Category Archives: News Letters

Friday 19th August

Friday 19th August 2016

 

SWIMMING

First lesson begins on Monday 22nd August 2016.  Lessons will take place every Monday up until the Tattie Holidays

 

BADMINTON

 

Please note there is no Badminton this coming Tuesday 23rd August 2016.

 

TUCK SHOP

 

Tuck shop will be running again from Monday 22nd August 2016.  Snacks range from 3p for a bread stick or brunch bars 20p each.  We try to keep a healthy snack trolley but pupils are welcome to bring in their own if they so wish.  Snacks can be purchased every day just before break time.

 

DINNER MENU

Dinner Menus can be found on the school blog.

Week 2 beginning 22nd August 2016.

 

TEETH BRUSHING

Mrs Duncan plans to commence teeth brushing on Monday 29th August 2016.  They will be cleaned after lunch time break.  All pupils are issued with their own toothbrush and paste is handed out by an adult.  If you do not wish your child to take part please contact the school via e.mail or a note in homework diaries to let us know.

 

Kind regards

Dawn Bassett

Administrator

 

May News Letter.

13 May 2016

Dear Parents,

This is an extremely difficult letter for me to write particularly at this time when we are saying farewell to Miss Smith.

I have just been appointed as Acting Head Teacher for the “new” school to be built on the south of Elgin. This is an incredible opportunity and I feel privileged to have been selected by the authority to lead on this. I am however aware that the timing could not be worse for Inveravon and I regret that.

This “acting” post is initially until October 2016 so I will remain the substantive head teacher of Inveravon and Knockando Primary Schools and will remain involved at some level until then. At that time I will have the option of returning to Inveravon and Knockando or applying for the new post on a permanent basis.

I am due to take up my new role as soon as possible and indeed the original start date was to be this week but it is recognised that my commitment to Inveravon must prevail until alternative arrangements can be made. This means that I will be taking the class at Inveravon next week and thereafter until arrangements are in place to release me. As a result my new role will initially be on an ad hoc basis.

The post of Acting Head Teacher for Inveravon and Knockando will be advertised this week and I will be involved in the interview and selection process for this.

The permanent post of Principal Teacher to replace Miss Smith has been advertised and interviews are due to take place on Monday May 30th. I will be interviewing and selecting the new PT along with Karen Lees my line manager.

This is a situation that I never imagined would happen and I am very aware that you as parents will have concerns. We will endeavour to minimise any changes to the children’s routines and learning experiences and Mrs Laing Mrs Reid and Mrs Duncan will carry on doing what they do so very well providing support to the children and will provide guidance to a new member of staff. I will also liaise closely with any new staff members to explain our own unique way of doing things here at Inveravon. Our way works well and has been recognised by the authority as excellent practice and there is an expectation that this will continue to be “The Inveravon Way.”

December News Letter

December 2015

Dear Parents and Children,

I do hope the festive season finds you well and healthy and that you are getting prepared and looking forward to the big day. It’s certainly all go here at Inveravon and the stage was set up in the hall last week which means we can get our show well and truly rehearsed now. This year you can all look forward to enjoying  “A Magical Christmas Journey” and I’m fairly sure you will all have a good idea about what that will involve……stars…angels….shepherds etc etc! As ever our enthusiastic pupils are putting their hearts and souls into rehearsals and it is sounding great even at this early stage.

The concert will be held on Tuesday 16th starting at 7pm and followed by the usual festive refreshments to which you are all welcome. The children will need to be in school for about 6.30 in order to get into costumes etc. There will be no raffle this year as everybody has given so much already. We are all looking forward to this event and the children are very excited about performing to you once again.

Last weekend of course saw us all in school on Saturday for what was our first ever and extremely successful Christmas Fayre. The atmosphere in the school was joyous and everyone seemed to be having a lovely time. I daresay you will have heard that we made £958 which is a staggering amount for such a small school. I must thank each and every one of you for giving so generously and for making the day such a tremendous success. Many thanks also to the children and the staff who worked tirelessly to make it happen and to ensure that the standard was high.

The school looked lovely and was very welcoming for all the good folks in our community who came along to support us. It was just a great day and the warmth of community feeling has left us all with a rosy glow and feel good factor. What a great way to welcome and celebrate the season of advent.

We are going to be making the wreaths today so foliage a plenty will be strewn around the school as we get going to fulfil the orders. I am really looking forward to flexing my creativity skills and I am sure to be kept right about how to make them properly by the children who really do know what they are doing.

