Back to School! With only one week to go until we are all back to school the following reminders might be helpful. The teachers will post a video on Class Dojo on Monday 15th August to give the children a virtual tour of the classroom. If your child is particularly anxious about returning to school they are welcome to pop in between 1.30-2.00pm on Monday 15th August to put their pencil case in their tray and to say ‘hi’ to the teacher. Please contact staff in advance so they are expecting you and come in via the office.

Grange Parent Calendar – An iCal has been created for parents to make sure you have key dates for the year. This can also be used on android devices and instructions will be available online. Please keep in mind that dates are subject to change and there could well be additional dates/ events to follow.

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

Lunch times – This term we will trial a slight change to the lunch timings. P1-4 will remain the same, but P5-7 will start lunch 10 minutes earlier and return from lunch 10 minutes earlier. The new lunch timings for P5-7 will be 12.40-1.30pm.  This will allow slightly more overlap for siblings to see each other at lunch time. We will review this at the end of term 1 and make any changes if required.

Grange hoodies – It seems that there is a batch of orders waiting to be collected from the warehouse (behind Sainsburys). It might be that email notifications have gone into you junk folder so it might be worth a check. The link for ordering hoodies can be found in the uniform section of this blog.

Playground Progress – New equipment has been installed over the summer so it will be exciting for the children to return to an improved playground next week. Each class will be given a time to explore and play over the first few days of term, with the official opening being Friday 19th August. This will allow time for everyone to understand the safety measures in place and it will ensure everyone gets the chance to play. Phase 1 complete, now onto Phase 2…

The Kiltwalk 2022 – We are keen to kickstart the fundraising for Phase 2 of our playground project and all funds raised by The Kiltwalk this year are being increased by 50% by the Hunter Foundation. This seems like too good a chance to miss! Phase 2 could include slides built into the banking, scramble nets and swings. Some of us are taking part in the Wee Wander on Sunday 21st August 12pm from Castle Green to Monifieth. If you would like to join us please register and join the Grange Primary Team or to save the registration fee just come along on the day. We will also do a Wee Wander round the playground on the Friday before so that nobody feels left out! You can use and share this link to the Just Giving page for donations…let’s get walking Team Grange!

https://dundee.thekiltwalk.co.uk/fundraising/DundeeKiltwalk2022-GrangePrimary

Grange Fest – We are holding a play festival ‘Grange Fest‘ on Friday 26th August 1.30-3.00pm to allow parents to come along and play outside with their children. This event will also serve as an opportunity to ‘Meet the Teacher’ and for your child to show you around their new classroom. We look forward to seeing you there!

Parent Council – We are keen to recruit new members to our Parent Council and to appoint new office bearers. Being part of the Parent Council is a great way to get involved in school life and it really only involves attending a few meetings a year (often which are online to avoid childcare issues). If you are interested in becoming involved please get in touch. The proposed dates for the meetings can be found using the calendar link above.

Grange Gabber and Nursery Natters – These informal parent groups have always been a great way for the school to get helpful feedback and suggestions for improvement. This year we are going to try incorporating them into our Reading Cafes which will be held each month in the school hall on Friday afternoons. More information to follow once we are back to school.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the remainder of the summer holidays and that the sun continues to shine. I look forward to welcoming the children back next week.

Lorraine Will 😊