March 2013

 Dear Parents and Children,

 It looks like Spring has officially sprung and we have been enjoying this last week of fine weather. It’s great to hear the birds singing in the morning now and what a difference it makes to have more daylight hours.

 The road works are certainly creating interesting situations as we all try to get ourselves in and out of school. Conversations have now switched from the traditional moan about the weather to recounting the length of time we have spent in the queue.

The up side of all this is that representatives from Fulcrum are going to come into the school to speak to the children about the pipeline, how it works etc and also about the different skills required by the workforce who are laying it. I will give you advance notice of this and you are more than welcome to join the session. In the meantime to help pass the time spent when the lights are at red, take the opportunity to sit and admire the scenery which is rather spectacular.

 Chill and Chat

There was a good turnout for this last week and the conversation tended to focus on what is working well and what parents would like to see more of. It was recognised that our annual Science and Engineering week provides good learning experiences for the children especially when they are delivered by external providers and parent volunteers. Effective delivery of the science outcomes with additional focus on creativity will be an area for us to look at as we continue to develop the curriculum in the coming years.

In response to the question “What makes good learning?” it was felt that if children come home talking about what they have been doing in school and are enthusiastic and enjoying it then it is good learning. Many thanks to all those who came along and took part.

 Enterprise 

Our Micro Tyco month has ended and it has certainly been an interesting and successful  few weeks despite the interruption caused by the long weekend and staff absence. The children however rose to the challenge and did indeed make their pound grow. A recent evaluation session with Mr Morris highlighted that most of the children are more aware of what it means to be an entrepreneur and can identify the skills they feel they have developed by undertaking this challenge. This was the real learning of the topic and the fact that the children made money to help third world countries was an additional bonus

Many thanks to all of you who supported this challenge with your donations and by coming along to the various events.

Over £300 was raised which will now be used to promote growth and development in 3^rd world countries. The children will receive regular updates about how their money is being used and by whom which will be very satisfying.

Well done Mrs Mailer  for getting this up and running…….we are one of only two schools in Moray who have undertaken this and it is probable that some of our children will help to spread the word about this to other schools.

 Parent Council

We had a good turnout to the meeting last week and various issues were discussed. A copy of the minutes is available from Mrs Lawson.  It was decided to hold two fundraising events before summer starting with a family quiz night on Friday April 19^th and a Games Night and Barbecue on Midsummer Night Friday June 21^st. Please pop these dates in your diary as your support is always appreciated.

 Reports

In the next few weeks the children will begin the reporting process with Mrs Mailer. You have already received appointment times from Mrs Bassett for our parent/child evening event on March 14^th which will be on the same lines as last year. Along with comments from the children these discussions will form the basis of the annual report which will be issued early in May.

You will notice a difference in the learning logs over the next few weeks as we have revamped them to reflect skill development. Please read these when they come home and discuss them with your child.

Inspection Follow Up

In line with legislation Moray Council are obliged to conduct a follow up to the HMIe inspection within 18 months of the event to ensure that the school has taken forward any recommendations made. I have submitted a report to the Qualilty Improvement team led by Paul Watson outlining how we have “Continued to Develop the Curriculum.”

Mr Watson and a colleague will visit the school to speak to the staff and children about this on Tuesday March 12^th and thereafter he will write a report to you as parents.

 Science and Engineering Week

The diary is beginning to fill up with dates as volunteers come forward from local industry, the local community and parents who have offered to provide workshops on  various aspects of technology. I will issue you with a wee timetable soon so that if you want to join any of our sessions you will be most welcome.

 Eco news

Mrs Ferguson and her Eco warriors are busy with events for Climate Change week and our Living machine is back up and running. There was great excitement on Tuesday as the children got stuck in and got muddy as they set up the various different layers and filters etc. It was great to hear them remembering all the things they had done with it last time and what they were looking forward to finding out this time. It is set up in the GP room if you want to pop in at any time and see what is happening.

 PE Kit

We are noticing an increasing amount of children are “forgetting” their PE kit. This means that they are not appropriately equipped to take part in this very important area of the curriculum. To avoid this happening can I ask that all children take a PE kit to school every Monday where it will be available at all times during the week before being sent home for washing on Friday.

 I look forward to seeing you all on March 14^th at parents night and in the meantime I hope you are well and happy with life. I have attached a dates for the diary page at the end of this newsletter.

Kind Regards

Head Teacher