We are well and truly into the Summer term and what wonderful weather we have had since we returned. It has been lovely to see many classes outside making the most of it … let’s hope it lasts!🤞It is a reasonably short but busy term with lots going on.

Staff News

After 21 years at Grange, Mrs Robertson (P1) has decided to retire She will leave us at the end of this term. She has been a valued and loyal member of “Team Grange” with her quiet, nurturing approach. She will be greatly missed by us all but I am sure she will not be stranger when she is out on her many dog walks.

Summer Term Events

SPORTS DAY: We are currently finalising our plans for Sports Day. However timings for the day are as follows:

Nursery & P1 – 9.15-10.15 approx.

P2-4 – 10.35-12.10noon approx.

P5-7 – 1.35-3pm approx,

The Parent Engagement Group are once again going to be selling strawberries. Pre orders are being taken and will have a deadline of next Friday 8th of May.

Please use the link to preorder here:

GRANGE SPORTS DAY STRAWBERRIES 2026 – Fill in form

COLOUR RUN

We are wishing to have a Colour Run on Friday 26th June at 3pm. In order for this to go ahead, we require a good number of parent volunteers that will to throw powder, man the registration desks and generally have eyes on incase of any accidents.

If you are able to help please complete the form by next Friday so we can get the powder ordered.

Grange COLOUR RUN 2026! – Fill in form

Uniform

With the warmer weather upon us many of you may be considering buying some new school uniform.

Following consultation where there was a 50/50 split, uniform will remain as it is for next session, where children have the option and flexibility to wear traditional or the relaxed version.

Below is a reminder of expectations on school uniform at Grange.  Thanks to everyone who has continued to support this guidance; we feel it helps our pupils feel a sense of belonging and take a pride in their school.

Grange Primary School Uniform 

Traditional Uniform:

Grey skirt or trousers, white shirt/polo shirt, gold tie, grey cardigan or jumper, black shoes.

OR

PE Uniform:

Grey Grange Hoodie or plain grey hoodie, plain white T-shirt, black joggers, leggings or shorts. Black trainers.

P7 pupils have the option to wear the Black Grange Leavers hoodie instead of a grey hoodie. 

 Notes on clothing for all pupils:

• No hoodies or T-shirts with large logos or slogans should be worn at any time.
• All hoodies, that are not Grange hoodies, should be plain and grey.
• All T-shirts worn should be plain and white or plain and in the colour of the school house your child belongs to.
• (Hunter – Red, Martine – Yellow, Durham – Blue, Kerr – Green)
• On PE days pupils should wear the PE uniform not general sportswear.
• All T-shirts should fall below the waist – no belly tops or crop tops please.
• All shorts should fall at least half way down the thigh – no hot pants please.
• No nail extensions should be worn to school; this presents a significant safety risk during sport activities and playtimes.

Notes on Jewellery/Accessories for PE

• On PE days pupils must wear or bring a hair bobble to tie long hair up.
• All jewellery must be removed.
• Earrings must be removed or taped over.
• Trainers should be worn for PE

Water Bottles

With the warmer weather approaching please may we remind you to supply your child with a named water bottle. This should be filled with water only. We are seeing an increase in juice in the water bottles. This does not support the NHS advice (link below) or our healthy eating policy. Your support with this would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.highfive.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/10244-DRINKING-WATER-GUIDANCE.pdf

Dates for the Diary

Term 4

• • May Day Holiday – Monday 4th May (schools closed)
  • New P1 Information Evening – Wednesday 6th May @ 6pm
  • Reading Cafe @ MAC (P6a Hosting) – Friday 15th May 1.30-2.30pm
  • New Nursery Information Evening – Wednesday 20th May @ 6pm
  • Sports Day – Friday 22nd May
  • In- Service Day – Monday 25th May (schools closed)
  • Sharing our Learning – Friday 5th June 2-3pm
  • P7 Information Evening @ MHS – Thursday 11th June
  • Nursery Intergenerational Summer Fete @ Grange Nursing Home – Saturday 13th June
  • P7 Leavers Event – Wednesday 24th June (evening)
  • P7 Fun Week– Thursday 25th – Tuesday 30th June
  • Nursery Garden Party – Friday 26th June 1.45pm
  • Colour Run – Friday 26th June (after school)
  • Nursery Trip – Monday 29th June
  • End of Term & P7 Parade – 2.45pm Thursday 2nd July

Session 2026/27

• • In- Service Day – Monday 17th August
  • Transition Drop In Visits – Monday 17th August 2.30-3pm
  • Start of Term 1 – Tuesday 18th August

We are almost at the Easter holidays and cannot believe how quick this term has gone! It started with a very wet January and I am glad to see the sun is starting to appear in the last week or so! This term has been filled with lots of learning and success.