As you know we decided not to go to the Panto in Inverness this year and the children have instead opted for a trip to Baxters to see Santa and to enjoy a pancake and juice. They wrote me very persuasive letters asking if they could go and I was only too delighted to say a great big YES!  The cost of this is £5.99 per child and thanks to the Smartie money coming in we are

able to go. How exciting! 

Pupils Christmas Party  Friday December 18th.  Party clothing can be taken to school to change into after lunch.

All pupils will go home at 3.15pm after the party.

 Church Service with Glenlivet Primary  Monday December 21st to be held at Inveravon Church at 10.00 am – All Welcome and please join us for coffee and a mince pie back up at the school.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we will see you all back to school on Tuesday 5th January 2016.

From all of us at Inveravon Primary

 

 

May Newsletter 2015

Dear Parents and Children,

 

Well we got another good day for the sponsored walk as it was neither too hot nor too cold and most importantly it stayed dry! A brisk pace was kept up and everyone completed the walk with a cheery smile and a great sense of satisfaction. Well done! The children came back into school looking a wee bit tired though but happy with it.  It was great to see some parents and some pets joining the children too so thanks to those of you who came along. Many thanks also to Colin for providing the transport for us yet again.

We have over £100 in sponsor money so far so please be sure to bring it in as soon as possible. Thank you.

 

A few Sundays ago we managed to work wonders on the playground and really smartened it up ready for the summer days. A huge thank you to everyone who came along and contributed their time, muscle power and resources…..we really do hugely appreciate it and the school looks so much smarter as a result.

Life in the polytunnel is fairly picking up and there is a lot of growing going on. The children are conducting experiments at the same time which look at different growing conditions and the speed of plant growth and development. They are extremely proud of the cucumber which has just emerged although it’s a bit tricky to measure at the moment as it is just SO teeny weeny! However I am sure that it will grow well and cucumber sandwiches will be the order of the day soon enough!

All we need to do now is to persuade the rabbits to dine elsewhere and we will get the sweet peas and some vegetables transplanted to the newly dug over beds and borders.

 

 

 

Our In-service days were productive and we spent some time auditing our curriculum to ensure that we are providing the best possible experiences for the children. The feedback from the reports and also the wee questionnaire we sent out indicate that you are all happy with what is happening here.  (If you haven’t already returned the parental comment section of the reports or the questionnaire can I gently remind you to do this and get them back to us.)

The staff from Dyke primary school also joined us for an afternoon as they are interested in how we are developing Interdisciplinary Learning.

It was great to welcome colleagues and to share our approaches with them. It’s just a wee shame that the children weren’t around to speak to them about it as they are the best ambassadors for Inveravon and the way we do things here. The children refer to the school as “Inverawesome” which is indeed a great recommendation!

 

The big “Clear Out” is still ongoing and we have all spent many hours sorting through resources and deciding what to keep and what to put out. Gradually though we are beginning to win the battle and the GP room is slowly emptying. We plan to remove shelves so that we can create a child friendly/interactive learning wall and will then get a new carpet fitted. The barer the room gets the more obvious the need for redecoration becomes. In fact I can’t remember that room ever being painted in all the time I have been in the school (a year or two…..) so it is long overdue. I will purchase paint and am looking for one or two volunteers to give over a couple of hours to help with the painting. Give me a call at the school if you think you can help with this and we can try to arrange times etc.

 

Transition time is upon is and the P7s are out and about meeting and greeting future classmates at various locations throughout Speyside and are looking forward to the three days planned at Speyside High.  The new intake of P1 children, Rosie and Joel, will be joining us here at Inveravon on Thursdays 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th of June from 9am -11am on each of the days where they will get a flavour of what it will be like for them when they join the class after the summer holidays.  They are of course most welcome to join us for the treasure hunt, sports day and leavers assembly.

Sports Day is set for Friday June 12th at the Glenlivet Hall Park. You are all very welcome and indeed actively encouraged to come along and to cheer the children on. Start time is 1.30pm and you will get a form from Mrs Bassett soon to indicate whether you will be taking your child home from the sports or otherwise. (The back-up date for the sports in the “unlikely” event of rain is Wednesday June 17th.

 

You will all be donning your thinking caps on Friday June 19th as you try to solve the clues on the Treasure Hunt which Mrs Lawson and myself will be making up for you to enjoy. It was great nights last year followed by the barbecue so do please try to come along and join in the fun and just spend time with us all in the school community. The children always really enjoy such events and like to do them with their parents.

 

Hankies will be at the ready on Tuesday June 30th as we get together for the last time with our P7 children James and Rebecca for our Leavers Assembly. No doubt it will involve a trip down nostalgia lane for many of us as we recall the good times we have shared over the years! You are all very welcome and teas / coffees will be available at 10.30am if you would like to join us for that prior to the assembly starting.

