Letter from Mrs MacDonald
Dear Parent/Carer
I would like to say a huge thank you to all of you who made it along for our Meet the Teacher event last week, there was a fantastic turn out and it was so lovely to have you all back in the building and many of you for the first time! Our MacMillan coffee event raised an amazing £502! This event was in memory of Leigh-Anne Donnelly who gave so much of herself to the school. We keep the family very much in our prayers.
A big thank you to our parents who organised the uniform giveaway too – this was well attended and we hope to replicate this again in the near future.
Our more formal parent’s evenings will take place on 5th and 12th of October where you will get the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. The majority of parents voted for face to face meetings in a recent survey. You will receive more information on this nearer the time but you may wish to save the date.
Support for families – we are all aware of how the rise in costs are causing difficulties for some families. We are regularly given support from the church and the SVDP to help individual families but we are also not completely aware of where this need is so I would ask you to contact me on my headteacher email if your family would benefit from any sort of financial support and we can direct our support more efficiently. This will be dealt with in a very confidential manner. Please do not hesitate to get in contact.
Photographs – Our P1 classes had their photos taken yesterday for the annual P1 edition of the Glasgow Times. We have not been given a date of when they will be published yet, Glasgow Times have said they will be in touch nearer the time with a date and order forms. Photographers from Tempest Photography will be in school on the 3rd and 4th of November – 3rd November for portrait photos of all pupils and the 4th of November for P1 and P7 class photos.
Next week is the national ‘Big Green Week’. One of our parents will be talking to the pupils during assembly about sustainability and what they can do to help. On Friday 30th we will be having a non-uniform day and asking for £1 donation to support Just One Tree https://www.justonetree.life/about-us.html
Every year the school completes a Standards and Quality Report and this is attached for your perusal.
Reminder – school is closed Friday 23rd and Monday 26th September for September Weekend holiday.
Many thanks!
Tina MacDonald
Newsletter September 2022
Dear Parents/Carers
As you know there is a planned strike by Unison next week resulting in our school being closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will be in touch as soon as anything changes.
8th September is our school’s feast day so we plan to celebrate it on Friday 9th by attending mass at 10am and then having our yearly whole school picnic in the playground at lunch time. Children are invited to bring their picnic blankets and cushions in for this and if you could provide them with a packed lunch. If your child requires a school packed lunch please book this option on ParentPay. As it is a special day we are even allowed to have some ‘unhealthy’ snacks 😊. If you are available to help escort your child’s class to church please let the class teacher know or call the office and let’s pray for a dry day.
The following week on 14th September we have our meet the teacher night and we look forward to welcoming you into the school and hopefully you can stay on for a wee cuppa and enjoy some home baking, supporting MacMillan at the same time.
The children have been busy electing their captains and house captains this week and I want to say a big well done to all of the children who put themselves forward, they demonstrated real confidence and had prepared very well. We say congratulations to the following candidates:
P4 Junior House Captains:
Earth – Captain – Leah Rechnio ~ Vice Captain – Cora Costola
Wind – Captain – Emily Batt ~ Vice Captain – Marianne Harkness
Fire – Captain – Jenny Kennedy ~ Vice Captain – Chloe Reilly-Bell
Water – Captain – Dylan Van Rynswood ~ Vice Captain – Georgia Wraith
P7 Senior House Captains
Earth – Captain -Serge Kendrick ~ Vice Captain – Alice Gimson
Wind – Captain – Oran Hill ~ Vice Captain – Louise Le Bars Puech
Fire – Captain – Siyona Singh ~ Vice Captain – Kiefer Gallagher
Water – Captain -Anna Grady ~ Vice Captain – Amber Milligan Shah
I am sure they will all do a fantastic job.
In the next week or so we will be electing our committee members too so the children will have many opportunities to demonstrate their leadership skills and represent their classmates in many issues.
Thank you to those of you who are dropping and going in the morning, I can see a difference at the gates and children can now easily get into the playground safely, please continue to do this.
A reminder again to please LABEL all belongings and it is really helpful if you put the current class too as we can then quickly get it returned to the child. If passed down from a sibling or friend please update the label – it will save us a LOT of time – thank you in advance!
