Tag: Parents

Period Poverty P7

Period Poverty campaign Primary 7 November 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

Over the last year the school has undertaken awareness raising of the Cost of the School Day and in particular Period Poverty.

Last year in Primary 6 the girls met with myself to look over sanitary products which had been released free to all schools. The focus is meeting needs and ensuring equality of access to the products when our young people need them. This year we will re familiarise ourselves with product variety and choosing areas in school which are more comfortable to access them without having to ask.

During discussions we will highlight poverty issues and how this can impact access to sanitary provision. Over the course of the following terms our pupils follow our Health and WellBeing curriculum and cover outcomes such as the following:

  • I understand that there are people I can talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances.
    (HWB 0-03a / HWB 1-03a / HWB 2-03a / HWB 3-03a / HWB 4-03a)
  • I am developing my understanding of the human body and can use this knowledge to maintain and improve my wellbeing and health.
    (HWB 0-15a / HWB 1-15a / HWB 2-15a / HWB 3-15a / HWB 4-15a)
  • I can describe the physical and emotional changes during puberty, understand why they are taking place and the importance of personal hygiene. (HWB 2-48a)

On Thursday 19th December 2019, your daughter will bring home a provision pack, so we hope that again you will be able to look through this together to help support further understanding and discuss any questions.

We are delighted that this area is being addressed and hope that through collaborating with our pupils we can raise greater awareness of important health care and social issues too. Recently we have also made free period products accessible for parents; these are provided in the toilet in the open area outside our Nursery.
Please contact me at school should you wish to discuss this further.

Yours sincerely,
Kirsty Rawley
Depute Head teacher
Further campaigns and information on this issue can be found :-
https://news.gov.scot/news/students-to-get-free-access-to-sanitary-products

http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/article/8097/MEDIA-RELEASE-Community-group-become-Period-Ninjas-on-period-poverty

https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/Engender-Roundtable-Summary-Period-Poverty-June-2017.pdf

Parent Homework Workshop – Numeracy P3 and P4

Primary 3 and Primary 4

I would like to invite you and your child to attend a Numeracy homework support session on Friday 22nd November just after 3pm in the Blue Hall.

It will be an informal, practical and I hope fun session for the children to take part in and you will have the opportunity to see some of the activities and games which we learn through in class. You will also receive some resources to take away to help support learning at home.

Natalie Stead, Acting Principal Teacher

Christmas Fayre

It’s that time of year already… yes, preparations are well underway for our annual Christmas Fayre which promises to be another great afternoon and a fabulous fundraising opportunity for the school community. As always, in order to make this event a success we rely on your generosity and time so please do get involved. Here are some suggestions of how you can help…

Raffle Tickets…get selling

These were a huge success last year and raffle sales raised over £1,500! Raffle tickets will be sent home in homework bags Monday 11th November. If you wish to sell even more then that is great, additional sheets can be collected from the school office or simply photocopy! Please return all raffle money and tickets to class teachers in sealed envelopes no later than Thursday 28th November.

Donations, your generosity is always appreciated

Donations can be made from Monday 11th November via class teachers. Please note any alcohol donations must be handed in to the school office. We are looking for the following items:

  • Hampers
  • Please donate an item to help create fabulous, envy inducing hampers. Popular items from last year were; prosecco, wine, jams, chutneys, biscuits and festive treats.
  • Books & Toys
  • A good opportunity for a festive clear out before Santa arrives. Please donate toys and books in good condition.
Friday 29th November

Kids can wear something festive to school and bring an item for our ever popular red stall. This is also when we start accepting your fabulous bakes for our Christmas cafe. Festive bakes, family bakes, treats for littles ones will be all gratefully received. If you are not much of a star baker, shop bought items also very popular…no judgement here!!! Donations for the Christmas Cafe can also be made on the morning of the Fayre.

