Tag: Parents

Healthier Minds resources and information for families

We are delighted to share the recent launch of East Renfrewshire Council’s Healthier Minds resource for families which seeks to address different ways we can work together to support our families and young people.

For further information on this we have included links below:-

https://youtu.be/uUyhOO0zhjY

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/healthierminds

In addition, East Renfrewshire Council are also planning an awareness raising event for Parents/Carers on this, so further information will be shared shortly.

We would also like to extend an invite to another Giffnock Family Support Team session in school on

Thursday 12th March at 9 am.

All welcome.

The theme will be around supporting childrens’ mental and emotional health with Mr McGee our Educational Psychologist present and Ms McLeod from our school staff presenting.

Should you have any questions or are interested in coming along to our school session please contact the school office.

Talking Homework

In school this week we are celebrating Reading Week and World Book Day. The children will be participating in a variety of literacy rich activities throughout the week and will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite character or in their pyjamas on Friday 6th March.

This week we have prepared a Talking Homework focused on the Share a Million Stories campaign and the Read Aloud event. Please follow the link below for access.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-to56MH0iw&feature=youtu.be

More information about Share a Million Stories can be found here – https://www.worldbookday.com/share-a-million-stories/

World Book Day 6th March

Due to an unforeseen clash in our school calendar, and in order to avoid some of our children missing out on the event due to trips out of school and swimming lessons that week, we are moving the date upon which we will celebrate World Book Day at Giffnock Primary to Friday 6th March.

 

As previously shared, all of our children are welcome to come to school that day wearing a costume of a character from a favourite story, or alternatively in pyjamas/ dressing gowns.

Positive Pathways Adult Learning Course

We have received further information on another course from the Adult Learning team.

If you are looking for ways to:

  • Improve your confidence & self-esteem
  • Develop your CV
  • Work together as a team
  • Identify your strengths and transferable skills
  • Plan your progression – college, volunteering or working
  • Gain a qualification

There is an information sharing session on this course on Tuesday 25th February at 9.30-11.30 at the Foundry in Barrhead.

The course which is based at The Foundry, will last for around 12 weeks (Starts March) is every Tuesday 9:30-11:30 and by the end you will have been accredited at SCQF Level 5.

If you are interested please contact Tracy Gemmill at the details below:

0141 577 3306 or 07818 534 195 for a chat

or email Tracy.Gemmill@Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

Mid term holiday dates

The primary school and nursery will be closed to pupils on the following days:

Friday 7th February 2020 as this is an In Service day for staff.

Monday 10th February and Tuesday 11th February 2020 for the February holiday.

Wednesday 12th February 2020 as this is an In Service day for staff.

All pupils should return to school and nursery at the normal times on Thursday 13th February.

After School Clubs

Emails have now been sent to parents/carers of children who have secured a place with our popular After School Clubs for this term. If you have not received an email we are sorry to say that on this occasion your child has not been successful.

If your child has been allocated a place with our After School Clubs, our expectation is that your child will attend. Please note that all children must be prepared to attend weekly and not withdraw from these clubs. The coaches are responsible for the children in their care and any absences must be accounted for.  In the unlikely event that your child is unable to attend any session could we please ask you to telephone the school office beforehand (we cannot accept a child’s notification to the class teacher) and this will then be marked on the club register for that day.  Without your assistance our administrative staff have to telephone parents/carers to ascertain the whereabouts of their child and with more pupils than ever taking part in after school clubs this can be a very time consuming task.

We wish to remind parents/carers that although most of our After School Clubs are held within the school, we do have some that are held in other locations.  If the club is not located at Giffnock Primary it is the responsibility of parents/carers to make sure arrangements have been made for your child to make their way to their club and also for leaving the club to go home.  This particularly relates to the Boys Football Club held at Woodfarm High School pitches on Mondays after school.  We would also like to clarify that if your child requires any medication/inhaler at a club held at another location this should be given to your child from your home supply as medication held in school cannot be transported.

Scottish government consultation

NURSERY – PRIMARY 7

The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 sets out the role parents, schools and education authorities must play in ensuring all parents are fully involved and engaged in their children’s learning and in the life and work of our schools.

The Scottish Government made a commitment to update, strengthen and modernise the guidance as part of its joint Scottish Government / Convention of Scottish Local Authorities “Learning Together” Action Plan.

We are running a full public consultation to seek the views of a wider audience to refine the updated draft guidance which launched today, Friday 24 January 2020, and will run until Thursday 30 April 2020.

The refreshed statutory guidance and associated consultation questionnaire can be accessed at: https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/parental-involvement-act/

We hope to hear from anyone who has an interest in how parents can be fully involved and engaged in children’s learning.

For more information on the public consultation and how you can be involved in this please contact: parental.involvment@gov.scot

Parent Council Next Meeting 31 January

Dear Parents/Carers

A reminder that the next meeting of the Giffnock Parent Council will be this Friday 31st January at 1.30pm in the School Staff room.  At the moment there are only a handful of parents attending meetings and we are always keen for more voices/opinions so if you are able to pop along that would be great. No pressure to ‘join’ the PC we are just really keen to get more parents of different year groups to come along – to even just one meeting. The work done by the Parent Council helps your children and we encourage all families to take their turn to help out.