👩‍🏫STAFF NEWS👨‍🏫

Mrs Wells, support assistant, has accepted a job within the NHS and will be leaving us to take up her new role after the holidays. Mrs Wells has been a great support to many children over the 4 years she has been at Grange and we are grateful for all her hard work and commitment. Mrs Wells does continue to be a nursery parent up until the summer so we will still see her for a while yet!

Miss McMinn, support assistant,  has decided to move on to pastures new and work closer to home. Miss McMinn has been great member of Team Grange and will be sorely missed by many! Thank you Mrs McMinn for the positive impact you have had on our pupils.

Mrs McLaughlin, support assistant, who works in our Green Room has accepted a new job and will finish with us this week. Over her time at Grange she has been a valued member working with many of our children with complex needs and will also be missed.

Mrs Macleod, who has been covering P5a on a Monday and Tuesday will also be finishing up with us on Friday.

We will miss them ALL dearly but wish them all the very best of luck in their new jobs.

Angeliki Papanagiotou, support assistant, will join us after the holidays.  Mrs Papanagioyou has previously worked in schools supporting children and we are looking forward to her joining Team Grange.

I am delighted to let you know that Mrs Fordyce (P5a) will begin a phased return following the Easter break. We are all looking forward to having her back fit and well!

🤩CELEBRATING SUCCESS🤩

It has been a very busy term with many events and celebrations!

Our historical “Sharing our Learning ” event was very well attended and hope you enjoyed seeing the many different themes of learning. Our topic learning this session, starting with Seastory, has developed based on the research of Debra Kidd called a “Curriculum of Hope”. Here is a snapshot of what this encompasses:

Curriculum of Hope Summary

Thank you to you all who purchased books at out Book Fair. We have yet to find out how much the school has benefitted from this but we look forward to purchasing books to replenish our class and school libraries. #tryinghard

🎤Grange Glee Gang🎤

Our Grange Glee Gang sang and danced their hearts out in the Caird Hall. They were outstanding and in a very tough heat where they pipped at the post by Barnhill Primary.  Thank you to Mrs McIntosh, Mrs Simpson and Mrs Dempster for all their hard work in preparing the children for this event. It truly is amazing to see our young people have the confidence to SHINE!! #selfbelief

🧦❤️Comic Relief & World Downs Syndrome Day❤️🧦

I am delighted to say our touch of red and “Rock your Socks” day raised £277 for charity. Well done and thank you everyone! #acceptance #responsible

🎁❓Quiz Night & Raffle❓🎁

A great night was had by all who attended our family quiz night. It was very well attended.  A huge thank you goes to Graeme Bletcher, our quiz master, who took us through rounds about space, animals, sport, geography and fame showing that every day is a school day!

Thank you to our Parent Engagement Group who worked tirelessly to obtain the many excellent raffle prizes. Thank you to all who purchased raffle tickets. Prizes have all be given to this who were successful.

Counting is not yet complete however it is estimated that between £850-£900 has been raised for the school fund and we will consult with the children on how they wish to spend this for next session.

Thank you everyone! #shine

🏆Sporting Achievements🏆

Both our Football and Netball teams won their most recent CBM (Carnoustie, Barnhill & Monifieth) tournaments bringing trophies and shields back to Grange. Both teams not only retained their titles but displayed true sportsmanship and great teamwork! Well done to all and thank you to Mrs McInally and Mr Bennett who give up their own time to support and coach in the preparation for these tournaments. Without it, these things would not be possible! #shine

Wow, who would have believed we have had our half term holiday already and that we are in the second part of the term! Hope you all had lovely time over the long weekend whatever you were up to!

Staff News

Mrs Cheape (P1) will be starting her maternity leave next month and we wish her all the very best and look forward to seeing her and her newborn in Grange soon.

Survey Results

Thank you very much to those parents who completed the  survey last week. The feedback has been really helpful.

Here are the results and we will be consulting with the children and we will advise any you of any changes planned for August next term: Survey

Family Quiz Night

Our Parent Engagement Group are organising a Family Quiz Night in the school hall just before the Easter break. To book your team place, please complete the form using this link and please send £10 in an envelope with your team name on it.

Grange Quiz Night 2026 – Fill in form

Raffle Tickets will be coming home soon as we have an amazing array of prizes to be won! If you have anything you wish to donate for the raffle then please hand into the school office. Thank you!

Progress Update T2  – A separate email has been sent today advising that your child’s  Term 2 progress update  is now available to access on Pupil Tracking.

CAMHS NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PARENT PORTAL

Just a reminder information below regarding the NHS Tayside CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Parent Portal which is now open to all.

