Harvest/Next week

We will hold Harvest Assemblies next week and will invite children to bring in an item for donation to the foodbank on Friday 8th October. P1-7, please also remember to return your matchboxes by 8th.  Friday is the last day of term and we look forward to seeing the children return for Term 2 on 25th October.

 

Community News

Some parents have suggested a Community News Page would be helpful on the school website. I have set one up here.  I will be reliant on people sending me contributions to keep it up to date!

 

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

There will be an additional school holiday in 2022 on Friday 3rd June.

 

Annual Data Check

Please return your child’s form ASAP, if you haven’t already. This is so we can check details are up to date.

 

P1 Courier Photo

This will be published on Monday 4th October.

 

Big Park

Over the last week and a half, the children have enjoyed time playing on Big Park. As some parents have contacted me about this, I would like to clarify a couple of points. We don’t have enough staff to allow the children to choose between playing on the tarmac or playing on Big Park, we need to either have them all on the tarmac or all on Big Park to allow for proper supervision. In the first few weeks of term, they were playing on the Tarmac, this was to allow everyone to get into a proper routine at the start of term and while we were easing mitigations and opening up the class bubbles. At playtime, the children only have 15 minutes to eat their snack and we do like them to use this time to go to the toilet and so time does not make it worth going down to Big Park. But we are now making regular use of Big Park at lunchtimes and this will continue whenever the weather and underfoot conditions allow.  I have been grateful to the parents who have offered feedback about the use of Big Park and want to reassure you that we recognise the benefits of outdoor play in this wonderful space and know that this is something our pupils and parents value.

 

Fundraiser Today

Thank you to all who have supported our fundraiser today. We have raised £219 for MacMillan Cancer.

 

Matchbox Competition

The due date has changed to Friday 8th October. I look forward to counting your objects!

Dundee Football Camp

Active Schools have shared some information that I have received from Dundee Football Club regarding their October Camp. The camp is taking place from the 11th October to the 15th October 9am-5pm for £60 for the full week of training.  Information is available here:

October Camp Flier

Standards and Quality Report and School Improvement Plan

I sent a summary to all parents via email this week and a paper copy came home in the school bags. Please take time to read the summary. If you are interested in further details, you can access the full documents on the relevant page of this website or by clicking here. 

Don’t forget…

…to return your filled matchbox on 1st October. Click here for a reminder of the challenge.

Thank you to all parents who have completed our Parental Survey. The link came by email this week. Please complete it if you haven’t done so yet – it takes less than 10 minutes and we want to hear from as many people as possible!

The oldest child in each family will bring home an empty matchbox this week – you can work as a family to do the challenge.  The challenge is to put as many different items into the matchbox as you can. You want to look for things that are as small as possible but you can only put in one of each item. For example, you can put in one grain of rice but not a spoonful!

Please don’t put in:

• anything perishable – e.g. you can put in a dried flower but not a fresh flower as it won’t survive.
• anything which is too tiny to find and count (e.g. a grain of sand)
• anything which will crumble away – e.g. you can put in a coffee bean but not an instant coffee granule.

Bring your matchbox back into school on Friday 1st October. On th ebox, please write:

• the P1-7 child(ren)’s name(s)
• their house
• the number of items that are inside.

Everyone who brings their box in will win points for their house and the winning boxes will earn extra points.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Communication

Nursery-P3 are set up on Seesaw now and P4-7 are getting set up with their class Teams on GLOW. I have had a few questions from parents about communication and so have created a page on the website to clarify our systems. It can be accessed here. Then use the back button to return here.

 

Ju Jistsu

An evening class is running in Newport each Wednesday. Click here to access information: WJJS flyers – Newport – September 2021. Then use the back button to return here.

 

Home Learning Device Access Survey

Thank you to all parents who have completed this survey. The data we are collecting is very helpful. Please use the link that was emailed to you to complete it by end of day on Sunday. We may have conversations with children if we need to fill in any gaps in our data next week.

 

Online Library Events Next Week

Here is the library service’s online schedule for next week should you wish to access any of the out of school hours events with your child.

YAY for school wb 13 Sept

 

Data Checks

Please return these to the school office as soon as possible so that we know your details are up to date.

 

Running Club

The P6/7 Running Club is currently full but we are keeping a waiting list. We will prioritise P7s as spaces become available as P6s will get a chance again next year.

 

Ardroy

P7 parents – please look out for a letter coming home about the residential trip and payment plans.

 

P7 Maths Challenge

If your child is taking part, please note that their entry will be due in by the end of this term.

P3 Homework

The P3 class page has been update with a link to homework ideas. Click here to access it.