The Agenda for this Friday’s meeting is as undernoted. If you have anything to say regarding the matters being raised(& you can not attend this meeting) please message the PC on giffnockpc@hotmail.co.uk .

Many thanks

Giffnock Parent Council

Agenda – Fri 31st January

  1. Introductions – Tea/Coffee & Biscuits
  2. Nursery engagement/events
  3. School Twitter & Communication re School events
  4. Sponsored Event & STEAM
  5. Feedback – letter box idea
  6. Pupil Parliament
  7. Parent Equality rep
  8. Feedback re Cellidh
  9. Fundraising events and committee
  10. Parent Council engagement
  11. AOCB & date of next meeting

Cancellation of Burns Family Night and Ceilidh

Thank you to those who have requested tickets for the Burns Family Night & Ceilidh, unfortunately on this occasion we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the event.
We sold 21 adult tickets & 27 kids tickets for food & dancing and 12 for dancing only.  The revenue from these tickets would not be sufficient to cover the associated costs of the event and while we don’t run events solely for the purpose of fundraising and believe that the community benefit is just as important, we cannot risk running an event which would incur a loss.  We are fortunate that our suppliers; Marianna’s Catering & Chitterybite Ceilidh Band will not charge us for late cancellation.
A large percentage of the tickets sold were bought by members of the Parent Council and those involved in the organising of this event. These individuals would have also had to run the event on the night.
We do welcome any feedback and have tried to adjust this year’s event based on feedback from last year with regards to timings, venue and price.  As you can appreciate, a great deal of work goes into planning and organising these events and we do want to hold events that meet the needs and interests of our community.  If you have any suggestions or feedback  please feel free to contact the Parent Council on GiffnockPC@hotmail.co.uk
The revenue from last year’s event paid for one term of after school clubs which are provided by Parent Council funds. In order to try and avoid any loss of these activities for the children, we will be running a raffle as we have some great prizes which have been generously donated by local businesses. Look out for tickets and a list of the fantastic prizes this week in school bags and please support! The raffle will be drawn after school on the 31st January at the Community Cafe.
If you have paid for ceilidh tickets the money will either be handed back in person or you will receive an email to arrange collection from the school office.
Giffnock Primary Parent Council

Community Learning

Please find attached information from East Renfrewshire Council on Adult Learning Classes. We will shortly be presenting further information on this in school should you have any further questions.

East Renfrewshire Council Community Learning Flyer Jan 2020

The contact details for Adult Learning are as below should you see any opportunities you would wish to take up.

Angela McGoldrick

Community learning & Development Worker

Adult Learning Services

211 Main St, Barrhead, G78 1SY

t 0141 577 8345

e:  angela.mcgoldrick@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

The sessions are a great way of meeting new people and  learning new and different skills.

Kind Regards,

The Giffnock Family Support Team

Family First

Dear Parent/Carer,

Julie Douglas from Family First will not be based in school on Tuesday 21 January.

However her usual drop in will continue on Tuesday 28 January from 1pm onwards.

Please see attached leaflet for further information on support and help or you can contact Julie directly on:-

Julie Douglas Mobile – 07393752547                           Julie.Douglas@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

You can also ask a member of the Family Support Team and our Nursery, about Family First help, just let us know.

Many thanks

The Giffnock Family Support Team

Family First

Free taster swimming lessons

Swimming Development Programme: Free Taster Swimming Lessons

East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Swimming Development are looking for children aged 4 to 12 years to come along to FREE Lessons again.

Our existing swimming teachers are upskilling to a higher level of swimming qualification run by the National Governing Body Scottish Swimming.

If you are interested in bringing your children along to our free taster swimming lessons at Barrhead Foundry, being taught by our probationary teachers, then please see dates and times below.

Saturdays 22, 29 February and 14 March.
Sundays 9, 23 February, 01 and 15 March
Times as follows:-
Saturdays-11.30am-12.00pm, 12.00pm-12.30pm, 12.30pm-1.00pm and 1.00pm-1.30pm.
Sundays-12.30pm-1.00pm and 1.00pm-1.30pm 1.30pm-2pm and 2.00pm-2.30pm

Please choose which time slots you would like, (you can attend more than one session)

You can contact Barrhead Foundry and add your child’s name onto the list by calling 0141 580 1174, 577 3636 or 577 3562 or pop into the centre and put their name down on the list.

Change of lunch menu 23 January

We have been advised by the school kitchen that there will be a change of menu on Thursday 23rd January 2020 to celebrate Burns Day – please see attachment for full details.

Burns Day Thursday 23rd January 2020

SOUP OF THE DAY
Vegetable soup

TRADITIONAL TASTES
Haggis, Neeps and Tatties
Or
Scottish Cheddar Toastie, with Salad and Homemade Coleslaw

DESSERT OF THE DAY
Traditional Scottish Shortbread

Baked Potato and Baguette options also available

Giffnock Primary Panic Room!

