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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 August, 201724 August, 2017

Parent and Carer Maths Survey

To all parents and carers of children attending Royston Primary School,

This year we will be trying to improve how we work with parents to improve attainment in Numeracy and Maths. To help us understand what we could do to help parents and carers, we would greatly appreciate it if you could fill out this quick multiple-choice survey which has only 6 questions. Just click on the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/38WXMJP

This will be sent out in a paper format on Friday 25th August however we understand that some parents and carers would prefer to quickly complete this survey online.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Mr Steer

Challenge Leader of Learning in Numeracy

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.

6 June, 2017

Computer Club 4 Year Surprise

We have been lucky enough to have Amanda Ford work with children across our school for just over 4 years. Amanda is a former parent in the school and works at West Of Scotland University and Glasgow Caledonian University teaching coding and games design as part of her studies for her PHd. She is an accredited Microsoft Innovation Education Expert and has worked tirelessly in our school to run a computer club as well as sometimes help with whole classes if a teacher has requested help with technology.

As Amanda surpassed 100 hours of coding with children in Royston PS, Head Teacher Jane McShane felt a surprise was well deserved. On Friday 2nd June, at her regular computing after-school club, Amanda was surprised with a party attended by all staff and many of the children who have attended her clubs throughout the 4 years. Amanda was presented with a bouquet of flowers in recognition of our thanks for her hard work over the last four years.