Dear Parent/Carer
Our Primary 1 pupils have certainly settled well to their first taste of school life and our senior pupils in Primary 7 are thoroughly enjoying their roles as buddies and monitors!
We look forward to a very productive, successful and happy session 2014 – 15 and encourage all parents to take a full and active part in the life of our school.
The junior department building has undergone a refurbishment during the holidays and is now fully operational for P4 and P5 pupils. Other works will follow in the course of the coming weeks.
The link corridor is scheduled for completion towards the end of November. Thanks to everyone for their combined efforts in ensuring a smooth transition to a fully functioning four stream school accommodating 865 pupils.
Staffing
We are delighted to welcome our three newly qualified teachers Miss Jackson, Miss Walker and
Miss Ward, our new principal teacher Mrs Baker and also Miss McArdle as a class teacher.
Mrs Keely joins us as a pupil support assistant and Mrs Milmore returns from maternity leave.
I am sure they will be made to feel very welcome as part of our extended community here at Our Lady of the Missions Primary.
Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People
We are looking forward to a visit from Tam Baillie, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, this Friday 29th August. The Eco Team from last year took part in the School Toilets Active Enquiry ‘Flushed with Success’ and will be presented with a gold Flushed with Success Award from Mr Baillie. The purpose of the enquiry was to find out about the quality of the toilets in the school and discuss any areas for improvement. The team found all of the toilet facilities to be very good or excellent and have created some toilet rules to help maintain high standards.
Wheelchair Awareness Workshop
On Tuesday the 2nd September children in P5a, P5d, P2b and P3d will participate in a wheelchair awareness workshop run by ‘Go kids Go’.
‘Go kids Go’ is a specialist national charity that provide expert training and advice to young wheelchair users across the UK.
The sessions will provide children with a greater insight into the challenges faced by wheelchair users. They will also try out wheelchair games, sport and dance.
Parent Staff Association AGM Tuesday 2nd September 7.30pm
We look forward to welcoming you into school for the Annual General Meeting of our PSA. All parents and staff are automatically members of the PSA and this meeting gives an opportunity to meet up with other parents and look back on a very successful year. I extend a particularly warm welcome to all our new parents. Please come along, find out about all the fundraising and social events and think about joining the committee. Meetings are on the first Tuesday of the month in the staffroom at 7.15pm. If you cannot make a monthly commitment then perhaps you could help at our Christmas Fayre and Summer Fete?
The AGM will conclude with wine and nibbles.
Reminder to existing committee members that there will be a meeting at 7.00pm immediately before the AGM.
Meet the Teacher Evening –Thursday 4th September 6.00pm – 7.00pm
We propose to open the doors of the school on the evening of the Thursday 4th September and cordially invite you to visit the school. This will be an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and gain information about the programme for the year ahead. You can also look around the school and visit other classes and even take a wander through our junior department building.
Please note that this event is a general invitation and therefore it should not to be used to discuss individual pupil progress. I would suggest that this is best done by separate appointment, parents’ evening, etc.
Please feel free to drop in for a short while between 6.00pm and 7.00pm and note that there will be a high volume of traffic in and around the school as noted from past experience.
Primary 1 Mum’s – Ladies Night
There will be a ladies’ night here in the school on Friday 5th September for the mothers of primary one pupils. Separate information has already been sent home.
This is an opportunity for new mums to meet and socialise at the beginning of seven years friendship as part of the community of Our Lady of the Missions Primary.
School Feast Day
Mass will be celebrated on Monday 8th September for primaries 2 to 7 pupils to mark the Our Lady’s Birthday. Prayer services will also be conducted for the pupils in primary 1, to mark the patronage of our school and to dedicate the coming year to the intercession of Our Lady of the Missions.
We are once again planning a series of Stage Masses with Fr. Jim. These will normally take place in the school hall at 1.45pm and parents will be welcome to join us. Dates will be sent home shortly.
Head Teacher’s Surgery First Monday of the month 3.30pm – 5.00pm
If you would like to take up the opportunity to ‘drop in’ for an informal chat with me, I would be delighted to meet with you on the first Monday of each month.
Of course, please do not hesitate to contact the school about any matters concerning your child’s education and/or wellbeing. Telephone 0141 570 7280
Your first point of contact should be the Depute Head Teachers;
For P1- P3, please contact Mrs McGrotty DHT
For P4- P5, please contact Mrs Docherty DHT
For P6- P7, please contact Mrs Devlin DHT
If you wish to inform us of appointments etc in school time, please send a note to the class teacher.
Cashless Catering
The price of school lunches remains at £1.95 for a hot lunch and £1.80 for a cold lunch. Children can top up their accounts first thing in the morning when they arrive at school, from 8.40am – 8.55am or at interval. Parents are welcome to pop in and top up accounts around 9.00am or at the end of the school day. Alternatively topping up online using your child’s Scottish Candidate number previously issued is the more preferable method as it reduces congestion each morning.
Last session there was a significant number of pupils who regularly came to school without money for their lunch. We would hope that this number would remain low from day to day as it causes additional administrative burdens on the school.
Pupils whose balance falls below £1.95 or who forget money will be issued with a “virtual voucher” and sent a text message by the staff in the school office. This money ‘loan’ should be returned to your child’s account the following day, in order to balance the books.
Lockerbie Manor Parents’ Meeting Wednesday 9th September 6.30pm
Mrs Devlin DHT would like to invite the parents and pupils of P7 to a short information meeting regarding the forthcoming educational visit to Lockerbie Manor. The meeting will take place here in the school on Wednesday 9th September from 6.30pm until 7.30pm. Mrs Devlin DHT will go over the format and answer questions in readiness for the annual five day outdoor educational experience.
