We would like to remind parents and carers that there is no parking/drop-off/waiting in the school car park. There is additional parking across in the church car park. 

Thank you.

As you will have read in our August Newsletter, our information for PE Days has changed slightly since last term:

PE

Primary 1-4 can get changed in class together. The upper school boys and girls will get changed separately.
Please send children to school with appropriate PE kit this can include a school polo shirt or blue t-shirt, black shorts/leggings/tracksuit bottoms and suitable trainers. These items should be left in school in a bag for children to access.

Please remember that no jewellery should be worn on PE days, including earrings. If your child is not taking part in PE due to
medical reasons please contact the school. It is expected that all children will take part in PE tasks, if a child has forgotten items we shall aim to provide suitable items for them to borrow.

Please note: As of tomorrow, 24th August, pupils attending the Breakfast Club should enter the school via the Dining Hall entrance at 8.15am. We would be obliged if pupils would arrive no earlier than 8.15am as there is no supervision in the playground until 8.45am.

As you will have read in our August Newsletter, we are pleased to announce that ‘Meet the Teacher Sessions’ have been organised to take place this term. Please see the dates below and follow the link to complete a form providing information on who will be attending.

We ask that only one adult attends this per child. This is an opportunity for the class teacher to talk to you about different items taking place in the class. This will include information about Homework, Literacy, Numeracy, Health and Wellbeing, RE and pupil expectations.

Please be aware that this is not a parent/carer appointment to discuss a child’s progress, this is an opportunity to meet the teacher and receive some school information.

The children will not be in the class during this activity.  Sessions will take place from 2.00pm 

Monday 5th September – Primary 3
Tuesday 6th September – Primary 1
Wednesday 7th September – Primary 2
Thursday 8th September – Primary 7
Monday 12th September – Primary 6
Tuesday 13th September – Primary 4
Wednesday 14th September – Primary 5

Please read the attached letter regarding the consultation on stages of future educational provision for children at Willowbank School, Onthank Primary School, Onthank Early Childhood Centre (ECC) and Mount Carmel Primary School.

Consultation Letter – 23.8.22 – parents and carers

We are delighted to see the return of our Breakfast Club!

Breakfast Club starts each morning at 8.15am and those children attending should enter the school via the middle school entrance.

If your child/children had received a place to attend Breakfast Club but you now longer require that space, please contact the school asap as there is a waiting list. Thank you.

A big thank you to our excellent staff involved in running the Breakfast Club including classroom assistants Mrs Jeffers and Mrs Henderson and Stephanie, our Catering Manager:

Apologies this information was missing from the August newsletter:

Please see the attached newsletter for important school information and the attached School Improvement Plan.

August Newsletter

School Improvement Plan

A reminder of the arrangements for the start of school:

Primary 1 parents/carers will be allowed into the classroom to take a “first day of school” photograph of their child in their new classroom. Please ensure, however, that it is only your child(ren) that is in the photo. To ensure the children are not overwhelmed by the number of adults in the room, we would ask that there are no more than two adults entering the class with each child. The children will be split into two groups to reduce the numbers in the class at any one time. Details of the groups were emailed to all parents/carers before the holidays.

The arrangements for the first day of school on Thursday 18^th August are as follows:

• All parents and children will enter the infant playground through the gate nearest Crossgates nursing home for 9:15am/9:30am (depending on child’s group)
• Group 1 parents and children will enter the classroom for settling and photographs at 9:15am.
• Group 2 parents and children will enter the classroom for settling in and photographs at 9:30am.
• As it is the first day of school, children can be picked up anytime between 2:30pm and 3:00pm from the Primary 1 classroom door (please enter playground through the same gates as before)
• If your child is having a school lunch, please remember to look at the lunch menu with your child beforehand to allow you to choose the best option together.

The arrangements for Friday 19^th August are as follows: 

• Children and parents will arrive in the infant playground (same gates as above) for 9am.

• Adults can stay in the playground until the children line up at their classroom door when the bell rings.

• Children are collected from their classroom door at 3pm.

The arrangements for Monday 22^nd August onwards are as follows: 

• Children arrive in the playground between 8:45 and 9am. We kindly ask that all adults remain outside the gate from this point to allow the children to get used to the morning routine.
• Children will line up at their classroom door when the bell rings – staff will be on hand to help.
• Children are collected from the classroom door at 3pm.

Please remember to bring your child’s homework bag on their first day back.  Please note that children should not arrive in the playground before 8:45am as it will not be staffed before this point. 

We look forward to welcoming all of our children back to school at 9am on Thursday 18th August.

A reminder that all children should come to school in full school uniform. This consists of black/grey trousers or skirt with blue/white shirts and ties or a polo shirt as well as a blue jumper.

On PE days will get changed in school.  A PE kit can be left in school on their peg or brought in on each of their PE days.  Details will be provided of PE days for each class.

We are pleased that our Breakfast Club is returning on Monday 22nd August at 8:15am.  All parent/carers that requested a place were emailed before the end of term detailing if a place was/was not available.  We had a high response for this, unfortunately our numbers are limited so a waiting list is now in place.

A reminder that if your child is absent from school you should contact the school and leave a message or speak with a member of our office staff.  Please complete this by 9:15am.

Apologies for the delay, passwords have been sent out today.

Primary 5 night at the movies

P5 Night at the Movies …

Primary 5 have been looking at the advancement of the Film Industry. We have studied the evolution of cinema from the ‘Silent movie Era’ looking at Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and our fa…

Go to this Sway

This amazing cake was a very kind parental donation for our Primary 7 class to enjoy as part of their leaver’s celebrations.

