Hello everyone

Recycled Donations
Thank you so much to everyone who has kindly donated items. Our P1 Eco Committee are learning about ways to save water and as part of their learning, they are aiming to make water collectors from recycled materials. This week we would gratefully receive any of the following items from our wish list below to help with this activity. If you have, and are finished with, any of these types of items, please place any donations in our Recycled Donations Box situated at the main school office entrance from the 14^th November. Many, many thanks.

Washed milk bottle plastic tops, clear clean plastic bottles, clear tubing, small funnels, small pieces of drain pipe/ guttering

Well Done
A massive well done to our P7 Badminton team and Mr Watson who won the cluster badminton competition on Wednesday afternoon. They will now represent the school at the East Renfrewshire Finals on Thursday 17^th November. Good luck everyone!

Feedback Fridays for Homework
We had a very good discussion at the last Parent Council Meeting where myself, Mrs Roberts and Mrs Sweeney shared some of the ways that teachers and children have been working together during Feedback Friday time.  At the meeting, we all agreed it would be nice to share some information about this with you as well and I suggested that we could put together a selection of photographs for you to look at and discuss at home.  The PC felt this would be a great idea and therefore, we hope you enjoy our Feedback Friday SWAY which Mrs Roberts and Mrs Sweeney have put together for you.  As always, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding this, or our updated Homework format, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at any time.  We are here and always ready to help or answer any questions, big or small, that you may have.

Book Week Scotland – Book Sale – 14^th to 18^th November
Arrangements for our Book Week Book Sale will be a little different this time, than in previous sessions. To enable parents to have the opportunity to view the books on sale themselves, the Book Sale will be open for parents and families to visit, with their children. More information can be found in this letter.

Bhangra Dancing
Here at Netherlee, we strive to celebrate the diversity of cultures and religions of our families. We are delighted that a parent from our school community is currently visiting the P2 children to teach them Bhangra dancing, a style of music and dance which originated from India. Our P1 children had the privilege of enjoying this learning in September, and we are very grateful that all stages will enjoy this activity at some point this session.

Notification of Date Change to Calendar
We refer to the previous calendar dates issued which detailed Parent Information Sessions on the 24^th January, 6.30-7.30pm. This date has now been changed to 15^th March 2023, 6.30-7.30pm- more info to follow nearer the time.

Message from the PTA: PTA Wear What you Want Day: 25^th November
On the 25th November the PTA will be having a ‘Wear what you Want’ day in school, and if your child is able to please bring along a chocolate or bottle donation which will be collected at the gates as they go into school. Please see the poster for more information.

Message from the PTA: PTA Winter Fair: 1^st December
We look forward to welcoming you to the school for the first day of the Netherlee Living Advent with a winter fair in the school on the 1st Dec from 6-8pm. We will need lots of helping hands so if you can volunteer please follow this link Netherlee PTA (pta-events.co.uk). Please see the poster for this exciting festive event.

Scottish Child Payment
Please see the information sheet regarding the Scottish Child Payment which is changing on 14^th November to include 6-16 year olds.

‘Let’s Talk Education – National Discussion with Scottish Association for Minority Ethnic Educators
The Scottish Government and CoSLA want to hear your views as a parent on the vision for Scottish education for the next 20 years. They want everyone in Scotland to have a say on what kind of education, skills, knowledge and support young people need. They are particularly keen to hear from people whose views may be less frequently represented, including communities and individuals from a Black and Minority Ethnic background.

You are invited to join them to share your views and join in the discussion.Date: Wednesday 16^th November, Place: Woodfarm High School, Time: 7pm-8pm

An easy read summary has been attached and more information is available here: National Discussion Scottish Education – Scottish Government – Citizen Space  (consult.gov.scot)
https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/national-discussion-on-education/ (translated materials in Urdu, Punjabi, Mandarin, Arabic, Polish and Ukrainian)

P1-P3 Book Week Scotland
Please see attached a letter regarding the gifting of books and learning resources from the Scottish Book Trust.

P3 Book Week
To celebrate Book Week Scotland, Primary 3 are planning a ‘’cosy morning’ in our classrooms on Wednesday 16^th November.

