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 14^th 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 18^th and Tuesday 19^th the school will be closed to pupils. On the 18^th 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 19^th 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 20^th so feel free to bring the bags to school on Monday 18^th or on the morning of the 20^th.  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.

September 2013

Dear Parents and Children,

We are all really into the swing of things now and everybody is settled and feeling happy. Miss Smith feels like she has always been here and is really delighted with her class of children who she thinks are just fantastic. She is enjoying the different way of doing things here at Inveravon and is excited about the wide range of learning opportunities that can be provided in a school such as ours.

The children have been working really hard and there has been a lot of thinking going on. Developing the children’s thinking skills is an integral part of our school culture and is a major focus of the school improvement plan. To this end we have introduced a toolkit of “Thinking Routines” to help the children unlock their thinking and the one currently being used is called the 3-2-1 Bridge. Hopefully they may have mentioned it to you but then again………… 

Now you know though and maybe you can ask them to explain it to you.

Open Afternoon

Many thanks to everyone who managed to come along  to meet Miss Smith. It was great to see you all again and have a catch up about what you have all been up to since we last met. If you couldn’t make it then feel free to pop in at any time…..as you know our door is always open and you are always very welcome.

In the last newsletter I mentioned that the after school clubs were on hold for a wee while. Mrs Lawson’s arm is mending slowly and hopefully she will get back to the badminton after the October break.

Stuart Cockram is keen to see the Lego Club continuing but for the next few months can not commit the time required. He fully intends to resume as soon as possible and wondered in the meantime if some other parents could take it on in a rota.

I saw this as a perfect opportunity for the children to continue practising their persuasive letter writing skills so you will be receiving one shortly. I urge you to volunteer to supervise a session every now and then as it is really important to the children.

Visits

Next Thursday Sept 26^th the children will be going on a visit to Glenrinnes Estate to see the work of a farming / estate community to compare and contrast the values and needs of a community similar to our own one. The children can take a very small and quickly eaten snack (no apples please) with them to have on the bus and thereafter they will not be allowed to eat or drink anything until they are back in school in time for their lunch. This will ensure we minimise any risk associated with farm visits. Antibacterial wipes will also be provided for the children.

Please make sure they are wearing sturdy footwear (wellies if possible) and warm jackets.

On Monday October 7^th the children in P 4-7 will be going to Mortlach Primary in Dufftown to take part in a taster session for Rugby and Orienteering. They will require a snack but will be back in time for lunch.

Fundraising

These children of yours are very persuasive indeed when they want to be and wrote me some excellent letters to try to persuade me to agree to having a sleepover in school as a fundraiser. They used flattery very efficiently and I fell for it and found myself agreeing to a sleepover which we decided to have on the first night of the holidays. (I will certainly need the two weeks to recover as I remember the last one!)

Thanks to everyone who spotted the deliberate mistake on the sponsor form…….as you could tell we just revamped the walk form and even after several people proof read  it we still missed that  Hopefully it’s all sorted now.  I really am looking forward to the 11^th!  Due to the huge investment in time I feel it is not unreasonable to ask that everyone makes a really huge effort to get sponsors as it may not go ahead unless at least £300 is pledged.

One Planet Picnic

I hope you all enjoyed the apple crumbles the children made today in school. We picked Bramley apples from the tree up in the orchard behind the school and processed them into crumbles in the kitchen. Thankfully everyone still has all their fingers and they all seemed to enjoy chopping the apples and assembling the crumbles. By taking them home we felt that they could share their picnic even wider than it just being in school.

I really can’t believe we only have a few weeks of this term left and the October holidays are within sight. You will know from the local press that another review of the School Estate in Moray is currently underway so I anticipate some interesting times ahead.

In the meantime though we will carry on doing what we are here to do and that is to care for and provide great learning experiences to the children of Inveravon.

I look forward to seeing you all soon

Kind Regards

Mrs Mary Smith

Head Teacher

Inveravon Primary

August 2013

Dear Parents and Children,

Welcome back to you all!

What a lovely summer we have had and the children are all glowing with good health. I was really excited about seeing them all again and it was just great to see them coming through the door this morning. It certainly brought a smile to my face.

