It feels like a while since I have sent a weekly information sheet. As you know this has been a busy term and I was off sick for a couple of weeks. We have sent a lot of emails because we felt you needed some information directly and quickly, rather than through the weekly sheet. This is a round up of what has been happening and is going to be happening before we break up for the summer.

Things we have done:

• Nursery staff have been busy supporting transition for the new children coming in and for the pre-school children who are going onto P1. Mrs Steven has also been busy getting to know next years’ P1 class.
• P7 have had three transition days to Madras.
• P1-6 have had a transition session where they met their new class and worked with their new teacher.
• 10 P6/7 pupils attended a football tournament at Leuchars PS where they competed against other pupils and lived our school values to the full.
• 4 P3/4 pupils attended a Madras Cluster tennis tournament in St Andrews and represented the school well.
• Running Club has continued after school and netball club has started. The Running Club attended a cross-country event and did very well.
• Our Girls Can (an initiative to encourage girls to continue to participate in sport) has been running in P7 as a lunchtime club.
• The boys football team had a match again Liff Primary School and the girls played against Greyfriars and Canongate – thank you to Gilbert Valentine who arranged this through the Saturday Football Club which he continues to run (now back on Big Park) to the benefit of the school.
• P5 Youth Music Performance
• P1-7 Run for Refugees which raised a whopping £3050 for Disasters Emergency Committee.

Things we are looking forward to:

• Sports Day – parents invited to attend – information came home via email
• P7 Show – the children will all see the show in school next week and parents have had an email about seeing it.
• End of Year Service – you have received information about this via email
• Finding out who has won the House Cup!
• Nursery/Playgroup Puppet Show
• Parent Council Uniform Swap – please drop any further donations into school before 9am on Monday morning. The uniform will be laid out ready for you to collect (free or for a donation to Parent Council fund) on Friday 24th June.
• Parent Council Treasure Hunt – please see info in the email that was sent today.

Assemblies

P1-7 assemblies have continued each week and we have celebrated those children who have been spotted living our school values and they have brought certificates home. When I have not been able to attend assembly, Mr Rose has stepped in to make sure this keeps going.  If you have emailed me to nominate your child for a headteacher award due to an achievement out of school and they haven’t received a certificate yet, this is an oversight on my part – please resend your email and I will make sure your child gets their award next week. My inbox got a little busy while I was off sick so I apologise if any email was missed.

Well Done..

…to the P6/7 running club who have had a successful day out to a Cross Country Event in Kirkcaldy. Thank you to Mr Rose and the parent helpers who gave them this great experience.

Jubilee Lunch – 1st June

The children be having a picnic lunch on 1st June to celebrate the Jubilee. You can either send your child with a packed lunch or order the Jubilee School Lunch in the usual way (iPayImpact for P1-7 and in Nursery for those pupils).

P1-7 children are invited to come to school wearing Red, White or Blue. No uniform needed. They will eat on Big Park.

Nursery Parents will get details of the Nursery plans via Seesaw.

Parent Council

There will be a Parent Council Meeting in school on Tuesday 31st May at 6.30pm. All parents of the school and nursery are welcome to attend to share ideas and get involved.

The Parent Council currently has co-chairs, a secretary and a treasurer but there are openings for ordinary members – if you are keen to get involved in the wider life of the school, please consider standing for membership.

The Parent Council have recently set up a Facebook Page – please like it to follow their activities and news from the school. The Facebook Page is now embedded in the School website and you should be able to see it on every page and post including this one. Most devices will let you view the content even if you are not logged in to Facebook and don’t have an account.

Open Afternoons

Thank you to all who came along – it was wonderful to have you all back in school.

