🤩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

Summer term is upon us 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 short and busy term with lots going on.

Staff News

Mrs Oldham has decided to take early retirement, with her last day being at the end of this term. Grandparent duties are a calling along with her many other hobbies. We will be extremely sad to see her go however we are excited to see what her future brings!

We are delighted that Miss Lorimer who covered P6 for us last term is staying with us for the remainder of the term and will be covering RCT in both P2 classes.

Summer Term Events

Last week you all received a Groupcall regarding our plans for Sports Day. The Parent Engagement Group are looking for some helpers to help serve refreshments and sell strawberries. It would be appreciated if you could give up a bit of time to help if possible. Please use the link to sign up:

https://forms.office.com/e/6Ak6p8Ve7k

We are also taking preorders for strawberry punnets that will be sold on the day. Please use the ink below to preorder:

https://forms.office.com/e/mt1Ku1jjKK

Orders will be closed on 12th May

Uniform

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

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, white T-shirt, black joggers, leggings or shorts. Black trainers.

P7 pupils have the option to wear a 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

• Golden Table – Friday 9th May
• MAD Groups (P2-7) – Friday 9th May
• Learn to Learn – Friday 9th May
• New P1 Information Evening – 7th May @ 6pm
• CBM Girls Football – Friday 16th May
• New Nursery Information Evening – Wednesday 21st May @ 6pm
• Sports Day – Friday 23rd May (Strawberry Sale)
• “Onery Development Day” (info to follow) – Saturday 24th May 10am-2pm
• In- Service Day – Monday 26th May
• CBM Football – Wednesday 28th May
• Transition Week – 10th & 12th June (Nursery-P6)
• P1 Transition Lunch – 11th June @ 11.30am
• P7 Transition days – P7a – 9th June & P7b 10th June
• P7 Leavers Event – Wednesday 18th June 6-7pm
• P7 Fun Days – Thursday 19th – Tuesday 24th June
• Colour Run (info to follow) – Friday 20th June
• Nursery Garden Party – Friday 20th June 1.45pm
• End of Term & P7 Parade – 2.45pm Friday 27th June

What a  fast term this has been!

Thank you to those who have attended our “Sharing our Learning” event this afternoon and hope you found it interesting learning about all the technology through the ages and how children have been using technology this term!

Our book fair was a great success and we hope that you will have a look at your children’s wish lists they have brought home and hopefully make a purchase.

Thank you to those who brought in donations for the food bank and well done to our Community Champions for organising it.

😇Parent Engagement Group😇

Many thanks to those who volunteered to be part of the Parent Engagement Group who met last week and discussed family engagement events and fundraising moving forward. It was extremely helpful!

We look forward to planning events to support you as parents but also to continue to make memories  for our children. We do have representation across the school but this is not exclusive and any parents wishing to join can get in touch with me at anytime.

I would like to stress that these parents are not your “go to” for any issues or concerns and we would always encourage you to give us a message or call if this is the case.

🎤GLEE Competition🎤

Our Grange Glee Gang sang and danced their hearts out last Friday evening 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!!

🏆Netball Tournament🏆

Our P7 netball club sent a team to the MHS cluster schools tournament this week at Carnoustie High School. The team played incredibly well together, tried their best and demonstrated great sportsmanship. They played against 6 other schools, won all of their games and won the overall trophy. We are super proud of them all. Well done Team Grange! Thank you to Mrs McInally and Miss Finnie for coaching the team.

❤️🧦Comic Relief & World Down Syndrome Day 🧦❤️

Just a reminder that next Friday (21st) we are celebrating the above events. Children can wear a touch of red and are invited to “Rock their Socks” too. With the theme of “GO BIG” for Comic Relief we have something exciting planned in the afternoon that will be shared on Dojo next week. If you wish to make a donation then please click the link below:

Just Giving – Grange Primary

🎉🎧A FareWILL Event🎧🎉

We are delighted that Mrs Will will return to Grange for a Farewell Silent Disco on Thursday 3rd April to say goodbye. Year groups will be timetabled throughout the day as we have done previously. Let’s give her the send off she deserves 😊

🐰End of Term Events🐰

Our “Fun Fundraisers” have organised an Easter Egg decorating competition. Cost of entry is £1.00. To enter pupils need to decorate a hard boiled egg as their favourite book or movie character at home. Bring decorated eggs to school on Monday the 31st of March. Winners will be announced at the end of the school day. There will be one winner in each year group. Winners will receive an Easter Egg.

