Health and Wellbeing – Page 3 – Royston Primary School

21 February, 2019

Careers Day

On Wednesday 20th February, there was a special Careers Day at our school. For our P7/6 and P6/5 classes this meant the majority of the day was spent learning about a range of different careers from special guest visitors.

From 10-12 there was a Career ‘Speed Meet’ where small groups of children went around tables for 5 minutes speaking to a number of different guests from a range of careers. Our incredible special guests were:

Erin Thomson (Clydesdale Bank – Human Resources)
Rachel Kangley (Clydesdale Bank – Complaints Handler)
Paul McGinley (Clydesdale Bank – Business Systems Analyst)
Kaye McFall (Blochairn Housing Services Assistant)
Danielle Murphy (Blochairn Housing Services Assistant)
Bronwyn Tibbs (Rehabilitation Support Coordinator)
Kerry Graham (Greggs – Customer Assistant)
Brian Tibbs (Talbot Association)
Richard Sherlock (Royston Youth Action – Senior Youth Worker)
Connor McKee (Royston Youth Action – Outdoor Youth Worker)
Karen Scott (PhD Student at University of Strathclyde)
John Burns (Fleming Buildings Limited – Assistant Site Manager)
David Young (Fleming Buildings Limited – Joiner)
Willie Steer (Thales Optronics – Mechanical Design Engineer)
Michael Tuohy (North Kelvin Sports –
Ross Steer (Punch Consulting – Civil Engineer)

We were delighted with all of the volunteers who gave up their own time to speak to our children. The children were exceptionally engaged throughout the time and gained a lot of information about some jobs they didn’t know existed but also, a deeper insight into jobs they did know about. Once they finished, children filled out comment cards about their experience during the ‘Speed Meet’. Here are some of the comments from the children:

“Hearing about how things work in Greggs was fascinating”
I enjoyed Ross because his job is amazing. His job is basically making blueprints and builds like bridges.”
“It was really fun because I got to learn about different jobs and experiences. Also it was great asking questions.”
“We loved hearing about other peoples jobs. My favourite person was Rachel. It was so much fun.”
“My favourite part was listening to other people’s jobs and getting inspired.”
“I liked Brian because he told me some fascinating things about different homes for different causes.”
“Today I learned about lots of different jobs I was so interested and I loved it. I hope we do it again.”
“I liked how Michael has a job with sports as that’s what I like doing.”
“I enjoyed the experience because it gives multiple choices for the close future.”
“Willie showed us lenses that he had designed and how they worked. It was really cool.”

In the afternoon, the two classes were treated to inspirational talks from Karen Scott and Craig MacDonald. Karen is well known to the children as she previously worked in the Royston Food Hub for North Glasgow Community Food Initiative. She gave an inspirational message about how hard you need to work to achieve what you want in life. She gave good details about her journey into her current role as a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde where she has some responsibility teaching students. She discussed all of the different jobs she has worked, places she had lived and different qualifications she has achieved.

Craig MacDonald is a pilot who works for Norwegian Airlines. He described how he left school earlier than he should have and how he wished he had stayed on. His dream was to be a pilot so he worked hard to earn enough money to pay for flying lessons. After learning to fly planes he has managed to work his way up so that he is now a Senior First Officer with Norwegian Airlines. He had loads of interesting stories about plane journeys he has been on and places around the world that he has flown to. He described how he flew for 16 hours from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles which meant he flew over the North Pole! When doing this journey he achieved his dream of flying the Boeing 777 and his next target is to become a Captain.

P1 and P2 were also treated to a talk from one of our P1 dad’s. He works as a manager at a recycling plant and he was able to share all about his job to the youngest children in our school. As a school we are delighted with the range of adults who came to our school, including several parents and relations. Without their support of our careers day the day couldn’t happen so we cannot thank all of the adults who came enough!

5 September, 2018

September Newsletter

September 2018 Issue 1

Welcome!

Welcome back everyone! The start of a new and exciting session 2018/19. 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…

School Improvement Plan

Every year all schools in Glasgow create a school improvement plan. This plan takes into consideration all evaluative feedback we receive from pupils, parents/carers, staff and partners. We also assess our performance in line with the National Evaluation Framework ‘How Good Is Our School 4’. This process is on-going throughout the year. I have analysed results of last session evaluations and these are displayed in the main foyer or downstairs at the main door.