We would ask that children bring in either a soft teddy or a cosy jumper to school that day, to get comfy with whilst they read and listen to stories. The children may also bring in an additional small snack to enjoy during this time, if they wish. Your support with this is very much appreciated.

P6/7 Karate Club
Just a reminder that we still have a few spaces in the upcoming P6/7 karate club, starting on Tuesday 22^nd November from 3.15-4.15pm. The club will run for four weeks in the gym hall and delivered by a Japan Karate instructor. There would be a cost of £4 for the club.

If you think your child would be interested in attending, please complete the form here:https://forms.office.com/r/FFb5yWt2fq no later than Monday 14^th. All successful applicants will be notified and asked to complete a consent form via ParentsPortal.

If you have any questions about any of these items or of course any matter at all to do with school or your child, please just get in touch with us at any time, we are here and always happy to help.

Have a lovely weekend.

Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher
Netherlee Primary School & Nursery Class

Hello everyone

Free Bus Travel for Under 22s
As you may know, this scheme launched in January this year allowing children and young people aged 5-21 who live in Scotland to travel for free by bus with a valid National Entitlement Card (NEC) or Young Scot NEC. More information on the scheme and how to apply can be found on the website freebus.scot and has lots of information about free bus travel, how it works, how to apply, the benefits and some tips for travelling safely too. A poster with more information can also be found here.

Parent Council Meeting
Thank you to the Parent Council for producing the latest Meeting Highlights Newsletter.  We had a very productive meeting last week and the highlights can be found here meeting highlights newsletter.

PTA Update
The PTA would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported the pumpkin trail event and the recent discos. Please see message from the PTA below.

It has been lovely to get back to hosting fun events in the school. If you would still like to donate the link is Netherlee Primary PTA | Localgiving.

We are looking ahead to our winter event on the 1st of December which will hopefully be a super event for the whole school and nursery community – but we will need your help to make it a success. We want to bring back the very popular chocolate and bottle tombola’s and offer a variety of activities alongside the stalls. This will take lots of helping hands, both at the fair and on the dress as you please day too. If we all help a little, we can all have time to enjoy the fair with our families too. All the volunteer opportunities are listed here, please sign up so we can be confident the event will go ahead. Netherlee PTA (pta-events.co.uk)

Health and Social Care Partnership
Please see a letter from HSCP who are experiencing significant pressures in care at home and are progressing a winter recruitment campaign.

Scottish Child Payment
Please see the flyer on the Scottish Child Payment which is changing on 14^th November to include 6-16 year olds.

Primary 5 Gardening Club
An after school P5 Gardening Club will be starting on a Thursday from 3.15-4.15pm. The club will run for four weeks. Full details are as follows:

Dates: 24th November, 1st, 8th and 15th December
Venue: The Atrium Garden in Netherlee Primary School
Delivered by: Helen Cross (parent volunteer) and Class Teacher
No. of pupils: 14
Cost: Free

If you think your child would be interested in attending, please complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/XSxNtDhJid  no later than 9^th November. In the event of oversubscription names will be balloted. All successful applicants will be notified and asked to complete a consent form via Parents Portal.

Primary 6 Food Nutrition and Cooking in School
As part of our learning about the forthcoming World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the children will be exploring Arabic culture by baking ‘Arabic Bread’ with dip. Throughout the course of this term, every child will have the chance do this activity during our whole stage Hub learning slot on Tuesday mornings. The following ingredients will be used:

Arabic Bread
Flour
Yeast
Water
Vegetable Oil
Salt
Dip
Natural Yoghurt (non-dairy alternative will be provided where necessary)
Cucumber

New Arrival Coming Soon
I am sure all parents will wish to join me in saying very best wishes and good luck to one of our teachers, Mrs McGeachy, as she stops today to get ready for the arrival of her new baby.  Enjoy every moment Suzanne, rest up and make the most of a peaceful few days before your little bundle of gorgeous cuteness arrives!

We very much look forward to welcoming our P7 parents into school to join us for our Remembrance Service on Friday of next week.  Our P7 pupils and teachers have been preparing and practising a great deal for this and I am sure they will conduct a befitting, special service for us all. All of next week, P7 pupils will be taking poppies around classes.  If anyone would like to get one, it’s just a donation, if you wish.

