PARENT UPDATE MARCH 2024

The Easter holidays are almost upon us and I hope everyone has a lovely break when it comes. I thought it would be helpful to share a few updates before we head off to roll our eggs and eat lots of chocolate…

Staff News – Mrs Dempster welcomed the early arrival of baby Ellis at the start of March. Both mum and baby are doing well and we are absolutely deligthed for the family. Welcome to the world Ellis!

Miss Perry is getting married over the holidays and we look forward to welcoming her back as Mrs Perry-Smith. We wish her and her new husband every happiness for their future together. Congratulations!

Finally, we look forward to welcoming Pamela Brewster (Early Years Assistant) and Emma Palmer (Early Years Practitioner) to our nursery team after the holidays.

School uniform – Thanks to everyone who has continued to support our school uniform guidance. As a reminder children can wear a traditional uniform of white shirt, gold tie, grey jumper/ cardigan, grey trousers/ skirt and black shoes. However most opt for our relaxed uniform of a plain white t-shirt, grey Grange hoodie, plain black joggers/ leggings and trainers. I would ask that chilren do not wear football tops or designer logos as we want everyone to be ‘uniform’. I would also ask that children do not wear nail extensions as this presents a significant safety risk during sport activities and playtimes. Your support is greatly appreciated in helping us to maintain high standards of uniform which in turn helps the children feel ready to learn. Thank you!

Learning for sustainabilty – Reducing waste has a been a key theme across learning for all classes this year. We have been consulting with staff and children about ways to reduce waste across the school. A popular suggestion has been that we ask each child to bring their own pencil case to school each day which contains everything they need. The thinking is that the children will be responsible for their own belongings and this might reduce waste through pencils, pens etc being lost and broken. We are in the early stages of considering this approach, which would start from August. We would provide a list of the general items required and the school would support any families who would find this financially challenging.  As always, there would be a stock of supplies in school should they be needed. We will keep you updated next term and hopefully we will also be coming up with some other ideas for reducing waste – watch this space!

Dates for your diaries:

  • End of term 3 – Friday 29th March normal finish time
  • Start of term 4 – Monday 15th April
  • MAD groups – Friday 19th April 9.30-10.20am
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 26th April
  • May holiday – Monday 6th May (school closed)
  • P1 induction meeting – Wednesday 8th May 6.00-7.00pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 17th May 9.30-10.20am
  • Nursery induction meeting – Wednesday 22nd May 6.00-7.00pm
  • Sports Day – Friday 24th May – nursery to P4 morning, P5-7 afternoon
  • In-service day – Monday 27th May (school closed to pupils)
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 31st May
  • Transition week – week beginning Monday 10th June
  • P7 activities week – week beginning Monday 17th June
  • End of term – Thursday 27th June 3pm (P7 Parade 2.45pm)

Thanks to you all for your continued support and a special thanks to my amazing staff team for their hard work and commitment to our children.

Happy Easter! 🐣

PARENT UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024

February seems to have flown by in a flash! Here are some updates and diary dates that should be helpful…

World Book Week – We will be celebrating World Book Week from Monday 4th to Friday 8th March. Across the school every class will be studying the book ‘What We’ll Build’ and taking part in lots of exciting related activities. Parents are invited to pop into classrooms on Friday 8th March between 2pm and 3pm to see what the children have been learning over the week. You can also visit the Book Fair in the gym hall to purchase books. An online link to the Book Fair will be shared for parents who are unable to attend but wish to buy a book. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Staff News – We said a sad goodbye to Margaret Cuthbertson (School and Pupil Support Assistant) at the mid-term. In recent years Margaret has worked in our Purple Room but over her 17 years at Grange she has supported many children and families. She will be greatly missed but we wish her a happy and healthy retirement.

We have two new members of staff joining our team of School and Pupil Support Assistants. Joanne Reid started in our Purple this week to replace Margaret Cuthbertson and Rebecca Burrell will join us soon for two days each week.

Jen Smith has joined our Additional Support Needs team and she has taken responsibility as the teacher in our Yellow Room. Jen has settled in quickly and has already met with parents and got to know the children and staff. She is already proving to be a great addition to our fantastic team – welcome Jen!