PE Times and Uniform/Kit
Children in P1-3 should wear a white t-shirt/polo shirt with black/navy shorts/leggings/joggers on their gym day. All clothing should be plain with no branding.
Children from P4-7 will now change for gym in the changing rooms. They should wear their school uniform on gym days and bring their PE Kit with them. They may want to wear shorts under their skirt/trousers.
Please see a list of gym days for all classes below:
| Class | Gym Days |
| 1a | Tuesdays & Thursdays |
| 1b | Mondays & Tuesdays |
| 1c | Tuesdays & Fridays |
| 2a | Wednesdays & Fridays |
| 2b | Mondays & Thursdays |
| 3/2 | Wednesdays & Fridays |
| 3 | Wednesdays & Thursdays |
| 3 /4 | Mondays & Wednesdays |
| 4a | Tuesdays & Wednesdays |
| 4b | Tuesdays & Fridays |
| 5a | Mondays & Tuesdays |
| 5b | Wednesdays & Fridays |
| 6a | Tuesdays & Thursdays |
| 6b | Mondays & Thursdays |
| 6c | Mondays & Thursdays |
| 7a | Mondays & Wednesdays |
| 7b | Mondays & Fridays |
Tina MacDonald
Glasgow Times Article
A DAREDEVIL headteacher has braved the shave in memory of her lovely mum.
Tina MacDonald took the bold step to shave her hair off to raise cash for The Beatson in honour of mum Sadie Kelly.
Tina lost her dad to dementia and her mum to lung cancer within five months of one another – and in her first year in post at Notre Dame primary.
Now, thanks to the kindness of the school community, Tina and her staff and pupils have raised thousands of pounds for the Glasgow cancer centre.
On the morning of the fundraiser, Tina said: “I had been absolutely fine until this morning but now my stomach is telling me something different.
“I think it’s because everyone is asking me how I am and messaging me, it’s real now.
“The kids have been brilliant. They keep asking me ‘when are you shaving your head off?’ and I keep saying, ‘I’m not shaving my head off’.
“They are buzzing today.”
As well as Tina’s brilliant effort, each class had been tasked with coming up with their own fundraising endeavours.
Cake sales, pyjama runs in the Botanics, talent shows and dance-a-thons have all been held – among many more challenges.
On Thursday the whole school wore yellow, the Beatson’s colour, and gathered in the playground to watch Tina lose her hair.
While pupils and staff gave their whole-hearted backing to the plan, Tina’s husband took a bit more persuading.
She said: “I spoke to my husband, who said, ‘Very funny’… next thing I was doing it.
“At one point he was saying that whatever we raised he would double it to pay me to not shave my head – but then it got to the point we’d raised so much he couldn’t afford it.”
Tina describes herself as “a bit of a risk taker and a bit of a dare devil” and has done everything from charity skydives to zip slides.
She raised money for Alzheimers UK after her dad died in January 2019 from dementia.
Her mum died just months later in June that year from lung cancer.
Tina said: “People say this is brave but my mum lost all her hair going through treatment and she found that very hard – that was brave.
“I am overwhelmed by the amount of money we have raised so far.
“Our parents have been really, really generous but it’s all because it’s the Beatson. Everyone either knows someone who has used it or has used it themselves.
“I wanted to involve the school as we have lost a couple of parents to cancer in recent years and have others going through cancer just now.”
Tina’s head was shaved by Melissa Gellan who works in the Notre Dame office as well as owning a barbers – so it was truly a whole school effort.
To donate to the cause see: https://tinyurl.com/macje9ay
COVID-19 Update
Directorate for Healthcare, Quality and Improvement Professor Jason Leitch CBE, National Clinical Director
T: 0131-244 5176
E: Jason.leitch@gov.scot
To Parents and Carers
Dear Parents/Carers,
Date: 16 September 2021
We are now well into the new academic year, and I have been delighted to see reports of children and pupils returning filled with enthusiasm and optimism for the year ahead. I hope that is reflective of the experience in your own household.