Visit Santa

We are delighted that Santa is going to be visiting us again this year and we expect that he will be very popular with visitors to his grotto. To avoid disappointment, please book you child/children a space. Santa’s Giffnock Elves will be taking bookings in the playground. Booking times can be found on the noticeboard by the tunnel in front playground.

Sponsorship

Do you own a company or work for a company who may be interested in sponsoring this event or part of it? Please get in touch. We would be happy to promote sponsors on the day and also on our social media platforms.

Volunteer

Thanks to all of those who have already volunteered their time and energy, we really appreciate it. There are still lots of jobs to be done and we do need your help! Please contact 07855 953906 to volunteer and get a friend involved too!

Thanks in advance!

We fully appreciate that we all lead very busy lives and that our children’s social calendars keep us even busier plus the added pressure and costs of Christmas – we don’t want to add to your load.

That said, these events simply couldn’t happen without your support, time and generosity, please do what you can. We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Oh, did we mention…. there’s a bar. Leave your cars at home. You deserve a treat, it’s Christmas after all….nearly.

From the Parent Council

Parent Council Meeting

Dear Parent / Carer

All parents and carers are invited to come to the next meeting of the Parent Council this Thursday, 14th November at 7pm at school.  We would be delighted to see new faces! 😊

The Parent Council supports an environment where all parents & carers know that their views matter, where they feel confident and comfortable in putting them forward.  It also:

  • provides a voice for parents/ carers on issues that are important to them and their children
  • supports the school in developing strong home/school partnerships
  • helps the school:
  • effectively involve parents/carers in their children’s learning and the life of the school
  • understands the unique and varied skills, abilities, interests, knowledge and expertise that parents/ carers can offer.

All meetings are open to all parents/ carers and there is no obligation to come to every meeting, just when you can or there is something on the agenda that you want to hear more about or want to contribute or ask a question. The school is more successful when we all work together!

Parent Council Meeting – Thursday 14th November 7pm at school

  • Welcome to everyone and thanks for coming
  • School Report – School leadership team member
  • Parental Engagement – what next after the signup sheets at the PC stand at parents night?
  • Finance – current balance
  • expenses needed by the school for activities to the end of the school yearFundraising
  • events to date (disco, movie night, pumpkin pandemonium); feedback & funds raised
  • events in next 3 months (Christmas Fair, ceilidh, Giffnock Family Forum Business Networking Event)
  • other forms of fundraising (Grant’s, sponsorship, PayPal Money Pools, Label Planet etc).
  • Storage – replacement for loss of hall cupboards
  • Volunteers, nomination & welcome of new Secretary
  • Proposed change of name of Parent Council to Giffnock Family Forum & Fundraising.
  • Any other business.

Giffnock Family Support Team Meeting

Giffnock Family Support Team

Next meeting Thursday 21 November 2019 at 9am in school

All welcome

At our last meeting we looked at key ways our school could continue supporting parents/carers and children. One of the discussions was on behaviour and emotional support.

Our next drop in is on Thursday 21 November 2019 at 9am in the school library. We will have a short input by our school psychologist on signposting and who we can go to when we have a question or need help. Mr McGee will also share information from an authority viewpoint on service access.

Mrs Carney will then share through an interactive session how we support emotional development and resilience in our children using the We eat elephants approach. This also supports good mental health for the family and we have a free mental/emotional and social health guide to share for further ideas on this area.

We will also hear from Talking Points, an East Renfrewshire based approach to supporting good health for the family. And finally a short interactive session on Mindfulness has also been organised for those who may wish to try out some fun sessions and take ideas back home!

Wider Achievement Clubs and Sport Survey P1-3

P1 to P3 only.

Giffnock Sports Committee needs your help! We would like to find out all the great things children in Giffnock do. Could you take 2 minutes to follow the link to fill in this survey about clubs outside of school. We will use this to plan clubs and try to help everyone stay active.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKeu_wdzIk0xHnONy0Tg-lilUQ1hRVjRCSzRMNkIyMkZLWjRDVFA2T1RGOS4u

class photos ordering

Class photographs were taken on Tuesday 5th November 2019 – your child will now have brought home a photograph order envelope (details of payment etc. are given on the proof order form).