Sadly Chloe Ford (Early Years Pracitioner) is leaving us at the end of this term to become a childminder. Chloe is a wonderful practitioner who will be a huge loss to our nursery team. I am sure she will be missed by children, parents and staff. However we are all excited for Chloe as she embarks upon this new venture. She will be fantastic, thanks to Chloe for everything!

We have two new members of staff joining our nursery after the Easter holidays. Emma Palmer (Early Years Practitioner) and Heather Robertson (Early Years Assistant). I am sure everyone will make them very welcome and they will enjoy being part of Granger’s Gang.

Sound Reading System for parents – We are keen to share information with parents about Sound Reading System, the programme we use to teach reading and spelling. While the event is targeted at the early years of primary, all parents are welcome. The event will be held on Monday 18th March 6.00-7.00pm in school. If you would like to come along please use this link to book a place:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sound-reading-system-tickets-801505132427?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Solihull Approach – free online course for all parents, carers and grandparents – Parents, carers and grandparents of children and young people in Angus who want to learn more about sensitive and effective parenting and building a positive relationship with their child can access free Solihull Approach online courses.

The Solihull Approach promotes emotional health and wellbeing for all children, their parents, carers and grandparents, so that they can thrive as kind, sociable and emotionally aware throughout their lives.

The courses have been developed by registered professionals within the NHS, working with practitioners and parents to develop new resources to support emotional health and wellbeing in children, families, and adults. You can complete the courses in your own time and at any time.

Find out how more about the Solihull Approach and how to get access to the free courses on the Angus Council’s website.

Dates for your diary:

  • MAD groups – Friday 1st March 9.30-10.20am
  • Sharing our Learning (for parents) – Friday 8th March 2.00-3.00pm
  • Sound Reading System for parents – Monday 18th March 6.00-7.00pm
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 22nd March
  • End of term 3 – Friday 29th March normal finish time
  • Start of term 4 – Monday 15th April
  • MAD groups – Friday 19th April 9.30-10.20am
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 26th April
  • May holiday – Monday 6th May (school closed)
  • P1 induction meeting – Wednesday 8th May 6.00-7.00pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 17th May 9.30-10.20am
  • Nursery induction meeting – Wednesday 22nd May 6.00-7.00pm
  • Sports Day – Friday 24th May – nursery to P4 morning, P5-7 afternoon
  • In-service day – Monday 27th May (school closed to pupils)
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 31st May
  • Transition week – week beginning Monday 10th June
  • P7 activities week – week beginning Monday 17th June
  • End of term – Thursday 27th June 3pm (P7 Parade 2.45pm)

Many thanks for your ongoing support and please never hesitate to be in touch if you have any concerns at all.

Lorraine Will

PARENT UPDATE JANUARY 2024

Happy new year everyone! It has been lovely to see the children and to hear all about the festivities and celebrations over the holidays. It has also been great to get back to the usual school routines and to look forward to a new term of learning at Grange. Here are some updates and information that might be helpful as we head into 2024…

Rights Respecting Schools update – We continue to work towards our Silver Award in the Rights Respecting Schools programme. We have an accreditation visit in March and this is helping to focus our efforts to make sure that everyone is ‘rights aware’. Each of our Make A Difference (MAD) groups is raising awareness of different children’s rights (articles) and we talk about the articles in our Monday Messages and at Learn to Learn. This week at Learn to Learn we will be thinking about the ABCDE of children’s rights:

A – Rights are for ALL children

B – Rights are there at BIRTH

C – Rights CANNOT be taken away

D – Rights DO NOT have to be earnt

E – Rights are EQUALLY important

National Youth Choir of Scotland – The National Youth Choir of Scotland starts back in Angus on Thursday evenings at Forfar Community Campus. Please use this link  for more information:

NYCOS Regional Choir Info-3

Grange Gabbers – Our first meeting of 2024 is scheduled for Thursday 25th January 6.00-7.00pm in school. At this session we will discuss our school improvements and Pupil Equity Funding. All parents are welcome and should just come to the main offce door on the night. This link can be used to access a summary of our school improvement plan for this year and our last Standards and Quality report.

