Always Celebrating Learning

The last month has been very busy as children and staff get to know one another better and enjoy learning together. We had great fun joining schools across Scotland for Maths Week. All classes made links between maths and the world of work as well as developing maths in different ways, both indoors and out. The children know that maths is one of my favourite subjects and I took this opportunity to teach maths in a range of classes throughout the school.

Four children also represented the school at Strathclyde University introducing a conference in Mandarin.  They were outstanding and we received very positive feedback from delegates at the conference. The following day we were visited by two Headteachers from China. They spent the morning in classes and observed the children learning. Their most memorable comment was that they noticed the children and staff were very happy in school.

September also gave us the opportunity to share our learning with yourselves during the Open Afternoon. I was both amazed and thrilled at the level of commitment shown by yourselves as parents and carers supporting your children in their learning. The children are very fortunate to have such committed and supportive families and friends around them.

The children of Primary 4 organized our first charity event with “Jeans for Genes Day”. In addition to presenting at assembly they also organised a fundraising event in their class. Well Done P4 !

Some Challenges

Unfortunately we have also been facing some challenges this term, particularly in regard to parking. Some adults collecting and dropping children off are being selfish, parking on zig-zag lines, idling their cars and parking on the pavements. This selfish behaviour is putting children’s lives at risk. The Parent Council have contacted the police who will be in the vicinity and will take appropriate action on anyone who is behaving unlawfully.

Outdoor Classroom Day

Next Thursday, 12th October is Outdoor Classroom Day. We are looking forward to taking our learning outdoors. Please make sure that your child has suitable outdoor clothing to be able to fully participate in this exciting day.

Children taking on additional responsibilities

We have a number of ways in which children throughout the school are able to take on additional responsibilities. In addition to the House Captains and Sports Committee there are also Eco Committee, JRSOs and Rights Respecting Schools committees. We have also held two House Competitions, one for maths and one for general knowledge. These are always exciting ways for children in different classes to represent their class and ensure that as many children as possible are given such opportunities.

New Sports Kit and Outdoor Learning Resources

The Parent Council have very kindly donated money , and gained sponsorship for new sports kits for a range of different sports.

They were shown to the children during a special assembly and the children can’t wait to make good use of this new kit. Samples of the sports kits are on display in the front entrance of the school.

We have received additional funding from East Renfrewshire Council recently to support us as we introduce new aspects of learning in Primary 1, particularly using the outdoors for learning. This new equipment will be stored outside in the main with children being able to make use of this equipment.

Communication

We are keen to ensure you get information from school in a way that suits you best. We currently use the school website, class blogs, Twitter, newsletters, text alerts, letters in schoolbags and homework as a range of way to communicate. If you are finding that you’re not receiving information please let us know and we’ll discuss ways of ensuring that everyone is as informed as possible about what’s happening in the life of the school.

Parents’ Night slips have been distributed to children.  Please make sure you return these as soon as possible to all times for appointments to be allocated.

Parent Council

The Parent Council are always keen to welcome new members. The Parent Council meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month. Please come along to meet everyone and find out how you can help support your child by supporting the work of the Parent Council. In addition the parent council has a Facebook page for all parents at the school: Cross Arthurlie PC/ Fundraisers. This is a closed group for parents and will provide you with information on up and coming events.

The dates of the next meetings (to be held in Barrhead High School ) are : 07/11/17; 28/11/7; 06/02/18; 06/03/18; 01/05/18; 05/06/18 (AGM in Cross Ar-thurlie)

Events this year : 24th October : Hallowe’en Disco; 25th November: Xmas Fair; 5th December : Movie night; 3rd March : Ladies Night; 1st May: Spring Fun Day; 12th June discos : 21st June: Leaver’s Dance

Holidays and In-service

 In-service 13th October

 October week 16th –20th

 Christmas 21st Dec-3rd January

 In-service 9th February

 Mid-term holiday 12th & 13th February

 Good Friday 30th March

 Spring holiday 2nd– 13th April

 Bank Holiday – 7th May

 Bank Holiday 25th- 28th May

 In-service 29th May

 School closes for summer

 Summer holidays start 28th June

 

