Dates for the School Year

Dates for Nursery and School Events for this year are available by clicking here. 

All children will also bring home a paper version.

Unfortunately we have not been able to book a panto trip this year. This is due to the unavailability of buses. However, we have arranged the next best thing which is that M&M productions will bring a pantomime to us which all children will see in the school hall. We will ask for a small donation towards the cost of this nearer the time but the cost to you will be a saving over the contribution you made last year. We are discussing other trips that can happen this year as we are not going out to the panto and more info will follow in due course.

 

P1 Photos

During September we will be taking a photo of the P1s for inclusion in the local newspapers’ P1 supplements. Your child will be included in the photo as long as you have given permission for photos. If you have not returned your general permissions form, please do so on Monday so we know your wishes. We will give you any information about publication dates once we know it.

 

Communication about Learning

We know from feedback that many parents are keen to have updates on their child’s learning so that they can discuss learning at home with them. This year, we are going to pilot the use of Seesaw in P1-6. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be setting up Seesaw Journals for each class. The Seesaw Journals will be linked to the email addresses which receive Groupcall emails. If you would like another family member added, you can email me to request that, once the journals are set up. When the journals come into use (likely at the end of September) you will start to see information about your child’s learning appearing.

If you already have a Seesaw account linked to your email address, all you need to do is log into Seesaw or download the Seesaw Family App and log into it to see your child’s journal. Please don’t use the Class App as it won’t work.

If you haven’t used Seesaw before, you will receive an invite by email, you click on the link and set up an account and password.

Seesaw isn’t set up yet – don’t look for your child’s journal or the invite email yet. More information will follow.

P7 are going to have a greater responsibility for sharing their learning with home than Seesaw offers. They will be working together to make a class Sway to share with parents on a termly basis.

 

Punctuality

Thank you to all our families for a great effort with punctuality. I have checked the late book for August today and there are no concerns. This is great as when the whole class is in the line at 9am there is a smooth start to the day for everyone and classes can hit the ground running with their learning. Everyone sleeps in  or runs late sometimes – its always better to arrive late than never or stressed so please know we understand the odd occasion of lateness, we would only contact you about your child’s punctuality if it was frequent or formed a pattern.

 

Polite Reminders

Please don’t ride bikes or scooters on school ground – get off at the gate and push. This includes on Big Park outwith the school day – the grass can get damaged and the hills are too steep for safe riding.

Children should not bring mobile phones to school. The only exception to this is for older children who walk home on their own or attend a non-school club directly from school and need to be able to contact parents. In this case the phone must stay switched off and in the school bag the whole time they are at school, including on school transport. Primary aged children are too young to be able to be responsible independently with a device that can access the internet – a small error of judgement can lead to a big issue and we need to protect them from that.

Please encourage your child to wear a red or navy sweatshirt or school cardigan. Hoodies and fleeces are fine for PE ot the playground but not for the classroom, please.

Thank you to all parents for supporting their child to keep these rules.

 

The Playground

Playground staff have been working hard together and listening to children’s voice to make plans for the playground.

Monday-Thursday at morning break – the children all play in their tarmac zone.

Mondays and Wednesdays at lunch break – everyone on Big Park – P1-4 play at one end and P5-7 at the other end. There will be coned areas and equipment for football and gymnastics.

Tuesday and Thursdays at lunch break – everyone on Big Park – P1-4 play at one end and P5-7 at the other end. No coned areas to promote different types of play and P6s can visit their P1 buddies.

Fridays are mix-up day – everyone can go anywhere and play with anyone of any age – tarmac zones in the morning, Big Park at lunchtime.

If its too wet for Big Park, lunchtime will be on the tarmac zones and Friday will still be mix-up day.

The playground staff have a budget for buying equipment and resources to support happy playtimes and they will be listening to children’s ideas for how to spend this. I am grateful to playground staff for their hard work over this important part of the school day.

 

If there is any playground equipment you do not want your child to use, please make sure they know your wishes and contact me to let me know.

 

House Captains

Today has been the all important House Captain’s elections. Eight P7 children will be coming home with the news that they have been elected to lead their house this year, I am delighted for them – well done! I know some children will be disappointed not to have been elected and I would like to emphasise how proud I am of all of them for the work they put into their speeches and the way they have delivered them and coped with disappointment. There are going to be opportunities next week for P7s to apply for posts on school committees so lots more chances for responsibility in our school. Lucy Jess