School Improvement

If you would like to come along please use this link to book a place:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/grange-gabbers-tickets-801498592867?aff=oddtdtcreator

Pupil Equity Funding – Pupil Equity Funding is money that is given to the school to help us support children who might not get the same chances in their education because their family is experiencing financial difficulties. This money is given to the school as part of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Attainment Challenge. Before the summer holidays we gathered the views of parents, staff and children to inform our use of the funding. As a result, for school session 2023-24 the funding is being used as follows:

  • Additional staff to provide targeted support in literacy and numeracy
  • Lead Specialist Literacy to support improvements in learning and teaching of literacy across the school
  • Outdoor learning oportunities to widen children’s experiences
  • Music therapy to enrich children’s school experience

Later this term we will gather views once again to help us direct the funding effectively next session.

Sound Reading System for parents – We are keen to share information with parents about Sound Reading System, the programme we use to teach reading and spelling. While the event is targeted at the early years of primary, all parents are welcome. The event will be held on Monday 18th March 6.00-7.00pm in school. If you would like to come along please use this link to book a place:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sound-reading-system-tickets-801505132427?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Solihull Approach – free online course for all parents, carers and grandparents – Parents, carers and grandparents of children and young people in Angus who want to learn more about sensitive and effective parenting and building a positive relationship with their child can access free Solihull Approach online courses.

The Solihull Approach promotes emotional health and wellbeing for all children, their parents, carers and grandparents, so that they can thrive as kind, sociable and emotionally aware throughout their lives.

The courses have been developed by registered professionals within the NHS, working with practitioners and parents to develop new resources to support emotional health and wellbeing in children, families, and adults. You can complete the courses in your own time and at any time.

Find out how more about the Solihull Approach and how to get access to the free courses on the Angus Council’s website.

Dates for your diary:

  • Learn to Learn – Friday 19th January
  • Grange Gabbers (all parents welcome – to discuss school improvements) – Thursday 25th January 6.00-7.00pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 26th January 9.30-10.20am
  • Learner Led Conferences – Monday 12th and Wednesday 14th February 3.30-6.30pm
  • In-service day – Thursday 15th February – school closed to pupils
  • Mid term holiday – Friday 16th and Monday 19th February
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 23rd February
  • MAD groups – Friday 1st March 9.30-10.20am
  • Sharing our Learning (for parents) – Friday 8th March (arrangements tbc)
  • Sound Reading System for parents – Monday 18th March 6.00-7.00pm
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 22nd March
  • End of term 3 – Friday 29th March normal finish time

As always it looks set to be a busy and productive term. Please remember that although we have our Learner Led Conferences in February, you can arrange to speak to or meet with staff at anytime. We all want the very best for your children!

Lorraine Will

PARENT UPDATE DECEMBER 2023

Only 7 sleeps until Christmas and we are all looking forward to a festive final week of term…

Cinema trip We are looking forward to our P2-7 trip to Cineworld on Wednesday 20th December to see ‘Elf’. The children can wear a Christmas jumper on the day and they should bring a small snack and drink (no fizzy or energy drinks please).

Christmas Cheer – Thank you so much to everyone who managed along last Friday to enjoy the children performing their Christmas songs. Thanks also for buying their Christmas crafts and we look forward to calculating our profits and discussing how to spend them. The children certainly provided lots of Christmas cheer and I hope you all left feeling warm and festively fuzzy. I would also like to thank the staff for their hard work in preparing for Friday, a great time was had by all!

