Message from Active Schools

Upcoming Dates (March-May)

Wednesday 20th March – Parent Teacher Meetings 5-7pm – appointments are on Seesaw

Tuesday 26th March – Parent Teacher Meetings 3.30-5.30pm – appointments are on Seesaw

Thursday 28^th March – Last day of term 3

Monday 15^th April – First day of term 4

Monday 6^th May – School Holiday

Thursday 9^th May – Inservice Training Day – School and Nursery closed to pupils

Wednesday 29^th May – Sports Day – all parents and family members welcome to join us on the pitch from 1.30 onwards

Decider Skills Workshop for Parents

This workshop is aimed at helping parents & carers both recognise and support their own mental health, but also develop skills they can use with children. Mrs Purves and I have both done this course and Mrs Purves has taught of the skills to children in P5/6/7. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. Please sign up in the following form if you’d like to attend: https://forms.office.com/e/dgFzFCmVm7

Message from Families First, St Andrews

We would love for families and staff  to be able to come along on Saturday morning to support our coffee morning, it is drop in 10-12 at St Andrews Baptist Church. Also if any parents or carers would enjoy volunteering with Families First there are a number of roles available and the next round of training will be on Friday 19 April 2024. Please see the posters below for further details.  Families First is a wonderful charity supporting children and young people and their families with additional needs. We have lots of student volunteers but are seeking volunteers who are local and able to offer more stability. There are roles available during school hours and out with. We are particularly seeking volunteers who can support families and someone who would be able to help with web design using elementor/ word press. If you would like more information please email Laura Veitch vc@familiesfirststandrews.org.uk .

Rag Bag Collection

There will be a Rag Bag Collection on Wednesday 6th March.  Please can we ask that any donations are brought into school on Tuesday 5th March.  Thank you

World Book Day – 7th March

World Book day is the 7th of March, children can come to school dressed as their favourite book character.

Parentwise Survey – Last Chance if you haven’t done it yet!

Please complete the Parentwise Survey – it is open until 8th March. Click here to read more details and find a QR code to scan to go to the survey. Or click here to access the survey directly. All Fife Council Schools take part in the survey and your responses and comments will be collated and shared back to me. Staff and I will use the results to plan School Improvement Priorities for next year. We really value your feedback and I encourage you to take part.

Primary 1 Enrolments for August 2024

Just a reminder that all enrolments must be done by 15th March. You must enrol for your catchment school but can then make a request for another school if you have a preference for a different school. If this is the case you should note that you won’t hear the outcome of your placing request until the end of April. If you are making a placing request to our school, please understand that I won’t be able to give you a decision until then. Click here to complete online.

Madras Transition

Mr Currie (Rector) and Mr Wishart (Depute) will visit P7 on the morning of 21st  February. This is the first part of the Universal Transition Programme to Madras and a great opportunity for the children to begin to learn about their new school. The date has been rescheduled.

On 26th March, all P7s in the cluster will go to Madras for a ceilidh. This will be a great chance to meet P7s from other schools and it will see the whole of next years’ S1 cohort working together. More info will follow – there will be no charge for the outing as Madras are funding the buses.

Don’t forget these up coming dates

Tuesday 13^th February – Pancake Day. All P1-7 children will get a pancake and drink at playtime. Please donate £1 towards school fund if you can. Karen Peters is kindly providing her time and the pancakes and drinks for free meaning that all profits will go to school fund to help buy resources and fund trips. Please support this fundraiser if you can. Great thanks to Karen. Nursery children will get a pancake in Nursery – no charge as this will be covered by Nursery contribution.

Wednesday 14^th February – Inservice Training Day – School and Nursery closed to pupils

Thursday 15^th and Friday 16^th February – School Holidays

Tuesday 20^th February – P1-7 STEM Afternoon – parents invited in to do a piece of STEM learning with their child.

Thursday 7^th March – World Book Day – All children invited to wear a costume.

20th and 26th March – P1-7 Parent/Teacher meetings – a form will come out in early March so that you can request a slot.

Parentwise Survey

Please complete the Parentwise Survey – it is open until 8th March. Click here to read more details and find a QR code to scan to go to the survey. Or click here to access the survey directly. All Fife Council Schools take part in the survey and your responses and comments will be collated and shared back to me. Staff and I will use the results to plan School Improvement Priorities for next year. We really value your feedback and I encourage you to take part.

Madras Visit

Mr Currie (Rector) and Mr Wishart (Depute) will visit P7 on the morning of 8th February. This is the first part of the Universal Transition Programme to Madras and a great opportunity for the children to begin to learn about their new school.

Wormit Choir

Four P6/7 Pupils will join Wormit Senior Choir from Tuesday. This is a great opportunity for them to visit and participate in an activity at a larger school. It is something which we offer each year.