This year we have several priorities. We aim to continue improvements in mathematics under the guidance of our highly trained and skilled Mr Steer. He will lead us in our developments again this year. Mathematic attainment figures are increasing across the school and our pupils are skilled in this area – we need to continue to improve and be able to sustain those improvements. We also have on our plan a focus on reading and writing. We look to ensure all pupils are able to read at their own specific level at all times and this is facilitated with high quality resources. We are exploring our writing assessment process in order to moderate our writing expectation across the school. We also have on plan a focus on parental engagement as we know this supports pupil greatly in achieving to their potential. There will continue to be a focus on health and well-being for all pupils – ensuring they are mentally and emotionally stable and ready to learn.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to read the improvement plan or want further information.

Staffing

Staffing at present is stable and all classes are settled with relevant and appropriate staff. As always, we will welcome teaching students and possibly volunteers over the course of the session, but at present we do not have information about this.

Attendance

Last session we had a little growth in our attendance and I would really like to see that increase. The growth was 1% from 93% up to 94%. Our target this session is 96% and I aim to get to that. Pupils need to come to school every day. They may have a very short period of ill health which may result in an absence, but if this is prolonged, they should have a medical certificate. I worry about pupils with very sporadic attendance, pupils who have odd days off randomly. This is hindering your child’s progress at school and must not occur. If you wish to speak to me about attendance issues, please do pop in or give me a call. There may be things we can do to help and support.

Stay and Play

Stay and Play sessions will continue this session in term 2-4. These are opportunities for you to see your child ‘at work’. You will see the types of learning they are engaged in, and observe how learning and teaching happens in this current school system. You may also get some ideas for things you can do at home to support your child’s learning. These are open opportunities for you and I would encourage you to attend. In order to support more parents/carers to attend, especially those with work commitments, I have noted the dates for sessions below. I have made sessions more flexible so that you can have some selection in the day you attend. I am aiming for 100% attendance!

Stay and Play Sessions

30^th, 31^st October and 1^st November 9.15-9.45am
29^th, 30^th and 31^st January 9.15-9.45am
30^th April, 1^st and 2^nd May 9.15-9.45am

You can chose one day that suits, or you could come on more than one day! If this is still unsuitable for you, please do get in touch and we will make alternative arrangements.

Credit Union

Pupils attend Credit Union on a Wednesday at 11am. This is up at Spireview offices. Credit union is a type of savings facility for the pupils and they can deposit as much or as little as they/you wish. This will re-start on Wednesday 5^th September. If you wish your child to join, please ask them to request an application form from the office. It is very easy to get involved.

Parent Pizza Party!

This sounds very flippant for what is an important event for your diary! As we strive to get 100% attendance from parents/carers at our events, we have engaged in some research into human behaviour and engagement. This has told us that if we provide food, more people may come!! We will give it a try…and if nothing else, there will be pizza!

At this event, all class teachers will be available to chat informally with you about your child’s experience in their class. They will explain some of the strategies they use, describe some learning and teaching techniques, show you some resources and give you some to take away and answer any questions you may have.

This will take place Tuesday 11^th September 2-3pm.

Assessment, attainment and testing

In order to evaluate your child’s progress in attainment and achievement, we have developed a suite of summative assessments. These assessments allow us to explore progress, impact of strategies being used and create appropriate and challenging future learning. Assessment progress will be reported on at the first parents’ appointments on 20^th November. I will also devise a way of reporting these to you at regular intervals – this is a work in progress. Pupils will undertake formal assessments in spelling, reading, maths and writing. They will also complete some health and wellbeing progress trackers and primary 1, 4 and 7 will undertake national assessments for completion of a level. This gives us a broad scope from which to see how well pupils are progressing, but also to explore our effectiveness as teachers.

Please do ask teachers next week if you want more information, or pop in to see me.

School Meals

All pupils in primary 1-4 are entitled to government funded school meals. This does not mean that you should not apply for meals and clothing grant if you think you might be eligible. It is still very important to make the application as this affects the amount school receives in budget.

Please speak to me or office staff if you are unsure of the process.

Glasgow Learning Hub

We have some new residents in Royston Primary this session. Staff from Glasgow’s Learning Hub are on our top floor. This service is fully staffed by teachers who have full disclosures and PVG checks. This service is a key training provider in Glasgow, and undertakes research. They also support work in different schools across the city and engage with the directorate on government policy in relation to Glasgow practice. We already have a very positive working relationship with the staff and know our will gain from having them so close at hand!

This is the reason why roads around the school are increasingly busy. I do hope this will settle down in time. Please do let me know if you are concerned and I will do what I can to help.

Water and Snack

We have a water only rule as part of our health and wellbeing policy. Pupils are not permitted to bring fruit shoots, capri suns, fizzy drinks etc to school. They may get these as an occasional treat during school but this happens rarely. Pupils should bring water or flavoured water to school. Only plain water can be consumed in class time. Flavoured water may be consumed at play or lunch time. We also encourage pupils to bring healthy snacks. If pupils bring a healthy snack, they win points and on Friday, they may get a certificate if they have had healthy snacks all week. Please do support your child in making good healthy choices.