UPCOMING EVENTS

World Book Day – Thursday 5th March

This year we will celebrate World Book Day by having a book swap where children can bring in ONE book they no longer use and swapping with another they would like to read. We will also be having some DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time when the bell sounds throughout the day. Listen out as this may happen in the afternoon too! We wish to be equitable and therefore there is the option to wear pyjamas to school on this day. Some children have requested to link in with their historical theme and wear school uniform from years gone by.  There is no expectation for anything new to be purchased for this day! If your child does not wish to do either then normal school uniform should be worn.

Sharing Our Learning @ the Grange Museum – 5th March 2-3pm

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on this afternoon to look around the classrooms and the walls in the corridor as the children show your their learning of our “Grange Museum” . The main learning focus of this has been social studies – historical theme.

The Scholastic Book Fair is being delivered to school next week and children will have the opportunity to visit this during class time to make a wish list. Details for purchasing items will be shared soon. You will also be able visit the book fair on this day. The school get a percentage of the sales to purchase books for the school.

We will also be running a cafe in the hall on this afternoon. Thank you!

Comic Relief & World Downs Syndrome Day – Friday 20th March

This year we will help raise funds and invite children and staff to wear a touch or as much red as they like! The theme is “Take Yourself Funny for Money” and so we have a plan in the making about how Grange can take on the TaskMaster. Watch this space!

We will also celebrate World Downs Syndrome Day, The theme this year is “Reach for the Stars” very apt for Grange!! Children are invited to “Rock their Socks”  in addition to their touch of red if they so wish.

Dates for Diary

Term 3

• MAD groups – Friday 28th February 1.40-2.25pm
• World Book Day (Information below) – Thursday 5th March
• Sharing our Learning (for parents) & Scholastic Book Fair – Thursday 5th March 2.00-3.00pm
• GLEE Competition – 6th March
• Star Maker Groups – 6th March
• CBM Netball Tournament– 11th March 9-12pm
• Comic Relief – (Information above) Friday 20th March
• World Down Syndrome Day (Information above) – Friday 20th March
• CBM Football Tournament – 20th March 9-12pm
• Day of Dance – Tuesday 31st March
• Learn to Learn – Friday 3rd April
• End of term 3 – Friday 3rd April (3.00pm finish for ALL)

Term 4

• Start of Term – Monday 20th April
• Star Maker Groups – Friday 1st May
• Sports Day – Friday 22nd May
• In- Service Day – Monday 25th May
• P7 Leavers Event – Wednesday 24th June (evening)
• P7 Fun Days – Thursday 25th – Tuesday 30th June
• Nursery Garden Party – Friday 26th June 1.45pm
• Nursery Trip – Monday 29th June
• Colour Run – Friday 26th June (after school)
• End of Term & P7 Parade – 2.45pm Thursday 2nd July

Many thanks for your continued support!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I hope you all had a wonderful festive break with family and friends. It already seems a while since the start of 2026 which must mean we are well and truly into the flow of Term 3!

It was lovely to see all the children back last week and hear all their holiday stories.

Thank you to you all for your support during last week’s treacherous weather. We tried to do our best to ensure the safety of the children.

Staffing Update – Mrs Macleod has joined us to cover P5A on a Monday and Tuesday and Miss Kuhlwilm joins us in P2A on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Miss Briggs has remained with us and will be teaching across the school.

Multi-Cultural Fortnight –

#acceptance

Children across the school are currently learning about world religions as part of out Multi-Cultural Fortnight.  We will celebrate World Religion Day on Friday 23rd January at our Learn 2 Learn session and children will share their learning with each other.

Whole School Topic –

#tryhard

This term children will embark on a historical themed topic that will culminate in us opening our “Grange Museum” at our Sharing our Learning event on Thursday 5th March 2-3pm. This is also World Book Day and we are delighted that we will have the Scholastic Book Fair in school for your to peruse and purchase (more info to follow).

Class Photos – I have had a few enquiries from parents asking if class photos can be taken. We have provisionally booked this however we wish your views. We would appreciate it this could be completed by next Friday (23rd).

Class Photos – Fill in form

Learner Led Conferences / Parent Meetings – #self-belief

A letter with information about our forthcoming Learner Led Conferences and P1&2 Parent Evenings will be sent out soon.

Parent Engagement Group– A reminder that any parent is welcome to come and join us. We will be discussing family learning events, school improvement priorities and fundraising. The next meeting is taking place in the Milton Inn at 6pm next Thursday (22nd). Please let us know if you can make it by completing the form:

Grange Parent Engagement Group Meeting 3 – Fill in form

Family Learning Events – Last term I asked for some feedback on family learning to support your child at home.  We have been working in the background on videos and updates on how we teach SRS and writing to share with you in the coming weeks.

With a rise in additional support needs across Scotland, I am keen to get specialists in to support you at home. I would be grateful if you could complete the form by next Friday (23rd) to rank a list of varying needs so we can prioritise the support you would find most helpful.