Don’t forget these up coming dates

Tuesday 13^th February – Pancake Day. All P1-7 children will get a pancake and drink at playtime. Please donate £1 towards the cost if you can. Nursery children will get a pancake in Nursery – no charge as this will be covered by Nursery contribution.

Wednesday 14^th February – Inservice Training Day – School and Nursery closed to pupils

Thursday 15^th and Friday 16^th February – School Holidays

Tuesday 20^th February – P1-7 STEM Afternoon – parents invited in to do a piece of STEM learning with their child.

Thursday 7^th March – World Book Day – All children invited to wear a costume.

Parentwise Survey

Please complete the Parentwise Survey – it is open until 8th March. Click here to read more details and find a QR code to scan to go to the survey. Or click here to access the survey directly. All Fife Council Schools take part in the survey and your responses and comments will be collated and shared back to me. Staff and I will use the results to plan School Improvement Priorities for next year. We really value your feedback and I encourage you to take part.

Parentwise Survey

Please complete the Parentwise Survey – it is open until 8th March. Click here to read more details and find a QR code to scan to go to the survey. Or click here to access the survey directly. All Fife Council Schools take part in the survey and your responses and comments will be collated and shared back to me. Staff and I will use the results to plan School Improvement Priorities for next year. We really value your feedback and I encourage you to take part.

Message from Active Schools

Click Here to find out about community opportunities.

SAVE UP TO £456 PER CHILD IN 2024 – Message for All Parents / Carers from Fife Council

Free school meals are available for ALL children in P1-P5 automatically, with no criteria to meet and no need to apply. If your child normally takes a packed lunch, why not encourage them to try a school lunch? It could free up valuable time for you and help you save up to £456 per child over the whole school year.

If you have children in P1-P5 who normally bring their lunch to school, why not earn yourself a break from making packed lunches.  It could be one way to save on the cost of the school day.  At this time of year, everything helps.

During 2024, we’ll be aiming to raise awareness about the kind of food options available and help you convince your children to try a school meal – there really is something for all tastes, textures and dietary needs.

As well as a range of cooked meals, there are healthy packed-lunch options too – filled rolls, sandwiches and wraps.  We try to provide something for everyone, whether that be for plainer eaters or children with special dietary requirements.  We are always striving to improve the quality and variety of what we provide.

Our menus provide a balanced diet over the week and at least one third of the daily nutritional requirements of pupils. You can download the Fife school meals menu and read more about school meals including menu information, ingredients and allergens at www.fife.gov.uk/schoolmeals

Parents and carers of children in Primary 6 and 7, and those with a young person in high school may also be eligible for Free School Meal Entitlement, but you must apply for this. To see if you qualify for this or other benefits go to www.fife.gov.uk/educationbenefits.

This time of year can increase money worries for everyone.  Make sure you’re getting the help you’re entitled to.  There’s also help available for those who aren’t eligible for any benefits – some support is universal, meaning anyone can get it.  Check if there’s anything that might ease the winter pressures for you at our.fife.scot/gethelp. You can see what other benefits you might be entitled to by using the Fife Benefits Calculator, which you’ll also find there.

Enrolment for Nursery and P1

Enrolments for Nursery from August 2024 are now open: Click here for more information.

Enrolments for P1 in August 2024 will open on Monday: Click here for more information.

If you are considering retaining your child for an additional Nursery Year and have not already discussed it with me, please contact me as soon as possible through the school office. This applies to children who turn five between mid-August 2024 and end of February 2025, their parents can choose to enrol them in P1 or retain them for an additional nursery year. The paperwork for the additional nursery year must be completed by end of day on 31st January. There are pros and cons to retaining and you must discuss this with me to get the full picture. Lucy Jess

Dates for this term:

Friday 26^th January  – P1-7 Ceilidh in the afternoon – 1 adult per family is welcome to join us, the capacity of the hall won’t allow for more unfortunately.

Tuesday 13^th February – Pancake Day. All P1-7 children will get a pancake and drink at playtime. Please donate £1 towards the cost if you can. Nursery children will get a pancake in Nursery – no charge as this will be covered by Nursery contribution.

Wednesday 14^th February – Inservice Training Day – School and Nursery closed to pupils

Tuesday 20^th February – P1-7 STEM Afternoon – parents invited in to do a piece of STEM learning with their child.

Thursday 15^th and Friday 16^th February – School Holidays

 Thursday 7^th March

– World Book Day – All children invited to wear a costume.

Monday 11^th March – P6/7 to Dalguise – leaving after lunch and getting back at approximately 3.30pm on Friday.