Balornock Uniform Bank

You may have seen our hanging rail in the main foyer outside the school office. This rail of professionally dry cleaned pre-loved uniform is free for you to help yourself. If you can find something that is suitable for your child, please do take it. There is no expected charge for any item, but if you are able to give a very small amount of money to school fund, we would be very grateful – even if this is just a 50p or £1. I would actively encourage you to take what you need from the rail. In addition, if you have any uniform items that you no longer need, please do donate them to the bank. There is a donations box sitting beside the rail.

PE Kit and indoor shoes

I have sent out a letter indicating PE days for each class. Please do support your child in being prepared for this. All pupils need shorts/leggings or jogging trousers and P4-7 need a change of T-shirt also. P1-3 can wear the school polo shirt that day.

All pupils must have indoor shoes. These do not need to be new shoes! A pair of shoes which are cleaned or put in the washing machine will be fine. Indoor shoes are worn every day in school, to try to protect our carpets and also for PE. Please bear in mind that your child’s feet will grow and shoes will get too small. If your child comes home with indoor shoes it is fairly likely that the child has said they do not fit.

A few things from the diary so far…

Fruit and Veg barra is returning on Monday 3^rd September, and every Monday thereafter. It will be situated in the front playground.

Primary 1 pupils will have their photograph taken for the Evening Times Primary 1 special. This will happen on Wednesday 5^th September.

Primary 7 pupils will get the opportunity to learn keyboard from a tutor working at St Roch’s Secondary. Ms Sinclair will attend every Wednesday morning to give instruction.

Primary 7 will start cookery lessons on Thursday 6^th September. This will run for term 1. There will also be parent and child classes after school every Thursday – please see letter sent home on Friday. I am also looking for interest in an adult only class on a Thursday morning – this cannot be confirmed until I have possible numbers for attendance.

Primary 7/6 will attend the Davis Cup practice session on Wednesday 12^th September. This will run all day and pupils require to take a packed lunch.

Primary 1 and 2 will soon have a dance coach for term 1. This will commence Thursday 13^th September.

Primary 5 pupils will take part in Ready to Run annual event. Mr Steer will begin training sessions this week. The event will be on the 28^th September.

We will this year, take part in the ‘BIG BREAKFAST’ event on 5^th October. All proceeds will go towards children’s charities. More information to follow.

Primary 7/6 will be studying the Titanic this term and I am exploring a Belfast visit in relation to this learning. I have nothing confirmed and cannot give you detail, but there may be a minimal cost for this.

Week Beginning 10^th September is Maths Week. We will be focusing heavily on maths that week and looking at some creative uses of maths!

Dress down days are always the last Friday of the month. There will rarely be additional opportunities for dress down as it is a very important part of school to wear uniform. We expect pupils to wear uniform every day. If pupils wear additional clothing for warmth, we do expect them, and ask them, to remove this inside school. Pupils should not be wearing non-uniform hoodies in class.

Breakfast club runs in the dining hall from 8-8.45am every morning. Please do get in touch if you would like further information.

Parental Partnership

This is a key focus for us this session. We are listening to your views as given in evaluations and also in discussion. We have some ideas of our own too. However, we need to know what works best for you in order to provide the best service we can. Please do tell us what you like and what doesn’t work…or if there are other ways you would like to be involved. Some people may feel they are involved enough and this is OK too. We continually look for ways to improve so please do help.

Jane McShane

Head Teacher

Headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

14 May, 2018

May Newsletter (With Important Dates!)

May 2018 Issue 6

The last term!

It seems quite unbelievable that we are in May already and racing through the last term of the session. In some ways this has been a speedy year, but in others, not so much! Building works have been a real challenge to pupils, staff and parents this session and have certainly impacted on our usual way of working. However, I am delighted that they are nearing completion. The final stage of opening the main stairwell will happen early next week with the main door being brought back to use again. Snagging lists will be created before the end of June and scaffolding should be completely dismantled by the end of June. I am looking forward to seeing the building again! I want to thank you all for your patience and understanding with our works, it has been an experience!

Reports and classes

Teachers are now in the final stages of preparing your child’s full report. These will come to you at the end of May. We also endeavour to give you information on your child’s next class and teacher as we know some pupils get anxious about this as we complete this term.

Term 4 Clubs

Clubs this term are going very well. Pupils appeared to be a little overwhelmed by the number of clubs this term. This was simply because space has been restricted in other terms due to building works. Please keep the note of clubs handy as this will give you information on end dates. All clubs finish on different dates depending on who is leading the club. For example, some of our clubs are being led by student teachers and they will end next week. We also have some clubs yet to begin. The information given was very full, giving you all required information. Please do keep it handy. Information will also appear on the school website.