Family Learning – Fill in form

Child Absences and Medical Updates – #responsible

***We do have a number of vulnerable pupils and staff with weakened immune systems and I would ask that if your child or family member is poorly with any infectious diseases that you please let the office know as soon as possible.***

Just a gentle reminder that if your child is going to be absent from school, it would be really helpful if can call the school office and either leave a message or speak with Mrs Linton / Mrs McKee.

If you have anything medical that your child’s class teacher should know of a morning, please call the school office rather than using Class Dojo as this may be missed. Thank you!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Burns Celebration 2026🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

#acceptance

Our heritage is an important part of our curriculum and children across the school we have already started learning Scots poems this week.  Last year our ‘Touch of Tartan’ day to celebrate ‘Burns Day’ was a huge success so we have decided to celebrate this again on Friday the 23rd as part of our Multi Cultural celebration.  Children can wear  a ‘Touch of Tartan’. This could be a hair clip or a piece of tartan ribbon pinned to their school uniform. There is no expectation for anything to be bought for this occasion. If your child wishes to dress in more tartan or would like to wear their own national costume then please  feel free.  Children who do not wish to participate can wear their school uniform as normal.

At lunchtime on this day, Scottish Country Dancing music will be played in the playground and some of our P6/7 dancers will be out helping and demonstrating a couple of dances for others to join in, if they wish. 🎼

The children will finish the day, after Starmaker Groups, with a piece of shortbread. If your child cannot have shortbread for any reason, please message your child’s class teacher on Dojo by Wednesday (21st Jan) so we can organise something as an alternative.

We hope that our nod to Robert Burns will be enjoyed by all!

#shine

Dates for the Diary:

• Multi- Cultural Celebration & L2L – Friday 23rd January
• Blether & Bite P3B & P6B – Friday 30th January
• Learner Led Conferences – Monday 9th and Wednesday 11th February 3.30-6.30pm.
• In-service day – Thursday 12th February – school closed to pupils
• Mid term holiday – Friday 13th and Monday 16th February
• Learn to Learn – Friday 6th February
• Reading Cafe – Friday 6th February 1.30-2.30pm
• Nursery Family Learning Event – Friday 20th February 2-3pm
• Progress Update 2 issued to parents – Friday 20th February
• Blether & Bite P2A & P5A – Friday 27th February
• World Book Day & Book Fair – Thursday 5th March
• Sharing our Learning (Grange Museum) – Thursday 5th March 2-3pm
• Learn to Learn – Friday 6th March
• Reading Cafe – Friday 6th March
• GLEE Competition – Friday 6th March
• CBM Netball Tournament– 11th March 9-12pm
• CBM Football Tournament – 20th March 9-12pm
• Blether & Bite P2B & P5B – Friday 27th March
• End of term 3 – Friday 3rd April (3.00pm finish for ALL)
• Start of Term 4 – Monday 20th April

We look forward to seeing you in and around the school in the coming weeks!

Mrs Landsburgh

• End of term 2 – Tuesday 23rd December (3.00pm finish for ALL)
• Start of term 3 – Wednesday 7th January
• Learn to Learn – Friday 9th January (Community Police Visits P5-7)
• Nursery Natter – Wednesday 21st January 2pm
• Reading Cafe @ The MAC hosted by P6A  – Friday 6th February
• Learner Led Conferences – Monday 9th and Wednesday 11th February 3.30-6.30pm
• In-service day – Thursday 12th February – school closed to pupils
• Mid term holiday – Friday 13th and Monday 16th February
• Progress Update 2 – Friday 20th February
• Sharing our Learning (Open to Parents) – Thursday 5th March 2-3pm
• World Book Day & Book Fair (details to follow)- Thursday 5th March 2-3pm
• Reading Cafe @ The MAC (hosts TBC) – Friday 6th March
• End of term 3 – Friday 3rd April

Dear Parents / Carers, 

We are now more than half-way through the term and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible this coming Wednesday 5-6.30pm at our Sharing Our Learning event. 

As with previous years, we will be collecting for the Dundee & Angus Foodbank and the Angus Toy Appeal throughout the evening and any donations can be dropped off in the gym hall and will greatly appreciated!

I am also delighted to share our Christmas celebration plans: 

CINEMA TRIP – 15th December 

The cinema is a dress down day with a festive touch so bright colours, Christmas jumpers are all welcomed. 

Children may bring a small snack and a drink (no fizzy or energy drinks including PRIME and Lucozade sport please) with them to enjoy during the movie. 

Children will return to school for lunch and spend the afternoon in class as normal. 

Where possible, please could P5-7 please bring a packed lunch on this day to help the kitchen staff in the event we are late. Much appreciated! 

CHRISTMAS LUNCH – 18th December 

Our Christmas lunch will take place on Thursday 18th December. Please remember to order in advance, where possible, using Parentpay. Thank you! 

