Dear Parents and Carers
Well, December has arrived and we can now officially talk about Christmas in school. This has been a very busy and productive term for our school. Our homework questionnaire prizewinner is Mrs C Johnston. Please contact the School Office to collect your prize.
STAFFING
Mrs Reilly leaves us on Friday 9th December to begin her maternity leave.
Mrs Queen formerly known as Miss Murphy has been redeployed to our school. I anticipate that she will take up post after the Christmas holidays and will teach our Primary 7 class.
NEWMAINS IS NOW BLOGGING
We are now ‘blogging’. This is a ‘web log’ of online information about events and news in our school. Miss Gray is currently supporting staff and children so that we can use this valuable tool for learning to its fullest potential.
AWARDS FOR ALL SUCCESS
Well done to our fantastic Parent Council who were successful in securing £7500 of funding for our infant playground. We are currently making arrangements with ScotPlay to install a trim-trail.
RIBBONS OF WILDNESS
Children in Rooms 14-18 had a visit from Peter Wright who is the author of this book. The author is an avid hill walker and he was aptly dressed for the occasion. He shared his experiences of travelling around Scotland with our children.
Morrisons Vouchers
Thank you for supporting us to collect vouchers for garden equipment. Mrs Maguire and the ECO Committee have planned to put them to good use.
NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK
Thank you to Miss Gray and the Health Committee for organising a range of competitions and events in our school. A special assembly was held on Friday 25th to raise our children’s awareness of the Green Cross Code. BE BRIGHT, BE SAFE and BE SEEN was a key message for our children during these winter months. Our children’s health and wellbeing is of importance to us. Parents can also help by being a SMART PARKER by using the car park located at the end of School Road.
ZOOLAB – Expressive Active Learning with a TWIST!
Our children will explore ANIMALS in ACTION through storytelling and animal handling sessions on Thursday 1st December. This will be a very purposeful and worthwhile experience for all.
ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS
As you are no doubt aware, last year we experienced severe adverse weather conditions that caused major disruption throughout North Lanarkshire Council. In the event of such conditions, parents are advised to check www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk for the latest information and news about school and nursery closures. In these circumstances, I recognise that continuity of learning for your child is of extreme importance. The school has planned a range of learning activities and experiences (for a period of 5 days) for the core subject areas of Curriculum for Excellence using the experiences and outcomes. In the event of a school closure this work will be uploaded to the homework section of our school website (www.newmains.n-lanark.sch.uk) with information for you and your child. Whilst children are at home the school website also give details of suggested websites that can be accessed to support learning.
JUST IN CASE
At this time of year we are all busy and I know parents will be going shopping while children are at school. We get many, many phone calls to the office, especially in December, to pass messages onto children to change arrangements about what to do at 3pm. We always do our best to let the children know, but the later you leave calling us the more difficult it is for us to make sure the children get the message. Could you please try to have ‘just in case’ arrangements with your children – what to do just in case you are not in when they get home? Is there a neighbour or relative nearby they could go to and you could be the ‘just in case’ person for their children? In any case, please let us know as early as possible if you have to change arrangements for your child in an emergency.
SUPPORT FROM PARENT COUNCIL
Thank you to our hardworking and supportive Parent Council for their donation of a Smartboard to enhance learning and teaching.
SUPERVISION OF CHILDREN BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS
Our Janitor, Paul McArthur provides an adult presence in our playground from 8.35am. I would ask for your support to ensure that children do not arrive to school before this time unless they are attending our Breakfast Club. Please could I also ask parents of children in Rooms 4, 9, 11 and 12 to encourage your child(ren) to develop as an independent and responsible citizen by lining up in their lines without you! Thank you for supporting us with these matters.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Here in our school we to have high expectations for your child in terms of their work and behaviour. We are ‘always trying our best to ensure everyone achieves success’. Your child matters to us. I thought it might be helpful to remind everyone about our expectations for your child. We expect our children to:
1. Follow instructions first time
2. Keep their hands, feet and unkind words to themselves
3. Always try to do their very best
4. Stay safe
Please support us by encouraging your child to follow these rules. The implementation of Curriculum for Excellence in our school is to ensure our children grow and develop as responsible citizens. Our children are Scotland’s future!
ATTENDANCE UPDATE
Regular attendance at school is essential to ensure progress in learning. The Scottish Government have set 98% as the national average expected by all schools. A current snapshot of our performance:
P1 93.8% P2 98.6% P3 99.3% P4 97% P5 93.6% P6 94.2% P7 93.2% School Average 95.7%
In line with school procedures, the class teacher will notify you by letter if your child’s attendance is a cause for concern. Thereafter, Mrs Maguire or Miss Gray will contact you to discuss our concerns directly with you.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Please remember to order your child’s Christmas lunch for Wednesday 14th December. If you child receives a free meal, you still have to pre- order it and if your child pays for lunch it must be pre-ordered and pre-paid. We do not take money or orders on the day. The office is now taking orders and payment.
CHARITY UPDATE
Mrs Brown and the Enterprise Committee organised a very successful pyjama party. We raised £234 for another very worthwhile cause. Miss Allan organised for a daffodil planting event and £154 was raised for Marie Curie. We are planning to donate our Christmas Collection at the Church to British Red Cross.
KILBOWIE – 26th to 30th March 2012
I am delighted to tell you that our children in Primary 7 will be attending a residential experience in line with North Lanarkshire Council’s commitment to Raising Achievement Policy. This will be an experience to last a lifetime. Shortly after our return in January we will start collecting payment for this trip. Payment details are: Children who are not in receipt of free meals/clothing grant- £114. Children who are in receipt of free meals/clothing grant– £26.
BUS UPDATE
Please remember you are responsible for your child’s conduct on the school bus. A good standard of behaviour is always expected to ensure everyone remains safe, secure and protected from harm. Please remind your child of our expectations. Thank you for your help.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
I hope you found the information about the arrangements useful. Here are a few reminders:
Christmas Community Concert: This is event is for invited guests within our local community. This takes place on Monday 12th December.
Nursery Nativity am and pm: Tuesday 13th December.
Christmas Concert: Wednesday 14th December at 9.30am and 1.30pm. (Tickets £1 and are limited to a maximum of 2 per family on a 1st come basis)
Christmas Pantomime: M and M productions perform Robin Hood for children in Primaries 1 to 7 on Thursday 15th December.
Christmas Magic Show: For nursery children only on Friday 16th December am and pm.
Parties: Nursery am and pm – Thursday 15th December
R4 and R9- Tuesday 20th December pm
R11, R12 and R14– Monday 19h December pm
R15, R17 & R18– Friday 16th December
Parent Council Disco – 13th December
P 1 – 3 6.30 – 7.15pm P 4 – 7 7.30 – 8.30pm
Entrance is £1 and will be paid at the door. Crisps and flavoured water will be on sale. The discos are for Newmains Primary children only. We really need parent volunteers to supervise at both discos – particularly the one for the older children. Please fill in the enclosed from if you can manage to come along and help. We can’t hold these fun events for our children without your support.
We do hope you will be able to join us for our Christmas Celebration in Coltness Memorial Church at 10am on Tuesday 20th December.
School will close on Wednesday 21st December at 2.30pm. The buses will pick up the children about 2pm and the rest of the children will leave at 2.30pm. School re-opens on Monday 9th January 2011.
We hope December is a happy, if busy, month for you and that you have a very Merry Christmas and a good New Year. I thank you for your continued support of all that we do in our school.
Yours sincerely,
E CLINTON
Head Teacher