As Tempest will be dealing directly with payment for the photographs, please ensure that you include your cheque (made payable to Tempest Photography) or fill in credit/debit card details and return the order envelope by  Thursday 21st November 2019  at the very latest.  Tempest Photography do not accept liability for any cash orders – if paying cash please ensure exact money is enclosed as no change will be given by Tempest.

Please note that if you wish to place an order after 21st November you will have to personally send a late order directly to H Tempest Ltd (address on proof envelope) and you should include an extra £5.00 for this service to cover postage to your home.  We will be unable to accept late orders at the school office.

Please ensure that your child’s name, class and order value are clearly marked on the proof envelope before returning it to the class teacher.

Children in need pudsey bear biscuits

We have been advised by the school kitchen that they will be selling Pudsey Bear biscuits for 35p on Friday 15th November at break time.  The biscuits will be sold for CASH only on this occasion (and not via ParentPay) as they will be sending a donation to charity (Children In Need). 10p per biscuit will be donated to Children in Need.

During each school year we rotate our focus between Children in Need and Comic/Sports Relief in order to support a balance for our families.  So although we are not actively supporting Children in Need with specific learning activities, children are welcome to wear celebratory accessories/clothing on Friday 15th November (however they should still wear school uniform).  If you do wish to send in a donation with your child we will be happy to send these on to the charity on behalf of all our school.

British Basketball Final

Please find attached a fantastic opportunity to watch high level sport at the Emirates Arena on Sunday the 15th March. We have been offered reduced price tickets of £5 for a child or adult for the Finals of the British Basketball Trophy. Should you wish to take advantage of this offer please use the link on the document below to book and input the code provided.

British Basketball Finals Letter Nov 19

Parent Council

This week at Parents’ Evenings members of the Parent Council will be available to answer any questions that you have about the school community and how you can get involved.  We are often asked about what is involved and we understand that the main concern is around time commitment but we know that so many of you are keen to contribute as you can.  We thought it would be useful to outline the ways in which you could do that.

Parent Council
The Parent Council meets twice a term with an AGM which is held in October.  The meetings are scheduled in advance and are shown on the school calendar. We try to hold meetings at various times with morning, afternoon and evening times to suit as many as possible. The meetings usually last approximately one hour.

All parents / carers are welcome to attend.  You do not have to be a member of the Parent Council and there is no requirement to attend a set number of meetings.

It is our intention going forward to send reminder emails to the whole school community as to when these meetings are taking place as well as circulating an agenda. If there are any topics which you wish addressed at a Parent Council meeting you are welcome to contact us and suggest an agenda item.

We are currently looking for someone to take the role of Secretary. We would love to hear from you if you think this is something you could help with.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 14th November 7pm – please come along.

Fundraising Committee
In addition to the Parent Council the fundraising committee meet to plan and organise fundraising events and activities for the school year. We currently have around five members who regularly meet to plan these events and again would like to remind you that all are welcome to get involved. These meetings happen more sporadically and normally take place at a committee member’s house. We would welcome new members as we do have quite an ambitious event schedule and fundraising target in mind.

Other ways to get involved in supporting our school community:

  • Volunteer to help at an event – we are always needing helpers for on the days of events and also in the lead up to help prepare activities & games
  • Consider any special skill that you have that may be of benefit, for example we have lots of generous graphic designers that help with our marketing, and joiners who help to create games etc. Can you be of practical assistance? Are you handy, creative & happy to help?
  • Do you own a business or work for a company who would be interesting in sponsoring an event?
  • Do you have experience fundraising and have ideas to share?
  • Can you offer your expertise in a particular area that could enrich the learning and school experience of our children either for an after school club or sessions / presentations during school time. For example, there has been interest in an after school chess club, are you the person to take that forward? A couple of our nursery mums are running a gardening club and sharing their passion with the nursery children.
  • Cook-along, reading groups, helping on school trips, Bikeability and even Forest Days in Eastwood Park with our Nursery children; there is so much going on within the school that needs volunteers so please get involved where you can.

