As Armistice Day approaches we will be reflecting on the UNCRC  article 38.  Governments should not recruit children into the armed forces.  Governments should make sure that children are given extra protection when there is a war or armed conflict.  We will be supporting the Scottish Poppy Appeal from today.  Please send in donations to purchase a poppy.  Our P7s will also lay a wreath at Tayport’s War Memorial on behalf of our school.

Around Halloween many children are understandably excited.  However, this can have a negative impact on general behaviour and pupils making good choices.  We would greatly appreciate your support in reminding your child of your expectations around their behaviour at school, particularly not engaging in rough physical play with peers at break and lunchtime.

At our P4-7  “learn to learn” assembly we will be discussing bonfire and firework safety (parents/carers can view key messages here.)

Morning snack – please send in one snack only for morning break.

Homework will start this week.  All children will also bring home a leaflet explaining more about “Natural Connections” which is the outdoor learning programme we are now engaging with.  Across the school we continue to build resilience in children through targeted health and wellbeing lessons.   Here is the parent/carer information for this term: Look on the Bright Side Parent and Carer Leaflet

Pupil Progress Meetings are coming up on either 21st of 26th November.  Later this week you will receive an email invitation to book your  teacher meeting.

In most schools headlice can be a recurring problem.  Please check your child’s hair very regularly and treat promptly if you suspect any infestation.  The following website offers specific NHS advice here.

North East Fife Toy Drive – every year Tayport Primary supports this important local event by being a drop off point for gifts.  Our Community Champion MAD group will be organising this over the month of November.  If you wish for school to make a referral for gifts from the Toy Drive for your family please complete the confidential self-referral form: click here.

Frequently asked questions about the Toy Drive

General information – Toy Drive

The Larick Centre is hosting a travelling art gallery:  information here.  Here is a link to learn more about them:  Travelling Gallery – Scotland’s Art Gallery in a Bus

A warm welcome back to term 2.  Thank you for ongoing support with our school uniform.  Please continue to put your child’s name on all items, including coats.

Please check out our school calendar for upcoming dates for your diary: Tayport family calendar 2024-25 at 20 Oct 24

Last term staff and children reviewed and updated our anti-bullying policy.   We are keen for all parents/carers to have the opportunity to review and feedback on this too.  Click here to view Tayport PS updated Anti-Bullying Policy  If you would like to share any feedback on this policy please: click here.

We were delighted to receive feedback on various aspects of our school  from 28% of our families, You said we did feedback Oct 24

We couldn’t end the term without sharing some exciting news.  Last weekend two of our pupils proudly took part in events to mark 25 years of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.   Highlights included meeting the former First Minister and the King’s guards, seeing the Scottish crown, listening to debates and even meeting the King and Queen!  We are very proud of our Tayport Primary pupils! #On TRACK to a bright future!

Our House Captains ran a very successful first “surgery” to invite classes along to share any issues.  They are already putting plans into action!

Thank you to those who attended our Reading Café on Tuesday – it was great to have such a big turnout and we appreciated all your positive feedback particularly about how well the P5-7 pupils ran the café.

We have jammed a lot into the past 7 weeks – please remember to look at the class showcases click here and leave us some feedback.

Wishing all our families a lovely October break.  Please remember Café Inc is offering cold packed lunches at the Larick Centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We will welcome everyone back on Monday 21 October.

We are excited to share this term’s learning with you via our website.  Please click on this link and then select your child’s class.

You will be able to see the termly learning overview and a gallery of photos below linking this with the learning covered.  We would welcome your feedback on this new approach to sharing class learning so a short form is available on each class page – we would appreciate hearing from you!

Reading Café one is happening tomorrow in the small hall – Tuesday 1 October 9:30 – 10:15am and is for the P3-7 Learning Leaders and Reading Council MAD group pupils.

Lost Property – this term’s unclaimed lost property will be laid outside the main office on Tuesday and Wednesday this week from 2:45 – 3:15 pm.  If you are missing items please come and take a look!  Unclaimed items will be donated to the local charity shop after the October break.

Silver Rights Respecting School grand unveiling by the house captains this week:

Annual data checks – we are still waiting for almost 80 annual data checks to be returned.  Please send into school ASAP.

Summer Fete – this Friday (20th) 6 – 7:30 pm.  We still need more raffle prizes – please hand into the school office and Parent Council are looking for more volunteers.  Here are all the details again and please ensure that all children are accompanied and supervised by an adult at the Fete:

Anti-bullying fortnight commences – #operation kindness. Please ask your child about this.

Celebrating diversity – if you are bi-lingual and would be happy to visit classes around the week of 23 September please complete this short form: click here.

Annual Contact Information Update – a paper copy was sent home last week – please check this carefully, update and return to school quickly.

P1-3 Shared Start Dates – thank you for letting us know your preferred date.  You will receive an email this week to let you know which day to attend.