Have a lovely weekend.

Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher
Netherlee Primary School & Nursery Class

Hello everyone

We hope you had a wonderful October holiday week. From now until the end of term, it is going to be a very busy time with lots of opportunities and experiences for the children.

We want to wish a Happy Diwali to those who celebrated this week. We hope you had a wonderful time with friends and family.

Parent and Child Improvement Plan
Our P7 Community Councillors worked together to create a pupil and parent version of our School and Nursery Improvement Plan for Session 2022-2023. You can read this here. Please note that this, along with the full version of the Improvement Plan can be found on our website under the School tab.

Halloween Menu Change
On Monday we are changing the menu for the options for school will be:
Tomato soup
Chicken tikka and pitta bread with salad or
Vegetarian sausage rolls, mashed potato and beans
Baked potato, sandwiches and baguettes will also be available.

Recycled Uniform
Just a wee reminder that our recycled uniform rails are available each Friday, between 8.50am – 9am (P1-3 smaller items) and 3pm – 3.10pm (P4-P7 middle and larger sizes) at the Clarkston Road School Gate.  These items are free of charge so please do pop along and make use of this facility.

We understand that some parents may find it tricky to come along to the uniform rails due to work commitments so we are very happy to look out items for your child, please just send us an email detailing what you are looking for and we will see if we can help- we usually can.  We can either send items home with your child or leave them in the office and you can collect them at your convenience, please just let us know what you would prefer.

Recycled Donations
Thank you so much to everyone who kindly donated recycled items last week. This week we would gratefully receive any role play items from our wish list below. Role play is acting in various roles and often involves using props to help get into character. If you have, and are finished with, any of these types of items below, please place any donations into a bag and leave this in our Recycled Donations Box situated at the main school office entrance from the 31^st October. Many, many thanks.    *Hats, Old Jewellery, Small pieces of fabrics, Toy prams and Dolls

PTA Autumn Fun Night, Friday 28^th and Discos
The PTA have an Autumn event this evening, Friday 28th October from 6pm to 8pm to help raise funds. If you can come along and support we are sure you will have fun! We have a pumpkin 🎃 carving competition where you can bring your carved creation and enter it in our competition. You can enter online or on the evening for £2. Every entry will get a flameless candle to light up your creation before we put it on display and you can take it home at the end of the night to use at Halloween 🎃!

There will be some free refreshments and games alongside some games which will have a small charge, of 50p to £1 and of course to keep you in good spirits we will have a bar with beer and wine and some sausages on the BBQ to keep you all going.

The following week we have discos for the primary classes on 1st and 3rd November. Please see the autumn fun night poster, discos poster or go to pta-events.co.uk/netherleepta for more details. Funds raised go towards the PTA fund, which has a key focus this year on renewing outdoor PE equipment and updating ground markings including the addition of a multi sports court.  All volunteers and new members are welcome to come along and join the PTA, so if interested please email netherleepta@gmail.com.

Gaelic Education Information Session
Please see the link for information regarding an ERC Information Session for parents interested in Gaelic Medium Education

P4-P7 Support with Change and Loss
Change and loss are issues that affect all of us at some stage of our lives. At Netherlee we recognise that when changes occur in families through death, separation divorce or related circumstances, young people may benefit from learning how to manage these changes effectivity and sensitively.  We are therefore offering the opportunity to our pupils who have been affected by loss or bereavement of any kind to access some small group based support using an extensive range of appropriate resources and to practise new skills needed to be able to cope effectively.  The programme will focus on topics such as self – esteem, managing feelings, problem solving, decision making, and effective communication and support networks.  This programme will involve weekly sessions lasting approximately 30minutes and will be over the course of 5- 6 weeks. Our intention would be to start this group on week beginning the 14^th of November.

If you feel this may be something you would like your child to access, please use the link attached and complete the short form. https://forms.gle/A6jk9rskMvdR4TXJA  If you have any questions regarding this programme please feel free to contact Mrs Roberts or Mrs Donaldson either by email or call us at school. (570 7260)  Thank you.