I am delighted that our Parent Engagement Group will be running a chocolate tombola and Easter Trail on the last day of term. They are looking for donations of any chocolate bars (any size), Easter Eggs or anything chocolatey. These should be handed into the school office from now on please. Classes will be timetabled to visit the chocolate tombola throughout the day along with the easter trail. Cost to enter the chocolate tombola will be £1 for 3 tickets.

💷All proceeds from these fundraisers will go towards replenishing sensory and IT equipment💷

Dates for Diary

Term 3

• Comic Relief – (Information above) Friday 21st March
• World Down Syndrome Day (Information above) – Friday 21st March
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st March
• CBM Football Tournament – 21st March 9-12pm
• Golden Table – Friday 28th March
• CBM Girls Football Tournament – Friday 28th March
• MAD Groups (P2-7) – Friday 28th March
• Day of Dance – 31st March
• Autism Acceptance Day – 2nd April
• End of term 3 – Friday 4th April (3.00pm finish for ALL)

Term 4

• Start of Term – Tuesday 22nd April  – ( Easter MONDAY is a holiday)
• Golden Table – Friday 25th April
• MAD Groups (P2-7) – Friday 25th April
• CBM Netball @ Carlogie – Monday 28th April
• Cross Country Event – Tuesday 29th April
• Nursery Family Engagement Event (info to follow) – Thursday 1st May 2-4pm
• Learn to Learn – Friday 2nd May
• May Day Holiday – Monday 5th May
• CBM Girls Football – Friday 16th May
• Sports Day – Friday 23rd May
• “Onery Development Day” (info to follow) – Saturday 24th May 10am-2pm
• In- Service Day – Monday 26th May
• CBM Football – Wednesday 28th May
• P7 Leavers Event – Wednesday 18th June (evening)
• P7 Fun Days – Thursday 19th – Tuesday 24th June
• Nursery Garden Party – Friday 20th June 1.45pm
• End of Term & P7 Parade – 2.45pm Friday 27th June

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter break when it comes!

Many Thanks😊

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

I am delighted to let you all know that Miss Palmer will be returning to Grange Nursery on Monday 24th February after a few weeks working elsewhere in the authority. Thank you to Miss Finnie for covering her key group whilst she was away.

We are over the moon that Miss Finnie has been accepted to Dundee University next year to train to be a primary school teacher. As much as we will be really sorry to see her go in June, we are so proud that, as a former pupil, she continues to “Reach for the Stars”. Huge congratulations Miss Finnie and very well deserved!

Curriculum Review

Thank you very much to those parents who completed both the curriculum review and parent surveys in the last few weeks. The feedback has been really valuable. We also had a parent group meet a few weeks ago to share how our current curriculum works, share the feedback and discuss thoughts about how the revised 3 year curriculum plan could look. The input from parents was extremely helpful and we will share more next term once we have reviewed all the thoughts and ideas and planned with the staff team.

Parent Engagement Group

We are wishing to have a representative from each year group who would be willing to join us once a term (early evening) to meet and discuss upcoming events, fundraising and improvement consultation and then to feedback to your Whats App groups. If you wish to put your name forward then please get in touch with me by messaging on Class Dojo by next Friday 28th February. Many Thanks.

Reporting

In response to your survey feedback, quite a few of you wish more clarity around how we report to you over the session on your child’s progress so I thought I would share this link that documents all the timings of reporting to you formally and informally through out the school year. I hope this helps and of course any further feedback is welcome by dropping me a Dojo message or email.

Reporting

Communication

It was also requested for some clarity as to the purpose of the different communication channels.

Groupcall: Communication comes in an email from a central system and is used for Parent Updates (link to the school blog), contacting your regarding absence and formal communication purposes.

Class Dojo: Class teachers will use their class story and messaging for reminders to share class news and home learning. The leadership team will use the school story to post whole school reminders and to promote information that we feel with be helpful / useful for parents to know about (e.g. NHS events such as sensory processing training, speech and language events)

School Blog: This is used instead of a school website and is continually updated with information about our school.

CAMHS NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PARENT PORTAL

Please see information below regarding the NHS Tayside CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Parent Portal which is now open to all.

UPCOMING EVENTS

World Book Day – Thursday 6th March

This year we will celebrate World Book Day by bringing our favourite stories into school to share with our class. We are hoping to have some mystery readers visit classes throughout the day along with some paired reading. We wish to be equitable and therefore there will be no dressing up.

Sharing Our Learning/Usborne Book Fair – 14th 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 “School of the Future” whole school topic. The main learning focus of this has been technological developments.