Fiona MacDonald

Head Teacher

Additional Teachers

Thank you everyone for the very warm welcome I have received in my first couple of weeks as Headteacher in Cross Arthurlie. There are a number of new teachers in school this year. We are also in the very fortunate position of having a number of teachers who will be teaching various groups of children at different points throughout the week. Mrs Carr, Mrs Berry, Miss Kirk, Mrs Eddie and Miss Scott will be teaching a range of different subjects throughout the school extending the children’s learning either by co-operatively teaching with the class teacher or perhaps teaching in smaller groups .

Getting to Know Everyone

As I am new to the school I, unfortunately don’t know everyone yet. I have set myself the ambitious challenge of getting to know every child in the school by Christmas. So far I have tried to master the names of five of the fourteen classes and will continue to work on the others. It has been great teaching each of the classes and building up my knowledge of the skills, abilities and personalities of the children. In general I have found them to be confident and enthusiastic learners and I am looking forward to watching them progress and develop over throughout the year.

Changes….

Primary 1

The children in Primary 1 have been enjoying learning in a different way this year building on their learning from nursery and developing their learning through play.

Remits

The Senior Management Team have changed remits. As Headteacher I have overall responsibility for the school however in addition I also have a particular focus on the children in P1 & 2. Mrs Duncan, as Acting PT , has responsibility for P3 & 4 and Miss Rice as Acting DHT has responsibility for P5, 6 & 7.

Offices

I have moved my office to be closer to P 1 & 2 and at the first assembly invited the children to create a new sign for my office door. There were some great entries with the winner being Emily from P5/2.

 

Parent Council News

The Parent Council are always keen to welcome new members. The Parent Council usually meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month. The first meeting will be held in the school from 7pm on Tuesday 5th September and will be a cheese and wine event. Please come along to meet everyone and find out how you can help support your child by supporting the work of the parent council. In addition the parent council has a Facebook page for all parents at the school: Cross Arthurlie PC/ Fundraisers. This is a closed group for parents and will provide you with information on up and coming events.

The dates of the next meetings (to be held in Barrhead High School ) are : 3/10/17; 07/11/17; 28/11/7; 06/02/18; 06/03/18; 01/05/18; 05/06/18 (AGM in Cross Arthurlie)

Events this year : 24th October : Hallowe’en Disco; 25th November: Xmas Fair; 5th December : Movie night; 3rd March : Ladies Night; 1st May: Spring Fun Day; 12th June discos : 21st June: Leaver’s Dance.

Jackets & Uniform

We are keen to ensure that children are able to make the most of playtime and, given that we live in the west of Scotland, this will mean that sometimes when the children are out playing it may be raining. Could you please make sure your child has a waterproof jacket and that it has your child’s name on it. We encourage the children to be responsible for their belongings, but sometimes they can become misplaced and it is much easier to return lost property if items are clearly labeled.

The children are all looking wonderful in their school uniforms and although as I’ve been getting it is one of the things they would like to change I have pointed out that this is something parents and East Renfrewshire Council are very much in support of in their “Learning for Success” policy. Thank you for your continued support with this as it genuinely helps us build and develop a real sense of community and being part of something that matters.

Forms

Thanks to all the parents who have already completed and returned their child’s annual data checks. If you have not done so could I ask that these are completed and returned as soon as possible.

Bikeability

Miss Rice is once again supporting P7 children in gaining their Bikeability Level 3 awards. We are keen to continue to be health promoting and encouraging children to bring their bikes to school. Bikeability is one way of ensuring that when children are using their bikes they are doing so safely.

A new bike shelter is also gong to be fitted in the infant playground where children can safely leave their bikes.

PE and Outdoor Learning

We are looking forward to making the most of our wonderful outdoor space. In Primary 1 the children will be learning outdoors on a regular basis and will be working through a programme called “Muddy Movers” which seeks to develop their large motor skills and encourage them to work cooperatively. Could I ask if you have not already done so you drop off a pair of wellies to for your child so that they can fully participate in this activity.