CHRISTMAS CHEER THROUGH THE DECADES – 19th December 

Christmas Cheer is an opportunity for each year group to perform on stage to an audience. As it is our 50th year what a better way to celebrate than singing songs from the decades. We warmly invite parents and family members to come along on the morning of Friday 19th December, 5-10 minutes, before the allocated time slot of your child’s performance e.g. P1 and watch them perform. Here is the running order of the day: 

Please enter and exit the school through the main school entrance. 

Class teachers will advise of any accessories (at no cost) that may be worn for the performance. 

SPECIAL VISITOR – 23rd December 

It is hoped a special visitor will visit the children in Nursery, P1 and our coloured rooms on the afternoon of the last day of term. 

🎅We look forward to celebrating with you all!🎅 

GYM SHOES

Just a gentle reminder that as the weather has taken a turn we would ask that every child brings a coat with them to school to wear outside at breaks and that a pair of gym plimsoles or indoor trainers are brought in to use for PE and to prevent our school floors being damaged.

A parent has shared this link: https://www.shoezone.com/Products/XL-Kids-Black-Easy-Fasten-Plimsoll-81276

MOBILE DEVICES

We are aware that more and more children are bringing phones to school and wearing smart watches.  If a child brings a mobile to school, it is expected that the device is switched off at the school gates and is handed in to the class teacher for safe keeping and will be handed out again at the end school day.

It would be helpful if any child who wears a smart watch, knows how to switch it onto school mode when in school, to avoid disruption to learning for everyone. Your help with this would be appreciated!

SPORTS CONCUSSION GUIDANCE

We have been asked to share the concussion guidance for your information:

We are very excited about the forthcoming week, celebrating 50 years of Grange with visitors, parties and hopefully making many more memories!

Many Thanks,

Dear Parents / Carer’s,

I hope you all had a wonderful October break. We are now well into to the flow of term 2 and all that this term brings!

STAFFING UPDATE

I am delighted to say that last term,  Mrs. Deborah Houston was appointed as our new Principal Teacher. Mrs Houston comes to us from Dundee City Council where she has been working for the last couple of years within their pedagogy team delivering training and supporting schools. It is hoped that she will start on the 10th of November.

Miss Jill Ferrie joins us this week as our Acting Principal Teacher. She was a student at Grange quite a few years ago and has worked in both Angus and Dundee with a  few years in Dubai working in a couple of International schools where she led various developments and teams. Jill will have pastoral responsibility for P2-4.

We welcome both ladies to “Team Grange” and know they will be welcomed into our school!

SEA STORY TOPIC

This term the children will be learning through our whole school topic of “SeaStory” inspired by the recent David Attenborough movie. A clip of which can be seen by following this link:

This starts one aspect of our school improvement where learning is led by the children’s interests. This is the start of a journey as staff will be taking part in professional learning about a “Curriculum of Hope” and how we can further inspire children’s engagement for learning.

We look forward to sharing some of this at our “Sharing Our Learning” event on Wednesday 26th November from 5-6.30pm.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

We have consulted with the children, staff and the Parent Engagement group and am delighted to share our plan for celebrating 50 years of Grange!

6th November – Whole School Photo

Please can all children wear their grey school hoodie or top on this day. We ask that P7’s wear their Black Leavers’ hoodies. We are hoping for a dry and bright day so please keep everything crossed. This will be an aerial photo and we will be having a rehearsal to practice before the 6th. If you do not wish your child to be included for any reason please message your child’s class teacher by 5th November.

Birthday Week – 24th – 27th November

A number of former pupils have volunteered to come in and speak to different classes about their experiences of Grange and what they have achieved since. If you know of anyone who might like to do this then please ask them to get in touch with me directly by phoning the school or messaging me on Dojo.

Birthday Bake Off – Friday 28th November

Children are invited to get their creative juices flowing and bake a cake of any variety and enter our Bake Off competition. The theme is Grange is 50! See poster for details:

Golden Parties – Friday 28th November

The children have asked for a party with balloons and so children are invited to come dressed with a touch of GOLD or in full Golden colour if they wish on this day. We will have silent discos throughout the day too!

Birthday Open Morning – Saturday 29th November

We are opening our doors to the school community past,  present and future from 10-12 noon. We hope that some of our P6&7 pupils will volunteer to take guests on a tour of the school and welcome them into the Grange Cafe where coffee and cake will be served. We have obtained some pictures and memorabilia of old that will also be on display. Even I have learnt some things about Grange I did not know!