I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my granddaughter during the holidays. It has been fascinating to see her growing and learning and its hard to believe that she is almost nineteen months old already. Amongst other words she knows she has learned to say “no” which is highly amusing although once or twice she has had to have one of my special “grandma looks” which seem to have worked so far! She is very entertaining though and is coming to stay for a weekend soon which I am very much looking forward to.

New Arrivals

We have a few new faces again this term and we extend a very warm welcome to James Grant as he starts his school life in Primary 1. James came into school this morning just as though he has always been here and has settled brilliantly.

Miss Smith has been in school quite a lot over the holidays and already feels very much at home here. She has been really looking forward to meeting the children and getting to know them all and yourselves too. Miss Smith is a very experienced teacher and has lots of exciting things planned for the children so we are all in for a great year.

Mrs Reid has joined us as classroom assistant and is also really looking forward to being part of the Inveravon community. She too brings a lot of experience and we are all lucky to have her.

In order for us all to get to know each other we are arranging a meet and greet open afternoon on Tuesday September 10^th at 2pm where you can come along and have a coffee and a chat with the staff and children together. It will be very informal so please try to join us.

Fundraising

Although we still have funds in the school fund I am keen not to let it dip too low so we are going to organise a fundraising event soon to keep it topped up. This will enable us to get out and about on field trips with the children to extend their education beyond the immediate school environment and also to buy in Pamela Ralph for dance again next term. It would  be good to have another few sessions of Earth Time as well so it is imperative that we keep fundraising. I will get back to you about this but in the meantime  if you have any good fundraising ideas please let me know.

Visiting Teachers

PE – Our PE slot has changed from Friday to a Wednesday afternoon. Mrs Elunid Mitchell will continue as our specialist PE teacher but the children should always bring their PE kit into school on a Monday as we do various activities throughout the week.

ART – Mrs Bremner will come to school every Monday afternoon to work with the children as they develop their art skills. She is very popular with them and they always produce splendid works of art under her careful eye.

After School Clubs

Please note that there will be no Junior Badminton until after the October holidays as both Mrs Lawson and Mr Shewan have sustained injuries. We wish them a speedy recovery and hope that they are not in too much discomfort in the meantime.

Information will follow with regard to the Lego Club

Over the next few weeks and months if there is anything you need to know or discuss with myself or Miss Smith please don’t hesitate to contact us at the school. You are always welcome and you know that I am always delighted to see you.

I hope you continue to enjoy these fine sunny days and that life is treating you well.

Kind Regards

Mrs Mary Smith

Head Teacher

Inveravon Primary

Session 2013/14   Term 1

Welcome back to the start of a new school year! It was great to see so much sunshine in our Summer Holidays and I am sure you all enjoyed the rest.

We welcome James into P1 this session. Both James and I look forward to getting to know everyone at Inveravon Primary School and quickly becoming part of the school.

Personally, I am very much looking forward to working with your children here at Inveravon. I have previously visited the school and was impressed by its character and warmth of welcome.

I would like to extend the same warmth of welcome to you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you need advice, information or just to chat about your child. I value the importance of maintaining strong relationships with parents and intend to keep in regular contact via this home/school folder.

I look forward to getting to know you all!

Rachael Smith

Principal Teacher

Well here we are with another school year drawing to a close! I can barely believe we have only two weeks to go as in my head it feels like we are just back from the Easter holidays. Ah well they do say that time flies when you are enjoying yourself and luckily for me I do very much enjoy coming to work.

All Change
Most of you will have been wondering what is happening staffing wise for next year and I am glad to say we are finally at the end of what has been a long and drawn out process since January when Mrs Ducrocq first informed me that she would not be returning to Inveravon.

I am really delighted to be able to tell you that Ms Rachael Smith currently Principal Teacher at Aberlour Primary wants to come and continue her role as a PT at Inveravon. Having worked with her in the past I know that she will be a great asset to the team and I am really looking forward to working with her again.

This means that Mrs Mailer will return to her substantive post at Dallas Primary after the summer where I am sure she has been missed by all the children, parents and staff.

On your behalf I would like to extend a warm thanks to Mrs Mailer for her hard work and commitment to Inveravon Primary over the last year and we wish her all the best for the future. I hope she will take away many happy memories of her time with us at Inveravon.