School emails – some families are having difficulties receiving school emails.  Groupcall has advised that you add the following email address to your safe senders list and address book:  21EC133@groupcallalert.com

 School Summer Fete – The parent council are actively raising funds for our Christmas panto trip to the Byre in St Andrews.  An email was sent on Friday with full details.

Asda Cashpots For Schools – if you happen to shop in Asda and use the Asda app our Parent Council has signed our school up for their Cashpot for Schools fundraising.  Please link us in if you can: Asda Cashpot for Schools information

Water bottles – please send in a full water bottle daily.  The bottle should have children’s name on it.

Lost property – we have a small pile of unnamed lost property gathering – please let your child’s teacher know if you are missing anything specific.

Learning Overviews for term 1 – just a reminder that you can access these on our class pages on the school website here.  Teacher contact emails are on the learning overviews too.

Our school website is in the process of being updated.  We have created class pages on this you will be able to find the termly Learning Overviews – click here. and select the class you are interested in.

Homework starts this week, please remember we have “Meet the Teacher” this Wednesday 4th September – 3:15 – 4:15 pm. Last week we shared dates for the coming term  click here to review again.

Please email your child’s class teacher [email addresses on the learning overview] to share if your child participated in the library summer reading challenge.  We would love to share their success!

Please remember that all Fife buildings including playgrounds are non-smoking, this includes the use of vapes.

We have had an increasing number of children bringing in small firecrackers into school. I believe they are on sale at a local shop.  Please can parents/carers ensure that these are not brought into school.

P1-3 Shared Starts – an email was sent out on Friday to invite parents/carers to our planned shared starts.  Please respond by 7th September.

Unfortunately after school rugby for P4-5 is cancelled until further notice due to the coach being injured.

Roadshows for family support around neurodivergence

 NHS Fife is organising three events across Fife for parents / carers and professionals to provide information around the supports and services available for families of neurodivergent children and young people.  It is hoped that you can support these events through sharing this information with your staff and school community.   All are welcome to attend.  click here for more information.

The details for these (drop-in) events are as follows:

• Thursday 26th September, 2-5pm – Corn Exchange, Cupar
• Thursday 31st October, 2-5pm – Templehall Community Centre, Kirkcaldy
• Wednesday 20th November, 2-5pm – Main Hall, Lynebank Hospital

In line with our Unicef Silver Rights Respecting School Award this term we a focusing on Article 42  over the next 3 weeks.  You can find out more about article 42 by clicking here.

School Calendar – the full 2024-25 school calendar is on our website: click here. 

Upcoming dates for this term:

Monday 2nd September – this term’s class learning overviews shared.  #operation_kindness launched

Wednesday 4th September – 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm – Meet the Teacher.  Visit your child’s classroom to meet the teacher and some learning resources.

Thursday 5th September – 6 – 7 pm – Parent Council meeting at Tayport Primary School.  Everyone welcome.  Contact Laura McDonald, Parent Council Chair prior to the meeting, if you have anything you would like raised via the Tayport Primary School Parent Council Facebook page.

Monday 9th – 20th September – Anti-bullying fortnight #operation_kindness

Monday 16th September – First MAD group meeting.  We will move our focus to UNCRC article 19.

Friday 20th September – 6 – 7:30 pm [end time tbc] – Parent Council Summer Fair  at Tayport Primary School.  This is to fundraise to support the cost of transporting P1-7 to the Christmas Panto in St Andrews.

Monday 23rd, Wednesday 25th or Friday 26th September – P1-3 shared starts.  P1-3 families will have the opportunity to join their child from 9 – 9:30 am in their class.  You will receive information this week on how to reserve your preferred date.  Please note it is one of the dates and only one visitor per child.

Wednesday 25th September – World Languages Day celebration – please let us know if you can come in over this week and share your language skills!

Friday 27th September – P1-7 Flu vaccines in school.  Permission letters must be returned no later 30th August.

Tuesday 1st October – 9:30 – 10:15 – Reading Café 1 – in small hall hosted by our new Learning Leaders and Reading Council MAD groups.

Friday 4th October – 3pm end of term 1.  Returning Monday 21st October.

Cost of living support for families in Fife here.

We are all looking forward to welcoming everyone back tomorrow at 9am!  Our new P1s should arrive just after this at 9:05 am.

Please put your child’s name on any items of clothing they are likely to remove such as cardigans, jumpers and coats.  The forecast is for rain showers so please pack a jacket in school bags as we will always try to go outside at breaks and lunchtime.

Everyone should bring a water bottle, healthy snack and either a packed lunch or order a school dinner.  Remember P2-7 can pre-order school lunches.  There should be no nuts in snacks or lunch boxes.

For the next few days there will be markers out to support the new lining up arrangements:

A warm welcome to our new Principal Teacher, Mr Fox:

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!