Children will visit the book fair on this day and will have created wish lists to bring home. Orders can be made online or can be made on this afternoon. Books at the fair are for display only. Any books bought will then be delivered to school in the coming weeks and given to children in their classes. The school get a percentage of the sales to purchase books for the school.

Our Community Champions will also be collecting for the Foodbank once again on this afternoon and donations can be made in the gym hall. Thank you!

Comic Relief & World Downs Syndrome Day – Friday 21st March

As it is Comic Relief’s 40th birthday this year we will join them to raise funds by having a “Ruby” day, where children and staff are invited to wear a touch or as much red as they like! The theme is “Go BIG” and so we have a plan in the making about how Grange can GO BIG. Watch this space! We will share the link for donations on Class Dojo nearer the time.

At Learn to Learn this week, we talked about our identity and what make you unique and that this can be multitude of things such as our personalities and behaviours but also our values that come from our beliefs. We will also celebrate World Downs Syndrome Day  on the 21st March and children are invited to “Rock their Socks” on this day in addition to their touch of red if they so wish.

Parking

We kindly ask that if you are using the side roads off Grange Road to park and drop off your children at school that you do not turn in or park over residents driveways. Your help with this would be appreciated!

Dates for Diary

Term 3

• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st February
• P7 Leavers Photo (Evening Telegraph) – Friday 28th February
• Golden Table – Friday 28th February
• MAD groups – Friday 28th February 1.40-2.25pm
• World Book Day (Information below) – Thursday 6th March
• GLEE Competition – 7th March
• CBM Netball Tournament– 12th March 9-12pm
• Sharing our Learning (for parents) & Usborne Book Fair – Friday 14th March 2.00-3.00pm
• Comic Relief – (Information above) Friday 21st March
• World Down Syndrome Day (Information above) – Friday 21st March
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st March
• CBM Football Tournament – 21st March 9-12pm
• Golden Table – Friday 28th March
• CBM Girls Football Tournament – Friday 28th March
• MAD Groups (P2-7) – Friday 28th March
• Day of Dance – 31st March
• Autism Acceptance Day – 2nd April
• End of term 3 – Friday 4th April (3.00pm finish for ALL)

Term 4

• Start of Term – Tuesday 22nd April
• Golden Table – Friday 25th April
• MAD Groups (P2-7) – Friday 25th April
• CBM Netball @ Carlogie – Monday 28th April
• Cross Country Event – Tuesday 29th April
• Nursery Family Engagement Event (info to follow) – Thursday 1st May 2-4pm
• Learn to Learn – Friday 2nd May
• May Day Holiday – Monday 5th May
• CBM Girls Football – Friday 16th May
• Sports Day – Friday 23rd May
• In- Service Day – Monday 26th May
• CBM Football – Wednesday 28th May
• P7 Leavers Event – Wednesday 18th June (evening)
• P7 Fun Days – Thursday 19th – Tuesday 24th June
• Nursery Garden Party – Friday 20th June 1.45pm
• End of Term & P7 Parade – 2.45pm Friday 27th June

Many thanks for your continued support!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

I hope you all had a wonderful break and enjoyed time with family and friends. It was lovely to see all the children back last week and hear all their holiday stories!

Staffing Update – We were all sad to hear that Mrs Will has decided to move on this week. We are extremely proud of her achievements over her time here at Grange and wish her all the very best in her new role as Primary  and Early Years Service Leader.  We will all miss her but I am sure, in time, she will be popping in to visit us as she does view Grange as her home!

Mrs Shepherd has requested to be known as Miss McQueen from now on.

Whole School Topic – Our whole school topic “School of the Future“ kicks off this week and we are very fortunate to have Dave Smith join us for Learn 2 Learn tomorrow to talk to us and share images of the new Monifieth Learning Campus.  The main learning outcomes for this are computing science and social studies. We look forward to Sharing our Learning with you all in March.

