Dalrymple Primary School and ECC

This week in Primary 5/6 parents were invited to our parent/pupil progress meetings. We were all delighted with our progress especially our parents, always a worrying time for us pupils. This was very different for us because we met in person, we haven’t met for the last few years because of the Covid pandemic.

This was a very different meeting as pupils also met with the teacher and their parents/guardians. We had a meeting lasting 15 minutes where we looked at our assessment tracking on the computer and discussed the progress we have made.

I enjoyed this kind of meeting as I like to know how I am doing and the progress I have been making. (Kathryn)

I liked seeing how I have been doing, I felt included in the discussion. (Ayanna)

Written by Ayanna and Kathryn

On the 11th November we carried a poppy wreath and multiple memorial crosses to our local memorial. There awaited Rev Hendrie and other local members. We all placed our memorial crosses next to the wreath.

We have been working on our Remembrance Assembly. We have also been learning a song called Fields of Poppies. The play told the story of The Great War. We were so fortunate to have so many parents in the audience.

Our Primary 7 pupils have been creative and produced their very own take on a famous TV show to help promote our new school values.  No expense has been spared as we have recruited the finest talent to bring this together.  Please check out our trailer below and be sure to stay tuned for our next episode.

There is no doubt that the last two years have been very difficult.  But on this beautiful Spring day, we feel it is time to launch our new school vision, ‘Dawn in Dalrymple’ along with our school values and spread some much needed joy!!

Our Values:

• Community
• Trust
• Joy
• Ambition

Our Vision:

Today in Dalrymple Primary, our aim is simple.  It’s community at the heart of all we do – to make the very best use of the resources, places and people around us.  To shape the journey, not only of our learners, but alongside the community in which we serve.

Today, it requires trust, with strong and lasting foundations.  Building and sustaining partnerships – the mortar which holds together the building blocks of lifelong learning.

Today it requires bringing joy to the classroom.  This not only enables children to be informed, but to be inspired, inquiring and independent, ready to face the challenges of an ever changing landscape.

Today our ambition is again simple – we want excellence in all that we do, for all whom we serve. We don’t want our learners to reach their potential.  We want them to exceed it.

You can view our Dalrymple PS & ECC vision here:

Our Primary 7 pupils have also been busy making a video to promote these values in the school and beyond.  Keep an eye open for this exciting project!

Over the last few weeks we have recommenced our school assemblies. It

has been an absolute joy to have the whole primary school back together – it feels like another step closer to normal school life.  Hopefully over the next few weeks and months we can make further progress towards normal school operational life.

We are also in the process of identifying further after-school clubs which can be accessed for all pupils across the primary school.  Information will follow soon in relation to his.

We know this has been a very difficult and frustrating period of transition in the life of the school.  I would like to reassure you of our commitment to working together with all our parents/carers and wider school partners to ensure that each of our pupils are… Good at Learning… Good at Life!

Well done to Isla and Alfie who were the P3 winners of the Scots Poetry Recital Competition.

Our P3 Scots Poetry Recital Winners

Well done to Angel and Kathryn who were the winners of the P5 Scots Poetry Recitation.   A video of their recitation is here along with another of the class performin the locally written poem “Missin’ Ayr”

Our Scots Poetry Recitation Winners

Well done to all of primary 6 who tried to perform their Burns’ poem, Address to a Haggis! Our overall winner was Jenna and the runner up is Pippa.

P6 Burns’ Poem Recitation winners

Congratulations to our P4 Scots Poetry Recitation winners, Emelia and Freya, with “A Dug, a Dug!”

Our P4 Scots Poetry Recitation winners

Our P7 Scots Poetry winners

Follow the link to watch P6’s Remembrance Day Video:

Remembrance Day Video

Hallowe’en Monster March | (glowscotland.org.uk)

The children in P3/4 have worked very hard to create this fantastic Harvest Assembly. We hope you’ll enjoy watching!

This is a private video only accessible for members of the school.

Massive congratulations to Abigail who has won these medals at the Taekwon-do World Championships. What a superstar 🌟

Please take a few minutes to complete this questionnaire for a chance to win a meal for two and a bottle of wine courtesy of The Kirkton Inn.

Click here for questionnaire

Dear Parents/Carers,

Reading with your child has so many benefits; improves vocabulary, develops imagination and creativity, expands knowledge, improves mood and decreases stress levels, as well as the fundamental skill of reading itself.

Shared reading is a great way to develop children’s language and communication and to boost their reading skills. Regular reading routines can offer lots of opportunities for learning during school closures, especially if set literacy tasks are being met with resistance from your child.

Attached are some simple tips for reading at home with your child, sharing a text and discussing it together- developing a host of skills while spending quality time together.

Nursery rhymes, songs and storytelling are all excellent methods of developing communication and language skills.

We hope you find these tips useful and appreciate all the hard work and effort being made by carers and pupils with remote learning- we can’t wait to see you all back at school again.

We will leave you with a quote from Julia Donaldson…

Good afternoon,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all well during this current situation.  I can hardly believe that January has gone already.  As we said ‘Goodbye’ to 2020 we were full of optimism and hope for 2021.  This year, so far has had a faltering start.  Whilst we are unable to offer the normal education provision, our remote learning has now been operational for the last 3 weeks.  I am fully aware that it is far from perfect and there will continue to be issues arising due to a whole host of reasons.  Rest assured, we are doing our utmost to remedy these.  Should you find that you continue to encounter problems with remote learning, please do get in touch with the school office.

I would like to thank you all for your support and patience during these times.  I am only too well aware of the difficulties and demands that home learning  brings upon parents/carers.  The relationships between you and your child is different from that of your child and their teacher/Early Years worker.  This can cause friction when things do not go according to plan – which happens all too often in my own household!  I urge you to use your own judgement, whenever necessary, to weigh up whether home learning might be the best option for your child at that time, or whether it is better for everyone’s wellbeing to take a break and do something more beneficial.  You know your child best!

I would also like to thank each of our amazing members of staff who continue to work hard and provide amazing learning opportunities and support for our children on a remote basis.  Lessons have been learned from our first lockdown last year and there is no doubt this has supported and improved the delivery of learning this time around.  Also, to staff who come into school to provide support for those pupils who are currently attending I give a huge thank you.

Over the coming days and weeks we hope to be able to offer further guidance and support to parents/carers on how best to approach this current experience.  It is so easy, in all walks of life, to develop habits and routines – some good and some bad.  The information we hope to share is aimed at each of us stopping and evaluating what we are doing.  Continuing the things that work, and stopping the things that don’t, as well perhaps taking on some new ideas and advice.

Some of the Scottish themed agamographs made by the upper bubble while in school.