If you wish to come along please register to allow us to cater for numbers:

Grange Golden Celebration – Fill in form

DATES FOR THE DIARY

• 5th November – Parent Engagement Group 6-7pm
• 6th November – Whole school photo (as above)
• 19th November – Tempest Photos (info. to follow)
• 24th November – GOLDEN CELEBRATION WEEK
• 26th November – Sharing Our Learning 5-6.30pm
• 28th November – Golden Parties
• 29th November – 50th Birthday Open Morning 10-12noon
• 3rd December – In Service Day 2 (schools closed to pupils)
• 4th December – In Service Day 3 (schools closed to pupils)
• 5th December – St. Andrews Day Holiday
• 15th December – Cinema Trip (P1-7)
• 18th December – Christmas Lunch
• 19th December – Christmas Cheer
• 23rd December – End of Term 2
• 7th January – Start of Term 3

Wow…. where have the last 7 weeks gone? What a quick and busy term we have had!

The children have been settling well into their new classrooms and have been working very hard. Every two weeks, everyone has also taken part in our “StarMaker” Groups.

The Rights Respecting Group have been helping  to identify areas of improvement using the pupil friendly version of HGIOS (How Good is Our School) and we will be creating a display next term.

In our Rights Respecting class meetings, the children have given us feedback on various aspects of school life such as Learn to Learn, golden table, football, school events and of course their ideas for our 50th anniversary celebrations!

Some of our Inclusion Ambassadors presented at Learn to Learn this morning to raise awareness of ADHD and Dyslexia. We then watched some short clips to further develop our understanding.

Last week the children celebrated the European Day of Languages by learning about a country and a bit of the language. Mrs Watson kindly collected videos from some of our pupils who speak other languages at home and I will share this on Dojo this afternoon.

⚽Holiday Activities

Looking for things to do…

https://www.angus.gov.uk/schools_and_young_people/october_fun

🌳Monikie Country Park – Woodland Camp

Calling all junior nature enthusiasts! Dive into a week of half-day environmental adventures at Crombie Country Park. From wildlife expeditions, to hands-on conservation projects, each day is a new and exciting opportunity to explore, learn and connect with the great outdoors. Get ready to discover the wonders of nature with the ANGUSalive Rangers!

Where: Crombie Country Park
Date: 06 – 10 October
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Age: 6 – 12 years
Cost: £60.00

Book Here

🧗‍♀️Full/Half Day Adventure Camp

Ready to escape the ordinary and dive into a day packed with thrills, skills, and outdoor fun?

Join us for a full day of unforgettable adventure! From paddling across the pond in canoes and kayaks to exploring the great outdoors on a forest hike…there’s never a dull moment. Perfect for young explorers who love a challenge, love the outdoors, and love making new friends.

Expect fresh air, muddy boots, and plenty of laughter along the way. And that’s just the start… there’s much, much more waiting for you!

Where: Monikie Country Park
Date: 06 – 10 October
Time: Full Day- 09:00 – 16:00 Half AM- 9:00-12:00 Half PM – 13:00-16:00
Age: 8 -15 years
Cost: Full Day £120.00 Half Day:£60.00

Book Here

We know school holidays can be a tricky time  and sometimes you may need a little help or support. Our Connecting Parents Angus website has information on support agencies and how to contact them. It also has information on Free School Meals and School Clothing Grants:

https://sites.google.com/an.glow.scot/connectingparentsangus/home

💻❌Parenting Internet Safety Events & Guides

Keeping children safe online – Wednesday 22 October, 5:30-6:30pm, online

As we approach the colder weather, please could we ask that children bring and wear a coat as we do like to get the children outside as much as possible. This is also the time of year when the grass does get wet and slippy. It would be helpful, as with previous years, for all children to have a pair of gym plimsoles to wear as indoor shoes. These will also be used for indoor gym and help protect our gym hall floor and keep our school floors clean.

We look forward to starting our whole school “Seastory” themed learning next term, with a focus on skills development throughout the school.

📆Dates for the Diary

• 20th October – Start of term 2
• 23rd October – CBM Mixed Football
• 30th October – CBM Netball
• 30th October – Halloween Discos
• 5th November – Parent Engagement Group 6-7pm
• 19th November – Tempest Photos (info and reminders will follow)
• 24th November – GOLDEN CELEBRATION WEEK
• 26th November – Sharing Our Learning 5-6.30pm
• 29th November – 50th Birthday Open Morning 10-12noon
• 3rd December – In Service Day 2 (schools closed to pupils)
• 4th December – In Service Day 3 (schools closed to pupils)
• 5th December – St. Andrews Day Holiday
• 15th December – Cinema Trip (P1-7)
• 19th December – Christmas Cheer
• 23rd December – End of Term 2
• 7th January – Start of Term 3

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday! I look forward to welcoming everyone back soon!

Mrs Landsburgh #believe

🤩Welcome Back!🤩

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the children’s stories of their summer adventures in the corridors, playground and dinner hall.