P4 Nutrition and Cooking at School
Over the course of this term all P4 pupils will be making banana smoothies as part of their Hub learning. The children have been learning all about hygiene and being safe, and would like to consolidate this learning with this fun activity. The following ingredients will be used to make this:
Bananas
Milk
Honey

Please advise us if there are any changes to the allergy information we hold for your child or if you wish your child not to taste the smoothie. Many thanks for your support. P4 teachers.

P5 Football Club
Just a reminder of the upcoming P5 football club, starting on Wednesday 23^rd November from 3.15-4.15pm. The club will run for four weeks in the gym hall and delivered by a Giffnock Soccer instructor.  There would be a cost of £4 for the club

If you think your child would be interested in attending, please complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/EnR6e3yQnv no later than Monday 31st. In the event of oversubscription names will be balloted. All successful applicants will be notified and asked to complete a consent form via ParentsPortal.

P5d Food Nutrition and Cooking in School
On Wednesday the 2nd of November the children will be baking. The children have been learning all about Brazil and would like to consolidate this learning with a fun, learning activity. As a class, we have decided we would like to make a slightly healthier version of Brazilian Truffles (Brigadeiro). The following ingredients will be used to make this:

Porridge oats
Butter
Golden syrup
Honey
Cocoa powder
Coconut
Sprinkles

Please advise us if there are any changes to the allergy information we hold for your child or if you wish your child not to eat a truffle.  Many thanks for your support.

P6 Karate Club
Just a reminder of the upcoming P6 karate club, starting on Tuesday 22^ndNovember from 3.15-4.15pm. The club will run for four weeks in the gym hall and delivered by a Japan Karate instructor.  There would be a cost of £4 for the club

If you think your child would be interested in attending, please complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/FFb5yWt2fq no later than Monday 31st. In the event of oversubscription names will be balloted. All successful applicants will be notified and asked to complete a consent form via ParentsPortal.

P6a Update
We would like to update you to let you know that Mrs McGeachy will be finishing on Friday 4^th of November to start her maternity leave. Miss Taylor MacInnes will be joining us to take over P6a. Miss MacInnes and Mrs McGeachy will have a detailed hand over to ensure continuity for the children.  Mrs McGeachy is looking forward to seeing you all on the 1^st and 2^nd of November for parent meetings.

For parents who are attending their parents night on the 1^st November, please be aware that there is a P1 disco going on in the Atrium and we would therefore ask you to wait in the school reception area when you arrive at school and someone will take you up to the P6a classroom at your allocated time to see Mrs McGeachy.

P7 Lochgoilhead Deposit Reminder
We would like to remind you that the deposit of £50 for Lochgoilhead is Sunday 30^th October.  The deposit will secure your child’s place on the residential this year we would require a deposit of £50 per child. Should you wish to discuss payment options or anything else to do with this trip, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

P7 Remembrance Service
With the falling of the leaves and the darkening of mornings we are all aware that Winter is just around the corner, and this also brings us to our Remembrance service in November. P7 pupils and staff work very hard on making this a very appropriate event and this year we would love for you to join us. Our service will be held in the school on Friday 11^th November. We would ask that you arrive at school for 9:15am for a 9:30am start and will last around an hour. Due to numbers we ask that a maximum of 2 adults per child attend the service. Please feel free to wear uniform if you are or have been a member of any of the Forces. The children will be delighted to see you all.

P7 Vision Screening
Just a kind reminder that if you have not yet returned your child’s consent form, to please have this returned to the school office. The School Nurses team will be in school on Tuesday 1^st November for the vision screening programme.

Have a lovely weekend.

Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher
Netherlee Primary School & Nursery Class

Hello everyone

School Uniform Update and Reminders
Our adapted uniform policy, which introduced children wearing our PE uniform to school on PE Days, is going really well.  Overwhelmingly, both children and teachers feel that it makes getting ready for PE much more efficient with no time being wasted on getting changed etc.   Combining this with outdoor learning time on PE days is also working out very well too, helping children to be appropriately dressed for being outdoors.