Mrs Duncan is introducing a new PE programme to children in Primaries 4– 7 which will also involve the children in being outside. It is important therefore that children in the upper school also have suitable kit for PE outdoors.

PE Days

P1/1 Monday & Tuesday

P1/2 Monday & Thursday

P2/1 Monday & Friday

P2/2 Tuesday & Friday

P3/1 Thursday

P3/2 Thursday

P4/1 Tuesday & Friday

P4/2 Monday & Tuesday

P5/1 Monday & Thursday

P5/2 Monday & Wednesday

P6/1 Wednesday & Friday

P6/2 Tuesday & Wednesday

P7/1 Tuesday & Friday

P7/2 Tuesday & Friday

Holidays and In-service

• September weekend 22nd-25th
• In-service 13th October
• October week 16th –20th
• Christmas 21st Dec-3rd Jan
• In-service 9th Feb
• Feb holiday 12th & 13th
• Good Friday 30th March
• Spring holiday 2nd– 13th April
• Bank Holiday 7th May
• Bank Holiday 25th- 28th May
• In-service 29th May
• School closes for summer
• Summer holidays start 28th June

After School Clubs

Monday 3.00-4.00pm	P6&7 Football
Tuesday 3.00-4.00pm	P4&5 Netball
Wednesday 3.00-4.00pm	P4&5 Dance
Thursday 3.00-4.00pm	P6&7 Badminton
Friday 3.00-4.00pm	P3 Play Club

Fiona MacDonald

Head Teacher

 

 

As we reach the last few days of the school term there are a few items I would like to share with you.

End of Term Service

You are all invited to attend our end of term service which will take place on Tuesday 27th June at 10.30 am. Our P7 pupils will be taking part and we’ll be wishing them every success as they move to the high school.

Staffing Changes

Over the next session there are some significant changes happening at Cross Arthurlie. Mrs Kane, Mrs Fleming and Mrs Harold have already left us to start their respective maternity leaves. Miss Murdoch is also leaving us to become a parent. We would like to wish everyone all the best. Mrs Moncrieff, Mrs Turnbull and myself are retiring at the end of the session. I know I can speak for all three of us when I say it has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with some amazingly talented youngsters. Each year has brought new faces, new challenges, many laughs and some tears but we have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our many, many years here.

Mrs Fiona MacDonald , the newly appointed Head Teacher, has visited the school and is looking forward to taking up her post in August. Mrs MacDonald has sent me the following paragraph as a welcome introduction to you as the parent forum:

“I am delighted to have been appointed as the new head teacher in Cross Arthurlie Primary School. The school has a great reputation for being a place where children learn in a positive, caring and happy learning environment and I look forward to continuing to develop this. As a school we will be going through a number of changes next term as we adjust to new staff and new children. Although this can be a little daunting at times it is also exciting as we establish and build new ways of working together in order to ensure children are learning and developing to their full potential. I look forward to meeting you all in August and wish you a relaxing and fun-filled summer break.”

Session 17/18

The new school session begins for children on Wednesday 16th August at 9am. We wish you all a very restful summer and look forward to seeing you again in August.

Twitter

If you use Twitter please follow us @crossarthurlie.

Annual Reports

We hope that the summative reports you received last week offer you a helpful insight into the progress your child has made this session.

For those of you with children in Primaries 3, 5 and 7, your child’s report contains their Standardised Test score in Reading and Maths for this session.

Please remember that these scores are standardised; they are not a score out of 100. A standardised test uses the score 100 to set the standard and any score below or above 100 gives an indication of how children have performed in relation to the standardised score.

Remember also that all pupils, regardless of the groups that they work in for Reading and Maths, sit the same test so we would typically expect their attainment in these tests to reflect their groupings at school.

We need to remember that the scores generated by this process are a sample of attainment and there could be any number or reasons why any child has performed better or worse than we expected them to on the day. School staff have a great many other ways in which accurate assessment of pupil progress can be made. Please be in touch should you wish to discuss this further.