 

Our summer trip this year sees us heading to the Highland Folk Museum on Wednesday July 1st. The children will need a packed lunch and they will all be home together with Colin on the 3.15pm bus. I just know that the sun is going to shine that day, but in the event that it doesn’t please make sure the children have sturdy footwear and a waterproof jacket. This is Scotland after all!

 

The session ends on Thursday July 2nd at 2pm with all children going home at that time

 

I leave you on this slightly cool and pretty unseasonable May afternoon with best wishes for a great weekend. Remember there is no school on Monday as it is a local holiday!

 

Kind Regards

Newsletter April 2015

April 2015

 

Dear Parents and Children,

Welcome back to our summer term which has got off to great start weather wise. How splendid were our Easter holidays? I didn’t manage to spend quite so much time with the Grandchildren, Arianna and Isabelle as I had hoped but got a sufficient “fix” of cuddles, smiles and grandma time to keep me going.

I will keep this newsletter brief as Miss Smith has already issued a very comprehensive overview of the term (see home/school folders.) I felt quite exhausted as I read it and I know the children will be working very hard again. As always though they are up for it and are raring to go!

 

I hope you all enjoyed reading the children’s reports as much as I did as once again they captured the true essence of the children as learners at Inveravon. I felt both humbled and proud as I read them and there was often a tear in my eye. Can I gently remind you all to complete the parent comment at the back of the report and return it to us as we love to know what you are thinking too.

 

Over the holidays we had a new Smartboard installed in the Active Play room with a view to moving into it over the summer holidays. A wee change of environment will refresh us all and will also provide as with a fully functioning board in each room. The new whiteboard is amazing and will support our classroom activities and the children’s learning brilliantly.

Currently the Active Play room is looking a tad forlorn as we are gradually sifting through many years of accumulated “resources” and keeping only what is relevant and useful. (It’s in a right redd up to be honest) For someone who has been in the school for a long time (i.e. me ) there is a wee bit of nostalgia at times as I consign yet another folder of “stuff which I used to use” to the recycling bin! It’s all in the name of progress!

 

Fundraising

  May is just around the corner and with it the need for our annual “dander down the line” in the form of a sponsored walk. I have issued a sponsor form per family along with this letter and hope that you will be busy over the next few weeks collecting sponsors from far and wide. The date we have chosen is Thursday May 28th starting as usual at Cragganmore Station at 9.15am. Family members are welcome to join us along with pets but they must be kept on a lead. (The pets that is not family members J) We will have a snack at Blacksboat and then walk back to Cragganmore where Colin will take us back to school.

 

Groundforce Day   Sunday May 17th 1.30 – 4pm

I am compiling a wee list of things which we need to achieve together on the day (well actually is a not quite such a wee list) and am hoping for a really good turn out of willing volunteers. Skills required will be sweeping, digging, cutting, weeding, strimming, hammering, raking, planting, sorting, painting along with many I haven’t thought of yet no doubt. All of this will of course be liberally sprinkled with laughter, humour and fun as we work together to improve the learning environment for all our children. We will even provide some refreshments. Please indicate on the attached note if you are going to be able to join us for a wee while that afternoon.

 

Sporting Events

Our annual joint sports afternoon with Glenlivet Primary is set for Friday June 12th 1.30pm at the Glenlivet Hall Field. Parents and families are most welcome to join us at this event to cheer the children on.

An addition to the calendar this year is a Highland Games event at Knockando primary along with the children from Glenlivet on Tuesday June 16th which I am sure the children will all enjoy. This will take place in the morning and we will be back to school in time for lunch.

Of course I am very confident that the sun will shine on both those days but in the event of rain then the Highland Games will just be cancelled but the backup date for the Glenlivet sports is Tuesday June 16th. It could be a busy day for us all!

 

Over the next few weeks we will be carrying out some detailed self-evaluation activities with the children about the impact of the school improvement plan and what they feel the school’s next steps should be with regard to curriculum development. To make sure you don’t feel left out I am sending you a wee survey which I hope you will take a wee time together with your children to chat about and respond to. Don’t feel that you need to complete the whole thing but if you could comment as much as you can it would be really helpful for us. Thank you so much for your support with this.

 

On that note I will finish this newsletter with the wish that life is treating you well and that you are looking forward to all that spring and summer promise us. I have also added an updated dates for the dairy page for you to keep safely for future reference.

 

Kindest Regards

 

 

Mary Smith

Head Teacher