We have a had a brilliant first week back and it has been lovely to see everyone coming back to school looking so smart and happy!

Our new Primary 1’s are settling into school life very well and we have all been very  impressed at how quickly they are getting into the new routines with their lovely manners. The children are doing a great job. You should be very proud parents!

Our new nursery children have had lots of fun exploring the different environments including our Onery, Nursery Garden and rooms and it has been lovely to hear laughter and excitement outside my office.

We kicked off the session on Tuesday (P2-7) with our first Learn 2 Learn talking about confidence and self esteem linking them to our Learner Quality of the month… Believe in Yourself Benji 🐶

We revisited our 3 simple rules of Being Kind, Being Safe and Believing and what the expectations of each were and how we can achieve these by making good choices.

The children were informed what we, as a whole school team, are working on this session and shared  some information about our new “Star Maker Leadership Groups”. These are our MAD groups that have been rebranded  based on feedback from parents, pupils and staff. If anyone feels they have something they could contribute to these groups then please get in touch with the class teachers directly.

Pupil Leadership

Last but not least, the children were delighted to hear that we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in November and that we will be asking for their ideas at our first Rights Respecting Class Meetings in a couple of weeks along with asking for their opinions on other events across the school year.

👮Uniform

Thank you for supporting us to maintain high standards by sending your children to school in their uniforms, whether that be the traditional or relaxed version. To ensure that items do not go missing please label everything, more than once if possible!

📈School Improvement Priorities

Every year we gather data from pupils, staff and parents that informs what we are going to be working on as a school for the following session.

Here is a link to the visuals that explain a bit more about what we are improving this session along with the standards and quality report for last session:

School Improvement

👩‍🏫Staff News

We have welcomed some new members to our staff team this term:

• Mrs Whitton – Class teacher P7b
• Miss Allardyce – EYP (Nursery)​
• Mrs Moreland – EYP (Nursery)​
• Miss Torrie – EYP (Nursery M,T,W)​
• Miss Kettles – EYP (Nursery M,T,W)​
• Miss Lorimer – EYP (Nursery W,Th,F)​
• Mr Thomason – EYP (Nursery Th,F)​
• Miss Suttie – EYA ​​
• Mrs Cunningham – SPSA 

We also have some new staff members who are with us on a short term basis over the next couple of weeks or that may be with us one day week this term. If these teachers are working with your children we will share this on Dojo so you are aware of changes.

Following Mrs Oldham’s retirement, we are currently recruiting for a permanent Principal Teacher and a temporary Principal Teacher to cover Ms. Strachan, who is acting up as Depute Head Teacher this session.

In the meantime, we would ask that if you have any pastoral concerns or issues, please speak to the class teacher in the first instance. However,  if it is something you wish to discuss with a member of the leadership team then please contact:

Nursery & P1- Ms Strachan (Acting Depute Head Teacher)

P2-4 – Mrs Landsburgh (Head Teacher)

P5-7 – Miss Smith (Principal Teacher  for Inclusion)

🏫Our School Day

As a reminder the timings for the school day are as follows:

Nursery – 9.00-3.00pm

P1-4 – 8.50-3.00pm (break 10.30-10.50 and lunch 12.10-1.00pm)

P5-7 9.00-3.10pm (break 10.55-11.15am and lunch 12.40-1.30pm)

👫Parent Engagement Group

It will be great to continue the group we had last year to help with implementing our school improvement priorities and fundraising events to enhance the school for our children. Any parent is welcome to join and we have set dates for the year to allow you to plan. We will attempt both an in person and hybrid approach if technology will be our friend!

Tuesday 2nd September @ 6pm

Wednesday 5th November @ 6pm

Thursday 22nd January @ 6pm

Tuesday 28th April @ 6pm

✏️Reminders:

Please remember to select your children’s lunches, even if a packed or home lunch,  on Parent Pay. These can be done weeks in advance to save doing it daily / weekly.  Please also make sure your child knows what they are having each day as this can cause confusion and upset at times.

Nut allergies – We continue to have a number of children in our school with severe nut allergies. To ensure everyone’s safety it is greatly appreciated if snacks containing nuts are not sent into school. It is also worth noting that children only require one snack for their morning break.

Please can we ask that dogs are not brought into the playground.  If you have a dog, please remain outside the school gates and arrange to meet your child there.

For everyone’s safety, please remind your child if they bring a bike or scooter into the playground, they must dismount at the school gates  and walk it to the bike shed. Thank you!

📅Dates for the Diary

• Tuesday 2nd September @ 6pm – Parent Engagement Group
• Tuesday 23rd September 3.30-6.30 – Settling in Meeting.            (P3a only)
• Wednesday 24th September 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in Meeting
• Tuesday 30th September 3.30-6.30 – Settling in Meeting              (P2a and 4b only)
• Wednesday 2nd October 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings
• Friday 4th October – end of term
• Monday 20th October – Start of Term 2

Have great weekend everyone!