At this stage, I wanted to write to you so that I can help explain how cases of Covid-19 in childcare settings and schools are being managed, and how information that has been gathered since the start of term is helping to inform what arrangements need to be in place going forward.
Since early August, as you may have seen, levels of infection rose significantly, and they rose particularly sharply amongst younger people. Infection levels now appear to be declining again but levels are still high. We are taking this very seriously but I want to reassure you that children and young people still have a very low risk of health harm from Covid-19, and those without symptoms (asymptomatic) are also at a relatively low risk of transmitting Covid-19 to adults. Our Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues – which draws advice from scientific and public health experts, clinicians and academics, as well as experts in education, early learning and children’s services – publish all their evidence as a matter of routine should you wish to explore this further.
We are fortunate that vaccine uptake is very high in Scotland, and the vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe disease. As the First Minister announced earlier this week, we will now be extending the universal offer of one dose of the vaccine to all 12 to 15 year olds. It is essential that those aged 12 – 15 and their parents are supported in their decisions to accept the offer of vaccination or otherwise, and information will be made available to you shortly to understand the risks and benefits as part of the informed consent process prior to vaccination. Please do look out for that and engage with it fully when you receive it in the post.
While we are now at a stage of the pandemic where we increasingly need to learn to live with the virus, it also remains important that we do what we can to reduce transmission. It is necessary for us all to play our part in that.
On that basis, the advice for people with symptoms of Covid-19 is unchanged. Any adult or child who develops a high temperature, new continuous cough or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste must self-isolate immediately in line with NHS Guidance. Those aged 5 and over who are living in the same household must also isolate while awaiting the outcome of the PCR test result for the unwell household member.
It is also important to remember that any pupil who is unwell (whether that’s with symptoms of Covid-19 or with symptoms of other infections) should not attend. Schools and childcare settings will be able to advise on exclusion criteria for symptoms of other infections.
Guidance on contact tracing following a positive case in schools and registered childcare settings has been updated to improve the clarity of what is required. As has been the case since schools returned in August, all fully vaccinated staff and pupils who are identified as a high-risk close contact will be asked by Test and Protect to self-isolate until they have returned a negative PCR test. For children and young people, a high-risk close contact is most likely to be household members, or anybody who they have stayed overnight with. If you are contacted by Test and Protect, please assist them by both completing the online form quickly, and contacting your school and/or childcare setting as soon as possible to let them know why your child is absent. This will help us to minimise the risk of any onward transmission.
All other contacts are considered to be low-risk; this may include classmates, for example, but wouldn’t typically extend as far as year groups or whole schools. For these low-risk close contacts, we know that they and their families will want to remain informed and take action to minimise the likelihood of wider outbreaks, and so schools and childcare settings will issue a targeted Information Letter with appropriate advice. For children attending childcare and primary school, these letters will confirm that they should continue to attend if well, and that parents can support children to take an LFD test before returning if they and their child wish to do so. Free at-home LFD test kits are available for you and your children by collection from COVID test centres or pharmacies, or delivery by ordering online. Parents may wish to ensure they have a pack of test kits available in case of positive cases in their child’s class or childcare cohort. However, there continues to be no need to test regularly as part of attending childcare or primary school.
Secondary school pupils should also continue to attend if well, but the letter advises that they take a lateral flow test before they next return to school wherever possible, and continue with twice-weekly lateral flow testing and reporting of all results (positive, negative or void) thereafter. Free test kits are available to all secondary school children from the school. Please contact the school directly if they have any problems accessing tests.
I hope that this provides helpful clarification of the recent changes in approach to Covid-19. In closing, I’d particularly like to add my sincere thanks and recognition of the immense efforts by you and your families to protect yourselves and your communities during these challenging times.
In parallel, we continue to monitor and review the requirement for other mitigations within schools and childcare settings. Following expert advice, we have confirmed that the need for secondary school pupils to wear face coverings – along with maintaining other current mitigations in schools – must remain in place at least until the October holidays. I know that some pupils find this unpleasant or uncomfortable, and I am grateful to them for persevering with this. While I can’t provide you with an accurate timescale, I can reassure you that we will not keep such mitigations in place for any longer than we believe is absolutely necessary.
