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!