – P3 & P5

Friday – Star Learners and the Pupils of the Week

Learning Conversation with P6 -Literacy Focus

The next of my learning conversations with our pupils will take place on Thursday 17^th September. The focus will be Literacy. I’ll update you all next week on the conversation.

Nursery Update

We have seen some lovely roleplay in nursery this week, with lots of the action revolving around babies; washing them, feeding them, dressing them, even washing the clothes! Next week you might spot a washing line in the garden

Where the children can peg out their washing. Through peg play children can learn colours and counting, improve fine motor skills, and enjoy experimental play. Next week will be also be exploring The Three 3 Little Pigs and singing songs with number.

As we move into autumn and the weather is more changeable, please remember to bring wellies, waterproofs and warmer clothes. The children are outside exploring, and experimenting come rain or shine!

Nursery families, please use the top school gate when arriving and leaving nursery. This is the first gate as you walk down from Slateford Road, opposite the PDSA.

More great news for our team – Pablo, formerly our Early Years Assistant has accepted a promoted-post as an Early Years Practitioner. Congratulations!

To keep up to date with what’s happening in nursery and more, follow us on Twitter:

St Cuthbert’s RC Nursery Class (@StCNurseryClass) / Twitter

St Cuthbert’s, Slateford and Our Lady’s, Currie/Fr Aidan

Fr Aidan, will continue to be our acting school chaplain and will say Mass at both St Cuthbert’s and Our Lady’s Currie in the short term. We hope to hear from the Archdiocese about more permanent plans shortly and will share these as soon as we have them. In the meantime, we thank Fr Aidan for the amazing support, priestly and pastoral care he has provided.

Please see website for details of times and how to book a place.

https://www.stcuthbertschurch.com

Contacting Us

Your comments and questions are always welcomed, we can be contacted via

• Phone – 0131 443 2621
• E-mail – admin@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (school) and

stcu-nurmail@st-cuthberts.edin.sch.uk (nursery)

We will always try to respond as quickly as we can. 

Finally

We look forward to seeing everyone again on August 18^th. Have a good weekend.

Mr P Brack, Head Teacher and all at St Cuthbert’s School