Mrs Ferguson has been so inspired by what she has seen going on in the classrooms at Inveravon that she has applied to Aberdeen University to begin a Post Graduate Course in teacher training so it is with great regret that I have to tell you that she too will be leaving us at the end of term. Over the four years that she has been a member of staff Mrs Ferguson has contributed greatly to the life and work of the school, especially in her role as Eco Leader. The children have also benefited enormously from the support provided by Mrs Ferguson in class and it has been obvious for a long time that she is a “natural” teacher. I was delighted when she told me about her plans and very much look forward to her joining the teaching profession. Thankfully she assures me that she has no intention of “really leaving” Inveravon and promises to come back regularly to visit us and help us with our Eco work etc. I will hold her to that!

Mrs Joan Reid will take over from Mrs Ferguson as classroom assistant after the summer. Mrs Reid currently works at Knockando and was affected by the reduction of classroom assistant hours identified in the Council budget cuts. Mrs Reid has a wealth of experience and is a popular and well liked member of staff who will be sorely missed at Knockando. However I am delighted to have her on the team at Inveravon.

Fundraising
Our sponsored walk eventually took place last week and the sun shone! (As indeed it should have done the first time!) It was lovely to see so many mums and dogs joining us and everyone had a happy “dander down the line.” You have all been very busy getting sponsors and so far we have raised approx £467 which is really fantastic. Thank you all very much indeed and can I just remind anyone who still has sponsor money to get it in to the school as soon as you can please.
If anyone has any new and novel ideas for raising money next session please let me know as I am always on the lookout for different things to do.

Pictish Party June 20th
Mrs Lawson asked me to include a wee mention of the event taking place this Thursday evening at the church to celebrate the Pictish Stones. Music, Talk and Eats 6.30 for 7pm. All welcome.

Fun Night Friday June 21st
The Parent Council are organising this again and I am really looking forward to seeing you all for what will be our last social event of the school year and we can enjoy a bit of midsummer madness together.
Starting at 6.30pm teams comprising an adult and a child will hop, skip, jump, catch, and birl their way through a variety of fun activities in a bid to become the supreme winners of the much coveted first prize. It really is an event not to be missed with the added attraction of a tasty barbecue so I hope you can all come.
There will be a small entry fee for each pair of competitors.

School Trip July 2nd
We have decided to make our way to Landmark once again this year as it provides such a fun and enjoyable day for everyone. The children will need to wear their school sweatshirts so that we can keep an eye on them but otherwise they are free to wear casual clothes….with the exception of combat/camouflage trousers and jackets.
A packed lunch will also be required. If anyone has season passes for Landmark please let us know as they can be used.
We will be back in time for all children to go home on the bus with Colin at 3.15pm.

Leaver’s Assembly Thursday July 4th 11am
Amidst all the excitement of an end of school session there is also the realisation that we will be losing our P7 pupils which is always a wee bit sad. This year we say farewell to John and Neil who, like others before them, are heading off to Speyside High School after the summer. I have every confidence that they will continue to be great ambassadors for Inveravon Primary and hope that they will remember their primary school days here as happy, carefree and successful.
End of Term Arrangements
The school will close for the holidays on Friday July 5th at 2pm prompt.
In true Inveravon Style we will have our usual water fight although it will start at 11.45 till lunchtime and the children will be in their PE kits. They will need to bring dry underwear, socks and a towel as they will have to get dried and changed for lunch and the afternoon. A plastic bag for the wet clothes will also be needed. We always aim to make sure the children take home all their belongings on the last day and I am ever hopeful that this might just be the year when we are not left with a pair of gym shoes, or a single sock, or a pair of gloves or a PE kit!

Finally can I just say how privileged I feel to be the head teacher of this wonderful wee school set on the hillside above the Spey. Given the current economic climate and the various reviews etc that are being carried out I have no doubt that we are facing some interesting times ahead and a future which I cannot even start to predict. What I do know however is that some of the happiest days of my life are spent within these four walls and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. At the end of another school year we are a strong and supportive community which can adapt to change, take it all in our stride and still stay smiling.

The bell will ring at 9.05 on Tuesday August 20th and your wonderful children will once more fill these walls with laughter, learning and happiness reminding us all once again that
“A School is four walls which surrounds the future”

May 2013

 Dear Parents and Children,

 Thankfully the weather is beginning to at least pretend that it is spring and when the sun shines it is lovely. I do hope this continues.