Wednesday 20th March – Parent Teacher Meetings 5-7pm (Info about signing up for an appointment time will follow)

Tuesday 26th March – Parent Teacher Meetings 3.30-5.30pm (Info about signing up for an appointment time will follow)

Thursday 28^th March

– Last day of term 3

Show Tickets

All pupils in Nursery and P1-7 will be taking part in the Christmas Show. Tickets are now on sale at the school office. 
Each family can buy 2 tickets for the show (£2 each). We can’t offer more than two tickets per family due to the capacity of the hall. But each family will also be able to purchase 2 tickets for the dress rehearsal in the morning (£1 each) so a total of 4 people per family can see the show if they want.
Please note that we can’t make an exception for parents who live apart – if this is true for your family, please decide together about buying the tickets and who will go to each performance. 
You can go to the school office in person to buy your tickets or you can send your child in with an envelope of money and write their name and the tickets you want on the front.

Calendars

If you ordered a school calendar you will have received an email telling you how to pay for and collect your calendar. Please pay and collect by 15th December. We will put any left over after that date on general sale at the Christmas Show.

Christmas Dates

Please click here to check you know all the Christmas dates.

School Uniform

Please remind your child to leave Christmas clothes and accessories at home except for those they are asked to bring in for the show and on the Christmas Lunch day and the last day of term. This helps us keep everyone learning happily right up to the end of term and makes the show and no uniform days feel more special.

Shoes

P1-7 parents, please remind to send your child to school with a second pair of shoes which they can change into at playtime if it is wet or if the garden is muddy. This helps us to keep the garden open through the winter as well as keeping the carpets clean and everyone’s feet dry. On a really wet day, it also worth packing an extra pair of socks.

Christmas Talent Show

Balmerino Primary School is delighted to present a Christmas Talent Show on Monday 18th December at 1.45pm. All children in Nursery-P7 will be taking part. Each family will be able to buy 2 tickets for the show (£2 each). We can’t offer more than two tickets per family due to the capacity of the hall. But each family will also be able to purchase 2 tickets for the dress rehearsal in the morning (£1 each) so a total of 4 people per family can see the show if they want. Information on how to buy your tickets will follow.

Parent Council will be doing fundraising at the show in the afternoon – you will be invited to arrive from 1.15pm to buy raffle tickets, homebaking and teas and coffees.

Here is a message from Parent Council:

Balmerino Primary Parent Council are pleased to be hosting a Bake Sale at the upcoming school Christmas Concert on Monday 18th December. We are looking for donations of baked goods such as cookies, brownies, biscuits, tray bakes and cupcakes etc. If you are able to help, please donate your home baking to the school office at 9am on Monday 18th December. Please also note if you would like to help out at the Christmas Concert please email pcbalmerino@gmail.com to sign up.

P1 Health Checks

Just a reminder that these are on Thursday next week.

School Uniform

As we approach Christmas, some children will start to want to wear Christmas jumpers etc to school. Please keep your P1-7 child in uniform through December. They will be able to wear party clothes the last day of term and everyone will be invited to wear no-uniform/Christmas jumper on the Christmas Lunch Day. It makes these days more special if everyone is in uniform for the rest of December and it helps us to keep a sense of purposeful calm.

Thank you for your support.

Dates

Please check you have all the Christmas dates: available here. The school lunch day is 13th December.

Pantomime Contribution

Please pay your panto this by 8th December using iPayImpact – please choose the fund called Pantomime 2023.

Toy Drive

We are participating in this year’s Toy Drive event which will run until 30th November. Please see the attached flyer below for more information. If you have any donations please hand them in at the school office and they will be delivered down to Wormit Primary, which is acting as the donation hub. The toys will then be collected and distributed to children and families in need. We will be collecting for boys & girls ages between 0-18 and gifts should be new and unwrapped.

Toy Drive Poster

Calendars

Thank you to those who have ordered calendars – as long as you have submitted the form, that is all you need to do just now. We will contact you once they are in to arrange payment and collection.

Christmas Cards

There is one last chance to order by scanning the QR code on the back of your child’s design. The online shop is open til Sunday 19th Nov.

Newport Festival Light Switch On

Please click here for information about this event on Thursday 23td November. 

Playgroup Christmas Fair

Please click here for details about the Christmas Fair 2023

Parent Council Minutes

Click here to read the minutes of the most recent meeting.

Pantomime Contribution

Please pay your panto this by 8th December using iPayImpact – please choose the fund called Pantomime 2023.

Lost Uniform

We have had a few requests to look for lost uniform but we do not currently hold any lost property in school. Please can you check your child has not brought home someone else’s belongings by accident and return it to school if they have. Please make sure all items your child brings to school (including shoes, pencil cases and water bottles) are named as this avoids mix ups happening when two children have the same items.

Toy Drive

We are participating in this year’s Toy Drive event which will run until 30th November. Please see the attached flyer below for more information. If you have any donations please hand them in at the school office and they will be delivered down to Wormit Primary, which is acting as the donation hub. The toys will then be collected and distributed to children and families in need. We will be collecting for boys & girls ages between 0-18 and gifts should be new and unwrapped.

Toy Drive Poster