Dates for your diary:

  • End of term 2 – Friday 22nd December 3.00pm finish for all children
  • Start of term 3 – Monday 8th January
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 19th January
  • Grange Gabbers (all parents welcome – to discuss school improvements) – Thursday 25th January 6.00-7.00pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 26th January 9.30-10.20am
  • Learner Led Conferences – Monday 12th and Wednesday 14th February 3.30-6.30pm
  • In-service day – Thursday 15th February – school closed to pupils
  • Mid term holiday – Friday 16th and Monday 19th February
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 23rd February
  • MAD groups – Friday 1st March 9.30-10.20am
  • Sharing our Learning (for parents) – Friday 8th March 2.00-3.00pm
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 22nd March
  • End of term 3 – Friday 29th March normal finish time

I hope you all have a wonderful family Christmas and look forward to welcoming the children back in 2024 for lots more Great Grange Learning! 🎅

News (MAD) Group Update

The News (Making a Difference) Team this year have the responsibility for gathering and reporting on all our other MAD Groups. This could be their learning, their activities, their visitors etc. The News MAD Team  have been busy creating questionnaires and gathering news and have compiled the attached report to share with you all.

Term 2 Blog Posts

PARENT UPDATE NOVEMBER 2023

The weeks are flying by and the countdown to Christmas is almost upon us! As we look towards the festive period here are some reminders about what’s in store as well as some dates for your diaries for the new year.

Christmas Cheer – This will be held on Friday 15th December and we hope you will manage along to join us. As well as performing some Christmas songs I have challenged each class to create some crafts/ gifts to sell on the day. The classes were given £20 and asked to generate a profit that will be used for the good of Grange and beyond. Following the performances in the hall you are invited to visit your child’s classroom to do some Christmas shopping! The timetable for the day is as follows:

9.00am Nursery

9.30am P7

10.00am P6

10.30am P5

11.00am P4

1.30pm P3

2.00pm P2

2.30pm P1

2.50pm Finale – Strings Group

Cinema Trip – We are looking forward to our P2-7 trip to Cineworld on Wednesday 20th December to see ‘Elf’. The children can wear a Christmas jumper on the day and they should bring a small snack and drink (no fizzy or energy drinks please).

Nursery and P1 Christmas Celebration  – On Wednesday 20th December the children will enjoy a Christmas movie and celebration over the course of the day. Staff will be in touch with parents with the details and I am sure everyone will have lots of festive fun!

Monifieth Christmas Lights – The Christmas lights will be switched on in Monifieth on Sunday 3rd December. Some of our P5s will be singing at about 4pm so please come along to support them, it’s sure to be a lovely festive family event.

Grange Global Summit – Thanks to those of you who managed along to our Global Summit where the children shared their learning about sustainability and the impact of climate change. We had a fantastic response from families in donations for food bank and our coat/ toy swap. Our Global Grangers (MAD group) prepared a video about our learning which was shared on Class Dojo and also with the wider community. We’ve had an exciting response…watch this space!

Staff news – We have welcomed Mrs McKenzie to the Purple Room, Mrs Elmer to the Yellow Room and we are looking forward to Mrs Cumiskey joining our nursery team. However, we are very sad to say goodbye to Mrs Kydd who has worked in our nursery for many years. She has been an amazing member of the team and she will be greatly missed by staff, children and parents – thanks for everything and good luck in your new post! Last but not least some lovely news…Mrs Dempster is expecting the arrival of the first Baby Dempster in March. Huge congratulations from everyone at Grange!

Dates for your diary:

  • In-service days – Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November
  • Holiday – Friday 1st December
  • Christmas school lunch – Thursday 14th December
  • Christmas Cheer – Friday 15th December
  • Cinema trip – Wednesday 20th December P2-7
  • End of term 2 – Friday 22nd December 3.00pm finish for all children
  • Start of term 3 – Monday 8th January
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 19th January
  • Grange Gabbers (all parents welcome – to discuss school improvements) – Thursday 25th January 6.00-7.00pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 26th January 9.30-10.20am
  • Learner Led Conferences – Monday 12th and Wednesday 14th February 3.30-6.30pm
  • In-service day – Thursday 15th February – school closed to pupils
  • Mid term holiday – Friday 16th and Monday 19th February
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 23rd February
  • MAD groups – Friday 1st March 9.30-10.20am
  • Sharing our Learning (for parents) – Friday 8th March 2.00-3.00pm
  • Learn to Learn – Friday 22nd March
  • End of term 3 – Friday 29th March normal finish time