Dates for Your Diary

Monday 2nd May – School Holiday

Thursday 5th May – In-service Day – school closed to pupils for staff training

Monday 9th May – Madras Guidance Staff Visiting P7

Monday 16^th and Wednesday 18^th May – Open Afternoons (more information below)

Friday 27^th May – P1-7 Sponsored Run for Ukraine (more information below)

Friday 3rd June – Additional Holiday for Jubilee

Monday 6th June – School Holiday

During week beginning 7^th June – House Sports Competitions

Tuesday 14th- Thursday 16th June – P7s to Madras for Transition Days – more info to follow

Wednesday 22nd June – 6.30pm – P7 Show in school hall – all P7 families welcome (subject to confirmation of restrictions easing by Fife Council)

Thursday 23^rd June – Sports Day – parents are invited to come and watch at 1.30pm

Friday 24th June – reports coming home (pre school Nursery Children and P1-7)

Thursday 30^th June – End of Year Service – details to follow – I am hoping to invite all parents but it will be dependent on us securing the right size of venue

Thursday 30th June – last day of term – school finishes at 3.05pm and nursery finishes at 3pm

Open Afternoons

*Please note: these will go ahead subject to Fife Council confirming we can invite parents into the buildings for events. They have not yet done this as the Scottish Government Covid Threat Level remains at Moderate not Low.*

On Monday 16^th and Wednesday 18^th May, Nursery – P7 parents and children are invited to come to drop in between 3.30 and 4.30 to walk through the school. In P1-7 you will be able to view the children’s work from their ‘Being an Artist’ theme and all parents will be able to visit the nursery which was refurbished in August. This will be a wonderful chance for you to at last see the inside of the building, your child’s class and work. There will be a one system to avoid any large gathering inside – information about this will follow. Staff will not be present to keep numbers at the right level but Mr Rose and I will both be there to make sure people know where to go. I am greatly looking forward to putting faces to name – please do introduce yourself to me when you see me.

Please note that you will need to use steps to access the classroom areas – if any parent has mobility problems and needs help with this, please contact me.

P1-7 Sponsored Run for Ukraine

On 27^th May, all P1-7 children will be taking part in a sponsored run in support of Ukrainian Refugees. You are invited to come to school to watch your child run if you would like:

P1-3 at 10am

P4&5 at 1.30pm

P6&7 at 2.15pm

We are working as a team and aiming to raise £1000 for Disasters Emergency Committee. Please sponsor the team if you can. You can click on this link or use the QR code. Please share with friends and family who you think might like to be involved.

P1-7 School Values

At Assemblies on a Friday, we celebrate children who live our school values and give them a certificate. This includes children who have an achievement out of school. If your child has a personal achievement, please email me at lucy.jess@fife.gov.uk to nominate them for an award.

Saturday Football (for Information)

Please remember the sessions are back at Wormit PS on Big Park from tomorrow.  Further info came by email earlier in the week.

Message from Active Schools (for Information)

Dear Parents,

A few things for you to know about in advance, for next term:

P1-7 Cloakrooms

All children will be keeping their belongings in a cloakroom from 18^th April onwards. For P3 and P4, this will mean a change to the door they come in and out of. P3 will use the same door that P1 and P1/2 currently use (the one by the main entrance) and P4 will use the same door that P5 currently use. Click here to view a map to show the doors all pupils will use. Your child’s teacher will go over this with them this week. There is no change for Nursery yet.

P1-7 Shoes

Please continue to send your child to school in a pair of shoes that are suitable for all day wear including outdoor play and PE. They should also bring a pair of shoes for indoor PE, with their PE kit. We are going to get everyone used to the cloakroom routine before we starting having them changing shoes each time them come in. We are getting new carpets in the summer so this will start in August. There is no change to shoes for nursery.

Drop Off/Pick Up – Parents on School property

I have not yet had confirmation from Fife Council that we can invite a greater number of parents onto school property so, at this point, I need to continue to ask that only Nursery, P1 and 2 parents come into the grounds. I am hopeful that this will ease into next term and I will communicate this to you when the change can happen. But for 18^th April, please assume this mitigation is still in place – I won’t contact you in the holidays with a change, only once term has begun.

Face Coverings/Social Distancing on School Property

For 18^th April, please assume these mitigations are still in place.  My understanding is that once the legal requirement for face coverings in public places is removed, there will remain contexts (including schools) where the guidance will be that face coverings still be worn. I am expecting, therefore, to need to advise you to keep wearing a face covering on school property (including at drop off and pick up) and I will continue to ask you to maintain distance from those not in your household. But I will share changes to this advice when I get them.

