May 2022
Oh my goodness, there is so much information to share with you this term!!! Lots of things going on in RPS…it’s hard to keep track!! Read on to find out more…
After school clubs
We have planned various exciting opportunities for P3-7 pupils after school. We have drama, rounders, coding and many more! Some people ask why we rarely offer clubs for our youngest pupils – this is very simple! Our P1 and P2 pupils are often extremely tired at the end of the school day, and being in school from 9-3pm is enough! Pupils in P3-7 are more able to manage a longer day happily. If your child has not signed up for a club and wishes to join something, please give us a call and we will try to accommodate your request.
Homework
We are starting to think ahead to next session and exploring what we offer as homework for pupils. We know that the benefit of some forms of homework is minimal or even non-existent, therefore we need to find the best way of ensuring purposeful and enjoyable activity out with school. We are hoping to get your help with this! We will shortly put out a survey on the subject of homework to our parents and carers. We will also be surveying pupils. We are keen to hear all views on this matter in order to provide the best service we can, meeting all our learners’ needs.
School trips
I am absolutely delighted that we have booked up for all pupils to go on a summer trip! Almost all pupils, when surveyed, say that one of the best things about school is going on trips! I’m pretty sure I loved trips as a child myself!
P1, P3/2 and P4/3 will be going to Briarlands Farm Park in Stirling on the 15th June.
P5/4, P6/5 and P7 will be going to Heads of Ayr in Alloway by Ayr on the 9th June.
Both locations are a fair distance away and in order to maximise the experience, buses will leave school sharp at 9am and not return until approx. 4pm (traffic permitting)
Pupils will need a packed lunch and we are asking each pupil to pay a small contribution of £3 for their trip. This can be paid any time. Specific consent forms will need to be completed as both locations are out with the Glasgow boundary.
Gardening
In partnership with North Glasgow Community Food Initiative all pupils will be engaging in outdoor gardening sessions. Our pupils do spend time learning outdoors and so I know you will be aware of dressing your child appropriately for all weather! This is very important right now as we can go from sunshine to rain in a matter of seconds! Please make sure your child has a waterproof jacket or similar, and sensible footwear every day.
Transition
Transition at both ends of the school is fully under way. Our nursery pupils getting ready for primary 1 have been visiting school this week to have a little tour and get a feel for what school is like. Next week and the week after, children will be visiting in groups to spend some time in the classroom with the teacher and some of our current P1 pupils. Parents and carers can remain in school to meet with senior staff who will be able to answer questions and discuss any matters arising. Thereafter we have some fun events for our nursery pupils to join with! We have sports day and a Teddy Bear picnic lined up – both of which will be supported by school staff.
Primary 7 pupils are gearing up for high school! Such an exciting time, anticipating what secondary school will bring! This year thankfully, all pupils will get the chance to visit their secondary schools for either a day or two days, as follows…
Smithycroft Transition Days – 17th and 18th May
St Roch’s Transition days – 24th and 26th May
Cleveden transition day – 24th May
Springburn transition days – 15th and 16th June
On all occasions, pupils will make their way directly to secondary – individual school letters have been given out to pupils with specific information about the days above in addition to parent information sessions.
Reports
Teachers are working hard on completing their class reports and these will be sent home at the end of this month. I’m sure you will be very impressed with your child’s efforts! They have been working fantastically hard at school! We have no further scheduled parents’ appointments but if you would like to discuss anything in particular with the teacher, please just get in touch and we will arrange that. At any time of the school year we are happy to make arrangements to meet with parents about any queries or concerns.
Sports Day
We are very happy to be having a sports day this year where we can invite you all along to watch! (we might even invite you to participate so wear your running shoes!!) This will be held on Tuesday 31st May 10-12noon for P1, P3/2 and P4/3 and 1-3pm for P5/4, P6/5 and P7. We are lucky again this year to be able to use St Roch’s secondary pitches and we pray for a beautiful sunny (but not too hot!) day! We will be ably supported by our CityWise mentors who work closely with our P7 pupils and we have invited our nursery pupils along too – the more the merrier! Please do come along if you have time – it’s always better when we have an audience to cheer everyone on!