Staffing – Session 16/17

Head Teacher – Mrs Fiona MacDonald

Acting Depute Head Teacher – Miss Gillian Rice

Acting Principal Teacher – Mrs Cathy Duncan

Current Class	Class 17/18	Teacher
–	P1/1	Mrs Burnett
–	P1/2	Mrs Powell
P1/1	P2/1	Miss Lowson
P1/2	P2/2	Miss Galloway
P2/1	P3/1	Miss Reid
P2/2	P3/2	Mrs McArthur
P3/1	P4/1	Mrs Brown and Miss Rice
P3/2	P4/2	Mrs MacDougall
P4/1	P5/1	Mrs McWilliams
P4/2	P5/2	Mr Roger Wotherspoon/Mrs Scott
P5/1	P6/1	Miss Thomson
P5/2	P6/2	Mrs Britton/Miss McGoran
P6/1	P7/1	Miss Aslam
P6/2	P7/2	Miss Hamilton

We are heading closer and closer to the end of another busy school year! I trust that this update will be a helpful one.

Sports Day

Thank you to everyone who came along to support the pupils on Sports Day on Tuesday 9th May. We were very lucky with the weather and a good time was had by all that participated. The winning House on the day was Levern. Well done everyone!

Holiday Dates

The school will be closed for the Bank Holiday Weekend on Friday 26^th, Monday 29^th May and Tuesday 30^th May (In-service).  I can now confirm that the school will also be closed on Thursday 8^th June for the General Election.

Parent Pay

This system has now been up and running since October. Can I please remind all parent/carers that the office staff can no longer take payment for trips etc. This payment has to be made online or at a Paypoint and we ask that all payments are made in advance. At the present time there are a number of payments outstanding. If you have any issues with this system please contact the school office and they will endeavour to help you.

Parental Questionnaire

Many thanks to all families who completed the recent questionnaire. It is important that the school listens to all stakeholders and your comments are very much appreciated.

Confucius Hub Launch

At Cross Arthurlie we are lucky to have a Mandarin teacher, 2 days a week, Mrs Wei Chu. All pupils will have the opportunity to learn some Mandarin and explore the Chinese culture. We have invited some important guests to join us at a special assembly on Thursday 25^th May to launch our Confucius classroom.

Wear it. Beat it.

Go Red on Friday 9 June and Raise Money For Life Saving Heart Research.

Along with some other charities British Heart Foundation is one that Cross Arthurlie would like to support. On Friday 9^th June we ask that pupils wear something red and bring a donation. The money raised will be divided between the charity and school funds. As always we would like to thank you for your continued support.

Twitter

If you use Twitter please follow us @crossarthurlie.

Lost Property

Currently we have a huge amount of lost property. Please encourage your child to look for any items they are missing, or in pop for a look. These items will be sent to the clothing bank at the end of term.

Parent Council

As most of you will be aware, we have reached the point in the academic session when our Parent Council elect new office bearers for academic session 2017/18. I am very grateful to the current office bearers for all of their hard work and commitment to the work of the Parent Council, however the time has come for new office bearers to be elected and, to this end, I wanted to give you an idea of which positions need to be filled and how your interest in these positions can be expressed.

The four office bearers are Parent Council Chair, Vice Chair, Fundraising Co-ordinator and Minute Taker.  Hopefully the general duties of these office bearers are self-explanatory, however should you wish futher detail and clarification please phone the school of speak to one of our current Parent Council members.

If you are interested in fulfilling one of these roles please let me know in writing by Thursday 25th May.  Your name will be proposed at the AGM on the 6th of June at 7pm, at Cross Arthurlie, where the necessary elections will take place.  If you require any further information please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I trust you all enjoyed a restful Spring Break. The Summer Term is now underway and there’s lots happening in school over these coming weeks. I trust that this update will be a helpful one.

