Newsletter – Page 11 – Royston Primary School

31 August, 2017

September Newsletter

ROYSTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

September 2017 Issue 1

Welcome!

Welcome back everyone! The start of a new and exciting session 2017/18. All pupils have come back to school fresh and full of energy…ready to learn. Primary 1 pupils have settled in very well and are enjoying a great variety of learning opportunities in class. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, queries, worries or concerns. We are looking forward to a BUSY, BUSY term! Read on…

Building Works

I thought I would start off with this because it is so noticeable! Scaffolding on the front is complete and work will begin soon cleaning and re-pointing the stonework. Roofers will then move onto the roof where parts will be completely replaced. All drainpiping and guttering is to be completely renewed. As this is ongoing, scaffolding will continue round the rest of the building and I’m afraid this will remain for a year. The inside of the building is set for some refresh too. Toilets are the main priority and these will be completely refitted. IF there is budget money still available, we will have the classrooms decorated and newly carpeted…however this will be confirmed soon. There may be times where entrances and exits are altered due to the works and I ask for your support and patience with this. Your child’s safety and security are our top priority and we will continually assess works to ensure all service users are kept safe. If you have any questions or concerns, please do let me know.

School Improvement Plan

At the beginning of every year, we produce a school improvement plan in order to guide our developments for the coming session. We are always looking for ways to improve and enhance our service to you and your children. This is why your comments on questionnaires and evaluations are so important…we use these to shape our plans. We also seek the views of the pupils and build these into our improvements. This year, we have a heavy focus on raising attainment. Our school was given £85,200 to help us to do this and we have used this mainly to increase our staffing…we believe that human resource is the best way to really push our pupils on in their learning. We are looking closely at our infant learning environment, digital literacy, resources, specific progression in core areas of literacy, numeracy and health and well-being. Our second priority is assessment, which goes hand in hand with raising attainment. We have brought in standardised assessments in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy and these will be tracked throughout the session. You will be given information on this specific to your child in due course. Priority 3 is on sustainability. As you know, we managed to gain our green flag for our ECO work and we need to maintain and develop this. We will also focus on children’s rights, ensure pupils understand their own rights, and respect the rights of others. Priority 4 is family learning. An addition to our staffing this year is Christine who works for Quarriers organisation. She will be working with small groups of pupils and will be trying to get to know our parent body. Christine starts with us this week and I will keep you informed as to how we will progress with this.

All in all, a busy session! It’s good to be busy though!

Staffing

Our staffing this year has started of very well. We are fully staffed with teaching and support staff which ensures a settled and supportive environment for pupils. Miss Laird is now called Mrs Mair after she got married in the summer break! Congratulations Mr and Mrs Mair!

I must also tell you that Mrs Jamieson will be retiring at October break. Mrs Jamieson will be missed by pupils and staff and we wish her lots of rest, relaxation and fun in her retirement! I can assure you that recruitment process has started already in order to ensure a smooth transition for primary 6/5 class. I will keep parents informed as the process develops.

Attendance

Our overarching attendance figure for session 2016/17 was 93%. This is not meeting Glasgow’s standard of 97%. I am disappointed in this as the previous session 2015/16 the figure was 94.5% We have not gone in the right direction. I am lost as to why our figure is poor and I ask for your support in this. Pupils need to be at school every day, school is compulsory. There should only be very rare occasions when children require to be off school. Pupils can come to school with colds and coughs. They can come to school if they have minor skin infections/allergies. They can come to school with a minor temperature. They can come to school even if they have slept in. There are very few reasons as to why a pupil cannot come to school. If you are not sure, please phone us. Please also be re-assured that if your child is unwell while at school, we will contact you. Appointments should be made out with school hours if at all possible. However, if this is not possible pupils should only be out of school for the time needed for appointment and not a half day. Our attendance must improve and I will contact you directly if I am concerned about your child’s attendance.