Updated Information

I have updated one section of the school website to reflect our policy on nuts in school and Covid guidance. It can be accessed here with new information marked in bold.

Seesaw – Information for Nursery, P1-3 Parents

At the start of next week, a permission slip will come home to allow us to set your child up for the new school year on Seesaw which is a platform to aid home-school communication and support family learning. Please complete and return it as soon as possible so that we can get Seesaw up and running.

Class Pages

Each class now has their own page on the school website. This has information for parents about homework, PE days etc and shows a photo of your child’s learning environment. Please read the pages that apply to your family so that you have this information. You can follow these links or use the menu above.

Nursery

P1

P1/2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

Dates for the Year

We are all hoping that this year will be more predictable than last and so we have set as many dates as we can for the school year. This includes arrangements for P1-7 Parent/Teacher interviews. These dates are now available on the calendar page of the website which you can reach using the menu above or follow this link:

Calendar

Restrictions Easing

We are continuing to ease our restrictions on keeping classes separate and you will likely start to hear your child talking about playing with children from other classes over the coming week. Any parent who has concerns about this easement should contact Mrs Jess directly.

The majority of Covid mitigations remain in place and we do need to ask you to continue to be vigilant of symptoms in your household.  If your child develops any of the following symptoms they must not come to school. They and all other members of the family should stay at home as soon as their symptoms start, self-isolate, and take a PCR test. Find out more on NHS Inform. The symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) are:

• a new continuous cough and/or
• a high temperature and/or
• a loss of, or change in, taste or smell (anosmia).

If you or your children test positive, Test and Protect will contact you to provide tailored advice on what to do. This advice is an extract from Fife Council’s FAQs on Schools and Covid.

Click here to read the full version of Fife’s FAQs on Schools and Covid

Message from the Office

Please return Data Capture Forms and General Permissions Forms as soon as possible. P1-7 Flu forms by 3rd September, please. Many thanks.

Saturday Football

Continues to run at Waterstone Crook. Information came home about this via email last week. We are grateful to Gilbert Valentine for his continued partnership with the school.

Saturday Rugby

Madrascals Rugby is back and looking forward to welcoming new members to their Saturday morning fun training sessions.  Led by teams of experienced and friendly coaches, everybody from P1 – P7 is welcome to come along.  Free taster sessions are being held at Station Park, the home of Madras Rugby Club, on Saturday 28 August and Saturday 4 September.  There is no need to book ahead, just turn up ready to play and have fun! The times for each session are:

P1 – P2 11:00 – 12:00

P3 – P7 10:30 – 12:00

Any questions should be directed to: madrascals.convenor@gmail.com

Welcome to our first weekly newsletter of the new school term and the first using this new format.

Please feel free to contact me with feedback, queries and concerns.

Lucy Jess (lucy.jess@fife.gov.uk)

New Website

This newsletter is part of our school website. If you haven’t already done so, please take time to explore the links above to find information about the school.

Message from the Office

Please check your child’s bag for forms coming home! P1-7 Parents – please return your child’s Flu Vaccine consent form by 3rd September. P2-7 Parents, please return the data check form as soon as possible.  All Parents, please return the general permissions form as soon as possible. The milk fund will be open for another week so that any parent having a teething problem with their account will still have time to order.

Staffing

Click Here to see a full list of current staffing for session 2021/22. Use the back button to return to this page afterwards.

Update on Our Refurbishment

The Nursery Refurbishment is completed and we are delighted with the new learning environment it has given us. All classroom areas now have new, double glazed windows giving us better insulation and ventilation. The P7 area has been refurbished and the walls re-insulated and painted. The rest of the classroom areas will likely have this work done during next year’s summer holidays.  Work to extend the Nursery Garden will begin around the time of the October holidays. There is a further, unavoidable delay to building the modular unit and at this point it is likely that this will be completed by August 2022.

 

Here are some photos of our new Nursery:

Polite Reminder

Please don’t walk through the school carpark at any time as there is always a risk of moving vehicles.

PE and Uniform

Your child does not need PE kit yet though it is likely that we will start changing before the end of this term. Even though we are not changing, all children should remove earrings and tie back long hair for PE lessons. If your child can’t remove their earrings, please send them with tape to cover them. If your child has long hair, please make sure their have a bobble with them each day so that they can tie it back. All children should have a school jumper (navy or red) with them each day so that they can be warm in class. They can wear a fleece or hoody over this if it gets cold but not instead of it, please.

Covid Restrictions Easing

We are beginning to be able to ease our restrictions. From today, P1 and P1/2 will be able to mix and play together in the playground and all children will be able to move seats within their classroom as needed to support teaching and learning and socialisation – we no longer need to stick to a fixed seating plan through the day and week. Further changes will be introduced gradually and I will keep you up to date.