Thanks to everyone for your support and I hope you all enjoy the festivities over the coming weeks! 🎅

PARENT UPDATE OCTOBER 2023

Welcome back and I hope everyone had a lovely break over the October holidays. Autumn is certainly upon us and it is disappointing that the weather has disrupted our first week back. Let’s hope we can now look forward to the exciting plans we have for the term. Here are a few updates and dates for your diary to let you see what we have in store…

Halloween costumes – Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help out at the discos next week. Ticket sales have been fantastic and it looks set to be a ‘spooktacular’ evening! We have a stock of costumes that were donated to us by Tesco. If they could be of help to anyone please just get in touch.

Grange Global Summit – On Thursday 9th November 5.00-6.00pm the children will be sharing their learning about sustainability. This has been our focus across the whole school since August. There will be a toy swap and book exchange in the gym hall. We will also be asking families to make a pledge to make a small change that will help our planet – these will be displayed on the Learning Pit in the hall. In the classrooms the children will tell you about their learning and show you some of their work. In the corridors there are displays that document the learning for each class and how it links to children’s rights and the Global Goals. We look forward to seeing you and if you can’t make it we will share some of the learning via Class Dojo so nobody misses out!

Class Dojo – The Class Dojo app provides a safe and secure platform for sharing photos and videos of children’s learning and achievements. Is is intended for use by parents only to keep it secure. We have recently become aware that parents have the facility to add other people to their account. While I understand the reasons for this it is important that Class Dojo accounts are held only by parents as some children do not have the required permissions for photos etc to be shared more widely. For this reason, all additional accounts will need to be removed. If this causes an issue for anyone please just let me know.

Dates for your diary:

  • Halloween discos – Thursday 26th October – Sensory friendly 4.30-5.00pm, P1&2 5.00-5.30pm, P3&4 5.45-6.30pm and P5-7 6.45-7.30pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 27th October 9.30-10.20am
  • Grange Gabbers – Wednesday 1st November 6.00-7.00pm (in school)
  • Grange Global Summit (Sharing Our Learning) – Thursday 9th November 5.00-6.00pm
  • School photographer – Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th November
  • Rag bag collection – Thursday 16th November
  • Wellbeing event for parents (tbc)– Monday 20th November 6.00-7.00pm (more info to follow)
  • MAD groups – Friday 24th November 9.30-10.20am
  • In-service days – Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November
  • Holiday – Friday 1st December
  • Christmas school lunch – Thursday 14th December
  • Christmas Cheer – Friday 15th December (see below for timetable)
  • Cinema trip – Wednesday 20th December P2-7
  • End of term 2 – Friday 22nd December 3.00pm finish for all children

*Christmas Cheer timetable:

9.00am Nursery

9.30am P7

10.00am P6

10.30am P5

11.00am P4

1.30pm P3

2.00pm P2

2.30pm P1

Lots of learning and fun to be had this term. Thanks to you all for your ongoing support of our children and school. Grange really is a great place to be! #believe 🎃

PARENT UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2023

It has been a busy but positive start to the school year and we are very quickly heading towards the October holidays – time certainly does fly by when you’re having fun! Here are a few updates and dates for your diaries that should be helpful…

Parent Council – We had our first meeting last week which was well attended and gave us the chance to discuss the way forward. We agreed to try a slightly different approach this year by splitting into two groups – one for events/ fundraising (Grange Go Getters!) and one for consultation on school improvements (Grange Gabbers). Alongside these groups we will be offering a variety of ways that parents can get involved in school life by sharing their exeprtise.

Grange Go Getters! – This will be a group that parents can drop in and out of depending on their availabilty. Parents can opt to volunteer for one event at a time and we will hold very short planning meetings in advance of each event. The first quick get together will be held on Wednesday 27th September 5.30pm to arrange the Halloween discos. More information about Halloween to follow in this post.