P1-7 Theme: Being an Artist

All primary classes will be working on this theme in the first weeks of term, learning about an artist and their work. We will be preparing displays of work to share. We are hopeful that we may be able to invite parents into school to tour the building and see the displays but if not we will share them virtually. We are awaiting guidance about this and will share further details early next term.

Nursery

We are hopeful that things will ease next term so that we can invite you inside. This will likely lead to changes for drop off and pick up which we will share with you as soon as we can but please assume things will stay as they are on 18th April.

Ukraine Fundraising

We are going to hold a fundraiser for Ukrainian refugees next term. Details will follow but I am letting you know about this now because I know many of you might want to discuss this with your child before it is discussed in school. Our discussions will be about how we can help those who have needed to leave their homes, we won’t focus on warfare or the political situation in any depth.

Sports Day

Will go ahead next term and we expect to be inviting parents to attend – we will set and share a date for this early in the term to give you good notice.

I am going to post these details on the school website for reference. I am sending them today so that there is time for you to come to me with any questions before term ends on Friday. I will be in touch with updates on or soon after 18^th April.

I wish all our families a happy holiday, when it comes, and would like to extend a sincere thank you to you all for your support of the school and understanding during the Covid period. While guidance and mitigations remain in place, I am very hopeful that things will ease next term and I look forward to being able to meet many of you and get to know your family a bit better.

Kind regards

Lucy Jess

Child Protection – for information (all families)

On the in-service day, all staff had child protection refresher training. Our updated policies and procedures are available here. All children will bring home a copy of the leaflet in their school bag today.

School Car Park – for information and action (all families)

A polite reminder that the school car park is only for staff use. Parents dropping off and picking up should not drive into the car park as space is very limited. There is no pedestrian access to the car park – please don’t walk through it and please don’t allow your child to. There is always a risk of moving vehicles.

Easter Library Activities next week – for information (all families)

Please click here to find out more.

Covid Restrictions Easing – for information (all families)

All parents received a copy of the latest letter from Jason Leitch yesterday. In light of restrictions easing there will be changes next term and I will be in communication with you about these from next week onwards.

P1-7 have had a fun day today supporting Comic Relief as fundraising Superheroes and working together on creating Superheroes to represent our school values. Click here to find out more. We have raised £258!

P3 and P4’s entries for the Courier Mother’s Day supplement will be published over 21st, 22nd and 23rd March. Your child’s work was submitted if you gave permission for us to do so.

Please remember that the building work on the modular unit starts on Monday and the upper gate from Flass Road will closed as a site entrance. P1, P1/2 and Nursery parents should all come in the lower gate from Flass Road. P1 and P1/2 are now both using the door beside the main door for drop off and pick up. Nursery parents should go up the steps to the nursery gate – please let us know if you need help with a buggy. P3 children should come in the lower gate and go up the steps to reach their playground area. They all feel confident doing this as they do it already at playtime and lunchtime. Until the Scottish Government announces a change to school restrictions, P3-7 parents still can’t come onto school property to drop off and pick up and I have to ask all Nursery, P1 and 2 parents to wear a face covering on school property (unless exempt) and to maintain 2m distancing from others not in their household. I also need to ask that you leave the grounds promptly after drop off and pick up and not to make use of the grounds socially. I am hopeful this will ease soon.

Change to Covid absence reporting: From Monday 21st March, all Covid absences should be reported like any other absence, by  calling the school office (01334 659445) or by email to wormitps.enquiries@fife.gov.uk. There is no need to contact me separately. You must still tell us if your child has tested positive for Covid and we will still issue Warn and Inform emails. All school email addresses are now only checked during office hours on school days and if you email the school or me you will only get a response during office hours and on school days. I am grateful for your support over this. Kind regards, Lucy Jess

Parent Council

Thank you to everyone who supported the Parent Council meeting this week.  It is lovely to have PC back up and running. The minutes and contact details for the Parent Council are available: Click Here

Building Work

Work on the new Modular Unit will start on 21st March 2022. This will have minimal impact on the running of the school but the upper gate from Flass Road will be closed off as a site entrance. This will affect P1 parents and Nursery parents with buggies. P1 will start using the same door as P1/2 from that date and we can help anyone with a buggy who needs it. Please click here for full information.