Wee Write

The ‘Wee Write’ festival workshops have been re-scheduled due to snow. Some of our classes will be attending these. They will be exploring specific age and stage appropriate authors and investigating some of their writing. Classes as follows:

P6/5 – Alex Nye – 17th May p.m.

P6/5 – Varied authors – 18th May p.m.

P7 – Maz Evans – 18th May p.m.

P5/4 – Chae Strathie – 21st May a.m.

All outings are to Mitchell Library and pupils will be transported by private coach.

Transitions

Early years transitions are going smoothly at present. Our nursery intake pupils have been to school for a ‘play date’ with primary 1. We will also welcome them back to take part in our sports day. Our induction dates are 22nd and 30th May 1.15-2.45pm where we will have input from some key partners and give support in completing the many pro-formas required when enrolling in school. I will also soon be seeking out some willing current primary 1 parents to come along on the 30th May to share their experiences with our new parents. If you might be willing to help me in this, please do let me know.

Secondary transition information is in the process of being passed on. This year, we will be passing our pupils to 5 different secondary schools, each one has their own way of gathering information and involving pupils. At present we have met and shared with 3 secondary schools and will be arranging meeting times with the others very soon. Smithycroft induction days are 22nd and 23rd May and information from Smithycroft will be coming to relevant parents very soon.

Sports Day

Sports day date is 5th June – weather permitting of course! P1-3 will take place in the morning, with P4-7 in the afternoon. You are most welcome to come along and cheer the pupils on! We might even involve some of our ‘willing’ parents and carers this year! Wear comfortable footwear!!

Summer Outings

This year P1-3 will be visiting Briarlands Farm Park on 13th June, and P4-7 will go to Camera Obscura and surrounding areas on 11th June. Please note, P4-7 pupils will not return to school until approximately4pm. The total cost of our summer trips this year is £1927 for entry tickets and transport. We will require £2 per pupil for their trip this year with the bulk of the cost coming from school fund.

Ardentinny Primary 7 Residential

This experience has been an on-going saga as our primary 7 parents and carers will confirm! The length and cost of the experience have changed several times in order to ensure as many primary 7 pupils as possible can attend. We have also applied for most of the money through funding and grants and confirmation of success has come at different times. However, we are now in an excellent position of being able to offer primary 7 pupils a 3 night residential experience in June with qualified instructors, accommodation and food in Dunoon for £10. I am very hopeful that we will have good uptake on this as it is an opportunity hard to beat.

End of term service

Our end of term service and leavers assembly will take place on 21st June. Time TBC. This is always a very happy and positive assembly where we give out awards for effort and learning, as well as citizenship and sport. We will follow up with tea and coffee. I really hope all parents and carers will be able to attend.

Crazy Hair Day

We will be having a crazy hair day on Thursday 24th May. The cost of this is 50p and this will go towards summer outings.

The ‘wee lunch shop’!

Thanks to Tesco warehouse clearing we have a range of new items that we will be using to set up a ‘wee shop’ at lunch time. Pupils love to be the shop keeper and we will keep costs low for pupils to buy things. There is a range of things like pencils, stationery, notebooks etc. This will start up next week.

Rag Bag

We will soon reinstate our rag bag collection point. At present the rag bag collection box is not in use, however we have requested that the bags we have be uplifted as soon as possible. If you have a bag or bags to donate, please do bring them from next week onwards and put them at the bottom of the main stairwell. We will have them collected from there.

Janitorial Cover

At present our temporary janitor is Stephen. He has been working very hard to keep things running smoothly in school, however he will not be staying long term. When I have more information on who our permanent janitor is, I will let you know.

Usual Things…

I realise that it is the end of term, however I want to write down a few reminders as we are seeing a few things beginning to slip…

Gym Kit – this comprises of 3 things. T-shirt, shorts (or leggings/joggers) and indoor shoes. Pupils must have full gym kit for every PE lesson.

Jewellery – Glasgow City Council policy is that no jewellery is worn during any physical activity. Your child should be able to remove own jewellery and if not, this must be removed prior to coming to school on PE days.

Water – we have a water only policy in Royston Primary. During class, pupils can have plain water. At play and lunch time they can have flavoured water. No fruit shoots, capri suns, fizzy drinks or coloured water should be brought to school.

Holiday Dates

School will be closed on 25th May and 28th May for holiday weekend. School will then close for the session on 26th June at 1pm.

As always, please do get in touch if you would like to speak with me about anything…

headteacher@royston-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

Jane McShane

Head Teacher