Grange Gabbers – This group will meet termly to hear about and discuss school improvements. Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday 1 November 6.00-7.00pm at Grange. We will discuss our school improvement plan priorities which are ‘Relationships and Writing’ and we will consult on our use of Class Dojo to share curriculum information, children’s progress in learning and home learning. Thanks to those of you who have already shared suggestions with me via Class Dojo. Everyone is welcome to join the meeting or to message me if you can’t come along but have ideas!

MAD Parents (Make A Difference) – We would like to enlist the support of parents for our Make A Difference groups which run monthly P2-7. These groups will meet on Fridays 9.30-10.20am on the following dates: 29th September, 27th October, 24th November, 26th January, 1st March, 19th April and 17th May. Our MAD Groups are: Eco Warriors (Nursery & P1), Rights Respecting Schools, Global Grangers, News Team, Community Champions, Digital Leaders, fun Fundraisers, Playground Pals, Talent Spotters and Outdoor Learning Gang. If you would like to help out or have exerptise to offer any of these groups please complete the survey on this link: https://forms.office.com/e/4RusH6Tus1

We are also keen to create a directory of parents who have skills and jobs that could be shared with the children to enhance their learning across the curriculum. If you would be willing to share the exeprtise you have from our job or hobbies please complete the survey on this link: https://forms.office.com/e/suxJv1Tpx5

Thanks in advance to the parents who have offered to collate the above survey information!

Halloween discos – These are planned for Thursday 26th October P2-4 5.30-6.15pm and P5-7 6.30-7.30pm. Our Primary 1 children will have a class party in the afternoon to avoid anyone getting too spooked! The  discos rely entirely upon parent volunteers to ensure the children’s safety. If you are willing to volunteer for supervising or organising refreshments please let us know or come along to the planning meeting Wednesday 27th September 5.30pm. We are also looking for donations of decorations for the gym hall and the forest. We will need voluteers to decorate both the hall on the day or the day before the discos after school. All help is most welcome to help us make this a fun and safe event for the children! Tickets cost £3.00 and will be onsale soon via Parent Pay.

Place 2 Be – please use this link to access information about an online course for parents which comes highly recommended. Parenting Smart flyer 2023

Dates for your diary – I have created an iCal for Grange parents which includes the key dates for the school year. This can also be used on android devices by following online instrcutions from your manufacturer. The dates may need to adjusted over the year and I will continue to give reminders on my monthly blog:

webcal://p124-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/MTc2MzkzMzUxMTc2MzkzM1HESZOGsiC5xrFIxkDZeopb3_r_I9_Wt13ihNYxSkxQ7GPzgXIRY4ovbfTLy31S5Cxvp0XeFQ6kmtNNUsKUqPM

Dates for your diary:

  • Settling in meetings – Wednesday 20th and 27th September 3.30-6.30pm
  • Flu vaccintations – Thursday 21st September
  • Dress down day (bring chocolate!) – Friday 29th September
  • MAD groups – Friday 29th September 9.30-10.20am
  • End of term 1 – Friday 29th September normal finishing times
  • Term 2 starts – Monday 16th October
  • Halloween discos – Thursday 26th October P2-4 5.30-6.15pm & P5-7 6.30-7.30pm
  • MAD groups – Friday 27th October 9.30-10.20am
  • Reading Cafe – Friday 3rd November 2.00-3.00pm
  • Grange Global Summit (Sharing Our Learning) – Thursday 9th November 5.00-6.00pm
  • School photographer – Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th November
  • Rag bag collection – Thursday 16th November
  • Wellbeing event for parents (tbc)– Monday 20th November 6.00-7.00pm (more info to follow)
  • MAD groups – Friday 24th November 9.30-10.20am
  • In-service days – Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November
  • Holiday – Friday 1st December
  • Christmas school lunch – Thursday 14th December
  • Christmas Cheer – Friday 15th December (see below for timetable)
  • Cinema trip – Wednesday 20th December P2-7
  • End of term 2 – Friday 22nd December 3.00pm finish for all children

*Christmas Cheer timetable: 9.00am Nursery, 9.30am P7, 10.00am P6, 10.30am P5, 11.00am P4, 1.30pm P3, 2.00pm P2, 2.30pm P1

Thanks to you all for your ongoing support of our school and for helping us to make it a great place to learn, have a relaxing holiday when it comes!