Our winning house was Air!. All the children who are in the Air House enjoyed watching a movie and making ice cream sundaes with Stephanie.

SUMMER Highlights

Spend your Summer with East Ayrshire Leisure.
Enjoy a summer of fun activities for families, children and young people.

 McDougall’s in Toyland
Palace Theatre ∙ Sat 2 July ∙ 2pm ∙ £8.50/£32 family

The Polar Bears Go Go Go! 
Palace Theatre ∙ Sun 17 July ∙ 11am & 2pm ∙ £8 child/£10 adult

a Muckle ‘n’ Wee:Creative Wildlife Trail
Dick Institute ∙ Normal opening hours  ∙ FREE

Great & Small:Crafted Creatures
Dick Institute ∙ Normal opening hours  ∙ FREE

  Stop Motion Animation Workshops
Auchinleck Library ∙ 19 & 20 July, 26 & 27 July ∙ 11am -3pm ∙ 8ys+ ∙ FREE (booking essential)

DIGITAL Drop-In DAY
Galston Library ∙ Tue 2 Aug ∙ 11am -3pm ∙ FREE (drop-In)

Pond Dipping
Dean Castle Country Park ∙ Thu 21 July ∙ 11am & 2pm ∙ £3

Wormery World
Dean Castle Country Park ∙ Thu 14 July ∙ 11am & 2pm ∙ £3

Swimming
Your Local Leisure Centre ∙ Normal pool hours ∙ From £2.10 * FREE for Active Club members

Gymnastics Camp
Barrony Sports Village ∙ Tuesdays and Thursdays ∙ 3-5yrs £3/ 5yrs+ £6

Check out the full timetable in the Summer Programme here.

“The Take a Bow Opportunity Centre is hosting a fun packed summer programme from the 4th of July until the 17th of August. There are 3 sessions per day and kids can book in for one a day, all 3 sessions or for the entire week! Our programme is action packed, including bouncy castles, sports, arts and crafts, cooking, and lots lots more. Book in now to secure your place”

Please complete the form below if you would like to assist on future school trips when parent/carers are once again able to support with these.  This form will remain open until the new term.

We are very sorry to say that the 3D printer we were using to make the P7 keyrings/spinning tops and tic tac toe has broken and we are unable to fulfill the full amount of orders that have been placed. Children who ordered  early will still receive their item. However, later orders, unfortunately, can no longer be processed.

All necessary refunds will be made via Parentpay and will be shown as “order not fulfilled”.

We can only apologise for this, we know the children will be disappointed but the circumstances are outwith our control.

Can all parents/carers applying for East Ayrshire Clothing Grants please ensure that their address is up to date with the school, as their grant will not be processed  if the address on the grant differs from that held at the school.

Apply online · East Ayrshire Council (east-ayrshire.gov.uk)

Thank you

Vibrant Communities Summer Programme is now live and can be booked via this link

https://events.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/events

Please complete the form below if you would like to assist on future school trips when parent/carers are once again able to support with these.  This form will remain open until the new term.

As part of their class topic ‘Night at the Movies’ primary 5 have been creating their own films and would love to share them with the primary 5 families.

This will be shared via a password protected Sway document, with the password provided to the main contact for primary parent/carers. If you do not wish your child’s film to be shared please contact the school or complete our query form by Monday 27th June.

Mrs Fergusson

We are requesting that our current Primary 1 parents/carers take the time to provide us with some information regarding your experiences of Learning Journals.  This will shape how we use this across the whole school.

Primary 1 Parent/Carers please complete the survey below by the end of today.  Thank you for your feedback.

Parent/Carer Primary 1 Survey

Please find below information on school closure times for pupils who access school transport:

Summer Closure to HT 2022 200622

Please complete the form below if you would like to assist on future school trips when parent/carers are once again able to support with these.  This form will remain open until the new term.

Primary 2/3 and Primary 5 had a fantastic day at Dean Park on Tuesday and enjoyed some time exploring the park, playing some games and spending time at the swing park and gardens.

The weather held out so the children thoroughly enjoyed picnicking at the park!

We are requesting that our current Primary 1 parents/carers take the time to provide us with some information regarding your experiences of Learning Journals.  This will shape how we use this across the whole school.

Primary 1 Parent/Carers please complete the survey below by Thursday 23rd June.  Thank you for your feedback.

Parent/Carer Primary 1 Survey

We are requesting that our current Primary 1 parents/carers take the time to provide us with some information regarding your experiences of Learning Journals.  This will shape how we use this across the whole school.

Primary 1 Parent/Carers please complete the survey below by Thursday 23rd June.  Thank you for your feedback.

Parent/Carer Primary 1 Survey

We are pleased to announce that our Breakfast Club will be returning after the summer holidays.  This will begin on Monday 22nd August and will support 30 children per day.

As you are aware the focus of the Breakfast Club is to support families by providing a healthy and nutritious start to the school day as well as opportunity for children to engage in social, physical and educational activities.

Breakfast Club will begin at 8:15am each morning and will cost £1 per day paid via ParentPay or will be free for those who have applied for Free School Meals.

Please be aware that the purpose of Breakfast is not to provide early morning childcare, as stated it is about supporting families and children to make healthier choices.  Priority places will be provided to specific families.

If you would like your child to be considered for an additional place at Breakfast Club please click on the link below.  Please complete this for Sunday 19th June:

Mrs Fergusson

This lunch will be for the whole school on Friday 24th June which is also our Fun Day!

Our Primary 7’s have chosen their own “Leaver’s Lunch” menu:

Burger and Fries

Popcorn chicken and fries

Cheese pizza and fries

Fudge or sponge cake and custard