Stay and Play

I am almost certain that when many of you ask your child what they did at school that day, they may say ‘nothing’ or ‘just played all day’…these are very standard responses! Learning in school is very different now than it was 10 or more years ago. Learning is facilitated by the teacher by using practical hands on experiences – games, activities, cooperative learning etc. This ensures coverage of curricular content but also teaches the children how they learn – sharing ideas, problem solving, communication and team working, thus preparing them for the world of work when they grow up. In order to demonstrate this, we would like to invite you in for a stay and play session with your child, in your child’s class. This will replace an open afternoon this term and we will seek feedback from you on the value of this. On your allocated day you are welcome to come to school from 9.15am-10am and take part in some learning activities selected by your child’s class teacher. Class teacher will be supporting these activities but may also be able to speak with you about how you could use some of these activities at home, and strategies for homework. They will not enter into confidential consultations but they will indeed be able to give you ideas and strategies to help you support your child at home. Please see dates below:

P1 and P4/3 – Tuesday 12^th September 9.15-10am

P3/2 and P5/4 – Wednesday 9.15-10am

P6/5 and P7 – Thursday 13^th September 9.15-10am

Please note: from 9-9.15am class teacher will be completing attendance records and sorting dinner money and orders out, hence 9.15am start time.

Credit Union

Many of our pupils have joined credit union which is effectively like a savings account. Pupils are taken to Spireview Housing Association on a Wednesday where Credit Union staff are based and pupils can deposit their money. Pupils will bring home a receipt each week stating how much they have saved so far. Money can be withdrawn but one week notice needs to be given. This is a great opportunity for pupils of all ages to start thinking about money management and savings. Pupils wishing to join should collect an application form from the school office.

Primary 1

As I have said already, P1 pupils are settling very well. They are engaging in learning experiences and enjoying what school has to offer. I am delighted to be able to report this and I have no doubt they will continue to grow and develop positively as time goes on. P1 pupils will come to school 9am-3pm starting on 4^th September.

Prospective Parents

We will be inviting any prospective parents into school on 25^th October 2-3pm. This is to allow parents the chance to see inside the school and ask any early questions they may have. We will be informing the nurseries of this opportunity but if you know of anyone due to enrol for Royston Primary starting August 2018, please do let them know!

Website

We are looking to enhance our school website by including more specifics on class activities. Each class will have a spot light area where class teachers will post some things pupils have been working on over each term. We are just getting this up and running now and will let you know when there is something to see!

Family Carnival

St Rollox Tesco are hosting a family carnival event from 7^th September until 17^th September. For a cost of £5.99, children can have unlimited rides and use of all available equipment. A proportion of the money raised will then be given to the school for school fund. Please do go along and support the school!

A few things from the diary so far…

Primary 1 pupils will be having their picture taken for the Evening Times on 7^th September 11am. Please ensure P1 pupils are wearing shirt and tie.

There will be a major focus on Basketball this coming session. We will be participating in a mini league with local schools, and engaging with a club championship programme also.

Primary 7 will soon have the opportunity to learn paddle sports and bike skills. This will begin on the 18^th September, more information to follow.

Gardening and Cookery will start again soon, along with the very popular parent and child cooking class. Look out for sign in letters coming as this club fills up VERY fast!

P5 pupils will participate in Great Scottish Schools Run on the 29^th September. More information nearer the time

Flu vaccines will be given on 3^rd October.

First induction day at Smithycroft Secondary is 10^th October. There is an Open Evening for all prospective parents on 7^th September at 7pm.

Parent’s Evening will be on 21^st November, with the interim report coming out a week or so before hand.

We will be having a ‘Purple’ day on 11^th October. This is in order to raise money for children’s charities, and we ask that each pupil brings £1.

Harvest Assembly will be on 12^th October with P5/4 and P4/3 leading.

Please see reverse of this sheet for holiday dates for this coming session.

A few regular items…

PE Kit – Pupils MUST bring PE kit to school for PE days. Mr Steer issued a letter with each class PE allocation on it and pupils must bring suitable clothing and footwear. This is a part of the core curriculum and is not an ‘opt in’ extra.

Water – Pupils are only permitted to drink water in school. At play or lunch time this can be a flavour water but should still be clear in colour. No squash or colourings to be added. In class, pupils should have a water bottle and bring water to drink during working time.

Weather – As we know, the weather each day can be very changeable. I have noticed many pupils coming to school unprepared for this. Pupils should have a waterproof, hooded jacket to wear to and at school. There will be very few occasions where pupils will not be outside during the day. Pupils WILL be outside even if it rains! It would only be in very extreme or dangerous weather conditions that I would allow the pupils to be inside.