Parent Update August 2023

Welcome back! It has been lovely to see the children returning to school so happy and ready to learn. Thanks to everyone who has supported us by ensuring that the children are wearing the correct uniform. As a reminder, children can wear a traditional uniform of white shirt, gold tie, grey trousers/ skirt, grey jumper/ cardigan and black shoes. Alternatively, they can wear a relaxed uniform of Grange grey hoodie/ plain grey hoodies (no logos please), black leggings/ joggers, white t-shirt and trainers. The relaxed uniform should also be worn on PE days. If anyone has diffiuclty in providing uniform please do not hesitate to be in touch. We will also contact families directly if there are any ongoing issues with uniform.

Staff news – This term we have welcomed a number of new staff to Grange…Mrs Millard (School and Pupil Support Assistant), Ms Smith (Senior Early Years Practitioner), Ms Mitchell (Early Years Assistant) and Miss Tonner (Modern Apprentice – Nursery). We look forward to welcoming two addtional members of staff later this term…Ms Macfarlane (P1 teacher –  Wednesdays only) and Ms Wood (School and Pupil Support Assistant). We have also had to say to some sad goodbyes – Mrs Sturrock and Mrs Breckenridge have moved onto new nursery posts in Angus and Miss Hutchison is off to a teaching post in Denmark. We wish them all the very best of luck and we are all very grateful for their commitment and hard work in their time at Grange.

Parent concerns – If you have any issues or worries about your child’s wellbeing or progress in learning please do not hesitate to be in touch. Teachers can be contacted by phoning the school office or by sending a message on Class Dojo. Please keep in mind that teachers will respond ro messages during office hours and that they will not be checking Class Dojo when they are working with the children 9.00am-3.00pm. If you require a prompt reply please phone the office. You are also welcome to contact the Leadership Team as follows: Nursery-P2 Mrs Landsburgh, P3-4 & Green/ Purple Rooms Mrs Oldham, P5-7 Mrs Smith and Yellow Room Mrs Will. We are always here to help and keen to resolve little issues before they become bigger worries!

Parent Council – Our first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 13th September 6.00-7.00pm at Grange Primary. This meeting is open to any parent who would like to get involved. We have been struggling over the last few years to get members and I am really keen to find ways of making this group more appealing! This will be the main focus of our first meeting so please do come along and help us to get parents involved in improving our school.

Playground equipment – Please be reminded that the playground equipment is is out of bounds before 9.00am and after 3.00pm as it is not supervised by school staff. If parents/ carers permit children to play on the equipment before/ after school they are fully responsible for their supervision and safety.

Parent survey – Last term we issued a survey to parents to gather views about our school. There were a few individual issues that have been dealt with separately but the general results were extremely positive with some great suggestions for areas of improvement. The main themes that we will take forward this year are:

  • Consistent use of Class Dojo to share learning.
  • Consistent home learning opportunities.
  • Improved reporting of accidents and playground incidents, playground supervision.
  • More education about bullying.
  • Review ‘Settling in meetings’ and ‘Learner Led Conferences’.
  • More notice about events for parents.

Reporting about children’s progress – As you can see above there were some mixed views about parent/ teacher meetings and the ways we report chidren’s progress in learning. I am keen to meet with a group of parents to discuss this further to help us improve. I will take the opportunity at the Parent Council meeting and I would also like to offer an invitation to Grange Gabbers on Thursday 14th September 2.30pm (just before pick up) if any parents would like to come for a chat about reporting. If you are interested please just send me a message on Class Dojo or altertively share your views with me on Class Dojo.

Parent communication – I plan to issue a monthly blog post like this one to keep parents updated with school news. This will include diary dates for the coming month. I will also issue the usual iCal link with the main school dates for the year. During COVID I started a weekly video message for the classes called the ‘Monday Message’. It has proved popular and the children enjoy being part of it too. I thought it might be of interest to parents and so each week it will be shared on the School Story on Class Dojo.

