World Book Day – we had a very successful PJ day last Thursday. Thank you for participating in the Book Fair and everyone enjoyed the big book swap organised by P7.  We have now submitted our Reading School Core accreditation evidence and await the outcome.

Tempest Individual Photos – final reminder that these are being taken on Wednesday 8th.  In school sibling photos will also be taken.

MAD groups – our next Making a Difference group meeting is this Wednesday.

Rotary Quiz – we are hosting the Tayhead schools rotary quiz this Wednesday, Our 7 team has been hard at work improving their general knowledge.

Scottish SPCA are visiting and delivering workshops for P1-5 over Thursday and Friday this week.

What Matters to You? – Strategic Equity Fund Surveys for Families Over the next 3 years Fife Council Education Service will receive additional funding to support us to undertake strategic approaches to achieve the mission of the Scottish Attainment Challenge, with a clear focus on delivering equity through improving outcomes for learners impacted by poverty.  The funding should be focused on resources, activities and approaches focussed on learners impacted by poverty, which will lead to improvements in literacy, numeracy and support health and wellbeing.  Please complete the survey:  click here

All the P5-7 children have been working hard preparing for their Scottish Opera performance on Monday 6th March at 2:25pm.  Here is a sneak peak from rehearsals…

School closed – Tuesday and Wednesday -due to industrial action. Ferryport Nursery will be open as usual on both days.

Thursday 2nd March – World Book Day – to  celebrate all things about books children and staff are being encouraged to wear nightwear to school and bring a favourite book.  Please do not let children wear house slippers to and from school (they can, if desired, change into them at school).

Scholastic Book Orders – Unfortunately the Book Fair is to be collected at lunchtime on the 2nd of March.  Therefore if parents wish to come into school to choose and pay for a book this can only be accommodated on Thursday 2nd March 9 – 9:30 am.

Parent/Carer Meeting Online Booking – the link will be sent out this week.

Final reminders:

• Scottish Opera Show for P5-7 – Monday 6th March at 2:15pm.
• Tempest Individual Photos – Wednesday 8th March – everyone to wear school uniform even if a gym day.

Industrial Action – a letter was sent to all families last week to notify of planned school and nursery closure next week – Tuesday 28th February and Wednesday 1st March – due to planned teacher industrial action.  We will notify you if there is any change to this.

World Book Day and Scholastic Book Fair – information about our World Book Day plans were shared in last week’s update. Here is another reminder click here.

Scholastic Book Fair – arrives this Friday. You will receive an email on how to order books.

Scottish Opera P5-7 – a reminder that on Monday 6th March P5-7 will be presenting their production to their families at 2:15 pm in the sports hall.

Tempest – individual photos – on Wednesday 8th March. If Wednesday is usually a gym day for your child they should come to school in uniform not gym kit on this date.

Parent/Carer Progress Meetings – the online booking system will be set upfor you to book meetings on Thursday 16th or Tuesday 21st March.  An email will be sent by the end of this week with links.

World Book Day plans Click here to see our plans for World Book Day 2023.

We have added some information to support children’s wellbeing to our Parent/Carer section of the website: click here for a direct link.

Fife’s Neurodevelopmental Webpages – Launch – Fife Council are launching a website to signpost staff and families to. The purpose of the site is to clarify what we mean by Neurodevelopment, and to provide information on referral, diagnosis and the support available. Going forward, this will be a crucial tool in how we share information on our processes and the advice we can make available to families. The site has very recently gone live, and the Test of Change project team have asked if I would share it with staff and  families. Importantly, the project group is looking for feedback on the site content and structure as part of its future development. Users can leave feedback using the link that is included at the foot of each page. https://girfec.fife.scot/

Inservice Day – Wednesday 15 February – school closed to pupils.  Teachers  and nursery staff will be updating their Child Protection knowledge.   Teachers will also be reviewing learning environments and considering how they can be improved.  We will be reviewing our school improvement plan to date and identify any next steps. Mrs Simpson and PSAs are attending a De-escalation workshop and this will support refreshing our positive behaviour policy.  New flooring on the main staircase will be fitted during inservice and the mid-term holiday.  

Thursday 16 and Friday 17 February – Mid-term Holiday – School closed.

Safer Internet Day – Tuesday 7th February – click here to access advice for parents to support safe online behaviour.

General security – if you are collecting your child from school during the day please come to the main door, buzz and wait for an adult to hand over your child.  Occasionally if you are picking up the front door will be open but children cannot leave without school staff handing them to you.  Many thanks for your cooperation with this.

Vandalism – I am sorry to report that  some staff’s cars have been deliberately scratched while parked on Dougal Street during the school day.  Please let us know if you see any such behaviour so we can report it to the community police.

Madras Community College – As you may or may not be aware, Madras College is a community use school. Meaning that the community use team within fife Council have many opportunities for our young people and their families to take part in during the evenings. Active Schools Representative, Madison Garland, has asked us to share the following  sway click here.

