Newsletter

Happy New Year – January 2022

Term 3

The staff of Tullos want to wish you and your family a happy New Year and hope that this year we will begin to see a move to normality.

As you will be aware there are concerns that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is more easily passed from person to person and that is why we are strictly following our Covid rules. The children were reminded of the rules at yesterday’s assembly and will be expected to follow them to keep everyone safe. There is a copy of the rules at the end of this newsletter and our full risk assessment is on our website.

There have been some changes to the self-isolation guidance from the Scottish Government. If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should stay at home and have a PCR test as soon as possible. If positive they will be advised to self-isolate for 10 days however, if they have 2 negative Lateral Flow tests on day 6 and then 24 hours later on day 7 they can return to school.  Please follow advice any advice given by the NHS and more information on self-isolation can be found on www.nhsinform.scot .

If your child has been identified as a low-risk contact there is no need for your child to self-isolate unless contacted by Test and Protect and advised to do so. To help reduce the risk to your family and the school community you could support your child to take a Lateral flow test. Free kits are available and more information can be found at www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested/pages/no-covid-symptoms

Staffing

We were sad to see Miss Singer leave Tullos to take up her new post as Head Teacher at Bramble Brae and wish her all the very best. Miss Mackinlay will be taking over the responsibilities for Nursery and P1 classes and Miss Morgan will be leading the P7s. The other classes will be split with Miss Mackinlay – Rooms 7, 9, 15, 17 and Miss Morgan – Rooms 6, 8, 10, 16.

This term we are delighted to welcome back Mr Robertson and Mrs Fraser and are looking forward to Mrs Lal-McBain returning too. We also have 3 new members of staff working at Tullos. Miss Cormack who is a teacher and will be covering various classes and Miss Badeanu and Miss Seivwright who are PSAs and will be supporting the infant classes.

Term 3 dates for your diary

  • Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th January – parent’s meetings
  • Monday 14th February – Holiday
  • Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th Feb – inset days
  • Friday 1st April – last day of term

Colder weather

We have been lucky with the weather so far but as we progress into Winter, the days are going to get colder. As part of our mitigations against COVID-19 we need to keep our classrooms well ventilated. Please ensure your child has warm clothes on as well as a warm jacket every day. We will also be trying to get the children outside as much as possible especially during their breaks so waterproof jackets and appropriate footwear is essential.

Parent teacher meetings

In January we have our scheduled parent teacher meetings.  This year due to restrictions these will need to be online rather than face to face. We will be issuing more information about how this will work in the coming weeks.

Tullos Covid Rules   –

  • Staff wear masks and remain 2m away from children and adults
  • Class bubbles
  • Limited movement around the school
  • Ventilation in all classes
  • Parents are still not allowed on the school grounds and visitors limited
  • Pupils and staff to hand sanitise and wash hands regularly
  • Pupils are not allowed to bring things in from home apart from snack and lunch
  • Staggered starts, breaks and finish times remain
  • Allocated gates, doors, toilets and stairs
  • Enhanced cleaning throughout the day
  • Lunch hall one-way systems, seating plans and timings continue

Nursery mitigations are slightly different so please ask Nursery staff if you would like a copy of their risk assessment.

Please be vigilant for Covid symptoms and keep your child at home and follow NHS advice if your child is displaying any symptoms.