Dates for your diary:

  • Friday 8th September – 2.00-3.00pm – Reading Cafe/ Parents welcome to visit classes
  • Friday 8th September – 3.00-4.00pm – Colour Run (more information to follow)
  • Wednesday 13th September – 6.00-7.00pm – Parent Council meeting at Grange PS
  • Thursday 14th September – 2.30-3.00pm – Grange Gabbers meeting at Grange PS
  • Wednesday 20th September – 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings
  • Thursday 21st September – all day – Flu immunisations
  • Wednesday 27th September – 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings
  • Friday 29th September – 9.30-10.20am – MAD groups (more information to follow)
  • Friday 29th September – 2.00-3.00pm – Reading Cafe
  • Friday 29th September – usual finish times – end of term 1

Thanks to everyone for helping the term get off to such a great start!

Parent Update June 2023

Staff News – This week we say goodbye to Miss Hutchison (P1) and Mrs Buick (Green Room). We wish them both well as they head off on new adventures and thank them sincerely for there commitment to our children and school. We also wish Mrs Tasker (Green Room) a very happy and well earned retirement! Mrs Tasker has worked at Grange for many years and in her time has been a great support to many children and families. We are missing her already and can’t thank her enough for all she has done for Grange. When we come back in August we will welcome two new support assistants, Mrs Millard (P3) and Mrs Wood (Green Room).  Mrs Dempster is taking a secondment to the Yellow Room next session and I am sure she will be a fantastic addition to our Additional Support Needs team. We will have a new teacher, Mrs McFarlane, on Wednesdays only, who will provide cover in our P1 classes. In the nursery, we are delighted that Mrs Grant has been appointed as our Lead Senior Early Years Pracitioner and we are so proud that she has successfully completed her degree in Early Childhood Practice, congratulations! To assist Mrs Grant in her new role we will welcome Lisa Smith, Senior EYP, to our fantastic nursery team. Last but by no means least we look forward to welcoming Miss Kerr back in August as Mrs Simpson. We wish her and her husband to be the very best for their future together!

Uniform – I thought it might be helpful to remind everyone about the expectation for school uniform in August. Children can wear a relaxed/ PE uniform: Grange/ plain grey hoodie, Grange/ plain white t-shirt, plain black leggings, joggers or shorts and black trainers. The relaxed uniform should double as the school PE kit on gym days. Children also have the option of wearing traditional uniform of black blazer, grey jumper/ cardigan, grey trousers/ skirt/ pinafore, white shirt, gold tie, black shoes. In the summer months yellow checked dresses/ playsuits can also be worn.

https://www.border-embroideries.co.uk/schools/grange-primary-school-dundee.html

Your support in maintaining high standards of school uniform, while moving with the times, is very much appreciated!

Dates for your diary  –  a few dates for term 1 that might be useful…

Monday 14th August – in-service day – teachers will send a video to the children to give them a tour of the classroom before they come back to school. Any child feeling particualry anxious can pop in between 2.30-3.00pm to out minds at rest.

Tuesday 15th August – first day of term – P1-4 8.50am and P5-7 9.00am start. Mrs Landsburgh has already been in touch with staggered timings for our new P1s.

Friday 8th September 2.00-3.00pm – Reading Cafe in the hall and open afternoon for parents to pop into visit your child’s new classroom.

Friday 8th September 3.00-4.00pm – Colour Run in the playground – tickets will be sold after the holidays for children who would like to take part. Children must be accompanied by an adult. P1-4 3.00pm and P5-7 3.30pm.

Wednesday 20th and 27th September 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings

Thursday 21st September – Flu immunisations

Friday 29th September 2.00-3.00pm – Reading Cafe and last day of term

Happy holidays! – I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the year. I never understimate what a privilege it is to work in such a supportive school community and I very much value the positive relationships we share. I am also ever grateful to my amazing staff team who are so committed to our children and school. Not forgetting of course, your wonderful children who make me smile and laugh every day, I really do have the best job in the world. I hope you all have a sunny and happy summer.

Happy holidays everyone!

…where pupils, staff and families REACH FOR THE STARS!

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