Dates for the Diary:

• Learn to Learn – Friday 17th January
• Grange Gabbers (all parents welcome – to discuss school improvements as above) – Wednesday 22nd / Thursday 23rd January TBC
• Golden Table – Friday 24th January
• MAD groups – Friday 24th January 1.40-2.25pm
• Learner Led Conferences – Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th February 3.30-6.30pm. P4A Thursday 6th and Monday 10th.
• In-service day – Thursday 13th February – school closed to pupils
• Mid term holiday – Friday 14th and Monday 17th February
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st February
• Golden Table – Friday 28th February
• MAD groups – Friday 28th February 1.40-2.25pm
• Progress Update 2 issued to parents – Friday 28th February
• GLEE Competition – 7th March
• CBM Netball Tournament– 12th March 9-12pm
• Sharing our Learning (for parents) & Usborne Book Fair – Friday 14th March 2.00-3.00pm
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st March
• CBM Football Tournament – 21st March 9-12pm
• Golden Table – Friday 28th March
• CBM Girls Football Tournament – Friday 28th March
• Day of Dance – 31st March
• End of term 3 – Friday 4th April (3.00pm finish for ALL)
• Cross Country Event – Tuesday 29th April

Learner Led Conferences / Parent Meetings: A letter with information about our forthcoming Learner Led Conferences and P1&2 Parent Evenings is attached to this Groupcall message.

Parent Curriculum Group / Grange Gabbers – Thank you so much to those who have offered to join me to discuss curriculum, where we are currently, gather your thoughts and where we wish to go. From your responses the date that suited the majority of people was Wednesday 22nd January at 6pm in school. Any parent, who has not had a chance to respond, but wishes to attend is more than welcome. Please confirm your attendance by completing the form here:

https://forms.office.com/e/PG16CLhPQW

Stationary Replenishments: Thank you to those who have restocked their child’s/ children’s pencil cases over the holidays.
We are noticing that whiteboard pens and glue sticks are getting used more often and would ask that these are replenished more often.
Please could you check with your child regularly to ensure they have the following:

· Writing pencils x 2

· Small ruler x 1

· Eraser x 1

· Pencil sharpener x1

· White board marker x2 (minimum as used everyday)

· 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. We are finding that the children are using and respecting their own belongings more than when they were supplied by the school and the monies we are saving from not buying these resources are being used to enhance the learning for all children. Your help with this is very much appreciated.

Child Absences and Medical Updates: Just a reminder that if your child is going to 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 2025🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Our heritage is an important part of our curriculum and children across the school have already started learning Scots poems this week.
Burns Day is Saturday (25th) so we have decided to celebrate this Friday (24th) with 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 you wish to dress with more tartan than this then please also feel free.

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 MAD Groups, with a piece of shortbread. If your child cannot have shortbread for any reason, please message your child’s class teacher by Wednesday so we can organise something as an alternative.

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

Many Thanks

Pippa Landsburgh

Head Teacher (Acting)

• End of term 2 – Friday 20th December (3.00pm finish for ALL)
• Start of term 3 – Monday 6th January
• Learn to Learn – Friday 17th January
• Grange Gabbers (all parents welcome – to discuss school improvements as above) – Wednesday 22nd / Thursday 23rd January TBC
• Golden Table – Friday 24th January
• MAD groups – Friday 24th January 1.40-2.25pm
• Learner Led Conferences – Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th February 3.30-6.30pm
• In-service day – Thursday 13th February – school closed to pupils
• Mid term holiday – Friday 14th and Monday 17th February
• Cross Country Event – 18th March
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st February
• Golden Table – Friday 28th February
• MAD groups – Friday 28th February 1.40-2.25pm
• Progress Update 2 issued to parents – Friday 28th February
• GLEE Competition – 7th March
• CBM Netball Tournament– 12th March 9-12pm
• Sharing our Learning (for parents) – Friday 14th March 2.00-3.00pm
• Learn to Learn – Friday 21st March
• CBM Football Tournament – 21st March 9-12pm
• Golden Table – Friday 28th March
• CBM Girls Football Tournament – Friday 28th March
• Day of Dance – 31st March
• End of term 3 – Friday 4th April (3.00pm finish for ALL)

What a fun few weeks we have had!

Our Halloween “Silent” Discos were a huge success and the children ( & staff) had so much fun. It really was a delight to see them all in their costumes! Thank you to all those who donated their £1 towards to cost of the silent discos. It is much very appreciated!

Our P7 sports teams have been successful in their football and netball tournaments coming 3rd and 1st respectively and on Friday past the Girls football team won their first ever tournament. Well done to all involved!

Staff News

I am delighted to say that Mrs Oldham and Mrs Strachan have both successfully been appointed as Acting Depute Head Teacher for the rest of the session and they will share the role between them.

Miss Laura Mackie has joined us in the nursery. She joins us from Inverbrothock nursery and she is already making  a great addition to Granger’s Gang!

Sharing Our Learning Event

We look forward to welcoming parents and carer’s from P1-7 into school to find out what your child(ren) has been learning since August.

Please join us on Wednesday 20th November from 6-7pm. You will be able to view your child’s jotters and see around their classroom.