Big Park

The grass on Big Park is getting damaged by people playing on it wearing football/rugby boots with studs. When the grass is dug up, the field gets more muddy and it makes it harder to drain meaning we are less likely to be able to use it at playtimes, which I know everyone values. Our pupils never wear studs so this is happening out of school time. If you know people who come and make use of Big Park in evenings and weekends, please can you pass on a message to request they don’t wear studs to stop damage to the grass which could them impact on our use of the space. I am grateful for support over this.

Our 5 Ways Work (P1-7)

We are continuing to have a focus on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing

This week, we have been able to start Assemblies again – this is part of our work on Connect. Earlier in the week, P7 sharing their learning and ways they were Active at Ardroy with the whole school and on World Book Day, every class learnt together. On Friday 18th, P1-7 are invited to come to school dress as a Superhero and to bring a donation for Comic Relief – Give. There will be a special learning task on the day linked to our school values.

Safe Parking

The community Police Team are continuing to monitor parking at the school at pick up and drop off times. They have provided us with posters which you will see displayed by the yellow zig zags:

Rugby Taster Follow Up – Message from Active Schools

P1 Parents Survey

Did your child receive the P1 Bookbug bag last year? Taking this survey will help the Scottish Book Trust understand how to make Bookbug better and how parents and children use their Bookbug bags. As a thank you, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 book token from Bookbug!   BBP1 parent survey:    https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/B66G6CP

Work on the new modular unit will begin on 21st March 2022. It will be built on the flat ground between the two Flass Road gates.

From 21st March until the work is completed, the upper gate from Flass Road will be out of use as it will be a site entrance.

From that date, P1 parents and children should come in the lower gate on Flass road and the class will line up at the same door as the P1/2 class (beside the main entrance to the school). The children will go in that door at 9am and back out at 3.05pm until further notice. Mrs Steven will meet them there in the morning and see them back out at the end of the day.

Nursery parents and children and P3 children should come in the lower gate and walk up the steps to access the upper school playground.

If you are a Nursery parent with a buggy and you will struggle with the steps, please let us know and we will help.

Out of School Club drop off and pick up should not be affected by this work though parents should note that all children should be accompanied to the club and picked up by an adult. There may be moving vehicles on site at OOSC drop off and pick up times.

Sections of the grounds on the Flass Road side will be fenced off from the 21st March onwards with no access at all for reasons of safety. The upper fenced off area is where the modular unit will be built and the lower area is where drainage is being installed. The lower area will remain fenced off for a while after the drainage work is completed to allow the grass to recover.

The unit itself will be delivered in the Easter holidays and work will continue to fully install and clad it with it being completed by 31st May 2022, all going well.

Parent Council

We are looking forward to the Parent Council meeting next week.  It is at 6.30pm on Tuesday 8^th March on Teams. We will send out a link for the meeting and an agenda on Tuesday via groupcall email. The meeting will be led by Nissa and Lorna. Those who are new to the school or not familiar with the workings of a Parent Council, might be interested in a little explanation and there is information here: Wormit Parent Council Information.  As the Parent Council is being re-formed, post Covid, this is a great opportunity for new parents to get involved. The Parent Council needs a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer as well as ordinary members.  Please contact wormitparent@gmail.com to express an interest in taking on one of these roles or in joining the council as an ordinary member or to raise an agenda item.

Best wishes,

Lorna Tasker (outgoing PC Chair), Nissa Finnie (PTA Secretary), Lucy Jess (Headteacher)

Free Meal Entitlement and Clothing Grant

If your financial circumstances have changed recently, it is worth checking if you can register your child for free school meals. Click here to find out more. If your child is in P1-5, they get a free school meal anyway but it it is still worth registering them because they also get free milk and a clothing grant.