New flooring – just a reminder that over this week new flooring is being laid on the back stairs and other rooms.

Scots Poetry Performers – On Friday at Learn to Learn we focused on our school value of Achieving and the importance courage plays in doing things such as reciting a poem in front of others.  We celebrated the courage and performance of all those who won certificates.

Reminder of upcoming dates:

• Bookfair arrives Friday 24th February  in school leading up to World Book Day (Thursday 2nd March).  Plans for World Book Day will be shared shortly.
• P5-7 Scottish Opera Performance – Monday 6th March – afternoon
• Tempest individual school photos – Wednesday 8th March
• Tempest group class photos – Tuesday 9th May

Learning Steps Jotters – following your feedback in December Learning Steps jotters will not be sent home week beginning 6 February and instead will shared with you at teacher parent meetings in March.

Attendance monitoring – a routine attendance check will be run week beginning 6 February.  Where attendance is below 85% you will be notified.

It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they’re unwell. It can be tempting to keep our children at home to stop them spreading or catching a bug.  The following advice may be helpful: Click here for parent information on website.

Digital Parenting – resources/advice will continue to be added to our website. click here

Fife Music Service is seeking feedback on parent/carer awareness of Instrumental Music provision within our primary schools. They would greatly appreciate your feedback via a short Microsoft Forms questionnaire. Please scan the QR code to access the form. The form will close on Tuesday 14th of February:

Learning Overviews for Term 3 are now on our website: Click here to access them.

Scots Poetry – over the past two weeks all children are gaining the experience of learning and delivering a Scots poem.  Class  certificates (linked to our Achieve school value) will be presented on Friday.  The achievement focus is on trying hard, not giving up and delivering the poem with expression (children do not need to memorise the poem).  Well done to everyone!

Scottish Opera – P5-7 have begun learning songs from Scottish Opera and will be performing on the afternoon of  Monday 6th March.  More information to follow. click here to find out more about this learning.

Head Teacher Coffee Morning – you are warmly invited this Thursday 26th January  to drop by for a coffee/tea with Mrs Tweed to have a chat about school.  Come to the main office just after 9am.

New flooring –  We are delighted to be having new flooring fitted on both school staircases as well as in two classrooms.  To minimise disruption much of the work is being done over weekends, the inservice day and holidays, however week beginning 30th January may see some temporary reorganisation of entry/exit points at the start and end of day.  We will update families at the end of this week.

Learning Partnership Visit – On Monday 23rd a Fife Quality Improvement Advisor and two head teachers will visit Tayport PS and Ferryport nursery and engage in quality assurance activities such as class learning visits, pupil focus groups and staff focus groups in order to give us feedback on our school improvement priorities.

Anyone in need of support with food in an emergency from the Tayhead Foodbank  should call 07840 957039 .

We warmly welcome Miss Rebecca Irvine to Tayport Primary as our non-class contact teacher. Miss Irvine will work every Tuesday and Wednesday in a range of classes across the school.

The Reading Council proudly present their recommendations of some new texts which they have been reading for their classes: click here to find out more.

Industrial action – 18/01/2023 – an email confirming school closure on Wednesday will be issued later today.  The following link can support learning at home: learning at home link.

We have been asked to share the following information by NHS Fife:

Group A strep is a common bacteria which causes mild infections. These infections are usually easily treated, but on rare occasions they can become more serious.

At this time of year there are lots of viruses circulating that cause children to be unwell, and it is more likely a child is ill from one of these than group A strep. In this video, consultant paediatrician at the Victoria Hospital, Dr John Morrice, talks about what to look out for if your child is unwell, and when you may need to seek medical assistance.

More information and other videos can be found at: http://www.nhsinform.scot/strepA  and http://www.nhsfife.org/winterailments

YouTube – https://youtu.be/_kL5sgLqtXc

Survey Feedback from families – I have summarised your feedback in the following video in our stakeholder feedback section of the website: Stakeholder Feedback | Tayport Primary School and Ferryport Nursery (glowscotland.org.uk)

Please note that the weekly update sits on our website and, where possible, I add links to take you directly to information.  Weekly updates are posted on a Monday or Tuesday as sometimes I am expecting information from other places that needs to be shared and it does not always arrive at the beginning of the week!

Industrial Action –  Tuesday 10th January.  An email will be sent later on Monday 9th to confirm if the industrial action is going ahead. If it goes ahead please use the following link (from our website) to engage in learning at home:  Learning | Tayport Primary School and Ferryport Nursery (glowscotland.org.uk)

P1 and Nursery Enrolment –  Nursery enrolments opened on 6th January and close on 31st January. P1 enrolments for August 2023 opened today (9th January) and close on 15th March.  We would encourage families to apply as soon as possible.  Click here to access all enrolment links and information from our website.

School Calendar for Term 3 – please refer to the school calendar for planned dates for this session.  School Calendar | Tayport Primary School and Ferryport Nursery (glowscotland.org.uk) Some dates are subject to change – please contact us if you have any queries.