November 2013
Dear Parent and Children
What an awesome autumn we are having and although cold, these last few days have been really crisp and bright. My daily drive up Speyside has been breathtakingly beautiful, especially when “The Ben” has been white in the background. Yet another reason for me to feel so privileged to be working at Inveravon and I feel truly blessed.
The life and work of the school is as busy as ever and the “sleepover” seems so long ago. So far approx £270 has come in so if you have any sponsor money still to collect then please make sure it gets in to school as soon as you can. We had a grand night together and have such happy memories. As we expected the children were an absolute delight (even the few who were still awake at 2am) and were a real credit to themselves and to you. Well done everybody.
Our midnight walk was exciting and the sky put on a marvellous display of stars and light for us……we did indeed gaze up at it in awe and wonder. The midnight feast was well received and once again I was impressed by the ability that children have to chomp their way through mini sausages, crisps, pizza, juice, biscuits and sweets at a time when they would normally be asleep. However I expect that their digestive systems got a bit of a shock. We rounded off our evening with hot chocolate and a digestive as they snuggled into their sleeping bags. It wasn’t too long before we heard some sleepy noises zzzzzzzzzzzzz but my lips are sealed on that topic!
Last term the children visited Glenrinnes Estate to see the work of a farming / estate community and to compare and contrast the values and needs of a community which is very similar to our own. The visit was something of a highlight of the term and the children were particularly interested in and delighted by their conversations with the game keeper who explained what his job entailed. They also got hands on experience of how to handle ferrets which was really exciting for them.
The Rugby and Orienteering taster session at Mortlach Primary at the beginning of October was a huge success and the children felt a real sense of achievement by undertaking some activities which they may not have been too sure about. It is always such a pleasure to see them having a go and then to see the look of satisfaction that spreads over their faces as they succeed. Such a commendable attitude!
Since we have come back to school Miss Smith and the class have launched right into their new topic which is exploring the concept of “Creativity.” I know that some exciting work will come as a result of this and that stereotype thinking about what being creative means will be blown away. I can’t wait to see and hear what the children will come up with.
I have also got stuck into the Eco Group work and we are busy re-designing our Notice board to make it more user friendly for the children. We use part of our Tuesday afternoon to undertake some tasks to move our Eco agenda forward as we hope to apply for our third green flag before the end of December. The rest of the afternoon is used to carry out a “John Muir Mission.” At the moment this involves observing and recording what they see, hear, smell from their “own spot” in the school grounds. This gets the children observing and talking about the nature which is around them in much more detail.
Our green Ambassadors have been working with Mrs Lawson to plant bulbs and sweep up leaves from the playground to extend our leaf wall.
Parent Evening Thursday November 14th 6-7pm
Once again the children are inviting you in to school to share their learning with you. They are planning activities and quizzes which will help you to experience some of what they do on a daily basis. We are all very excited about this and are really looking forward to seeing you. However if you can’t make it then we will try to fit in a time when it is convenient for you to come in.
Inservice
Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th the school will be closed to pupils. On the 18th Miss Smith and myself are going to be attending a Moray conference on assessment while Mrs Reid and Mrs Duncan are going to take the opportunity to sort and organise resources.
On the 19th we are having a joint learning day with the staff from Knockando and will be hearing from an Education Psychologist about “growth mindsets and the use of praise.”
Bags2School
There will be a collection for this on Wednesday the 20th so feel free to bring the bags to school on Monday 18th or on the morning of the 20th. With the season of giving and receiving about to descend upon us I am sure we all need to clear some space and get rid of all those clothes which have shrunk in the wardrobe!
Weather etc
Unfortunately forecasts for November are a bit gloomy and snow is predicted. I hope they are wrong but in the event of bad weather Mrs Bassett issued information earlier this week about the phoneline and the Moray Council website for you to keep in a safe and obvious place for the next few months. I always aim to update these by 7.15am although occasionally this is not possible for a variety of reasons (none of which involve me still being asleep in my bed!) so I ask you to bear with me.
Now that the weather is getting colder please make sure the children come to school with warm jackets, hats, gloves etc (all named of course) as we like to get them outside in all but extreme weathers. It is just so good for them to be outdoors.
I will close by saying that Inveravon is a buzzing and happy school where children are learning and progressing well. Along with the rest of the staff I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the rest of the school community for allowing us to share your children’s learning journey.
I look forward to seeing you all next week and hope you are well and happy.