Prize Giving
Our prize giving this session will be on the afternoon of 17th June, times TBC. We have not been able to have a proper prize giving since 2019 so this will be very exciting…and a new experience for many of our pupils and parents. We invite you along to see our Star and Worker of the Year for each class, in addition to our other awards. More information to follow.
Leavers
We have planned a leavers event/party for the afternoon of 10th June. Primary 7 pupils and families will come together for some fun, award, prizes, gifts and much more! Bring some tissues, it might be a little emotional! We are planning out the theme and detail of this event right now so more information will come to you soon.
Parent Council
I would like to formally thank our parent council for all the work they have undertaken in our playground. The parent council, supported by Rosemount Development Trust, organised and facilitated the installation of our ‘Living Wall’. If you have not seen this yet, please do pop down to the front playground and have a look. The Living Wall helps to improve the air quality for our pupils and families as it helps to reduce the impact air pollution has in the environment. I’m so glad the parent council have stuck by us throughout the pandemic – they have had to re-think how they can offer support to the school and what a great job they have done! If you are interested in joining the parent council to help the school, please do get in touch and we can help make this happen.
Outdoor Learning
At the end of last session parental surveys told us that parents and carers want us to encourage outdoor learning and improve the environment the pupils have to use. We have taken this on board. In addition to the installation of the Living Wall, plans are set for an outdoor classroom – installation of this has been delayed due to covid and is now expected to be built during the summer holidays. We will also be fitting out a section of the playground with grass in addition to having high quality basketball nets concreted into the playground. I am very hopeful that when pupils return in August, everything will be fully fitted and ready for use. I’m sorry primary 7 pupils, you can come back and have a wee play when you have time!
Classes and Staff
I have no definite plans to share at this time regarding classification and staffing, although I am fairly certain that almost all of our staff will remain with us in August. The only certain change at present is that Mrs Mair will be leaving her role as nurture teacher and return to primary 1 class. Mr Thomson has completed his additional nurture training and assessment and will be taking over the nurture teacher role come August. As soon as I have my staffing in order from the council I will share that information with you.
Congratulations!
I would like to formally congratulate Mr and Mrs Steer on their marriage! Mrs Steer (Miss Fraser) and Mr Steer had a beautiful wedding day during the Easter break and are now happily married! This feels very special for our school community as Mr and Mrs Steer have been in RPS since almost the beginning of their teaching career. I’m sure you will join me in wishing this wonderful couple a long and happy marriage!
Parent Pay and Parent Portal
Yet another new system to get our heads round!! Parent Pay is the system to pay for school meals if pupils do not receive either registered or government free school meals. However it is now also the system for pupils to order their meal choice for each day they have a school dinner. To help your child do this you need to register an account – activation codes have been sent out on various occasions to help you do this. If your child does not pre-select their meal choice at home, they are able to do this in class. Parent portal has been set up for you to manage all data relevant to your child. Come August when we undertake data checks (names, emergency contacts etc), you will dp this via parent portal. Information on setting up your portal has been sent out. If you require support with this, please do contact the office.
Holiday Dates
This term has a number of holidays as follows…
Friday 27th May – May holiday
Thursday 2nd June – Queen’s Jubilee holiday
Friday 3rd June – Queen’s Jubilee holiday
Friday 24th June – school closes 1pm for the summer holidays
Partners
As this will likely be the last ‘normal’ newsletter of the session, I would like to thank some of our regular partners for all their hard work and effort over the session…
CityWise – our P7 mentors from University of Glasgow
NGCFI – leading our gardening and cookery sessions
Beverley from ‘With Kids’ – therapy sessions and transition work
SAMh – transition sessions with our P7 pupils
Re:Hope Church group – volunteer readers and chess expert!
RYA – have engaged with us in so many different things! Boys Health group, girls health activities, play sessions etc. Amazing organisation!
Jane McShane
headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk
0141 552 2872
