What a lovely term we are having so far! As always the weeks are flying by and before we know it we will be at the October holidays. Please find below some information and updates for the coming school year:

School improvements 2024-25 – please use this link to find out about our Standards and Quality report and priorities for improvement this session:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/an/public/grangeprimaryschoolblog/uploads/sites/955/2024/08/25135352/Grange-SQ.docx

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/an/public/grangeprimaryschoolblog/uploads/sites/955/2024/08/25135354/Sketchnote-2024-25.docx

Car park safety – We have experienced a few near misses recently with cars entering the car park via the exit gate. The barrier at the entrance continues to lowers at 8.00am because this is when the car park starts to get very busy with staff arriving and we want to ensure the children’s safety. Where possible, children should not be in the car park after this time to keep them safe.

Turn off your car engine! – Across Angus  parents and carers are being encouraged to turn off their car engine while waiting at school and have a wee video (thanks to Ben, Aylah and Flo who were in P7 at Friockheim PS) which can be found on this link our YouTube channel

Playground security – To ensure our school grounds are safe and secure the playground access gates will remain locked until 2.55pm. This will still allow time for parents to come in for pick up at 3pm but will help us to monitor the school grounds for classes who are doing PE etc.

Medication – As we approach the colder weather it is worthwhile reminding everyone that school staff can only administer medication that has been prescribed e.g. a course of anti-biotics. Everyday medication for cold symptoms and minor ailments, such as Calpol or Piriton, should be administered before and after school.

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)

If children arrive after the above start times the doors will be closed and so they should come inside via the school office.

Absence procedure – If your child is absent from school please phone the office on 01382 768101 (please leave a message if the office is not yet open) or email the office grange@angusschools.org.uk. Please do not use Class Dojo to report absence.

Playground equipment – Our playground equipment is for children to use under the safe supervision of staff during the school day. We understand that parents/ carers might allow children to use the equipment from 3.00-3.10pm while they wait to pick up older children. If this is case please be mindful that parents/ carers are entirely responsible for supervising the children’s safety. The equipment should not be used after 3.15pm as the after school club then has use of the playground and the janitors need to secure the grounds. Your help with this is greatly appreciated!

Parent Council – We are hoping to recruit parents for our Parent Council in the near future. In the meantime I would like to extend the following invitation:

We would like to invite you to Angus Parent Voice meeting on Tuesday 24 September 2024, 6.30 – 8.30pm at Arbroath High School. This is a great opportunity for Parent Council Chairs across Angus to come together, hear from colleagues in Education and Lifelong Learning and contribute to discussions.

Agenda

• Angus Education Plan – Kelly McIntosh- Director of Education and Lifelong Learning
• Framework For Improvement – Neil Lowden – Service Leader – Education and Lifelong Learning
• Angus Parental Engagement Strategy – A Conversation – Jim Hammond- Service Leader – Education and Lifelong Learning

Anyone interested in attending should contact the school office.

School fund – Our school fund is used to provide resources and activities for the children. Money is raised by our MAD Fundraisers and by staff and parents. We have a committee of staff who oversee the income and expenditure and the minute of our most recent meeting can be seen here:

School Fund Finance Committee AGM 18.9.24

Dates for your diary:

• Settling in meetings – Wednesday 25th September and 2nd October 3.30-6.30pm
• MAD groups – Friday 27th September 1.40-2.25pm
• Golden Table – Friday 27th September
• End of term 1 – Friday 4th October normal finishing times
• Term 2 starts – Monday 21st October
• Netball tournament – Wednesday 30th October
• Halloween Silent discos – Thursday 31st October (during school day with more info to follow)
• MAD groups – Friday 1st November 1.40-2.25pm
• Rights Respecting Schools Class Meetings – Friday 8th November 2.00-2.30pm
• Sharing Our Learning – Thursday 20th November 6.00-7.00pm (tbc)
• MAD groups – Friday 22nd November 1.40-2.25pm
• School photographer – Wednesday 27th November
• Flu vaccinations – Thursday 28th November
• Golden Table – Friday 29th November
• In-service days – Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th December
• Holiday – Friday 6th December
• Christmas school lunch – Friday 13th December
• Christmas Cheer – Friday 13th December (see below for timetable)
• Cinema trip – Wednesday 18th December P1-7
• End of term 2 – Friday 20th 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, 1.40pm P3, 2.10pm P2, 2.40pm P1 – please note that children P5-7 who play strings will perform just before their classes sing!