 Having enjoyed a brief period when Colin was able to get the children to school for the start of day “they” start digging up the road again at Marypark and we are back to delays and traffic lights. I am sure though it won’t last long this time and since Fulcrum and Carrillion employees came in to school to explain what they are doing to the children it all makes much more sense to them. In fact the children were fascinated by some of the information they received regarding the costs and timescales involved in carrying out such a task. The children also gained some very useful insight into career pathways and opportunities provided by these companies.

We also received a donation to help us develop our garden area so it turned out to be a very worthwhile afternoon for everyone.

 Transition

Time is marching on and the diary is filling up quite quickly now. Our P1 induction days will start soon and James Grant will join us on Friday mornings to get a taste of what it will be like in P1. Knowing James I am sure he will have a great time and he will be made very welcome by his future classmates.

 Our P7 boys have just embarked on a series of visits to and from Speyside High which started last week when Mr Picksley (Depute Head) showed them how to set up their e profile. Mrs Duncan will support them over the next few weeks as they add to it. Tomorrow (Tuesday) they will be joined by their P7 peers from Knockando to take part in an English lesson delivered by Rebecca Cowie from the English department. This will give them an opportunity to experience a wee glimpse of high school life. This will be followed up on June 7^th when they go to Knockando to take part in a mock election led by Ms Juliet Presly (Depute Head) and some senior pupils from SHS and then on June 17^th and 20^th they will spend two days in the school which will be very exciting for them.

 Fund Raising

We are all looking forward to the walk on Thursday morning and hope that the sun will shine. Please feel free to join us if you would like to. We are leaving Cragganmore as near to nine as possible as Colin will just take the children straight there (depending on the roadworks of course). I hope you have all been busy getting sponsors as the money we raise will go towards our end of term trip. The more we raise the more exciting the trip will be!

 That same morning we are having the Bag2School collection so please make sure you bring any bags in to school on Wednesday afternoon. Much to my husbands consternation I am going to be having a right good clear out this weekend!

 Visits

As part of our Health Promoting Topic we have enlisted the services of the Hopscotch Theatre Company again to put on a performance of “Hamish’s Healthy Nutrition Mission” on Thursday May 30th at 10am. We will be joined by the pupils from Glenlivet and Knockando for this and if the last performance was anything to go by they are all in for a real treat.

Staffing

As you know Mrs Ducrocq decided to accept a Principal Teacher Post in an Elgin school which she is due to start as of Monday June 17^th when her maternity leave from Inveravon officially ends.  Just last week I was informed about what would be happening to the post.

It will be offered to existing Principal Teachers in Moray who will lose their PT status following the budget cuts in March and as such Mrs Mailer would not be eligible to apply. Should no existing PT wish to transfer to Inveravon then the post will be opened out to the wider teaching community in Moray as a long term temporary appointment. I realise that this is far from satisfactory but all we can do at the moment is to wait and see what happens although I am confident that the situation will be resolved by the end of term. In the meantime I ask you to bear with me during this time of uncertainty and let us just all enjoy the remaining weeks of the term together.

 I have attached a dates for the diary section for you to keep and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Kind Regards

Head Teacher

March  2013

Dear Parents and Children,

 As I stared writing this newsletter I looked back on what I had written last year and the contrast in weather conditions could not be more stark as we were all in tee shirts and shorts and enjoying a grand spell of sunshine. Little did we know that that was to be our summer so maybe this wintry weather will herald good things to come in the next few months.

Parents Evening

Many thanks to all of you who managed to come along to have a chat with Mrs Mailer. Everything seemed to go very well on the night and everyone seems very happy with what we are trying to achieve for the children at Inveravon. For those of you who couldn’t make it you are more than welcome to arrange another date and time. Just get in touch with myself or Mrs Mailer  and we will happily fit you in.

Mrs Mailer is now taking lots of time to chat with the children individually about their learning and they are all in the process of writing their own reports again. We hope to be able to send these home early in May.

Climate Week

Mrs Ferguson organised a super week of activities for this and the children got stuck in with enthusiasm. They created a “pizza” which demonstrated the amount of recycling done on a national level. I think the children got quite a surprise at some of the figures and this is displayed on the wall in the hall if you would like to come in and see it for yourselves.