Healthy Eating – we focused closely on this aspect during last term. Pupils were working hard to ensure healthier lifestyles by exercising and trying to eat healthy foods. This appears to have slipped a little over the holiday. We now have pupils bringing in large family size bars of chocolate and big packets of crisps. This is not necessary and not healthy. Pupils only need a very small snack to eat at playtime and their lunch at lunch time. There is NO need for multiple snacks during the day. I’m sure you will support us in trying to ensure healthy lifestyles for all pupils.
Late coming – I am disappointed at the number of pupils not ready in line for school at 9am. This does not make for a positive start to the day. I am monitoring this very closely as I begin to book house trips and behaviour treats. I will also require to speak with parents/carers if pupils are continually late for school.

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

24 June, 2017

End of Term Round Up

The last few weeks have been very busy for Royston children with lots of celebrations and learning experiences taking place before the long,well-deserved rest. Below is a short summary of some of the key moments (in no particular chronological order!)

P7 London Trip

P7, Mr Steer and Mrs Young travelled down to London on the 12th June for a jam-packed couple of days. The trip was a huge success with the group being lucky enough to visit The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, The Science Museum, Hyde Park, The Natural History Museum and The Imperial War Museum among other things such as eating at Garfunkel’s and The Rainforest Cafe. The highlight for most of the group was the visit to the Apollo Victoria Theatre for the West End performance of Wicked. This was described by P7 as ‘mind-blowing’ and maybe even inspired P7 for their own leavers assembly (more on that later). Arriving back in Royston on Thursday night, everyone was exhausted but grateful for the opportunity they received. Mrs Young and Mr Steer were delighted with the exemplary behaviour shown by P7 throughout the trip and remarked that they were a credit to themselves, their families and the community.

School Trips

P1-P3 visited Almond Valley on the 5th June and this was a brilliant experience that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Activities the children took part in included a petting zoo, a wonderful soft play area, pedal carts, trampolines and sand pits. We would like to thank all parent helpers who came on the trip and helped make the trip as enjoyable as it was.

P4-P6 visited the Five Sisters Zoo on the 16th June and this was another hugely enjoyable trip. The children got a chance to pet and watch a very wide variety of animals. Notable highlights included the meerkats, arctic wolves and a dancing Cockapoo (https://twitter.com/RoystonPrimary/status/875734553939382273)!

Rainbow Hall Celebration

While P4-P6 were at the Five Sisters zoo, P1,P2,P3 & P7 visited the Rainbow Hall at the top of Roystonhill to take part in a celebration to commemorate the hall being demolished ahead of a major refurbishment. We brought song and dance to the celebration with our performances receiving some great reviews from local community leaders and councillors praising the children’s enthusiasm! The hall has a special place in our hearts through its use throughout the years for many community events such as discos, fairs or the recent inter-generational play involving P5/4. While we are sad to see the hall demolished we are very excited for the new building and hope this will be a brilliant hub for the whole Royston community.

P7 Leavers assembly and Prize Giving

On the last Friday of the term we had a very busy morning celebrating a very successful school year. Firstly, the P7’s were up putting on their leavers assembly to celebrate their time in Royston. The P7’s were responsible for writing and planning the whole assembly with Mr Steer only taking minor responsibility in directing it. The end result of their take on “I’m a P7, Get Me Out Of Here!” was magnificent, receiving five star reviews from Mrs McShane and Ms White! The performance had adults and children laughing throughout, while also having an opportunity to reflect on happy,funny and sad memories of their 7 years at Royston. It ended with the final ‘bush-tucker trial’ meaning they sang a Royston adaption of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’ with Eilidh and Savannah playing the Ukelele superbly throughout it.