Sports Day

We are making plans to hold our annual Sports Day on Tuesday 9th May in the field at the rear of the school. As always, this event is subject to good weather and, if in the days prior to Sports Day, the weather is inclement there is every chance that we’ll have to postpone due to the muddy nature of the underfoot conditions. We’ll contact you all at the earliest opportunity if this is the case. The plan for the day is as follows:

9.00am to 10.30am – P1 to P3 Sports

11.00am to 12.30pm – Whole School House Events

1.30pm – 3.00pm – P4 to P7 Sports.

As always, we’d be very appreciative of any parents and carers who would be interested in helping us to run the different events. If you are free for any part of the day, and would like to help, please be in touch. We look forward to seeing you all on the 9th (weather permitting).

Holiday Dates

Next week is a short school week with the school being closed on Monday 1st May due to the bank holiday and Thursday 4th May for the Local Elections. Please remember that at the end of this month there is a further Bank Holiday Weekend, with school closing on Friday 26th May and reopening on Wednesday 31st May.

General Election

As the school is a designated Polling Station we are assuming that the school will be closed on Thursday 8th June. More details regarding this decision will be sent to you nearer the time.

Red Nose Day

Our thanks go to P2 and everyone who supported this school event. We managed to raise £628.43. Well done everyone.

School Fun Day/Dress as you Please Day

The Parent Council Fun Day is being held on Saturday 20th May. More information will be sent out to families in the coming weeks. The school will have a dress as you please day on Friday 19th May.

School Improvement Planning

At this time of year we look to draft a first copy of the School Improvement Plan for Session 2017/18. Later on this week all families will receive a school questionnaire which we ask you to fill in and send back to school so that your views can be taken into account when this planning takes place. There is an attached letter explaining more about this process.

We’d very much welcome your views and will continue to consult with pupils across the school in the coming months.

 

With the Easter break approaching, I hope that this update will be helpful to you.

Parents’ Nights

Parents’ night appointments should now be with you. This is an important opportunity to speak to the class teacher to discuss your child’s progress. If you are unable to make these appointments please contact the school office.

Red Nose Day

As an earlier letter informed you, P2 are supporting Comic Relief on Friday 24^th March. There will be a Cake and Candy on the day, prices from 20p to £1. Pupils are allowed to wear something red and are encouraged to bring in a donation for this very special cause. Over the next couple of weeks, pupils can buy red noses, and guess the Easter Bunny’s birthday.

P7 Sponsored Run

P7 are holding a Sponsored Run at 2pm on Tuesday 28^th March,  at Cowan Park. Funds raised from this event will go towards their end of term celebrations. Pupils are hoping that some parents/carers will join them on the day.

Spring Service

On Friday 31^st March at 10.30am, all are welcome to join us in school for the Spring Service. We look forward to our P3 pupils performing for us. As is the usual tradition, if you’d like to donate some flowers to the school, for distribution around the local care homes, please send them to school on that day.

P5 Residential Trip

Our P5 children, and various members of staff, enjoyed a great three days at the Belmont Outdoor Centre in Perthshire earlier this month. Photographs of the children’s experience can be seen on the website and Twitter feed.

Open Afternoon

Thanks also to all who were able to be in school for our second Open Afternoon, earlier this month. Your support of this event is very much appreciated.

NASA Visit

On Friday 3^rd March we were lucky enough to have a visit from an astronaut, Brain Duffy. The children enjoyed listening to Mr Duffy and loved watching his videos of when he was commander of the Space Shuttle. Our thanks go to Barrhead Travel who organised this visit.

Holiday Dates

The school will close for the annual Easter break on Friday 31^st March 2017 and reopen on Tuesday 18^th April 2017.

National Elections

We have been notified that the school will be used as a polling station for the Local Government Elections on Thursday 4^th May. Therefore, the school will be closed on that day.

Twitter

If you use Twitter please follow us @crossarthurlie.

I hope you all managed to have a restful long weekend. I trust that the following update will be useful to you.

XA Factor

We are looking forward to our annual talent contest, the XA Factor, which will be held in school next Friday, 24^th February. The audition process is now over and we’re looking forward to seeing and hearing from our musicians, singers, dancers, comedians and magicians during the final. Good luck to everyone involved!