With our improvement priorities this session being writing and children’s rights, we hope that you will “Have a Go” at some of the tools the teachers are using to support and plan writing this year that will on display in each class.

In the hall, children from the Fundraisers MAD Group will be collecting food bank donations such as tins, cereal, pasta and advent calendars. It would also be helpful if you have any Bags for Life you would be willing to donate to help us transport the donations.

Children from the Rights Respecting MAD Group will continue to collect gift items and empty shoeboxes for the Dundee Shoebox Appeal.

Following the success from last year,  we are also asking people to donate any winter coats that their child may have grown out of and we will set up a coat swap stall in the hall. Coats can be handed into the school office from Monday 18th November. Any coats left over on the night will be donated to charity.

This session we are also carrying out a curriculum review and we wish to involve you as parents. In the school foyer, we will be asking for your views, and we would appreciate your time for some feedback during the evening.

Cinema Trip

Just a reminder that payment for the cinema trip can now be made on Parent Pay and it allows parents to choose £5 or £8 per child. The deadline for payment is  Monday 9 December 2024, and please note, we cannot accept cash for this trip. 

Winter Weather

As the temperature start to drop, I thought I would explain what may or may not happen in adverse weather.

Within our towns, decisions about closure and early departure of pupils and staff will be agreed by the Burgh Co-ordinator. During working hours, we will share any decision to parents / carers via Groupcall and Dojo.

There may be some circumstances where decisions regarding closures or cancellations of transport need to be taken urgently or outside of working hours. Please keep an eye on the Angus Council school closure page for information and of course we will communicate information via Groupcall and Dojo at the earliest opportunity.

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

If schools are closed due to weather conditions online learning will be provided.

Please find that attached document with further information: What Can I Expect – Severe Weather Arrangements – 2024

Winter Clothing

We have reached the time of year when the grass is still able to be played on however, this has an impact on the corridor and classrooms inside. As in previous years, it would be so helpful if children could bring in a pair of indoor shoes for children to change into after being outside so that mud is not transferred throughout the school and classrooms. Your help with this would be very much appreciated! If, of course, there are any concerns with this then please get in touch.

Car Park Safety

It has been brought to our attention that some children are still coming through the barrier in the morning and walking across the car park. If dropping your child on Grange Road please ensure that they walk down to the main gate and down the steps into the playground. This is much safer, particularly when we still have staff coming into the car park after 9am.

Please can I request that no vehicles drive in the exit gate at any point of the day. Cars come and go from early morning to early evening and as the car park is on a slope it is difficult to see around the corner when exiting the car park if a car were entering through the exit gate. This would be appreciated for everyone’s safety!

Absences

Please can I remind parents / carer’s that if your child is going to be absent from school that you call the school office.  Please try to call us from 8.30am. If you call earlier than this, please leave us a message on the answerphone. We would ask that you do not use Class Dojo to report an absence. Class teachers check Dojo at different times of the day and are busy preparing for the day ahead and may not check Dojo first thing. Your help with this would be appreciated!

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the 20th!

What a lovely couple of days we have had back at school and hope you all had a wonderful October break!

Staff News

As you are aware Mrs Will has been seconded to support schools across Angus for the rest of this session. I can now share that I am delighted to have been appointed the Acting Head Teacher for the remainder of this session and look forward to continuing to work with you all.

We welcome Miss Briggs who will be covering classes across the school this term. Miss Briggs was a student with us previously and has taught classes last term and is familiar with our school and children.

We are delighted that Miss Rennie, one of our Early Years Practitioners in nursery, successfully secured an Acting Senior Early Years Practitioner post at Ladyloan Nursery just before the holidays. Miss Rennie is a former pupil at Grange and returned to complete her modern apprenticeship 8 years ago and has been with us ever since. She will be missed in Granger’s Gang and across the school however, we wish her all the very best in her new role! #believe

Dates for your diary:

• P7 Football Tournament – Thursday 24th October
• Netball tournament @ Grange – Wednesday 30th October
• Halloween Silent discos – Thursday 31st October
• MAD groups – Friday 1st November 1.40-2.25pm
• Rights Respecting Schools Class Meetings – Friday 8th November 2.00-2.30pm
• Book Week Scotland – w/c 18th November
• Sharing Our Learning – Thursday 20th November
• 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
• Cinema trip – Wednesday 18th December P1-7
• End of term 2 – Friday 20th December 3.00pm finish for all children

We look forward to a busy but exciting term!

Kind regards,

Mrs Landsburgh

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

Term 2 Blog Posts