Following this, the prize giving commenced and our class of the moment,P7, were first up! P7’s received a tie for their new Secondary thanks to the parent council and a t-shirt with all of their names on it. The Royston Food Hub, organised by the North Glasgow Community Food Initiative(NGCFI), gave each P7 a certificate of merit and a planted vegetable pot that they had planted several weeks beforehand. Following this,all of P1 received an excellence award due to the progress and hard work they have shown this year. There was two special awards for each class, one for demonstrating excellent conduct in accordance with the school values and the other for progress made across the curriculum. There was also a third award which could be given to several children about demonstrating excellence consistently across the year. This year we introduced new awards relating to PE and School Sport because of the focus we have had on Health and Wellbeing this year. Mr Steer presented these awards to one child in P1-P3 and one child in P4-P7. This award was not just about being athletic but also showing effort and commitment to improve themselves throughout the year.The award also recognised good teamwork skills and sporting behaviour such as being a good winner and a good loser. The Sport Cup was then presented to the winning house from our competitive Sports Day which was Burrell.

Fun Run

On the 9th June, all children took part in a fundraising fun run at Glenconner Park. This was organised by Mr Steer and the Sport Captains, with help being supplied by Royston Youth Action. Royston Youth Action brought along powder paint and their youth workers were on hand to cover the runners as they passed! This was an enormously enjoyable event for P1-P7 and we will be looking to do this again next year!

House Trip

The winners for Term 4 were Burrell so on the afternoon of the 23rd June they had their House reward. This term the reward was at the Reidvale Adventure Play Association (RAPA) and it was a brilliant afternoon playing on their outdoors equipment. P1-P7 members of Burrell played together very well, helping each other to play on the wide variety of equipment.

12 March, 2017

March Newsletter

February 2017 Issue 5

Parent Council

I want to say a huge thanks to parent council members for their continued hard work in supporting school life. Most recently, members have upcycled filing cabinets and planted them beautifully! We are now looking at the back playground for improvement and will continue to add to this as we can.

If you are interested in being a member of the parent council, please speak with me and I can link you with current members.

Fruit and Veg Barra

Just a wee reminder for everyone that our fruit and veg barra runs every week. Fruit and veg on sale at significantly reduced price. Our primary 7 pupils run this and would love to see more people visit. It will either be in the front playground or just inside the main door.

Fruity Tuckshop

Our fruity tuck shop has now been running for almost a month. Fruit is well priced at 20-30p. This is not intended to give us a profit as our key aim is to provide healthy options for all pupils. We have been a little disappointed in uptake, with a minority of pupils using the tuck shop. We would really like this to increase. Please do consider giving your child some change to buy a healthy snack Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday…we do not want this venture to stop!

School Refurbishment

I am delighted (and a little anxious!) to tell you that I have had confirmation that Royston Primary will be receiving a full refurbishment, starting in the coming months. This will give our pupils freshly decorated classrooms with new carpets, complete overhaul of all toilet facilities, newly plastered corridor walls and possibly a totally new roof to the building. I have no further details on when this is due to begin or how long this is expected to take. Having had some previous experience of this, I feel this will take quite some time, and will involve various alterations to entry/exit, playground space etc and I ask for your patience during this time. The ‘goal’ I hope, will be well worth it!

World Book Day

World Book Day is on the 2^nd March and we will be having our Big Book Event on Friday the 3^rd March. Pupils can dress up as a book character and we will have a costume parade in the dining hall in the morning. Pupils will ‘opt in’ to various book related groups during the day. The aim of this day is to widen pupils interest in reading by exploring different genres of text. I’m sure this will be a very positive day for all. Our travelling book fayre will come again towards the end of March…we will continue to update you on specific dates for this.

Pupil Equity Fund

As I’m sure many of you will know from the media, Royston Primary will be receiving £85,200 as part of the governments equity initiative. The government states education as the top priority for them, and as such have invested greatly in schools. The amount of money each school has received is dependent on free school meal entitlement. Plans for this money are by no means finalised and Glasgow City Council are issuing us with strict guidance on use of the money. I will continue to update you on developments as they occur.

Summer Trip

We are beginning to explore options for our annual summer trip for all pupils. We are looking to book this quite soon as buses tend to book up very quickly. I will shortly put out a very brief questionnaire regarding cost and location. Please do give me all ideas you have.