We will be located within the Achievement (‘brown’!) Hall on both Parents’ Evenings. Please do come along and say “hi”; we will be happy to answer any questions that you have.  We will also be selling our Giffnock Primary School pencils for £1.

P3 Read Write Count Bag

Your child will soon receive a free bag of books and activities from the Scottish Government’s Read, Write, Count campaign.

Your child’s P3 Read, Write, Count Bag will contain:

  • two picture books
  • Galactic Fantastic card game and reversible story and routine cards
  • multi-sided dice
  • a notebook with a writing pencil
  • a guide with all the information you need to use the bag at home

The bag is designed to help you and your child to have fun with reading, writing and counting at home.

Giffnock Primary will be welcoming Primary 3 parents and carers on Wednesday 27th November 2.15pm to 2.45pm. There will be a short parental workshop and small information session. Followed by an interactive visit to your child’s classroom to share in the gifting of their ‘Read, Write and Count’ bags.

 

Parent Club: parentclub.scot
Simple, fun ideas to help parents to build reading, writing and counting in to everyday life, whether that’s at the shops, on the bus, at mealtimes or simply playing at home.

Scottish Book Trust: scottishbooktrust.com/readwritecount
Information about Read, Write, Count bags in your area.

Parentzone: education.gov.scot/Parentzone
Up-to-date information about learning in Scotland, practical advice and ideas to support children’s learning at home.
The Primary 3 Read, Write, Count Bag is given out to children around Book Week Scotland (18 – 24 November 2019). You and your family can take part in many events happening in libraries and other venues all over the country

P2 Read Write Count Bag

Your child will soon receive a free bag of books and activities from the Scottish Government’s Read, Write, Count campaign.

Your child’s P2 Read, Write, Count Bag will contain:

  • two picture books
  • a rockets and meteors game with dice and counters
  • reversible dot pattern board with dry wipe pen
  • story cubes
  • a notebook with a writing pencil
  • a guide with all the information you need to use the bag at home

The bag is designed to help you and your child to have fun with reading, writing and counting at home.

Giffnock Primary will be welcoming Primary 2 parents and carers on Wednesday 27th November at 9am to 9.30am. There will be a short parental workshop and information session followed by an interactive visit to your child’s classroom to share in the gifting of their ‘Read, Write and Count’ bags.

Parent Club: parentclub.scot
Simple, fun ideas to help parents to build reading, writing and counting in to everyday life, whether that’s at the shops, on the bus, at mealtimes or simply playing at home.

Scottish Book Trust: scottishbooktrust.com/readwritecount
Information about Read, Write, Count bags in your area.

Parentzone: education.gov.scot/Parentzone
Up-to-date information about learning in Scotland, practical advice and ideas to support children’s learning at home.
The Primary 2 Read, Write, Count Bag is given out to children around Book Week Scotland (18 – 24 November 2019). You and your family can take part in many events happening in libraries and other venues all over the country

P1A parent appointments

Mrs. Downie is unfortunately not well today and is unable to come to school this morning. Therefore, we have had to take the decision to cancel all of our P1A Parents’ Evening appointments this evening. We are very sorry for the invonvenience that this will cause you.

We will be re-arranging the same times for all our families from this evening to a new date, which we hope to be in the next few weeks; once Mrs. Downie has returned to school in the coming days we will be able to confirm this for you.

We apologise again for this and look forward to welcoming you into school very soon.

Jotters

As you are aware jotters were sent home with pupils on Friday 1st November to be returned to school today.

Thank you to those of you who have returned the jotters but could we please ask those of you who have not returned them to do so tomorrow as they will be needed during parent appointment on Wednesday and Thursday.