Thanks to you all for your ongoing support of our wonderful school. Your children make us smile everyday and we are grateful that we can all work together to ensure they all get the most out of being a Granger!

Lorraine Will and Pippa Landsburgh

It has been lovely to see everyone coming back to school looking so smart and happy! 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! Given that the weather continues to be very changeable , it would be helpful if the children could bring a coat to school to avoid them getting caught in the many rain showers we are experiencing. Our new Primary 1’s are settling into school life very nicely and we have all been so impressed by their lovely table manners in the dinner hall. The children are all extremely polite and doing a great job using cutlery and tidying up. There will be lots of Golden Tickets heading their way, well done Primary 1!

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

• Miss Simms – class teacher P5b
• Mrs Lekange – support assistant
• Mrs Gee – support assistant
• Mrs Cheape – class teacher (Thursday & Friday)
• Kim Norris – school crossing patroller
• Mrs Gardner – Senior Early Years Pracitioner (nursery)
• Mrs Regulska – Early Years Assistant (nursery)

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 – Thank you for sending the children to school with their pencil cases filled and ready for learning. As a reminder, where possible pencil cases should contain the following:

· 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)

Please do not worry, if you feel this is a problem just contact us through DOJO and we will be able to help.

Nut allgeries – We continue to have a number of children in our school with 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.

Tayside Contracts – A short video has been produced to showcase the primary school dining experience.

Angus Schools Newsletter – Please use this link to access the most recent Angus Schools Newsletter: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKANGCO/bulletins/3ae4ce8?fbclid=IwY2xjawEq-jBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY1_HCpJcp9y4A4BlGYF53xwo9PUmTclVxtR0ojjMh7SERVc4hUOLkqOBA_aem_I1P7fOINyqdvTnxRTuA53A

Dates for your diary:

• Friday 20th September 3.15pm – Colour Run (more information to follow)
• Wednesday 25th September 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings
• Wednesday 2nd October 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings
• Friday 4th October – end of term

We are all looking forward to a great term of learning at Grange and look forward to seeing eveyone either at the Colour Run or for the Settling In meetings. As always if you have any concerns at all please do not hesitate to be in touch with your child’s teacher, Mrs Landsburgh/ Mrs Simpson (Nursery & P1), Mrs Oldham (P2-4), Miss Strachan (P5-7) or Miss Smith (our coloured rooms). We are all here to help and only want to work together to make sure your children continue to ‘Reach for the Stars’ #believe 🌟

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 into the sunshine (fingers crossed!):

Staff News – When we come back in August I will be working for 2 days each week for the Angus central team to support leadership across schools. On these 2 days Mrs Landsburgh will be Acting Head Teacher and she will continue to be supported by Mrs Smith and Mrs Oldham. Mrs Smith and Mrs Simpson will provide extra support as acting DHT and PT respectively for 2 days a week. I am confident that nobody will even notice I’m not there as they will all do their usual great job of keeping the school running smoothly. Their responsibilities will remain the same as follows:

Mrs Landsburgh – Nursery and P1

Mrs Oldham – P2-4

Mrs Smith – P5-7 (please note Mrs Smith will return as Ms Strachan in August)

Miss Smith, who is currently one of Additional Support Needs teachers (Yellow Room) has been appointed as Principal Teacher for Inclusion at Grange. This is a new post for our school and I am sure that Miss Smith will help to further improve our approaches to supporting children’s needs effectively. Miss Smith will be a helpful point of contact for parents who have additional support needs.

Miss Allison is heading off on maternity leave at the end of term. We wish her the very best of luck and look forward to meeting her little bundle of joy after the holidays. Enjoy!

Last but definitely not least, Mrs Davidson (School and Pupil Support Assistant) retires at the end of term after working at Grange for 23 years! In that time she has supported so many children and shown endless care and compassion and without doubt she will be greatly missed by all. She is a Grange legend and I am incredibly grateful for her hard work, loyalty and friendship. We have shared laughter and tears over the years and I am delighted that she will now have more time for her lovely family and for herself! On behalf of all the children and staff – Thank you Mrs D!

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 12.20-1.00pm)

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)

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, 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.

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

Monday 12th 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 particuarly anxious can pop in between 2.30-3.00pm to out minds at rest.

Tuesday 13th 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 via dojo.

Friday 6th 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 25th September and 2nd October 3.30-6.30pm – Settling in meetings

Friday 4th October – 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!

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! 🐣

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

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

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! 🎅

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! 🎅

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 🎃

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!