Parent Council AGM – Thursday 11th September 7.00pm
The Annual General Meeting of the Parent Council will take place here in the school on Thursday 11th September at 7.00pm. All parents are most welcome to attend.
If you would like to become a member of the Parent Council then this is done by self nomination at the AGM. This is the only time each year that new members can join the Parent Council.
The Parent Council constitution, newsletter and minutes can be accessed on the school website. Council members work very hard on behalf of the school and the wider parent forum and last session the main focus was on issues regarding transitions, capacity, communications and healthy eating.
Scottish Referendum Thursday 18th September
Our Lady of the Missions Primary school will be used as a polling station for the Scottish Referendum on Thursday 18th September and the school will therefore be closed on that date.
Parent Helpers with PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups)
We really appreciate the support of parent helpers when we take children out of school. If you hold an East PVG Certificate and are able to assist with school visits, either for your child’s class or other stages, please let the school know as we would like to update our list.
Ideally, it would be very helpful to have a list of parents who could step in to help at stages where we are short of volunteers.
Car Park and Bus Bays
There are 4 buses providing transport to and from the school. The bus bays are necessary to enable buses to manoeuvre and I must advise you of the importance of not using them for car parking after 8.30am. The lower area of the main car park is for ‘drop off’ only in the mornings and is not accessible in the afternoons. We take road safety education very seriously and stress its importance to the children. I would therefore ask for your support in ensuring that children do not have to walk between cars which are double parked in front of the school. Please drive slowly in the school grounds. Cars should not be parked on pavements and impede pedestrians. Bays for disabled drivers should be respected as such.
I would ask that drivers making use of the car parks adjacent to the pavilion and the all weather pitches ensure that you park with due care, attention and courtesy to other drivers and pedestrians in order to ensure the safe free flow of traffic both in the mornings and at the close of school.
I hope that the spirit of cooperation and courtesy continues and that parents who bring children to school by car follow the guidelines suggested above. Could I also remind parents of pupils in the junior department that there is no access to the junior department staff car park before or after school.
Vocations Mass Friday 19th September 11.00am St. Mirin’s Cathedral Paisley
Bishop John Keenan has invited the pupils of P7 to the annual Vocations Mass in St Mirin’s Cathedral on Friday 19th August. This is always a very uplifting Spiritual event for the young people across the Diocese of Paisley.
Annual Data Check
In order to update our records Annual Data Check forms were sent out to all classes last week.
Please check and return to the school as soon as possible. It is important that we have all current contact numbers for your child. An update on any change to medical conditions, allergies etc, is also required.
We will continue to make use of text and e-mail this session and therefore it is crucial that we have a current mobile number and e-mail address for every family and that the office is informed of any changes during the course of the year.
Photographs/DVD/Website
During the course of the school year photographs and videos of children taken by staff can be used to promote and enhance the ethos and achievements of the school, e.g. photographs may be used in displays around the school and in our school handbook and website. Children and staff can at times figure in these pictures. A consent form will be issued early next week to ensure that parental wishes regarding this matter are observed.
Health Promoting School
In addition to fresh fruit sold in the dining hall, fruit is given free to all pupils on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please encourage your children to take this fruit. Fresh water is also available from our filtered drinking fountains and pupils are encouraged to drink regularly throughout the day. Pupils require to bring a bottle/ flask for this purpose.
Anaphylaxis – Reminder from School Health:
If a child attends an Allergy Clinic or their GP regarding allergies and has been prescribed Piriton or an Epipen, could parents please inform the school and make sure medication is clearly labelled and in-date. The school should be provided with a list of allergies, signs and symptoms to look out for, doses and any changes to medication. Those who attend the Allergy Clinic at Yorkhill should receive a care plan which they can copy for the school. Instructions for staff to treat these children should an emergency occur, is a parental responsibility. School Nurses carry out annual training to staff.
At Our Lady of the Missions Primary School there are some children who have a peanut/nut allergy and we are aware of the danger which can occur if a child who has this allergy comes into contact with or eats nut based food of any kind, even peanut butter.
To help us with this task I am therefore writing to enlist your support by asking that you do not send your child into school with nuts or any food which contains nuts, and in so doing reduce the possibility of a potentially serious incident. Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Medication
If your child requires any medication during the course of the school day you must complete a consent/request pro-forma which will ensure that all medicines are administered safely. No child should be given medicine to take without the school having been informed.
The form can be downloaded from the school website or obtained from the school office.
Give a Dog a Bone…and an animal a home
Mrs Louise Russell a parent of children at our school has requested that I highlight the above charity which she set up in November of last year to tackle the rising number of animal shelters in conjunction with loneliness in old age by bringing the two groups together.
A leaflet giving more details of the charity and the options for involvement accompanies this newsletter.
We wish Mrs Russell well and hope that her work continues to flourish.
Our Lady of the Missions Website
A range of information concerning school life is now available via our school website
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/OurLadyMissions/ and will be updated on a regular basis. A summary of the school improvement plan and standards and quality report will be posted onto the website in the very near future along with many other updates aimed at keeping the parent forum fully informed and involved in the life and work of the school. Please access the website regularly and so keep informed of school events and successes in addition to new developments.
September Weekend Holiday – Reminder
The school will close for pupils at the usual time on Thursday 25th September and re-open on Tuesday
30th September.
The holiday schedule for the current session is located on the school website.
Thank you once again in anticipation of your continued support and encouragement for all that we do on behalf of your children.
Yours sincerely
Charles Jamieson
Head teacher