The “Living Tank” has been set up again which over the next few months will demonstrate the filtering process involved in recycling water. The children were really excited when they set this up and it was great to hear them noticing things about it that they had missed last time we did it. Well done Mrs Ferguson and thank you.

Science and Engineering Week

The children had a great week of inventing and discovering and we extend our thanks to all the visitors and parents who gave up their time and came in to work with the children. They all have a much greater awareness now.

Off to pastures new

Last week we bade farewell to William in P2 who has gone off to live in Tomintoul. We will all miss his charming ways and wish him well in his new school.

 Wishing  you all a happy springtime and I look forward to seeing you all soon. I have attached a Dates for the Diary.

 Kind Regards

 Head Teacher

   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

Literacy and English

Our writing this term will focus on letter and report writing.  Children will be writing formal letters to local businesses and writing reports about events that have taken place such as the Bring and Buy sale. Most of the writing will be linked to our topic – Micro Tyco.

Group reading sessions will be carried out twice or three times a week, involving the children reading either in pairs, with Mrs Smith, the teacher or classroom assistant.

Spelling and phonic lessons and activities will continue twice a week and children will continue to receive weekly spelling homework tasks. To help pupils learn their spelling words they can either write them out twice and ask someone to test them or if they learn the words better by being creative then they can do so.

Listening and Talking will play an important part in this terms topic. Pupils will be encouraged to listen to the suggestions and ideas of others then make group decisions

Eco Schools / Enterprise

Mrs Ferguson and Mrs Lawson will continue to work with the pupils every Tuesday on Eco Schools. Climate week starts on the 4^thMarch. We will be having lots of related activities. To begin with pupils will design badges which will represent super powers. These will help pupils be aware of climate change and encourage them to think about how it can be reduced .On every second Tuesday of the month pupils will make a healthy snack. The first one will be on Shrove Tuesday and pupils have decided to make fruity pancakes.

Science / Engineering

Inveravon will be taking part in the National Science and Engineering week in March this year.  The theme for this week is Inventions. Children will be taking part in lots of related activities throughout the week and there may even be some new inventions created!

As part of their continual learning, pupils will participate in weekly science challenges in which they will be encouraged to observe, predict and investigate. The aim is for pupils to learn how science relates to our everyday lives and inspire our budding scientists with fun and participative activities.

Numeracy and Mathematics

Mental maths strategies will continue to be a major focus this term where children will be actively encouraged to explain their thinking.  The children are learning about time and then moving onto the topic of money.  All pupils have identified areas they feel they need to focus on and get better at when learning about time. To support their learning, pupils could read clocks, watches and calculate durations at home.

Technologies

Children will be given daily opportunities to enhance their learning through ICT.  Pupils are developing their literacy and maths skills through Education City at home and school. If there are any difficulties accessing this at home please inform us.Sumdog has been a very successful programme in challenging pupils to improve their numeracy skills. As part of the Mico – Tyco challenge pupils will record evidence of their progress by using the school’s digital and flip cameras. The photos and videos will be downloaded onto the school blog so that we can all share in the excitement.

Health and Wellbeing /

The P7s have recently returned back from a fun-packed and snowy trip to Abernethy. Much fun and new experiences were had by all. After listening to all the stories the younger pupils can’t wait for their turn! The topic for this term will be Micro –Tyco. Attached to this letter is a leaflet explaining what Micro-Tyco is! In short it is an enterprise challenge, which takes place during the month of February. After much discussion and research the pupils held a vote on whether they would like to participate. The pupils voted overwhelmingly in favour.  They thought it would be a good learning experience and the money raised would go towards helping others in the developing world. So far the pupils have registered and received their £1. With this seed £1 they have to think of and carry out a fundraising event. Hopefully a profit w ill be made and the £1 will grow. For further information the website to access is

http://www.wildheartsinaction.org/microtyco

For this to be a success we desperately need your help. If you have any good fund raising ideas or could offer your services in any way we would be delighted to hear from you. We would like to raise as much money as possible!

All pupils will continue to receive P.E. lessons with Mrs Mitchell every Friday and with Mrs Wright every Tuesday. Please ensure pupils have an appropriate change of clothes and a water bottle every day at school.

In addition, P5s will continue to receive recorder lessons from Mrs Gillis every Tuesday and all pupils will receive music lessons from Mrs Cook every Thursday this term.