Dress Down Day

As you will know, we have a dress down day on the last Friday of each month at the cost of 50p. This money goes DIRECTLY to our pupils. We use this money to support visiting experts, trips and experiences out of school, gifts and celebrations throughout the year and additional resources not covered by our basic school budget. Recently many pupils have been ‘dressing down’, but have not been bringing in 50p. This is very disappointing. We will continue to monitor this through our cash books as we need to ensure pupils are equally contributing in order to gain from this.

London

If your child is in primary 7 you may have heard that they are going to London! This is not strictly true at the present time. Having spoken to pupils in P7, it was clear that they were keen to go to London for their ‘end of primary school’ experience. I have spent time exploring whether this may be a viable and sensible option, with pupil safety and security as the top priority. Progress to date gives me a sensible quote from a company called Curriculum Travels. They offer a 3 night/4 day experience with a jam packed itinerary. The cost is quite substantial and so I am looking at funding options in order to reduce cost for parents and carers as much as I possibly can. I’m expecting to have an update on this early in March and I will keep relevant parents/carers posted as I learn more about whether this could become a reality.

Annual Royston Clean Up event

The clean up will take place for P4/3-7 pupils on the 1^st March. This year, our youth forum members are planning the event, which involves booking the venue, ordering and requesting resources and support from the council and making purchases for the ‘goodie bags’. This has been a real learning experience for pupils supported by Spireview Housing Association. All pupils will be closely monitored in small groups by adults and we will be preparing them for this by engaging in conversation about why this is important. The main aim is to ensure our pupils understand the value of their community and grow to respect and look after it.

Staffing

Staffing is a regular feature of our school newsletter as I believe it is crucial for you to know and understand who is working with your children. Staffing remains reasonably stable at present. Mrs Jamieson is not in school at present, but Mr Steer has taken on full commitment for P7 in order to maintain consistency in this important year in primary school. Our teaching students are in place with P6/5 and P7 and we continue to work with United Sports to provide coaches for after school activities.

We also continue to have our reading partners from Clydesdale Bank who come on a Wednesday and Thursday. They enjoy coming and our pupils benefit from some one to one support.

School Photographer

The photographer will be in school on Thursday 2^nd March. He will be taking individual and class photographs. If you would like a family photograph taken please inform the office staff.

Celebrating Success

Primary 3/2 and street dance after school club pupils will be invited to perform at Smithycroft celebrating success community event to be held on 16^th March from 6-7pm. These particular pupils will receive a more detailed letter about this in the next week or two.

Red Nose Day

We try to limit the number of fundraisers we embark on as there are so many that come up over a calendar year. As we have not raised funds for charity very recently, we will be having a pyjama day on Friday the 24^th March. Pupils can come to school wearing their pyjamas and bring a teddy or a cushion. All pyjama children must pay a pound for this privilege! All pounds collected will go straight to the Red Nose Day collection fund.

Holiday Dates

School will close for the holidays on the 31^st March at 2.30pm. This is spring break. Pupils will return to school on Tuesday the 18^th April, with Easter Monday being Monday the 17^th April.

Spring Service

Spring Service will be held on Thursday the 30^th March and will be hosted by primary 2/3 and 5/6 pupils. More information on times to follow.

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

24 January, 2017

January Newsletter

January 2017 Issue 4

Happy New Year!

Well, we have come back to a very busy and exciting new year! 2017 looks like it will go at the usual fast pace, full of energy and enthusiasm from all! Please do read on to find out some details of plans so far…as well as some of the usual newsletter features. As always, I welcome your comments and thoughts on every aspect of school life and look forward to continuing our partnership working.

School Improvement Planning

I’m sure you will recall the information given in issue 1 with regard to our school priorities for this session. Staff have been working with these at our regular after school collegiate time and I give the following update.

Numeracy – Mrs Jamieson is our numeracy leader of learning and has received extensive training as part of Glasgow City Council’s ‘Glasgow Counts’ programme. Mrs Jamieson has worked individually with all pupils in P4-7 in order to conduct assessments which will guide our intervention model due to start this term. Mrs Jamieson will model lessons and team teach in most classes, allowing intensive support for pupils mainly in numeracy, but also across all aspects of mathematics.
Literacy – Our library is almost ready for regular use and we thank the parent council for the contribution to support purchasing new furniture and books. A big thanks also to those who have bought from the school book fairs provided by scholastic. We receive a generous percentage of sales and at present we have £276 to spend
Health and Well-Being – we have been focusing mainly on healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. We are trying to encourage pupils to change unhealthy crisps and sweets snacks for more healthier ones, and we give awards to commend pupils for making these good choices. We are not demanding that pupils change their eating habits, but teaching them that healthier options are better for the body.
Sustainability – We await our Eco award. This process no longer offers a ‘green flag’ but we aim for ‘Global Goals’. Work has been completed throughout the school and application has been submitted for assessment. We hope to hear very soon.

