Mrs N’s Notes ~ 15.6.18
I always want to laugh when people ask, “Are you winding down for the holidays yet?” If anyone has been in or around our school this week, you will know for sure that there is no ‘winding down’ evident in Kirkshaws!
The week started off with 5 classes heading out to the Science Centre in Glasgow. Whilst we continually strive to provide the highest quality learning experiences possible in school, sometimes learning is best met by changing the location or calling in the experts! I have been most impressed with the reports that have come back from Monday’s trip. P.2 to P.6 found differentiated activities, experiments and educational shows to extend their science lessons this year. Huge thanks must go to all the volunteers who willingly gave up their time to accompany each class. Without this support, trips like this simply wouldn’t happen.
Of course, that wasn’t the only trip this week. Our Nursery pupils and parents spent Tuesday at Wellsfield Farm Park. What a pity the weather decided to break, but it didn’t spoil the day for our young adventurers. Once again, I was most encouraged by the reports made back in school. By all accounts, everyone enjoyed a day of outdoor learning and physical activity, with lots of fun and laughter thrown in.
Rooms 9 & 10 saw the culmination of months of hard work on Thursday afternoon. Their Entrepreneur Me project came together in a sale of work, opened to their families first, then other pupils in the school. This project has allowed pupils to apply their knowledge of numeracy and literacy within a business model. It has also given them the opportunity to develop key skills and personal attributes they can apply to learning, life and work. The process itself was the most important aspect of this venture, but an added bonus was the profit of over £300 that they made altogether.
School staff have not been let off lightly either. We held training for all teaching staff this week, with a detailed course in emergency treatment of specific medical conditions, led by NHS staff. The safeguarding of your children is our primary task, even before we embark on any educational journey. Please remember to update medical information at the school office, should this change during the school session. Should your child require administration of any medication during the school day, the necessary paperwork should be completed and forwarded to Mrs Dunn & Mrs Peat in the office.
There’s no ‘winding down’ for our Fundraisers either. They have also been busy this week, buying end of term gifts for various groups of learners, making preparations for the tea-making duties they have taken on over the next few weeks and, of course, the Summer Disco Night that they are running next Thursday. Remember tickets go on sale on Monday morning. We can’t thank our Fundraisers enough. Their hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed.
And finally… we must make a diary entry about our staff v pupils netball match this week. As a last minute sub, I was called in at very short notice (I think Mr Sharp’s attendance at a Literacy Course on Thursday knocked out the staff numbers). A borrowed pair of trainers was all I was given before I was introduced to this annual Kirkshaws tradition. Wow! What a challenge. I didn’t realise just how good our Netball Team is. It was an exhausting match (and I have been left with a few extra bruises), but I am delighted to say the staff managed to win in the end, thanks to Mrs McBain’s shooting skills. Thank you to everyone – pupils and teachers – who joined in and made this another memorable event.
Are we ready to wind down now?? Not a chance – Summer Assemblies, Golden Day and much more still to come!!