Gauldry Gala

The Morison Duncan Hall Committee are organising a Gala to be held on Saturday 4th September on the pitch beside the hall in Gauldry. The Historical Enactment group will be hosting an archery tuition session on Saturday morning. This will be led by qualified and experienced instructors and is open to pupils of Primary school age. Those who take part in this will be invited to act as an “army” during one of the afternoon sessions. Bows and arrows will NOT be required for this!  More details will follow.

Entries are invited for the Primary schools’ Baking Competition. Pupils are invited to bake either 3 Gingerbread People or 3 Butterfly Cakes.  Entries (on a plate please) should be brought to the hall on Saturday morning between 9.30 and 10.30 with a note of the details (including age) of the baker. Judging will take place at 11am.  This competition is open to pupils of both Balmerino and Wormit schools.

 

Message regarding Beavers/Cubs/Scouts

I have been asked to share the following message. Please contact Jonny Tepp directly (details below) if you are interested:

As we move out of lockdown things are becoming more normal and in many areas Scout, Cubs and Beaver Groups are now operating where there are parents and volunteers willing to lead activity.

I am writing this to all parents and contacts of the group to update and ask for help or suggestions.

Please read to the end of this email – I would be happy to chat with anyone individually so please get in touch!

The Group relies on volunteers.

We have a good Scout hut recently redecorated, a good stock of equipment, and a healthy financial situation.

We have a set of annual accounts, a hut risk assessment, and safety certificates, and insurance in place.

We subscribe to Online Scout Manager to help us administer scouting locally.

Ideally a Scout Group needs the following in addition to a meeting place to operate

A Group Scout Leader – currently me Jonny Tepp

A Parents Committee (min Chair – vacant, Treasurer – Eddie Dunkerley, Secretary – Vacant)

Section Leaders ? (Scout Section has been meeting and led by John Innes, Cubs & Beaver Sections currently inactive)

Section Assistants ? (Scout Section has been meeting, Cubs & Beaver Section inactive)

The Group Scout Leader has an overall responsibility for Scouting and needs a committee Chair that he/she can work with.

The Parent Committee can probably do most of their work through zoom or email.

They are legally the trustees if the 34th Fife Scout Group SC032710. They need to hold an AGM and take responsibility for the Scout Hut and group finances/accounts and for meeting the requirements of OSCR (the Office for the Scottish Charity Register).

They are required to be ‘appointed’ by the Scouts Association for which they need to apply, get child protection CVG check, and complete an online intro to Scouting module to ensure they understand the fundamentals of scouting (all this probably takes 2-3 hours to complete).

Section/Assistant Leaders are the lynchpin of Scouting as they deliver activities aligned to the National Scouting programme.

They are required to be ‘appointed’ by the Scouts Association for which they need to apply and be interviewed after get child protection CVG check and completing online training. In addition to the intro to Scouting module there are modules on child safeguarding, and data protection (all this probably takes 4-5 hours to complete).

Leaders develop and deliver the programme week by week which is essentially one of encouraging fun learning by doing outdoors as much as Scottish weather allows! In my experience (and we are all different) to run a weekly programme required a commitment from me of about 4 hours per week (2 hours prep, 2 ours at the Hut)

There are plenty if resources out there providing a menu of material so that the challenge is identifying activities that you will enjoy and feel able to deliver (classic activities which I have enjoyed include)

Beavers, Cubs & Scouts

• Camping
• Cooking
• Fires
• Singing!
• Knots and ‘Pioneering’
• Hiking
• Map reading
• Codes
• Problem solving
• Games!
• Visits to Observatories, Boat trips, Skating,

Camping for ‘new leaders’ is done at national camping centres where trained leaders can deliver activities that you might not be qualified to do. If you stay in Scouting for any period of time you can develop or get accredited to deliver different activities.

I have knowledge of how Scouting and Scout group admin works which I am willing to share.

I am happy to keep supporting the local scout group in any way I can and to ‘oversee’ scouting by making sure that we as far as possible adhere to the expectations of the Scout Association

I live near to the hut and so have been happy over the years to ensure that the hut is looked after (with help obviously).

HOWEVER, I cannot do this alone and I cannot run the programme of activity that needs leaders with energy and enthusiasm for our young people.

If any of this sounds like fun to you, albeit hard work, get in touch and let’s talk!

Jonty

GSL 34th Fife SC032710

 

Welcome to our new school website. Watch out for our weekly newsletters appearing here. They will also be sent to parents, carers and staff by email, usually on a Friday.