I hope you find this brief summary useful, but please do get in touch if you would like more information on how we continue to try to improve the service.

Fruity Tuckshop

In order to support pupils in making healthy snack choices, we are starting a healthy tuckshop. To begin with, this will be offered on a Tuesday and Wednesday and we hope to identify most popular items to sell. We will have bananas, apples, tangerines and grapes to start us off, all with cost of between 20-30p. Pupils will get more information on exact prices in the next few days.

Transition

We have successfully begun a transition programme for nursery-primary. Children from St. Roch’s nursery, Sighthill Nursery, Royston Nursery and Rosemount nursery visit us once per fortnight to take part in some structured activities along with some of our primary 1 children. We hope to continue this for the foreseeable future.

SOS

Our primary 7 pupils are taking part in Glasgow’s Sense over Sectarianism programme along with pupils from St Stephen’s primary. This is based around the novel ‘Divided City’ and aims to encourage clear and simple anti-sectarianism messages. Pupils are enjoying the work so far and look forward to their next trip to St Stephen’s on Wednesday.

School Attendance

Please can I remind all parents and carers that attendance at school is compulsory. Attendance figures are not good at present and this is very disappointing. If pupils are off school their education will suffer. I understand there are times when absence is unavoidable but this should not lead to an attendance percentage lower than around 97%. Attendance is tracked every month and if your child’s attendance is lower than 90% I will require to meet with you to discuss.

Intergenerational Work

Linked with curriculum for excellence outcomes, our primary 5/4 pupils will engage in some work with the older members of the community. Pupils will visit the Rainbow Hall on a Thursday to share some experiences of playing ‘old fashioned’ games and singing old songs. This fits well with a number of aspects of the curriculum whilst at the same time, being an enjoyable experience for the pupils. Skills such as reading and understanding instructions, sharing resources, taking turns and the development of social skills has somehow been lost with the fast paced ever developing world of technology, and it is time we increased priority of these life skills.

Annual Royston Clean Up event

Staffing

A regular feature in the newsletter now due to the importance of you knowing who is in school working with your children. Our staffing remains stable at present. In addition, we have a new volunteer Christina McDonald, working with P1 P3/2, P4/3 and P6/5. Christina is fully disclosed and works closely with the class teacher. Mickdona out regular volunteer will stop soon to have her baby! We thank her so much for all she has done for Royston pupils and wish her good luck in her up and coming life changing event!

We will soon be joined by 2 teaching students who will work in P6/5 and P7. This will be their final placement and they will be with us until May.

We continue to have our reading partners from Clydesdale Bank who come on a Wednesday and Thursday. They enjoy coming and our pupils benefit from some one to one support.

Open Afternoon

Our next open afternoon is on the 7^th February 2-3pm. Another opportunity for you to see your children ‘at work’. I do hope you can manage to come.

Formal Parent Appointments

Parent Appointments will be held on the 23^rd February, from 3-7pm. You will be given your appointment time for this evening. As always however, we are available to discuss matters with you at any time throughout the year; just let us know.

Photographer

Tempest photographer will be in school on the 2^nd March. More information about this to follow.

Holiday Dates

School will be closed for the mid-term break and in-service training from Friday 10^th February and re-open on Thursday the 16^th February. School will finish at 2.30pm on 31^st March for the Spring Break and re-open on 18^th April at 9am.

Car Park

Car park gate will be closed at 3pm every day as this has not to be used for parents and carers picking pupils up. This is becoming a real health and safety risk with pupils running across the car park and cars exiting the car park while pupils exit school from the gate directly beside the vehicle exit. I must ensure all possible measures are in place to ensure pupils are kept safe and this is necessary.

Jane McShane

Head Teacher