Jason Leitch
National Clinical Director
St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG www.gov.scot
Beatson Cancer Charity
Good evening all!
As you know we have been busy coming up with challenges to fundraise for the Beatson Cancer Charity.
We have many events happening over the course of this week and next and will culminate on Thursday 23rd September with my head shave.
Thank you to all of you who have been supportive of this with your words of encouragement and kind donations.
We have lots of dancing challenges, fun runs and creative activities planned and your child’s teachers will keep you updated with planned dates and information.
All monies raised will go into the Just Giving page below and we are so happy and proud to be able to support this very worthwhile charity.
I would like to ask that all children wear yellow on Thursday 23rd and we will have banners and flags to show our support too.
Christina MacDonald
Many thanks 😊
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/christina-macdonald8?utm_id=25
September 2021 Newsletter
Dear Parents/Carers
like that we find ourselves in September, long may the good weather continue! Wednesday 8th September is Our Lady’s birthday and our feast day. We were hoping to attend church for a small service but we have decided to postpone this and hopefully it can take place in October.
We will have a whole school picnic in the playground. Children can bring a packed lunch and blanket that day. A school packed lunch will be provided for those who require one.
As mentioned previously, as a school we will be having a fundraising focus this month with all proceeds going to the Beatson Cancer Charity. Maisie and Callum came along to talk to the children last week about the charity and how their fundraising will support patients. The children had very creative ideas and each class will set themselves a fundraising challenge. This will all culminate on Thursday 23rd with my head shave. I have a Just Giving page set up and have edited it to include the other challenges that are taking place – see link below. Some classes are looking at a sponsoring event, some for donations and some selling. Staff are also getting involved in hill walks and steps challenges. All money raised will go into the same pot. These are some of the activities so far – we will keep you posted:
CHALLENGES
P1s – obstacle course in the playground
P2b – Dance-a-thon
P3b – Guess how many legos/jelly beans in the jars
P6/5 – Sponge the teacher
P6 – sponsored fancy dress fun run and a mile a day
P7/6 – library tidy and book sale
P7b – Sponsored Pyjama run at Botanics
19th Sept – Staff hillwalk http://www.justgiving.com/Christina-MacDonald8?utm_id=25
Notre Dame Primary
As you are aware we have had multiple positive cases of Covid in the school which has resulted in many absences of children and staff. We have been fortunate in securing other teachers to cover, however staffing has been stretched so please be patient with us in replying to calls and emails. Every class is up and running with Seesaw and there will be relevant work posted for those children who need to self-isolate. Please inform us if your child is absent due to testing positive or is isolating while waiting on results. DO NOT send your child to school if they or anyone else in the household (including siblings) are awaiting test results. As previously mentioned we are aware that common symptoms in children have been headaches or stomach ache, along with the more common symptoms of high temperature, cough and loss of taste and smell. Please look out for these symptoms in your child. We are erring on the side of caution and will call you if your child complains of any of these symptoms and ask for them to be collected. We would then advise that you book a PCR. If you at any time you are unsure of the guidelines on isolating etc please contact the school office who can advise you on the school guidelines. I thank you in advance for your understanding with this. Track and Trace are responsible for following up with close contacts. All we can do is issue you with a general letter informing you of cases in the school.
Can I also take this opportunity to ask you to continue to WEAR MASKS for drop off and pick-up, as you know the 3pm pick-up is very busy. On that note P2a will now exit from GATE 2 to help minimise congestion at gate 3.
We plan to have a parent’s evening towards the end of the month and this will take place on TEAMS. For children new to the school we will get appropriate log-ins out to you very soon. More information to follow on this.
Our First Communicants have been preparing for the sacrament over the last few weeks, please keep them in your prayers. The celebration will take place on Saturday 18th September.
A reminder to label belongings – every day we have multiple jumpers/jackets/lunch boxes/water bottles left in the playground and we are unable to return as there are no names on them – please help us with this!
I will keep you updated on school events as and when they change.
Take care!
Tina MacDonald