Happy New Year!

Another national Lockdown is not the start to 2021 that any of us would wish for but please know that as a school staff we are here to support our families in any way that we can.

The attached letter provides information about the Carluke Learning Community approach to remote learning which begins for all children on Monday 11th January.  Further, specific information about how this looks for High Mill will be shared in due course.

In the first instance, it is important to know that learning tasks and teaching input will only be posted on Google Classroom and not on the App or website.  Your child should log in on to the Google Classroom each day where their teacher has already uploaded work.

Teachers will be online between 9am and 10:30am and again from 1:30pm until 3pm (unless they are supporting families eligible for Emergency Childcare Support).  We will provide a further break down of these times.  Teachers will be providing a range of learning experiences with a focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing.  This learning will be new and progressive, and stems from what teachers had planned for the children before the closure was announced (what they would have been covering if all children were in school as normal).  

As you are aware, we as using Guardian Summaries during this lockdown.  This feature shares directly with parents via email a note of the work scheduled for their child and provides an update of what work he/she has not submitted.  This enables you as parents to monitor your child’s engagement.  School staff will also monitor this and those not engaging will be contacted and support offered.  We will provide further information about this.  Teachers will endeavour to post the following week’s work on a Friday so that parents can plan ahead if required. 

On Monday, we will re-share on the App parental help sheets for accessing Google Classroom, submitted work etc. to support families who may need help with this.

Within the Carluke Learning Community, we have produced a parent guide (see attached) which identifies the difference between home learning (homework) and blended learning (some pupils in school) and remote learning (national lockdown).  This is a community wide approach being used by all primary school in Carluke.

A form will be posted via the App soon on which parents can request any additional support.

Thank you for your support and understanding while we put our plans for remote learning into practise.  I am sure, like with the first lockdown, that as a school community we will work together to ensure our children are not disadvantaged and once again benefit from a high-quality learning experience.

Kind regards, keep safe and keep well.
Kirstine

(Kirstine McDonald, Head Teacher)