As we are at the end of the first term, I feel that this is an appropriate time to highlight a couple of important points:

• On PE Days, only PE uniform should be worn and children shouldn’t wear a combination of PE and non PE uniforms e.g. wearing a skirt over their shorts or joggers.  This makes the uniform policy less consistent, makes it more difficult for teachers to manage and also dilutes the policy’s effectiveness.   I would like to stress that this has been noticed in only a very small number of children however I do feel it is important to highlight this to you in order to continue to seek your support.
• On set PE days (2 days per week) children can come to school in PE trainers. On the three other, shirt and tie days, children should wear all black shoes or boots.  If your child has trainer type shoes as school shoes, this is absolutely fine of course as many school shoes in shops are now more of a trainer type shoe and these can be harder wearing however, on non PE Days shirt and tie days these should be all black including the sole as per the policy sent out and can be found again here.

Again, I would like to stress that the above points only relate to very small numbers of children and overwhelmingly our pupils come to school every day fully supporting the uniform policy in its entirety.  I do therefore hope you can see the reasoning behind these two points however, like always, I am happy to discuss this with anyone who would like further discussion- please just give me a call on 0141 570 7260. Thank you again for supporting myself, the teachers and the school with, what seems like a very positive, progressive step.

Book Week Scotland – Book Sale
Please see letter regarding Book Week happening in school between 14^th and 18^th November.

Congratulations to Miss Bell
All staff in Netherlee would like to wish Miss Jilly Bell a wonderful day tomorrow for her wedding.  We all hope you have a very special day Jilly, you will be a simply beautiful bride and we can’t wait to see the photos.  We look forward to you returning as Mrs Jilly Ford on 24^th after the holiday week.

Wooden Planters- What a Lovely Surprise- Thank You!
We would like to give a huge thank you to the 91^st Netherlee Cubs and Mr McHale for making and delivering two wooden planters to us. As part of their DIY badge, the children made the planters from recycled pallets. They look fantastic! The P4 Gardening Club are really looking forward to planting in them to brighten up our outdoor spaces! Thank you once again for this kind contribution.

Expressive Arts
Do you, or someone you know, have a skill in art, drama, music or dance, that you would be prepared to come in and share with our children? If you do, please get in touch with Mr Bryce who would be delighted to discuss this with you.

Recycled Donations
Thank you so much to everyone who kindly donated recycled items last week. This week we would gratefully receive any natural loose parts from our wish list below. Loose parts are any materials which can be combined, redesigned, lined up, taken apart and put back together in different ways. If you have, and are finished with, any of these types of items, please place any donations into a bag and leave this in our Recycled Donations Box situated at the main school office entrance from the 25^th October. Many, many thanks.

Acorns, Conkers, Feathers, Pine cones, Pebbles, Shells, Sticks, Small bits of wood, Small stones, Twigs….

Parent Council Meeting
The next Parent Council meeting will take place on zoom at 7pm on Thursday 27th October. Further details will be published leading up to the meeting but if you have any questions or would like to attend please email netherleeparentcouncil@gmail.com. Items likely to be discussed include the new school homework policy, and physical activity for the children of Netherlee. We look forward to welcoming as many parents and carers to the meeting as possible.

PTA Events
The PTA have some events planned for the next few months with the next event being an Autumn Fun Night on 28th October, including a pumpkin carving competition. Please see the autumn fun night poster, discos poster or go to pta-events.co.uk/netherleepta for more details and how to enter!  Funds raised go towards the PTA fund, which has a key focus this year on renewing outdoor PE equipment and updating ground markings including the addition of a multi sports court.

All volunteers, new members are welcome to come along and join the PTA so if interested please email netherleepta@gmail.com.

P4-7 Cricket Club
Please see attached link regarding an upcoming Cricket Club, and how to register your child for the club.

P5 Football Club
Just a reminder of the upcoming P5 football club, please see attached link regarding how to register your child for the club.

P6 Karate Club
Just a reminder of the upcoming P6 karate club, please see the attached link regarding how to register your child for the club.

P6/7 Netball Club
Please see attached link regarding an upcoming Netball Club, and how to register your child for the club.

P7 Vision Screening Letters
Just a kind reminder that if you have not yet returned your child’s consent form, to please have this returned to the school office. The School Nurses team will be in school on Tuesday 1^st November.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday week. We look forward to welcoming our children back on Tuesday 25^th October (please note Monday 24^th is an In-service Day and therefore children should not attend that day).

Yvonne Donaldson
Head Teacher
Netherlee Primary School & Nursery Class