PRIMARY 6 & PRIMARY 7 ONLY

 

Dear Parent & Carer 

 

Back in Term 1 the P6 & P7 children were asked to consider what kind of activities they would like to experience as part of school fundraisers. You will be aware that the children in P6 & P7 children enjoyed a movie night last term from which the feedback was really positive. One of the other suggestions that was really popular was for the children to take part in a Panic Room event.  We would love to offer this for the kids and the proposed date which has been agreed is Thursday 26th March that evening in the school.

 

So what on earth is a panic room…. ? 

 

The children would be divided into smaller groups and would face a series of challenges in order to work out a code that “unlocks” them from the panic room. The challenges could be mathematical, logical, physical etc and they will need to work together as a team to solve them. 

  

If you think that this is something that your child would enjoy we would love for you get involved.  As you can imagine, events like these take quite a bit of planning and we already have quite a full calendar and a small fundraising committee. Basically, we need your help!  If we can get a small team of P6/7 parents together to help plan and design the event as well as volunteers to help on the night then  we would be able to go ahead with this great idea! 

 

Please do get in touch by email GiffnockPC@hotmail.co.uk or text 07855 953906 to offer your help. 

  

Thanks in advance for your support. 

 

Kind regards, 

 

The Parent Council 

Parent Council Family Burns Night

NURSERY – PRIMARY 7
Dear All,
Happy New Year!

We are getting off to a flyer with the Family Burns Night & Ceilidh taking place on Saturday 25th January 2020 from 6pm.  Please note that this year we have a change of venue and the ceilidh will be held at the School.  Everyone is welcome.  Ticket booking forms have been sent home this week in school bags and must be returned by Friday 17th January with payment via class teachers.

Here’s what you need to know….

Date Saturday 25th January 2020
Venue Giffnock Primary School
Time  6pm – 11pm
Tickets
A wee Burl: £3.50
Burl n Scran: £10  / £5 for kids

For the first time we are offering tickets for those who just want to come along and enjoy the fabulous music and dancing provided, as always by Chitterybite.  For those of you wanting  scran too – Marianna will be once again be treating us to her delicious Haggis Neeps  & Tatties – so please come hungry!  Dominoes Pizzas will be provided for the kids. Food will be served at 7.30pm.

There will be a bar available throughout the evening, cinema for kids who need a break from dancing, sweetie stall for treats and glitter tattoos.

We will also have a performance area which will be available at set times thoughout the evening and would encourage any children or adults who wish to share any Burns poetry or songs to get involved and help us celebrate Burns in style. There will be a sign up sheet available on the night for anyone wishing to perform.  As the children have been studying Scottish literacy we are more than happy to include any other works that they have been enjoying.

We hope to see many of you there.  Bring you dancing shoes!

Thanks again,

The Parent Council

P2 and P3 Cooking

Dear parents/carers,
The third block of our Primary 2 and 3 Technology Zone is quickly approaching. We will continue to develop skills in woodwork, sewing, digital technology, construction and cooking. This block primary 2 will be making scones and primary 3 will be making shortbread.

Ingredients will include:

Self-raising flour
Cornflour
Baking powder
Pinch of salt
Caster sugar
Margarine
Milk
Dried fruit
Plain flour
Butter
Sugar

Please remember to keep us updated with any changes to allergies so that we can continue to meet the needs of all of our children.
The Technology Zone requires additional adult support and we are looking for volunteers to help out in our different areas. If you able to join us please call the office on 0141 570 570.

Parent Council

Just couple of reminders and updates for you.

Parent Council Meeting & Agenda

The next Parent Council meeting will take place on Friday 31st January at 1.30pm in the school, anyone is welcome and we would love to see some new faces at the meeting.  If there is anything you wish to be discussed then please email our Secretary Vikki McQuarrie on Giffnockpc@hotmail.co.uk to add to our agenda.  The agenda will be circulated next week in advance of the meeting.

Ceilidh

We hope that you all received your ticket booking forms last week which were sent home in school bags, please remember to hand your forms with payment into class teachers by Friday 17th January. We hope to see lots of you there as it is going to be a great night!

If you can’t attend the evening but would still like to support the event, raffle tickets will be on sale next week and we will also be holding a tombola which we hope you can help us with…please donate any items for the tombola to class teachers during the w/c 20th January.  Members of the Parent Council will also be collecting at drop off and collection on Friday 24th January.  Please remember that alcohol cannot be handed in via classrooms but can be handed in to the School office or at the collection next Friday.

So what can you donate?

  • Maybe you are doing Dry January and want to remove some temptations?
  • A healthy start to the year  means getting those Christmas chocolates out the house!
  • A gift that didn’t quite work for you? Someone else might love it!
  • Toiletries, bath sets, unwanted gifts anything at all that is new but looking for a new home.

All donations however big or small gratefully received! Remember we need your support in order to make this event a success.

Thanks again,

The Parent Council