Dress as You Please Day

Since next Friday is our XA Factor Final, we would like to make this a Dress as You Please Day. Pupils can wear their own clothes for a donation, which will go towards school funds. These funds help towards subsidising after school clubs, class resources, PE equipment and many other good causes.

Open Afternoon

Please remember that our next Open Afternoon will be held on the afternoon of 28^th February. A letter with specific details will be with you soon.

P5 Residential Trip

We’re very grateful to all those parents and carers of our P5 pupils who took the time to be at the recent meeting about our residential visit to Belmont Outdoor Centre in Perthshire. Full payment for this trip needs to be made by 24^th February. The pupils leave on Wednesday 1^st March and return on Friday 3rd. I’m sure everyone will enjoy the experience and I’m particularly grateful to those staff members who have made arrangements to help staff the event. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for good weather!

School Improvements

On Wednesday 1^st to 3^rd March the school lunch hall will be re-floored and painted. Due to these works pupil’s lunch arrangements will be altered. On Wednesday 1^st, Thursday 2^nd and Friday 3^rd March the lunch menu will consist of soup and sandwiches. All pupils receiving a school lunch and pupils in P1-3, who have a packed lunch, will be accommodated in the gym hall. P4 –P7 pupils will have their packed lunches in the classrooms.

After a Health and Safety audit the authority have informed me that a pedestrian path will be built at the front of the school to enable pupils/carers/ visitors safe access to the building. At the moment, as you are aware, pedestrians access the school by walking through the car park. This is a dangerous and busy entrance and I am pleased that this improvement is going to be made, making access safer.

Parents’ Nights

Parents’ Nights will take place on Wednesday 22^nd and Thursday 23^rd March. You will soon receive an information letter regarding this. We look forward to welcoming you to Parents’ Night next month.

World Book Day

On Thursday 2^nd March we will be celebrating World Book Day by asking the pupils to dress up as a favourite character from a book. More details will follow shortly.

Traffic Around the School

Please continue to be aware of the traffic issues around the school, particularly during times of bad weather. We would prefer if you did not use the staff car park at any time, particularly when dropping your children off at MACS before school hours. This can often be a very busy time of day and our concern is that an accident involving a child might occur in the car park. Please remember not to park too close to junctions or across our neighbours’ driveways before and after school. Please also remember that the bus bay is not a drop-off point.  Your help with these issues is very much appreciated.

Parent Council News – Ladies Night

This event takes place on Saturday 18^th March, at 7pm, at United Services Club. Tickets are priced at £15.00. Tickets for this event will be on sale on the Open Afternoon, on 28^th February. The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Tuesday the 7th of March at 7pm in the High School.

 

I hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and New Year. Staff and pupils are now settled back into the daily routine of school. I hope the following information will be of some use to you.

Staffing

As you are no doubt aware Mrs Chapman retired in December. I am pleased to welcome Miss Reid as temporary teacher to P3/2. Mrs Britton, P2/1 teacher, and Mrs Barnes, Pupil Support Assistant, have now returned to Cross Arthurlie after being on maternity leave.

February Weekend Holiday

Please remember the dates for the upcoming February holiday. There is to be an Inset Day for school staff on Friday 10th February and school will be closed on Monday 13^th, Tuesday 14^th February and Wednesday 15^th February. We will reopen after this short break at 9am on Thursday 16^th February.

Twitter

If you use Twitter please follow us @crossarthurlie.

Lost Property

We have an ever increasing number of items of lost property here in school. Please pop in and have a look if you believe your child to have lost anything. The lost property is by the school office.

Pupil Absences

Please ensure that you phone the school office before 9.30am if your child is going to be absent from school.

Standardised Testing

During the month of February the annual testing of P3, P5 and P7 children will take place here in Cross Arthurlie and across all East Renfrewshire schools. These tests, along with a range of other assessment approaches, are designed to give us a fuller picture of the attainment of our pupils in the areas of maths and language. The tests will go out of school for marking and the results will be returned to us later in the session. We give a test result based on how the pupil does against an East Renfrewshire standardised score of 100. The results give us a closer insight into the patterns of attainment across the school and this helps us to plan for improvement in a more focussed way.