Mrs Landsburgh

The holidays are fast approaching and we have enjoyed a busy term preparing for moving up to new classes and teachers. Here are a few updates before we head off.

Staff News – We are saying goodbye to a few members of staff over next couple of weeks.

Miss Lorimer, who covered P6 last term, and has been with us a day a week this term in P2 will be leaving us to go to Auchterhouse Primary next session. We wish her all the best!

Miss Simms leaves us having completed her probationary year and we wish her all the very best for her future career. Thank you for your contribution to our school and please come back and visit!

We wish Miss Bartlett (Early Years Practitioner) good luck as she goes off on maternity leave and we look forward to hearing about the safe arrival of her twins very soon!

Miss Finnie has successfully completed her degree and has been accepted to do a Post Graduate diploma in Primary Teaching from August. As a former pupil, she really is an example of what “Reaching for the Stars” means. I am extremely proud of her achievements and know she will be an asset to any school that is fortunate enough to have her. You will be missed! Good Luck, Miss Finnie!

Last but definitely not least, Mrs Oldham is taking early retirement at the end of term. In her time at Grange, she has supported many children across the whole school and shown endless care and compassion and without doubt she will be missed by all. She has led the school with her Reading Cafe’s and our whole school topics. I want to personally thank her for her support and friendship over the past 8 years. We have shared laughter and tears over the years but I am delighted that she will be able to relax and spend quality time with her family! On behalf of all the children and staff – Thank you Mrs Oldham!

When we return after the summer, we are delighted to have Mrs Dempster and Miss Allison returning from their maternity leave.

Pupil Equity Fund – We would be grateful for your thoughts once again regarding how we should spend our PEF allocation for next session. Please follow this link: https://forms.office.com/e/DHEYjDhUZw

Here are a few reminders about upcoming events:

Tuesday 17th – P1a Firepit Fun 2-3pm

Wednesday 18th – P1b Firepit Fun 2-3pm

Wednesday 18th – P7 Leavers Event 6-7pm

Thursday 19th – Tuesday 24th – P7 Fun Week

Friday 20th – Nursery Garden Party 1.45-2.45pm

Friday 20th – Colour Run 3.15-4pm

Monday 23rd – Nursery Trip

Friday 27th – Leavers Assembly & P7 Parade 2.45pm

End of term – 3pm finish

Our school day – As a reminder the timings for the school day are as follows:

Nursery – 9.00-3.00pm

P1-4 – 8.50-3.00pm (break 10.30-10.50 and lunch 12.10-1.00pm)

P5-7 – 9.00-3.10pm (break 10.55-11.15am and lunch 12.40-1.30pm)

Pencil case – As you are aware as a school we have been focusing on learning for sustainability and reducing waste. We would like to continue with this next year.

With this in mind we would like to ask if every child could bring in their own pencil case with some essential resources to use in class (we know many of the children already carry a pencil case).

What would be great to see in each pencil case is: –

· Writing pencils x 2

· Small ruler x 1

· Eraser x 1

· Pencil sharpener x1

· White board marker x2

· Glue stick x1

· Coloured pencils x 1 pack

· Fine felt tipped pens x 1 pack (not Sharpies/ permanent markers)

If possible, we would also like children to have their own pair of wired earbuds for listening to reading.

Please do not worry, if you feel this would be a problem just contact us through DOJO and we will be able to help. We always find that children use and respect their own belongings more so than when supplied by the school and the monies we save from not buying these resources can be used to enhance the learning for all children.

Uniform – Thanks to everyone who continues to support 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, a plain white t-shirt/ polo shirt (no badges) and black trainers.

As initmated previously, we will be carrying out a full school uniform consultation next session based on the feedback and comments from the parent survey and the recent P7 hoodie survey.

The relaxed uniform should also be worn on PE days. If anyone has difficulty 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.

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

Monday 18th 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. P7 hoodies can be collected from the school office from 2pm on this day. Any child feeling particuarly anxious can pop in between 2.30-3.00pm to put minds at rest.

Tuesday 19th August – first day of term – P1-4 8.50am and P5-7 9.00am start. Mrs Simpson will be in touch with staggered timings for our new P1s via dojo.

Wednesday 24th September and 1st October 3.30-6.30pm – Settling In Meetings

Friday 3rd October – Last day of term

Thank you! – I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the session in my Acting Head Teacher capacity and I look forward to continuing to move Grange forward next session and beyond. I am forever grateful to the amazing staff team who work tirelessly to ensure they give their best to our children and school everyday! And lastly to your children who really do make me smile and make my job a pleasure. Wishing you all have a sunny and happy summer.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday when it comes!

Best wishes

Mrs Landsburgh