The results of these tests will not be fully available to us until later this session and we’ll ensure that we include them in the annual report for each P3, P5 and P7 child. Should you wish to discuss this further please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

Parent Council News

We would like to thank everyone who supported the Parent Council events during the run up to the Christmas break. The Movie Night was very well attended as was the Christmas Fayre. The next meeting of the Parent Council is on Tuesday 7th February at 7pm in Barrhead High School. Any new members would be made most welcome.

Weather

I hope that you find the following advice useful:

– Please make sure that your child is always appropriately dressed to cope with winter weather. Warm coats, sturdy shoes, hats, scarves and gloves will be the order of the day! Unless conditions are particularly difficult, we will be trying to allow pupils access to the playground as frequently as possible – even in the snow!

– A pair of dry socks in the children’s schoolbags would be helpful.

– Gym shoes or indoor shoes would be useful to wear in classrooms.

– In the event of snow it would be useful if the children walked to school whenever possible. Driving conditions are very tricky around the school during inclement weather and anyone getting stuck in snow will cause major disruption in the area.

– In the event that we need to send children home early, you will receive a text message first, followed by a telephone call. It would be helpful if parents/carers were able to get to the school as soon as possible should the need arise. However, please be reassured that no child will be left unattended should you be delayed.

– Should you require any information about school closures please refer to the school website, East Renfrewshire’s website or East Renfrewshire’s Twitter feed. The school’s Twitter feed may also have information.

Now that we are well into the month of November and with Christmas fast approaching I hope this newsletter will give you some important information about the arrangements for the festive period. We’ll give you further details closer to the time and look forward to seeing you all over the festive period.

P7 Residential

On Friday 11^th November our P7 pupils returned from a successful visit to Lockerbie Manor Outdoor Centre. They returned home covered in mud and thoroughly tired! Thanks to the various members of staff who helped with the visit. My thanks also go to the pupils, who, I have been told, participated in all of the activities with enthusiasm and represented the school well at all times.  The website and Twitter feed will give you some idea of the various activities the pupils and staff participated in.

Parent Pay

This new system is now up and running in the school and I hope that parents/carers are finding this beneficial when it comes to paying for trips etc. Any questions regarding this please do not hesitate in contacting the school office.

Photographs

The last date for orders is 22^nd November.

School Calendar

Traditionally pupils produce a school calendar for the coming year. Orders are still being taken for our 2017 calendar- £4.00 each. Last orders will be on 30^th November 2016.

Parent Council

The annual Christmas Fair is on Saturday 26^th November and our Movie Night is on Tuesday 6th December. We’ll let you know more specific arrangements for these events closer to the time. The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Tuesday 29^th November at 7pm in Barrhead High School. Please feel free to come along and support the Parent Council.

Christmas Dates

We have reached a very busy time of year and I hope that the list of dates below will help you make all of the arrangements you need to make. The following events are being held here in the school:

Christmas Carol Concert  – 7pm Wednesday 14^th December

Christmas Carol Concert  – 7pm Thursday 15^th  December

Infant Nativity  –    11am Friday 16^th  December

Christmas Service   – 10.30am Wednesday 21^st  December

Our Christmas concert this year will follow a similar format to last year. All pupils from P3 to P7 will participate, as they have always done, and some of our P7 pupils will help with hosting the event. We hope you’ll enjoy the concert. The theme this year is “Music Through the Decades”.

Early Closure

Please note that we have an early closure on Wednesday 21^st December with a 2.30pm stop instead of our normal time. School buses will also arrive at that time to transport all bus children.

Christmas Parties

Dates for the Christmas Parties are as follows:

P1, 2 & 3 – 1.20pm – 3pm  Tuesday 20^th December

P4 & P5 – 1.20pm – 3pm Monday 19^th December

P6 & P7 – 1.20pm – 3pm Friday 16^th December

Children who do not go home to change at lunchtime may bring a change of clothes for their party on the appropriate day.